Podcasts about decide what

Customer service leaders are under increasing pressure to use AI and automate more of the customer experience.But how do you know what should be automated—and what should stay human?It turns out, automation for automation's sake isn't your goal. Creating a better customer experience is.In this episode, I sit down with customer service expert, trainer, and author Jeff Toister to discuss his latest book, Human Service: The Skills AI Can't Replace.We explore where AI can improve the customer experience, where it often falls short, and why the organizations that win won't be the ones that automate everything—they'll be the ones that know when human service matters most.What You'll LearnWhy customers don't mind AI when it works—but hate it when it doesn'tJeff's simple framework for deciding what should and shouldn't be automatedThe three human service skills AI can't replaceWhy connection still matters in a world filled with automationHow understanding a customer's true needs leads to better outcomesThe critical role advocacy plays in creating better customer experiencesWhat Chick-fil-A gets right about balancing technology and hospitalityHow AI can amplify both great and terrible customer experiencesThe iceberg exercise that helps uncover hidden customer experience problemsChapters00:00 Introduction to Human-Centric AI05:07 Customers' Biggest Frustrations with AI09:03 How to Decide What to Automate vs Humanize12:55 The Value of Genuine Human Interaction20:47 How Chick-fil-A Excels by Prioritizing Human Service24:03 In-N-Out Burger Prioritizes Quality Over Automation27:52 Drawbacks to Relying Solely on AI32:25 How to Use AI to be More Proactive in Customer Service35:04 The Iceberg Approach to Finding Hidden Issues in Customer Experience37:00 One Change to Make to Instill Human Service Into Your CXAbout Jeff ToisterJeff Toister is a customer service consultant, trainer, speaker, and bestselling author who helps organizations build stronger customer-focused cultures. He is the author of multiple customer service books, including Human Service: The Skills AI Can't Replace, and has worked with organizations ranging from Fortune 500 companies to small businesses and government agencies. Connect with Jeff ToisterJeff's Website Jeff's Book - Human Service Book Jeff on LinkedIn Jeff's Customer Service Tip of the Week Connect with Matt LylesCheck Matt's speaking availability Subscribe on YouTube here Matt on LinkedIn Matt on Instagram SIMPLE brand newsletter

If you're feeling like a passenger in your life or business, it's time to rethink your relationship with agency. In this episode, Alex explains why lack of agency is one of the single biggest things that prevents leaders from pursuing healthy growth in their lives and in their businesses. He then breaks down five types of agency every leader needs and reminds you that you have the power to make choices, to change, and to grow.Information isn't the gap between failure and success—action is. Path for Growth's 1-on-1 coaching helps you create a plan and execute on what matters most for your business. Apply today at pathforgrowth.com/coaching.Episode Recap:Business owners stop moving forward when they lack agencyAgency requires freedom, responsibility, and self-controlThere are 5 types of agency leaders need1. Agency to Decide: What's the biggest choice keeping you from moving forward?2. Agency to Recalibrate: Is it time to change your mind?3. Agency to Reinvent: Where might you adjust your leadership in pursuit of growth?4. Agency to Fire: Will the people who got us here get us to where we're going? 5. Agency to Leave: Do you know why you are choosing to stay? You have agency, now it's time to exercise it  If you're ready to move beyond just gathering information and start executing on what truly matters, Path for Growth's 1-on-1 coaching can help. Apply now at pathforgrowth.com/coaching.Resources:Follow the podcast on Apple or SpotifySchedule a call to learn more about Path for Growth Coaching and CommunityDownload the Free Reading GuideConnect with our Founder Alex Judd on LinkedIn and Instagram

I'm excited to bring you this bonus episode with my friend Michelle Byrd from The Busy Vibrant Mom podcast and a regular guest on Moms Overcoming Overwhelm. It's the 13th episode of Coffee and Tea with M&E! We're calling this episode When Everything Feels Urgent: How to Decide What to Work On First as a Busy Mom. Grab your coffee or tea, pull up a chair, and join us as we chat about: ✨ How to approach Maycember when it feels like an oncoming tidal wave ✨ Prioritizing when life feels overwhelming ✨ Maintaining foundational non-negotiables in times of transition …and more! Hope you enjoy this honest conversation between two moms who GET IT!   *** I help moms declutter their homes, heads, and hearts. Contact - > info@simplebyemmy.com  Podcast -＞ https://www.simplebyemmy.com/podcast Learn -＞ https://www.simplebyemmy.com/resources Connect -＞ Join our free Facebook group Decluttering Tips and Support for Overwhelmed Moms Instagram -＞ @simplebyemmy and @momsovercomingoverwhelm   *** Don't Know Where to Start? *** 5 Steps to Overcome Overwhelm -＞ https://simplebyemmy.com/5steps/ 5 Mindset Shifts for Decluttering -＞ https://simplebyemmy.com/mindset/   Wanna work with me to kick overwhelm to the curb, mama? There are three options for you! Step 1: Join a supportive community of moms plus decluttering challenges to keep you on track at the free Facebook group Decluttering Tips and Support for Overwhelmed Moms Step 2: Sign up for the weekly Decluttering Tips and Resources for Overwhelmed Moms Newsletter and see samples here: https://pages.simplebyemmy.com/profile Step 3: Get more personalized support with in-person decluttering and organization coaching (Washington DC metro area only)! https://www.simplebyemmy.com/workwithme

For our 300th episode, the podcast is officially rebranding to focus on business networking! To celebrate, I brought on my very first mentor, Meir Simhi. Years ago in China, Meir helped me realize my true value in networking, which eventually led to me generating $15 million in crypto fundraising sales.In this episode, Meir breaks down his new "Product Theory" and why asking "what to sell" is the wrong question. We deconstruct my new business idea (feeding your frustrations to your dog) and explore the true definition of a market. Check out the company: https://brandmasters.io----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Epidurals are one of the most common, and most misunderstood, parts of modern birth.In this episode, we break down everything you actually need to know: what's in an epidural, how it works, when it helps, and when it can create more complications than expected.We also get honest about the parts most people don't talk about, including side effects, the cascade of interventions, and why so many women feel blindsided after the fact.This isn't about telling you what to do.It's about giving you the clarity to make the right decision for your birth.00:00 — Trailer & Intro01:33 — Why This Conversation Matters03:33 — Epidural vs Spinal: What's the Difference06:03 — “Do No Harm” Framework for Birth Decisions08:03 — The History of Pain Management in Birth11:33 — What's Actually In an Epidural15:33 — What It Feels Like to Get One19:33 — When You Can (and Can't) Get an Epidural23:33 — The Timing Mistake Most Women Make26:33 — When an Epidural is Actually Helpful30:33 — Guilt, Shame & Birth Expectations35:33 — Common Side Effects Explained41:33 — The Cascade of Interventions45:33 — What Happens When It Doesn't Work49:33 — Effects on Baby (Myths vs Reality)53:33 — Why Women Feel Misinformed57:33 — Epidurals & Postpartum/Bonding01:00:33 — How to Decide What's Right for YouResources From This Episode:The Vital Importance of Baby's Position During Birth with Ann Gilligan, RN, LNC, RYPT | #325 Things That Ruin Breastfeeding | #146Healthy As A Mother Podcast | YouTubeHealthy As A Mother Podcast | InstagramHealthy As A Mother Podcast | TikTokHealthy As A Mother Podcast | Merch StoreFind more from Dr. Leah:Dr. Leah Gordon | InstagramDr. Leah Gordon | WebsiteWomanhood Wellness | WebsiteFind more from Dr. Morgan:Dr. Morgan MacDermott | InstagramDr. Morgan MacDermott | WebsiteUse code HAAM and save 10% at FondUse code HEALTHYMOTHER and save 15% at RedmondFor 20% off your first order at Needed, use code HEALTHYMOTHERSave $260 at Lumebox, use code HEALTHYASAMOTHER

In this episode of Clarity to CEO, Philippa breaks down one of the most common visibility questions women entrepreneurs face: should you keep building organically or invest in paid ads? She unpacks the CEO-level decision behind both approaches and explains why ads amplify strategy but never replace it. If you are in a growth stage and trying to decide where to focus your time, energy, and budget, this conversation will help you think like a CEO, not a busy operator . Key Takeaways: [00:02:00] What Organic Marketing Actually Builds [00:03:00] The Real Purpose of Paid Ads [00:04:00] Why Growth-Stage Entrepreneurs Should Start Organic [00:07:00] The Hidden Work Behind Running Ads [00:10:00] How to Decide What's Worth It In this episode, you'll learn: The difference between organic and paid visibility Why ads cannot fix unclear messaging When your offer is ready to scale What a strong funnel really requires How to evaluate visibility through a CEO lens Ready to build a 90-day visibility strategy that actually fits your stage of business? Join the free Strategic Marketing Canvas Workshop. (https://channerconsulting.com/the-strategic-marketing-workshop/) Connect with me: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philippachanner/ Learn more: www.channerconsulting.com

In this episode of Two Pastors and a Mic, Cory and Channock tackle one of the hardest parts of growth: what happens when you change…but the people around you don't. If you've gone through deconstruction, started holding your beliefs more loosely, or found yourself living with more nuance, you've probably felt the tension at the dinner table—Do I speak up? Stay quiet? Change the subject? Because the truth is, most of the time the tension isn't even theological… it's relational.They talk honestly about why your growth can feel threatening to others (even when you're not trying to change anyone), the unspoken agreements relationships can be built on, and the three common temptations that show up in this season: shrinking, proving, or withdrawing. From there, they give five practical tools to help you stay connected without losing yourself—how to lead with curiosity, stop managing other people's reactions, and build safe spaces where you don't have to translate your entire journey just to be understood.If you've felt misunderstood, exhausted, or tempted to pull back from the people you love, this one is for you.In this episode:Why the tension isn't theological—it's relationalThe 3 temptations: shrink, prove, withdraw5 practical tools for staying connected while you growWhen distance is wisdom (boundaries, not punishment)Staying grounded in who you're becoming00:00 - Welcome Back + Quick Banter00:45 - Share the Episode + 26 Life Theme (1 John 2:6)01:34 - Recap: Deconstruction, Stuck Seasons, Staying Tender02:20 - Recap: Rebuilding Trust (Brené Brown's BRAVING)02:50 - Recap: Living Without Certainty (The Sin of Certainty)03:22 - Today's Topic: When You Change but Others Don't04:08 - The Real Tension: Family, Friends, and Staying Connected05:08 - When People Speak in Absolutes + You Feel Misunderstood06:17 - Dinner Table Moment: Speak Up, Stay Quiet, or Shift Topics?07:30 - It's Not Theological—It's Relational Risk09:20 - When Your Shift Feels Threatening to Others10:16 - Unspoken Agreements: “We've Always Believed This”11:34 - 3 Temptations: Shrink, Prove, or Withdraw12:15 - Temptation 1: Shrinking to Keep the Room Calm13:16 - Temptation 2: Proving It (Over-explaining, Articles, Debates)14:01 - Temptation 3: Withdrawing Fully (Exhaustion + New Language)16:06 - 5 Practical Tools for Connection (Overview)17:23 - Tool 1: Decide What's Worth Discussing (Hill vs Habit)19:42 - Tool 2: Lead With Curiosity, Not Correction20:36 - Tool 3: Let Go of Being Understood Immediately21:45 - Tool 4: Stop Managing Their Reaction22:20 - Tool 5: Build New Safe Spaces (Relational Oxygen)23:27 - When Distance Is Wise (Boundaries, Not Punishment)24:42 - Stay Grounded in Who You're Becoming27:11 - Next Week: Reconstruction vs Deconstruction (Which Is Harder?)27:44 - Hockey Sidebar: Team USA Beats Canada + “Won It for Johnny”28:37 - Closing: You're Loved (Nothing You Can Do About It)

Schedule Your Free Real Estate Business Strategy Session NOW: https://go.stefanielugo.com/infoLet's take a deep dive into your real estate business and create a clear, actionable plan to help you:→ Build simple, effective lead generation strategies that work for YOU→ Deliver a client experience that gets you referrals and repeat business→ Master time management to create more balance in your life→ Understand how the real estate industry is shifting heading into 2026→ Learn how I'm personally thinking about business in the next market cycle

How long would it take to revamp your entire business? For Elliott Zelinskas: three weeks. Using Claude Code, he rebuilt his 4-year website, generated 100+ SEO pages, automated YouTube creation and publishing, and replaced parts of his tech stack. All without a dev team. Is agentic AI the next evolution of entrepreneurship? LINKS Follow Elliott on X Follow Elliott on Instagram Meet Elliott and other lifestyle founders inside Dynamite Circle Hang out exclusively with 7+ figure founders in DC BLACK Bento will beat your current email bill — up to 70% off or $300 in credits Million Dollar Weekend by Noah Kagan Live Well on Less Than You Think by Fred Brock CHAPTERS (00:00:00) Intro (00:02:39) Meet Elliott & His Business (00:07:05) How Elliott Started Using Claude Code (00:11:16) Upsides and Downsides of Agentic AI (00:15:13) Simple But Powerful Use Cases for Agentic AI (00:22:07) Six Tips for Non-Tech Founders (00:33:18) Security, Risk, and How to Decide What to Build (00:46:42) Digital Nomading and Personal Finance CONNECT: Dan@tropicalmba.com Ian@tropicalmba.com Past guests on TMBA include Cal Newport, David Heinemeier Hannson, Seth Godin, Ricardo Semler, Noah Kagan, Rob Walling, Jay Clouse, Einar Vollset, Sam Dogan, Gino Wickam, James Clear, Jodie Cook, Mark Webster, Steph Smith, Taylor Pearson, Justin Tan, Matt Gartland, Ayman Al-Abdullah, Lucy Bella. PLAYLIST: Bad Hiring Advice That Can Actually Work: 9 Tactics for Lifestyle Founders 4 Ways to Start a Business From Scratch in 2026 “Scaling on Steroids” with AI Automation ft. Juan Montero

If you've ever opened your content calendar, stared at a blank doc, and wondered whether skipping a week would really be *that* bad, this one's for you. But instead of forcing an idea or recycling something old, I'm giving you five stealth moves you can use when episode topic ideas run dry and showing you (in real time) how I decide what to record when my brain is empty and an episode needs to go out in less than 24 hours. So if you need a way out of the panic spiral when an episode is due and you've got nothing ready, hit play and let's dive in.1:05 – The Fastest Way Out of the “What Should I Record?” Spiral4:10 – The 3 Questions That Pull Episode Topics Out of Thin Air7:30 – Why Following Audience Signals Beats Waiting for Inspiration11:45 – Rapid-Fire Listener Q&A Built in Real Time17:50 – How to Decide What to Record When You've Got Nothing ReadyEpisode Links:Looking for podcast guests (or to be a podcast guest)? Sign Up at PodMatch.comOther Episodes You'll Love: Steal My High Converting Episode FrameworkNot Sure What to Talk About Next on Your Podcast? Try This. How to Make a Bold Comeback After Hitting Pause on Your PodcastSteal This Episode Planning Framework to Cut Your Prep Time in Half → This episode was recorded on the Deity VO-7USupport the showLiked this episode? Share it with your podcasting friends! Love this show? Say thanks in true podcasting style by leaving a review. Take the Podcast Health Score™ to see exactly where your show is losing listeners and get a custom plan that shows you what to fix first. Join the On-Air Coaching waitlist for a chance to get coached on air by Courtney and get your podcast questions answered in real time. Get the Podcast SEO Mastery Course and learn how to optimize your show so the right listeners can actually find it. Apply for the PodLaunch® Accelerator and get deeper podcasting support and expert guidance tailored to your specific podcasting goals. Email us at hello@podlaunchhq.com to learn more. Follow Courtney for more podcasting insights: Linked In | Instagram | PodLaunchHQ.com ©Ⓟ 2018–2026 by Courtney Elmer. All Rights Reserved.

Join Kasey Olander, Kelley Mathews, and Jessica Hooten Wilson as they unpack how the books we read shape our imagination, desires, and empathy, as well as providing practical habits for making reading a life-forming spiritual practice.  Time codes 3:58  Reading as Counter-Cultural   6:35  How Christians Should Think about Reading  12:05  Reading Books Other than the Bible  15:00  How to Decide What to Read  19:29  Reading as an Embodied Experience   21:36  Reading Helps us Understand Ourselves   26:25  Good Practices to Grow the Reading Life  36:58  Closing Thoughts   Resources Jessica Hooten Wilson's Reading for the Love of God: How to Read as a Spiritual Practice  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Suspect Your Husband Is Cheating? How to Decide What to Do Without Making It WorseWhen you suspect your husband may be cheating, the urge for certainty can push you toward confrontation, reassurance-seeking, or panic. Those reactions often escalate conflict and drive secrecy rather than clarity. In this episode, Coach Jack explains how to slow down, assess what is really happening, and decide your next steps without damaging your marriage further. What You'll Learn:How to distinguish isolated behaviors from meaningful patterns that signal deeper problemsWhy confronting too early often makes secrecy and distance worseHow to observe changes in your relationship, appearance, and routines with more clarityHow to approach conversations in ways that reduce conflict and protect your boundariesWant to Work With Coach Jack?: If you want help making sense of confusing behavior and restoring connection without escalating conflict, the Re-Connections Coaching Package focuses on rebuilding clarity, boundaries, and emotional safety. Coach Jack also offers other coaching options when affairs are directly involved, depending on your situation. Key Takeaways:Certainty-seeking reactions often increase distance rather than resolve itPatterns of behavior matter more than any single signProof of an affair is not required to address serious relationship problemsCalm observation creates more leverage than accusationThoughtful pacing protects both you and the relationshipAdditional Resources:A Christian Guide to Preventing and Ending Men's Affairs, by Jack Ito PhDWork one-on-one with Coach Jack to repair your relationship using small, easy steps that rebuild connection quickly. Visit CoachJackIto.com to learn more about relationship coaching.

Welcome back to Bri Books! Today, we're doing an in-depth personal year-in-review. Spoiler alert: a year in review does not need to be dramatic or emotional to be useful. It needs to be honest and practical. This approach is about looking at the year clearly, deciding what is actually working, and making intentional choices about what you are carrying forward. Not everything needs to be turned into a goal. Some things just need to be named so you can stop dragging them with you. If you're new to the show, leave a review of Bri Books on Apple Podcasts, and listen to Bri Books on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.Please tell me where you're traveling to by using #bribooks on Instagram and subscribe to the Bri Books newsletter at bribookspod.com/newsletter.  By the end of this process, you will have clear language you can use for goal-setting, journaling, and planning the next season of your life. Start With What Actually Exists Before you reflect, gather evidence. Do not rely on memory alone. Pull together your calendar, your journal or notes app, your camera roll, and anything that shows how you actually spent your time and energy. If something mattered this year, it left a trace somewhere. Sit down with one notebook, one pen, and a solid block of uninterrupted time. Forty-five to ninety minutes is enough. This is not about making it pretty. It is about seeing clearly. Review the Year Through Three Questions You are not reviewing everything at once. You are moving through the year using three simple lenses. First, write down what actually happened. List major events, shifts, projects, travel, relationship changes, work changes, and health moments. Do not interpret yet. Just get it on the page. Next, write what cost more than it gave. This is not about failure. It is about energy. What required constant effort to maintain. What drained you even when it looked good on paper. What felt heavy simply because it never let up. Then write what felt quietly right. These are the things that worked without forcing. The routines, relationships, or rhythms that felt sustainable and did not need explaining. These are often the most important signals and the easiest to overlook. Decide What to Grow, Sow, and Release This is where reflection turns into direction. Grow: What to grow means identifying what is already working and deserves more room. These are practices or dynamics that produced results and felt aligned. Write down a few sentences starting with, "In the coming year, I am growing…" and let yourself be specific. Write: In the coming year, I am bringing with me ____ Sow: What to sow is about new input. This is not about perfect goals. It is about experimentation. What needs to be introduced that did not exist before. What you want to test gently without pressure. Write, "In the coming year, I am sowing…" and leave space to explore.: Write: In the coming year, I am sowing ________. Release; What to release is essential. Ask yourself what cannot come with you. What only existed because you never questioned it. What you are allowed to stop doing. Write, "I am no longer carrying…" and be honest. Write: In the coming year, I am releasing ____   If you're new to the show, leave a review of Bri Books on Apple Podcasts, and listen to Bri Books on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.Please tell me where you're traveling to by using #bribooks on Instagram and subscribe to the Bri Books newsletter at bribookspod.com/newsletter. 

Today on Fitness Stuff for Normal People, Marianna and Tony break down why goal setting works for some people and consistently fails for others. If you have ever felt frustrated, inconsistent, or unsure why your effort is not matching your results, you are not alone. This episode dives into the psychology behind effective goal setting, the most common reasons people fall short, and how clearer, more intentional goals change behavior. The conversation offers a practical framework for setting goals that are realistic, motivating, and aligned with real life.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sign up for Fitness Stuff PREMIUM here!!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ALL of our complete 12-week training programsBonus episodes every FridayJust $5 /month⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Legion Athletics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BOGO 50% off for your first order + 2X points on every order after thatuse code “FSPOD” at checkoutTimestamps:(5:57) Goal Setting Theory
(15:35) How to Actually Set and Achieve Your Goals
(19:19) 5 Steps to Set Your Goal and Plan
(19:28) Step 1: Set Desired Outcome(24:24) Step 2: Decompose the Goal Into Micro-Processes
(26:54) Step 3: Decide What to Measure(31:37) Step 4: Feedback and Adaptability
(35:15) Step 5: Accountability Systems
(42:49) Why Most People Fail

Democrats are vowing retaliation against ICE members, the DHS, the Pentagon, and anyone else who works for the administration and engages in what they call "illegal orders".But what happens when they alone try to decide what's an illegal order?SPONSOR: Good Ranchers This holiday season, give something everyone will remember. A Good Ranchers gift box isn't just filled with 100% American-raised meat—it's filled with moments waiting to happen. Because when the box arrives, a story begins. We eat Good Ranchers every single day and we know you'll love it.Use PROMO CODE NICK for FREE MEAT & $40 OFF: https://go.goodranchers.com/nickfreitas-----SPONSOR: Lear CapitalThe best way to invest in gold and silver is with Lear Capital. Get your FREE Gold and Silver investor guides from Lear Capital. And, receive up to $15,000 in FREE bonus metals with a qualified purchase.Call them today at 800-707-4575 or go to: Nick4Lear.com-----NEW CoffeeMany of you have told me how much you appreciate the snarky sarcasm we provide on our mugs. And now, we are also bringing you something to put *in* those mugs. We have officially launched Nick's Ugly Mug Coffee! If you want to be more patriotic, faster, you know what you need in your mug.Try my signature blend Brew Around and Find Out: Nicksuglymugcoffee.com-----GET YOUR MERCH HERE: https://shop.nickjfreitas.com/BECOME A MEMBER OF THE IC: https://NickJFreitas.comInstagram: www.instagram.com/nickjfreitas/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NickFreitasVATwitter: https://twitter.com/NickJFreitasYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NickjfreitasTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nickfreitas3.000:00:00 Intro00:01:45 The Left Is Rapidly Becoming Violent00:12:28 Democrats Are Threatening to Jail Trump Officials00:16:38 Who Gets to Decide What an Illegal Order Is?00:29:02 The Left Engaged In a Bureaucratic Insurrection00:33:11 Why Democrat Appeals to the Constitution Now Fall Flat00:37:36 The Left Has Already Decided What Should Happen00:50:04 How The Right Should Respond

Join the HG101 gang as they discuss and rank the game that introduced the world to the Blue Bomber. Then stick around for Cooking Guide: Can't Decide What to Eat?, a cookbook in DS software form! This weekend's Patreon Bonus Get episode will be ACTRAISER 2 — the simulation-less follow-up to Quintet's simulation/action hybrid! Donate at Patreon to get this bonus content and much, much more! Follow the show on Bluesky to get the latest and straightest dope. Check out what games we've already ranked on the Big Damn List, then nominate a game of your own via five-star review on Apple Podcasts! Take a screenshot and show it to us on our Discord server! Intro music by NORM. 2025 © Hardcore Gaming 101, all rights reserved. No portion of this or any other Hardcore Gaming 101 ("HG101") content/data shall be included, referenced, or otherwise used in any model, resource, or collection of data.

Bob interviews Trevin Wax about his new book, The Gospel Way Catechism.Trevin Wax is Vice President of Resources and Marketing at the North American Mission Board and a well-known author, speaker, and cultural commentator. He also serves (along with Bob) as a fellow at The Keller Center for Cultural Apologetics. In this episode, Bob and Trevin talk apologetics. They discuss Trevin's newest project "The Gospel Way Catechism" and its unique approach to counter-formation. They also explain the role of cultural apologetics in explaining and defending the Christian faith.Chapters:(0:00) Introductions: What is Counter-Catechesis?(7:26) How to Decide What to Put In a Catechism(14:56) Who Should Be Using Catechisms?(21:40) Trevin's Contribution to “The Gospel After Christendom”(25:00) Explaining Cultural Apologetics(30:45) Lesslie Newbigin's Missiology

What do you get when you combine razor-sharp humour, social-first instincts, and a refusal to play by the rules?An equal-parts entertaining, and practical, deep dive into brand building on social today.This week, Verity sits down with Gabriel Gomez (Head of Social & Community @ MCoBeauty (US), Creator & Speaker) to explore how one of Australia's most-followed beauty brands is winning the US market. Spoiler alert: it's by moving fast, listening closely, and making the right kind of noise online.Turn this episode on and up to learn how to:Spot and Scale the Right Cultural Moments, Without 10 Approvals & a Deck: Gabe shares how MCoBeauty gets from idea to action in minutes, thanks to lean teams, shared instincts, and a refusal to overthink the feed.Build Campaigns with Cross-Functional Input (Without Slowing Things Down): Gabe's approach flips the usual script: involve people early, keep ideas fluid, and trust that great strategy can come from any level of the org.Choose Creators Based on Connection, Not Clout: Whether it's scouting emerging talent or inviting creators into the concepting process, Gabe breaks down how MCoBeauty treats creators like consultants, not content machines.Balance Viral Chaos with Brand Clarity (and Still Forget the Playbook): Social's a sprint, but that doesn't mean strategy gets lost. Learn how MCo blends brand consistency with bold, off-script moves that actually land.Build a Fast-Moving, Emoji-Powered Social Culture that Thrives Under Pressure: From skipping the decks to celebrating team wins with emphasis, Gabe shows how to lead a social team that runs on energy and impact.Decide What's a Green Flag (and What's a Giant Red One): In a rapid-fire game, Gabe shares exactly how he filters pitches, rates brand behaviour, and why he's definitely deleting your “$50 and a lipstick” offer.Plus: you'll hear why TikTok is their #1 Advocacy driver, how Gabe spots red-flag creators, and the surprising platform he opens first every day.His advice is fast, fresh, and unapologetically honest – just like the brands that win on social now.Chapters00:00 – Gabe Gomez & the MCoBeauty Mindset03:00 – Why Dupes, Not Decks, Drive Beauty Culture Now07:00 – Crashing Trends & Creating Chaos: Moving at the Speed of Social12:00 – F*** the Playbook: Balancing Strategy with Spontaneity17:00 – Creators as Consultants: Rethinking Influence & Partnerships22:00 – The Green Flag / Red Flag Game: What Brands Get Wrong (and Right)32:00 – Why TikTok's Driving Advocacy, And Instagram Isn't36:00 – The Platform Breakdown: What's Working, What's Next41:00 – How to Really Build Brand Advocacy (It's Not a Coupon Code)Rate & review Building Brand Advocacy:Apple PodcastsSpotifyConnect with Gabe:On LinkedInOn MCoBeauty's Instagram (US)

In this episode of The Non-Prophets, the panel unpacks a troubling new bill—The Interstate Obscenity Definition Act—that threatens to redefine what counts as “obscene” in America. Framed as protecting public decency, the bill could lead to sweeping censorship of porn, LGBTQ+ content, art, and personal expression. The hosts expose the vague language, moral posturing, and religious overtones driving the legislation, and explore how it could impact everything from adult entertainment to free speech. It's not about protecting children—it's about control.News SourceInteresting Engineering, “New obscenity bill could trigger anti-porn prosecution”By Aamir Khollam, May 12, 2025https://interestingengineering.com/culture/new-obscenity-bill-could-trigger-anti-porn-prosecutionThe Non-Prophets 24.13.24 with Helen, Rob, Tracy, E.J. The Porn Panic Is Back: A 1950s Morality Reboot

A Milwaukee judge is facing federal charges after allegedly helping a man avoid ICE agents by allowing him to exit through a jury door—agents who only had a non-judicial warrant. Judge Hannah Dugan's defenders argue she was upholding constitutional protections, not obstructing justice. Is this a principled stand for civil rights, or a threat to law enforcement authority?The Non-Prophets examine what's legal, what's moral, and what it means for judicial independence in an increasingly polarized system.News Source Reuters, by Sarah N. Lynch and Andrew Goudsward, April 25, 2025https://www.reuters.com/world/us/fbi-director-says-arrested-judge-obstructing-immigration-operation-2025-04-25/The Non-Prophets, Episode 24.19.3 featuring Kelley Laughlin, Eli Slack, Jason Friedman,and Jonathan RoudabushJudge Arrested for Blocking ICE Agents: Justice or Overreach? ⚖️Can a Judge Be Charged for Defending the Constitution?

Get Activating Time Abundance nowA 10-module journey to create time abundance, combining cutting-edge neuroscience, ancient wisdom, and success principles. You'll learn to tap into the power of easeful ambition so you can pursue your biggest dreams without the hustle - accomplishing more while prioritizing pleasure, self-care and deep satisfaction. Here's what you'll learn: Module 1: Why You're Experiencing Time ScarcityUncover why you feel overwhelmed and understand the social conditioning that drives your relationship with time.Module 2: What You Really WantDiscover your deepest desires and learn how to shift your energy to become a vibrational match to your goals.Module 3: Decide What's Most ImportantGet crystal clarity on what's most important right now so you can focus on the things that will have the biggest impact.Module 4: Shift Your Language & Time MindsetIdentify and transform habitual thoughts about time scarcity and create new empowering beliefs about time.Module 5: Weekly Planning Power HourCreate a planning ritual that sets you up for success and train your brain to follow through on your intentions.Module 6: Honor Your Natural CyclesAlign with your body's natural rhythms and cycles and create sustainable daily routines that work with your energy, not against it.Module 7: Slow Down to Speed UpBreak free from toxic productivity and overworking patterns and learn to achieve more by slowing down.Module 8: Remove Time WastersUnderstand the real source of procrastination and distraction and master powerful tools for maintaining focus.Module 9: 12 Ways to Achieve More in Less TimeDiscover time-tested strategies to work less and 10X your productivity in a fraction of the time.Module 10: Manifestation, Time Bending, and Quantum LeapsGet crystal clear on your big, bold, audacious goal and align your thoughts, feelings and actions with your vision. What's included:✔️ 10 audio lessons via private podcast✔️ Transformational workbook to design a life you love✔️ Hypnosis + bonus activations to collapse time, make decisions + tap into flow Activating Time Abundance—a self-paced audio journey designed to help you rewire the hidden patterns that keep you stuck in time scarcity… and shift into ease, clarity, and aligned productivity. Click here to get on the waitlist for The Pleasure Project Program

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Smartphones are everywhere - for good or for ill. But that doesn't mean they should have free reign in our lives. In this podcast, Sammy is joined by Jonathan Thomas to discuss 5 tactics we can employ to ensure we rule over our phones instead of having our phones rule over us. Jonathan Thomas is the author of, 'Intentional Interruptions: Learning to be Interrupted the Way God Intended' and former pastor of Ammanford Evangelical Church! You can get his book, published by Christian Focus, at either: https://www.christianfocus.com/products/3117/intentional-interruptions or https://uk.10ofthose.com/product/9781527110205/intentional-interruptions-paperback Intro & Welcome 0:00 Hack #1 "Turn Off Notifications" 5:03 Hack #2 "Sleep in Separate Rooms" 12:27 Hack #3 "Take a Sabbath" 19:08 Hack #4 "Embrace Boredom" 26:52 Hack #5 "Decide What's Best" 36:41

Click To JOIN! Just Keep Learning Newsletter I WILL HELP YOU GET CLARITY, BUILD YOUR GROWTH MINDSET AND OWN YOUR BIG DREAMSLet Go of PerfectionNew Year's resolutions often set us up for failure. Why? Because we aim for perfection. Miss a day, and it feels like we've failed entirely. But here's the truth: perfection is the enemy of progress. Success is about momentum, not flawless execution. Miss a workout or two? So what. Keep moving forward. The goal is to feel good during the process, not just at the finish line.Focus on Feeling Good Through the ProcessDelaying gratification used to feel like the ultimate discipline. But the real win is finding joy while working toward your goals. Yes, hard work is uncomfortable, but if you're constantly miserable, what's the point? Build a system that lets you grow and enjoy the journey simultaneously.The Pyramid of Priorities: A Framework for SuccessPicture your goals as a pyramid:Base Layer: Daily habits (nutrition, fitness, relationships, meditation, creativity). These are your non-negotiables, like brushing your teeth.Middle Layer: Big dreams (writing a book, launching a podcast, building a business). This is where your focus goes.Top Layer: Hobbies and jobs. These can change over time and don't need results. They're for pure joy.This structure keeps you grounded while allowing space to dream big.The Waterfall Action Board: Turning Big Dreams Into Daily ActionGot a big goal? Break it down. Use a "Waterfall Action Board" to simplify your journey:Identify the Big Goal: (e.g., Write a book)Break It Down: Outline chapters, research, drafts, editing.Decide What to Outsource: Cover design, marketing, editing.Prioritize Daily Action: What's the next step YOU must do? Build a habit around it.For me, it's writing 1,000 words daily and sharing drafts with beta readers. Simple, clear, and actionable.Maintain Your Baseline HabitsWhile chasing big dreams, your daily baseline keeps you balanced. For me, that means:30 minutes of exerciseEating 80% whole foods10-20 minutes of meditationCreating content for 30 minutesQuality time with familyThese habits are the foundation that supports everything else. Missing a day isn't failure—it's part of the process. Just get back to it.Make Space for Hobbies Without PressureNot everything needs to be a goal. Hobbies are for fun, not productivity. Whether it's singing, painting, woodworking, or running, these interests bring vitality to life. They don't need to be monetized or mastered—they just need to be enjoyed.Progress Over PerfectionIn the end, it's all about progress. Forget perfect streaks. Build momentum. Keep moving forward. Whether it's January or July, your goals are always worth pursuing.So, what's your big dream? Let me know—I'd love to support you.And until next time, just keep learning.FOLLOW JustinInstagram – @JustKeepLearning.CaYouTube –@justkeeplearningpodcastTwitter – @JustinNolan_JKLTiktok – @justkeeplearning.caPinterest – JustKeepLearningcaFacebook – JustKeepLearningLinkedIn – Justin I'm so happy you found this podcast. I am here to serve you, the creative solopreneur & aspiring content creator to get clarity on how to create content, teaching, build a business and design the life of your dreams without burning out in the online learning, creator economy.Want to get every single secret, tip, or idea I learn about channelling our emotions into success in this new creator economy, be sure to subscribe to the newsletter: https://newsletter.justkeeplearning.ca/main

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Because when we're in our power, in alignment with ourselves, and feeling our best, we are wildly magnetic! Because we're inherently magnetic, we just often have people, mindsets, emotions, or situations that pull us out of our magnetism and block us from showing up in the way and creating the reality that we truly want.In this episode, I dive deep into all things navigating drinking and the holidays with Wander + Ivy founder Dana Spaulding. We talk about how to bring mindfulness and personal power into drinking if you choose, why we sometimes 'lean on' alcohol, and how to support yourself in drinking from a place and in a way that serves you... and how to navigate doing what's right for you, whether that's drinking or not, when you might be facing pushback or shame (or be a recovering people pleaser like us!).While we dive deep, we give so many tips to navigating all of it was that support you both emotionally, relationally, and physically! **ANNOUNCEMENT: I'm hosting a Higher Self Workshop at the Gansevoort November 25th at 6pm, and have several spots to give as a gift (free!) to a few of you! There will be Wander + Ivy Wine as well as Beauty Goodie Bags, so come join for a transformative and fun evening! RSVP by emailing be or shooting me a DM (contact info below!)We chat:-Dana's Story-How Wander + Ivy Was Born-Wine is Very Unregulated Ingredient-Wise-Most Wine is Heavily Marked by Pesticides and Additives-My Experience ‘Using' and Depending on Alcohol-Removing Shame and Guilt Surrounding Drinking and Not Drinking-How to Handle Pressure to Drink -The Power of Bringing Intentionality into Drinking-The Importance of Owning Your Choices-When Choosing to Drink Doesn't Serve Us-Why Many of Us ‘Use' Alcohol and What to Do Instead-Where ‘Needing' a Drink Comes From and How to Not 'Need' One-Why Boundaries During the Holidays Are So Important-How to Combat People Pleasing to Your Own Detriment-How to Decide What to Say ‘No' To and How to Do It Better-It is Not Selfish to Do What's Right for You and the Right People Will Understand-Tips for Feeling Physically Better When Drinking-A Mindset Shift to Help You Choose Moderation from AbundanceWhere to Find Dana/Wander + Ivy:Dana's InstagramWander + Ivy's InstagramWebsiteThings Mentioned:Quote by Carl RogersLMNT ElectrolytesReLyte ElectrolytesPurely ElizabethKroma GranolaAnd you can get it HERE with free bonuses and special launch month pricing!! My Instagram: @jordanlaurelle - come say hi!For coaching inquiries: jordanlaurellecoaching@gmail.com or book a discovery call HERE.Book a One-Time 75 Minute Call HERE.Sign Up for my Email List HERE.

Music from a DS cooking guide meets a Rob Hubbard C64 classic? It must be time for another Variety Mix! TRACKLISTING: 00:00:00 Freedom Planet - Pangu Lagoon 1 (English) 00:02:45 Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Dairantou Smash Brothers X) - With Mila's Divine Protection (Celica Map 1) 00:06:59 Welcome to Viper's VGMture 00:14:41 Cooking Guide: Can't Decide What to Eat? (Personal Trainer: Cooking) - Wi-Fi Food Popular Ranking - Main Menu 00:17:15 Mabinogi - Electric Angel 00:19:11 One Man And His Droid [C64] - Main Theme 00:25:07 You're Listening to Viper's VGMture 00:35:03 Super Lesbian Animal RPG - Scrap Metal 00:37:28 Test Drive Unlimited - Breathless 00:43:54 This is Viper's VGMture 00:49:14 Touhou Tenkuushou ~ Hidden Star in Four Seasons - The Concealed Four Seasons 00:55:43 The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel - Tie a Link of ARCUS! 00:59:41 Thanks for Listening! 01:02:25 Guilty Gear -STRIVE- - The Town Inside Me

On this episode, my guest is Craig Slee, a disabled writer, consultant and theorist dealing with mythology, folklore, magic and culture, exploring life through the lens of landscape, disability and fugitive embodiments.He has contributed essays and poetry focusing on the numinous and disability to various anthologies including The Dark Mountain Journal. Craig has also co-facilitated multiple seminar series at the Dresden Academy for Fine Arts, regarding ableism in the arts, as well as how ableism affects our relationship to space. In 2023 he was one of the speakers at the World Futures Studies Federation 50th Anniversary Conference, introducing the concept of (Dis)abling Futures. Craig resides in the northwest of England.Show NotesCornwall and the Seasons Who Gets to Decide What it Means to Know a Place?The Folding in of Identity to TourismA Question of Productive vs Generative AbilityAbleism and AttentionFinger Bending and the Freedom of MovementRedefining and Remembering Other Forms of MovementWhat is Stillness?The Dance of MountainsObeying LimitsHomeworkCold Albion (Craig's Blog)Goetic Atavisms (Hadean Press)Craig's Blue Sky Page | Facebook PageTranscriptChris: Welcome to the End of Tourism, Craig. Craig: Thank you for having me. Chris: Yes, it's great to be able to speak with you today. I've been ruminating for a couple of years now as to the themes that we might speak of. And I was introduced to you via a mutual friend and have come closer to your work via the Emergence Network's online gathering, We Will Dance With Mountains, in the last quarter of 2023.And so, to begin, I'd like to ask you first where you find yourself today and what the world looks like for you, where you are. Craig: Where I find myself today is by the canal in my flat, looking out the window, just as evenings coming in, in the northwest of England, in Lancaster, and it's chilly here which is actually a good thing, I guess, these days.Chris: Perhaps I could ask you to elaborate a little bit on what Lancaster looks like, but I know that, you know, from our conversations previous that you grew up [00:01:00] in Cornwall, a place that was previously, a town, an area devoted to fishing and mining, and from what you've told me, it's also become a massive tourist trap that you know, from the little that I've seen online, that the area receives around 5 million visitors a year, and tourism makes up about a quarter of the local economy.So I'm curious what you've seen change there and what do you think has happened to Cornwall and its people as a result and maybe there's something in there as well regarding Lancaster. Craig: Yeah, so I should emphasize this. I was born in Cornwall. My family has been lived down there for many many generations anyway and my father's side of the family actually, at various points, worked in the tourist trade as well before they went on to other things.And, [00:02:00] yeah, I mean, I left because, frankly, there was no jobs that weren't tourism. I came to Lancaster to study because one, I have a physical disability which means that Cornwall is a very rural area, so you need to drive everywhere, and that's fine, I drove at that point, but for good or ill, a more urban center was better for me later in life as I left.But the way that it shifted, even in the years when I was growing up, was that, you know, essentially was a rural area where nothing really happened socially or culturally that much until the summer seasons. So, you were very, very aware of the seasons in terms of, you'd have visitors [00:03:00] starting, and that was when the town would wake up, and then it was kind of dead for the rest of the year, so it was very much one of those things where the tourist trade has actually made me more aware of human rhythms in the natural world than perhaps I would have been, because it's so based on seasonal stuff.And just looking at the way the infrastructure because a lot of the towns and areas, they boomed a little bit well, quite a lot in certain areas with the tin mining of the 19th century. But a lot of the architecture and things like that was 19th century. So you had small villages and slightly larger towns, and they have very, well, I guess some people, if they were tourists, would call "quaint, narrow streets."And when you have that many visitors, in the summer, you can't get down the streets. [00:04:00] You can't drive it because it's full of people walking. You know, there's an interesting anecdote I'd like to recount of when my father, he was a vicar, he was a priest, moved to a new area he would go to the local pub and all the locals would greet him as the priest and be like, very polite.And then when it would come out that my dad was actually a local, that he was born down there and part of the family, everybody would relax. And there was this real sort of strange thing where people came and stayed because it was a lovely area, but there was still that whole issue with second homes and certainly keeping an eye on things from a distance here during the pandemic when people left cities during the pandemic, they went down there amongst places in Britain.And that meant that, [00:05:00] literally, there were no houses for newly starting teachers, you know, teachers who had got jobs and were moving down there, couldn't find places to live because during the 2020 and sort of 2022 period, everything was just opening up either as Airbnb because there was this influx from the cities to the more rural areas because it was supposedly safer.You know, and I feel like that's a reflex that is really interesting because most people think of it as, oh, "a tourist area," people go there for leisure, they go there to relax and get away from their lives, which is true, but under a stressful situation like a pandemic, people also flee to beautiful quotes isolated areas, so there's that real sense of pressure, I think and this idea that we weren't entirely sure, growing up, [00:06:00] whether we would have a place to live because a lot of the housing was taken up by people with second homes. And plenty of people I went to school with because it's a surfing area took the knowledge that they learned in the tourism trade, and actually left and went to Australia. And they live on the Gold Coast now. So it's this self perpetuating thing, you know? Chris: Well, that leads me to my next question, which kind of centers around belonging and being rooted and learning to root, maybe even becoming a neighbor or some might say a citizen of a place.And with tourism or a touristic worldview, we seem to be largely stunted in our ability to know a place, to become part of that place in any significant or enduring sense of the word. And so, I'm curious what your thoughts are on what it means to know a place, [00:07:00] and perhaps on the often mad rush to say I know a place for the sake of social capital, you know, given the context of the kind of relative difficulties that one might incur, or in a place like Cornwall, and the relative degree of exile that forces people out.What do you think it means to know a place in the context of all of these economic pressures denying us that possibility, or at least making it really, really difficult. Craig: I think we have a real problem in modernity with the idea of knowing as a sense of capture, right? So if I know you, I have this boundary of this shape, this outline of Chris, right, that I can hold, that I can grasp. And I think sometimes when we say, "oh, I know a place," or, "oh, I know a person" there's no concept of the [00:08:00] ongoing relationality. You know, you capture the image and then you keep it. And it's a whole construct of extractive knowledge that really, I think, comes down to the idea that the humans are the ones who get to decide what a place is, right?So. I could say in the standard sense, "Oh, I know Cornwall because I, you know, I grew up there for nearly 20 years." My family has been there since about the 1500s. You know, "I know a place, it's in my bones." Yada yada yada. All the metaphors you want to use. But the fact of the matter is, the place itself influences me more than I influence it. So there's this strange sense of belonging in which modernity [00:09:00] says "I belong" or "it belongs to me" rather than perhaps the place has extended hospitality to me and allowed me to grow and I could live/work in a place for 30 years and never know it because we're not comfortable as a culture with the idea of going, "I don't know this place."And it's a variety. It's always changing. And I think about all the times I used to watch the sea and talk to folks whose parents were fishermen or lifeboatmen, and they'd be like, "Yeah, we know the waters, but the waters can change. We know roughly what they do under certain conditions, but we don't know them completely, because they can always surprise us."And So, when somebody says, "oh, you're from Cornwall, you're a Cornishman," and all that sense of identity, [00:10:00] I'm like, "yeah, but that's, that's both really fluid for me, because, you know, there's a lot of history." Is it the tourist world of the 20th and 21st century, or is it the farming and the mining that goes back to the Neolithic?How we relate to a place purely in a modern sense isn't, to my mind anyway, the only way to conceive of belonging because, even though I'm now 300 miles away from there, I have its isotopes, its minerals from drinking the water in my teeth, you know. So, on some level, the idea that you have to be in a place also to belong to a place is something that I'm curious about because, there's this whole notion, [00:11:00] "you're only in the place and you've been in a place for this long and that means you know it and you're local." Whereas growing up, there was this sort of weird thing where it was like, "yeah, you might have been here 30 years and everybody knows you, but you're not a local." Right? You still belong, but there was this other category of " you're not local or something like that."And so it's complicated, but I really do, for my personal take, tend to look at it as a, the landscape, or wherever it is, influences my sense of belonging in a non human context, or more than human context, if that makes sense. Chris: Hmm. Yeah, there's so much there. Yeah. I mean, I'm also, in the context of identity, also wondering in what ways, not only has the tourism industry shaped one's identity of being local, which [00:12:00] is, I think, a huge issue in over touristed places in the last, you know, 10 or 20 years, as identity politics rises into the mainstream, and but then also not just the industry and the interaction with foreigners or, or guests, or tourists, but the way in which the image of that place is crafted through, often, ministries of culture or heritage, you know, so you could grow up in a place that isn't necessarily overly touristed or anything like that. But then have your identity crafted by these ideas of culture or heritage that the government's, federal and otherwise, have placed on people.Craig: And especially because where I come from, Cornwall, actually had its own language, which died out, which was on the verge of dying out in the 19th century. And slowly there are more speakers of it now. And you go back there now and you'll find, [00:13:00] even when I was growing up it wasn't so prevalent, but you'll find a lot of the signs for the street signs will have the English and the Cornish.So that's where the government has embraced this identity and enhanced it after people have been saying, you know, "this is a language we've rebuilt it. It's cousin to Welsh and Breton. We should use it. It's part of our identity and it's got folded into that." And so the infrastructure itself is now been part of that. You know, those very same streets have a name that wasn't known for like, 50, 60, maybe to 80 years, and suddenly people are now deliberately using the old names in non English languages because of that. And it's very strange because, especially in the UK, what with all [00:14:00] of Brexit and all that, there is a very weird sense wherein the rest of England, i. e. North and London and those sort of areas don't understand because Cornwall was a peripheral area and much like Wales, there's a lot of distrust of central government. Hmm. So, you've got this whole construction of a personal identity of nobody actually really understands what goes on outside. Either they're incomers, either they're emmets. You know, which "emmets" is the old English for "ants." Referring to tourists as ants in a kind of, yeah, they get everywhere. And the whole notion of who we are is always constructed. But in that case, going away and coming back to visit, I'm going, "Well that street didn't [00:15:00] have that label on it when I left. But it does now. And so in a certain sense it's the same place, but it's got this overlay of somewhere different that really enhances that sense of layers for me of "which Cornwall?" "Which of any of these places are we talking about?"Like you say, is it the one you see on a picture postcard or an Instagram or is it the ones who sat there as kids going, right, 'there's nothing to do, let's go and drink in a field?' You know and all of these things can co exist.Chris: Hmm, right. Yeah, I just interviewed a friend of mine, Christos Galanis, who did his PhD on hillwalkers, as well as homecomers in the Scottish Highlands, so people who spend their weekends climbing, summiting the Highland Mountains, and also the Canadian or Americans who travel to Scotland on heritage trips or ancestral [00:16:00] journeys. And he mentioned how in the Highlands that the governments have placed the original Gaelic place names on all of the the signs there, whether you're entering a village or perhaps on the street signs as well.And that he said that something like "only three percent of the of the people in Scotland actually speak, speak Gaelic," so they see the sign, they see the name, the vast majority of people, and they have no idea what it means. And I also remember the last time I was in Toronto, which is where I'm from originally, or where I grew up.And my family grew up in the east end of town, and the main thoroughfare in the east end of town is largely referred to as "Greek Town." You know, when I was a kid it was certainly Greek Town. The Greek letters, the Greek alphabet names as well as the English names of the street signs in that area.But it's much, much, much less Greek than it was 25 years ago, right? So again, [00:17:00] this question of like, is that to some extent trying to solidify the kind of cultural geography of a place. That people come to that street and that neighborhood because they want to experience Greekness in its diasporic kind of context.And yet, so many of those people, so many of those families have moved on or moved along or become more Canadian in their own sense of the word, so. Craig: Yeah. It's very strange as well because things like that attract... there's a loop obviously, because you'll get people coming to experience the greekness or the cornishes, and people will be like, oh, we should open a business that will enhance the greekness or the Cornish of the place, and that will draw, and it just becomes this thing and, yeah.Yeah, it's very strange. And I would totally agree with you on that one. Chris: Yeah. [00:18:00] Yeah. Until like a Greek person from Greece or a Cornish grandmother comes into town and says like, what? No, that's not Yeah. Oh, yeah. So I'd like to shift the conversation, Craig, a little bit towards ableism, and begin with this question that comes from our dear mutual friend Aerin and who admits that she's happily robbed it directly from Fiona Kumari Campbell.Yes. So, you might have heard this question before but she she felt the need to kind of pose it anew and and so the question is this. How does disability productively color our lives and Aerin wanted to ask it, to modify it slightly and ask, how does disability generatively or creatively color our lives? Craig: I can't speak to anybody's life other than my own really. But I would say that for me disability has, [00:19:00] one, given me a real sort of ability to look at the world and go, "you guys think this is how everything works and it clearly doesn't."You know, it has given me a generative gift of going, "hold on, what people think of the default really isn't the default, because I was never born as the default, and so I've had to find my own way of relating to the world" and that means that anybody goes anytime anybody goes "Oh, well, everybody knows..." or "the only way to do it is this?" I am always going "are you absolutely sure about that?" You know, "are you absolutely sure that what you're looking at or experiencing or noticing is only perceivable in one way, it's only ever [00:20:00] frameable, in one context?" But also this idea for me that disability is simply a fact.It's not good or bad. It is a thing that exists in the world and ableism is essentially the urge to measure against the vast field of disability and impairment and go, "We don't want that. That's the worst thing to be. So, we will strive to not be that." As Fiona Kumari Campbell would say, " It sets up a ranking and notification and prioritization of sentient life."So, this is why we, to a certain extent, we have such a obsession with youth culture. Young, healthy, fit folks are in some way better than the elderly. Oh god, nobody wants [00:21:00] to get old cause, if you're of white extraction, "oh, they'll probably stick you in a home."Nobody wants to conceive of the idea that actually you can have a generative and intimate relationship with somebody, not necessarily a romantic one, but a deep, deep friendship that also involves, frankly to put it crudely, perhaps wiping somebody's arse, right? There's this whole notion of messiness and failure and why Aerin reworded it from "productive" to "generative" is that whole idea of being productive, of having capitalist use, to produce, to make for purposes. And for me, disability and the field of disability in which I exist says "I exist and I don't have to be productive." it really [00:22:00] challenges the capitalist framework for me. And also, ableism, because it's set up to rank things like speed, mobility, all kinds of things like that, having a disability where you're sitting there going, but there are other ways to do this. There are other ways to exist. To notice the way our bodies move that are mostly ignored in the sense of "yeah, we don't pay attention to our posture or our muscle structure or what our guts are doing because we're all already forced along to the next thing.You know, we're already touring from, "okay, I've got up in the morning. Next thing I've got to do is have breakfast," right? And if you can easily shift between those stages, so you get up in the morning, start your breakfast, put your clothes on easily. [00:23:00] You don't think about it as much, but if it takes you 10, 20 minutes to even get out of bed and you have to do specific things, maybe exercises, maybe things like that, the whole process thickens.And in a sense, for me, it's an antithesis to escapism because there are things you cannot escape. There are things you have to deal with. And because there are things you have to deal with, you have to pay attention to them more. And that means the most ordinary mundane thing becomes or can become, if you're willing to gently sense it, a lot richer.So, this is one of those interesting things where if people want to go places to experience new things, Okay, that's a whole issue that you've obviously talked about throughout the podcast, but there is a certain sense in [00:24:00] which we don't even know where we started from. We've not explored our own bodies.I mean, I wrote a piece in 2020 when all the lockdowns hit that got shared around various bits of the internet and I think even in the newspaper at one point in, but I got a request to syndicate it, of how to exist when you're stuck in your house. You know, what do you do to "keep," in inverted commas, "sane," which, of course, is an ableist framework, but what do you do to stop yourself from losing mental health? How do you function? And I broke it down and I sort of made practical suggestions of, this is how I, as somebody that doesn't actually have a, quotes, "normal life," and spends a lot of his time unable to travel or go out much, stops myself from feeling isolated, [00:25:00] because I've ended up having to learn to explore what some might regard as a limited domain.But to me, that limited area, that limited domain has given me this sense of vastness that's, you know, I can't remember which philosopher it is, but there is a philosopher who basically says, I think it is a Camus, who says "you just need to reopen when you're in your room and the whole world will reveal itself to you."And when you don't have a choice, when you're stuck in chronic pain, or sickness, or something like that and you have to work out what to do with your limited energy, to embrace life, there becomes a sort of challenge, to go, "okay, how can I feel like things are enriching? How can I, almost metabolize the things that other people would reject.⌘ Chris Christou ⌘ is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.You know, [00:26:00] because disability is so "Oh, it's so sad he's disabled. Or we've got the cure for this and that. And we've got to cure it." And it's not really about ameliorating suffering. Which is a good thing. It's an analoid good to ameliorate any form of suffering. But there is this sense that the only way to perceive the world is through a so called "non disabled" abled body.The only way to experience a rich world, and again, I'm not knocking people who do a lot of travelling per se, but the only way to experience the world is to go on long journeys, and backpack and explore you know, new ways of thinking. That's great. And I'm not saying you can do exactly the same at home, but you can also become radically hospitable to yourself and to the environment in which you find [00:27:00] yourself.And that opens a whole lot of doors that I think I would regard as generatively colouring life and revealing life. In a way that was possibly occluded before. Chris: Yeah, I mean, so much of what I've come to in the research around tourism and hypermobility is this question of limits.And that certainly comes up in other themes, in other contexts. But not just the limits to one's place. Like, where does your place end? But also the limits of the human body. And, when we talk about freedom generally in the West, or in, in the context of modernity, it's so often pinned or underpinned via the freedom of movement, in part, because I know you're coming from the other side of the Atlantic, but certainly in, in this part of the [00:28:00] world, in the Americas and especially North America, freedom is understood as freedom of movement because that's in part how, the states and, and the nation's existences are justified.And so, I would just ask you what you think of that in the context of freedom being, of course a synonym for liberation. And how so many of our western notions of freedom are attached to movement and have. To a large degree become glorified in the hyper mobility of our times.Craig: I would agree with you. I think it was always there because of the colonial urge, but I think North American notions of freedom have, through a certain cultural hegemony, filtered back. You get it in the media, even Star Trek, you know, the final frontier, you know. Things like that. Or wide open spaces. There's still this notion of, freedom to move, room to live. It has its own European context and [00:29:00] horrors, unfortunately.But also, I think the notion of freedom as freedom to move. There is a question there for me, because I'm not sure we know what we're doing when we move. Right? And one of the questions that always was raised for me is, if I raise my finger, as I'm doing now, and I bend it so it's 90 degrees, how did I do that?What did I do? Well, science would say, okay, you used all your tendons and so on and so forth, and I'm like, yeah, "okay, those are nice descriptors. But what did I actually do?" Where's the connection between the impulse and the urge to bend my finger? Right. I don't know what I did there. I just thought I'm gonna bend my finger and the [00:30:00] finger bent But there's a whole bunch of stuff going on.So when I'm thinking about freedom of movement First the question is, "freedom to move in what way?" Right? So the the classic example is, in perhaps North America and and English speaking countries is "to go where I want, when I want, with none to to gainsay me, none to say you can't go there," which has been problematized thanks to the history of enclosure of land and capture by state and political actors, but also this notion that if you get into a city and you can go and people go, "Oh, I'm free to go wherever I want."I always sit there and I'm going, "yes, but you can go wherever you want, but if a place has stairs and no lift..." right? I [00:31:00] can't go there. So do I have less freedom? Well, according to the traditional notions of freedom, yes. I am less free. When I grew up, as an example in the UK I went to America when I was about four or five, and I was absolutely stunned by the amount of public toilets that had a disabled toilet.Right? Because virtually nowhere where I grew up at that point had a disabled toilet. This was due to the fact that the U. S. has a disability rights movement that was slightly ahead of the U. K. 's. So I was freer to go about my holiday in the U. S. than I was technically at home. I couldn't go certain places because there weren't toilets, or there weren't ramps, because that had not been legalized. You know, there'd been no legislation. In the UK, there was [00:32:00] no disability legislation until 1995. You know, so technically, I was born in 1981. I had no specific extra legal rights that I needed for 14 years. Now some would say, "oh, that, you've got freedom there... the law has given you freedom.It's giving you the ability to move, but it's only given me the ability to move in approved ways, right? And so every single time somebody talks about room to move, my query is always, okay. "One, as I said, move in what way? And two, who taught you what method of movement is approved or disproved?" So, particularly in Europe, we have folks like the Romani, the Irish travellers, [00:33:00] even the so called New Age travellers, right, who are nomadic folks.And despite this obsession with freedom, the idea that people are nomadic, are shiftless and rootless, still exists. Yes, a degree. The degree of privilege, the degree that I could be, quote, "more confident going into public spaces." And you'll see this in American history and throughout European history as well.And when I was talking about the nomadic folks, I was saying, you know, there are only certain people who are allowed to move in certain ways, to travel in certain ways that are approved. In similar ways with disability there were only certain kinds of people who were allowed into public spaces.They might not have been legislated against in the mid twentieth century. They might have struck those off the books, but at [00:34:00] various points, at least in the US, if you look up the Chicago Ugly Laws, people who were regarded as vagrants or unsightly, were not allowed in public spaces. They could be jailed for that.It's not just loitering. It was very much anything that could give offense because they were physically disabled. Or, the idea that the physically disabled are more likely to be begging or doing things like that. That was all folded in. So, this notion of freedom as the ability to move and move in space.Despite the North American urge to be like, "well, nobody can tell me what to do." There's still a certain level of certain forms of movement are privileged or regarded as normal versus others. So, you know it's weird if you don't stay [00:35:00] in one place or perhaps, it's weird if you don't have a reason for your seasonal job, right?When I was a kid and a teenager... like I said, where I grew up was kind of known for surfing, right? And I met folks who would come from places like Australia and live in Volkswagen transporter vans and work in the seasonal hotels and then go surfing. And then sometimes in the winter they disappear off to Morocco.And you wouldn't see them for six months and they'd come back and there's all this kind of idea of Differing rhythms, which has really influenced my entire life because those folks, they were there there were hundreds of them you could see them parked on every road and I knew several of them very very well, but the fact of those seasonal rhythms, which weren't [00:36:00] approved. It wasn't approved that they didn't stay in one place and pay taxes. To some that might be, you know, "Oh, that's freedom! That's telling the government, I don't have to pay your taxes or I don't have to stay in one place and be a registered visible citizen. I can be a free spirit and go to Morocco whenever I want. But, the fact of it is, if you walked on the, on the roads, people would look at you funny, right?If you look at people who do long distance walking in areas that are drivable, I mean, especially I guess in North America, that's looked at as very, very, very strange, because you guys don't have the infrastructure. So, for me, it's this really strange notion that we're fixated on particular kinds of movement to do with agency and power, right?And we, we will say, "oh, [00:37:00] that's mobile, that's fast, that's quick, that's agile." And I'm always curious about what criteria we're using to say, "oh, that's fast, that's agile, that's nimble," when you look at the so called natural world, and you've got plants that are seemingly immobile, but they actually turn to the sun.You just don't notice it until you stick it on a stop motion camera. And then you're like, "wow, they move." But you could go past that plant every single day and be like, "yeah, it doesn't move. It's a plant. It just stays there." Right? Because our perception of what movement is and what is approved is based around one, what we're taught and two, what we see every day.But also three. What we can't notice unless we're forced to look at the same thing over and over again, right? [00:38:00] Because our tendency is to see one thing, think, "Oh, I know it. I've spotted it. I know what it is. I've identified it. It's fitted into my matrix of identity. I can move on now. It's all sorted." But the whole ethos, I guess, that I'm coming at iswhat if you don't know? What if you don't know? What if that microphone that I'm speaking into and you're speaking into it looks like a particular thing and you think you could describe a microphone to somebody but go down to say the flows of the electrons and it's a context issue. You know? And, and So, I'm interested in thinking about what are the contexts are in the room with us right now that we're not even paying any attention to, and not even in the room, in our own bodies, in our own language.Chris: Wow. Yeah, again, there's so much there. My [00:39:00] my thoughts just flew off into a million different directions. And I feel like it would probably take me a while to to gather them in.Craig: No problem. You do what you need to do. I mean, that's, that's the whole point. Chris: Yeah. So I had a queer crip travel writer named Bani Amor on the podcast in season three.And we were talking about the fallout and the consequences of the COVID 19 pandemic. And she said something like, you know, "the settler can't stay still. That the pandemic showed us that we can't stay still." In the context of that time that so many people who had been engaged in and who glorify or who simply have been taught to live a hyper mobile life, that there was this opportunity to question [00:40:00] that, to bring it into a different context.And I know a lot of people, couldn't necessarily leave their houses in the quote unquote lockdowns. But I don't think that wouldn't necessarily stop people from tending to or allowing themselves to witness the more than human world in that way. And so, my question is, assuming we have the opportunity, in some manner, in any manner, how do you think we might have our understandings of movements subverted, or at least challenged, by virtue of looking at the movement in the more than human world.Craig: Great question. I think one of the biggest notions, and I just want to return to that phrase, "the settler can't stay still." And really, agree with that, and so add to secondary things of what actually is stillness, right? We have [00:41:00] this idea of stillness as immobility, as, as, as perhaps staying in one place.Not moving, but actually, if we look at what we're doing when we're actually apparently still, there's still movement going on, right? There's still movement going on in our bodies. There's still a different kind of mobility going. And we're not the only ones, right? The more than human does this exactly as well.If you look at a rock, oh, you think a rock doesn't move? I mean, it doesn't move, but then you have erosion, right? Then you have the rain, and the way that particles are shaved off it, and it shifts. So, when we're thinking about outside, when we're thinking about... and when I say "more than [00:42:00] human," I'm not saying "better than human," I'm saying "exceeding the human," I just want to make that clear, it exceeds the boundaries of the human. Disability as mutual friend Bayo would define it is, I believe he said "it's a failure of power to contain itself." So, that's Bayo Akomolafe. And this notion that the world and the modern human flows through and beyond any sort of boundary, right? So, any outline we form is not immune in the sense of there's no boardwalk, right?A wall is not an untouchable upright edifice. It's actually touched and permeated, right? So everything in the more than human context interrelates and is, to a certain extent, degrees of [00:43:00] permeable. So, yeah, our cells keep certain things out, and let certain things in, but even the things they keep out, they're in contact with.They're relating to. Right? Because in the same way, with COVID 19 vaccine, people think, "oh, it's a vaccine. It's immunity, right? It'll stop me getting COVID. Or it'll stop me getting this, or stop me getting that." What it actually does is it has an interaction with your, the vaccine has an interaction with your immune system.There's a dialogue, there's a discussion, a call and response, which then engenders further responses in your body, right? So, there's constant relation that is ongoing. So, nothing is one and done, right? To borrow from Stefano Hani and Fred Moten No motion is ever completed, right? Nothing's [00:44:00] ever finished. It's not like we're gonna get off this and, and you'll be like, "oh, I've finished recording the podcast." Sure, you've hit the stop recording button, but the recording of the podcast is still ongoing. And there's this fundamental ongoingness, which is a product of the world.The world is worlding, right? And that means the most ordinary, mundane thing you can think of is ongoing. The mug I have right in front of me right now with tea in it. It's ceramic. It's been painted, but it's still ongoing, right? It still has the relation to the machines that shaped it. And it also has this ongoingness with the human history of pottery.Right? And people go, Oh, that's ridiculous. That's not practical. You know, "it's a mug," but I always [00:45:00] think. Isn't that just commodification? Like, is that not just saying it's a commodity, it doesn't have a story? Like, I don't want to get all Marxist here, but there's that real alienation from ongoingness and the fact that we also are ongoing attempts at relation. We're not even fixed identities. Our movements cannot be technically circumscribed because I have a disability which means I can't dance. Right? I use a wheelchair. I can't dance. I can't do the tango. Right? Okay. But everybody uses dance in a context of bopping to the music and doing all this thing and it's a bit like freedom. You know, everybody assumes that dance is a particular thing.But as Bayo and We Will Dance with Mountains, the course, the whole point of it being [00:46:00] called We Will Dance with Mountains is the fact that mountains don't dance like humans. Mountains dance like mountains. And the only way we spot how mountains dance is to actually pay attention to them and attempt to relate to them.We can't get out of our framework completely, but we can be open to say, what does our framework for a mountain miss about those massive landforms? What are we missing when we say a mountain doesn't move? And that's where you have references to indigenous and local stories that actually talk about these landforms, these places, these folklore places, as the living, moving beings that they actually are.Hmm. You know. Yeah, "okay, that stone circle over there was because a bunch of women were dancing on a [00:47:00] Sunday and in a Christian country, that's bad, so they got turned to stone," or in Scandinavia, "that rock there, it's actually a troll that got caught out in the sun." that these are living, ongoing beings and events, which it's not woo, it's actual or intellectual, I think.If you look at anything for long enough, you start to notice what's ongoing with it, even something that's solid and fixed. And that, to me, the gripping is the bending of the perception, right? That is queering, but crip-queering is that point where you have the restriction involved. People will talk about queer liberation, and yeah, we want crip liberation. That's cool. But if you think about crip liberation as, it might actually be the limits that bring us liberation.And then, if you track back [00:48:00] into mythologies long enough. You've got figures like Dionysus or then poetic gods who say, they're the ones that fetter you. They can bind you, but they can also set you free. And that is really interesting to me that a lot of these liberational figures also have a side that they can tie you up.And I don't just mean in a bondage sense. It's this notion that the two things, the two complexes are part of a whole thing, and you can't divide it into restricted and free and you can't escape. You can't pull a Harry Houdini from existence, which, to a certain extent, some people, when they go on holiday, engage in tourism, they're trying to escape for a little while, their other lives. But we all know you can't escape them. Mm-Hmm. But the inescapability of it is not bad. Right. By default, it's not [00:49:00] bad. It can be, but the assumption something is inescapable, just like, oh, something is disabling. Mm-Hmm. the assumption of good and bad. If you can hold that in abeyance and actually look at it for a second and go, Okay, what's going on here?Maybe our conceptions of this need reevaluating. Now the reason we don't do this on the regular, even in modernity, is because it takes a lot of effort and time to focus. And that's another benefit that I get as a disabled person, right? Because I can't use my time for a whole bunch of things that non disabled folks can.So I've got more time, I've got a different relationship to time and space, which means that I can sit and look at things with that differing relation to time and space, and be like "Huh, I never noticed that." And then I get to talk [00:50:00] about this stuff to folks like you, and people get surprised.And they're like, "you think about this all the day." I'm like, "no, I don't think about this. This is my life. This is how I live. This is my embrace of life, right? And this is my freedom to literally, Be like, " well, okay, my restrictions. How do they actually open me to the world?" And I'm not offering a prescription here, because everybody's different.But it strikes me that even the most nomadic person always carry stuff with them, right? And to borrow from Ursula K. Le Guin with her "Carrier Bag Story of Fiction," which Bayo talked about in We Will Dance The Mountains, the idea of what we're carrying is really interesting, but how often do we rummage in our own bags?Hmm. [00:51:00] Right? How often do we take off our backpacks and rummage just for the sake of it? Often we just look in the backpacks for something specific. Hmm. Right? Oh, I need a map. Oh, I need a chocolate bar. Oh, I need my, you know my iPad. We rarely stick our hands in and notice the way our clothing might shift around our fingers or the way, you know, the waterproofing is possibly coming off and means that the fabric has these different textures because we don't take the time and there's nothing wrong with that, but it's the fact that we don't have that relationship to time and space.And babies, kids do. It's why kids put things in their mouth. All those things where you're like, "Oh no, don't put that in your mouth, it's bad for you." They don't know that. But the whole point of putting it in their mouth and feeling it is to try and not [00:52:00] understand it, not get it.There's nothing there in a baby in its early function that says, "I must understand what that is." The understanding comes upon you through experience. But there's no bit, at least as far as I can work out, that's like, "I must understand what it is that I'm putting in my mouth."It's more like, "hmm, that tastes interesting, it has some interesting textures," and then your brain does all the work or your brain and your body mind do all the work, but the personhood isn't also doing all the work, just like the "I" of my body, right, my relationship with the "I", as in my sense of self, I have to expand that to my entire body, You know, because there's so much going on right now in this conversation that I'm not aware of, right?There's stuff going on in my room that I'm [00:53:00] not aware of, but it's going on now. And so I have to expand and that expansiveness also means I sometimes have to venture into realms of pain, right? Because I have chronic pain. And in order to fully experience that, sometimes I have to encounter that pain.I have to slow down and focus and go, "Oh, the chronic pain that I was mostly ignoring because just in the background, it suddenly leaped to the fore because I'm paying attention." Now, modernity says you shouldn't do that. You shouldn't do stuff that causes you pain. Understandable in a certain context, but If I didn't understand that the pain was also part of the experience and changes how I move, if I didn't understand that chronic pain changes how time stretches, then I wouldn't be where I am.So the more than human permeates the human in ways [00:54:00] that the human is either deliberately trained to deny or doesn't even know is going on and the pandemic basically was, in my eyes, the more than human kind of knocking on the door going you are not this completely hermetically sealed box, right? Your society is not a hermetically sealed box. Chris: Amen. Amen. I mean, could have gone in a lot of different directions, but here we are, at least being able to reflect on it in a good way, and I'm reminded, this notion of abeyance and attention and, and the expansion of the I.I'm reminded of this, this line from Simone Weil who said that "absolutely unmixed attention is prayer." And so, I think that it, something like that is worthy of the times we, we wish to live in and perhaps sometimes do. Craig: [00:55:00] Definitely.Chris: And so, you know, I wish we had more time, Craig really getting into some beautiful black holes there. But hopefully we get the opportunity to speak again sometime.Craig: I'd be, be happy to. Be happy to. Chris: And so before we depart, I'd just like to ask the kind of token question that always comes at the end of interviews, which is where can our listeners find your work?And I'm pretty sure you had a book that came out last year entitled, Goetic Atavisms, if I'm not mistaken. Craig: Yes, I did. So you can find me on my mostly moribund, but strange little blog at cold-albion.net. And you can also pick up the book, which is, to be clear, more of an occult angle on this, but it also brings in the disability angle directly from the publisher Hadean Press or you could get it from, you know, the Bezos Behemoth, if you really [00:56:00] wanted. I am also not really on social media as a project, but I'm also on you know Blue Sky, so you can search me up there, or Mastodon, which you could always search me up there, and I occasionally post things on there.Chris: Wonderful. Well, I'll make sure that all those links and connections are available for our listeners once the episode launches. And I very much look forward to reading Goetic Activisms myself. So, thank you so much, Craig.Chris: Thank you, Chris. Get full access to ⌘ Chris Christou ⌘ at chrischristou.substack.com/subscribe

Wes McKinney is the co-creator of pandas library and he is the cofounder of Voltron data. Currently he is a principal Architect at Posit and an investor in data systems. Daliana's Twitter: ⁠https://twitter.com/DalianaLiu⁠ Daliana's LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/dalianaliu/⁠ Wes' LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wesmckinn/ (00:00:00) Introduction (00:00:44) How Pandas Started (00:06:40) Voltron Data (00:10:03) Benefits of Easy-to-Use Data Tools (00:13:20) The Rise of New Data Tools (00:18:07) Choosing Tools: Vertical or Flexible? (00:23:01) Big Models and Data Tools (00:29:29) Challenges in Building a Product (00:31:28) Becoming a Top Architect (00:34:55) Missed Aspects of Previous Roles (00:39:04) A Busy Week: Advising, Designing, Investing (00:43:42) Improving Open Source (00:45:24) How to Decide What to Work On (00:46:28) What he's learning now (00:47:56) Excitement in Career and Life (00:48:29) Using ChatGPT for Learning (00:50:27) Future Impact Goals

On this week's episode, we're joined by Carol Barrett, the Engineering Leader in Consumer Identity and Access at Netflix. Host Conor Bronsdon interviews Carol to learn about Netflix's blueprint for success when building engineering teams, and how they foster a culture where inspiration and purpose are at the forefront.Carol shares her valuable insights on empowering engineers to make their own decisions, ensuring product management and engineering are perfectly synced, and the importance of flexible structures that cater to team dynamics. She also discusses the unique challenges and opportunities Netflix faces, including their approach to innovative projects and navigating uncharted technological territories.From quarterly commitments to building impactful partnerships, learn how Netflix maintains its edge by allowing teams the freedom to define their own paths.Episode Highlights4:17: Finding Alignment Between Product, Leadership and Engineering 11:21 How to Build Trust in Your Partnerships 16:26 Why Engineers Have to Decide What's Best22:56 Connecting Your Team's Purpose to the Company's Purpose 28:37 Why Netflix Stopped Hiring Only Senior Engineers Show Notes:Learn how to measure the impact of your GenAI initiative in LinearB's upcoming workshopSupport the show: Subscribe to our Substack Leave us a review Subscribe on YouTube Follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn Offers: Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream Get your DORA Metrics free forever

Why do we get overwhelmed when we have too many choices? Should we make our own decisions or copy other people's? And how can Angela manage her sock inventory? SOURCES:Arie Kruglanski, professor of psychology at the University of Maryland, College Park.Katy Milkman, professor of operations, information, and decisions at the University of Pennsylvania.Sylvia Plath, 20th-century American novelist and poet.Barry Schwartz, professor of social theory and social action at Swarthmore College.Herbert Simon, professor of computer science and psychology at Carnegie Mellon University.Will Smith, actor and film producer. RESOURCES:"Choice Deprivation, Choice Overload, and Satisfaction with Choices Across Six Nations," by Elena Reutskaja, Nathan N. Cheek, Barry Schwartz, et al. (Journal of International Marketing, 2021).Will, by Will Smith with Mark Manson (2021)."Can't Decide What to Stream? Netflix's New Feature Will Choose for You," by Katie Deighton (The Wall Street Journal, 2021).The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less, by Barry Schwartz (2004)."The Tyranny of Choice," by Barry Schwartz (Scientific American, 2004)."Maximizing Versus Satisficing: Happiness Is a Matter of Choice," by Barry Schwartz, Andrew Ward, John Monterosso, Sonja Lyubomirsky, Katherine White, and Darrin R. Lehman (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2002)."Self-Determination: The Tyranny of Freedom," by Barry Schwartz (American Psychologist, 2000)."To 'Do the Right Thing' or to 'Just Do It': Locomotion and Assessment as Distinct Self-Regulatory Imperatives," by Arie Kruglanski, Erik P. Thompson, E. Tory Higgins, M. Nadir Atash, Antonio Pierro, James Y. Shah, and Scott Spiegel (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2000)."Rational Choice and the Structure of the Environment," by Herbert Simon (Psychological Review, 1956).Administrative Behavior, by Herbert Simon (1947). EXTRA:"Do You Mind if I Borrow Your Personality?" by No Stupid Questions (2022)."How Much Should We Be Able to Customize Our World?" by No Stupid Questions (2021)."Are You a Maximizer or a Satisficer?" by No Stupid Questions (2020).Cars.com Superbowl Ad (2009).

Chelsea Brennan of Smart Money Mamas helps you decide what's important to you as a parent Episode 1854: Tips for New Moms: How to Decide What's Most Important to You by Chelsea Brennan of Smart Money Mamas Chelsea Brennan is a hedge fund investor turned online entrepreneur that helps moms make their money work for them and embrace their ambitions, so they can live their fullest lives. The original post is located here: https://smartmoneymamas.com/lazy-genius-new-mom/  Visit Me Online at OLDPodcast.com Interested in advertising on the show? Visit https://www.advertisecast.com/OptimalRelationshipsDailyMarriageParenting Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chelsea Brennan of Smart Money Mamas helps you decide what's important to you as a parent Episode 1854: Tips for New Moms: How to Decide What's Most Important to You by Chelsea Brennan of Smart Money Mamas Chelsea Brennan is a hedge fund investor turned online entrepreneur that helps moms make their money work for them and embrace their ambitions, so they can live their fullest lives. The original post is located here: https://smartmoneymamas.com/lazy-genius-new-mom/  Visit Me Online at OLDPodcast.com Interested in advertising on the show? Visit https://www.advertisecast.com/OptimalRelationshipsDailyMarriageParenting Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For some reason, we think when we have taken all the right measures to make a decision that, there's no fear or doubt. In reality, any time we do anything of importance, there's always uncertainty. In this episode, Stephen lays out step by step how to bulldoze uncertainty.  Board of Directors explained- Episode 14 Decision Making Made Easy.1- Decide- What is the outcome I'm driving towards? 2- What TOOLS do you need to get you where you want to go?3- What's holding you back?4-Set milestones that you control.5- Execute. Execute. Execute.Stephen's email connect@stephencapps.comWork with Stephen 1 on 1Stephen's website: https://www.stephencapps.com/Pull Up And Thrive storeServant Warrior T-ShirtInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/_stephencapps/Stephen's Youtube channelStephen's LinkedinStephen on TikTokTX Gates' website www.tgates.comHandyman website www.calltxgates.com

It's so important to get fresh perspectives in your life and business. But when you come home, re-entry can be hard and the ideas overwhelming. Let's chat about how some ideas are for now, some ideas are for later, and discernment is knowing the difference. Hit the Highlights [03:33] No Good Ideas Come from Your Desk [05:37] Re-Entry is Hard [07:07] How to Discern What's For Now and What's for Later [08:49] How to Listen to the Holy Spirit [10:42] Utilizing Your Notes to Decide What to Execute On [14:30] My Learning Experience With Leading My Team Well [17:24] Join my Level Up Bootcamp at jenniferallwood.com/levelup Important Links Check out this episode's sponsor, Good Ranchers. Use code Jen30 for $30 off!!! Enjoy the best beef, chicken, and seafood this country offers when you subscribe. Over 85% of the grass-fed beef sold in the United States is imported from overseas, but 100% of the meat delivered from Good Ranchers is straight from the heartland of America. Change the way you buy meat today and know where your meat comes from.

Today, we're talking about marketing!A business needs to be in a state of constant marketing.Let's talk about the Instagram Blue Check SubscriptionThey removed increased reach as a benefit on March 17th"Expand your reach with increased visibility and prominence in some parts of IG and FB like comments, search, and recommendations." This "benefit" was removed.My 2¢I think it's a plan by a giant company whose numbers are dropping.I think it's tricking many people into thinking something cool will happen because most people are looking for a magic pill.Most people think, "If I just do this one thing, it'll put me over the top!" when you should think, "How can I do common things uncommonly well."Again, it goes back to asking the RIGHT questions: How can I stand out to my target clients is a much better question than what can I do to get popular on an app?If you have a small following or are trying to build your clientele, focusing on a blue badge next to your name isn't help you.  Use that $15 for marketing that will give you a measurable return.Here's where you should focus:InternallyAsk the RIGHT questions Decide WHAT you want to do - What services do you want to offer or highlight? Decide WHO you want to serve - avatarFigure out WHERE those people are - This could be digital or in the actual real world. Figure out HOW you will make them aware of your existence - how will you stand out?In the real worldBring coffee to a local business owner and chat with themSetup a time to speak at a local hair schoolVolunteer at a local school event in your town - We're setting up at the father-daughter dance in our elementary schoolFind an open house or other events that might be looking for people to attend - we've been invited to business owner groups, and you can be too!OnlineFocusTry - Give an honest effortFocus on the WHERE your potential clients are and not on where you want them to be - for example, if your peeps are on FB, but you're only posting on IG, then you won't experience as much success.Be clearStop trying to impress other hair pros - that does NOTHING for youFocus on being the best solution to people's problems, your target audience."Attracting the RIGHT Clients" blog postLinks and Stuff:Our (weekly) Email ListFind more of our things:InstagramHello Hair Pro Website

Jackie Beck helps you decide what debt to pay off first Episode 2271: What Debt to Pay Off First: A Simple Way to Decide What's Best by Jackie Beck Jackie and her husband paid off over $147,000 in debt, including their house! She's walked the walk to become completely debt free, and she wants to help you do the same with her award-winning Pay Off Debt by Jackie Beck app. Jackie and her app have been featured in Oprah Magazine, MarketWatch, Forbes, CNBC, and more. The original post is located here: https://www.jackiebeck.com/what-debt-to-pay-off-first/  Visit Me Online at OLDPodcast.com  Interested in advertising on the show? https://www.advertisecast.com/OptimalFinanceDaily Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jackie Beck helps you decide what debt to pay off first Episode 2271: What Debt to Pay Off First: A Simple Way to Decide What's Best by Jackie Beck Jackie and her husband paid off over $147,000 in debt, including their house! She's walked the walk to become completely debt free, and she wants to help you do the same with her award-winning Pay Off Debt by Jackie Beck app. Jackie and her app have been featured in Oprah Magazine, MarketWatch, Forbes, CNBC, and more. The original post is located here: https://www.jackiebeck.com/what-debt-to-pay-off-first/  Visit Me Online at OLDPodcast.com  Interested in advertising on the show? https://www.advertisecast.com/OptimalFinanceDaily Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jackie Beck helps you decide what debt to pay off first Episode 2271: What Debt to Pay Off First: A Simple Way to Decide What's Best by Jackie Beck Jackie and her husband paid off over $147,000 in debt, including their house! She's walked the walk to become completely debt free, and she wants to help you do the same with her award-winning Pay Off Debt by Jackie Beck app. Jackie and her app have been featured in Oprah Magazine, MarketWatch, Forbes, CNBC, and more. The original post is located here: https://www.jackiebeck.com/what-debt-to-pay-off-first/  Visit Me Online at OLDPodcast.com  Interested in advertising on the show? https://www.advertisecast.com/OptimalFinanceDaily Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tony Leggett is a Nobel Prize-winning physicist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. EPISODE LINKS: Tony Leggett's UIUC Website: https://physics.illinois.edu/people/directory/profile/aleggett OUTLINE: 0:00 - Introduction 0:44 - The Daily Life of a Nobel Laureate 3:58 - What Would Tony Leggett Study in College Today? 7:18 - Consciousness 8:45 - Value People 10:50 - Superfluidity 16:07 - How To Pick Problems 21:26 - Paradigm Shifts 23:45 - Quantum Mechanics 28:38 - Persuasion 29:10 - Computational Universe 30:38 - Persuasion Part 2 34:42 - "The Future Can Affect The Present" 39:03 - Time 39:58 - Entropy 42:48 - Thought Experiments 45:25 - Brain-to-Brain Communication 48:27 - 3 Questions to Decide What to Research 52:38 - Leggett's Career 55:28 - Curiosity 59:59 - Universities 1:03:39 - Physics in Different Countries 1:05:07 - Free time to think 1:09:06 - Overcoming Barriers to Doing Physics 1:19:16 - Luck 1:22:28 - Advice for young people

With the renewed energy of Spring, we're Spring Cleaning our goals—clearing out the clutter, simplifying processes, and making space for the things that matter.  If you feel like you haven't made as much progress as you'd hoped or that your efforts feel fruitless—this episode is for you! Listen as Kristin and Kelley share tips for tidying up your goals and finding clarity on things that matter.    // Time Stamps // 0:56 - Intro 1:23 - Weekly Book Chat 3:13 - Spring Cleaning Our Goals 13:49 - Practical Tips to Spring Clean A Goal 14:14 - Step 1: Decide What is Working 14:49 - Step 2: Store What You're Unsure About 15:33 - Step 3: Toss What's Broken, Damaged, or Not Yours 21:07 - Question of the Week   // Resources Mentioned in this Episode // — The Lazy Genius Kitchen by Kendra Adachi: https://a.co/d/0AXLWVC — The Screwtape Letters (Annotated Edition) by C.S. Lewis: https://a.co/d/772R73x — PowerSheets Intentional Goal Planner: https://cultivatewhatmatters.com/collections/powersheets — PowerSheets Facebook Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/PowerSheetsGroup   // Connect with Us // — Subscribe to the Cultivate What Matters Podcast: on iOS, go to our iTunes page and click subscribe. On Android, click this podcast RSS feed link and choose your podcast app. If needed, you can copy this link directly into your favorite podcast app (like Stitcher or Overcast). Or follow us on Spotify! — We would love it if you took a few minutes to leave us an iTunes review to help spread the word about Cultivate What Matters! We want to invite more women into our conversations! — Visit Cultivate What Matters for delightful resources to help you design a more intentional life. — Subscribe to the Cultivate What Matters newsletter and receive free intentional living resources in your inbox. — Like Cultivate What Matters on Facebook. — Follow @CultivateWhatMatters on Instagram for all things Cultivate What Matters! — Engage with other PowerSheets users in our exclusive Facebook community: The PowerSheets Group! — Read the Cultivate What Matters blog for encouragement throughout the week!  

When You Can't Decide What to Do in the Evening...

#550 Toss, Sell or Donate? How to Decide What to do with Your Stuff

Charge too much — no clients. Charge too little — wasting your time. These are both myths. Watch to find out why and learn how to set your rates for teaching Ableton (including a breakdown of my own rates and the reasoning behind them).If you've been using Ableton for a while and think you're ready to start teaching others what you've learned, you need to figure out what you're going to charge. Easier said than done, right?I started doing this in 2008, and my rates have changed dramatically since then (they've increased…did you really need to ask?). I've made a ton of mistakes and learned a ton since then, and I want to share those lessons with you.What you'll learn:- How to get a feel for what the market is willing to pay- Why side hustle vs. full-time gig might affect your rate- How to not be scared to go big- Communicating rates (and rate changes) to clients- Should you ever work for free?Looking for ways to make more money on the side as a musician? Watch this

On today's episode, we chat with Nick Strohl, a former Academic Advisor in the College of Letters and Science Honors Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Former Senior Assistant Director of Admissions at Yale.  Nick and I discuss numerous strategies and resources that university freshmen can utilize to set themselves up for academic success. Nick highlights common mistakes and misconceptions and shares specific resources to help students plan for their future careers or continued education. Check out our blog for more free resources: Should You Apply to Grad School: 25 Questions to Ask Yourself Further Education or First Job? How to Decide What's Right For You Medical School Application Resources to Help You Through Every Step Law School Applications 101: From College Academics to Final Submission Click here to sign up for a free consultation with an admissions expert. Register for one of our webinars. Questions or comments? Email contact@ingeniusprep.com Visit us at ingeniusprep.com to learn more. See you every other Monday!

Are you tired of being in the weeds of your business? Do you spend all day separating the forest from the trees… when you want to be in the clouds casting vision? Let's stop with the bullshit cliches for a second, so I can ask you what you're really wondering: “do I need to be the one doing this shit?”  In today's episode, we discuss:  Why you're too much of the wrong thing in your business How to recognize when you're being pulled into work that isn't the best use of your time or talents A simple trick — that requires a sticky note — to talk you into delegating more often Delegation is not about getting rid of tasks…it's about creating the capacity to do more of what you want to do.  Here are other resources I mention:  Dan Martell of SaaS Academy “The Strategic Thinking Manifesto” by Rich Horwath  Stay connected to Diary of a Doer: Have you subscribed to my podcast? If the answer is no, I'd love for you to subscribe. Diary of a Doer is full of stories of business, some behind the scenes, and freaking amazing guests. If you're feeling really generous, I'd love for you to give me a review on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps me out a ton! If you like this episode, you may be interested in: FREE: 50 Things to Outsource to an EA Why You Should Still Delegate Even When You Can Do It All (Episode 42) Decide: What to Delegate (Season 2, Episode 23) The Real Reasons You're Not Delegating Work (Season 2, Episode 17) How to Set Clear Delegation Goals with Your Executive Assistant (Season 3, Episode 8) Detach: Empower Your Team (Season 2, Episode 26)Schedule a FREE strategy call! A Leader's New Hire Checklist Connect with Priority VA Follow me at @Trivinia

In this episode of the Leadership In A Nutshell Podcast, we do plans and we target that on daily basis, But how much planning? Is too much? This is not an episode of not planning but this an episode on how you decide for yourself when is too much planning is enough. Join us and let's crack the code of our driven mind. Highlights: [00:06 - 06:42] How Much Planning is Too Much Planning?  The key to successful planning is accepting that there will always be unknown variables that can disrupt plans. Last week we talked about uncertainty and planning is a way we normally do to stay away from unwanted circumstances  We are barraged nonstop with information, and we don't have control over it Leaders should be aware of their level of planning and be able to adjust it as necessary. Planning can be frustrating for visionary leaders when they want to move forward with their vision. However, having a supportive executive leadership team helps to smooth out these bumps in the road. Your partners may have different plans and given that every person has a different level of planning. [06:42 - 12:22] 4 Things to Think About When Over Planning Over planning can be in different forms It can be a form of productivity killer,  procrastination. or low self-esteem. Perfectionism,  Tips to avoid overplanning,  Be clear and focus on your desired intention  Decide What you really want from your plan. and how you want to feel.   We always get lost with “What does success look like?” Success is not about achieving a specific goal, but feeling better in the process. [15:32 - 16:41] Closing Segment Final Notes Let's Connect! You can connect with me, Kenny Chapman on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Email me at kenny@kennychapman.com. Be sure to check out my website https://www.kennychapman.com and find the solutions to your in-service education needs. The first month of training is FREE!! LEAVE A REVIEW + help someone who wants to explore their leadership capacity by sharing this episode Tweetable Quotes: “ The plan is going to change. And you planners on the line that wrecks you. That's why you get it close. You get it. Good enough. And then you get going and then you alter the plan as you go.”  - Kenny Chapman

ICEMAN IS HERE...JK :(In the 12th episode Shawn Ashmore guest stars as the "villain" Eric Summers, aka Leech aka Change Up aka We Can't Decide What to Call Him.Today we discuss Clark losing his powers for the first time, the worst parent ever and why you should never make Lex wait.

BudgetChristmas fund | put some money aside into a separate account each month, or even start this in the summer for the holiday season (we start in July)Start shopping early | there are some great deals throughout the year and having money set aside makes it so easy to make that purchase because the money is for that; for us, waiting until November or December to shop adds more stress to an already busy seasonDecide who you're buying forSet a budget per personDon't forget holiday birthdays!Be IntentionalUse a notes app (Jess likes Evernote) to keep track of ideas; you can also use this to track what you've already purchased; talk to people about what is helpful and would be a well-loved gift (especially for kids!)Decide | Who are you buying for?Have conversations with family and friends; no hard feelings! Get creative with game nights, movie nights, and dinners instead of feeling pressured to buy gifts.Decide | What is off-limits?Everything has a home here, so bringing in lots of cheap trinkets or things that will go in the trash quickly is not something we want to contribute to. We are quality over quantity fans when it comes to this season. We also don't want to give or receive unnecessary duplicates, so keep that in mind as you're talking through gift ideas.Want / Need / Wear / ReadThis is what we have done since we have had kids and it works so well for our family. Choose what works well for you, but if you have trouble with too much stuff, this is a fabulous place to start. We don't want our kids (and us!) to lose sight of the focus and be overrun by consumption and ungratefulness.