Podcasts about Death Valley

Matt Trump opens this episode of Spellbreakers with reflections from a New Year trip to Las Vegas and Death Valley before shifting into a deep dive on recent breakthroughs in artificial intelligence. The core of the show focuses on the rapid evolution of AI development tools, particularly “vibe coding” and agentic software, where large language models are now capable of planning, writing, and improving code with minimal human input. Matt walks through his firsthand experience using Claude and Claude Code, explaining how software can now be built by describing intent rather than writing lines of code. He explores what this means for programmers, white-collar jobs, automation, and the broader economy, including why recent AI updates have sparked anxiety and excitement across the tech world. Along the way, he discusses data centers, hardware constraints, corporate consolidation, and why this moment represents a fundamental shift rather than incremental change, closing with reflections on how quickly the future is arriving.

You've got clarity. You know what you want. But do you actually understand what's driving the whole thing? Most people focus on goal-setting and never dig into the psychology underneath. Today I'm breaking down five principles that drive every outcome you're chasing. This is mastermind level thinking that applies everywhere. Your business. Your employees. Your kids. Your personal goals. Once you understand these fundamentals, your goals stop being struggles and start becoming systems that actually work. Fair warning: you might need to listen to this one a few times. Featured Story I've got a friend who's about to run across Death Valley. We're talking 140 miles through Badwater in 130-degree heat with 25,000 feet of vertical climb. Yesterday I asked him what his outcome was. He said he needs to climb the mountain because that's part of the route. I stopped him right there. That's not your outcome. Your outcome is to break the world record. If you climb the mountain, great. But you might get tired on the other side and stop. The mountain is a step. Breaking the record is the outcome. That distinction changes everything about how you approach what you're doing. Important Points Most people confuse their actionable steps with their actual outcome, which guarantees confusion and missed goals. The true value isn't the goal itself but what achieving it creates in your life, business, or legacy right now. Everything you build should scale without breaking your peaceful base or creating more work than it's actually worth. Memorable Quotes "Life should not be as hard as it is. I've never believed it, never liked it, so I decided to hack my way better." "Know your outcome, not a vague promise to yourself. Vague outcomes guarantee you'll stop when things get tough." "Give it a clear name so you can live it, tell people about it, and magically transport yourself right into the game." Scott's Three-Step Approach Know your specific outcome and chunk your actionable steps into an operational system you can actually follow. Understand the true value beyond the surface goal because that's what keeps you moving forward when it gets hard. Make it scalable with a clear name so it builds on itself without breaking what's already working in your life. Chapters 0:11 - What actually drives your goals (mastermind thinking) 1:28 - The five principles behind every successful outcome 2:28 - Know your outcome (not vague promises to yourself) 3:23 - Operational systems beat scattered action every time 4:24 - Making it scalable without breaking your peaceful base 5:43 - Why a clear name changes everything about execution Connect With Me Search for the Daily Boost on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify Email: support@motivationtomove.com Main Website: https://motivationtomove.com YouTube: https://youtube.com/dailyboostpodcast Instagram: https://instagram.com/heyscottsmith Facebook Page: https://facebook.com/motivationtomove Facebook Group: https://dailyboostpodcast.com/facebook Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Psalm 23 is one of the most well-known chapters in the Bible. We hear these words read in so many settings. But in this beautiful poetry by the shepherd-turned-king David, he speaks of God the Father as his Shepherd and relates life to what he offers his own flock.Listen with your heart, and hear about the life that God offers you, just as he did David …The Lord is my Shepherd; I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name. Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings. Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever. (NLT)A significant part of finding balance in our spiritual lives is found in the first verse: “The Lord is my Shepherd. I have all that I need.” When we can arrive at the place where He is truly all that we need to sustain our lives when we find our dependence entirely on Him, then we can find rest, our strength can be renewed, we can learn what it means not to be afraid, we can believe that His goodness and mercy is alive in our lives.Focus on your breathing in and out, close your eyes, and listen intently to this version of Psalm 23God, my Shepherd! I don't need a thing. You have bedded me down in lush meadows, You find me quiet pools to drink from. True to your word, you let me catch my breath and send me in the right direction. Even when the way goes through Death Valley, I'm not afraid when you walk at my side. Your trusty Shepherd's crook makes me feel secure. You serve me a six-course dinner right in front of my enemies. You revive my drooping head; my cup brims with blessing. Your beauty and love chase after me every day of my life. I'm back home in the house of God for the rest of my life. (MSG)The first version we read, the New Living, placed the text on what God will do for us in the future. The Message placed the text in the present, what He does for us. The reality is that both are true.What else do you need besides God? Could you use some time in a lush meadow? Beside a quiet pool? Time to catch your breath so you can head in the right direction. God is ready to meet your every need.Breathe deep … take in His truth today … then slowly exhale and let go of yesterday, the past. Move into the balance God offers you in this new day.Let's pray together: “Heavenly Father, thank You for offering all I need. Forgive me when I focus on all I want, especially those things that are outside of Your will. Lead me, Lord. I want to be able to say that, in You, I don't need anything or anyone else. As above, so below.”

First Baptist Arlington, hosts Katy Reed Hodges and Dr. Dennis Wiles gather around the mic to unpack Flourishing.In this episode, the team reflects on the first Sunday of New Year and Dr. Wiles' sermon, Designed to Flourish! -by discussing their theme of "flourishing together" and their upcoming study of the Book of John.The Tell Me More podcast hosts return for 2025 with excitement about their church's new focus on "flourishing together." Drawing from the powerful imagery of a super bloom in Death Valley, they illustrate how God can bring extraordinary life from seemingly barren places. This becomes their central metaphor for the year - that under the right spiritual conditions, people who seem dormant can experience incredible growth and transformation.The discussion centers on their upcoming study of the Book of John, which contains rich imagery about abiding, gardening, and spiritual fruitfulness. They emphasize that true flourishing isn't about material prosperity or the absence of pain, but about experiencing God's goodness even in difficult circumstances. The hosts share their partnership with the Global Flourishing Study and their commitment to intentional discipleship. They believe that consistently putting oneself in the right spiritual conditions - through Bible study, community, and faithful obedience - will bear fruit over time, not just in individual lives but in ways that bless everyone around them.

What does 2026 hold for indie authors and the publishing industry? I give my thoughts on trends and predictions for the year ahead. In the intro, Quitting the right stuff; how to edit your author business in 2026; Is SubStack Good for Indie Authors?; Business for Authors webinars. If you'd like to join my community and support the show every month, you'll get access to my growing list of Patron videos and audio on all aspects of the author business — for the price of a black coffee (or two) a month. Join us at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn. Joanna Penn writes non-fiction for authors and is an award-winning, New York Times and USA Today bestselling thriller author as J.F. Penn. She's also an award-winning podcaster, creative entrepreneur, and international professional speaker. 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. (1) More indie authors will sell direct through Shopify, Kickstarter, and local in-person events (2) AI-powered search will start to shift elements of book discoverability (3) The start of Agentic Commerce (4) AI-assisted audiobook narration will go mainstream (5) AI-assisted translation will start to take off beyond the early adopters (6) AI video becomes ubiquitous. ‘Live selling' becomes the next trend in social sales. (7) AI will create, run, and optimise ads without the need for human intervention (8) 1000 True Fans becomes more important than ever You can find all my books as J.F. Penn and Joanna Penn on your favourite online store in all the usual formats, or order from your local library or bookstore. You can also buy direct from me at CreativePennBooks.com and JFPennBooks.com. I'm not really active on social media, but you can always see my photos at Instagram @jfpennauthor. 2026 Trends and Predictions for Indie Authors and Book Publishing (1) More indie authors will sell direct through Shopify, Kickstarter, and local in-person events — and more companies like BookVault will offer even more beautiful physical books and products to support this. This trend will not be a surprise to most of you! Selling direct has been a trend for the last few years, but in 2026, it will continue to grow as a way that independent authors become even more independent. The recent Written Word Media survey from Dec 2025 noted that 30% of authors surveyed are selling direct already and 30% say they plan to start in 2026. Among authors earning over $10,000 per month, roughly half sell direct. In my opinion, selling direct is an advanced author strategy, meaning that you have multiple books and you understand book marketing and have an email list already or some guaranteed way to reach readers. In fact, Kindlepreneur reports that 66% of authors selling direct have more than 5 books, and 46% have more than 10 books. Of course, you can start with the something small, like a table at a local event with a limited number of books for sale, but if you want to consistently sell direct for years to come, you need to consider all the business aspects. Selling direct is not a silver bullet. It's much harder work to sell direct than it is to just upload an ebook to Amazon, whether you choose a Kickstarter campaign, or Shopify/Payhip or other online stores, or regular in-person sales at events/conferences/fairs. You need a business mindset and business practices, for example, you need to pay upfront for setup as well as ongoing management, and bulk printing in some cases. You need to manage taxes and cashflow. You need to be a lot more proactive about marketing, as you won't sell anything if you don't bring readers to your books/products. But selling direct also brings advantages. It sets you apart from the bulk of digital only authors who still only upload ebooks to Amazon, or maybe add a print on demand book, and in an era of AI rapid creation, that number is growing all the time. If you sell direct, you get your customer data and you can reach those customers next time, through your email list. If you don't know who bought your books and don't have a guaranteed way to reach them, you will more easily be disrupted when things change — and they always change eventually. Kindlepreneur notes that “45% of the successful direct selling authors had over 1,000 subscribers on their email lists,” with “a clear, positive correlation between email list size and monthly direct sales income — with authors having an email list of over 15,000 subscribers earning 20X more than authors with email lists under 100 subscribers.” Selling direct means faster money, sometimes the same day or the same week in many cases, or a few weeks after a campaign finishes, as with Kickstarter. And remember, you don't have to sell all your formats directly. You can keep your ebooks in KU, do whatever you like with audiobooks, and just have premium print products direct, or start with a very basic Kickstarter campaign, or a table at a local fair. Lots more tips for Shopify and Kickstarter at https://www.thecreativepenn.com/selldirectresources/ I also recommend the Novel Marketing Podcast on The Shopify Trap: Why authors keep losing money as it is a great counterpoint to my positive endorsement of selling direct on Shopify! Among other things, Thomas notes that a fixed monthly fee for a store doesn't match how most authors make money from books which is more in spikes, the complexity and hassle eats time and can cost more money if you pay for help, and it can reduce sales on Amazon and weaken your ranking. Basically, if you haven't figured out marketing direct to your store, it can hurt you.All true for some authors, for some genres, and for some people's lifestyle. But for authors who don't want to be on the hamster wheel of the Amazon algorithm and who want more diversity and control in income, as well as the incredible creative benefits of what you can do selling direct, then I would say, consider your options in 2025, even if that is trying out a low-financial-goal Kickstarter campaign, or selling some print books at a local fair. Interestingly, traditional publishers are also experimenting with direct sales. Kate Elton, the new CEO of Harper Collins notes in The Bookseller's 2026 trend article, “we are seeing global success with responsive, reader-driven publishing, subscription boxes and TikTok Shop and – crucially – developing strategies that are founded on a comprehensive understanding of the reader.” She also notes, “AI enables us to dramatically change the way we interact with and grow audiences. The opportunities are genuinely exciting – finding new ways to help readers discover books they will love, innovating in the ways we market and reach audiences, building new channels and adapting to new methods of consuming content.” (2) AI-powered search will start to shift elements of book discoverability From LinkedIn's 2026 Big Ideas: “Generative engine optimization (GEO) is set to replace search engine optimization (SEO) as the way brands get discovered in the year ahead. As consumers turn to AI chatbots, agentic workflows and answer engines, appearing prominently in generative outputs will matter more than ranking in search engines.” Google has been rolling out AI Mode with its AI Overviews and is beginning to push it within Google.com itself in some countries, which means the start of a fundamental change in how people discover content online. I first posted about GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) and AEO (Answer Engine Optimisation) in 2023, and it's going to change how readers find books. For years, we've talked about the long tail of search. Now, with AI-powered search, that tail is getting even longer and more nuanced. AI can understand complex, conversational queries that traditional search engines struggled with. Someone might ask, “What's a good thriller set in a small town with a female protagonist who's a journalist investigating a cold case?” and get highly specific recommendations. This means your book metadata, your website content, and your online presence need to be more detailed and conversational. AI search engines understand context in ways that go far beyond simple keywords. The authors who win in this new landscape will be those who create rich, authentic content about their books and themselves, not just promotional copy. As economist Tyler Cowen has said, “Consider the AIs as part of your audience. Because they are already reading your words and listening to your voice.” We're in the ‘organic' traffic phase right now, where these AI engines are surfacing content for ‘free,' but paid ads are inevitably on the way, and even rumoured to be coming this year to ChatGPT. By the end of 2026, I expect some authors and publishers to be paying for AI traffic, rather than blocking and protesting them. For now, I recommend checking that your author name/s and your books are surfaced when you search on ChatGPT.com as well as Google.com AI Mode (powered by Gemini). You want to make sure your work comes up in some way. I found that Joanna Penn and J.F. Penn searches brought up my Shopify stores, my website, podcast, Instagram, LinkedIn, and even my Patreon page, but did not bring up links to Amazon. If you only have an author presence on Amazon, does it appear in AI search at all? Do you need to improve anything about what the AI search brings up? Traditional publishers are also looking at this, with PublishersWeekly doing webinars on various aspects of AI in early 2026, including sessions on GEO and how book sales are changing, AI agents, and book marketing. In a 2026 predictions article on The Bookseller, the CEO of Bloomsbury Publishing noted, “The boundaries of artificial intelligence will become clearer, enabling publishers to harness its benefits while seeking to safeguard the intellectual property rights of authors, illustrators and publishers.” “AI will be deeply embedded in our workflows, automating tasks such as metadata tagging, freeing teams to focus on creativity and strategy. Challenges will persist. Generative AI threatens traditional web traffic and ad revenue models, making metadata optimisation and SEO critical for visibility as we adjust to this new reality online.” (3) The start of Agentic Commerce AI researches what you want to buy and may even buy on your behalf. Plus, I predict that Amazon does a commerce deal with OpenAI for shopping within ChatGPT by the end of 2026. In September 2025, ChatGPT launched Instant Checkout and the Agentic Commerce Protocol, which will enable bots to buy on websites in the background if authorised by the human with the credit card. VISA is getting on board with this, so is PayPal, with no doubt more payment options to come. In the USA, ChatGPT Plus, Pro, and Free users can now buy directly from US Etsy sellers inside the chat interface, with over a million Shopify merchants coming soon. Shopify and OpenAI have also announced a partnership to bring commerce to ChatGPT. I am insanely excited about this as it could represent the first time we have been able to more easily find and surface books in a much more nuanced way than the 7 keywords and 3 categories we have relied on for so long! I've been using ChatGPT for at least the last year to find fiction and non-fiction books as I find the Amazon interface is ‘polluted' by ads. I've discovered fascinating books from authors I've never heard of, most in very long tail areas. For example, Slashed Beauties by A. Rushby, recommended by ChatGPT as I am interested in medical anatomy and anatomical Venuses, and The Macabre by Kosoko Jackson, recommended as I like art history and the supernatural. I don't think I would have found either of these within a nuanced discussion with ChatGPT. Even without these direct purchase integrations, ChatGPT now has Shopping Research, which I have found links directly to my Shopify store when I search for my books specifically. Walmart has partnered with OpenAI to create AI-first shopping experiences, and you have to wonder what Amazon might be doing? In Nov 2025, Amazon signed a “strategic partnership” with OpenAI, and even though it's focused on the technical side of AI, those two companies in a room together might also be working on other plans … I'm calling it for 2026. I think Amazon will sign a commerce agreement with OpenAI sometime before the end of the year. This will enable at least recommendation and shopping links into Amazon stores (presumably using an OpenAI affiliate link), or perhaps even Instant Checkout with ChatGPT for Amazon. It will also enable a new marketing angle, especially if paid ads arrive in ChatGPT, perhaps even integrating with Amazon Ads in some way as part of any possible agreement, since ads are such a good revenue stream for Amazon anyway. The line between discovery, engagement, and purchase is collapsing. Someone could be having a conversation with an AI about what to read next, and within that same conversation, purchase a bookwithout ever leaving the chat interface. This already happens within TikTok and social commerce clearly works for many authors. It's possible that the next development for book discoverability and sales might be within AI chats. This will likely stratify the already fragmented book eco-system even more. Some readers will continue to live only within the Amazon ecosystem and (maybe) use their Rufus chatbot to buy, and others will be much wider in their exploration of how to find and discover books (and other products and services). If you haven't tried it yet, try ChatGPT.com Shopping Research for a book. You can do this on the free tier. Use the drop down in the main chat box and select Shopping Research. It doesn't have to be for your book. It can be any book or product, for example, our microwave died just before Christmas so I used it to find a new one. But do a really nuanced search with multiple requirements. Go far beyond what you would search for on Amazon. In the results, notice that (at the time of writing) it does not generally link to Amazon, but to independent sites and stores. As above, I think this will change by the end of 2026, as some kind of commerce deal with Amazon seems inevitable. (4) AI-assisted audiobook narration will go mainstream I've been talking about AI narration of audiobooks since 2019, and over the years, I've tried various different options. In 2025, the technology reached a level of emotional nuance that made it much easier to create satisfying fiction audio as well as non-fiction. It also super-charges accessibility, making audio available in more languages and more accents than ever before. Of course, human narration remains the gold standard, but the cost makes it prohibitive for many authors, and indeed many small traditional publishers, for all books. If it costs $2000 – $10,000 to create an audiobook, you have to sell a lot to make a profit, and the dominance of subscription models have made it harder to recoup the costs. Famous narrators and voice artists who have an audience may still be worth investing in, as well as premium production, but require an even higher upfront cost and therefore higher sales and streams in return. AI voice/audio models are continuing to improve, and even as this goes out, there are rumours on TechCrunch that OpenAI's new device, designed by Jony Ive who designed the iPhone, will be audio first and OpenAI are improving their voice models even more in preparation for that launch. In 2026, I think AI-narrated audio will go mainstream with far-reaching adoption across publishing and the indie author world in many different languages and accents. This will mean a further stratification of audiobooks, with high quality, high production, high cost human narrated audio for a small percentage of books, and then mass market, affordable AI-narrated audio for the rest. AI-narrated audiobooks will make audio ubiquitous, and just as (almost) every print book has an ebook format, in 2026, they will also have an audio format. I straddle both these worlds, as I am still a human audiobook narrator for my own work. I human-narrated Successful Self-Publishing Fourth Edition (free audiobook) and The Buried and the Drowned, my short story collection. I also use AI narration for some books. ElevenLabs remains my preferred service and in 2025, I used my J.F. Penn voice clone for Death Valley and also Blood Vintage, while using a male voice for Catacomb. I clearly label my AI-narration in the sales description and also on the cover, which I think is important, although it is not always required by the various services. You can distribute ElevenLabs narrated audiobooks on Spotify, Kobo Writing Life, YouTube, ElevenReader, and of course your own store if you use Shopify with Bookfunnel. There are many other services springing up all the time, so make sure you check the rights you have over the finished audio, as well as where you can sell and distribute the final files. If they are just using ElevenLabs models in the back-end, then why not just do that directly? (Most services will be using someone's model in the back-end, since most companies do not train their own models.) Of course, you can use Amazon's own narration. While Amazon originally launched Audible audiobooks with Virtual Voice (AVV) in November 2023, it was rolled out to more authors and territories in 2025. If your book is eligible, the option to create an audiobook will appear on your KDP dashboard. With just a few clicks, you can create an audiobook from a range of voices and accents, and publish it on Amazon and Audible. However, the files are not yours. They are exclusive to Amazon and you cannot use them on other platforms or sell them direct yourself. But they are also free, so of course, many authors, especially those in KU, will use this option. I have done some for my mum's sweet romance books as Penny Appleton and I will likely use them for my books in translation when the option becomes available. Traditional publishers are experimenting with AI-assisted audiobook narration as well. MacMillan is selling digital audiobooks read by AI directly on their store. PublishersWeekly reports that PRH Audio “has experimented with artificial voice in specific instances, such as entrepreneur Ely Callaway's posthumous memoir The Unconquerable Game,” when an “authorized voice replica” was created for the audiobook. The article also notes that PRH Audio “embrace artificial intelligence across business operations—my entire department [PRH Audio] is using AI for business applications.” And while indie authors can't use AI voices on ACX right now, Audible have over 100 voices available to selected publishing partnerships, as reported by The Guardian with “two options for publishers wishing to make use of the technology: “Audible-managed” production, or “self-service” whereby publishers produce their own audiobooks with the help of Audible's AI technology.” In 2026, it's likely that more traditional publishers — as well as indie authors — will get their backlist into audio with AI narration. (5) AI-assisted translation will start to take off beyond the early adopters Over the years, I've done translation deals with traditional publishers in different languages (German, French, Spanish, Korean, Italian) for some fiction and non-fiction books. But of course, to get these kinds of deals, you have to be proactive about pitching, or work with an agent for foreign rights only, and those are few and far between! There are also lots of languages and territories worldwide, and most deals are for the bigger markets, leaving a LOT of blue water for books in translation, even if you have licensed some of the bigger markets. I did my first partially AI-translated books in 2019 when I used Deepl.com for the first draft and then worked with a German editor to do 3 non-fiction books in German. While the first draft was cheap, the editing was pretty expensive, so I stopped after only doing a couple. I have made the money back now, but it took years. In 2025, AI Translation began to take off with ScribeShadow, GlobeScribe.ai, and more recently, in November 2025, Kindle Translate boosting the number of translated books available. Kindle Translate is (currently) only available to US authors for English into Spanish and also German into English, but in 2026, this will likely roll out to more languages and more authors, making it easier than ever to produce translations for free. Of course, once again, the gold standard is human translation, or at least human-edited translations, but the cost is prohibitive even just for proof-reading, and if there is a cheap or even free option, like Kindle Translate, then of course, authors are going to try it. If the translation gets bad reviews, they can just un-publish. There are many anecdotal stories of indie success in 2025 with AI-translated genre fiction sales (in series) in under-served markets like Italian, French, and Spanish, as well as more mainstream adoption in German. I was around in the Kindle gold-rush days of 2009-2012 and the AI-translation energy right now feels like that. There are hardly any Kindle ebooks in many of these languages compared to how many there are in English, so inevitably, the rush is on to fill the void, especially in genres that are under-served by traditional publishers in those markets. Yes, some of these AI translated books will be ‘AI-slop,' but readers are not stupid. Those books will get bad reviews and thus will sink to the bottom of the store, never to be seen again. The AI translation models are also improving rapidly, and Amazon's Kindle Translate may improve faster than most, for books specifically, since they will be able to get feedback in terms of page reads. Amazon is also a major investor in Anthropic, which makes Claude.ai, widely considered the best quality for creative writing and translation, so it's likely that is used somewhere in the mix. Some traditional publishers are also experimenting with AI-assisted translation, with Harlequin France reportedly using AI translation and human proofreaders, as reported by the European Council of Literary Translators' Associations in December 2025. Academic publisher Taylor and Francis is also using AI for book translation, noting: “Following a program of rigorous testing, Taylor & Francis has announced plans to use AI translation tools to publish books that would otherwise be unavailable to English-language readers, bringing the latest knowledge to a vastly expanded readership.” “Until now, the time and resources required to translate books has meant that the majority remained accessible only to those who could read them in the original language. Books that were translated often only became available after a significant delay. Today, with the development of sophisticated AI translation tools, it has become possible to make these important texts available to a broad readership at speed, without compromising on accuracy.” (6) AI video becomes ubiquitous. ‘Live selling' becomes the next trend in social sales. In 2025, short form AI-generated video became very high quality. OpenAI released Sora 2, and YouTube announced new Shorts creation tools with Veo 3, which you can also use directly within Gemini. There are tons of different AI video apps now, including those within the social media sites themselves. There is more video than ever and it's much easier to create. I am not a fan of short form video! I don't make it and I don't consume it, but I do love making book trailers for my Kickstarter campaigns and for adding to my book pages and using on social media. I made a trailer for The Buried and the Drowned using Midjourney for images and then animation of those images, and Canva to put them together along with ElevenLabs to generate the music. But despite the AI tools getting so much easier to use, you still have to prompt them with exactly what you want. I can't just upload my book and say, “Make a book trailer,” or “Make a short film.” This may change with generative video ads, which are likely to become more common in 2026, as video turns specifically commercial. Video ads may even be generated specifically for the user, with an audience of one, maybe even holding your book in their hands (using something like Cameos on Sora), in the same way that some AI-powered clothing stores do virtual try-ons. This might also up-end the way we discover and buy things, as the AI for eCommerce and Amazon Sellers newsletter says about OpenAI's Sora app, “OpenAI isn't just trying to build a TikTok competitor. They're building a complete reimagining of how we discover and buy things …” “The combination of ChatGPT's research capabilities and Sora's potential for emotional manipulation—I mean, “engagement”—could create something we've never seen before: an AI ecosystem that might eventually guide you through every type of purchase, from the most considered to the most impulsive.” In 2026, there will be A LOT more AI-generated video, but that also leads to the human trend of more live video. While you can use an AI avatar that looks and sounds like you using tools like HeyGen or Synthesia, live video has all the imperfect human elements that make it stand-out, plus the scarcity element which leads to the purchase decision within a countdown period. Live video is nothing new in terms of brand building and content in general, but it seems that live events primarily for direct sales might be a thing in 2026. Kim Kardashian hosted Kimsmas Live in December 2025 with a 45 minute live shopping event with special guests, described as entertainment but designed to be a sales extravaganza. Indie authors are doing a similar thing on TikTok with their books, so this is a trend to watch in 2026, especially if you feel that live selling might fit with your personality and author business goals. It's certainly not for everyone, but I suspect it will suit a different kind of creator to those who prefer ‘no face' video, or no video at all! On other aspects of the human side of social media, Adam Mosseri the CEO of Instagram put a post on Threads called Authenticity after Abundance. He said, “Everything that made creators matter—the ability to be real, to connect, to have a voice that couldn't be faked—is now suddenly accessible to anyone with the right tools.” “Deepfakes are getting better and better. AI is generating photographs and videos indistinguishable from captured media. The feeds are starting to fill up with synthetic everything. And in that world, here's what I think happens.Creators matter more.” It's a long article so just to pick a few things from it: “We like to talk about “AI slop,” but there is a lot of amazing AI content … we are going to start to see more and more realistic AI content.” I've talked to my Patreon Community about this ‘tsunami of excellence' as these tools are just getting better and better and the word ‘slop' can also be applied to purely human output, too. If you think that AI content is ‘worse' than wholly human content, in 2026, you are wrong. It is now very very good, especially in the hands of people who can drive the AI tools. Back to Adam's post: “Authenticity is fast becoming a scarce resource, …The creators who succeed will be those who figure out how to maintain their authenticity [even when it can be simulated] …” “The bar is going to shift from “can you create?” to “can you make something that only you could create?” He talks about how the personal content on Instagram now is: “unpolished; it's blurry photos and shaky videos of people's daily experiences … flattering imagery is cheap to produce and boring to consume. People want content that feels real… Savvy creators are going to lean into explicitly unproduced and unflattering images of themselves. In a world where everything can be perfected, imperfection becomes a signal. Rawness isn't just aesthetic preference anymore—it's proof. It's defensive. A way of saying: this is real because it's imperfect.” While I partially love this, and I really hope it's true, as in I hope we don't need to look good for the camera anymore I would also challenge Adam on this, because pretty much every woman I know on social media has been sent sexual messages, and/or told they are ugly and/or fat when posting anything unflattering. I've certainly had both even for the same content, but I don't expect Adam has been the target for such posting! But I get his point. He goes on:“Labeling content as authentic or AI-generated is only part of the solution though. We, as an industry, are going to need to surface much more context about not only the media on our platforms, but the accounts that are sharing it in order for people to be able to make informed decisions about what to believe. Where is the account? When was it created? What else have they posted?” This is exactly what I've been saying for a while under my double down on being human focus. I use my Instagram @jfpennauthor as evidence of humanity, not as a sales channel. You can do both of course, but increasingly, you need to make sure your accounts at places have longevity and trust, even by the platforms themselves. Adam finishes: “In a world of infinite abundance and infinite doubt, the creators who can maintain trust and signal authenticity—by being real, transparent, and consistent—will stand out.” For other marketing trends for 2026, I recommend publicist Kathleen Schmidt's SubStack which is mostly focused on traditional publishing but still interesting for indies. In her 2026 article, she notes: “We have reached a social media saturation point where going viral can be meaningless and should not be the goal; authenticity and creativity should. She also says, “In-person events are important again,” and, “Social media marketing takes a nosedive… we have reached a saturation point … What publishers must figure out is how to make their social media campaigns stand out. If they remain somewhat uninspired, the money spent on social ads won't convert into book sales.” I think this is part of the rise of live selling as above, which can stand out above more ‘produced' videos. Kathleen also talks about AI usage. “AI can help lighten the burden of publicity and marketing.” “A lot of AI tools are coming to market to lessen the load: they can write pitches, create media lists for you, send pitches for you, and more. I know the industry is grappling with all things AI, but some of these tools are huge time savers and may help a book more than hurt it.” On that note … (7) AI will create, run, and optimise ads without the need for human intervention Many authors will be very happy about this as marketing is often the bane of our author business lives! As I noted in my 2026 goals, I would love to outsource more marketing tasks to AI. I want an “AI book marketing assistant” where I can upload a book and specify a budget and say, ‘Go market this,' then the AI will action the marketing, without me having to cobble together workflows between systems. Of course, it will present plans for me to approve but it will do the work itself on the various platforms and monitor and optimize things for me. I really hope 2026 is the year this becomes possible, because we are on the edge of it already in some areas. Amazon Ads launched a new agentic AI tool in September 2025 that creates professional-quality ads. I've also been working with Claude in Chrome browser to help me analyse my Amazon Ad data and suggest which keywords/products to turn off and what to put more budget into. I'll do a Patreon video on that soon. Meta announced it will enable AI ad creation by the end of 2026 for Facebook and Instagram. For authors who find ad creation overwhelming or time-consuming, this could be a game-changer. Of course, you will still need a budget! (8) 1000 True Fans becomes more important than ever Lots of authors and publishers are moaning about the difficulty of reaching readers in an era of ‘AI slop' but there is no shortage of excellent content created by humans, or humans using AI tools. As ever, our competition is less about other authors, or even authors using AI-assisted creation, we're competing against everything else that jostles for people's attention, and the volume of that is also growing exponentially. I've never been a fan of rapid release, and have said for years that you can't keep up with the pace of the machines. So play a different game. As Kevin Kelly wrote in 2008, If you have 1000 true fans, (also known as super fans), “you can make a living — if you are content to make a living but not a fortune.” [Kevin Kelly was on this show in 2023 talking about Excellent Advice for Living.] Many authors and the publishing industry are stuck in the old model of aiming to sell huge volumes of books at a low profit margin to a massive number of readers, many of them releasing ever faster to try and keep the algorithms moving. But the maths can work for the smaller audience of more invested readers and fans. If you only make $2 profit on an ebook, you need to sell 500 ebooks to make $1000, and then do it again next month. Or you can have a small community like my patreon.com/thecreativepenn where people pay $2 (or more) a month, so even a small revenue per person results in a better outcome over the year, as it is consistent monthly income with no advertising. But what if you could make $20 profit per book? That is entirely possible if you're producing high quality hardbacks on Kickstarter, or bundle deals of audiobooks, or whole series of ebooks. You would only need to sell to 50 people to make $1000. What about $100 profit per sale, which you can do with a small course or live event? You only need 10 people to make $1000, and this in-person focus also amplifies trust and fosters human connection. I've found the intimacy of my live Patreon Office Hours and also my webinars have been rewarding personally, but also financially, and are far more memorable — and potentially transformative — than a pre-recorded video or even another book. From the LinkedIn 2026 Big Ideas article: “In an AI-optimized world, intentional human connection will become the ultimate luxury.” The 1000 True Fans model is about serving a smaller, more personal audience with higher value products (and maybe services if that's your thing). As ever, its about niche and where you fit in the long long long long long tail. It's also about trust. Because there is definitely a shortage of that in so many areas, and as Adam Mosseri of Instagram has said, trust will be increasingly important. Trust takes time to build, but if you focus on serving your audience consistently, and delivering a high quality, and being authentic, this emerges as part of being human. In an echo of what happened when online commerce first took off, we are back to talking about trust. Back in 2010, I read Trust Agents: by Julien Smith and Chris Brogan, which clearly needs a comeback. There was a 10th anniversary edition published in 2020, so that's worth a read/listen. Chris Brogan was also on this show in 2017 when we talked about finding and serving your niche for the long term. That interview is still relevant, here's a quick excerpt, where I have (lightly edited) his response to my question on this topic back in 2017: Jo: The principle of know, like, and trust, why is that still important or perhaps even more important these days? Chris: There are a few things that at play there, Joanna. One is that the same tools that make it so easy for any of us to start and run a business also allow certain elements to decide whether or not they want to do something dubious. And with all new technologies that come, you know, there's nothing unique about these new technologies. In the 1800s, anyone could put anything in a bottle and sell it to you and say, this is gonna cure everything. Cancer — gone. And the bottle could have nothing in. You know, it could be Kool-Aid. And so, the idea of trying to understand what's behind the business though, one beautiful thing that's come is that we can see in much more dimensions who we're dealing with. We can understand better who's the face behind the brand. I really want people to try their best to be a lot clearer on what they stand for or what they say. And I don't really mean a tagline. I mean, humans don't really talk like that. They don't throw some sentence out as often as they can that you remember them for that phrase. But I would say that, we have so many media available to us — the plural of mediums — where we can be more of ourselves. And I think that there's a great opportunity to share the ‘you' behind the scenes, and some people get immediately terrified about this, ‘Ah, the last thing I want is for people to know more about me,' but I think we have such an opportunity. We have such an opportunity to voice our thoughts on something, to talk about the story that goes behind the product. We were all raised on overly produced material, but I think we don't want that anymore. We really want clarity, brevity, simplicity. We want the ability for what we feel is connection and then access. And so I think it's vital that we connect and show people our accessibility, not so that they can pester us with strange questions, but more so that you can say, this person stands with their product and their service and this person believes these things, and I feel something when I hear them and I wanna be part of that.” That's from Chris Brogan's interview here in 2017, and he is still blogging and speaking at writing at ChrisBrogan.com and I'm going to re-listen to the audiobook of Trust Agents again myself as I think it's more relevant than ever. The original quote comes from Bob Burg in his 1994 book, Endless Referrals, “All things being equal, people will do business with, and refer business to, those people they know, like and trust.” That still applies, and absolutely fits with the 1000 True Fans model of aiming to serve a smaller audience. As Kevin Kelly says in 1000 True Fans, “Instead of trying to reach the narrow and unlikely peaks of platinum bestseller hits, blockbusters, and celebrity status, you can aim for direct connection with a thousand true fans.” “On your way, no matter how many fans you actually succeed in gaining, you'll be surrounded not by faddish infatuation, but by genuine and true appreciation. It's a much saner destiny to hope for. And you are much more likely to actually arrive there.” In 2026, I hope that more authors (including me!) let go of ego goals and vanity metrics like ranking, gross sales (income before you take away costs), subscribers, followers, and likes, and consider important business numbers like profit (which is the money you have after costs like marketing are taken out), as well as number of true fans — and also lifestyle elements like number of weekends off, or days spent enjoying life and not just working! OK, that's my list of trends and predictions for 2026. Let me know what you think in the comments. Do you agree? Am I wrong? What have I missed? The post 2026 Trends And Predictions For Indie Authors And The Book Publishing Industry with Joanna Penn first appeared on The Creative Penn.

Another year ends, and once more, it's time to reflect on our creative goals. I hope you can take the time to review your goals and you're welcome to leave a comment below about how the year went. Did you achieve everything you wanted to? Let me know in the comments. It's always interesting looking back at my goals from a year ago, because I don't even look at them in the months between, so sometimes it's a real surprise how much they've changed! You can read my 2025 goals here and I go through how things went below. In the intro, Written Word Media 2025 Indie Author Survey Results, TikTok deal goes through [BBC]; 2025 review [Wish I'd Known Then; Two Authors], Kickstarter year in review; Plus, Anthropic settlement, the continued rise of AI-narrated audiobooks, and thinking/reasoning models (plus my 2019 AI disruption episode). My Bones of the Deep thriller, pics here, and Business for Authors webinars, coming soon. If you'd like to join my community and support the show every month, you'll get access to my growing list of Patron videos and audio on all aspects of the author business — for the price of a black coffee (or two) a month. Join us at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn. Joanna Penn writes non-fiction for authors and is an award-winning, New York Times and USA Today bestselling thriller author as J.F. Penn. She's also an award-winning podcaster, creative entrepreneur, and international professional speaker. 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. J.F. Penn books — Death Valley, The Buried and the Drowned, Blood Vintage Joanna Penn books — Successful Self-Publishing, 4th Edition The Creative Penn Podcast and my community on Patreon/thecreativepenn Unexpected addition: Masters in Death, Religion and Culture at the University of Winchester Book marketing. Not quite a fail but definitely lacklustre. Reflections on my 50th year Double down on being human. Travel and health. You can find all my books as J.F. Penn and Joanna Penn on your favourite online store in all the usual formats, or order from your local library or bookstore. You can also buy direct from me at CreativePennBooks.com and JFPennBooks.com. I'm not really active on social media, but you can always see my photos at Instagram @jfpennauthor. J.F. Penn — Death Valley. A Thriller. This was my ‘desert' book, partially inspired by visiting Death Valley, California in 2024. It's a stand-alone, high stakes survival thriller, with no supernatural elements, although there are ancient bones and a hidden crypt, as it wouldn't be me otherwise! The Kickstarter campaign in April had 231 Backers pledging £10,794 (~US$14,400) and the hardback is a gorgeous foiled edition with custom end papers and research photos as well as a ribbon. As an AI-Assisted Artisan Author, I used AI tools to help with the creative and business processes, including the background image of the cover design, the custom end papers, and the Death Valley book trailer, which I made with Midjourney and Runway ML. The audiobook is also narrated by my J.F. Penn voice clone, which took a while to get used to, but now I love it! You can listen to a sample here. I published Death Valley wide a few months later over the summer, so it is now out on all platforms. J.F. Penn — Blood Vintage. A Folk Horror Novel, and Catacomb audiobook I did a Kickstarter for the hardback edition of Blood Vintage in late 2024, and then in 2025, worked with a US agent to see if we could get a deal for it. That didn't happen, and although there were some nice rejections, mostly it was silence, and the waiting around really was a pain in the proverbial. So, after a year on submission, I published Blood Vintage wide, so it's available everywhere now. My voice clone narrated the audiobook, listen to a sample here. I also finally produced the audiobook for Catacomb, which is a stand-alone thriller inspired by the movie Taken and the legend of Beowulf set in the catacombs under Edinburgh. I used a male voice from ElevenLabs, and you can listen to a sample here. The book is also available everywhere in all formats. J.F. Penn — The Buried and the Drowned Short Story Collection One of my goals for 2025 was to get my existing short stories into print, mainly because they exist only as digital ebook and audiobook files, which in a way, feels like they almost don't exist! Plus, I wanted to write an extra two exclusive stories and launch the special edition collection on Kickstarter Collection and then publish wide. I wrote the two stories, The Black Church, inspired by my Iceland trip in March, and also Between Two Breaths, inspired by an experience scuba diving at the Poor Knights Islands in New Zealand almost two decades ago. There are personal author's notes accompanying every story, so it's part-short story fiction, part-memoir, and I human-narrated the audiobook. I achieved this goal with a Kickstarter in September, 2025, with 206 Backers pledging almost £8000 (~US$10,600) for the various editions. I also did my first patterned sprayed edges and I love the hardback. It has head and tail bands which make the hardback really strong, gorgeous paper, foiling, a ribbon, colour photos, and custom end papers. The Buried and the Drowned is now out everywhere in all editions. As ever, if you enjoy the stories, a review would be much appreciated! Joanna Penn Books for Authors Early in the year, How to Write Non-Fiction Second Edition launched wide as I only sold it through my store in 2024, so it's available everywhere in all formats including a special hardback and workbook at CreativePennBooks.com. While I didn't write it in 2025, I made the money on it this year, which is important! I also unexpectedly wrote the Fourth Edition of Successful Self-Publishing, mainly because I saw so much misinformation and hype around selling direct, and I also wanted to write about how many options there are for indie authors now. The ebook and audiobook (narrated by human me) are free on my store, CreativePennBooks.com and also available in print, in all the usual places. If you haven't revisited options for indie authors for a while, please have a read/listen, as the industry moves fast! All my fiction and non-fiction audiobooks are now on YouTube After an inspiring episode with Derek Slaton, I put all my audiobooks and short stories on YouTube. Firstly, my non-fiction channel is monetised so I get some income from that. It's not much, but it's something. More importantly, it's marketing for my books, and many audiobook listeners go on to buy other editions especially non-fiction listeners who will often buy print as well. I'm one of those listeners! It's also doubling down on being human, since I human narrate most of my audiobooks, including almost all of my non-fiction, as well as the memoir, and short stories. This helps bring people into my ecosystem and they may listen to the podcast as well and end up buying other books or joining the Patreon. Finally, in an age of generative AI assisted search recommendations, I want my books and content inside Gemini, which is Google's AI. I want my books surfaced in recommendations and YouTube is owned by Google, and their AI overviews often point to videos. Only you can decide what you want to do with your audiobooks, but if you want to listen to mine, they are on YouTube @thecreativepenn for non-fiction or YouTube @jfpennauthor for fiction and memoir. The Creative Penn Podcast and my Patreon Community It's been another full year of The Creative Penn Podcast and this is episode 842, which is kind of crazy. If you don't know the back story, I started podcasting in March 2009 on a sporadic schedule and then went to weekly about a decade ago in 2015 when I committed to making it a core part of my author business. Thanks to our wonderful corporate sponsors for the year, all services I personally use and recommend — ProWritingAid, Draft2Digital, Kobo Writing Life, Bookfunnel, Written Word Media, Publisher Rocket and Atticus. It's also been a fantastic year inside my Patreon Community at patreon.com/thecreativepenn so thanks to all Patrons! I love the community we have as I am able to share my unfiltered thoughts in a way that I have stopped doing in the wider community. Even a tiny paywall makes a big difference in keeping out the haters. I've done monthly audio Q&As which are extra solo shows answering patron questions. I've also done several live office hours on video, and shared content every week on AI tools, writing and author business tips. Patrons also get discounts on my webinars. I did two webinars on The AI-Assisted Artisan Author, which I am planning to run again sometime in 2026 as they were a lot of fun and so much continues to change. If you get value from the show and you want more, come on over and join us at patreon.com/thecreativepenn We have almost 1400 paying members now which is wonderful. Thanks for being part of the Community! Unexpected goal of the year: Masters in Death, Religion and Culture at the University of Winchester During the summer as I did my gothic research, I realised that I was feeling quite jaded about the publishing world and sick of the drama in the author community over AI. My top 5 Clifton Strengths are Learner, Intellection, Strategic, Input, and Futuristic — and I needed more Input and Learning. I usually get that from travel and book research, but I wasn't getting enough of that since Jonathan is busy finishing his MBA. So I decided to lean into the learning and asked ChatGPT to research some courses I could do that would suit me. It found the Masters in Death, Religion and Culture at the University of Winchester, which I could do full-time and online. It would be a year of reading quite different things, writing academic essays which is something I haven't done for decades, and hanging out with a new group of people who were just as fascinated with macabre topics as I am. I started in September and have now finished the first term, tackling topics around thanatology and death studies, hell and the afterlife in the Christian tradition, and the ethics of using human remains to inspire fiction, amongst other interesting things. It was a challenge to get back into the style of academic essay writing, but I'm enjoying the rigour of the research and the citations, which is something that the indie author community needs more of, a topic I will revisit in 2026. I have found the topics fascinating, and the degree is a great way to expand my mind in a new direction, and distract me from the dramas of the author community. I'll be back into it in mid-January and will finish in September 2026. Book marketing. Not quite a fail but definitely lacklustre. I said I would “Do a monthly book marketing plan and organise paid ad campaigns per month for revolving first books in series and my main earners.” I didn't do this! I also said I would organise my Shopify stores, CreativePennBooks.com and JFPennBooks.com into more collections to make it easier for readers to find things they might want to buy. While I did change the theme of CreativePennBooks.com over to Impulse to make it easier to find collections, I haven't done much to reorganise or add new pathways through the books. I'm rolling this part of the goal into 2026. I said I would reinvigorate my content marketing for JFPenn, and make more of BooksAndTravel.page with links back to my stores, and do fiction specific content marketing with the aim of surfacing more in the LLMs as generative search expands. I did a number of episodes on Books and Travel in 2025, but once I started the Masters, I had to leave that aside, and although I have started some extra content on JFPennBooks.com, I am not overly enthusiastic about it! I also said I would “Leverage AI tools to achieve more as a one-person business.” I use AI tools (mainly ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini) every day for different things but as ever, I am pretty scatter gun about what I do. I lean into intuition and I love research so I am more likely to ask the AI tools to do a deep research report on south Pacific merfolk mythology, or how gothic architecture impacted sacred music, or geology and deep time, rather than asking for marketing hooks. I intended to use more AI for book marketing, but as ever, I was too optimistic about the timeline of what might be possible. There's lots you can do with prompting, finessing things and then posting on various platforms, but I'm not interested in spending time doing that. My gold standard for an AI assistant is to feed it the finished book and then say, “Here's a budget. Go market this,” and not have to connect lots of things together into some Frankenstein-workflow. That's not available yet. Maybe in 2026 … Of course, I still do book marketing. I have to in order to sell any books and make money from book sales. We all have to do some kind of book marketing! I have my Kickstarter launches which I put effort into, as well as consistent backlist sales fed by the podcast, and my email newsletter (my combined list is around 60K). I have auto campaigns running on Amazon Ads, and I have used Written Word Media campaigns as well as BookBub throughout the year. This is basically the minimum, so as usual, must do better! I'm pretty sure I'm not the only author saying this! However, my business has multiple streams of income, and I have the podcast sponsorship revenue as well as the Patreon, plus sporadic webinars, which add to my bottom line and don't require paid advertising at all. Reflections on my 50th year I woke up on my 50th birthday in March in Iceland, by the Black Church of Budir out on the Skaefellsnes peninsula. As seals played in the sea and we walked in the snow over the ancient lava field under the gaze of the volcano that inspired Jules Verne Journey to the Centre of the Earth, and my short story, The Black Church, which you can find in my collection, The Buried and the Drowned. On that trip, we also saw the northern lights and had a memorable trip that marked a real shift for me. I've been told by lots of people that 50 is a ‘proper' birthday, as in one of those that makes you stop and reconsider things, and it has indeed been that, although I have also found the last few years of perimenopause to be a large part of the change as well. A big shift is around priorities and not caring so much what other people think, which is a relief in many ways. Also, I don't have the patience to do things that I don't think are worth doing for the longer term, and I am appreciating a quieter life. I'd rather lie in a sunbeam and read with Cashew and Noisette next to me then create marketing assets or spend time on social media. I'd rather go for a walk with Jonathan than go to a conference or networking event. In my Pilgrimage memoir, I quote an anonymous source, “Pilgrim, pass by that which you do not love.” It's a powerful message, and I take it to mean, stop listening to people who tell you what is important. Listen to yourself more and only pay attention to that which you feel drawn to explore. On pilgrimage, it might be turning away from the supposedly important shrine of a saint to go and sit in nature and feel closer to God that way. In our author lives, it might be turning away from the things that just feel wrong for us, and leaning into what is enjoyable, that which feels worthwhile, that which we want to keep doing for the long term. Let's face it, as always, that is the writing, the thinking, the imagination. As ever, I have this mantra on my wall: “Measure your life by what you create.” It's the creation side of things that we love and that's what we need to remember when everything else gets a little much. Many authors left social media in 2025, and while I haven't left it altogether, I don't use it much. I post pictures proving I am human on Instagram @jfpennauthor which automatically post to Facebook. I barely check my pages on Facebook though. I'm also still on X with a carefully curated feed that I mainly use to learn new cool AI things which I share with my Patreon Community. Double down on being human. Travel and health. Yes, I am a human author, and yes, I continue to age! When you've been publishing a while, you need to update your author photos periodically and I finally had a photoshoot I loved with Betty Bhandari Photography, which means I can add the new pics to my websites and the back of my books. Are you up to date with your author photos? (or at least within a decade of the last photoshoot?!) Here are a few of the pictures on Instagram @jfpennauthor. Healthwise, I gave up calisthenics as it was too much on top of the powerlifting and the amount of walking I do. I did another British Powerlifting competition in September in the M2 category (based on age) and 63kgs category (based on weight). Deadlift: 95kgs. Squat: 60kgs. BenchPress: 37.5kgs. While this is less overall than last year, I also weigh less, so I'm actually stronger based on lift to body weight percentage. I have also done a few pull-ups in the last week with no band, which I am thrilled with! On the travel side, Iceland was the big trip, and I also had a weekend in Berlin for the film festival, where I met up with a producer and a director around an adaptation of my Day of the Vikings thriller. That didn't pan out, as most of these things don't, but I certainly learned a lot about the industry — and why it doesn't suit me! Once again, I dipped my toe into screenwriting and then ran away, as has happened multiple times over the years. When will I learn? … Over the summer of 2025, I visited lots of gothic cathedrals including Lichfield, Rochester, Durham, York, and revisiting Canterbury, as part of my book research for the Gothic Cathedral book. I have tens of thousands of words on this project, but it isn't ready yet, so this is carried over into 2026 as it might happen then, depending on the Masters. I spoke at Author Nation in Las Vegas in November 2025, and before it started, I visited (Lower) Antelope Canyon, one of the places on my bucket list, and it did not disappoint. What a special place and no doubt it will appear in a story at some point! How did your 2025 go? I hope your 2025 had some wonderful times as well as no doubt some challenges — and that you have time for reflection as the year turns once more. Let me know in the comments whether you achieved your creative goals and any other reflections you'd like to share.The post Review Of My 2025 Creative And Business Goals With Joanna Penn first appeared on The Creative Penn.

Frank McKinney has built 44 oceanfront mansions on spec and is a Philanthro-Capitalist with 32 self-sustaining Haiti villages, Ultramarathon in 135 Death Valley race, and author of 9 best selling books   Welcome to the Conscious Millionaire Show - How to Become an Ultra-Performer. Now 3X week M / W / F with host JV Crum III.   Are you an Entrepreneur, Founder, Business Leader? Committed to reaching the Top 1% of Performers and have revenue $250K to $50M? Sign up for your Breakout...here's what's included in your complimentary session: (1) Define your #1 Ultra-Outcome - your break out goal (2) Find out your #1 block keeping you from it - and how to remove it  (3) Get actionable steps to scale bigger faster and find out if an Ultra-Performer Program with JV is right for you.     Schedule Your Breakthough Session Now     Join Host JV Crum III, with 2 exits and over 75M revenues in his companies, he is the Ultra-Performer Coach for 6- to 8-figure owners ready to join the top 1%.   Season 12 of the award-winning Conscious Millionaire Show. World's #1 conscious business and performance podcast for foundeers and entrepreneurs who want to become Ultra-Performers.    Access Conscious Millionaire Show     Millions of Listeners. 190 countries. Inc Magazine "Top 13 Business Podcasts" with over 3,000 episodes. Listen 3X a week.

Frank McKinney has built 44 oceanfront mansions on spec and is a Philanthro-Capitalist with 32 self-sustaining Haiti villages, Ultramarathon in 135 Death Valley race, and author of 9 best selling books   Welcome to the Conscious Millionaire Show - How to Become an Ultra-Performer. Now 3X week M / W / F with host JV Crum III.   Are you an Entrepreneur, Founder, Business Leader? Committed to reaching the Top 1% of Performers and have revenue $250K to $50M? Sign up for your Breakout...here's what's included in your complimentary session: (1) Define your #1 Ultra-Outcome - your break out goal (2) Find out your #1 block keeping you from it - and how to remove it  (3) Get actionable steps to scale bigger faster and find out if an Ultra-Performer Program with JV is right for you.     Schedule Your Breakthough Session Now     Join Host JV Crum III, with 2 exits and over 75M revenues in his companies, he is the Ultra-Performer Coach for 6- to 8-figure owners ready to join the top 1%.   Season 12 of the award-winning Conscious Millionaire Show. World's #1 conscious business and performance podcast for foundeers and entrepreneurs who want to become Ultra-Performers.    Access Conscious Millionaire Show     Millions of Listeners. 190 countries. Inc Magazine "Top 13 Business Podcasts" with over 3,000 episodes. Listen 3X a week.

A beloved Death Valley castle is opening again for tours, how Walker Furniture is making the holidays brighter for some, how a tattoo artist is making sure kids feel a permanent sense of belonging and more on 7@7.

Death Valley - Legends and StoriesBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/missing-persons-mysteries--5624803/support.

Welcome back to another EUVC Podcast, where we explore the lessons, frameworks, and insights shaping Europe's venture ecosystem.Today, Andreas Munk Holm sits down with Matti Hautsalo, Founding Partner at Nordic Science Investments (NSI), a €60M early-stage fund dedicated to university spin-outs across the Nordics and Europe. With a team spanning tech transfer, research, founding, VC, and investment banking, NSI backs science-powered companies at pre-seed and seed, then helps recruit commercial leaders, navigate TTOs, and transfer IP cleanly so these companies can raise from broader deep-tech syndicates.

Explore the Mysteries of the National Parks with author Mike Bezemek. Discover forgotten stories of the first UFO sighting, lost explorers, and other unsolved national park mysteries.Episode Resources:Get your copy of "Mysteries of the National Parks"Learn more about Mike Bezemek's workWas the first-ever UFO sighting covered up by the Roswell incident? What really happened to the honeymooners who vanished on the Colorado River? Author and outdoor adventurer Mike Bezemek joins us to uncover the shocking secrets and strange events hidden within America's most treasured landscapes. In this episode, we dive deep into his fascinating book, Mysteries of the National Parks, exploring forgotten tales that defy simple explanation.From bizarre crimes to perplexing natural phenomena, this conversation peels back the curtain on the unsolved national park mysteries that have puzzled historians and scientists for decades. We investigate the incredible story of the first UFO sighting in 1947, where pilot Kenneth Arnold witnessed nine mysterious objects over Mount Rainier, an event that predates the more famous Roswell incident. Mike Bezemek reveals why this foundational story has been largely forgotten and shares the plausible explanation behind the Roswell craze that followed. We then travel to Yosemite for the tale of a brazen stagecoach robbery where the bandits posed for a photograph—possibly the only authentic picture of a Wild West holdup in existence.The discussion covers a wide range of incredible stories, including the tragic Glenn and Bessie Hyde disappearance in the Grand Canyon, where the newlywed couple and their boat vanished without a trace after a perilous journey down the Colorado River. We also explore the eerie phenomenon of the Angel's Glow at Shiloh Battlefield, where wounded Civil War soldiers' wounds emitted a strange blue light, a mystery later potentially solved by a high school science project involving bioluminescent bacteria. Other incredible topics include the strange history of the Gateway Arch and its surprising connection to Mussolini, the famous sliding stones of Death Valley's Racetrack Playa, and the debate over whether Utah's Upheaval Dome was created by a salt formation or a massive meteor impact. These tales are just a fraction of the 35 incredible cases explored in the book, revealing that our national parks hold more than just beautiful scenery—they hold secrets.About Our Guest:Mike Bezemek is an author, outdoor writer, and adventurer whose work focuses on history, travel, and mystery. His latest book, "Mysteries of the National Parks," is the culmination of decades of exploring the U.S. National Park system, from the grand landscapes of Yosemite to the historic battlefields of the East. His curiosity was sparked during a cross-country road trip that led him to investigate the Lost Colony of Fort Raleigh, inspiring him to collect and document the strangest and most compelling mysteries our parks have to offer.Timestamps / Chapters:(00:00) The Hidden Mysteries in Our National Parks(02:17) Mount Rainier 1947: The Forgotten First UFO Sighting(08:27) Behind the Book: Weaving History, Adventure, and Mystery(10:22) Yosemite's Bizarre Stagecoach Robbery: The Only Known Photograph(13:51) The Author's Inspiration: A Cross-Country Journey of Discovery(17:31) The Gateway Arch's Twisted History: A Surprising Mussolini Connection?(20:56) Death Valley's Racetrack Playa: The Mystery of the Sliding Stones(24:27) Vanished on the Colorado: The Disappearance of Glenn and Bessie Hyde(29:24) Angel's Glow: Solving a Civil War Mystery at Shiloh Battlefield(34:18) The Making of a Mystery Book: A Lifetime of Research(39:35) Upheaval Dome: Meteor Impact or Salt Dome?(42:21) What's Next for Mike Bezemek?

MULES MAKING HISTORY - WITH WORLD RENOWNED MULE TRAINER - TV PERSONALITY - MEREDITH HODGES - LUCKY THREE RANCHMules and donkeys are mentioned in the Bible.The highest intelligence residing in animals is that of the mule.Learn how mules played a significant part in Greek and Roman transportation.HAI-BAR, a volunteer organization established to protect animals that had thrived in the Holy Land during the Old Testament years - but are now dangerously close to extinction.Unique personality traits of the mule come from the ass.George Washington - the first organized mule breeder in America.Hear how the Erie Canal was built with mules.Hear about the borax mule team from Death Valley hauling over the mountains to the Mojave Desert and more!Mule Talk is an Every Cowgirl's Dream production - www.EveryCowgirlsDream.ComMule Talk is an Every Cowgirl's Dream production - www.EveryCowgirlsDream.Com www.MuleTalk.Net Meredith Hodges Interviews: www.LuckyThreeRanch.Com/Podcast-Appearances/

It is Month of Jeff, so its time to talk to another Jeff, Jeff Pelletier.Jeff had a huge 2025. He paced and crewed at Cocodona, then took on Badwater 135 and followed it up with the inaugural Mammoth 200. We go deep on Badwater, why he was drawn to a race the core of the community has kind of fallen out of love with, and why he thinks it might be the hardest race in the world to crew. No aid stations, constant leapfrogging, the rulebook, the blinky lights, the penalties, and the reality of managing sleep, food, gas, and ice in Death Valley.Then we shift to Mammoth 200. What the course was like in year one, why it is going to be a major 200 because of how runnable and crewable it is, and how finishing timing completely changed the race experience once the weather rolled in. Jeff also talks about altitude issues, his first time puking in a race, and how it felt to miss his Badwater goals but still finish and learn something important.We also get into the filmmaker side, outsourcing rough cuts, what it is like trying to race and produce at the same time, the weirdest things he has done for a shot, and why telling the story can sometimes be the thing that keeps you moving forward. We wrap with what is next for Jeff, including Croatia, Spartathlon, Cape Town, and the always painful lottery season.This episode of the Free Outside Podcast is brought to you by Janji, Garage Grown Gear, and CS Instant Coffee.Chapters00:00 Introduction and Overview of Badwater 13507:11 The Challenge of Crewing at Badwater09:57 Logistics and Rules of the Race13:00 The Unique Terrain and Conditions16:14 Heat Management Strategies19:06 Hydration and Sodium Management22:04 Final Thoughts and Reflections on the Experience26:45 Testing Limits: Fluid and Electrolyte Management28:49 Data Collection in Extreme Conditions31:06 Balancing Filmmaking and Performance33:41 Lessons from Badwater: Setting Realistic Goals35:52 Transitioning to Mammoth: New Challenges Ahead37:06 Experiencing Coca-Dona: A Unique Race38:26 Mammoth's Inaugural Year: A Mixed Bag43:45 Resetting Goals: From Badwater to Mammoth48:01 The Unique Culture of Ultra Running50:04 The Rise of 200-Mile Races53:03 Storytelling in Ultra Running53:39 The Editing Process of Race Films56:50 Behind the Scenes of Filming Races01:03:00 Gear Recommendations and Future PlansSubscribe to Substack: http://freeoutside.substack.comSupport this content on patreon: HTTP://patreon.com/freeoutsideBuy my book "Free Outside" on Amazon: https://amzn.to/39LpoSFEmail me to buy a signed copy of my book, "Free Outside" at jeff@freeoutside.comWatch the movie about setting the record on the Colorado Trail: https://tubitv.com/movies/100019916/free-outsideWebsite: www.Freeoutside.comInstagram: thefreeoutsidefacebook: www.facebook.com/freeoutside

For the second time in two years, one of the driest places on Earth has a lake following the wettest November since record-keeping began in 1911. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Some ppl don't age well, peacoats and ugs, layers and warmth, why does everyone hates guns? Ski resorts and snowy memories, neighborhood cats.   Beyond paradise, sheriff county, blue lights, death in paradise, the goodship murder, the pickup, Death Valley, tna. Protection, cruel love.   Roasted red pepper sauce, cherry almond bars, mini crispy pepperoni pizza taco, Mexican pizza with cheese sauce, firecracker chicken meatball.   Happy Thursday stars

Welcome to your weekly UAS News Update. We have three stories for you this week, DJI gets FCC approval for a new Avata 360, NASA is testing new drone navigation software in Death Valley for future Mars missions, and Texas clarifies that using drones for fishing is illegal under federal law. Let's get to it.DJI just managed to get another product through the FCC certification process, the rumored Avata 360. The FCC filing shows two model numbers, which usually hints at different bundles or battery options. This approval comes right as the clock is ticking on a potential US ban, so DJI is clearly pushing to get this out the door. It also comes on the heels of the AntiGravity A1 launch this week, meaning the A1 is now available for purchase! Early leaks point to some really impressive specs for the Avata360. We're talking dual 1/1.1-inch sensors, native 8K 360-degree video at 50 frames per second. It also looks like it will do super-smooth 4K FPV video at 120 frames per second. The filing also mentions a 38.67 watt-hour battery, which may give it a longer flight time than the Avata 2. It will also likely feature O4 transmission and improved obstacle sensing.Next, a really cool story from NASA. The agency has been testing drones in Death Valley to prepare for future flights on Mars. If you remember, the Ingenuity helicopter on Mars was a huge success, but it ran into problems when flying over smooth, featureless terrain like sand dunes. Its navigation system relied on tracking visual features on the ground, and when there were none, it got confused. So, to solve this for future missions, a team from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory went to the hottest, driest place on Earth to test new navigation software.The project is called Extended Robust Aerial Autonomy, and the goal is to create drones that can fly farther and adapt to unpredictable terrain without a human in the loop. The team brought three research drones to Death Valley and flew them in temperatures over 113 degrees Fahrenheit, or 45 degrees Celsius. They tested how different camera filters helped the drones track the ground and how new landing algorithms performed in cluttered areas. This research is so important that the National Park Service granted them only the third research drone permit ever issued for Death Valley. The team is also working on other cool projects, like a robot dog called LASSIE M that can "feel" the ground to adjust its walk, and a huge, winged aircraft called the Mars Electric Reusable Flyer.Last up, The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has issued guidance clarifying that using a drone for fishing is illegal. Now, this isn't a new Texas law. Instead, they are clarifying how a long-standing federal law, the Airborne Hunting Act, applies to drones. The law is officially known as Title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations, section 19.11, and it prohibits using an aircraft to take or attempt to take wildlife.How does this apply to drone fishing? Well, the federal regulations define "aircraft" as any device used for flight in the air, which definitely includes our drones. The definition of "wildlife" includes fish, and the term "take" means to pursue, hunt, capture, or even *attempt* to do so. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, using a drone to carry and drop your bait counts as "aiding in the act of fishing," which is prohibited under the Act. This has been a popular technique for surf and bank fishermen to get their lines out past the breakers, but it's officially off-limits. That's all for this week, and be sure to check out Post Flight, our Premium community show where we share our uncensored opinions that aren't always suitable for YouTube.https://dronedj.com/2025/11/28/dji-avata-360-drone-fcc/https://tpwd.texas.gov/newsmedia/releases/?req=20251208ahttps://dronexl.co/2025/12/08/nasa-drones-death-valley-mars-flights/

Donna Cooper, her daughter Gina, and Jenny Leung took a drive into Death Valley for a day of exploring. After deciding to take a detour they realized too late that their GPS was leading them further into the desert with no real direction. Two hundred miles later they were out of gas and almost out of hope that they would get out of there alive.

Photographer William Armstrong joins Jeremy to discuss the Cottonwood-Marble Canyon Loop hike in Death Valley National Park.  This hike takes backpackers off trail through three desert canyons in the largest national park in the contiguous United States.  And Jeremy tells us how Death Valley got its ominous name.William Armstrong's photography:  https://www.wta.photography/Outdoor Herbivore, our sponsor (TWH10P for 10% off):  https://outdoorherbivore.com/Check out Virginia Outdoor Adventures:  https://virginiaoutdooradventures.com/2026 Walks of the World desk calendar:  https://gailperrytreks.com/Christian Paul Photography 2026 calendar:  https://www.christianpaulphotography.com/Questions, comments, or suggestions:  trailsworthhiking@gmail.comInstagram:  @trailsworthhikingpodcast

National parks across the country, including the Grand Canyon and Death Valley, right in Las Vegas's backyard, will soon be charging international visitors an additional $100 per person entry fee. So how does this impact tourism-dependent Las Vegas? Co-host Dayvid Figler, along with Nevada Current editor April Corbin Girnus, and Battle Born Progress press secretary Jacob Solis, discuss. Plus, a price surge for those on ACA healthcare plans is on the way, so what's the political fallout for purple Nevada? And to round things out, we celebrate the triumphant return of Bingo to the Strip! Learn more about the sponsors of this December 5th episode: Opportunity Village Want to get in touch? Follow us @CityCastVegas on Instagram, or email us at lasvegas@citycast.fm. You can also call or text us at 702-514-0719. For more Las Vegas news, make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter, Hey Las Vegas. Learn more about becoming a City Cast Las Vegas Neighbor at membership.citycast.fm. Looking to advertise on City Cast Las Vegas? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise.

Death Valley Heat/No More Troubles by Rock Band Land

我这个人呢，可以说是非常不喜欢旅游的，尤其是年轻的时候，因为我觉得大部分地方都差不多。所以，即使我在工作以后，频繁的出差，也是工作地点到酒店，两点一线。美食呢，顶多吃个KFC的新奥尔良汉堡。直到有一年，我工作出差到新疆，我才知道，并不是所有的地方都一样。美食就不说了，我在新疆呆了一年，胖了15斤。甚至我今生看到过的两次最美丽的风景，都是在新疆。新疆天黑的非常晚，有一次，我躺在皮卡的后面，我们工作的车是皮卡。我这种高度近视的人，第一次看到了星空，真的是震撼，那种震撼，真是无法形容，在网上搜再多的图片，也没那种震撼的感觉。我就看那些星星，看了好几个小时。另外一次是去塔城，是当时一个哥们说去看一个峡谷。那个峡谷的名字叫安集海大峡谷。我去的时候，还是不要钱的，后来听说要交门票了。我无法形容有多么漂亮，我去的那个地方，峡谷是东西走向的，北面是雪山，能看到雪线。这里的峡谷是五彩斑斓的。我的语言已经贫瘠了，如果大家用苹果电脑的话，苹果官方是有一些壁纸，有一些是叫Death Valley什么的，我觉得安集海大峡谷比它好看。北面是雪山，峡谷两边的颜色也不同，北面的峡谷是一种青色的比较多，南面的分层了，上面是青色的，下面是红色的。我去的时候水流不大，可以看到红色的河水在青色的河滩上流动。我去的时候已经是十八年前了，那里还不是景点。如果开发了以后，不知道还会不会这么好看。毕竟，一旦开发了，可能会修一些建筑，弄些人在那边烤肉，其实也就没什么意思了。如果有人要去的话，还是要小心的，因为实在是太陡峭了，峡谷就是天山上的雪融化以后，然后把大地切割出来的，有可能几百万年了吧。然后，深度非常的深，可能有200多米，300米，如果掉下去，肯定就完蛋了。去的时候，我跟同事几个人，是一个虎逼开车，一年交违章2000块的那种。速度那是相当的快。当看到这个悬崖的深度之后，又加上没有护栏，结果他们决定让我来开车。我开车20多年，一次全责的事故都没有，主打一个开车很肉。那次是我第一觉得，他们也不是看起来的那么猛。这次访谈的嘉宾，就是新疆的。我很喜欢他，聊了一些新疆的事情。

Clemson and Furman will face off Saturday, and it's a perfect day for a Purple Out in Death Valley.

A weather instrument dropped from a Hurricane Hunter plane during Hurricane Melissa measured the highest winds on record for such an instrument. Also, mosses are known to thrive in some of Earth's harshest environments, from Death Valley's scorching heat to the freezing peaks of mountains. Now, researchers have discovered that this tiny green plant can even survive the vacuum of space. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to our special Thanksgiving episode of RV Miles! This week, we discuss what we're thankful for as Thanksgiving approaches. Plus, we'll talk about a major update in RV regulations that has been delayed and cover the recent flooding in Death Valley and Las Vegas. Stay safe and enjoy your holiday week! *Become an RV Miles Mile Marker member and get your first month for $3 *Get your FREE weekly Road Signs Newsletter at https://rvmiles.com/mailinglist/ Support our Sponsors: * Harvest Hosts: Save 15% on a Harvest Hosts membership with MILES at https://harvesthosts.com *Visit https://www.lectricebikes.com to get holiday deals on the new Lectric XP4! *Check out all Blue Ox has to offer at https://BlueOx.com *Find all the RV parts and gear you need at etrailer: https://www.etrailer.com/vehicle-finder.aspx?etam=p0001 *Find Liquified at https://liquifiedrv.com/ Track SSTK_MUSIC_ID  437726– Monetization ID MONETIZATION_ID AMXDXB4BX5FLHUYE 00:00 Introduction 04:26 Flooding in Death Valley and Las Vegas 06:24 RV Industry News: Ground Monitor Interrupters 09:35 Importance of Smart Surge Protectors 16:13 Thanksgiving Plans and Hosting 22:18 Reflecting on the Sabre 37RVMiles 26:16 The Impact of EV Innovation on RV Appliances 27:35 Personal Life Updates and RVing with a Home Base 31:40 Rock Island: A Historic Town's Revival 35:47 Chicago Bears' Unexpected Success 37:38 Easier Campsite Bookings and Industry Changes 47:02 Memorable Spring RV Trip to Yellowstone 49:04 Gratitude for the Mile Marker Community 52:28 Thanksgiving Break and Final Thoughts  

Das "Tal des Todes", das kaifornische Death Valley, ist extrem lebensfeindlich: Im Sommer hat es dort regelmäßig mehr als 40 Grad, dazu kommt die starke UV-Strahlung der Sonne. Und trotzdem gibt es dort Leben.

How is Head Coach Tyson Helton feeling after becoming the 1st Hilltopper head ball coach to win 7 in a row over Middle Tennessee?Where is Helton's concentration centered ahead of the Tops' road trip to Death Valley?What stands out this LSU team coached by former UTSA figurehead Frank Wilson after Brian Kelly couldn't satisfy Baton Rouge? Find out about this rare break from the CUSA title race on this new episode of the Tops Live Football Podcast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On the latest episode of 2 Right Turns, we have three seniors join the show in Blake Miller, Tristan Leigh and Ryan Linthicum as they discuss what it's like being a senior with Clemson Football and looking ahead to Senior Day.Watch full episode on ClemsonPlus.com

This week, I will be speaking with a solo RVer who has found tremendous purpose as a volunteer Workamper for seven years, while starting an online platform to share his adventures. My guest today is Sam Gennawey, an urban planner turned full-time RVer who has been living on the road for more than seven years. What began as a search for a more intentional future quickly became a lifestyle that allowed Sam to explore America's most remarkable places while keeping his expenses manageable. Sam travels in a 2012 Airstream Interstate, which is a black Mercedes-based touring van he affectionately calls Darlene. He has put nearly 200,000 miles on the vehicle, boondocking across the country, sleeping in unexpected places, such as minor league ballparks, and navigating everything from flat plains to rugged mountain passes. Along the way, he has lived and worked in some of America's most iconic national parks as a volunteer interpreter and campground host. Big Bend, Death Valley, the Redwoods, North Cascades, Aztec Ruins and Sequoia National Park are just a few of the places that have become temporary “home.” Sam's experiences offer a valuable look at the realities, challenges and joys of long-term RV travel, and how volunteering can make the lifestyle more sustainable, meaningful and affordable. Sam offered terrific advice for anyone considering the RV lifestyle, especially those people over 60 who want to travel with purpose. He encouraged people to take an honest assessment of their personalities to determine whether they enjoy long stretches of solitude or if they'd thrive working alongside other people. Whichever the case, he said the lifestyle requires flexibility, resilience and the willingness to work through unexpected weather, repairs and delays. He noted that RVing is often more difficult and more expensive than people expect, which is why maintaining a realistic mindset is essential. Something will always need attention or  break, and the weather will not always cooperate. Yet the rewards are immense. Living inside national parks, hiking trails before the gates open, seeing landscapes without crowds and learning from park rangers are opportunities that don't come with any other lifestyle. Sam also urged newcomers to travel like a bison by walking into challenges rather than running from them, because persistence helps you reach the other side faster. For him, volunteering has been the key to keeping expenses low, preserving his van's lifespan, and experiencing America's popular places more deeply. People can follow Sam's ongoing travels, photos and stories on Facebook. He posts regularly about the parks he lives in, the routes he takes and the adventures that shape his life on the road. You can also buy Sam's book, “Sacred Landscapes,” on Amazon and in other bookstores. If you'd like to be inspired by someone who is squeezing every drop out of life, you'll enjoy connecting with Sam and following his remarkable journey. Would you like to be featured in an upcoming episode of The Workamper Show? I encourage you to schedule an interview with me at workampershow.com. We'd love to hear about your Workamping experiences, how you got started RVing, and what you love and dislike about the RVing lifestyle. Help others explore all the different ways to live this great lifestyle by sharing your story. If you are an employer of Workampers – we invite you to be on the podcast, too. Share all of the details of your Workamping jobs in a future episode. It only costs a little bit of your time. Schedule an interview with me today by going to workampershow.com. You'll find the schedule buttons at the bottom of the home page. That's all for this week's show. Next time, I will be speaking with an executive from Love's Travel Stops about the new overnight RV parks the company is developing all over the country.

This week, I will be speaking with a solo RVer who has found tremendous purpose as a volunteer Workamper for seven years, while starting an online platform to share his adventures. My guest today is Sam Gennawey, an urban planner turned full-time RVer who has been living on the road for more than seven years. What began as a search for a more intentional future quickly became a lifestyle that allowed Sam to explore America's most remarkable places while keeping his expenses manageable. Sam travels in a 2012 Airstream Interstate, which is a black Mercedes-based touring van he affectionately calls Darlene. He has put nearly 200,000 miles on the vehicle, boondocking across the country, sleeping in unexpected places, such as minor league ballparks, and navigating everything from flat plains to rugged mountain passes. Along the way, he has lived and worked in some of America's most iconic national parks as a volunteer interpreter and campground host. Big Bend, Death Valley, the Redwoods, North Cascades, Aztec Ruins and Sequoia National Park are just a few of the places that have become temporary “home.” Sam's experiences offer a valuable look at the realities, challenges and joys of long-term RV travel, and how volunteering can make the lifestyle more sustainable, meaningful and affordable. Sam offered terrific advice for anyone considering the RV lifestyle, especially those people over 60 who want to travel with purpose. He encouraged people to take an honest assessment of their personalities to determine whether they enjoy long stretches of solitude or if they'd thrive working alongside other people. Whichever the case, he said the lifestyle requires flexibility, resilience and the willingness to work through unexpected weather, repairs and delays. He noted that RVing is often more difficult and more expensive than people expect, which is why maintaining a realistic mindset is essential. Something will always need attention or  break, and the weather will not always cooperate. Yet the rewards are immense. Living inside national parks, hiking trails before the gates open, seeing landscapes without crowds and learning from park rangers are opportunities that don't come with any other lifestyle. Sam also urged newcomers to travel like a bison by walking into challenges rather than running from them, because persistence helps you reach the other side faster. For him, volunteering has been the key to keeping expenses low, preserving his van's lifespan, and experiencing America's popular places more deeply. People can follow Sam's ongoing travels, photos and stories on Facebook. He posts regularly about the parks he lives in, the routes he takes and the adventures that shape his life on the road. You can also buy Sam's book, “Sacred Landscapes,” on Amazon and in other bookstores. If you'd like to be inspired by someone who is squeezing every drop out of life, you'll enjoy connecting with Sam and following his remarkable journey. Would you like to be featured in an upcoming episode of The Workamper Show? I encourage you to schedule an interview with me at workampershow.com. We'd love to hear about your Workamping experiences, how you got started RVing, and what you love and dislike about the RVing lifestyle. Help others explore all the different ways to live this great lifestyle by sharing your story. If you are an employer of Workampers – we invite you to be on the podcast, too. Share all of the details of your Workamping jobs in a future episode. It only costs a little bit of your time. Schedule an interview with me today by going to workampershow.com. You'll find the schedule buttons at the bottom of the home page. That's all for this week's show. Next time, I will be speaking with an executive from Love's Travel Stops about the new overnight RV parks the company is developing all over the country.

Join HawgSports.com publisher Trey Biddy from Death Valley as he walks off Arkansas' 23-22 loss to the Tigers Saturday afternoon. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We're back with another edition of Sports Information – the hottest podcast in collegiate athletics. The guys break down a variety of topics, including LSU Soccer's incredible run and their upcoming NCAA Tournament games, Paul Skenes winning the Cy Young, Hoops at the PMAC, morning football inside Death Valley and much, much more. Watch on LSU Plus.

The Clemson family showed out this past weekend in Death Valley and we dive into that environment and more with Clay Swinney, Philip Florenzo and Jack Smith on the latest episode of 2 Right Turns.Watch Now on ClemsonPlus.com

Real Life It's another week of real life, questionable decisions, and sci-fi tangents. Does Devon Even Like Being on the Show? We ask the question no one dared to before—and yes, Devon does like being here. Just… maybe not for the reasons you think. Ben's Apology Tour Continues Ben kicks things off with an immediate apology for this podcast. Again. But he makes up for it by diving into Apple TV's The Big Door Prize (IMDb link)—a show full of mysteries, midlife crises, and a machine that tells you your true potential. He's also been watching Zen for Nothing and Piece by Piece, and we learn something shocking: Steven hates LEGO. Steven's Space Drama Speaking of Steven, he's wrestling with another defeat in Shatterpoint (at the hands of Christina's husband, again), and somehow this leads to him buying a Camtono. Why does he have one? No one knows. But we do get a heated debate about the LEGO Enterprise and whether Ensign Ro or Tasha Yar had the raw deal in Star Trek. Devon's Hive-Mind Obsession Devon's been watching Plur1bus on Apple TV and can't stop talking about how eerily well it captures collective consciousness. For a guy who insists he's an individual, he sure sounds like part of a hive. Future or Now Ben actually brings good news this time. Seriously. His pick is a hopeful piece on how Solarpunk is already happening in Africa—how communities there are skipping the outdated infrastructure of the past and heading straight into a sustainable, decentralized future. Read it here: Why Solarpunk Is Already Happening in Africa   Meanwhile, Steven turns up the heat—literally—with a wild story out of Death Valley. Scientists studying Tidestromia oblongifolia found it doesn't just survive in brutal heat—it adapts on the fly, rearranging its cells and genes to keep photosynthesizing when everything else would fry. It's a real-life lesson in evolution under pressure. (ScienceDaily link)   Book Club This Week: In the Forests of Memory by E. Lily Yu (read here) – a haunting, quiet story about memory, commerce, and humanity told through the eyes of a trader and a stranger. It's as poetic as it is unsettling. Next Week: City Grown From Seed by Diana Dima (read here) – content warning for domestic violence and abuse. It's an eerie, metaphorical story that we'll unpack next episode. Between Ben's apologies, Devon's hive talk, and Steven's LEGO rage, it's another week of chaos, sci-fi, and accidental enlightenment. You can listen to the full episode wherever you get your podcasts—or watch our faces slowly melt under studio lights on YouTube.

Hogs head down to Death Valley in the battle of the teams with interim coaches. Basketball team loses and some are upset? Fans are dumb.

The Joshua tree is an icon and ecological keystone of the California deserts. However, climate disruption with hotter, drier summers and more frequent brush fires, threatens that some day soon Joshua Tree National Park will no longer have any Joshua trees. We discuss these systems and investigate what solutions are needed. Are solar farms in the desert an appropriate renewable energy solution, or do they cause more harm than good? What about the consequences of lithium mining in Death Valley for electric vehicles? Did you know it is not a wise idea to grow your own Joshua Tree from imported seeds? Our guest, James Cornett [https://www.amazon.com/stores/James-W.-Cornett/author/B001K84BWE?ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true], is an ecologist, author, and principal biologist at JWC Ecological Consultants. He is one of the West's most prolific writers with more than forty-four books published. As former Director of Natural Sciences at the Palm Springs Desert Museum, he continues to share his love of natural history through writing, teaching, and lecturing. He is the first professional naturalist to have visited all nine of the world's great deserts and is writing a book on his travels and research in each. Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/ Podcast Blog: https://www.wilderutopia.com/category/ecojustice-radio/ Support the Podcast: Patreon https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=LBGXTRM292TFC&source=url Executive Producer and Host: Jack Eidt Engineer and Original Music: Blake Quake Beats Episode 111

In his 20's, working an office job he hated, Tom woke up in the middle of the night with a wild idea: why not take people on bike trips? No playbook. No investors. Just a sense that he could make a living doing what he loved. His first trip? Four guests riding through Death Valley, pitching their own tents. From there, Backroads scaled to hotels, while weathering a bike burglary, a van rollover in the desert, 9/11, the Great Recession, and a pandemic that brought tourism to a halt. Today, Backroads runs 5,000+ trips a year in 60+ countries.This is a masterclass in savvy cash flow, scrupulous quality control, and dogged iteration. If you care about travel, brand, or building a services business at scale—listen to this.What you'll learn:How a 5,000 mile solo bike trip laid the groundwork for Backroads The first guided trip in Death Valley: four people, high winds, 50 miles/day How to get your stolen bikes back: confront the thief yourself The “collect early, pay late” flywheel that powered growth without investorsHow Backroads survived 9/11, 2008, and COVID—and what changed after each shockAvoiding the Instagram trap and delivering peak, uncrowded experiencesTImestamps:7:24 – Tom's epiphany and the eight pages of notes that started Backroads10:15 – From cubicle to road bike: the solo trip that shaped the company's DNA12:46 – Trip #1: Making mistakes in Death Valley—and learning fast24:47 – Tom's DIY recovery operation after a warehouse burglary29:21 – Cash without capital: spend your deposits, pay hotels later 30:55 – The Nevada rollover: walking out of the ER…and running the next trips40:06 – Recovering after 9/11 and the financial crisis—and rebuilding the company's value prop45:46 – Post-COVID surge, and avoiding the tyranny of the travel selfie This episode was produced by Casey Herman with music by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by Neva Grant. Our audio engineers were Patrick Murray and Jimmy Keeley.Follow How I Built This:Instagram → @howibuiltthisX → @HowIBuiltThisFacebook → How I Built ThisFollow Guy Raz:Instagram → @guy.razYoutube → guy_razX → @guyrazSubstack → guyraz.substack.comWebsite → guyraz.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In 1996, a small group of German tourists disappeared in Death Valley National Park without a trace. Fifteen years later, the tenacity of one man solved the case.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I have been thinking a lot lately about the difference between the loud hustle culture of constant visibility and the profound power of simply refusing to give up, even when it feels like nothing is happening. Join me in this episode as I share unexpected lessons in persistence, inspired by Death Valley.  Chapters 00:00 - The Unlikely Pairing: Death Valley and Dehydrated Shrimp 01:50 - The Persistence of Fairy Shrimp and Resurrection Moss 02:30 - Redefining Persistence: Why Dormancy is Not Failure 03:40 - When Your Rain Comes: Being Ready to Rise 04:30 - Nature's Pep Talk: The Audacity of a 50-Year Wait 05:30 - A Call to Action for Your Quiet Creative Work   Support the Show Website: https://www.martineseverin.com/ Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/martine.severin/ | https://www.instagram.com/thisishowwecreate_ Subscribe to the Newsletter: https://www.martineseverin.substack.com/   This is How We Create is produced by Martine Severin. This episode was edited by Daniel Espinosa.  

Analizamos sin spoilers en Death Valley, la nueva comedia de crímenes de Cosmo, protagonizada por Timothy Spall y Gwyneth Keyworth. Una serie que mezcla humor británico del bueno con casos de asesinato en un pintoresco pueblo galés donde la tranquilidad brilla por su ausencia. ¿Os suena a algo tipo Midsomer Murders o Rosemary & Thyme? Pues sí, va por ahí… pero con más chispa, diálogos afilados y una pareja protagonista que se roba cada escena. Hablamos del carisma de Spall, el desparpajo de Keyworth, el ritmo ágil de sus casos semanales y ese tono entre lo entrañable y lo sarcástico que tanto nos gusta en una buena cosy crime. Perfecta para maratonear sin agobios, engancharse sin dramas y sonreír sin culpa. ¿La ves con una taza de té o con una cerveza? Tú eliges. ESTRENO: 6 de Noviembre en Cosmo. Únete a nuestro chat de telegram en el que miles de personas hablamos cada día de series: - Telegram – Grupo de debate: https://telegram.me/fueradeseries - Telegram – Canal de noticias: https://t.me/noticiasfds Síguenos en nuestras plataformas y podcast sobre series: - Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/es/podcast/fuera-de-series/id288039262 - Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/3RTDss6AAGjSNozVOhDNzX?si=700febbf305144b7&nd=1 - iVoox - https://www.ivoox.com/podcast-fuera-series_sq_f12063_1.html Redes Sociales - Twitter: https://twitter.com/fueradeseries - Facebook: https://facebook.com/fueradeseries - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fueradeseries/ - Youtube: https://youtube.com/fueradeseries Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Blue Devil Beat! In this episode, hosts Ranjan Jindal and Caleb Dudley recap Duke football's thrilling 46-45 win against Clemson in Death Valley. Then, we discuss women's basketball's trip across the ocean in a loss against Baylor before previewing men's basketball's season opener against Texas. We also give a rundown on the start of postseason play in Blue Devil fall sports. 

College Football week 10 upset alerts are here. On this show we take a look at Miami vs SMU, Texas Tech vs Kansas State, South Carolina vs Ole Miss, Georgia Tech vs NC State, and Cincinnati vs Utah. Brian Kelly was fired Sunday night after the Tigers fell in Death Valley. What do we make of the LSU coaching search? Do we think the political tone has made the odds of getting Lane Kiffin go down a notch? We also break down UGA vs Florida and take a look at a new edition of the Commissioner’s Poll drops tonight as we find where Ohio State and Indiana are. What about Alabama and Texas A&M in the SEC? Does Notre Dame continue to rise? Josh also welcomes Cole Cubelic in as they discuss the wildest potential College Football Playoff scenarios. All that plus early best bets on the Ramen Noodle Express.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chad Morris joins the show to talk about his playsheet, plus Clemson prepares to face Duke, and the Blue Devils have a great chance to win in Death Valley for the first time since 1980.

College Football Week 10 predictions are here. Brian Kelly was fired Sunday night after the Tigers fell in Death Valley. What do we make of the LSU coaching search? Does Josh need to apologize to Notre Dame fans for his take back in 2021? What happens in games like Oklahoma vs Tennessee this week? What about Vanderbilt vs Texas or the Fall Don’t Lie Tour visiting Miami vs SMU? We also break down UGA vs Florida and USC vs Nebraska. A new edition of the JP Poll drops tonight as we look at where Ohio State and Indiana are. What about Alabama and Texas A&M in the SEC? Does Notre Dame continue to rise? Josh also delivers early thoughts on the LSU coaching search. All that plus early best bets on the Ramen Noodle Express.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Swinney is having a down year at Clemson, and CBS Sports suggests that he or Lane Kiffin could be the top targets for LSU in the aftermath of the Brian Kelly firing Who would be the targets otherwise? James Franklin? Brent Key? Willie Fritz????  Show Sponsored by SANDHILLS GLOBALOur Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com* Check out Hims: https://hims.com/EARLYBREAK* Check out Infinite Epigenetics: https://infiniteepigenetics.com/EARLYBREAK* Check out Uncommon Goods: https://uncommongoods.com/EARLYBREAKAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

It's the GO Hour with Olin Buchanan and David Nuño! ProFootballTalk.com's Charean Williams joins us on the Buppy's Catering Hotline to discuss the Aggies' big win over the Tigers and how impressive it was to take them down in a night game at Death Valley. She also breaks down the Aggies' week-to-week improvement, Marcel Reed's rise as a potential Heisman candidate, Myles Garrett's standout performance in the NFL, and how former Aggies are performing at the next level. 

College Football week 9 reactions are here. Texas A&M vs LSU and Alabama vs South Carolina were two of the spotlight games across the SEC with Kalen DeBoer’s team surviving in Columbia while Mike Elko saw his team dominate Brian Kelly and the Tigers in Death Valley. What do we make of Oregon getting past Wisconsin or Arkansas imploding against Auburn? Missouri vs Vanderbilt also came down to the wire. The AP Poll is out ahead of week 10 as Josh reacts to the placement of teams like Ole Miss, Ohio State, UGA, Texas, Notre Dame, and more. Hugh Freeze is still facing considerable heat at Auburn as speculation about the hot seat has ramped up. The same could be said for Mike Norvell at FSU and Brian Kelly at LSU. All that plus early best bets on the Ramen Noodle Express.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Week 9 was light on upsets but big on close games that had a big effect on the national race. In the Sunday Hurry-Up presented by Dad Water, Richard and Alex discuss approximately 43 college football games, from Memphis' comeback over USF to Utah's destruction of Colorado. Producer: Anthony Vito Thanks to our partners and subscribers20% off Dad Water: https://drinkdadwater.com/discount/SZDVisit Homefield at https://www.homefieldapparel.com/Enter to win airfare and lodging for a trip to New York City on conference championship weekend at https://www.nokiantyres.com/SZD This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.splitzoneduo.com/subscribe

On this episode of the JT Sports Podcast, JT reacts to LSU getting humiliated in Death Valley by Texas A&M and officially calls for Brian Kelly's time in Baton Rouge to end. JT goes off on how LSU is paying Brian Kelly generational wealth for mediocrity and how the Tigers' culture has completely collapsed under his leadership. He breaks down why Texas A&M under Mike Elko looks sharper, tougher, and better coached than LSU despite similar talent. Then JT dives into Texas barely surviving Mississippi State, Alabama being unfairly disrespected despite having the best résumé in college football, and the truth about why the SEC still runs the sport no matter how much the Big Ten cries about “bias.” He ends with a heated rant on Oklahoma's loss to Ole Miss, Lane Kiffin's savage postgame moment, and why Deion Sanders' loyalty to Pat Shurmur is killing Colorado's season.

FOX Sports' lead College Football analyst Joel Klatt makes his picks for this weekend's slate of games. He begins by previewing the Big Noon Saturday game on FOX as #2 Indiana looks to keep their magical season going against a resurgent UCLA team. He then makes his pick as #3 Texas A&M travels to Death Valley to take on #20 LSU. Klatt makes his pick in the Battle for the Paul Bunyan Trophy as #25 Michigan looks to build on last week's win with another victory over Michigan State. He considers whether #8 Ole Miss will be able to bounce back from their loss last week in another tough road matchup, this time in Norman against #13 Oklahoma. Klatt also makes his pick in the pivotal Big Ten clash as #23 Illinois heads to Washington and in Nashville as Top-10 Vanderbilt looks to keep their magical season going as they host #15 Missouri.  Klatt wraps up the show by breaking down the latest 24-team Playoff model being discussed as the deadline for any format changes approaches. 0:00-1:38 Intro1:39-6:30 UCLA vs. Indiana6:31-9:53 Texas A&M vs. LSU9:54-12:43 Michigan vs. Michigan State12:44-16:07 Ole Miss vs. Oklahoma16:08-20:38 Illinois vs. Washington20:39-23:26 Missouri vs. Vanderbilt23:27-33:45 24-team playoff Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices