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The week ahead will include a wealth of economic data, though most of that could be drowned out by the escalating conflict in the Middle East, says Dr. Jacky Tang, the Private Bank's emerging markets CIO. "The Middle East will remain the dominant narrative driver for day-to-day price action, but this week's economic data provides key cross-checks on whether we are facing a pure inflation shock, a growth shock, or both," Jacky says.He also notes that history has shown that the impacts of even major conflicts on markets tend to be fleeting. “Geopolitical events have rarely had a lasting effect on global stock markets unless they had significant economic impact. So far, our outlook for equity markets remains positive,” Jacky says, pointing to safe haven demand for government bonds, and the possibility of higher gold prices and a firmer US dollar.But even if economic data won't be top of mind this week, Jacky points to some important reports due, including the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge. “We think the Fed could stay on hold in the next few months and monitor closely the inflation trends.”For more investing insights, please visit wealth.db.com.In Europe, Middle East and Africa as well as in Asia Pacific this material is considered marketing material, but this is not the case in the U.S. No assurance can be given that any forecast or target can be achieved. Forecasts are based on assumptions, estimates, opinions and hypothetical models which may prove to be incorrect. Past performance is not indicative of future returns.Performance refers to a nominal value based on price gains/losses and does not take into account inflation. Inflation will have a negative impact on the purchasing power of this nominal monetary value. Depending on the current level of inflation, this may lead to a real loss in value, even if the nominal performance of the investment is positive. Investments come with risk. The value of an investment can fall as well as rise and you might not get back the amount originally invested at any point in time. Your capital may be at risk.The services described in this podcast are provided by Deutsche Bank AG or by its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in accordance with appropriate local legislation and regulation. Deutsche Bank AG is subject to comprehensive supervision by the European Central Bank (“ECB”), by Germany's Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) and by Germany's central bank (“Deutsche Bundesbank”). Brokerage services in the United States are offered through Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., a broker-dealer and registered investment adviser, which conducts investment banking and securities activities in the United States.Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. is a member of FINRA, NYSE and SIPC. Lending and banking services in the United States are offered through Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, member FDIC, and other members of the Deutsche Bank Group.The products, services, information and/or materials referred to within this podcast may not be available for residents of certain jurisdictions. © 2026 Deutsche Bank AG and/or its subsidiaries. All rights reserved. This podcast may not be used, reproduced, copied or modified without the written consent of Deutsche Bank AG. 030620 030121

It's Bride of Frankenstein… Wait, no, that's not right… No, it's Bride of Re-Animator on Zombies Ate My Podcast this week. We go in-depth on our thoughts on this 90s classic. Does Jeffrey Combs take over every scene? HELL YES HE DOES! Also, Resident Evil Requiem is out, and we give our intro thoughts. In the news, we have more RE news about the upcoming movie, Evil Dead Wrath began filming, Paul W. S. Anderson did a podcast discussing making video game movies, Disney+ has another of those Zombies movies coming, and…. Sad news from our Deadite Lord and Savior, Bruce Campbell.Discussion00:00:00 - Resident Evil Requiem00:26:11 - News00:43:23 - Bride of Re-AnimatorComing up on ZAMP! Depending on how we're doing with Resident Evil Requiem, we'll either deep dive on the latest RE game or check in with Molly's Extra Life donation to watch an Italian Zombie Movie of our choosing. As per Lou's suggestion, we're going with City of the Living Dead.Important StuffSupport us on PatreonDiscord ChannelEmail the show Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Who dares to make predictions in the current landscape? We do!  Our Predictions are back. Will our track-record continue on a high or will we be fundamentally wrong? Listen in to our Predictions for 2026 Navigation: Intro What will 2026 be all about? AI, AI and … more AI The big Hardware movements Of Start-ups and VCs Regulatory & Geopolitical Headwinds… and the Wars Fintech, Crypto and Frontier Tech Conclusion Our co-hosts: Bertrand Schmitt, Entrepreneur in Residence at Red River West, co-founder of App Annie / Data.ai, business angel, advisor to startups and VC funds, @bschmitt Nuno Goncalves Pedro, Investor, Managing Partner, Founder at Chamaeleon, @ngpedro Our show:   Tech DECIPHERED brings you the Entrepreneur and Investor views on Big Tech, VC and Start-up news, opinion pieces and research. We decipher their meaning, and add inside knowledge and context. Being nerds, we also discuss the latest gadgets and pop culture news Subscribe To Our Podcast Bertrand Schmitt Introduction Welcome to Tech Deciphered Episode 74. That would be an episode about some predictions about 2026. What will be 2026 all about? I guess this year is probably starting with a bang. We saw the acquisition of xAI by SpaceX. We saw an acquisition from Grok by NVIDIA. What’s your take about what would be the big themes in 2026? I guess it would be for sure about AI and space. Nuno Goncalves Pedro What will 2026 be all about? Yeah. I predict a year that will be a little bit more of a year of reckoning in some way. There will be a lot of things that I think we’ll start seeing through. The fact that we are in the midst of an amazing transformational era for technology, the use of AI, but at the same time, obviously, a ridiculous bubble that is going alongside it as we’ve discussed in previous episodes. I think that we’ll start seeing some early reckonings of that, companies that might start failing, floundering, maybe a couple of frauds along the way, etc. I’ll tell you what I will not make many predictions about today, which is geopolitics. Geopolitics, I will not make predictions at all. Who the hell knows what’s going to happen to the world this year in 2026? I don’t dare making any predictions on that. Back to things where I would make predictions. I think on AI, we’ll have a little bit of reckoning. We’ll talk about it a little bit more in detail during this episode. Interesting elements around the hardware and physical space. Physical space, we just dedicated a full episode to it. We won’t go into a lot of details on that, but definitely on the hardware side, we’ll talk a little bit more about it. The VC landscape is going through an incredible transformation. We’ll talk about it today as well and some of our predictions for this year. What will happen to the asset class? It seems to be transforming itself dramatically. Obviously, that has a very direct impact on startups, so we’ll talk about that as well. And then to close a little bit the chapter on this, we will address some regulatory and geopolitical, let’s call it, headwinds without making maybe too many complex predictions. We shall see. Maybe by that time of the episode, we will be making some predictions. You guys should stay and listen to us, and maybe we will actually make some predictions about the geopolitical transformations that we will see this year in the world. Then last but not the least, we’ll talk about fintech, crypto, frontier tech, and a couple of other areas before concluding the episode. A classic predictions’ episode. We normally have a pretty good track record on some of these, but right now, the world is going a bit interesting, not to say insane. Bertrand Schmitt Yes, and going back to some news, Groq technically was not acquired, but, practically, it’s as if it got acquired. I’m talking about Groq, G-R-O-Q. The AI semiconductor company focused on inference AI, and it was late December. It was a way to end the year. This year, we started again with an acquisition of xAI by its sister company, SpaceX. I guess that’s where we are starting. AI, AI and … more AI We are going to start on AI. That’s definitely the big stuff. Everything these days, I guess, is about AI or has to have some connection with AI, or it doesn’t matter. I think every company in the world has seen that. You have to have the absolute minimum on AI strategy. You better execute on this strategy and show results, I would say. For the companies that were not AI native, you truly have to have a way to transform yourself. I guess at some point, the stretch might be too much, and it’s not really reasonable. Then you maybe better stay on what you are doing, especially if you’re in tech, you better be moving faster to AI. Nuno Goncalves Pedro Just to highlight, and I think throughout the episode, you’ll see that there’re obviously a lot of implications that would manifest themselves into capital markets. I mean, we’ll specifically talk about VCs and startups later on. But the fact that everything needs to be AI, the fact that there’s so much innovation happening right now, in my opinion, and this is maybe the first pre-topic to AI, is we’ll see a tremendous increase in M&A activity this year across the board. I mean, we’ve seen already some big acquihires we mentioned in some of our previous episodes, but we’ll see a lot more activity on M&A this year. Normally, that’s a precursor to the opening of capital markets. I predict also that there will be a reopening of the IPO market that never really reopened last year, to be honest. M&A, a lot more, reopening of the IPO market. Normally, it happens in the second or third quarter of the year. That’s what my M&A friends tell me. First quarter of year, everyone’s figuring out stuff. Then last quarter of the year, things should be more or less closed. Maybe the third quarter is the big quarter. We shall see. But definitely, as a precursor to our conversation today, I think we’ll see a lot of M&A, and we’ll see reopening of the IPO mark. Bertrand Schmitt I guess last year was not as big as you could expect on M&A given the tariff situation announced in April and May. I mean, it became quite tough to do IPO in such market conditions. Definitely, we can hope for something dramatically different in 2026. I guess talking about public markets and IPO, I guess the big one everyone is waiting for is SpaceX. SpaceX getting even more interesting with its xAI acquisition. Nuno Goncalves Pedro Do you think that because of the acquisition, it’s more likely that it will happen this year, or because of the acquisition, it’s less likely that it will happen this year? Bertrand Schmitt That’s a good question. My guess is the acquisition of xAI is all about xAI needing more financing and cheaper financing. This acquisition is a pathway to that. SpaceX being a much bigger company, a company that is also making much more revenues. I could bet that there is higher probability that, actually, SpaceX will go public in order to finance itself. At the same time, will it have enough time to prepare itself for the IPO given this acquisition just happened? Can they do that in 6 months? I mean, if anyone can do it, I guess it’s Elon Musk. It’s a strategy to present an even more attractive company with an even more interesting story, a story of vertical integration from AI to space. I guess the story as it’s presented itself right now, it’s one about having your AI data centers in space. Because in space, you have much better solar energy production with solar panels. You have a perfect cooling situation because you are in space. Thanks to Starlink, you have the mean to communicate between the satellites and with Earth itself. I think if someone can pull up a story like AI data center in space, I guess Elon Musk can. There is, of course, a lot of questions about is it practical? Is it economical? Yes. I certainly agree. I’m not clear on the mass, and can you make it work? Again, I mean, Elon Musk single-handedly, with SpaceX, managed to transform the space market on its head. I mean, they are the biggest satellite launching company in the world. They have the most satellites in the world. I mean, I’m not sure I would bet against him, and I guess I would probably believe that he could pull up something. Time frames, different story. The 2-3 years data center in space for AI as cheap as on Earth, I have more trouble with that one. I mean, it’s a usual suspect with Elon Musk. You promise something unachievable in a few years, but, ultimately, you still manage to reach it in 5 or 10. Again, I would not bet against the strategy. Nuno Goncalves Pedro Yeah. I’ve talked to a couple of space experts, people that have launched rockets, and have worked JPL, NASA, and a couple of other places, etc. For what it’s worth, their feedback is, “No way in hell, and we’re decades away.” We’ll see. I mean, to your point, Elon has pulled very dramatic stuff. Not as fast as he normally says he’s going to pull it, but within a time span that we all see it. Difficult to bet against him. In terms of actually the prediction, maybe to respond to the prediction as well, will SpaceX IPO? I’m going to make a prediction that has a very high likelihood of missing the mark, but I think Tesla’s going to buy and merge them both into it. It’s going to become a public company through Tesla. That’s my hypothesis. Bertrand Schmitt No. That’s supposed to be it. That’s how you solve that. Nuno Goncalves Pedro And Elon controls the whole universe. X, xAI, Tesla, SpaceX, all under one umbrella beautifully run. And SolarCity is well in there, of course, so wonderful. Bertrand Schmitt That’s possible. Certainly, you are not the only one thinking Tesla will acquire or merge with SpaceX. To remind everyone, Tesla is around 1.3, 1.5 trillion market cap. Depending on the day, SpaceX seems to be valued at similar range, 1.2, 1.3 trillion. It looks like it’s the most valued private company at this stage. These are companies of similar size, so that’s one piece of the puzzle. When you think about the combined company, we could be talking about a 3 trillion entity. Playing right here with the biggest companies in the marketplace today. Nuno Goncalves Pedro With a couple of tweets from Elon, it will rapidly get to 4 to 5 trillion. Bertrand Schmitt That’s so tricky. Nuno Goncalves Pedro Yes. On AI and back to AI, one thing I think that we’re about to see is this will probably be the year of agentic AI. Obviously, we predict a lot of growth on that side of the fence, in particular on the enterprise B2B side. We see a lot of opportunities coming through. From our perspective, at least at Chamaeleon, we generally believe that there’s going to be a lot of movements on agentic AI. It’s also going to be probably the year of the first big fails of agentic AI that will be newsworthy. There will be some elements about that loop and how it gets closed that will happen. I think we might see some scandals already. We’re already seeing the social network of bots talking to bots. We will see other scandals going on this year even in the consumer space and in the bot to bot space, which we now can talk about or in the AI agent to AI agent space. My prediction is we will see some move forwards. There’ll be some dramatic funding rounds along the way. We’ll see a couple of really cool things out of the gates coming out that are really impressive, but we’ll also see the first big misses of the technology stack. I don’t think we’ll go fully mainstream yet this year, so it’s probably maybe something more for 2027 along the way. That would be my prediction again. I think enterprise will lead the way. We’ll definitely see a lot of stuff on consumer as well that is cool. Then we’ll all have our own personal assistance in our hands, basically, literally in our phones. Bertrand Schmitt Going back to agentic AI, we also started the year with some pretty dramatic move. I mean, the launch of Clawdbot, renamed OpenClaw. I mean, this stuff took fire in like a week or 2. It was coded by just one person who actually didn’t even code the product but used AI to build the product, 100% used AI, proposing some new ways also to leverage AI to do coding. He has a pretty unique approach. It’s not vibe coding. I would say it’s a better way to do that. Then the surprising evolution with the launch of a social network for AI agents, Moltbook. I mean, this stuff, probably there is some fake in it. But at the same time, I think it’s quite impressive because it’s the first time we see truly 100,000 plus agents communicating directly to each other. Yeah. I mean, that’s the first time we see surfacing the possibility of some sort of hive mind on the Internet. It’s pretty surprising. Right now, all of this is a hack done in a few days. By end of year, by 2 years, 3 years, we might discover that, actually, the best approach to AI might not be the AI assistant like we are doing today, but a combination of hundreds of thousands of AI working closely together. We might be witnessing the first sign of new intelligence in a way. Nuno Goncalves Pedro Things like this social network might either be Skynet, the beginning of Skynet. They might be the beginning of Her, or they might just be a fad and nothing really happens. It’s just interesting to see what these agents are doing. Bertrand Schmitt Totally. Nuno Goncalves Pedro Obviously, there are real and clear and present dangers of some of the integrations of AI we’re seeing in the market. Interesting enough, and I’ll ask you for your prediction a bit, Bertrand. I think we’ll probably see the first big mishap of AI being used in some infrastructural decision in the age of AI. I mean, we’ve seen AI issues in the past and software issues in the past. We talked in previous episodes about that as well. Mishaps of software that have led to people dying. But I think probably the first big mishap will happen this year as well. Very public mishap of the use of AI and serve its interactions with infrastructure or something that’s very platform related, etc, that will have big impact that everyone will notice. That’s my prediction for the year as well. We’ll have the first big oops moment, as I would call it, for AI in this new age of full on AI. Bertrand Schmitt I would say first some perspective. I think today, people are not using AI directly for life and death decision, at least not that I’m aware. We’re not going to let AI fly a plane, for instance, tomorrow so you can be, reassured. At the same time, given there is such a race to AI, there definitely might be some mistakes. We were talking about the social network for AI agents, Moltbook. Apparently, all the keys used to secure the AI were shared by mistake because it was not properly locked down. We can see that indirectly, mistakes will be made for sure. Two, it’s highly probable that some people will trust AI too much to do some stuff, and this stuff might not work and might have some grave consequence. Hopefully, there is not so much of this. Hopefully, it’s mostly AI used for the good. But you’re right. I mean, at some point, the more we use the technology, the more there would be issue. I mean, it’s highly probable. Nuno Goncalves Pedro That will lead me to another prediction, which is, and we’ll talk about more of it later, but it probably will lead to the first significant movement in terms of regulatory environment certainly in the US at some point if it happens in the US in particular, where there will be some movement that will be like, “Hey, you guys can’t do this anymore.” Because this will probably emerge from mismanaged interfaces. From systems having access to stuff that they shouldn’t have access to in the first place. Talking a little bit more about what’s happening in AI. You’ve already mentioned some of the issues that relate actually to security and cybersecurity. We keep talking about AI. We keep talking about all these infrastructure pieces and platforms that are being built. I think we’ll have a lot more incidents like the one you just mentioned where things will be shared that shouldn’t have been shared, where people will break systems and get into it, etc. Let’s see where that takes us, which is a little bit ironic because, obviously, with AI, the promise is that cybersecurity becomes more robust as well because there’re agents working on our behalf on the cybersecurity side. There’s also agents working on the other side. Bertrand Schmitt It’s a constant race. It’s the attackers, defenders. Each time you have new technology, you have a new race to who is going to attack or defend the best. Each new wave of technology, it’s an opportunity to challenge the status quo. Nuno Goncalves Pedro The attackers have been winning, and I feel they’ll continue winning in 2026. I think it’s going to still be a year of attack. We’ll see more and more breaches, more and more stuff that will happen. Bertrand Schmitt I don’t know if they will win. I mean, it’s normal that they win once in a while. For sure, some infrastructure is not updated as it should. Some stuff are not managed as it should, so there will always be breaches. I don’t know if things are dramatically going to change because, again, everyone who cares who is going to update his infrastructure with AI for defense. There is no question that you have no choice. We will see. That I don’t know. For sure, AI will be used to attack directly with AI. Maybe you’re able to do bigger, larger scale attack. Or thanks to AI, you are simply able to create new type of attacks more easily. AI can be used behind the scene as a way to prepare and organise new type of attacks, even if it’s not used directly live in the battle. Nuno Goncalves Pedro One topic that we’ll come back to later is the geopolitics of everything, but maybe more broadly. On the geopolitics of AI, it’s very clear that we have an arms race going on. Obviously, the US on the one hand, China on the other hand is the two extremes, putting tremendous amount of capital into data centers just at the base of that infrastructure. Chipset development, chipset access, a huge theme in terms of the export restrictions, etc, that are being forced by the US. I think it will continue. From a European standpoint, obviously, they’re stuck between a rock and a hard place, to be very honest. Let’s see what happens on that side of the fence. My view of the world is that certainly from a US and China perspective, we’re going to see a lot more movements in 2026, like big movements. The Chinese movements we always see in delay.  It takes us a couple of months, sometimes even more than that to understand exactly what’s going on. I think we’re going to see some huge moves this year in terms of the States, the United States of America, and China really pouring capital into the creation of the next big winners around AI. I think the US is obviously more visible. We see a lot of these companies. We’ve just discussed xAI and its acquisition by SpaceX or merger. I don’t know what they’re calling it exactly. Effectively, on the China side, the movements I think are already very big. As I said, it will take a while to figure out exactly what those moves are. One thing that I propose is that at some point, China will have very little dependency on chipsets from the US. I’m not sure it’s going to happen this year, but I think the writing is on the wall. Irrespective of any other geopolitical issues that is coming to the fore at this moment in time. That’s one of the key areas or in arenas of fight. Bertrand Schmitt It makes sense. If you are China, you will look at what happened. You would think that you cannot just depend on the largest of one country. It makes rational sense, the same way it makes rational sense for the US to limit exports to China because there is value to delay some peer pressure that could use these technologies for good but also for bad. If you were an ally of the US, that would be one thing. But when you are not an ally of the US, that certainly should be a different perspective. Maybe one last point concerning agents, I think there will be a lot that will revolve around coding. We can see OpenAI with Codex. We can see Cloud with code. There was, of course, [inaudible 00:18:28] that was trying to be big on agentic coding. I think agentic coding was one of the big transformation in 2025 and is going to get bigger in 2026. I think for a lot of people who do coding, there was a radical transformation in terms of what you can achieve, what you can do, how much you can trust AI to help you code. I start to think we might see this year, the replacement of not just one AI replace one coder, but one AI replace a full team because of the new ability to manage that at scale. Coding might be a common activity where you are going to think about outcomes, think about objective, think about how you organise, but not really coding by itself anymore. A big change, like you used to code, directly your hand on the stuff, but step by step, everyone is going to become a manager of agent. I think in one year, we saw enough transformation to think that in the coming year, the transformation can be even more dramatic. Nuno Goncalves Pedro The big Hardware movements Now switching gears to hardware. Obviously, a lot of movements in 2025 and over the last few years. One piece of thesis that we’ve had long-standing at Chamaeleon is that we will see the emergence of AI devices. Some of them have been tremendous failures as we discussed in the past. I predict that we’ll have a couple of really interesting full stack AI devices in the market this year. Why does that matter? Because, as many of you know, obviously, there’s compute that can happen in data centers and cloud infrastructure all over the world, but also there’s compute that can happen at the edges. The more you can move to the edges and the more you can create devices that actually allow you to have user experiences that are very distinctive at the edge, the more powerful some of these devices might become. I predict Apple will not be the first to launch anything on this. I predict probably OpenAI, after the acquisition of IO, will maybe not launch something this year, but will announce something this year. I’ll step back on that prediction. They’ll announce something this year, but maybe not launch. But we’ll start seeing some devices that have some interesting value in the market, probably devices that are AI devices, but they are very focused on very specific user flows, and so very much adequate to specific activities. I won’t make a prediction on that, but I think areas that would make sense for that to happen would be obviously around fitness, health, et cetera, et cetera, where we already have the ascendancy of products like Oura Ring and others out there. Definitely, that’s one area that might have quite a lot of developments. I think AI-first devices, devices that are very focused on compute at the edges, providing user flows that are AI-enabled to end users, we’ll see a lot more of that and a lot more activity this year. Again, I don’t think Apple will be necessarily ahead of the game. Again, maybe OpenAI will give us something to at least think about and look forward to. Bertrand Schmitt First, I’m not sure it will be that transformational because if it’s not in your phone, in your pocket, there is only so much you can do with it, and there is only so much computing power you will have. I’m doubtful it would be really impactful this year. Nuno Goncalves Pedro I feel we’ve been discussing this shift of paradigm in input and output. For me, some of these devices could lead to that shift. Because, again, a mobile phone is not a great long-term paradigm for the usage that we have because it’s really constrained by the screen. The screen is really what takes most of the battery life away. If we didn’t have that screen, what could we do? If we have the block that is as big as a mobile phone, and it didn’t have a screen, it was just compute, that’s a mini computer, a microcomputer. Bertrand Schmitt That’s a fair point, but I don’t see that transformation this year. That’s really more my point. I can see that you can have AI-enabled smart glasses, and it’s clear there is a race to AI-enabled smart glasses. My point is more to go beyond the gadget, it would take quite a while. It would need to have cameras. It would need to analyse what you see. It would need to hear what you hear. Again, it might come, but then at some point, it would be okay, what do you do with it? We have the example of the movie Her. That’s showing Her what it could be. There are definitely possibilities. It’s clear that if you take the big VR headset like the Apple Vision Pro, there is a failure from that perspective in the sense that I think it’s a great, amazing device. The big problem is that it’s doing way more that makes sense. I think there will be a clearer separation between your smart AR glasses that has to be light, that has to be always unconnected, and that’s primarily there to help you make sense of the world around you. The true VR headset that doesn’t really require much in terms of AI, and it’s just there to immerse you in a different world. For this, we know, unfortunately, in some ways, that there is not a lot of demand for it. Maybe there is little demand because you are too hidden in your own world. The technology is not working well enough yet. There are a lot of reasons. But I think Apple trying to do both at the same time, AR and VR, with the Vision Pro, was a pretty grave structural mistake. I think we would see a clearer line of separation between the two. There is bigger market opportunity for AR glasses. That, I certainly agree. There is opportunity to connect that to a computing device. As you talk about, your glasses are your screen, your phone becomes something in your pocket connected to your glasses. Nuno Goncalves Pedro For me, Apple has their way of doing things. From the perspective of what you said, they normally really plan their devices. Even if it’s a big shift in terms of a new area, like they tried with the Vision Pro, and we criticised them for launching it as a device that should have been more of a dev device that they really launched as a full-on device, but that’s their playbook, classically. I think Apple needs to change how they put products out and how they experiment with those products, et cetera. I think they have enough money to be doing everything all the time and figuring it out. If they don’t want to put it out, then they need to do a lot more hell of testing internally with their silos, but they should be playing across all these arenas, VR, AR, everything. They just should put devices out that are either ready for prime time, or they should call it something else. They should call it like this is a dev device or whatever it is. Bertrand Schmitt I agree with you. My complaint is more that it was marketed as a consumer device when it was not. It was a true developer device. Two, they tried to mix the two at once, and it made no sense. No one is going to walk in their home or in the street with their Vision Pro on their head. You have to be deranged, quite frankly, to have use cases like this. I think that for me is a crazy mistake from a company like Apple that prides itself in pure UI, pure user interface, very well-designed device for one specific use case, not mixing the two use cases. We still don’t have Macs with a touchscreen, you know?  We still don’t have an iPad with a good OS that makes use of this great hardware. For some strange reason, they decided to mix everything in the Vision Pro with a device that weighs a ton on your head and is so uncomfortable. That’s why, for me, I’m like, “Guys, what is wrong? Why did you let this team run crazy?” I hope at some point, Apple will go back to the drawing board. My understanding is that that’s what they are doing. They are going to have two devices, one smart glasses, an evolution of the Vision Pro, just focus on VR. They might actually abandon the concept of the pure VR-oriented headset. Because, from a market size perspective, it might not be big enough for Apple, quite frankly. Nuno Goncalves Pedro I read on all of the above, and people at this point was like, “Why are then players like Samsung and others not doing it. LG, et cetera?” Because those players historically have not invented new categories. They’re amazing at catching up once the category is invented, and then they scale the hell out of it, and that’s what these companies have been exceptional at. I wouldn’t see a dramatic innovation, I think, in terms of devices coming from any of the big ones on that side of the fence. Not to disrespect them in any way, but I think that’s not been their playbook ever. Again, if the origination doesn’t come from a start-up or from an Apple, I don’t see those guys going after it. My bet is that we’ll see some start-up activity and, again, hopefully, some announcement from IO now within the OpenAI world. Bertrand Schmitt I would slightly disagree with you. I see where you are coming from. But take the Samsung Galaxy Note, that sudden much bigger headphone that no one was doing that was launched by Samsung, at some point, it forced Apple to launch an iPhone Max. Let’s look at the Z Fold that Samsung launched 7 years ago, copied by everyone. Now Samsung launching a trifold. Apple has still not launched their foldable phone. I think there is a mix, actually, of sometimes- Nuno Goncalves Pedro For me, that’s not a proper new category. It’s still a mobile phone. It just happens to have a screen that folds in half. Bertrand Schmitt The iPhone was still a mobile phone, you could argue.  Nuno Goncalves Pedro No. I think the iPhone was…  I could actually agree with you on that point. Maybe Apple is not as innovative in that case. I think what Steve Jobs was exceptionally good at in terms of his ability as this master product manager was to be an exceptional curator of user flows and user experiences, and creating incredible experiences from devices based on that. That was his secret sauce. Could you say, “Wasn’t all of this stuff already around?” It was. You just put it all together very neatly and very nicely. But if you’re talking about significant shifts in how a category is done, the iPhone was a significant shift in how the category was done. The Fold is still an interesting device. I actually have a Fold right now in front of me. The 7 that you highly recommended to me that we both got, the Z Fold 7. I think they do amazing devices. I don’t think they normally are the most innovative players. Then, when they come to innovation, it comes from technology edges. Obviously, they have Samsung Display, there’s a bunch of other things. They had the ability to do foldable screens in-house themselves. Bertrand Schmitt I don’t disagree with you. I think there is an interesting situation where some companies have some strengths, another one has some strengths. My worry with Apple is that this was not demonstrated with the Vision Pro. The Vision Pro was a hot pot of technologies barely integrated together, with use cases absolutely not well-defined and certainly not something that makes sense for most of us. There is a question of has Apple lost it? While Samsung actually keeps doing their own stuff, that, yes, might be more minor improvements, but at least they are doing it. Because it looks like Apple is missing the train on even the minor improvements. By the way, you might not be aware, but Samsung launched its Vision Pro competitor. Interestingly enough, it might be a better product in some ways, being much lighter and much more comfortable. Nuno Goncalves Pedro We should play around with that and report back to our listeners. Of Start-ups and VCs Moving to venture capital and the startup ecosystem and what’s happening there, I think it is very much a bifurcated environment, and it’s bifurcated for both VCs and for startups. If you’re a startup in the AI space, and you have the hottest team since sliced bread, and you can create FOMO at the speed of light, you can raise ridiculous rounds. Five hundred million at the $3 billion, or $4 billion, or $5 billion valuation, and you still haven’t really even started. First round, you can raise 500 million. That’s back to the whole discussion on Bubble and where are we, et cetera. Some of these companies might actually become huge, some of them might not. But definitely, we are seeing really the haves and have-nots on the startup ecosystem with incredible teams raising a lot of money very, very early on or mid-stage if they’ve already existed for a while, and then the rest not being able to raise. We see a lot of non-necessarily AI sectors, some of the areas of SaaS that don’t necessarily have AI in it, or fintech, or the consumer space that are really, really struggling. If you don’t have an AI story for your startup right now, it’s extremely difficult to raise money unless your numbers are just the best numbers ever. That’s, I think, the first part of the element of bifurcation that we’re seeing today. The second element of bifurcation that we’re seeing today in terms of fundraising is for VCs themselves, and really propelled by the large VC firms raising more and more capital in recent orbits, announcing 15 billion across funds raised. Lightspeed, I think, had made an announcement a couple of weeks ago as well. They’ve raised a bunch of money as well. The big guys are all raising a lot of money. At some point in time, the question some of you might ask is, “These VCs are redeploying more and more money if they have a couple of billion for a VC fund. How does that look like? Is that still VC?” My perspective, I’ve shared before in some of our previous episodes, is that that’s no longer venture capital. At that point in time, we’re talking about something else. Private equity hedge funds, if you want to call them, maybe funds that are really driven by growth investment or late-stage investment. If you have a couple of billion under management, you’re not going to make your returns by writing a $3 million check in a series seed and leading that round.  That has implications for everyone in the ecosystem. It has implications for smaller funds that obviously have a lot more difficulty in raising capital. It’s difficult to differentiate. Last but not least, also for startups that really continue searching for that capital that is out there. Andreessen Horowitz, for example, runs Speedrun, which is a great program for companies around consumer in particular. Initially, it was a lot for gaming. But at some point in time, Andreessen Horowitz could decide that they don’t want to invest more in you. They just put money from Speedrun, which is obviously a very small check compared to the very large checks they could write mid to late stage and that will have an effect on you as a startup. What happens at that point in time if Andreessen Horowitz is not backing you up in later stages? More than that, what happens if I can’t get these big funds interested in me? Are the small funds still valuable to me? Punchline, my view is yes. Obviously, we’re a smaller fund, so there’s parochial interest in what I’m saying. Small funds can still create a ton of value for you, also in terms of credibility, ability to accompany you in those first stages of investment, and the ability to bring other larger investors later down the road as well. There’s definitely a big movement happening in terms of the fundraising for VC funds, which we shouldn’t neglect, which is the big guys are raising a lot more capital and are therefore emptying the market to smaller funds that are having more and more difficult raising at this point in time. We had discussed that there would be a need for concentration in the industry, that micro funds would need to concentrate, and we didn’t have the space for so many micro funds as we had around. But the way it’s happening is extremely dramatic at this moment in time. I think it will continue through 2026. Bertrand Schmitt Remember a few years ago, with the rise of AI, there was more and more of the question about, “What’s the point of SaaS at this stage?” Because SaaS was around for 15 years. Basically, how do you come up with something new that was not already tested, validated by the market? How do you bring something new? We say this was reinforced to the power of 10. If your product is not clearly built from the ground up for a new use case enabled by AI, anyone could then might have built your product 5, 10 years ago, and therefore, why now has no clear answer, and it’s a big problem. I’m still surprised myself to still see some entrepreneurs where you talk to them about AI because you don’t see them in the deck, and they explain to you, “It’s not yet there,” and you’re like, “What’s wrong with you guys?” Fine. Do whatever you want. Do a small business and whatever, but don’t think you can come up pitch and raise without an AI story. The second category is people who come with an AI story, but you can feel very quickly, I guess you saw that many times, Nuno, where just a story layered on top with little credibility. It’s not better. It’s not enough to just have a story. Your business needs to be radically built differently or radically proposing some brand-new use cases that were impossible to solve 5 years ago. Nuno Goncalves Pedro To stack up on that, absolutely in agreement. If you’re just adding to the story, and it’s an afterthought, and you’re just trying to make the story somehow gel, once you go into one or two layers of due diligence, your investors will very quickly realise that you’re not really AI-first or dramatically AI-enabled or whatever. It’s just you’re sort of stacking something on top of another thesis. It needs to make sense from the product onwards. It’s not just, let’s just put it together with chewing gum, and magically, people will give you money. It was true also if we remember the good old crypto blockchain days, where everyone’s investing in crypto. A lot of stories that didn’t make much sense. In that sense, it’s not very different. I would go one step further. I think in the world of the VC winter that we’re a little bit in, where it’s more and more difficult if you’re a smaller fund to raise your fund at this moment in time, there’s a lot of sources of distinctiveness still talked about, like proprietary networks, access to deal flow, fast track record, all that stuff that really, really matters. But our bet continues at Chamaeleon continues being that you need to be AI-first as a VC fund yourself. You need to have core advantages in using not only readily-available AI tools or third-party available AI tools, data sources, technology stacks, but actually building your own stack over time, which is what we did with Mantis at Chamaeleon. Again, just to reinforce that, I think we’re at the beginning of that stage. We, Chamaeleon, are ahead of the game, but we think that the rest of the market will have to move towards that as well. Still, to be honest, very surprising to me to see that many significant large players are doing very little still around some of these spaces. They have data scientists. They’re running some tools. They’re running some analysis and all that stuff, but it’s still, again, back to the point I was making for startups, all glued up with chewing gum. It doesn’t all come together nicely, which it does need to from a platform standpoint. Bertrand Schmitt It’s quite surprising. I agree with you that some VC funds might think that they can do business as usual in that brand-new world. It’s difficult to believe. Nuno Goncalves Pedro Maybe moving a little bit toward the capital formation piece. We already discussed the M&A space really accelerating. We’ve also discussed the IPO market and some predictions on that. Secondaries, there’s obviously a lot of liquidity coming from secondaries from mid to late stage. I think it will continue throughout the rest of 2026. A lot of activity in buying, selling in secondaries as some asset managers are becoming more distressed, as some very high net worth individuals and family offices are becoming more distressed as well, at the same time, where there’s a lot of opportunities to potentially arbitrage around some investments. I believe a lot of money will be made and lost this year by decisions made this year, just to be very, very clear in terms of equity, purchases, et cetera. Exciting year ahead of us. Definitely a very, very interesting market ahead of us. Secondaries, M&A, growth, and late-stage investing, also, early-stage investing will continue just for those that were wondering. Last but not least, the public markets, the IPO market as well. Bertrand Schmitt One of the big questions for the IPO market would be, will SpaceX go public? Would it be good for the startup ecosystem? Because suddenly that they go public, it would be to raise money. If they raise money, will there be any money left for anybody else? That would be an interesting test of the market. For sure, it would be proof that market are risk on financing a new IPO like this one. Or as you said, maybe there is no IPO, and it’s a merger with Tesla. Time will tell. Nuno Goncalves Pedro Regulatory & Geopolitical Headwinds… and the Wars Moving maybe to our topic of regulation and geopolitical headwinds, as we’re seeing … definitely not tailwinds. The Google antitrust verdict and, obviously, the remedies are expected to come forward now, and a lot of people are saying, “There are some risks of structural separation.” What do you think? Is it cool, but nothing will happen in the end dramatically? Alphabet or Google? I’m not sure, actually. It’s Google LLC. I think that’s the case. It’s The United States versus Google LLC. Bertrand Schmitt I’m not sure. Personally, I’m not a big fan. I think there needs to be a better way to manage some anticompetitive behavior. I’m not a big fan. There was this temptation to do that for Microsoft 25 years ago. Look at what happened. No one needed to buy Microsoft to leave space for others. I see the same with Google, and I guess they are happy to not be the number 1 in AI today, but to have an open AI in front of them. Even if they are doing a great job, by the way, to move forward and go faster and faster. Personally, quite impressed now with some of what they have released. Gemini 3 is doing great from my perspective. I’m not a big fan of this. I think to be clear, it’s important that bigger companies don’t behave anticompetitively, but at the same time, we need to find the right approach where it’s not about breaking these companies, and it’s also not about forbidding them to do acquisitions. Because then you end up with what NVIDIA just did with a $20 billion acquihire IP licensing type of acquisition, because they didn’t want to have the uncertainties. They didn’t want to wait 1–2 years in order to acquire the people and the technology, so they organised it in a different way. But I don’t like that. I think they should be able to acquire companies without facing so much uncertainty. To be clear, it’s not new. Uncertainty when you are Google, NVIDIA, or others, it happens. It has happened for a decade plus, 2 decades. I think there needs to be, for sure, some safety valves. At the same time, we want an efficient capital market. An efficient capital market need companies that can acquire other companies. If you don’t do that efficiently, it will be worse for the entrepreneurs, it will be worse for the investors, it will be worse for everybody. I think we have not reached a good equilibrium from my perspective. We need more efficient acquisition process. And at the same time, we need to also enforce faster anticompetitive behavior. Because what you talk about concerning Google, this is a case that was what? That is 10 years old. You see what I mean? This is way too long. If you’re a startup, you are dead by then. It’s like the story of Netscape facing Microsoft. They were dead long after the fact. I think we need a different approach. I’m not sure the best answer. I’m not sure we’ll get a better approach. There are probably too many vested interest. My hope is that it will get better with this current administration because, certainly, the past administration was very anti acquisition and efficient markets. Nuno Goncalves Pedro We’ve talked about the European Union AI Act a bunch of times, so I don’t want to spend too many cycles on that. The only effect that I would say is we are seeing in very slow motion the splitting of the Internet. I once had Tim Berners-Lee, by the way, shouting at me that we were going to break the Internet when we were applying for the .mobi top-level domain. I was part of that consortium that eventually did get the .mobi top-level domain, and I had him shouting at us. But, apparently, this is going to split the Internet, Tim. So in case you’re listening. Because it will create all these different rules. If your data is relating to consumers there, then it’s treated in a different way, and The US is… Well, obviously, we have the case of California with its own rules and laws. I don’t know. I feel we’re having a moment of siloing that goes beyond economic and geopolitical siloing. It will also apply to the digital world, and we’ll start having different landscapes around it. We’ll see how this affects global expansion of services, for example, around AI, particularly for consumer, but I don’t foresee anything dramatically positive. Recently, we had the whole deal around TikTok finally having a solution for their US problem where there’s now a US conglomerate magically that owns it. The conglomerate doesn’t magically own it, they just straight up own it for the US. But it was driven by many of these concerns around data ownership. Where’s the data? Where is it based? I think a lot of other concerns that have to do with the geopolitics of China, obviously, being the basis of ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, that still is a significant owner, by the way, in TikTok in US. Then also the interest in the economics of making money out of something as powerful as TikTok, to be honest, in The US. Just to be clear, I don’t think this was all about the best interests of consumers. It was also about money. Just follow the money. Bertrand Schmitt There are for sure, some powerful interest at play. But let’s be clear. I think one is data, as you rightfully said, but the other one is algorithm. It’s not as if China is authorising any competitor on its territory. They have blocked access to most of the Internet platforms from the US, either finding new rules or just trade blocking them. So I don’t think it’s fair competition. You don’t want some of that data in China about the US or European consumer. Three, it’s about the algorithm. If suddenly, you are a foreign power, and you can as we know in China, you better follow what’s required of you from the Chinese Communist Party. You cannot take a chance with influencing other stuff like elections in other countries. It’s fair from the US perspective. One could even argue it’s fair from a Chinese perspective to want that. I think the only one in the middle who doesn’t really know what they want is Europe because on one side, they want to benefit from American platforms, on the other end, they want to have some controls. On the other end, they don’t create the environment for startups to flourish. So in that weird situation where they have to accept some control by the big US providers and either provider of underlying infrastructure or provider of consumer business facing services. Then they try to regulate them. But I think they are misunderstanding the power relationship, and I think some of this regulation would get some blowback, at least by the current administration. Just, I believe, this morning, there was some news around X being under a criminal investigation in France. This is not going to end well for the French startup and VC ecosystem. This is not going to end well for France and Europe when you depend so much from your American friends. Nuno Goncalves Pedro Regulation will be weaponised. Regulation constraints around exports, all of this will be weaponised geopolitically, and the bigger guys will normally win. I think that’s normally what we’ve seen. Just on TikTok just to… And you guys, if you’re listening to us, just see if you see a pattern here, but obviously, 19.9% still owned by ByteDance of the TikTok entity in the US. It was initially said that 80% of the TikTok entity is owned by non-Chinese investors. Initially, people were saying US investors, and then they changed it to non-Chinese because MGX, I think, has 15% of it. MGX is based in the UAE, connected obviously to Mubadala, the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund. Silver Lake is in there, I think, with 15% as well. Oracle as well with 15%. Those three are the big bucket owners together, 45%. Silver Lake having collaborated with MGX before, and I’m sure a lot of connectivity there. Then you still see a pattern in this in terms of shareholders. If you don’t, then just Google it. Dell Family Office, Vastmir Strategic Investments, which is owned by billionaire Jeff Yass, Alpha Wave Partners, obviously involved with a bunch of things like SpaceX and Klarna, Virgoli, Revolution, which is Steve Case’s, a former founder of AOL, is also in there. Meritway, which is managed by partners, I think, of Dragonair. Vinova from General Atlantic, an affiliate of General Atlantic. Also, NJJ Capital, which I believe is Xavier Nil, the French billionaire that founded Iliad. Mostly American, I think, if the math is correct. 80% non-Chinese, which was what mattered, I think, in many cases. But do see if you saw a pattern in most of those investors. I won’t say anything more than that. Maybe moving to other topics, maybe just to finalise on regulation and geopolitics. In geopolitics, we should talk about wars if we predict anything. Not that we are nasty and one want to be negative, but what the hell is going on? Will we have ending to the wars we already have ongoing or not? But before that, the struggles on the App Stores, I think, will continue both for Apple and for Google Play Store. The writing’s on the wall, the EU keeps pushing it dramatically and Apple keeps just doing stuff. I’m on the board of an App Store company. Apple just creates all these things that basically make you not really… It doesn’t work. You can’t provision then an App Store on Apple devices. On iPhones, et cetera. We’ll see how that will continue going, but I feel the writing’s on the wall. Both Apple and Google will have to open up a bit more of their platforms. I’m not sure it will have a huge impact in the medium to long term, but definitely we need to see more openness in access to apps as given by the two big platform owners, Apple and Google, out there. Bertrand Schmitt Let’s be clear. Google is way more open than Apple. We both have Android devices. You can install alternative app stores. It’s a different ballgame by very far. Nuno Goncalves Pedro Google does other nasty stuff. It’s public. You can check which board I’m a part of. You can see what that company has done towards Google over time. But to your point, yes. It is true that Google has been more open than Apple, but Google has done their own things. Just to be very clear, so I’ll just leave that caveat bracketed there for people to think about it and maybe read a little bit about it as well. Bertrand Schmitt I can say that, me, from my perspective, that path of total control that Apple has been going through on all their devices, that includes macOS, pushed me to, over the past 2, 3 years, to completely live and abandon the Apple ecosystem. I just couldn’t accept that level of control, that golden handcuff approach of the Apple ecosystem, each their own obviously, they are golden, their handcuffs, but they are still handcuffs. Personally, that pushed me way more to Linux, Android, Windows, back to Windows after all these years. I just couldn’t stand it anymore. I want to pick my devices. I want to pick what I install on them, and I don’t want to be controlled like this by just one entity for all my tech devices. For me, at some point, it was just not acceptable anymore. It’s still very warm, very golden handcuffs, but for me, they were just handcuffs at this stage. Yes, what they are doing with the App Store is very typical of that mindset. I think it’s quite sad because I think it started with good intention in some ways. “We need a new computing paradigm, we need to make things smoother and safer,” but it has really become a way to control your clients. For me, it has reached a point where it’s just way too much. Nuno Goncalves Pedro There’s obviously the great power comes great responsibility that uncle Ben told Spider-Man or Peter Parker. But there’s also with great power comes shitload of money, and control. So it’s like, “Yeah. Should we open the server? Do we want to delay opening it up?” “Yeah.” Anyway, it is what it is. Maybe let’s end on the more difficult note of the episode, which is going to be around wars. What’s our prediction? Will we have an end to the Gaza situation with Israel? Will we have an end to Ukraine and, obviously, Russia? What will happen in Iran? Those are the three big, big conflicts right now. Then, obviously, if we want to add just bonus points, what’s going to happen to Greenland, and what’s going to happen to Taiwan, and what’s going to happen to Venezuela? Let’s throw the whole basket in there. We’ve never had like… Let’s talk about all these territories and all these countries. At some point in time, I’m saying this in a light manner, but it’s obviously more tragic than it should be light, and people are dying, and there’s a lot of implications of all of that that is happening right now. Do you have any predictions, Bertrand, for this year? Bertrand Schmitt No. It’s tough to predict on an individual basis. I think on a more bigger picture basis is on one side, obviously, the rise of China on one side. You have also the rise of other countries like India, while very indirectly connected to some of these conflicts are still part of the game, buying oil from Russia, for instance. At the same time, I think overall, the US is more clear about with the sheriff in town. I think it’s good because in some ways, you cannot pay for the goods, you cannot have such a massive advantage versus nearly every other country on earth and just not be clear about who is the boss in some ways. As a result, what are the rules of the game and how it should be played? The US is not alone, obviously, you have China, you have Russia, you have India, you have Europe. You have different other countries. But at some point, it’s not good when countries are not rational and are not clear. I think I prefer the current situation where things are more clear and where you have to assume responsibilities about what you are doing. It’s time to be rational again about how the world behave. Yes, the concept of power and balance of power. I think there has been that dream, maybe mostly coming from Europe, about the end of history. I think that’s simply not the case. It’s not the end of history. It’s still about the balance of power. It has always been about the balance of power. If you are dumb enough to think it was not about that anymore, I just have a bridge to nowhere to sell you. I don’t have specific prediction, but I think it’s clear there is a new sheriff in town. There is a new doctrine about the Western Hemisphere that has been in some ways resurrected on the [inaudible 00:51:35] train, and I think we’ll see more of it. I think at this point, the biggest question is for the Europeans. What do they want to do? Because right now, their position of being a dwarf militarily while being a pretty big giant economically, I don’t think it works. Nuno Goncalves Pedro I agreed on everything that you said. I do have predictions. I’ll stick a flag on the ground just with my predictions. Bertrand Schmitt Good luck. Nuno Goncalves Pedro They are mostly positive. I do think we’ll see an end or, for the most, end to the two big conflicts, the one in Gaza and the one in Ukraine. I think Ukraine will end up in readjustment of territory and splitting between Russia and the Ukraine, but the end of hostilities, I think that we will see an end to the conflict in Gaza also with a readjustment on what that will mean for the Palestinian territories and the Palestinians in general. That I’m not sure, but I feel that there will be an end to those two big conflicts. Iran, I have no clue. I will not put a stick on the ground that I have no clue. There are so many things that could go wrong there. I’ve been reading some really interesting thoughts about even some aggressive thoughts that this might be the time to really change regimes in Iran and for the US to have a bit more of an aggressive stance. I really don’t have a perspective. Obviously, there’s a lot at stake there. Then, if we talk about the other parts, Greenland, I will not opine too much on. Maybe we’re done for now. Maybe there’ll be some other concessions to the US that weren’t already there in the ’50s. Taiwan, I won’t bet either. I’m sad to say I think it might happen at some point in time, but I’m not sure when and what would drive it. Last but not the least, Venezuela is my only really negative prediction. I feel it will continue to be a significant dictatorship as it was before managed enough by other people with the difference now that it has a tax to be paid to the US in the form of oil of some sort, etcetera, and maybe gas, maybe other things as well that it didn’t have before. That’s probably my most negative prediction for the coming year on the geopolitical side. Bertrand Schmitt Without going into detail, I would mostly agree with what you shared. At least that makes sense. But as we know, it’s not always what makes sense, but what might happen. I can tell you 100% I would not have guessed this operation against Maduro. This was so well done, well executed, and shocking at the same time that it’s… I think it shows that it’s hard to guess some of this stuff because there are certainly some new ways to wage limited war, for instance. So it’s certainly interesting, and we certainly need to get used to pretty bombastic statements. But for Venezuela, I don’t think it can be worse than what it was before. I’m probably more optimistic that gradually it can get better. Nuno Goncalves Pedro Just to put perspective on why we’re not making predictions on some of these elements, I think this is a funny story, but I was in Madeira. Actually, first time I was in Madeira, although I’m originally from Portugal. I’ve never been to the islands. Obviously, as you guys know, or some of you might know, there’s a lot of connection between Madeira and Venezuela. There’s a lot of immigration from Madeira Islands to Venezuela. One of my Uber or Bolt drivers there in Madeira was Venezuelan. Was born in Venezuela, but Portuguese descent, et cetera. He was telling me this was still last year. Late last year. Because I told him I lived in US, et cetera, and he was like, “Oh, hopefully, Trump will get Maduro out of there.” In my mind, I was like, “Dude.” No disrespect to the gentleman, but it’s like, “Okay. Mike, your perspective on geopolitics is maybe a little bit exaggerated.” And a couple of days later, we know what happened. When geopolitical decisions are better predicted by some probably very astute Uber drivers, you’re like, “Maybe I shouldn’t make a bet. I have no clue what’s going to happen, no clue what’s going to happen in Greenland, et cetera.” Anyway, a couple of predictions on that element. Bertrand Schmitt That’s why it’s so right. You have to be careful with the prediction, but it doesn’t remove the fact that I think nations and companies that have to play a global game have to understand in some ways what is the game, what are the powers in place, what could happen potentially, but also be realistic. Not be about wish and dreams, but more about, what’s the power relationship? Who has the money? Who has the means? Who has the capacity to do this or that? Because if you start that way, at least the scope of what’s possible, what’s reasonable is more and more clear more quickly. Some stuff like happened with Maduro, I would never have predicted, but for sure, if there’s one country that can do this sort of stuff, it’s the US. I’m not sure anyone has a technology and the means in terms of support infrastructure to do something like this. It’s tough to predict what will happen a year from now for any specific country, but I think that even trying to get a better understanding about the forces in play and their capacity and understanding and accepting that at some point, it’s all about real politic and relationship of power, the more your eyes would be wide open about what’s possible versus simple, wishful thinking. Nuno Goncalves Pedro Fintech, Crypto and Frontier Tech Moving maybe to our last section around fintech, crypto, and frontier tech. For me, just two very quick predictions, views of the world. I think on the frontier tech side, I won’t make a prediction. I will just tell you all to go and listen to our episodes, the one on infrastructure, which is immediately prior to this one, and the episodes that we’ve had around a couple of other topics including AI, what’s the future of your children, because I think they illustrate a lot of the points that we’re seeing and manifesting themselves over the next year and over the next 2 or 3 years as well beyond that. I feel those tomes are complete in and out of themselves, so you can just go and listen to them. Then my second comment is on crypto. I feel crypto has become of the essence, particularly under the current administration in the US, very favored. Obviously, we are now in a world where crypto is just part of the economic system, and I think we’ll see more and more of that emerging, and in some ways, crypto is becoming mainstream. Question is what blockchains will be the blockchains of the future? Obviously, there’s a bunch of bets put out there. We, ourselves, as Chamaeleon, have one investment in one of the significant bets in the space. But besides that, who’s going to win or not, we feel that we’re past the crypto winter. It’s now mainstream days, and we’ll see a lot more activity in there. Bertrand Schmitt I must say with crypto, I’m a bit confused. As you say, we are past the crypto winter. There is much less uncertainty in regul

🧭 REBEL Rundown 🔑Key Points Try the coffee nap! Where you combine caffeine and a 30-minute nap to then have that boost energy and alertness by the time it kicks in.💤 Sleep isn’t optional—it’s crucial for memory, mood regulation, and physical recovery. It is fundamentally different from rest❌ Replacing sleep with caffeine isn’t effective and can have negative health impacts. Make getting enough sleep a priority🌞 Sunlight exposure is important for maintaining circadian rhythms and sleep quality. This applies even if you work as a nocturnist💡 Creating a personalized sleep system enhances quality and consistency. It gives you back control of a schedule that you may feel like is out of your hands.🧩 If you’ve tried these strategies and you’re still struggling, consider true sleep pathology (insomnia, shift work disorder, sleep apnea) and get help—this is not a “be tougher” problem.🩺 Better sleep isn’t just about feeling good; it’s directly tied to error reduction, patient safety, and longevity in EM/ICU careers. Click here for Direct Download of the Podcast. 👀Previously Covered and Related Content: REBEL Core Cast: Sleep HygieneREBEL MIND: Rest Is Not Sleep: The Seven Dimensions of True RecoveryRebellion in EM: Care For Yourself – Sleep HygieneFirst10EM: Some Evidence For Working Night ShiftsREBEL MIND: Dunning Kruger Effect 📝 Introduction Welcome to this episode of REBEL MIND, where MIND stands for Mastering Internal Negativity during Difficulty. Here we sharpen the person behind the practitioner by focusing on things that improve our performance, optimizing team dynamics and the human behavior that embodies the hidden curriculum of medicine. Today we are exploring the imperative topic of rest and why it’s not just about sleeping. The second of a two part series, hosted by Dr. Mark Ramzy with guests Dr. Maureen Aiad and Dr. Amil Badoolah, continue our discussion but this time on the multifaceted nature of sleep, how it serves as medicine and how we can use our tools deliberately to get more of it! Cognitive Question How would your clinical performance, patience with families, and long-term career sustainability change if you treated sleep as a non-negotiable clinical intervention rather than a flexible “nice-to-have”? 💤How is Sleep Different From Rest? 1. Rest reduces load; sleep repairs systemsWe previously talked about the 7 types of rest and you can check that out hereExamples of physical rest include: pausing tasks, stepping away from the monitor, taking a walk, stretching, breathing, journaling, connecting with a colleague. This lightens your cognitive/emotional burden.Sleep is fundamentally different in that it’s an active biologic process that helps:Consolidates memory and learning (yes, including the tough cases from last night).Regulates mood, impulse control, and emotional reactivity.Supports immunity, metabolic health, and cardiovascular function.Repairs tissue, replenishes neurotransmitters, and fine-tunes neural networks.You can have “rested but underslept” days (you took breaks but got 4 hours in bed), and “slept but unrested” days (you got hours, but all junk sleep). Both matter, but they are not interchangeable.2. Sleep architecture vs. “knocking out”True restorative sleep cycles through NREM and REM in predictable patterns.Alcohol, late caffeine, and fragmented nights may help you fall asleep faster but:Suppress REM.Shorten deep sleep.Increase awakenings and light sleep.The result: you technically slept, but your brain didn’t get the “software updates” it needed.Biology isn’t built for your scheduleCircadian rhythms were designed for light-day / dark-night cycles, not:10 pm–7 am ED shifts.24-hour calls.6 nights in a row followed by days.Your body can adapt partially, but not instantly and not perfectly. That’s why:You can feel “jet-lagged” even when you haven’t traveled.Sleep before and after nights feels odd and fragile.Recognizing that “this is biologically unnatural” is key: you’re not weak; you’re fighting physiology. 🏥How This Applies to the Emergency Department or ICU? Performance & safetySleep deprivation:Slows reaction time and increases error rate.Impairs risk assessment and complex decision-making.Drops your frustration tolerance with consultants, families, and staff.In both emergency medicine and critical care, that translates into:Anchoring on the wrong diagnosis.Missing subtle clinical changes.Snapping at a tech, nurse or resident and damaging team culture. Chronic health for chronic shift workLong-term sleep disruption is associated with:Hypertension, diabetes, obesity.Depression, anxiety, burnout.Arrhythmias (e.g., AFib) and increased stroke risk.Possibly increased all-cause mortality.You’re already in a high-stress, high-exposure specialty. Chronically poor sleep amplifies that risk profile and can end a career early—or make you miserable while you’re still in it.Culture of “heroics” vs. healthSkipping sleep to pick up extra shifts, late meetings, or “just one more note” is often praised.We rarely celebrate:The attending who says “no” to a 2 pm meeting post-nights.The resident who defends their blackout-curtains-and-earplugs routine. 🛏️Different Ways to Improve Your Sleep Clarify your “sleep non-negotiables”Decide how many hours you realistically need to function (e.g., 7–9 on off days, realistic blocks on nights).Treat those hours as you would a procedure time—blocked, protected, and respected.Use caffeine like a drug, not a reflexAim for ≤ 2 cups equivalent on most days.Avoid caffeine within 4–6 hours of your planned sleep time (remember: it can hang around up to 12 hours).Consider scheduling caffeine for:Early in the shift for alertness.Strategic “coffee naps” (see below), not late-night chugging.Respect alcohol’s impact on sleepRecognize that even small to moderate doses degrade sleep architecture.Avoid using alcohol as a “sleep aid”—you’ll fall asleep faster but sleep worse.If you do drink, separate it from bedtime and keep it modest.Optimize food and fluid timingHydrate consistently on shift, but taper fluids ~4 hours before bed to reduce nocturnal bathroom trips.Avoid heavy, spicy, or large meals within 2–3 hours of sleep to decrease reflux and discomfort.Plan a light, balanced “pre-sleep” snack if going to bed hungry keeps you awake.Move your body (but not right before bed)Regular exercise improves sleep depth and latency.Try to avoid intense workouts within 2 hours of bedtime.On shift: micro-movement (stairs, brisk walks between pods, quick stretch sessions) can help alertness without wrecking sleep later.Control light exposureMaximize sunlight or bright light after waking (even if that’s 3–4 pm after a night).Minimize bright light and screens before sleep:Dim lights.Use night mode/blue-light filters if you must scroll.For daytime sleep:Use blackout curtains, tinfoil, cardboard, or sleep masks.Yes seriously use tinfoil if you have to, we talk about it on the podcast episode!Aim for “I might be blind” darkness—so dark you can’t see your hand in front of your face.Dial in your sleep environmentCool room temperature (fan or AC if possible).White noise or sound machine to mask household/traffic noise.Earplugs and eye masks as needed.Bed used primarily for sleep (and sex)—not for charting, doom scrolling, or email.Strategic power napsKeep naps ≤ 20–30 minutes to avoid sleep inertia.Prefer early-afternoon or pre-night-shift naps.Coffee nap strategy:Drink a small coffee.Immediately lie down for a 20–30 min nap.Wake up as the caffeine kicks in, combining nap benefit + stimulant.Thoughtful melatonin useRemember melatonin is a hormone, not a vitamin gummy.Lower doses often work as well as (or better than) large OTC doses.Use it intentionally and intermittently, not as a crutch every night.Over-reliance may reduce your own natural production and its effectiveness over time.Build pre-sleep ritualsRepeated, calming habits signal your body it’s time to downshift:Warm shower, gentle stretching, or yoga.Guided breathing or body scan.Brief journaling or “brain dump” of tasks to get them out of your head and onto paper.Protect from pathologic patternsIf despite consistent effort you:Snore heavily, stop breathing, or gasp in sleep.Feel excessively sleepy driving home or at work.Cannot fall asleep or stay asleep for weeks to months.Consider evaluation for sleep apnea, insomnia, or shift-work sleep disorder with your physician or sleep specialist. ⏩Immediate Action Steps for Before/During/After Your Next Shift 1. **Before the Shift**: Plan a 20–90 minute nap before your first night shift (many clinicians find 3–5 hours earlier in the day is ideal).I treat ED and ICU shifts very differently. I always sleep 3-5 hours before my night shifts aiming for the full 5 (sometimes 6 or more) hours for my ED shifts because you always have to be “on”. Depending on the ICU I’m working in, I may have a bit more downtime so 3 to 5 hours is plenty.Set a caffeine plan: decide in advance when your last dose will be (e.g., none after 2–3 am if sleeping at 8–9 am).Tell your household, “This is my sleep block” and agree on a plan for kids, pets, deliveries, etc.On my calendar, I completely block off time called “Pre-call sleep” so no meetings can be scheduled and then put my phone in airplane mode2. **During the Shift** Hydrate early; taper fluids in the last 3–4 hours of your shift Eat something light but adequate; avoid “last-minute” heavy meals right before sign-out.Build in micro-breaks and movement: one or two short walks, a few stretches, even a quick stair run if safe.Get outside or near a window for a few minutes of light exposure if possible.3. **After the Shift**On the way home:Use sunglasses to reduce bright morning light if you’re aiming for sleep soon.Avoid “just checking” email or messages; shift into wind-down mode.At home:Do a brief, calming decompression (shower, light snack, 10–15 minutes of low-stimulation TV or reading).Make your room cold, quiet, and dark (blackout curtains, tinfoil/cardboard, white noise, fan).Put your phone on Do Not Disturb and physically place it away from the bed.On my calendar, I completely block off time called “Post-call sleep” so again no meetings can be scheduled and then I personally don’t just put my phone on Do Not Disturb but rather in airplane mode and WIFI OFF If you can’t sleep after ~20–30 minutes:Get out of bed, do something calming in dim light (breathing, gentle stretching, journaling).Return to bed when sleepy—this trains your brain to associate bed with sleep, not frustration. Conclusion Rest and sleep are both critical—but they’re not interchangeable. Rest helps you step out of the constant “on” of our jobs, while sleep is the biological intervention that restores your ability to show up safely and sustainably. Rest ≠ sleep. Rest reduces load; sleep repairs your brain and body. You need both, on purpose.As EM and ICU clinicians, we’re trying to perform formula-one-level medicine with engines that often only see half their maintenance. You won’t fix shift work. You can build a sleep system that respects your biology, your schedule, and your life at home.That system starts with valuing sleep, then prioritizing it, personalizing it, trusting the process when it’s imperfect, and actively protecting both your routine and your mindset. 🚨 Clinical Bottom Line Sleep is medicine. Shift work is biologically unnatural. Struggling does not mean you’re weak; it means you’re human fighting physiology. Use your tools deliberately. Caffeine, naps, light, food, movement, melatonin, and environment can be leveraged—or can quietly sabotage you. Build and defend a personalized sleep routine. Communicate it, normalize it, and protect it from casual encroachment. You can’t control every trauma, code, or admission—but you can control how seriously you take your own recovery. Your patients, your team, and your future self all benefit when you do. Further Reading Espie CA. The ‘5 principles’ of good sleep health. J Sleep Res. 2022 Jun; PMID: 34676592Solodar, J“Sleep hygiene: Simple practices for better rest.” Harvard Health, 31 January 2025 Link is HereSuni, E.“Mastering Sleep Hygiene: Your Path to Quality Sleep.” Sleep Foundation, 7 July 2025, Link is Here Meet the Authors Mark Ramzy, DO Co-Editor-in-Chief Cardiothoracic Intensivist and EM Attending RWJBH / Rutgers Health, Newark, NJ Maureen Aiad, DO Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine NYU Grossman Long Island School of Medicine, New York Amil Badoolah, DO Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine NYU Grossman Long Island School of Medicine, New York REBEL Core Cast 119.0 – Sleep Hygiene REBEL Core Cast 119.0 – Sleep Hygiene Click here for Direct Download of ... Read More The post REBEL MIND – How to Sleep When the World Says You Can't appeared first on REBEL EM - Emergency Medicine Blog.

Learn about scoliosis rehab with Lauren Ferrante, PT, DPT, OCS. Explore home exercises, manual therapies, and AT tools for scoliosis. Q: What are the most important home exercises for scoliosis? A: Key home exercises focus on spinal mobility, especially for those who sit frequently. Cat-cows and thoracic rotation are crucial. Depending on comfort level, core activation exercises like supine marches or dead-bug isometrics are beneficial. When supine, tactile cues help maintain spinal symmetry. Bridges or modified side planks are good starting points, with progression as needed. Q: Which scoliosis treatment method is best for high school age, considering the Schroth Method helps the 10-15 age group? A: The Schroth Method can be used for older populations, but it is generally less effective for high school age individuals compared to younger ones. For this age group, focusing on functional core strengthening can also be beneficial. Q: Are Pilates or yoga safe and recommended for young athletes with scoliosis? A: Yes, Pilates and yoga are highly recommended for individuals with scoliosis, including young athletes. These activities promote continued mobility and strength, which are vital for managing scoliosis. The most important aspect is to find an activity they enjoy and consistently engage in it. Q: What manual therapies are effective for scoliosis, and is dry needling helpful? A: Effective manual therapies include thoracic gapping and rib mobilizations, particularly in a side-lying position to encourage rib expansion. The specific therapy depends on the patient’s individual needs and curve patterns. Dry needling is not frequently utilized for scoliosis treatment according to the provided information. Q: How often are lordotic curves seen in individuals with thoracic scoliosis? A: Lordotic curves are quite common in individuals with thoracic scoliosis. If a person has a mid-thoracic curve, their body often adjusts by developing a compensatory lordotic curve. Therefore, this presentation is observed frequently. Q: How do current trends, such as phone and gaming use, contribute to setbacks or overcorrection in scoliosis? A: The impact of phone and gaming trends on scoliosis setbacks depends on individual patient motivation and activity levels. For athletes, it’s often less of an issue, as it’s unrealistic to maintain one position for extended periods. For minimally active individuals, parental encouragement to move around every hour, regardless of the activity, is important. Q: How often are active populations braced for scoliosis? A: Braces for scoliosis are typically prescribed by pediatric orthopedic specialists. For junior high and high school-aged children, as they mature, the need for braces often decreases, and they may not be in them very much. Q: What are the three most important practical tools for Athletic Trainers (ATs) regarding scoliosis? A: The three most important practical tools for Athletic Trainers when addressing scoliosis are observation for signs of scoliosis, implementing exercises on a mat or table, and utilizing a wall for exercises with minimal equipment. Contact Us Jeremy Jackson Benjamin Stephenson Layci Harrison Mark Knoblauch Ashlyne Elliott Leslie Bennett Sponsor List Frio Hydration – Superior Hydration products. Xothrm – Best heating pad available – Use “SMB” or email info@xothrm.com and mention the Sports Medicine Broadcast. Donate and get some swag (like Patreon but for the school) HOIST – No matter your reason for dehydration, DRINK HOIST MedBridge Education – Use “TheSMB” to save some money, be entered in a drawing for a second year free, and support the podcast. Marc Pro – Use “THESMB” to recover better. Athletic Dry Needling – Save up to $100 when registering through our link.

There was a time less than 100 years ago when you could exchange your paper currency at the bank for actual gold. Gave folks a sense of stability, it did. Depending on your view, we either ruined or built our economies when money became just paper.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is The Digital Story Podcast 1,041, March 3, 2026. Today's theme is, "5 Tips for Small Sensor Photography." I'm Derrick Story. I just returned from a trip where my large-sensor camera was an OM-3 Micro Four Thirds, and it got smaller from there with a TG-7 and iPhone 17 Pro. And I love the pictures! So I thought it would be fun to talk about techniques for shooting confidently with a small sensor camera. All of that, plus industry news, on today's TDS Photography Podcast. I hope you enjoy the show. thenimblephotographer.com, click the box next to Donating a Film Camera, and let me know what you have. In your note, be sure to include your shipping address. Affiliate Links - The links to some products in this podcast contain an affiliate code that credits The Digital Story for any purchases made from B&H Photo and Amazon via that click-through. Depending on the purchase, we may receive some financial compensation. Red River Paper - And finally, be sure to visit our friends at Red River Paper for all of your inkjet supply needs. See you next week! You can share your thoughts at the TDS Facebook page, where I'll post this story for discussion.

Welcome back to another episode of School Counseling Simplified. Today I am interviewing Caitlin, a school counselor and IMPACT member, who brings incredible energy and creativity to her work. In this episode, she shares how she structures her classroom lessons, approaches classroom management, and implements unique strategies that help her build strong connections with students. Caitlin Wagner, is currently an elementary school counselor working in a low income, culturally diverse, title 1 school in Harrisburg, PA. She has been in school counseling for about 5 years. Prior to becoming a school counselor she worked in the clinical counseling setting as a case counselor and milieu manager at a partial hospitalization program for children and adolescents. Besides being a school counselor, she is also a mother of two young children, enjoys sports, and is as creative as possible.  When asked what she loves most about school counseling, Caitlin shares that building connections with students and their families is the most meaningful part of her role. Whether in a school or clinical setting, she finds it incredibly rewarding to create a space where students feel safe, protected, and supported by a positive adult outside of their immediate family. She values being a consistent and encouraging presence in their lives. One practical strategy Caitlin uses to strengthen relationships is a get to know you form that she first implemented during a long term substitute position. She now uses this form with every student she works with, beginning in kindergarten. The form follows students as they move through the school, allowing her to remember important details and deepen connections over time. Caitlin also shares how she structures her classroom lessons. She has the flexibility to create her own schedule, which allows her to design a flow that best supports her student population. She is in each classroom every other week, and each class has a consistent day and time so students can rely on a predictable routine. For classroom management, she uses a simple behavior tracking system where she tallies specific behaviors and categorizes them as unexpected, expected, or super expected. She often frames expectations by asking students, how can we be our best effort givers, which encourages reflection and personal responsibility in a positive way. She emphasizes that she loves finding creative ways to connect her lessons to her students' real lives and interests. In describing a typical day, Caitlin shares that her mornings often begin by greeting students as they arrive for breakfast. From there, she may move into a parent, student, or team meeting. Depending on the day and the week, she teaches several classroom lessons and integrates small groups into her schedule as needed. She often ends her day with check ins and check outs for students who need additional support, ensuring they leave school feeling seen, encouraged, and supported. Resources Mentioned: Join IMPACT Connect with Rachel: TpT Store Blog Instagram Facebook Page Facebook Group Pinterest Youtube   More About School Counseling Simplified: School Counseling Simplified is a podcast offering easy to implement strategies for busy school counselors. The host, Rachel Davis from Bright Futures Counseling, shares tips and tricks she has learned from her years of experience as a school counselor both in the US and at an international school in Costa Rica. You can listen to School Counseling Simplified on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and more!    

0:00 - What's a fair price to pay for a Free Agent RB? Especially for someone like the Broncos who absolutely NEED a RB desperately.15:07 - The Nuggets are clearly missing Aaron Gordon right now - his physicality, his energy, his defense, you name it. But he can't stay healthy consistently. Even when he's completely healthy, he still misses games here and there. Depending on Aaron Gordon for success isn't a sustainable strategy. How should Coach Adelman handle him?32:10 - Oh, by the way...the Atlanta Hawks have possibly come up with the worst theme night of all time. If their is the worst...the Avalanche might have the 2nd worst of all time coming up next week. 

Do you believe in absolute truth?  Depending on opinions and feelings give us a distorted view of reality. But on this episode of The Verdict, Pastor John Munro explains how the Word of God, the Bible, is a perfect mirror and offers us truth with no distortions.

Strong results from major technology hyperscalers recently did not make much of an impression on stock markets, says Dr. Jacky Tang, the Private Bank's emerging markets CIO. "We believe there's still long-term confidence in the big technology platforms, particularly around AI and cloud. But the scale of investment required to sustain that leadership has risen sharply", Jacky says. “The mood, I would say, is constructive but disciplined, with markets looking for clearer evidence that today's investment cycle delivers durable returns.”As for this week's important economic data, “U.S. non-farm payrolls sit at the top of the list this week. That's the data point that really anchors the market's view on the Fed”, Jacky says. He also points to ongoing developments in trade policy as important to watch.For more investing insights, please visit wealth.db.com.In Europe, Middle East and Africa as well as in Asia Pacific this material is considered marketing material, but this is not the case in the U.S. No assurance can be given that any forecast or target can be achieved. Forecasts are based on assumptions, estimates, opinions and hypothetical models which may prove to be incorrect. Past performance is not indicative of future returns.Performance refers to a nominal value based on price gains/losses and does not take into account inflation. Inflation will have a negative impact on the purchasing power of this nominal monetary value. Depending on the current level of inflation, this may lead to a real loss in value, even if the nominal performance of the investment is positive. Investments come with risk. The value of an investment can fall as well as rise and you might not get back the amount originally invested at any point in time. Your capital may be at risk.The services described in this podcast are provided by Deutsche Bank AG or by its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in accordance with appropriate local legislation and regulation. Deutsche Bank AG is subject to comprehensive supervision by the European Central Bank (“ECB”), by Germany's Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) and by Germany's central bank (“Deutsche Bundesbank”). Brokerage services in the United States are offered through Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., a broker-dealer and registered investment adviser, which conducts investment banking and securities activities in the United States.Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. is a member of FINRA, NYSE and SIPC. Lending and banking services in the United States are offered through Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, member FDIC, and other members of the Deutsche Bank Group.The products, services, information and/or materials referred to within this podcast may not be available for residents of certain jurisdictions. © 2026 Deutsche Bank AG and/or its subsidiaries. All rights reserved. This podcast may not be used, reproduced, copied or modified without the written consent of Deutsche Bank AG. 030620 030121

For many homesteaders, the dream is complete self-sufficiency. Producing all your own food. Depending on no one. Living independently.But is that really possible? And more importantly, is it even the right goal?In this episode of Everyday Homesteading, we're sharing why complete self-sufficiency is actually a myth and what matters far more: building practical skills and strengthening community.We discuss how focusing on skills rather than trying to do everything yourself leads to more resilience, less overwhelm, and greater freedom in your homesteading journey.You'll learn how to shift your mindset, avoid burnout, and build real, lasting resilience for your family.Read the full blog post here: https://homesteadingfamily.com/self-sufficiency-is-a-myth/Thanks to Azure Standard for sponsoring this episode! Azure has been our trusted source for bulk foods and pantry staples for years. When we can't grow or produce something ourselves, Azure Standard is often our first choice. Get 15% off your first order of $100 or more using coupon code "HOMESTEADINGFAMILY15" at checkout: https://homesteadingfamily.com/main-azure-standard-bTime Stamps:0:00 - Introduction - Azure Standard - Main Topic~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~MORE ABOUT US!WELCOME! We're so glad you're here! We are Josh and Carolyn Thomas. Together with our eleven children, we are The Homesteading Family where we're living a self-sustainable life in beautiful North Idaho. Let us welcome you and show you a bit about us here: http://bit.ly/HFWelcomeVideoGrow, Preserve & Thrive with us!Visit us on our blog: https://www.homesteadingfamily.comFacebook at https://www.facebook.com/homesteadingfamilyInstagram: https://instagram.com/homesteadingfamilyRumble: https://rumble.com/HomesteadingFamilyA few highlights you don't want to miss are our FREEBIES!!Healthy Healing at Home – Learn how to confidently use herbal medicine in your home with this FREE 4 video workshop: https://homesteadingfamily.com/HHHytYour Best Loaf – A Free 4 video workshop teaching you how to make great bread at home, every time, regardless of the recipe you are using: https://homesteadingfamily.com/free-bread-workshopYou know that every month, we send out a physical magazine to over 10,000 subscribers? Each issue has seasonal recipes, fresh inspiration for your kitchen, practical homesteading tips, and traditional wisdom from seasoned homesteaders. This magazine equips you to thrive on your homestead, whether you're in the city, a suburban neighborhood, or on 40 acres. Subscribe today for just $9 a month.

Amazon may be testing a major review change, with some shoppers seeing only 10 reviews unless they apply for more. Amazon clarifies its multiple account policy. Plus, it's Episode 500 of the AM/PM Podcast! We're back with another episode of the Weekly Buzz with Helium 10's VP of Education and Strategy, Bradley Sutton. Every week, we cover the latest breaking news in the Amazon, TikTok Shop, Walmart, and E-commerce space, talk about Helium 10's newest features, and provide a training tip for the week for serious sellers of any level. In this episode, we're switching things up with a fresh new look, and it's the perfect time because this is Episode 500 of the AM/PM Podcast! Join us for a quick trip down memory lane as we celebrate nearly 10 years of the AM/PM Podcast and keep Manny Coats' classic “How cool is that? Pretty cool, I think.” spirit alive. Amazon reviews might be acting weird again, and it could be more than just the usual “dog page” error some shoppers have seen for months. In this week's first story, Bradley shares a new test showing up on certain customer accounts where you can only view 10 reviews and then have to “apply” to see more, with Amazon promising an email response within five business days. If this expands, it could push more shoppers toward Rufus-style review summaries rather than reading reviews directly, and it could significantly impact how sellers and tools analyze review data. Especially after Amazon's crackdown that removed Helium 10's Review Insights. The good news: the Helium 10 team is working on a new, fully “Amazon-compliant” version that still provides high-quality review insights, and Bradley asks viewers to share in the comments if they're seeing the same review limits and whether they think it could roll out more widely. Amazon Seller Central: Account health tips for multiple selling accounts https://sellercentral.amazon.com/seller-news/articles/QVRWUERLSUtYMERFUiNHVVFVQ1RDRThCSlJXUUhK Helium 10 New Feature Alert! Check out the new upgraded Cerebro with new Sponsored Rank filters, so you can instantly spot keywords where multiple competitors are bidding top of search. It's a fast way to see which terms rivals are fighting for most, and what should be on your ad radar next. Amazon Seller Central: Upload Images now provides faster uploads and more flexibility https://sellercentral.amazon.com/seller-news/articles/QVRWUERLSUtYMERFUiNHTE5HMzJYWTlMRExVUUha Seamlessly reach relevant audiences with enhanced targeting capabilities from Amazon Ads https://advertising.amazon.com/en-us/resources/whats-new/amazon-ads-introduced-enhanced-targeting-capabilities/ Next week brings a free AI monthly workshop with expert Andrew Bell showcasing Helium 10's revamped Listing Builder, now an all-in-one “8-in-1” workflow that combines keyword research with AI optimization, including Rufus question targeting. Register here: http://h10.me/aim3226 If you're in New York City, you can also catch Bradley in person at the ASGTG conference in Brooklyn on Thursday, March 5. It's the 12th ASGTG event and his first time attending in eight years, so it's a rare chance to meet up, network with sellers, and hear from a lineup of strong speakers. And yes, it's famous for the food, apparently “Michelin-starred for an Amazon conference” levels, so come for the content and connections, and stay for the bites. Register here: http://h10.me/asgtg Thanks for tuning in! Check back next week for more buzzing updates and strategies to help you stay ahead in e-commerce. In episode 500 of the AM/PM Podcast and Weekly Buzz, Bradley talks about: 00:00 - Introduction 00:44 - Episode 500 of the AM/PM Podcast! 03:07 - Is Amazon Hiding Reviews From All Amazon Customers? 07:35 - Amazon Multiple Account Policy Clarification 10:45 - How To See What Keywords Competitors Are Advertising Top Of Search 13:06 - Amazon Seller Central Image Upload Update 14:27 - Faster Way to Search Amazon Brand Analytics 18:19 - Amazon Ads Display and Video AI Targeting 20:10 - Upcoming Webinar and New York Event Enjoy this episode? Want to be able to ask questions to Leo Sgovio live in a small group with other 7 and 8-figure Amazon sellers?  Join the Helium 10 Elite Mastermind and get quarterly workshops, monthly training, and networking calls with Leo at h10.me/elite Make sure to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you listen to our podcast!  

Most people spend significant time planning how to build wealth, but far fewer consider how their family would access that wealth if something unexpected happened. For Americans living in Israel who maintain U.S. brokerage or retirement accounts, that question can be more complex than it appears. The challenge usually involves authority, documentation, and cross-border procedures. From the outside, U.S. accounts often appear unchanged after someone relocates to Israel. Statements arrive, online access continues, and the accounts seem stable. That familiarity can create comfort, but it can also hide administrative challenges that surface during estate transitions. When inheritance meets two legal systems Inheritance is often assumed to be simple. A relative passes away, assets transfer to heirs, and accounts continue under new ownership. Cross-border estates rarely follow that pattern. Consider a common situation. A son lives in Israel while his parent maintains brokerage accounts in the United States. The parent passes away and the will names the son as the heir.  From the son's perspective, the next step seems straightforward. Notify the financial institution, submit documentation, and transfer the accounts. Instead, access to the accounts often stops immediately after the parent's death. Financial institutions typically freeze accounts once they receive notification. This step protects assets and ensures that only properly authorized individuals can act. At that point, the focus shifts from who should inherit the assets to who has legal authority to act on behalf of the estate. That distinction frequently creates confusion. Family expectations often rely on intent. Legal systems rely on documentation and verification. When required paperwork is incomplete or delayed, inheritance can slow significantly. Beneficiary designations and wills Many retirement and brokerage accounts use beneficiary designations on their retirement accounts. When completed correctly and kept current, they normally allow assets to transfer directly to heirs without probate. Financial institutions still require verification before releasing assets. But regular brokerage accounts don't usually have the possibility of a beneficiary designation. "What about transfer-on-death accounts (TOD)?" you might ask. If the account owner and heirs all live in the United States, that might work, but for people who live overseas, the TOD may not work and the brokerage firms may require a probated will. Probate is the court-supervised process that confirms who has legal authority to inherit assets. Depending on jurisdiction and estate complexity, it can take considerable time and delay account access. Power of attorney can create misunderstandings. While it may allow someone to manage accounts during a person's lifetime, that authority generally ends at death. Even if a family member previously helped manage accounts, that control disappears once the account holder passes away. Online account logins do not replace legal authority and continued use after death can create additional complications. Additional documentation cross-border families often face Cross-border inheritance frequently introduces procedural steps that families do not anticipate. Documents may require notarization, apostilles, or translation. Financial institutions may request tax clearance before releasing assets. Communication often involves multiple time zones and unfamiliar regulatory processes. Each requirement exists for protective and regulatory reasons. Financial institutions must verify identity, confirm authority, and comply with legal obligations. For families managing responsibilities from another country, the administrative process can still feel overwhelming. Many individuals assume that having a will resolves these challenges. A will remains an important estate planning document, but it functions within the legal system where it was created. When heirs live abroad, additional validation steps may still be required. Why inheritance paperwork often continues after assets transfer Inheritance rarely ends when accounts transfer. It often unfolds in stages that may include estate administration, account restructuring, and tax considerations across multiple countries. In the United States, estate taxes may apply depending on estate size and applicable thresholds. In Israel, receiving inherited assets may create reporting obligations depending on the circumstances. If inherited investments are later sold, capital gains rules in one or both countries may apply. Retirement accounts such as IRAs can introduce further complexity. Required minimum distributions may create ongoing reporting responsibilities and potential taxable events based on the heir's individual situation. This article is intended for educational purposes only and should not be considered financial, legal, or tax advice. Each situation involves unique factors and should be reviewed with qualified professionals. Planning that may help reduce future delays Cross-border estate planning does not eliminate complexity, but it can reduce uncertainty and help coordinate financial, legal, and administrative processes. Families who experience smoother inheritance transitions often share several habits. They periodically review beneficiary designations to confirm they reflect current intentions. They maintain organized records of accounts, financial institutions, and contact details. They revisit estate planning documents after relocating to Israel to confirm the structure remains effective. When planning evolves alongside life changes, families often encounter fewer unexpected administrative obstacles. Practical steps that may improve preparedness Americans living in Israel who maintain U.S. investment accounts may benefit from several foundational steps. Maintaining a consolidated list of accounts can help family members identify financial institutions and contact details if needed. Reviewing beneficiary designations can help confirm retirement accounts align with estate planning goals. Discussing financial account access with family members may help clarify who should contact financial institutions and which documentation may be required. These steps do not eliminate every challenge, but they may reduce uncertainty and help families navigate complex situations more effectively. Schedule a Conversation If you are living in Israel and managing U.S. brokerage or I.R.A. accounts, and you are unsure whether your investments still make sense for your situation, it may be worth taking a fresh look. You can book a free cross-border evaluation call here: https://profile-financial.com/call. It is a no pressure conversation and a chance to see whether your current setup aligns with how you live today.

How to Fix Your Underperforming B2B SaaS Funnel for Quick Revenue Wins In the fast-paced world of B2B SaaS, the ability to go to market, iterate on feedback, and close deals rapidly is the ultimate competitive advantage. Unfortunately, many sales and marketing teams find themselves stalled by underperforming funnels that drain resources without delivering measurable results. When growth plateaus, the challenge lies in transforming these stagnant pipelines into high-velocity growth engines without requiring massive capital or long timelines. So, how can B2B SaaS teams identify the hidden leaks in their customer journey and unlock quick-win revenue through a strategic, data-driven approach? That's why we're talking to April Syed (CEO of Aperture Codex), who shares her expertise on fixing an underperforming B2B SaaS funnel for quick revenue wins. During our conversation, April discussed the importance of leveraging data to pinpoint “quick wins,” such as streamlining sales processes and eliminating high-friction points in user onboarding. She explained how to fix “conversion killers” like messaging misalignment and highlighted the necessity of aligning marketing and sales efforts to ensure a seamless experience. April also advocated for a culture of continuous testing, using small, incremental experiments to de-risk major strategic shifts. She emphasized the value of regular customer journey mapping to maintain a predictable, sustainable, and highly efficient path to profitable growth. https://youtu.be/VeeFMznhCfw Topics discussed in episode: [07:24] Why your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) must be a “living, breathing” document reviewed quarterly, not a static file sitting in a deck. [11:24] The critical mistake of treating marketing as a cost center rather than a revenue driver, and how it leads to “vanity metrics” over actual sales. [13:53] Why you should focus on small, incremental tests to “de-risk” big spends before committing to expensive strategies like rebrands. [18:05] The 5-Point Conversion Diagnostic: A framework to analyze time-to-value, messaging alignment, behavioral triggers, follow-up timing, and pricing friction. [23:07] A real-world example of how “pricing friction” (forcing an annual upgrade) caused a loyal promoter to churn to a competitor. [27:24] How to audit your funnel for “Quick Win” revenue opportunities in under 30 days by analyzing where deals stall in the CRM. [35:27] Why no marketing asset is ever “final”, and why high-traffic landing pages should be in a state of constant A/B testing. Companies and links mentioned: Apryl Syed on LinkedIn  Aperture Codex  Superhuman Notion  Motion Transcript Christian Klepp, Apryl Syed Apryl Syed  00:00 Brand for instance, doesn’t work itself into any metric, but it makes every metric better across the board. Sometimes we’re chasing these metrics and like the attribution of where a particular deal came from, or how did they find out about us, and we’re not thinking about all of the things that are outside in the flywheel that are, you know, causing that person to, yes, eventually convert. But were there seven or eight other things that kind of they interacted with. Christian Klepp  00:26 In the world of B2B SaaS speed is the name of the game. Get to market, quickly collect feedback, quickly iterate quickly and close deals quickly. But what happens if your sales and marketing teams get stuck with underperforming funnels that don’t generate the results you need? How can teams turn these funnels into growth machines without massive spend or long timelines? Welcome to this episode of the B2B Marketers on a Mission podcast, and I’m your host, Christian Klepp, today, I’ll be talking with Apryl Syed, who will be answering this question. She’s the CEO of ApertureCodex who gives founders the strategy and the psychology needed to jump into fast revenue gains. Let’s dive in. Okay, and away we go. Apryl Syed, welcome to the show. Apryl Syed  01:12 Thank you so much, Christian. I’m so excited to be here. Christian Klepp  01:15 Glad to have you on the show. I think we had such a great pre interview conversation. I kept telling myself I should have hit record, and I talked to you the first time, right? But, you know, two times is a charm or three times. But anyways, this is the second time we’re talking. So I’m really looking forward to this conversation Apryl, because we’re going to touch on a topic today that I think is not just relevant to sales teams. It’s really important to marketing teams as well. So I’m going to keep the audience in suspense just a little while longer while I set up this first question. Right? So you’re on a mission to help B2B SaaS teams turn underperforming funnels into growth machines without massive spend or lengthy timelines, and for people that didn’t hear that the first time, I think everybody wants something like that, right, quick results without spending massively, right? So for this conversation, I’d like to focus on the following topic and just unpack it from there, right? So how can SaaS teams leverage a quick win revenue approach for better and more predictable growth. And I mean, come on Apryl, who the heck doesn’t want that, right? Who doesn’t want predictable growth, right? So I want to kick off this conversation with two questions, and I’m happy to repeat them. So first one is, where do you see many SaaS teams struggle with revenue growth? And the second question is, what are some of the key causes of this? Apryl Syed  02:44 It’s really great, by the way. As a side note, I got turned down for a podcast this week because they said I talked too much about quick wins, and they felt that it conflicted with their policy. I won’t mention the name, they’re an agency out there, but they were all about big spend, and they felt that I conflicted with that. And this exactly ties in. This is probably why the subject that I talk about so. Christian Klepp  03:13 Well, I’m sorry for them. Apryl Syed  03:15 Yeah, that’s okay. That’s okay. We don’t, we don’t match. You know, I’m not for everyone. Well, I think that, like SaaS teams don’t realize that they’ve got data. And within their data really, really lies some of the tweaks, opportunities and things like that that can make them extra revenue that they might not be looking at today. And I think, you know, perhaps it’s in tweaking their sales process. Maybe they don’t have a sales process misalignment between sales and marketing. Marketing is talking about one thing, sales is selling another thing, or could be marketing is marketing to one type of industry and user, and sales is saying that’s not the right user. It’s something completely different, that misalignment in itself causes revenue conflict, revenue opportunities. And you know, sometimes it’s spending on expensive tools before you’ve actually broken down some of those points in the funnel. Or could be tools that you’re getting a lot of data from, or they’re not doing anything with the data on a regular basis. So I think, you know, those are where I see some of those, like, struggle with revenue because of some of those issues and and then I think your second question was kind of like, well, how to, how do they kind of avoid some of those scenarios? Right? Christian Klepp  04:40 It was more about the the key causes, but you but, but you did talk about that already, right?   Apryl Syed  04:44 So, right, right? That definitely is there. Well, I think, you know, it’s also could be, you know, where they’re chasing certain metrics and focused in, and we had this conversation earlier. It’s like brand, for instance, doesn’t work at. Yourself into any metric, but it makes every metric better across the board. So sometimes we’re chasing these metrics and like the attribution of where a particular deal came from, or how did they find out about us, and we’re not thinking about all of the things that are outside in the flywheel that are, you know, causing that person to, yes, eventually convert. But were there seven or eight other things that kind of they interacted with before they got to that point? And we had to get them ready? So, you know, can definitely be about just chasing those metrics too much, which means you avoid doing things that don’t give you that instant metric. And I think that is a big challenge and pitfall that that teams can can certainly fall into. I think also the the challenge of treating marketing as a cost center and not letting them be in charge of all of those metrics down to the sale that happen. And that might sound weird to some folks, but I’ve certainly been in enough teams and enough experiences across you know my background that I’ve seen that sometimes you can make a change in marketing. It produces a lot of leads, but those leads aren’t qualifying and they’re not turning into revenue, and yet, if the metric is producing leads, well then marketing can walk away the end of the day and meet their metrics and jobs, but if the metric is revenue, then they’ve got to go all the way to that end cycle and see that it’s a qualified opportunity. That, of course, goes back to my original point that if sales and marketing aren’t in lock sync with each other, and they don’t have a good relationship and dynamic, then it ends up in finger pointing when things aren’t going wrong, instead of both teams coming together, being on the same page and figuring out what’s going to work. And that’s that’s really the key. Christian Klepp  07:03 Absolutely, absolutely. And I think you might have brought it up, and maybe I didn’t catch it, and if not, I apologize. But like, one of the things that I didn’t notice, too, is, like, this misalignment of who, who the who the ICP (Ideal Customer Profile) is, like the assumptions that both sides have and then somehow they just cannot meet in the middle. Apryl Syed  07:24 Well, I kind of brought it up just slight when I said that marketing might be marketing to one person, and sales is selling to another, but if we just want to double click, you know, on on that, that agreement around the ICP, the reason why it’s so important, and I think it’s hard for some SaaS companies, because there’s, there could be a lot of ICPs. And I kind of have this philosophy that with an ICP, people usually maybe do these personas, as I call them, one time, maybe at a, you know, a planning session or whatever, where they’re kicking off, you know, and kind of like planning who those are, and then they leave them. They sit in a deck somewhere. They’re never looked at again. They’re never revised. I like a more fluid method with personas. I like personas to kind of be active, living and breathing in something that’s reviewed on a quarterly basis, I think is a better cadence. And the reason being is, like, we want to see how many deals we’ve closed in that particular area, how many so we should be looking at the metrics right by persona. We should also look at the messaging by persona to see how that’s working. And we should, you know, look at our team and how that flow has gone through into the sales process by persona. And kind of looking at this lens, we may figure out that one persona is working really, really well, or two or three might be working really well. And maybe there’s two or three that aren’t working really well. We might want to flush those out or put them in, what I would say is like a vault or a holding pattern. They might come back later if something’s happened, and we might want to add different ones. And the reason why quarterly is important is because, if you are selling business to business, for instance, in that business environment, there are different things that might be happening in the world, you know, geographically, politically, that might be impacting a certain persona. And it’s important to also look at that lens on a quarterly basis and say, Okay, what’s the mindset of this particular persona? What are they dealing with? What are some of their issues? What are their pressures? What is their emotional state, and then how do we want to message into that emotional state during this time? How do we want to change and revise our messaging for what’s going on in their world right now, this quarter, right you can’t keep you can’t keep messaging the same and messaging constant needs to be looked at. I would say, on a regular basis, one to check and make sure it’s working. If it’s working, keep it working at some time. At some point, though, it might stop working, and it’s important to catch that as you see those numbers trailing off, as you see that change, and not wait until too long has passed and just double down on the same persona for the sake of really work, working with it, because it was the original plan. Christian Klepp  10:27 Yeah, absolutely, absolutely these, um, these personas are, and I believe that too, they it’s not something that that’s written in stone, and then you, you to use that archaic expression, just keep it on the shelf, and then it collects dust, right? Apryl Syed  10:40 Yeah Christian Klepp  10:41 It’s something that should be monitored, as you said, because certain certain companies are working in industries where, for example, government regulation impacts them. Apryl Syed  10:51 Yes. Christian Klepp  10:52 If government regulation changes, then that perhaps also influences the way they make decisions, or decide to work with external vendors and partners and so forth, right? Apryl Syed  11:05 Absolutely. Christian Klepp  11:07 You brought you brought up a few already in the past couple of minutes. I’m just, I just want to go back to pitfall. So one of them, I think, was chasing this, chasing metrics. Right? This, this habit of constantly chasing metrics. What are some of these other pitfalls that you’d say marketing teams should avoid them. What should they be doing instead? Apryl Syed  11:24 Well, I think, you know, another pitfall that I’ve seen is kind of launching a big rebrand and expecting, you know, or that could also be a plot, a platform overhaul, software overhaul, and expecting that that’s going to move the needle faster when you could test that type of messaging out in really small ways before you go and do that big rebrand. And I’m a big fan of those, like small tests, verify and then go big. Like I’m not I’m not saying don’t ever go big. What I’m saying is like, test and measure before you go into a big cut, a big, fresh rebrand, because it’s expensive, and you want those big, expensive expenditures to be a little bit more of a sure thing than a risky thing. So de risk the big spends, riskier moves. Do small, incremental tests and say, how could we test this out on a small scale. How could we test or rebrand out? How could we test a platform change out before we do that in a small way? So I think that’s another one. I talked about a cost center. Treating marketing as a cost center is another one. So I think those are, like my big, my big three, I would say, in terms of pitfalls. Christian Klepp  12:41 Yeah, fantastic, fantastic. You, you hit on something there with your with your third point. And I want to go to that, because that’s a topic that, um, that as a marketer, personally, it riles me up a little bit, but, like, you know, but, but we have to look at this as professionals too, and say, okay, you know what? In the world of B2B, that type of pushback is almost expected, right? Because I’m not sure what your experience has been. But I also work with a lot of companies that have done either little or no marketing before, so it’s, it’s to a certain extent, it’s like Terra Australis incognita. It’s uncharted territory. They are not sure what to expect. So it’s only, it’s only normal that they, that they view it with some kind of, I wouldn’t go so far as to say, suspicion, but yeah. Like, how do you know it’s gonna work, right? So over to you. Like, what’s your experience been? How do you deal with companies that view marketing with that kind of suspicion or or have these doubts, like, Is this even going to work for us? Right? How do you deal with that? Apryl Syed  13:53 Well, I mean, from my perspective, I think again, I go back to the small tests, small wins in those beginning, like, let’s get our sea legs before we go and launch some big strategy. And I think that’s, you know, a big divide between, you know, maybe myself and yourself and some other you know, marketing agencies and firms out there is, I would rather get small, incremental wins to start. I’m not against big strategies and big spends. I think they’re both needed, but when you’re kind of coming into a team that’s either had little to no success with marketing, because maybe they’ve had some bad experiences with agencies that haven’t delivered, or they’ve tried ads, or they’ve tried this thing and they kind of have that bad taste in their mouth, right? Or they just have not done anything at all, and perhaps they’ve, they’ve grown despite that. So they’re kind of like, Hey, I’ve seen success without doing this. So why? Why do I need this? So I think an educational approach is important, kind of giving the here’s the industry benchmarks, here’s what we should. See, here’s how we are going to test. Here’s a recommended way that we do small, incremental tests. And then I also think a really, really important piece is, if it’s a company that’s been around long enough is to dive into that data I have. I have a customer that I would say sits in this category. They’ve grown tremendously. They’ve had a very successful business, and they’ve never marketed before. And if I were to come in there with some big rebrand strategy, big moves, look at me like you’re crazy. We don’t need that. I mean, in all honesty, what are they looking for? They’re looking for incremental revenue gains. So how am I going to produce incremental revenue gains? I’m going to look at their data and see where there’s holes in gaps today, where, yes, marketing, but marketing is a very, very broad term. Marketing can be brands, marketing could be emails, marketing can be social media. Marketing can be customer advocacy, customer emails churn, you know, upgrading customers into other models. So when I say I look at data, I look at what their customers are doing, and what I get from that is, where is my ideal customer, because it’s going to show me in their base. So who might I want to go after and experiment with? First, those are going to be my biggest areas for opportunity of wins, where, with their existing customer base, can I sell something more or different for them to increase revenue in that way? I think that’s another big and then I look at where there may be failures across the process in their data. If it’s a SaaS company, let’s look at their free the trial, trial, you know, to paid, paid to churn, and look at those numbers and say, are they hitting industry standard for their industry? Can I improve any of these metrics? Let me go look at all of the various different things that are going to change these metrics. Where can I start to experiment to get incremental change? That’s how you give success to a team. And they start feeling like, Okay, we should invest more here. We should do more here, because it’s working. Now, let’s double down. Let’s triple down. Let’s do more, then you can go after those bigger strategies. Christian Klepp  17:26 Yep, yep, no, absolutely, absolutely, no. I’m glad, I’m glad you brought those up, because that’s a great segue into the next question, which I think you’re all too familiar with, right? So I think when we first talked, right in our previous conversation you were talking, you mentioned something called a five point conversion diagnostic, which uncovers, I think you refer to them as conversion killers, right? You can cover these conversion killers without expensive tools or massive product like changes or revamps, right? So if you could please walk us through this five point approach and how teams can leverage that. Apryl Syed  18:05 Now this is particularly for SaaS, that trial to onboarding experience and the time that I the thing that I look for the most in there is time to value. How long does it take for the customer to experience value is going to be indicative of how long their trial has to be with that onboarding experience, and are they legitimately going to get into the point of buying early, even because they can’t wait to utilize this tool or buying, of course, the moment that the trial, the trial the trial ends. That is all about time to value. The second is about messaging alignment. So does the promise that we give, if it’s a landing page, whatever that experience is that someone comes through to then get to that product, does the promise of what we’re giving them match what the experience is going to be in the software, and how long does it take again, from that time to value, for them to get to that matched experience of what we promised that will also be a predictor of so if we were, you know, on a scale from zero to 10, 10 being like matched, it perfectly, zero being not matching at all, we’d want to rate our company on that scale, and kind of see for the time to value and for the misalignment, where are we? Then I would kind of go after like behavioral triggers, and I would try to figure out what actions correlate with conversion. So I would look at everybody that’s converted, and I would say, what parts of the software did they touch right? Are they looking at, are they experiencing, which then would predict, like, if people do these five things and the solution, then we know that they’re going to convert. And you can use either, like a Pender or you know, products like that that give you some of that analysis and data. Or maybe it’s, you know, sitting in your CRM, but that would tell you and inform you about your messaging as well. Like, what should we be messaging about? These are the key things that people want out of this solution, and that’s going to inform your next piece, which is, I would look at the follow up timing, the sequencing. How frequently do we talk? I often, I’m a big superhuman fan, and I talk about superhumans onboarding experience, which I think is awesome. And of course, they get a little bit of a leg up because they are an email solution, so they see when you’re in the tool. But I have found that, like the timely messages and the trickling of features that they give you right when you’re ready to use that feature has been so well thought out. And if you have, if you have not experienced it, and you’re a SaaS product owner, Founder, CEO, I highly encourage you to go through their onboarding experience, because that, to me, is like the pinnacle, or one of the pinnacles of what you should want your users to experience, like these just great aha moments right when they’re ready to receive them as part of that trial period before conversion. That make sure that we’re just touching them at the right moments. And then the last piece that I look at is pricing and packaging friction. And here’s, this is, you know, this is something that’s changing an awful lot right now. SaaS is under pressure to maybe look at not seeds, but maybe it’s volume, but then volume is not great, because people can’t predict it, and certainly can’t budget appropriately for it. So there is all kinds of pricing friction happening right now that needs to be figured out, but understanding where people are dropping off and where in that you know, how many clicks do they need to do before they buy? What is that whole buying process like? What is the upgrading process like? Put it through the pressure test. See how many steps it is. Challenge yourself. If you can reduce the steps, make it easier. I’ll give you an example. I was a big, big user of the motion app for a really long time. I probably sold, let’s say, 10 to 20 of these to other people, because I was such a promoter and such a fan of motion, they changed something in their solution related to how many credits, and what happened is it stopped recording my meetings for me automatically, which meant didn’t go into my notes anymore. Didn’t automatically create my tasks for me. That’s a pretty big feature, and obviously I so I went to upgrade, and the upgrade didn’t allow for me to choose a monthly it only allowed me to upgrade to choose an annual. Christian Klepp  23:06 Why? Apryl Syed  23:07 Yeah, which did what to me as the user. I then went into the shopping mode, essentially, and I said, Now I’m going to go shop and look at, well, what other tools are out there that can do the same functionality. Because now, if I have to commit to an annual plan, so much changing in AI this year, I’m not sure if I can commit to an annual plan. It had nothing to do with the amount of dollar spent. It had everything to do with commitment. And here I was a promoter of their solution. I ended up canceling and I went with notion, because I realized that notion had added a significant number of AI features at a much lower price, which I know a lot of people complain about notion being expensive, and it isn’t as good of a user experience now that I’m using motion and yet notion. Yet, I’m still on notion, and I left motion app, which is probably better, because they put me through this experience. And I say that as an example not to and I don’t know if they fix that, but we make these decisions all the time, sitting from our lens, looking at what we want the outcome to be, and we don’t think through what that user experience is going to be, and we’re killing conversions, in some cases, by these little levers and moves that we make, and sometimes we don’t even realize that. So I really encourage, encourage founders, encourage, you know, everyone at the company go back through and look at these tiny little things that each one of them on the loan alone could be costing you revenue, costing you conversions along the pathway. Christian Klepp  24:53 Absolutely, absolutely. And we’re working with a client that’s that’s an that’s in tech right now, and the thing that we keep. Talking about is you gotta, you know, yes, of course you’re excited if you start developing more features and what have you right? But look at this through the lens of the user, right? I mean, I can totally relate to your to your situation. I mean, even things like for example, and this is probably like oversimplifying it. But the last update that Instagram did is driving me absolutely crazy. Like, why would you update something your interface that has already been working for the users, and now? Why do you update it so and completely change where the buttons are on the layout so people have to waste time looking for worse, the send button. I mean, you know, it’s just beyond me, right? Apryl Syed  25:45 Yeah, and it’s funny, and they actually, Instagram, for a long while, did a lot of user testing before they would roll out features, and did these limited, I didn’t see any of that necessarily. With this last rollout. Christian Klepp  25:58 No. Apryl Syed  25:59 Apple did a very similar, like their latest update introduced many phone changes in terms of prioritization of, you know, messaging and all that sort of stuff. And it’s like a common we’re finding commonality saying, like, Oh man, I hate this latest I don’t know how many people have said I hate this latest update, and it’s because it’s created too much friction in the process. We need enough friction, but not too much friction. And that balance, in itself, unfortunately, is like the most difficult thing to figure out. And if you’re not talking to your customers, if you’re not talking to people, you will never figure it out, because you’ll be making an assumption. Christian Klepp  26:38 Exactly, exactly. Okay, so we talked about this at the beginning of the conversation, but you mentioned something called a quick win revenue framework. And I know from what you were telling me that that was a little bit controversial to somebody else you spoke to. Apryl Syed  26:55 Yeah. Christian Klepp  26:56 But you know what we are, we are all embracing in the show. You know. Apryl Syed  27:00 Thank you. Christian Klepp  27:00 Not not judgmental. But in fact, the focus here is to help B2B Marketers. In your case, B2B SaaS Marketers to become better and to improve. So if we’re going to focus on this quick win revenue framework, where would you identify low hanging revenue opportunities in under 30 days. So talk to us about that. Apryl Syed  27:24 Yes, well, it sits at this crossroads between marketing and sales, right? And that’s why you’ve got to have such a tight friendship relationship with you know, your sales leaders and your customer success leaders. I think it has to be like such a great ecosystem. So first thing I would do is pull CRM data. I would look at where deals are stalling, you know, I would map the current funnel with actual numbers of where you have people. I would overlay that with like the industry and kind of like the marketing messaging that is created those those types of deals. And kind of look at that from the lens of, okay, here’s what we’re creating, and here’s what sales is able to close easily. Here’s what’s really lagging and taking a long time in the funnel. And it’s not to say that, like, longer is better than shorter, because, like, an enterprise deal takes longer to close than a SMB (Small and Medium-sized Business) deal. So the answer isn’t always that the SMB deal is better, but looking at that and saying, Is there anything here that is that is giving me an indicator of something I can improve on? Can improve on. So that would be, you know, number one, go through that audit, take a look at the data, see what you’ve been producing from a marketing standpoint so far, and then say, is there anything that we should be testing to do differently better? You know, what are your hypotheses that you want to go out and you want to prove with some AB testing, two look at conversion killers, right? That’s either messaging, follow up, timing or onboarding friction, some sort of friction in the process. Friction could be a form fill too it could be, you know, too heavy, too long of landing page, I would look at every single detail and way that people are coming in through the funnel and say, are we doing anything to kill conversion and sometimes, and I’ve experienced this with one brand that I’m working with, and we have an agency that’s also in there that’s doing some ad performance, and they’re getting industry well above industry standard rates. And I asked the agency, because I’m sitting in kind of like my fractional executive role, and I said, Tell me out of your entire client, raw. Stair. Where does this client sit? And they said, Oh, at the top, best performing client we have, you know what that signaled to me? They’re comfortable. They’re getting great results. They’re not trying to improve anything. They’re just trying to hold the fort down and just keep getting these great results because they think that’s a place of safety. Christian Klepp  30:23 Stop rocking the boat Apryl. Apryl Syed  30:26 I know, I know, but I look at that and say, You’re not trying hard enough. You’re not examining right and going through the funnel and looking for all the tweaks and looking for. Christian Klepp  30:36 What can it improve? Apryl Syed  30:37 Can it be improved? You’re not trying to do any of that. And in fact, I’m adding that to you. I’m adding those things. I’m asking for those things, just because I come from that space and saying, like, Hey, we should be pushing here. We should be pushing here. We should be they don’t want to push. And they’re slow, slow, slow to react. And what’s going to happen is it’s going to earn them a change out in agency, right? Because they’re not pushing. Now, unfortunately, what I think is, if that was happening, obviously was happening before I was involved this customer, they thought they’re getting, they’re getting, like, six to one on their spend. That’s fantastic. We should be happy, right? And I’m like, no, no, no, I’ve pushed, I have pushed that envelope before. I’ve seen, you know, 14% conversion on landing pages. I’ve seen 49% conversion on landing pages. When you get it really right, you should always be pushing and pushing and pushing that envelope. So really diagnose and look, are there friction killers in those processes, and where can you be improved? And it is not like, I’m getting results good enough, so let me stop. It’s not stop because that might be one of your levers to really, really get quick wins, because you could tweak something and then even tip the scale further. And who doesn’t want a big win like that? The other thing is, like, I think there’s I look at I look at email sequences and messaging. I look at every single message that we’re sending a customer through the process, through their buying journey. You know, for one client, I basically call it a customer journey map, which a lot of people don’t do anymore, but my journey map is from the moment that they hear about you, all the way through buying, how do we touch them? What do we touch? And then from buying through that sales cycle, what is that like? And the reason why I map that out is because when you do and you put the different sections, you can kind of say, well, this is the process today. What would we like that process to be? And you will find in every single one of these customer journey maps that I’ve done, five to 10 areas where you’re like, instantly know, you instantly know the experience you could be providing better. I did this for one client, and we uncovered, like, the review process for their terms and conditions. On average took like, 10 days with an average back and forth between their lawyers and our lawyers, maybe 15 times that is that a desired customer experience? No, that’s a friction creator, which could be a deal killer, could be a deal staller. So what does that desired experience look like? What should we aim to get to? How are we going to do that? What should we test first? That’s just an example of one that might be in there. So look at everything. Then it becomes, you know, build exactly what you think you’re going to test, go and launch and measure those tests. And you don’t need this to be six months, right? Depending on how much data you’re getting through, it might only take you two weeks of data. It might take you a week of data on these experiments and levers that you’re going through so figure out how long you need to run the experiment for. Run that experiment, measure those changes, and then either permanently implement the change or make changes right and refresh and do another test. Christian Klepp  34:24 Wow, that was quite the list. And I’m sure you’ve, you’ve had, like, as you, as you’ve mentioned, you’ve had pushback for, you know, some of this, for this process, because it’s it. It makes teams uncomfortable, right? But I think the point is, you know, everybody says, right, change is uncomfortable. Improvement is uncomfortable. Uncovering ways to make things better should make you feel uncomfortable, right? Apryl Syed  34:53 So true, so true. And I always, I always think like, if you’re uncomfortable and you’re feeling like. A maybe, I don’t know all the answers here. It’s a really good place to be, and that’s where real growth happens. That’s where real change happens. Christian Klepp  35:06 Yeah. So I did have one follow up question for you, Apryl, like, you know, based on this framework that you’ve just proposed, like, How often would you recommend? And I know it depends, but how often would you recommend teams to continuously monitor some of these, some of these attributes and these factors that you’ve that you’ve brought up in the past couple of minutes. Apryl Syed  35:27 Gosh, I think it is very dependent on the data that’s coming through. If you were experiencing problem in an area, deep dive in there and uncover it. Kind of do that audit and analysis and create some tests that you could run to improve it. But as a measure, the customer journey map, for example, for existence, I think that’s a living, breathing document. I think we should look at it quarterly. We should update it with the experiments and the learnings and the new things that we’ve implemented permanently so that we can track how that experience is going and make sure that it’s our desired experience that we’re putting out there. Because I think a lot of times stuff just happens and it’s not our desired experience, but we kind of think like, oh, well, this is the process, the way it has to be, or, you know, so and so said that it has to be three days. So it’s three days, and it’s like giving you a moment to step back and be like, Why could we do it different? Could we do it better? Could we do it in two days? I don’t know. Could we do it in one and, you know, so I think as often as that customer journey, when updates happen, put those updates in their document. It, look at it, say, like, what’s next on the list should always be improving. When you get to the point where you don’t have any more insights in there, and you think it’s oiled up in the best that you could possibly do it, bring some customers in, bring some customers in to look at it and get their opinion. Ask them about it. It’s a great point to now be in survey mode and ask some questions about where you might have conflicts internally, or where you just aren’t sure where to go. So I think that when it comes to like email sequences, and remind you know like those provide provides, messaging, emails, one thing landing pages, like, I think your landing page just should be in a constant AB turnaround. Every time you have five to 10,000 people hitting a landing page, you should be trying to tweak that message to see if you can make it better. Message, layout, colors, all of the kind of industry standards there, you should be constantly trying to tweak that. If you’re not using landing pages and you’re sending stuff to a page, you should try landing pages so it’s just the constant improvement of those email sequences kind of, kind of, I feel, I feel they should be similar. I feel like you’ve got to examine those on a pretty regular basis, maybe it’s monthly, and kind of determine which messages are you going to trade out. I’m doing a pretty big switch out right now for, you know, an SMB app that’s, you know, selling to other businesses. So it’s a B2B, SaaS company, and we are revising all of their messaging, going through every single one, but trying to create, like a very purposeful journey now where there hasn’t been necessarily one before. And what I just said to one of the leaders yesterday is like, this is version one of what will be probably 10 before we’re done with this iteration. Because every single time we see the data and see how people are moving through the flow, we’re going to we’re going to see that those things that we didn’t consider, there’s going to be broken pieces. Like, don’t be in a position of thinking that any of your marketing is final ever. That’s a good position to be in. It’s never final. I think about this for websites as well. Like people like, oh, we go through our big website refresh, we get the website done, and then now we don’t have to touch the website. Oh, you should be, like, touching the website all the time. Experiment with the messaging on the homepage. Like to think that you got the messaging right the first time. I wish, I wish, and I’ve been in this industry for more than 25 years, I wish, and I’m considered, considering, considered a messaging, you know, wizard. Sometimes, it sometimes takes five or six tries before you get that like, nailed one, and that’s because persona, you know, it’s like how the person is feeling. It’s the emotional draw, and it’s the features, the problem of the pain and all of that coming into one like, I wish, I wish there was an AI tool that could get that right. But it’s not, they’re not. Christian Klepp  40:00 I haven’t found one yet. Apryl Syed  40:01 Yeah. You know, it’s only through really, really overworking that message and seeing the data come in that you kind of like, finally get to maybe a place that’s good, and then guess what? Your persona changes or something happens to so. So don’t ever think of it as, oh, to set it and forget it, it. It should be like it. And there’s also, like, Don’t tweak it too fast that you don’t have enough data coming through. Like, that’s also, I can, I can see that being a message, but have enough data, review that data on a regular basis, make some changes, test it. It’s like little incremental tests and learn. So that’s going to be kind of like it’s either in that category, which is like, test and learn, test and learn, test and learn constantly tweaking, or a quarterly or an annual kind of review. Christian Klepp  40:54 Fantastic, fantastic. Apryl. This was such a great conversation. Thank you so much for your time and for sharing your expertise and experience with the listeners. Um, please. Quick introduction to yourself and how folks out there can get in touch with you. Apryl Syed  41:07 Well, my company is Apeture Codex. Best way to get in touch with me is just Apryl Syed at LinkedIn. That’s where I’m most active, is on LinkedIn, and you can book an appointment with me right off of my LinkedIn. And so that’s like the best, best way to find me out there. Christian Klepp  41:27 Fantastic, fantastic. And we’ll be sure to drop those links in the show notes once the episode goes live. So Apryl, once again, thanks so much for your time. Take care, stay safe and talk to you soon. Apryl Syed  41:38 All right. Thank you so much, Christian. Christian Klepp  41:40 Okay, Bye, for now. Apryl Syed  41:41 Bye.

1 Cor 6:1-11 What does depending upon God have to do with suing Christians? And why is it such a big deal to take another Christian to court? We consider those questions as we continue our study in 1 Cor.

Democrats in Olympia are considering a bill that gives a state board the power to decertify elected sheriffs. Depending on how you see it, it's either a necessary step to modernize sheriff's offices or opens the door for an unelected state board to undermine voters. KUOW's Amy Radil will explain the bill, we'll hear from two sheriffs against it, and talk to one former sheriff, State Sen. John Lovick, who's for it.Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible. If you want to help out, go to https://www.kuow.org/donate/soundpolitics/.Sound Politics is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Catharine Smith. Our producer is Hans Anderson. Our hosts are Catharine Smith and Scott Greenstone.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Depending on whom you ask, AI is either the best or worst thing that can happen to the next generation. The arguments come from educators, venture capitalists, op-ed writers, and anxious parents—but rarely from the young people in question. On this episode of AI & I, Dan Shipper sat down with one: Alex Mathew, a 17-year-old high-school senior at Alpha High School in Austin, Texas. Alpha School, a rapidly expanding network of kindergarten through grade 12 private schools, is not without controversy. Inside Alpha High School, there are no traditional teachers, all academic content is delivered through an AI-powered platform, and the adults in the classroom, known as “guides,” focus solely on supporting the students emotionally and keeping them motivated to learn. The students have two- to three-hour learning blocks every morning and spend the rest of the day going deep on a project in an area they care about, spanning art, sport, life skills, and entrepreneurship.Mathew's project is a startup called Berry, built around an AI stuffed animal designed to help teenagers with their mental health. His vision is for teens to talk to the plushie for five to 10 minutes a day and, in the process, learn to recognize and cope with their problems in the right way. In this episode, Dan and Mathew talk about what a day at Alpha High looks like, what keeps students from cheating when AI is everywhere, and how Generation Z—people born between 1997–2012—really feels about college, social media, and books. If you found this episode interesting, please like, subscribe, comment, and share! Want even more?Sign up for Every to unlock our ultimate guide to prompting ChatGPT here: https://every.ck.page/ultimate-guide-to-prompting-chatgpt. It's usually only for paying subscribers, but you can get it here for free.To hear more from Dan Shipper:Subscribe to Every: https://every.to/subscribe Follow him on X: https://twitter.com/danshipper In a world of generic AI, don't sound like everyone else. With Grammarly, you never will. Download Grammarly for free at Grammarly.com.Intent is what comes after your IDE. Try it yourself: augmentcode.com/intentHead to granola.ai/every to get 3 months freeTimestamps: 00:00:00 – Start 00:01:30 – Introduction00:04:08 – A typical day inside Alpha High School00:06:54 – Why Alpha replaced teachers with “guides” focused on motivating students00:12:09 – Why Mathew doesn't use AI to cheat, even though he could00:19:51 – Do ambitious teenagers care about going to college?00:25:12 – Mathew's take on how Gen Z thinks about AI00:27:52 – How Mathew thinks about the effects of social media00:31:29 – Gen Z's relationship with books and reading00:38:57 – Mathew ranks ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Grok00:47:12 – Why Mathew is building Berry, an AI stuffed animal for teen mental healthLinks to resources mentioned in the episode:Alex Mathew: Alex Mathew (@alxmthew)More about Berry: https://berryplush.com/, Berry (@berryaiplushies)

Blood cancers are the fifth most common group of cancers in the UK. But for a small number of people, the condition may have an inherited genetic cause.  In this episode of Behind the Genes, we explore the role of genetics in blood cancer, and what an inherited risk means for patients and their families. Our guests explain what blood cancer is, how inherited factors can increase risk, and why multidisciplinary teamwork is key to supporting families. They also look ahead to future advances, from whole genome sequencing to prevention trials.  Our host Amanda Pichini, Clinical Director at Genomics England, is joined by:  Dr Katie Snape, Principal Clinician at Genomics England and Consultant Cancer Geneticist  Bev Speight, Principal Genetic Counsellor Dr Sarah Westbury, Consultant Haematologist “By doing whole genome sequencing we get all of the information about all of the changes that might have happened, we know whether any are inherited, but importantly, we're certain of the ones that have just occurred in the cancer cells and can help guide us with their treatment.”  You can download the transcript or read it below. Amanda: Hello, and welcome to Behind the Genes.  Sarah: When we think about blood cancers, it's a whole range of different conditions and when you talk to patients who are affected with blood cancers or are living with them, their experiences are often really different from one another, depending in part on what kind of blood cancer they have.  We also know that blood cancers affect not just the cell numbers but also the way that those cells function, and so the range of symptoms that people can get is really variable.  Amanda: I am your host, Amanda Pichini, clinical director at Genomics England and genetic counsellor.  Today I'll be joined by Dr Katie Snape, principal clinician at Genomics England and a consultant cancer geneticist in London, Bev Speight, a principal genetic counsellor in Cambridge, and Dr Sarah Westbury, and haematologist from Bristol.  They'll be talking about blood cancers and the inherited factors that increase blood cancer risk.  If you enjoy this episode, we'd love your support, so please subscribe, rate and share on your favourite podcast app.  Let's get started.  Thanks to everyone for joining us today on this podcast, we're delighted to have so many experts in the room to talk to us about blood cancer.  I'd love to start with each of you introducing yourself and telling us and the listeners a little bit about your role, so, Sarah, could we start with you?  Sarah: Sure.  It's great to be here.  My name's Sarah Westbury, and I'm a consultant haematologist who works down in Bristol.  And my interest in this area is I'm a diagnostic haematologist so I work in the laboratories here in the hospitals, helping to make a diagnosis of blood cancer for people who are affected with these conditions.  And I also look after patients in clinic who have different forms of blood cancer, but particularly looking after families who have an inherited predisposition to developing blood cancer.  And in the other half of my job, I work as a researcher at the University of Bristol.  And in that part of my job, I'm interested in understanding the genetic basis of how blood counts are controlled and some of the factors that lead to loss of control of those normal blood counts and how the bone marrow functions and works.  Amanda: Thank you.  That's really interesting, we'll be looking forward to hearing more about your experience.  Bev, we'll come to you next.  Bev: Thank you.  Hello everyone, I'm Bev Speight, I'm a genetic counsellor, and I work at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge.  I work with families with hereditary cancers in the clinical genetic service, and for the last six years or so have been focused on hereditary blood cancers.  So we've been helping our haematologists across the region to do genetic tests and interpret the results, and then in my clinic seeing some of the onward referrals that come to clinical genetics after a hereditary cause for blood cancer is found.  I'm also part of the Council for the UK Cancer Genetics Group.  Amanda: Thank you, Bev.  And Katie, over to you.  Katie: Hello, I'm Katie Snape.  I'm a genetics doctor and I am a specialist in inherited cancer.  So we look after anyone who might have an increased chance of developing cancer in their lifetime due to genetic factors.  I am the chair of the UK Cancer Genetics Group, so that's a national organisation to try and improve the quality of care and care pathways for people with inherited cancer risk in the UK.  And I have a special interest in inherited blood cancers through my work at King's College Hospital, I work in the haematology medicine service there seeing individuals who might have or have been diagnosed as having an inherited component to their blood cancers.  So it's great to be here.  Amanda: Excellent, thank you for those introductions.  I'd like to then dive right in and understand a little bit more about blood cancers.  So, Sarah, could you tell us a little bit more about what blood cancer is?  Sarah: Yes, sure.  The term blood cancer is used to describe a whole range of different kinds of cancer, all of which affect some part of the blood or sometimes parts of the immune system that kind of gets represented as part of the blood.  So it's really describing a big group of conditions rather than one single kind of condition or entity itself.  But like any form of cancer, we understand blood cancers as being conditions where because cells as part of the blood system are rapidly dividing and normally doing so under really well controlled circumstances to produce just the right balance of blood cells and just the right number of those cells.  In a cancer affecting those cells, we see that that loss of control results in either too many of one type of blood cell being produced or too few, or that balance being lost.  And like any form of cancer, this is because of genetic changes that happen in individual cells that then go on to grow in a way that is not controlled and well regulated.    And because when we talk about blood cancer we're talking about such a wide range of different kinds of cancer affecting different cells within that blood system, there's a really wide range of different conditions.  From conditions that we might think of as being like a form of acute leukaemia, so something that produces often symptoms and signs in patients very quickly and they can often feel quite unwell quite soon and then get picked up with having this condition because they present feeling unwell.  All the way to chronic and slow growing cancers that can be found completely by chance and serendipity when blood tests are done for other reasons.  So when we think about blood cancers, it's a whole range of different conditions.  And when you talk to patients who are affected with blood cancers or are living with them, their experiences are often really different from one another, depending in part on what kind of blood cancer they have.  We also know that blood cancers affect not just the cell numbers, but also the way that those cells function.  And so the range of symptoms that people can get is really variable, again depending on which of the blood cells are really affected by that.  And it may be that during the course of some of the conversations we have today in this podcast, we'll perhaps focus on particular kinds of blood cancer.  But like any cancer, it's that disruption of the normal growth and development of cells that means that the number and function of those blood cells has been disrupted in some way.  Amanda: Thank you so much for explaining that, Sarah, that's really helpful.  In terms of across the range of blood cancers, is that something that people can get at any age, and how common is it?  Sarah: It does depend, as we were sort of talking about that really wide range of different disorders that make up that group of blood cancers.  And individually each of those blood cancers is reasonably uncommon compared to cancers that we might typically think of, like breast cancer or colon cancer.  But actually, if you group blood cancers together, they make up quite a sizeable proportion, and they're actually as a group the fifth most common form of cancer that's diagnosed in people in the UK.  In adults in particular we think that perhaps people diagnosed with leukaemia would make up about 3% of the new diagnosis of cancer made in any year.  Amanda: So coming to you, Bev, when we talk about inherited blood cancers, what are the differences between those and blood cancers more generally?    Bev: So at point of diagnosis, it may not be obvious that somebody with a new blood cancer diagnosis is one of the minority of people in that big group as Sarah has described, who has an inherited cause.  So it may not be immediately obvious.  However, in the last few years certainly, it's become more and more routine to do quite broad genetic testing.  Often on a bone marrow sample or blood, because that is done looking for genetic changes, which are part of all cancer and we find within cancer cells, that can help with treatment planning.  It can also find that there is an inherited cause to that new blood cancer diagnosis.  Sometimes that might not be clear cut, sometimes that might be inferred from the genetic tests that are done on the blood or the bone marrow. And the proportion of blood cancers in that huge group which do have an inherited cause is fairly small, the actual proportion will depend a bit on the age of the patient and the specific subtype of blood cancer.  Amanda: Okay, and could you talk us through how some of those inherited genetic factors can increase the chance of a person developing blood cancer, how does that work?  Bev: Yes, so if we know that there is an inherited cause for blood cancer, then what we mean by that most of the time is that a change in a single gene has been found.  And that there is enough research evidence and enough known about that specific change in that gene to say to the person who's been diagnosed, there is at least in part or perhaps a full explanation for why that blood cancer has developed and this could be shared in the family.  So at that point it's information that not only has implications for the person in treatment, but also their relatives.  Depending on what sort of gene alteration it is and which gene it's found in, there are different inheritance patterns, and that changes the sorts of information that we give about risks for relatives.  So for lots of the genetic tests that detect an inherited cause in adults when they're diagnosed, that's most often what we would call an autosomal dominant inheritance pattern.  Essentially that means you only need to have one gene alteration which is in that person's normal non-cancerous DNA inherited from a parent and can be passed onto a child.  And for people in the family who have inherited this one genetic change, then they are likely to be at increased risk of developing blood cancer.  Sometimes with particularly the children's blood cancers, if an inherited cause is found, it can be a different pattern, which we call autosomal recessive.  And that's where two gene changes are found and one has been inherited from each parent.  So parents might be what we call carriers and have one each just by chance, both have been passed onto a child who has developed blood cancer either in childhood or possibly later on, and that's the pattern we call autosomal recessive.  There are other inheritance patterns too.  The third one that we come across being X-linked, and so that has a gender component.  That's where there's a change on the X chromosome, women have two X's, and men have one X and one Y.  So sometimes with the X-linked conditions we're more likely to see the clinical signs of a condition in boys and men because they've only got that one X chromosome.  But those are less common in the context of talking about hereditary blood cancers.  Amanda: Thank you.  That's really helpful to understand.  So it sounds like you're saying that these forms of blood cancers that are caused by a single gene are relatively rare.  And also by having one of these changes, it's not a given that that person will develop a blood cancer, but it makes them more likely, and how likely that is might depend on the inheritance pattern or the type of condition.  Bev: That's right.  So what we're saying is it can give either part of full explanation for the blood cancer diagnosis, and it could confer a risk to family members, but that doesn't mean they definitely will develop it.  We're talking about an increased risk compared to the population risk.  Amanda: Right.  I can imagine for those families to some extent it might be helpful to know the underlying reason why they had that blood cancer, but again, that's just a small proportion.  So, Katie, could I come to you next?  What about the rest of all the blood cancers, how do they occur?  Katie: Yes, thanks, Amanda.  So most blood cancers will occur just by chance.  We also know that there are some environmental factors that can increase the risk of blood cancers, so, for example, serious radiation exposure, something like that.  What Bev has described is where there is this sort of quite rare condition where there is a kind of single gene that's really important for the blood cells in terms of keeping those control mechanisms that Sarah described.  And that's not working properly, which has increased the risk of a blood cancer.  But we also sometimes see some families where there is more blood cancer, or the same type of blood cancer in that family than we might expect by chance.  We think that's probably not due to a single high risk genetic factor, but might be due to kind of multiple lower risk genetic factors that are sort of shared by close family members and can add up together to increase the risk a little bit.  And we call that familial risk or polygenic risk.  We don't have a test for that at the moment.  We wouldn't offer usually any extra screening or testing to those families, but we would just suggest obviously family members are aware of any signs of symptoms of blood cancers and seek any advice if they're concerned.  But, you know, the majority of blood cancers are not due to genetic factors, and it's sort of environmental or chance or bad luck. Amanda: Okay, so it's clear that obviously blood cancer is almost an oversimplification, within that category there's so many different types, so many ways that it could happen in a person.  So, Bev, if we're dealing with that type of blood cancer that is inherited or has some heritability, can you tell us more about what that means for the family?  What kind of impacts do you see that having for them?  Bev: Yes, of course.  So clearly this is another layer of information that's often coming at a family during a time where somebody is often recently diagnosed with blood cancer of one sort or another and is having to take in a lot of information about treatment and all of the uncertainty and anxiety that goes with that.  So for this minority of patients and families where there is new information about an inherited cause, that needs conveying in a timely but sensitive way, bearing in mind what else is happening.  And for some people it can come as a major shock and really an additional burden at that time.  I think the reaction to that will of course depend on lots of factors.  And what we also see is that this question about a new cancer diagnosis of any sort, including blood cancers, can generate the question in people's mind, particularly if they've got children, about does this change the risk for relatives?  So sometimes this new information that, actually, there is an inherited cause is an answer to a question that families have already got.  And that might be because of what Katie's described as familial clustering, there might already have been this known history in the family. So sometimes this information can feed into that and actually be quite a helpful answer.  But it's quite normal for families to feel quite mixed about this and for different family members to have a different approach to it.  When there's the offer of what we would call predictive testing, if we found a change in a single gene in somebody with blood cancer which we're saying is a hereditary cause for that, that might open the door for relatives to access predictive testing.  I.e., the opportunity to discuss and possibly take up a genetic test for themselves when they haven't had cancer themselves, but there's an opportunity to try and quantify whether or not they're at increased risk.  We know in families the uptake of those kinds of tests is different, and a lot of it is to do with timing and the way people respond to this in families might depend on their response to the cancer diagnosis in their relative, and of course what else is going on in their life at the time.  This aspect for the family is where clinical genetic services come in, because these initial tests in the person with blood cancer are done in their haematology/oncology setting, and normally the results about an inherited cause has been found are conveyed through that service.  That's when a referral to clinical genetics happens.  And in our specialist service we're addressing those additional concerns for the family which arise because of this diagnosis. Amanda: Thanks, Bev, for explaining that.  Sarah, coming back to you.  Could you tell me then if someone has an inherited blood cancer does it also change the way that the patient is treated? Sarah: Well, it certainly can do, and again, it does depend a little bit on the specific circumstances of that particular person and the form of inherited blood cancer predisposition that they have.  But certainly if we think about treatment as a whole, then for a lot of people it does affect the way that we might recommend treatments or look after them and their families.  So, for example, for some patients who have a diagnosis of an inherited form of blood cancer, we know that some treatments might be more or less effective for their particular set of circumstances.  And so that can sometimes influence the specific treatment recommendations that we would make, particularly thinking about, for example, the risks that the cancer might come back again after it's been treated.  Or thinking about whether or not some of the typical drug regimes that might be used might be perhaps more likely to cause them side effects or problems with tolerating that treatment.  So it can certainly make some changes in that respect. For some people, to be fair a minority of people with blood cancers, they may need a stem cell transplant as part of their treatment to hopefully cure them of their blood cancer.  And this as I say is a treatment that's required for a minority of patients as a whole who have a diagnosis of a blood cancer.  But for those people who have got an inherited predisposition and who might be recommended a stem cell transplant as part of their treatment, then knowing about a familial risk for this condition can also be really important.  For making sure that if a family member is being considered as a donor for example that we're being really careful to make sure that we're not choosing a donor that might also be affected by the same underlying blood cancer predisposition.  Because this can obviously cause problems for the person that's receiving the stem cells if it turns out that the person they're receiving them from actually has the same inherited condition as them.  So in that respect knowing about the underlying predisposition and genetic cause for their cancer can be helpful.  But in a more sort of general sense, yes, the other thing that it can have a big difference for is that some of these inherited cancer predispositions and syndromes also have other health conditions associated with them.  So it might be that that genetic diagnosis predisposes somebody not only to a form of blood cancer but to other health conditions as well.  And so actually knowing about that diagnosis can help their haematologist then make sure that they're linked in with the right other medical teams to make sure that those other health conditions are identified if they're present and taken care of.  And then I think really coming back to what Bev has already touched on, there's the sort of bigger picture of just how people are looked after in their own right but also as part of their family unit.  And making sure that they're given the right information and advice about their health, but also thinking about other family members.  And particularly for younger patients who perhaps either are just starting their own families or for whom that's not yet a consideration, making sure that they've got the information to understand what might be relevant for future family members, if that makes sense.  So it's not necessarily true to say that for every individual patient knowing that there's an inherited blood cancer present will necessarily directly affect the way that the treatment is offered.  But you can see that as a part of a bigger picture for a lot of patients, it will make a difference to their care as a whole.  Amanda: And you can really see how the impact is very sort of multigenerational and is going to affect people at all ages and stages of their life, so that's really interesting.  Katie, Bev spoke a little earlier about the fact that there are genetic tests that can help tell us if blood cancer is inherited.  Could you tell us more about what the tests involve, and some of your experience taking families through this?  Katie: There's sort of two main different ways that we might identify somebody has an inherited cause for their blood cancer through testing.  So traditionally what has happened, as Bev and Sarah sort of discussed before, is that when a person is diagnosed with a blood cancer, we either take a sample of their blood or bone marrow.  To try and look at what are the changes within those cells that have driven that cell to become a cancer cell and have driven this blood cancer to develop.  And a lot of the time, as we've said, it's not inherited, it's not genetic, so they're what we call acquired changes, they're changes that have just happened in the bone marrow or to the blood cells that have caused that kind of particular cell to become a cancer cell.  And it's really important that we look at those because that can help both diagnose the blood cancer, it can give us information about how serious that blood cancer might be, and it can also help us guide our treatments and therapies.  And so if we do those testings, they're primarily done within haematology for those sort of diagnostic or prognostic or treatment purposes.  We do sometimes see then a change that looks a bit suspicious that it might be inherited for various reason.  And if we see something that is in the cancer and it looks like there's a potential it could be inherited, we would go on and do a second test.  So usually because we can't do a blood test because the cancer's in the blood, we would take a skin biopsy.  And then we would look and see, well, is this change also present in the skin?  And if it is, then that indicates that that change is in all of the cells of the body, because it's in both the blood cancer and it's in the skin, and therefore it's likely to be inherited.  So that's one thing that we do.  And I think that that can be quite challenging for patients.  Because they go in to have a test for their blood cancer and then suddenly were being told, “Well, actually, we've also found something that might be inherited,” and it is something then that other members of the family might have.  And as Sarah said, potentially that means that even if your relative was offering to be a bone marrow donor for you, they might not be able to if they also carry the same thing.  And so that can be quite tricky just in terms of making sure that we're guiding the patient and their family members through that process.  And then thinking about the work that Genomics England does, particularly with whole genome sequencing, and this is particularly offered for children and young adults in the paediatric setting.  But I think we're also increasingly, as we progress we'll perhaps talk about this a bit, moving towards whole genome sequencing for adult blood cancers more routinely as well, that that is offered as a sort of standard of care.  And what whole genome sequencing is, is it is looking at the entire genetic instruction manual in both the blood cancer cells and in the cells that we're born with, to look at the inherited or germline genome as well.  And the reason that we look at both the cancer cells and the inherited or germline genome is because what we're trying to understand is firstly, are there any inherited changes that have led to the blood cancer developing?  But also, what are the changes that have just occurred in the cancer cells that are going to help us to diagnose and treat that blood cancer?  So by doing whole genome sequencing we get all of the information about all of the changes that might have happened, we know whether any are inherited, but importantly, we're certain of the ones that have just occurred in the cancer cells and can help guide us with their treatment.  And so, again, when we're talking to patients, we have to explain to them that we're going to be looking at their entire genetic information.  And what's interesting about that is it might find things that are not only relevant to blood cancer, but very rarely other findings, incidental findings as well, or we might find things that we don't know about.  But I think certainly that's something that patients often feel very comfortable with having because it gives them the maximum amount of information.  Amanda: Thanks, Katie.  So it really sounds like there's a lot of advancements that are being made in genetic technology which potentially brings a lot of new things for you and Bev as genetic specialists, but also for you, Sarah, as a haematology specialist.  What does that kind of change for you, and I assume it's really important then for you all to be working together as a multidisciplinary team?  Katie: Yes, I mean, I think for clinical genetics, we were not involved in sort of haematology pathways for a really long time, and the haematologists are absolute experts in the genomic factors that drive blood cancers.  And certainly in my practice, it's really only been as the technology advanced that we really started finding more and more of these inherited factors, particularly in the adult setting.  Because I think in the paediatric and childhood setting, the haematologists again have been managing those conditions very well for years.  And I think there's places that we really interface and we really need to work together as a multidisciplinary team, understanding the genetic information, really understanding when something that we've seen in the blood cancer or the bone marrow could be inherited.  Do we need to check that?  What should that pathway look like?  But I think as you've said, a lot of these are actually really quite new conditions, particularly in the adult setting.  And we don't yet 100% know why do some people get blood cancer and some people don't when they have the same inherited factor.  What's the actual risk?  Are there any other factors modifying it?  What makes some people progress to develop a blood cancer and some people not?  And for that we really need to work together to try and gather the data and sort of capture people that have these inherited changes.  And hopefully develop a system and an infrastructure that we can follow it long-term and get a lot of information about long-term outcomes, both for individuals with cancer but also their families.  And also from looking at doing population studies.  Because I think we know that lots of people in the general population might carry some of these inherited changes and never develop a blood cancer as a result of this, certainly ones that seem a bit lower risk.  So we really need to work together to understand all of that.  But I'd be really interested in Sarah's views on that as well.  Sarah: Yes, sure.  So I think, as you say, Katie, haematologists have got a long history of understanding and interpreting genetic findings in the sort of acquired or somatic changes that we know are what occurs in some blood cells to drive the cancer forming in the first place. But this kind of newer integration of that with the germline testing is something that is becoming much more mainstream in haematology now, and I think something that people have had to sort of acquire new skills in this area to interpret that alongside.  I think as you say, that multidisciplinary working, where we're able to benefit from both sides of our expertise and knowledge and put that together is so valuable, particularly in those circumstances where there is some uncertainty.  And I think as a haematologist, one of the things that I really find a benefit both personally and professionally to help me navigate these tricky questions but that I also think patients benefit from is your expertise and ability to have those really quite tricky conversations with people who are not haematology patients, if that makes sense.  So they may be the relatives of patients who have a haematological diagnosis for example.  Who at the moment are entirely well and were just going about their daily business, and they're now told that they may or may not potentially have this inherited predisposition.  And I think that as haematologists, we're very used to dealing with potentially quite poorly patients, potentially quite scared patients who find themselves, you know, the recipient of all this quite difficult information.  But we're not necessarily so skilled and experienced at holding conversations with people who don't yet have that diagnosis.  And I think that that's a really rich area of mutual aid to one another as haematologists and genetic doctors, if that makes sense.  And I think your points about understanding actually the real risks and the nature history, as we would call it, of what happens to people who carry these variants that predispose them to blood cancers is something that we can probably only work out by working together.  And of course, working with the patients and families that are affected by these conditions so that hopefully for both sides in the future we'll be able to give much better advice to patients and their families.  Amanda: So, Bev, from your experience and as a genetic counsellor, what do you feel are the important things that patients and their families should know as they're going through this testing and diagnosis process?  Bev: The things I think families where there is a hereditary cause found should know is that with this new information comes a whole new referral to a dedicated service.  Who want to help patients and their family members at risk to navigate this, to adjust the information, and to make decisions that fit with them, about whether to have testing and the timing of that.  As we already said, where there is a hereditary blood cancer risk, that risk in family members is rarely 100%.  Depending on what the hereditary predisposition is in the family, we may be able to quantify that risk, sometimes we can't always.  And the other thing to know which links to that is that there is growing interest in research in this area.  That will really help us to improve care in terms of, for example, being able to quantify the risk of developing a blood cancer in relatives who are perfectly well that may have inherited these predisposition gene changes.  Or, for example, the other obvious place where we want to make improvements in terms of some sort of evidence-based surveillance for those people who want to find out that they have inherited the genetic change and are at increased risk.  Amanda: Thank you.  And overall there's been a lot I think we've been covering today that's probably going to be very new to many people.  Why do you think it's important to raise public awareness of inherited blood cancers?  Bev: There have been lots of public awareness campaigns about other cancers, as listeners probably can think about, in terms of for women checking their breasts and breast cancer awareness.  And perhaps there's been a bit less of that in general for blood cancers.  As we've already talked about, clinical genetics were not so involved in all of the genetic testing happening in blood cancers.  Because it wasn't so long ago in the history of how we think about inherited cancers in general that our suspicion of inherited causes in leukaemia was much lower than it is now.  So I think that awareness in the public probably will take a bit more effort to bring up.  But clearly public awareness about blood cancers in general, symptom awareness, and the fact that occasionally it can be something that is running in the family, clearly better public awareness of that means that people are empowered to ask the right questions.  And the questions that might already be in some way going through their minds of their haematology doctors or perhaps of their GP, if they've got a family history but are not affected themselves.  Amanda: Wonderful.  So, looking now to the future, Katie, what genomic advancements are we seeing or are we likely to see that could impact on the care of people with an increased genetic risk of blood cancer?  Katie: We touched a little bit, I think that whole genome sequencing is expanding.  And as we can turn that test around and get it back more quickly that might become more commonplace.  And I know Genomics England and the UK Haemato-oncology Network of Excellence have been doing a lot of work in that area.  We are very lucky now we have a national inherited cancer predisposition register that NHS England have set up with the National Disease Registration Service.  So that will enable us to capture individuals that have these sort of rarer but single gene disorders or conditions that increase the chance of developing blood cancers.  And that will enable us to do that sort of longer-term follow-up and get really more information.  We've touched on this already but I think there's really amazing research happening, why do some people develop blood cancers and some people don't, even though everyone carries the same underlying change that increases the risk?  And then I think really importantly, we're seeing now in some conditions, clinical trials of certain medications to see if that can actually prevent people who carry these inherited changes from progressing to developing blood cancers.  So I think all of those things are really exciting and will give us lots more information that we can then help patients and their families, particularly the sort of treatment and trials aspects.  Amanda: And, Sarah, on treatment and trials, how do think genomics might improve the treatment, but also the diagnosis of people with inherited blood cancers in the future?  Sarah: I think, you know, hopefully when we are able to accrue more information about these underlying genetic predispositions and how they actually then affect people's likelihood of developing blood cancer, we'll be able to build on what we have so far to make that just feel much more robust and evidence based.  And it feels like at the moment there are many of us struggling to bring together small threads of evidence that have been accrued in the UK but in other centres around the world that are also interested in understanding this inherited blood cancer risk.  In such a way that we can actually give patients and their families more clear information and advice about what that means to them.  And I think that in terms of the diagnosis of blood cancer, I think this is something that Bev alluded to.  If we could better understand who might benefit for example from having regular screening or monitoring blood tests performed to see whether we can detect an emerging blood cancer.  Versus identifying those people who actually, the chances of them developing a blood cancer are so small that doing those tests is likely to do them more harm than good.  Perhaps by just causing them to be anxious or have other sort of unintended consequences of that kind of testing.  So understanding something more about that natural history, as we've already alluded to, will hopefully improve our ability to go from the diagnosis of the predisposition condition to working out how to then diagnose the blood cancer on the back of that.  And with time, I think as Katie has alluded to, thinking about more specific treatments and more tailored treatments to the individual predisposition condition and the blood cancer.  So whether it's that you're intervening before the blood cancer has developed to try and reduce that happening, or whether it's that you're then treating the blood cancer after it's developed.  Understanding the genetic basis and what it is that causes that transition would be really helpful and I think that is something that will come but will take time.  And I think on a sort of national level what I would really hope to see over time is that we're able to use that improvement in evidence base to then be able to bring together perhaps more defined patient pathways.  So that if you're diagnosed with a particular condition, one of these leukaemia predisposition syndromes or another form of blood cancer predisposition, there's a recognised strategy and set of steps that should be taken for all of those patients.  To make sure that they're getting equity of care and make sure that everything is being done in a way that feels safe, sensible and appropriate across the country.  While still then enabling us to give really personalised treatment to that individual person and what that diagnosis means for them.  But I think until we've gathered more information and more evidence we are just in the process of trying to do that to then bring about those changes.   Amanda: If you enjoyed today's episode, we'd love your support.  So please subscribe, share and rate us on wherever you listen to your podcasts.  I've been your host, Amanda Pichini.  This podcast was produced by Deanna Barac and edited by Bill Griffin at Ventoux Digital.  Thank you for listening. 

Today, we're taking a closer look at one of the world's favourite breakfasts - oats. Depending on who you ask, oats are either a superfood or source for concern. Either a great way to get fibre or a worrying blood sugar spiker. An all natural ally or pesticide riddled wrong'un.  So what's the truth? Are oats a smart start to your day or something to be cautious about? Professor Sarah Berry joins me to dig into the science. What does the literature say about oats?

This is The Digital Story Podcast 1,040, Feb. 24, 2026. Today's theme is, "Snapseed Sprouts a New Camera, and It's Beautiful" I'm Derrick Story. Just when you think it's dead, Snapseed springs to life with additional editing tools, a refreshed UI, and a new camera app. And just like with some of our favorite mirrorless brands, we can capture images choosing from a variety of film simulations. And just like that Snapseed is relevant again. More about that, plus other interesting stories, on today's TDS Photography Podcast. thenimblephotographer.com, click the box next to Donating a Film Camera, and let me know what you have. In your note, be sure to include your shipping address. Affiliate Links - The links to some products in this podcast contain an affiliate code that credits The Digital Story for any purchases made from B&H Photo and Amazon via that click-through. Depending on the purchase, we may receive some financial compensation. Red River Paper - And finally, be sure to visit our friends at Red River Paper for all of your inkjet supply needs. See you next week! You can share your thoughts at the TDS Facebook page, where I'll post this story for discussion.

Sunday Sermon | February 22, 2026: Prayer (Depending on God in Solitary Places) by Harrisburg BIC Church

In this episode, hosts Lois Houston and Nikita Abraham are joined by special guests Samvit Mishra and Rashmi Panda for an in-depth discussion on security and migration with Oracle Database@AWS. Samvit shares essential security best practices, compliance guidance, and data protection mechanisms to safeguard Oracle databases in AWS, while Rashmi walks through Oracle's powerful Zero-Downtime Migration (ZDM) tool, explaining how to achieve seamless, reliable migrations with minimal disruption.   Oracle Database@AWS Architect Professional: https://mylearn.oracle.com/ou/course/oracle-databaseaws-architect-professional/155574 Oracle University Learning Community: https://education.oracle.com/ou-community LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/oracle-university/ X: https://x.com/Oracle_Edu   Special thanks to Arijit Ghosh, Anna Hulkower, Kris-Ann Nansen, Radhika Banka, and the OU Studio Team for helping us create this episode.   -------------------------------------------------------------   Episode Transcript: 00:00 Welcome to the Oracle University Podcast, the first stop on your cloud journey. During this series of informative podcasts, we'll bring you foundational training on the most popular Oracle technologies. Let's get started! 00:26 Nikita: Welcome to the Oracle University Podcast! I'm Nikita Abraham, Team Lead: Editorial Services with Oracle University, and with me is Lois Houston, Director of Communications and Adoption with Customer Success Services. Lois: Hello again! We're continuing our discussion on Oracle Database@AWS and in today's episode, we're going to talk about the aspects of security and migration with two special guests: Samvit Mishra and Rashmi Panda. Samvit is a Senior Manager and Rashmi is a Senior Principal Database Instructor.  00:59 Nikita: Hi Samvit and Rashmi! Samvit, let's begin with you. What are the recommended security best practices and data protection mechanisms for Oracle Database@AWS? Samvit: Instead of everyone using the root account, which has full access, we create individual users with AWS, IAM, Identity Center, or IAM service. And in addition, you must use multi-factor authentication. So basically, as an example, you need a password and a temporary code from virtual MFA app to log in to the console.  Always use SSL or TLS to communicate with AWS services. This ensures data in transit is encrypted. Without TLS, the sensitive information like credentials or database queries can be intercepted. AWS CloudTrail records every action taken in your AWS account-- who did what, when, and from where. This helps with audit, troubleshooting, and detecting suspicious activity. So you must set up API and user activity logging with AWS CloudTrail.  Use AWS encryption solutions along with all default security controls within AWS services. To store and manage keys by using transparent data encryption, which is enabled by default, Oracle Database@AWS uses OCI vaults. Currently, Oracle Database@AWS doesn't support the AWS Key Management Service. You should also use advanced managed security services such as Amazon Macie, which assists in discovering and securing sensitive data that is stored in Amazon S3.  03:08 Lois: And how does Oracle Database@AWS deliver strong security and compliance? Samvit: Oracle Database@AWS enforces transparent data encryption for all data at REST, ensuring stored information is always protected. Data in transit is secured using SSL and Native Network Encryption, providing end-to-end confidentiality. Oracle Database@AWS also uses OCI Vault for centralized and secure key management. This allows organizations to manage encryption keys with fine-grained control, rotation policies, and audit capabilities to ensure compliance with regulatory standards. At the database level, Oracle Database@AWS supports unified auditing and fine-grained auditing to track user activity and sensitive operations. At the resource level, AWS CloudTrail and OCI audit service provide comprehensive visibility into API calls and configuration changes. At the database level, security is enforced using database access control lists and Database Firewall to restrict unauthorized connections. At the VPC level, network ACLs and security groups provide layered network isolation and access control. Again, at the database level, Oracle Database@AWS enforces access controls to Database Vault, Virtual Private Database, and row-level security to prevent unauthorized access to sensitive data. And at a resource level, AWS IAM policies, groups, and roles manage user permissions with the fine-grained control. 05:27 Lois Samvit, what steps should users be taking to keep their databases secure? Samvit: Security is not a single feature but a layered approach covering user access, permissions, encryption, patching, and monitoring. The first step is controlling who can access your database and how they connect. At the user level, strong password policies ensure only authorized users can login. And at the network level, private subnets and network security group allow you to isolate database traffic and restrict access to trusted applications only. One of the most critical risks is accidental or unauthorized deletion of database resources. To mitigate this, grant delete permissions only to a minimal set of administrators. This reduces the risk of downtime caused by human error or malicious activity. Encryption ensures that even if the data is exposed, it cannot be read. By default, all databases in OCI are encrypted using transparent data encryption. For migrated databases, you must verify encryption is enabled and active. Best practice is to rotate the transparent data encryption master key every 90 days or less to maintain compliance and limit exposure in case of key compromise. Unpatched databases are one of the most common entry points for attackers. Always apply Oracle critical patch updates on schedule. This mitigates known vulnerabilities and ensures your environment remains protected against emerging threats. 07:33 Nikita: Beyond what users can do, are there any built-in features or tools from Oracle that really help with database security? Samvit: Beyond the basics, Oracle provides powerful database security tools. Features like data masking allow you to protect sensitive information in non-production environments. Auditing helps you monitor database activity and detect anomalies or unauthorized access. Oracle Data Safe is a managed service that takes database security to the next level. It can access your database configuration for weaknesses. It can also detect risky user accounts and privileges, identify and classify sensitive data. It can also implement controls such as masking to protect that data. And it can also continuously audit user activity to ensure compliance and accountability. Now, transparent data encryption enables you to encrypt sensitive data that you store in tables and tablespaces. It also enables you to encrypt database backups. After the data is encrypted, this data is transparently decrypted for authorized users or applications when they access that data. You can configure OCI Vault as a part of the transparent data encryption implementation. This enables you to centrally manage keystore in your enterprise. So OCI Vault gives centralized control over encryption keys, including key rotation and customer managed keys. 09:23 Lois: So obviously, lots of companies have to follow strict regulations. How does Oracle Database@AWS help customers with compliance?  Samvit: Oracle Database@AWS has achieved a broad and rigorous set of compliance certifications. The service supports SOC 1, SOC 2, and SOC 3, as well as HIPAA for health care data protection. If we talk about SOC 1, that basically covers internal controls for financial statements and reporting. SOC 2 covers internal controls for security, confidentiality, processing integrity, privacy, and availability. SOC 3 covers SOC 2 results tailored for a general audience. And HIPAA is a federal law that protects patients' health information and ensures its confidentiality, integrity, and availability. It also holds certifications and attestations such as CSA STAR, C5. Now C5 is a German government standard that verifies cloud providers meet strict security and compliance requirements. CSA STAR attestation is an independent third-party audit of cloud security controls. CSA STAR certification also validates a cloud provider's security posture against CSA's cloud controls matrix. And HDS is a French certification that ensures cloud providers meet stringent requirements for hosting and protecting health care data. Oracle Database@AWS also holds ISO and IEC standards. You can also see PCI DSS, which is basically for payment card security and HITRUST, which is for high assurance health care framework. So, these certifications ensure that Oracle Database@AWS not only adheres to best practices in security and privacy, but also provides customers with assurance that their workloads align with globally recognized compliance regimes. 11:47 Nikita: Thank you, Samvit. Now Rashmi, can you walk us through Oracle's migration solution that helps teams move to OCI Database Services? Rashmi: Oracle Zero-Downtime Migration is a robust and flexible end-to-end database migration solution that can completely automate and streamline the migration of Oracle databases. With bare minimum inputs from you, it can orchestrate and execute the entire migration task, virtually needing no manual effort from you. And the best part is you can use this tool for free to migrate your source Oracle databases to OCI Oracle Database Services faster and reliably, eliminating the chances of human errors. You can migrate individual databases or migrate an entire fleet of databases in parallel. 12:34 Nikita: Ok. For someone planning a migration with ZDM, are there any key points they should keep in mind?  Rashmi: When migrating using ZDM, your source databases may require minimal downtime up to 15 minutes or no downtime at all, depending upon the scenario. It is built with the principles of Oracle maximum availability architecture and leverages technologies like Oracle GoldenGate and Oracle Data Guard to achieve high availability and online migration workflow using Oracle migration methods like RMAN, Data Pump, and Database Links. Depending on the migration requirement, ZDM provides different migration method options. It can be logical or physical migration in an online or offline mode. Under the hood, it utilizes the different database migration technologies to perform the migration. 13:23 Lois: Can you give us an example of this? Rashmi: When you are migrating a mission critical production database, you can use the logical online migration method. And when you are migrating a development database, you can simply choose the physical offline migration method. As part of the migration job, you can perform database upgrades or convert your database to multitenant architecture. ZDM offers greater flexibility and automation in performing the database migration. You can customize workflow by adding pre or postrun scripts as part of the workflow. Run prechecks to check for possible failures that may arise during migration and fix them. Audit migration jobs activity and user actions. Control the execution like schedule a job pause, resume, if needed, suspend and resume the job, schedule the job or terminate a running job. You can even rerun a job from failure point and other such capabilities. 14:13 Lois: And what kind of migration scenarios does ZDM support? Rashmi: The minimum version of your source Oracle Database must be 11.2.0.4 and above. For lower versions, you will have to first upgrade to at least 11.2.0.4. You can migrate Oracle databases that may be of the Standard or Enterprise edition. ZDM supports migration of Oracle databases, which may be a single-instance, or RAC One Node, or RAC databases. It can migrate on Unix platforms like Linux, Oracle Solaris, and AIX. For Oracle databases on AIX and Oracle Solaris platform, ZDM uses logical migration method. But if the source platform is Linux, it can use both physical and logical migration method. You can use ZDM to migrate databases that may be on premises, or in third-party cloud, or even within Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. ZDM leverages Oracle technologies like RMAN datacom, Database Links, Data Guard, Oracle GoldenGate when choosing a specific migration workflow. 15:15 Are you ready to revolutionize the way you work? Discover a wide range of Oracle AI Database courses that help you master the latest AI-powered tools and boost your career prospects. Start learning today at mylearn.oracle.com. 15:35 Nikita: Welcome back! Rashmi, before someone starts using ZDM, is there any prep work they should do or things they need to set up first? Rashmi: Working with ZDM needs few simple configuration. Zero-downtime migration provides a command line interface to run your migration job. First, you have to download the ZDM binary, preferably download from my Oracle Support, where you can get the binary with the latest updates. Set up and configure the binary by following the instructions available at the same invoice node. The host in which ZDM is installed and configured is called the zero-downtime migration service host. The host has to be Oracle Linux version 7 or 8, or it can be RCL 8. Next is the orchestration step where connection to the source and target is configured and tested like SSH configuration with source and target, opening the ports in respective destinations, creation of dump destination, granting required database privileges. Prepare the response file with parameter values that define the workflow that ZDM should use during Oracle Database migration. You can also customize the migration workflow using the response file. You can plug in run scripts to be executed before or after a specific phase of the migration job. These customizations are called custom plugins with user actions. Your sources may be hosted on-premises or OCI-managed database services, or even third-party cloud. They may be Oracle Database Standard or Enterprise edition and on accelerator infrastructure or a standard compute. The target can be of the same type as the source. But additionally, ZDM supports migration to multicloud deployments on Oracle Database@Azure, Oracle Database@Google Cloud, and Oracle Database@AWS. You begin with a migration strategy where you list the different databases that can be migrated, classification of the databases, grouping them, performing three migration checks like dependencies, downtime requirement versions, and preparing the order migration, the target migration environment, et cetera. 17:27 Lois: What migration methods and technologies does ZDM rely on to complete the move? Rashmi: There are primarily two types of migration: physical or logical. Physical migration pertains to copy of the database OS blocks to the target database, whereas in logical migration, it involves copying of the logical elements of the database like metadata and data. Each of these migration methods can be executed when the database is online or offline. In online mode, migration is performed simultaneously while the changes are in progress in the source database. While in offline mode, all changes to the source database is frozen. For physical offline migration, it uses backup and restore technique, while with the physical online, it creates a physical standby using backup and restore, and then performing a switchover once the standby is in sync with the source database. For logical offline migration, it exports and imports database metadata and data into the target database, while in logical online migration, it is a combination of export and import operation, followed by apply of incremental updates from the source to the target database. The physical or logical offline migration method is used when the source database of the application can allow some downtime for the migration. The physical or logical online migration approach is ideal for scenarios where any downtime for the source database can badly affect critical applications. The only downtime that can be tolerated by the application is only during the application connection switchover to the migrated database. One other advantage is ZDM can migrate one or a fleet of Oracle databases by executing multiple jobs in parallel, where each job workflow can be customized to a specific database need. It can perform physical or logical migration of your Oracle databases.  And whether it should be performed online or offline depends on the downtime that can be approved by business. 19:13 Nikita: Samvit and Rashmi, thanks for joining us today. Lois: Yeah, it's been great to have you both. If you want to dive deeper into the topics we covered today, go to mylearn.oracle.com and search for the Oracle Database@AWS Architect Professional course. Until next time, this is Lois Houston… Nikita: And Nikita Abraham, signing off! 19:35 That's all for this episode of the Oracle University Podcast. If you enjoyed listening, please click Subscribe to get all the latest episodes. We'd also love it if you would take a moment to rate and review us on your podcast app. See you again on the next episode of the Oracle University Podcast.

MESSAGE SUMMARY Learning to Trust God with the Desires of My Heart By Patricia Hudson, M.S. 1) Opening prayer and purpose of the message Patricia opens by thanking God for the day and asking Him to help her speak words that are “seeds”—words that will touch hearts and produce fruit in the lives of both in-person listeners and livestream viewers. Her prayer emphasizes that God's work is corporate and individual: He is speaking to the whole church, but also to each person's specific life, struggles, and calling. She thanks Dr. Bryan Hudson for the opportunity to minister, connecting her message to the church's yearlong focus: “Delight in the Lord, desires of the heart fulfilled.” She references an earlier teaching (Dec. 28) titled “Joy is Delight, Bent for God,” which becomes the foundation for how she develops Psalm 37:4. 2) Starting with the Day 4 devotional: Delight means “bent” With Pastor Hudson's permission, Patricia begins by reading the Day 4 devotional, “Delight in the Lord.” The devotional's key idea is that: God reshapes desires before He fulfills them. “Delight” biblically means to take pleasure in, to incline toward, or to bend. What we delight in is revealed by what pulls us, shapes us, motivates us, and “bends” us—either positively or negatively. This introduces a crucial lens for the entire sermon: delight is not a feeling only—it is a direction. Delight means your inner life is being shaped, inclined, and formed. She stresses that because “to delight is to be bent,” we must pay attention to our desires and discern whether they come from God or from something else. As we delight in the Lord—His character, presence, and promises—God forms us into a “shape” that pleases Him. 3) Relational, not transactional: God gives transformed desires Patricia repeats a major refrain: life with God is relational, not transactional. In other words, Psalm 37:4 is not a “deal” where people delight so God gives a wishlist. Instead: Delighting in God reshapes the heart. What God fulfills is not merely personal ambition, but desires that have been transformed by relationship with Him. She quotes Pastor Hudson's idea that what comes from being “bent” through relationship with God is being granted, bestowed, and entrusted with genuine heart desires. She also highlights another phrase: Jesus refines, aligns, and “calibrates” the heart, so what we increasingly desire reflects God's will. 4) The “bend” metaphor: transformation can be uncomfortable Patricia explains why “bend” matters to her: bending changes shape, and bending is not always comfortable. Depending on age, bending can be easier or harder, but the point is spiritual: Being bent toward God may not feel easy, and the shape we start with may not be the shape we end with, because God is bending us for His purposes. This becomes a pastoral encouragement: discomfort does not mean God is absent—it can mean God is shaping you. 5) The guiding questions: where do desires come from? Patricia invites the Holy Spirit to guide listeners through several reflective questions: What (or who) is the source of my desire? Are there desires of the soul (mind, will, emotions) and desires of the flesh? (Yes—but they are different.) Is “desire” the same as “desires of the heart”? Do desires of the heart come from God? Are heart desires only meant to bless me—or also to bless others? Her direction is clear: this teaching is not merely about getting what we want, but about understanding purpose. 6) Word study: “desires of the heart” as petition flowing from delight Patricia introduces a word study to emphasize that Psalm 37:4 is specific. She explains that the Hebrew term she's focusing on carries the sense of: a heartfelt plea, a request, a petition toward God. She says this word appears only twice in the Old Testament (Psalm 20:5 and Psalm 37:4), which for her underscores that the phrase is purposeful and weighty. Her takeaway: true desires of the heart become petitions God is willing to satisfy when they arise from delight in Him. So she urges people to watch how they use the word “desire”—because we can want many things, but “desires of the heart” in this sense are the kind that rise out of communion with God. 7) Continual desires: God isn't done with you One of her most encouraging points is that the “desires of the heart” concept implies something ongoing—not finished, continual. That excites her because it speaks directly to people who wonder, especially later in life, “Lord, is there still more?” Her answer is yes: as you continue delighting in the Lord, God continues shaping desires and giving zeal and passion to finish your race and fulfill purpose—regardless of age. 8) Abraham and Sarah: a case study in trust, waiting, and purpose Patricia then turns to Abraham and Sarah to show how this works in real life. She frames their story as a living example of learning to trust God with heart desires. a) Genesis 12 — Called to go without knowing God calls Abram to leave his country and go to a land God will show him. Patricia imagines the human reactions: “Where are we going? What are we going to do? Are you serious?” Yet Abram trusts God and goes—at 75 years old, emphasizing again that it is never too late for purpose. b) Genesis 15 — God promises an heir Abram voices concern: “What good are blessings if I have no son?” God responds with the promise of a son and descendants as numerous as the stars. Abram believes, and God counts it as righteousness. c) Genesis 16 — Sarah tries to “help God” Patricia highlights the emotional realism: Sarah is barren, years pass, hope fades, frustration grows. She calls it a picture of what people still do today: desperate people do desperate things. Sarah proposes Hagar as a workaround, and Ishmael is born. Patricia emphasizes that human solutions can create complications and conflict—because it wasn't God's plan. d) Genesis 17 — God reiterates: “I said what I said” This becomes one of Patricia's repeated phrases: God reaffirms His promise. He changes Abram and Sarai's names to Abraham and Sarah, and specifies that Sarah will bear the promised son Isaac. Her point: God has not changed the original promise, even though time passed and mistakes were made. e) Genesis 21 — Isaac is born after 25 years Isaac is born when Abraham is 100 and Sarah is 90—a 25-year wait from the initial promise. Patricia contrasts this with how impatient people can be: we pray today and struggle to wait even days. But she stresses: waiting is not empty time—something is happening in us. God is preparing people to carry what He promised. She states it plainly: circumstances don't change the promise, and delays don't cancel God's purpose when we remain delighted in Him. 9) Genesis 22 — The test: will you trust God with what you love most? After Isaac arrives—the heart's desire—God tests Abraham: offer Isaac. Patricia frames this as the ultimate picture of her theme: Will you obey God with the desire of your heart? Can you trust the Giver even with the gift? Abraham prepares to obey, declaring in faith that God will provide. God stops him and provides a ram. Then God reaffirms the covenant again: blessing, descendants, and worldwide impact through Abraham's offspring. Patricia's conclusion from this scene: Abraham learned trust over time, and the test revealed where his heart truly rested—in God, not merely the promise. 10) Bigger than personal blessing: prophetic purpose fulfilled in Christ Patricia then lifts the story to its larger meaning: Abraham's longing for an heir was not only personal—it was prophetic. Through Isaac's line comes Jesus Christ. God's promise that Abraham's seed would bless the nations finds fulfillment in Christ. She reads from Romans 4 to emphasize that Abraham's faith was recorded for our benefit, so believers today can trust that God keeps His promises and counts faith as righteousness through Christ. 11) Modern illustrations: “the this” and “the that,” and purpose that blesses others Patricia brings the message into contemporary life through two examples: a) Jan Mitchell's testimony (Jan. 18) She shares Jan's lesson: “You need the this to get to the that.” The journey (“the this”) may be uncomfortable, but it is often necessary for what God intends (“the that”). Patricia highlights the idea that if God gave some things immediately, they would bless only in the moment—but God's goal may be larger: overflow for the world, not just private relief. b) Ophelia Wellington and Freetown Village Patricia describes how a desire to teach African-American history grew into Freetown Village, reaching over one million people through programs. Her point: God can take a desire and unfold it into a life purpose that touches generations. There are “bumps, bends, drop-offs,” but purpose matures through perseverance and trust. 12) Closing invitation: partner with God, don't perform for God Patricia closes by returning to Pastor Hudson's framing: as we delight in Him, we will see the desires of our heart fulfilled. She calls the congregation to accept God's invitation: trust Him do good dwell in the land feed on His faithfulness delight in the Lord commit your way to Him And she clarifies: these are not fleshly works to earn something; we are laborers together with God.     

George Szirtes, winner of the T. S. Eliot Prize and the King's Gold Medal for Poetry, is the most recent poet to join the small selection panel for arguably the UK's most public celebration of poetry - Poems on the Underground. As the London Tube initiative reaches its 40th birthday, George discusses how poems are chosen and shares some poetry that he feels speaks to the strength of the scheme.Depending on how you count it, this month marks the 4th or the 12th anniversary of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia - a conflict in which poetry has become a player. Iryna Starovoyt is a poet and critic from Ukraine. She reflects on the 19th century poet and artist Taras Shevchenko - regarded as a totemic figure in Ukrainian literature, and whose name is on the country's highest award for Arts and Culture, the Taras Shevchenko National Prize.Katie Clarke, Director of Literature at The Reader organisation, shares her experiences of reading poetry with people who have dementia and the surprising power of poetry to make fresh connections at the individual and group level. Zain Rishi's debut poetry pamphlet, Noon, is published this month. He becomes the latest poet to choose a Neon Line for The Verb's regular feature in which poets reflect on poetry lines that they feel shine out.Presenter: Ian McMillan Producer: Ekene Akalawu

Cattle futures meandered in two-sided trading with thoughts of steady to stronger cash fed cattle prices this week and likely positioning ahead of Friday's monthly Cattle on Feed report. Depending on the estimates, analysts peg January feedlot placements 4% less, January marketings 13% less and the Feb. 1 inventory of cattle on feed down [...]

The PESO Model has been guiding smart communications strategies for over a decade, but the tactical landscape underneath it keeps shifting. In the latest evolution, Gini and her team have completely revamped the PESO Model Certification to address how AI and large language models are fundamentally changing visibility in 2026. In this episode, Chip interviews Gini about the newly updated certification and what’s changed in how organizations should think about paid, earned, shared, and owned media. The conversation centers on “visibility engineering”—the intersection of owned and earned media where LLMs are scraping information and making decisions about who appears in AI-generated answers. Gini explains why owned media remains the foundation (without content on your own properties, there’s nothing to demonstrate to journalists, creators, or LLMs what you’re about), but the recommended path has shifted from owned-then-earned-or-shared to a more deliberate owned-then-earned-then-shared-then-paid sequence. This evolution reflects how AI systems verify information by comparing what’s on your website against what credible third parties say about you. They also tackle the persistent “X is dead” headlines that plague the industry—whether it’s websites, PR, or press releases. Chip and Gini push back hard on the notion that websites are becoming irrelevant, pointing out that your owned content hub becomes more valuable in an AI-driven world, not less. It’s your source of truth, the fuel for custom AI assistants, and the foundation that persists even as social platforms come and go. The conversation covers practical questions about implementing PESO in smaller agencies, whether you need to be full-service to deliver on all four pillars, and how the certification meets communicators at different experience levels—from college students to seasoned professionals. If you’ve been treating PESO as just four columns of tactics rather than an operating system for communications, this episode clarifies what you’re missing. Key takeaways Gini Dietrich: “Owned is still the foundation because without your own thought leadership, your subject matter experts, your content, all of that, there’s nothing to demonstrate to a journalist, a creator, a newsletter author, a podcast host, what you’re about and how you’re different.” Chip Griffin: “In a world where you’re able to start customizing your own versions of LLMs for your internal or external audiences, huge value exists there. So having that central repository, I think is actually of increasing value today, not decreasing.” Gini Dietrich: “We are in a zero click world. And so how does that affect the work that we’re doing? It’s really how are we helping to inform humans, search engines, and LLMs so that we’re showing up no matter if it’s a human looking, if it’s Google surfacing information or if it’s an AI surfacing information.” Chip Griffin: “Having your content in a world where you’re able to start customizing your own versions of LLMs for your internal or external audiences, huge value exists there. That would not be possible without a thousand plus articles and videos because that is the fuel for that tool.” Turn ideas into action Audit where your owned content actually lives. Open a spreadsheet and list every place you’ve published content over the past two years—your website, Medium, Substack, LinkedIn articles, guest posts, anywhere. Mark which platforms you own versus rent. This awareness exercise reveals how vulnerable your content strategy is to platform changes and algorithm shifts. Map one content piece through all four PESO pillars. Take your next webinar, speaking engagement, or major thought leadership piece and plan the full PESO path before you execute: owned content on your site summarizing key insights, pitching earned media opportunities based on those insights, creating social distribution that doesn’t just promote but educates, and identifying where paid amplification makes strategic sense. This forces you to think about PESO as an integrated operating system rather than disconnected tactics. Dive deeper into the PESO Model. Visit spinsucks.com/peso-model-certification to learn more about the newly updated certification program. Whether you’re looking to formalize your team’s approach to integrated communications or simply understand how the model has evolved for the AI era, the certification provides a structured path from foundational concepts through practical implementation. Resources For more on the PESO model, visit the Spin Sucks website Related Agencies need the PESO model now more than ever Has the PESO Model become a necessity for modern agencies? How PR agencies can use the PESO Model to improve client retention How to allocate your client's PESO budget Wake up or get left behind: AI is forcing your hand View Transcript The following is a computer-generated transcript. Please listen to the audio to confirm accuracy. Chip Griffin: Hello, and welcome to another episode of the Agency Leadership Podcast. I’m Chip Griffin. Gini Dietrich: And I’m Gini Dietrich. Chip Griffin: And Gini, I, I’ve heard that you might be involved with this thing, I think it’s called the PESO Model. Gini Dietrich: Oh, maybe. Chip Griffin: You may you use that, right? That’s, yeah. Just you found it and you said this should, this is something we should use. Gini Dietrich: Yeah. Something I just found and thought we should use it. Yeah. Chip Griffin: Yeah. Yeah, no, in all fairness, you are in fact the inventor of the PESO model, which is widely used throughout the PR and communications world, and it has been evolving with the times as we all should be. And so I, I think we have some, some new news that you’ve been sharing around the PESO model. Gini Dietrich: Oh, well, according to a couple of people on the internet, it has not evolved at all because they are not able to use Google or AI to say, has the PESO model evolved since 2014? Perhaps. It has. And you know, all of last year I spent a good amount of time, especially on the blog and the Spin Sucks podcast, talking about visibility engineering, which is where owned and earned media meet because that’s where the LLMs are getting their information, right. We’re finding more and more that they’re scrubbing websites and then they’re comparing that to earned media, to the things that media not, and not just traditional media, newsletters, podcasts, things like that, that they’re saying about the brand and looking to see if they match. And if they do, then they’re appearing. You’re, you start to appear in AI answers. So I spent a good amount of time last year exploring that and understanding that and, you know, using the blog and the podcast as my sandbox to learn more about it and teach the industry about it and understand what was happening. As part of that, I said, okay, it’s time to do a big refresh of the certification. Because we did the certification in 2020 and then we did a small update to it in 2024. And this one is a completely revamped certification that shows you how exactly AI is… how exactly you’re showing up in AI answers and doing that via the PESO model. So we start with owned, we go to earned, then we use shared and paid. There’s integration and measurement and it brings it all together. So I’m actually, I said to my team, not to brag, but this is really good. It’s a really, really good course. And we hired, last March I hired a chief learning officer who has helped me build it into something that’s more effective for an adult learner. So it’s really specific to, you know, you can get the work done while you’re also a working professional. So she has done a really nice job of bringing that element into it. It has AI prompts so that you can use the PESO AI that we built to help you do the work. And it’s, it’s pretty good. I’m, I’m really proud of it. I’m really proud of the work we did. Chip Griffin: Well, I mean, it really is something that, that fuels most communication thinking in smart organizations today, whether that’s agency side, client side, that sort of thing. Now it’s not always as well understood it should be. Some people just throw the term around. A little bit willy-nilly. Yes. You know, without really thinking it through. Of course there are other people who claim that it’s also their invention, which is, you know, but we’re not gonna go down that path ’cause we’re staying positive today, Gini. Gini Dietrich: Yes, yes. We’re gonna stay positive. Positive, yes. Chip Griffin: But I think to, you know, to me, one of the things that, when I look at the PESO model, I think is, you know, it’s great because it is an overall set of principles and framework that is effectively timeless when it comes to communications. And then it’s the implementation side of it. The tactical side of it. That’s the piece that needs to evolve. The, I mean, the four letters are still the same. It’s not like you, right? Yes. The evolution has not been to change PESO to something else. Gini Dietrich: Nope. Chip Griffin: It, it’s really just saying. Okay. All of these different components, the paid, earned, shared, and owned have evolved over the last 10 or 15 years. Yeah. And so how we implement it needs to adapt to that. Gini Dietrich: Yeah. It’s very much, I mean, when we did it in 2020, it was very much like how, how you’re using content marketing really to inform your contributed content through earned and then sharing that link through, through social and then putting some money behind it to boost it. And that was, you know, that was six years ago, and it worked back then, right? It’s still, social still worked from the perspective that you could post a link and people would follow that path back to your website. Well, people don’t do that anymore. You know, we are in a zero click world. And so how do, how does that affect the work that we’re doing? So, you’re right, the paid, earned, shared, and owned doesn’t change. That model stays the same. It’s the pieces on top that, that have evolved. And so now it’s really how are we helping to inform humans, search engines, and LLMs so that we’re showing up. No matter if it’s a human looking, if it’s Google surfacing information or if it’s an AI surfacing information, we show up no matter what. And it’s really, that’s what it’s really about is how do you engineer that visibility? How do you make sure that you’re showing up in the right places at the right time to the right people? Chip Griffin: And so if you’re, if you’re thinking about leaning into the PESO model for your communications needs. You know, where should you be starting today? Is it owned? Is it social? Is it, you know, how, has it changed? If at all from that standpoint over the last decade? Gini Dietrich: Owned is still the foundation because without anything, without your own thought leadership, your subject matter experts, your content, all of that, there’s nothing to demonstrate to a journalist, a creator, a newsletter author, a podcast host, what you’re about and how you’re different. So that’s the foundation. There’s nothing do than to just create that distribution layer through shared, and there’s certainly nothing to amplify through paid. So that’s always been the foundation. There are of course exceptions if you’re selling widgets or your, you have an Amazon store or something like that, then I would probably start with paid, but that’s the exception to the rule. For the most part, most organizations need to start with owned. And we used to say that then you could go to earned or shared. Depending on your goals. Now we’re saying actually the best path for engineering that visibility is owned, then earned because you need that credibility, so the LLMs can cite that information. Then you build your distribution layer, and then you amplify your work. Chip Griffin: So I, think what I’m hearing you say is that websites are not dead despite all of these, you know, headlines that you like to see people’s, Gini Dietrich: No, they are not. Chip Griffin: The, the rise of LLM, websites are dead. You’re not even gonna need a website in five years. Gini Dietrich: No, we still need a website because otherwise the LLMs don’t have anywhere to get the information about you. Humans don’t have any, I mean, we still go to websites. We might not go, you know, a direct click like we used to, but we still go to websites to get information. So yeah, you still need a website. I hate the, such and such is dead. The PR, there’s one that PR is dead right now. Like PR is not dead. Come on. You can’t do, you’re not going to show up in AI answers if without PR. So PR is not dead. Chip Griffin: No, the X is dead has always been one of my pet peeves when it comes to, I mean, that, that really is something that, that took off during the start of the social media era. Yeah. Whether it was the press release is dead. This is dead, whatever. I mean, and, you know. Just, it’s not true. I mean, we, you know, I always used to say back 20 years ago, you know, people used to say that radio was dead. Radio is still very much around, and radio is still around in certain forms. I mean, when I’m driving around, I listen to radio. Yes. Is it terrestrial radio? No, it’s satellite radio. Gini Dietrich: Right. Chip Griffin: But guess what? It’s still radio. Gini Dietrich: It’s still radio. Yep. Chip Griffin: Right. Podcasts are effectively radio. Transmitted in a different fashion. Yep. And so, you know, I think that the people need to understand that the underlying technology may evolve, some of the tools will evolve, but Gini Dietrich: absolutely Chip Griffin: the, principles and concepts will largely remain the same. Doesn’t mean that everything stays. Yeah, certainly some things, you know, do go away, or become so small that they’re irrelevant, but you know, I think we need to be careful about those things. And, to me, with a website, to me, the other value is it still is a great place to be the central repository of all your information as all of these things change around you. I mean, if, for the last 10 or 15 years you’ve been using your website as your content hub and housing at least your most important, most valuable stuff there, it doesn’t matter whether medium or substack comes or goes. It doesn’t matter whether people move from X to LinkedIn to whatever. Yep. You still have a source of truth for your own information, which becomes even more valuable in the world of AI and LLMs. Gini Dietrich: That’s exactly right. I mean, we, have preached for years, we’ve all preached for years that you should not build an audience or content on rented land because to exactly your point, the rented land goes away. X has become something that nobody wants to hang out on. We’ve moved to LinkedIn. Lots of people have moved to Substack. So, those pieces will change. So don’t, I think that theory, philosophy stays the same. Because you have, you are building something that you own, that you control, and allows you to control that narrative and be, tell the story the way you want to, and then you rent that out to other places versus building on rented land where it will go away. Chip Griffin: Well, and I think that there are a lot of avenues that are opening up to organizations with, you know, particularly those that have more content already, but also by building it up. And I think in particular of the AI assistant I built on the SAGA website. Mm-hmm. Yep. That would not be possible without a thousand plus articles and videos and that kind of stuff because that is the fuel for that tool. Yep. And, and if I was trying to do it based off of, see what you can find that I’ve posted on LinkedIn or Twitter or things over the years, and it’s just not gonna work. And so having that in a world where you’re able to start customizing your own versions of LLMs for your internal or external audiences, huge value exists there. So having that central repository, I think is actually of increasing value today, not decreasing. Gini Dietrich: Yeah, that’s actually a really good point. I was talking to a client last week and she said that one of the goals for 2026 is they have 17 different brands. So each brand has its own chief executive. And what she has, what she wants, the comms team for each of those brands to do is build an AI agent that helps them with that CEO’s voice. And they can’t do that without content. They can’t do it without the executives’ speeches, webinars, podcasts, appearances, media relations, like they have to have all of that content, blog posts that they’ve written or articles that they’ve written for the website. They have to have that to be able to feed that and train the AI. So without it, they don’t have any, to your point, fuel that will allow them to do that. So 100% that is accurate. Chip Griffin: So as, we’re thinking about implementing PESO properly, so not just, I heard the term, it sounds cool. I made a list of four columns of each, and I just started just chucking stuff in there. Gini Dietrich: Mm-hmm. Chip Griffin: I mean, how do I go about learning it the right way? And I’m, you know, we’re not turning this into a QVC Gini Dietrich: Are you throwing me a softball? Chip Griffin: you know, show here. But at the same time, I, think it is valuable for people to understand what is out there in a more formal sense, to understand and, adopt the process for their own organization. Gini Dietrich: I mean, obviously the PESO model certification is the place to get the information because one of the, one of the things we see is exactly what you said, that people create their four columns and they say, okay, well we’ve got some content and we’re doing some media relations, and we’re throwing that on social. And all right, we’ll put some, budget behind some of our organic social, and we’ve got the PESO model. And that’s, not the PESO model, that’s a list of tactics. So what the certification does is it walks you through exactly. There’s this, a scientific layer to it. It walks you through that scientific layer that allows you to embed an operating system, that let that foundation of your work so that as things evolve and the industry changes and your business goals change, you’re able to change the tactics on top of it. We also hear, well, gosh, my, you know, my clients can’t afford to do a full PESO program, so what should I do? And in fact, they can afford it. You’re just thinking about it as this huge, overwhelming thing. And so the certification walks you through if you’re a solopreneur or a small agency, that walks you through if you’re a midsize, and it walks you through if you’re a large corporation or an enterprise organization. And I will say for small organizations, which are most of our listeners. It’s really about how do you take one piece of content and repurpose it. So let’s say that you do a webinar. How do you take that webinar and create some content around it that, from what the webinar was, not promoting it, not trying to get registrations, but saying, okay, here’s what we learned in the webinar. So we’re gonna create some how-to or thoughtful content for that. And then we’re gonna take pieces of the webinar and we’re gonna break it down for social posts. And then yeah, we’re gonna put some money behind some of it. And we’re also gonna go to some of our trade media and we’re gonna say, Hey, listen, our subject matter expert or our chief executive just did this webinar and here’s what they talked about. Are you interested in some contributed content? So it allows you to do that in a really interesting, effective way without you having to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars or have a large team. You can do it without a lot of resources. I mean I built the PESO model framework for my agency and we were not, at the time, a big agency. Mm-hmm. So that’s what it was built for, is to make it so that we could do more with less and do more with less resources and, less time and less people and less budget and all the things. So it is definitely, definitely feasible. So that’s what it teaches you how to do. Chip Griffin: So I, you know, I think one of the other concerns that, some particularly smaller agencies have when it comes to PESO is not just the, clients and their budget, but, their own capabilities and, you know, so is it realistic for a small agency to be able to, you know, deliver? We, we talk all the time about being careful about being a full service agency. Yep. But to, implement PESO, do you have to be a full service agency? Gini Dietrich: You do not. That’s the other thing that the certification walks you through is if you have the capability yourself in house. Or you yourself can do it. Then here’s how you do it. If you are building it for an external team or an external agency, here’s how you do it. If the client has a team that can do it, here’s what you’re going to do to build the strategy and the creative brief, and then you’ll hand it off. But here’s what is expected for. Here’s, what’s expected of you to deliver, and here’s what the expectation is for the output from the client team or the agency team, whatever happens to be. So it has those three paths depending on where you are. So yeah, that’s a really good point. It doesn’t the, certification expects you to, build the plan and the strategy, and then based on where you are, it meets you where you are. So if, you have a team that you can execute or that you can delegate it to, great. If your client has a team you can delegate it to great. But it meets you where you are so that you don’t have to be the expert, you don’t have to be the strategist, you don’t have to be the influencer, but you do have to build the plan and the strategic path to be able to help the team get there. Chip Griffin: Mm-hmm. Um, and I mean, let’s talk through some of the logistics around the certification. I mean, how long does it take to get certified? Is this, you know, I, do a weekend course and I’m done. Is it an ongoing process? Is it, you know, is it the equivalent of a master’s degree? I gonna spend two years with, you know, countless hours? What exactly does it look like? Gini Dietrich: It’s built to be done in eight weeks, but I will tell you that most working professionals do not do it that fast. I would say most working professionals do it between 10 and 12. Each module is, so you have the intro earned or owned, earned, shared, paid, integration, measurement, and then the operating system and how to embed that. So it’s eight modules and each module has between 6 and 12 lessons, and each lesson is like 8 to 10 minutes. So, you know, you’re looking at an hour to an hour and a half of learning of content and then you have the exercises for each lesson. So I would venture to guess it’s, you know, if you use the AI prompts effectively, that are in there, it’s between two to five hours a week probably. Chip Griffin: And, who is the certification best for? Is it someone who’s got, you know, prior experience, is this, Hey, I’m fresh outta college and I want to have this so I can use it to, you know, improve my, my job prospects. You know, what, kind of experience are they expected to have, or knowledge are they expected to have coming in? Gini Dietrich: It’s, we built it for any level of expertise. The interesting thing about it, of course, if you have more experience, it’s easier for you to grasp the concepts and implement it quickly. But we also use the certification in a hundred plus universities and the kids, the students go through it. So we find that they… It’s different for them because they have to use a fake business where you can use your own business or you can use your client’s business, right? They have to kind of create the business as they go. But it’s really fun to see what kinds of things come out of that. So it’s built for every level of expertise. It’s a different way of thinking about communications. So it’s not like you have to have 20 years of experience or only a year of experience. It’s because it’s teaching you something new. Chip Griffin: Gotcha. And is the, are the certifications only at the individual level? Are there agency certification programs? What exists in that frame? Gini Dietrich: Yeah, we’ve, that, that’s a great question that we evolved too. So it used to be, it was individual based and now we’ve built it so that you can put a team through it, you can put the whole agency through it. The certification itself goes with the individual because it comes through Syracuse University. So it is, so if you have a team member that you wanna put through it, if they leave the certification goes with them. So you cannot say that you do the PESO model anymore if they leave. So we always recommend, I mean, you know, I’m an agency owner, so I’d love to see the agency owner themselves go through it, but I also know that that’s not always doable. So, but if you want the certification to stay with your agency, that’s the way to do it. Chip Griffin: Mm-hmm. And it, you know, I guess as, we’re winding up here, you know, where do you see the, PESO model headed in, the years, you know, in front of us? I would assume it will continue to evolve. Does your crystal ball tell you anything about, you know, what that evolution will look like? Gini Dietrich: It will continue to evolve. I have not looked into my crystal ball yet because I’ve been so heads down deep into developing the content for this that I haven’t been able to forward think yet, but I’m very much looking forward to being able to go back to my regular job and, start to think about the future, but I’m not there yet. Chip Griffin: I, I, guess that’s fair. I guess asking you for the, next version before this version is even fully out in the wild may, Gini Dietrich: I’ve literally been like blinders on, heads down, creating all of this content. Chip Griffin: I had to try at least, you know, see if I could get the inside a scoop on where the industry is headed so that I can… Gini Dietrich: Ask me in a month. Chip Griffin: I can get there before everybody else, or at least before everybody else accept you. Alright. If someone, wants to learn more about the PESO model or the certification or any of that kind of stuff, where’s, the best place for them to go for that? Gini Dietrich: I feel like we just did an interview. Chip Griffin: Well, that, that was not the intent going, but it made the most sense to me. And I, you know, me, I, follow the thread wherever it feels like it goes. That’s fair. Some of these were questions I actually didn’t know the answer to, so I thought I would ask them. Gini Dietrich: Yeah. Alright. spinsucks.com. There’s a PESO model certification page. I think it’s actually PESO-model-certification. Chip Griffin: You love your hyphens on that website. Gini Dietrich: I don’t know why it’s that way. That’s just what they do. Chip Griffin: Oh, well. Gini Dietrich: Ask our web firm. Chip Griffin: I’m, sure people can end up finding it. Gini Dietrich: PESO model certification. Spin sucks.com. Chip Griffin: There you go. Excellent. Well, I, think this was good information and I think we, you know, we do talk a lot about the importance of, you know, agencies continuing to adapt. Particularly in, in this age of AI. And, if we are standing still, you know, we are gonna lose our jobs to AI and the other enhancements and improvements that are out there. I think this is one of many ways that you can, make sure that you are not getting left behind and, so, certainly something that most agencies should be at the very least learning more about, if not actually directly implementing within their businesses. Gini Dietrich: Yep. Yeah, and, like I said, it has AI baked in, so if you’re still on the fence about AI, it’s a good way to dip your toes in the water. Chip Griffin: And if you’re still on the fence on AI, why? Gini Dietrich: It’s so much fun! Chip Griffin: It really is. It can be a time suck at times, but it’s, yeah. It’s also fun and, frankly useful. I mean, I think that’s the… But anyway, that when this is not an AI show, this is a PESO show. Gini Dietrich: Right. So, right, right. Chip Griffin: We, will come back and bash you on AI again in the future. Not, you, but you the listener. You the listener. Gini Dietrich: Yeah. Chip Griffin: Alright. With that we’ll wrap up this episode of the Agency Leadership Podcast. I’m Chip Griffin. Gini Dietrich: I’m Gini Dietrich. Chip Griffin: And it depends.

In this episode, I encourage clarity, as our news is flooded with information about released files. I address concerns about the normalization of abuse through language, emphasizing the importance of correct terminology to protect victims and prevent further harm. I also discuss the role our biases play and offer tools for awareness and advocacy.Chapters00:00 Language & The Blurring of Lines in Abuse02:50 Desensitization & Normalization 04:18 Understanding Consent and Age of Consent (Legal Perspective)11:21 The Role of Bias in Language15:20 Call to Clarity and ResponsibilityWords matter. The language we hear seeps into our unconscious and has the ability to make what is horrific palatable. It has the ability to take something as horrible as child sexual abuse and human trafficking and gradually start to make it seem almost normal.Listen carefully and you will hear this shift in the public discourse around the release of millions of documents about many of our world's wealthiest and most powerful people abusing children and adults. You will hear a blurring of the lines - of what it means to be a child and what it means to be abused, assaulted, and trafficked. You will also hear a clouding of the distinction of who is responsible when abuse occurs.I'm concerned that the coverage — the amount and the language used (even by the well-intended) — is normalizing what we can't normalize. This blurring of lines only emboldens perpetrators who are out there right now. It puts more children and adults at risk. It prevents more victims from reporting abuse and it further harms anyone who has been abused.This episode is my attempt to counter that normalization, encourage clarity, and provide tools to help you recognize the types of words and phrases that blur important lines.EliteWe obviously live in a society that idealizes those with money, power, and celebrity. We project our innate gifts and greatness onto a few. We turn over our inner authority. We even project our inner wisdom onto bedazzling marketers posing as wellness and spiritual gurus.Those with the most depraved behaviors in our culture have our fascination, while humble, service-driven leaders are largely ignored. Should we be surprised that a group of sociopathic “elites” are leading many of our institutions?Our collective idol worship has helped elevate, support, and protect those who've harmed not only their victims, but all of us who rely on their institutions.Will these recent discoveries help us change course? How our society handles this open abscess will either lead to greater clarity and healing - or it will manage to infect us further.DesensitizationInevitably, this story, with all of its far-reaching implications, will be in the news for a very long time. The more we hear something, the less shocking it becomes.The amount of media content on this topic (even if in the direction of needed justice) is already leading to a collective desensitization. We are losing sight of the severe harm caused to the victims and survivors. (I include “victims,” because not everyone survived.)NormalizationA thoughtful popular podcaster who identifies as someone who wants justice for the survivors and accountability for the perpetrators said: “He may have had a sexual relationship with an underaged woman.” This podcaster is just one of many using this type of language. Even Steven Inskeep, a seasoned journalist with NPR, described the victims in the sex-trafficking case as “underage women.” After a number of listeners spoke out, NPR did an autopsy of sorts to understand how (in the line of editors and checks), this ended up being read on air. NPR made a public apology, explained how this ended up being read on air and what they were doing to prevent it from happening again.Many journalists recognize a need to understand and use appropriate language. But, most in independent media, who are actually investigating and discussing the files, aren't trained journalists and many are unintentionally contributing to the normalization of abuse.To say, “He may have had a sexual relationship with an underaged woman” blurs more than one lineFirst, adults and children do not have sexual relationships. Adults sexually abuse children. It is increasingly important to have clarity on this singular point and to have words that reflect this clarity.Saying “he had a sexual relationship with…,” implies that the child was able to consent.● Children are unable to consent as indicated by the law.○ Consent = voluntarily, actively, and knowingly agree to or grant permission for a specific act, proposed by another. There is more to the legal definition, which I'll get to for adults, but here, that doesn't matter, because, again, children are unable to consent.○ There is a significant power imbalance between children and adults○ When a child is abused, they are being harmed in that moment and will have enduring impacts from the abuse (emotional, psychological and physical).Along these lines “child prostitute,” and “child porn”, suggest consent. Saying instead that a perpetrator sexually abused, exploited and trafficked a child and saying sexual abuse materials recognizes that children are unable to consent.Second, “underage woman” is an oxymoronI can only imagine this term is being used to describe a physically mature teen. It's as if an adult is saying, “She looks like a woman to me.” It doesn't matter how physically mature a child looks, they are still a child. A child can not consent regardless of their physical appearance.But what about the phrase, “underage girl”?An “underage” girl is a girlThere is no reason to add the word “underage,” here. Children are children. If underage is being added, it is blurring that fact. Child, girl, boy, or minor are the terms to use.If we hear “underage woman,” or “underage girl,” over and over again, before we know it, we may be saying it without even thinking.What could the podcaster have said instead?“He may have sexually abused (or sexually assaulted) a child,”Age of ConsentIf children can't consent, you might be wondering about situations, such as a sexual relationship between a 17-year-old girl and an 18 year old teenage boy.Age of Consent = the age at which anyone can consent to anyone older.Depending on the state (here in the United States), the legal age of consent is anywhere from 16-18. But, even for states in which the age of consent is 16 or 17, there are laws that specify how much older the “older” person can be to whom the 16 or 17-year-old is consenting.The information coming out of the files is about perpetrators who were clearly well beyond 18 and early adulthood. In fact, they were old enough to have achieved prominence in their respective fields.What about the women who were of “the age of consent”? Here's where I'll share with you the complete legal definition of consent. (Since children are unable to consent, I didn't share the qualifiers yet).Consent means to voluntarily, willfully, and knowingly agree to, approve, or yield to a proposition or action proposed by another. Consent is given by a person with legal capacity without coercion, fraud, or duress. It requires active permission rather than passive submission or absence of resistance.So when Megan Kelly, an attorney/media personality, describes many of the victims as “barely legal” (as opposed to teenagers who were unable to consent to much older adults or young women who were coerced), the law would say, this is not legal and is abuse - a crime.From Normalizing to CelebrationAnother podcaster/journalist/academic who is seemingly on the side of the victims and survivors completed what seemed to be an appropriate and serious podcast by inviting his audience to share in the comments if they found anything “spicey” in the files. He smiled as he said this.Spicey = exciting or entertaining, especially through being sexually suggestive or involving conflict.“Spicey,” goes well beyond normalization to tantalizing. I don't think this is something he intended to communicate and I don't think he is unusual in this regard. You could say his listeners got a glimpse in the window - of feelings as he read the files.Our Words Are a Window Into Our Biases…and there are some windows, we may not want people looking in. We all have biases. It is simply part of human nature, part of the associations our neuronal connections have made. Our biases are influenced by our families, childhood experiences, our culture and what media content we consume. Our biases in this case, are also influenced by whether we have children or not and their ages and gender. I had to wonder, for example, if an adult who has a daughter would be as likely to say, “underage woman or underage girl,” than an adult who doesn't.Those who deny they have biases are more susceptible to their problematic impacts. We can all be more aware of how our own biases show up. The language we use is just one of the ways. Collectively, we can ask ourself, how do we consciously or unconsciously think about● children? Are they separate beings with their own potential and their own lives who are in their most critical developmental stage or are they less than adults and not worthy of the same respect and care? (This can also be a window into how worthy we were made to feel as children)● young women? Do we think of them differently than young men? Are we more okay with blurring the line between girls and women than between boys and men? How often would someone say “underage man,” or “underage boy” when it comes to sexual assault?● consent? Do we say she was “involved with” or use words like “prostitute” or “escort” when all evidence points to the person being trafficked?● abuse? Do we use language to describe the victim , such as “she was in a relationship with,” or do we use language to describe the actions of the abuser, he “assaulted”, “raped,” “coerced,” “exploited,” or “trafficked” her or him?● human trafficking? Do we even think about it? Do we even realize that, after drug trafficking, human trafficking is the second-largest criminal enterprise in the world? But for my medical license requiring me to stay informed about trafficking and how to recognize it, I may not be aware.A Call to Clarity & Responsibility While language can further diminish our humanity and recognition of human suffering, it also has the ability to elevate compassion and bring clarity to what matters most in a given situation, in this case the sanctity of childhood, the suffering of others and finding ways to prevent it.Though I rarely comment much on social media sites, I have felt a need, in this case, to do my small part to help bring clarity. When I notice language that normalizes abuse, I kindly point it out and offer an alternative, hoping maybe the person will even pay it forward.We all have the opportunity to notice when people unintentionally use language that blurs the line between children and adults, or suggests that victims are responsible. We don't have to let our silence suggest agreement. We don't have to go along or let it stand. We can all do our part to counter the eroding psychological, emotional and moral guardrails that prevent abuse from happening.We can also thank those who haven't lost sight of what is at stake. I noticed one young podcaster/attorney used words that convey the gravity and horrific nature of what he had been reading in the files. He appeared depleted and even sick, because he was. He hadn't lost sight of what the files are about - the systematic abuse of children and women by the very people our society chose to elevate to power. Nor had he lost sight of his responsibility to the survivors, to his listeners, to our humanity and to the truth.Wishing all of us the ability to maintain clarity in these challenging times.CourtneyAs always, I welcome your insights and observations. There is much more that can be said about this topic. To learn more about my discovery calls, non-patient consultations, treatment or to inquire about mentoring, please visit my website at:CourtneySnyderMD.comMedical Disclaimer:This newsletter is for educational purposes and not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment for either yourself or others, including but not limited to patients that you are treating (if you are a practitioner). Consult your physician for any medical issues that you may be having. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit courtneysnydermd.substack.com/subscribe

Wednesday, 18 February 2026   Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” Matthew 17:4   “And answering, Peter, he said to Jesus, ‘Lord, good, it is – us to be here. If You desire, we will make here three tabernacles: You one, and Moses one, and Elijah one'” (CG).   In the previous verse, it was noted that during the transfiguration, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Jesus. Matthew next records, “And answering, Peter.”   All three gospel narratives agree that it was Peter who spoke to Jesus. However, each will show the individual preference of how Peter addressed Him. Matthew continues the narrative with, “he said to Jesus, ‘Lord.'”   Matthew records the word, kurios, lord. It is derived from kuros, supremacy. Mark records the word rhabbi. It is derived from the Hebrew rab, abundance, which is fixed to a pronominal suffix. The meaning then is “my master,” with the intent of “my great one,” or “my Mr. Full of Knowledge.” Luke records the word epistates, master. That is derived from epi, upon or over, and histemi, to stand. Thus, it is one who stands over another.   Each of them gives the same general meaning but is taken from the author's own well of knowledge when penning the account. The word spoken by Peter would have been in Aramaic, thus rhabbi is probably what was said. With that stated, Peter next says, “good, it is – us to be here.”   The meaning probably isn't, “It is good to be here, because...” Rather, Peter's intent seems more akin to “What a satisfying experience it is for us to be here.” To bolster that thought, he next says, “If You desire, we will make here...”   Some manuscripts say, “I will make.” Scholars who lean toward this as correct indicate it is in line with the impetuous nature of Peter, as if “I will handle this.” However, that doesn't change with “we.”   Depending on the situation, there is no less impetuosity if Peter volunteered others. However, it isn't certain that we have all that was said. Rather, the gospel focuses on particular things while probably ignoring other things that may have transpired. Understanding this, Peter continues, saying, “three tabernacles.”   It is a new word, skéné, a tent. In this case, it would be referring to a tabernacle built out of whatever branches could be obtained by the disciples. The word can be used literally, as it is here, or it can be used figuratively, such as in Hebrews 9:11. Peter, assuming this may be an extended stay for them, or maybe hoping it can be extended by his suggestion, offers to build three tabernacles, which are, “You one, and Moses one, and Elijah one.”   The offer to build tabernacles, akin to the sukkah made for the Feast of Tabernacles, is made. Mark adds to the thought, saying, “For not he had known what he should say. For terrified, they were.” Luke says, “not having known what he says.”   In other words, there was confusion in his mind about how to address the issue at all, and he blurted out his words, probably in an attempt to bring some sort of control to the events around him that he could not fully understand.   Life application: One of the most common things passed on in Christian circles from this verse, and which has been repeated in innumerable sermons and commentaries, and then which is passed on by lay people, is that everyone will know everyone else in heaven immediately because Peter knew who Moses and Elijah were without being told.   How anyone can come to that conclusion is hard to figure out, but it now permeates Christian thinking. The account has already said that Moses and Elijah were conversing with Jesus. Conversing means... anyone? Having a conversation. It could have gone on for five minutes or an hour. And yet, not a word of what was said is recorded.   The general tenor of the conversation was that they “spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem” (Luke 9:31). But that is just what the conversation was about, not the details that were conveyed.   For all we know, Peter was listening and heard the names of Moses and Elijah stated by Jesus. Maybe Jesus introduced the two, saying, “Moses, this is Elijah. Elijah, this is Moses.” Or maybe the two were wearing name tags. To jump to the conclusion that everyone will know everyone else assumes too much.   It is not a good policy to make such statements without qualifiers, such as “Maybe...” The fact is, we have no idea whether we will know everybody's name or not.   Use discretion when passing things on. To insert thoughts that may or may not be correct can only lead people down incorrect paths of thinking. One idea, such as this, can, and normally will, lead to other unfounded suppositions.   Lord God, it is good to be in Your presence and to share in Your tenderful blessings and mercies each day. We are the recipients of all of Your goodness toward mankind because of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Help us to remember this in times of troubles, trials, and difficulties. What we have coming will forever replace anything we are now suffering. Thank You for this great hope we possess. Amen.  

I use this Momplex episode to share some of the most humbling lessons I've learned as a mom and to call BS on the idea that we have to be perfect. For years, I believed that every mistake meant I was failing and that everyone was judging me and my kids. I now see mistakes as feedback, not proof that I'm a bad mom. Backed by neuroplasticity and growth mindset, I talk about how our brains—and our lives—are always capable of change. I share real stories about chasing gold stars, comparing my kids to others, taking their behavior personally, and gripping so tightly to their outcomes that I missed the actual moments with them. I also admit how long I put my own life on hold. In this episode, I invite you to drop the shame, live your own life more fully, and model self-compassion and resilience for your kids. The 5 things I talk about: Waiting for praise – Depending on others' validation instead of my own. Holding my kids to someone else's timeline – Pushing milestones instead of trusting their pace. Taking it personally – Making their moods and meltdowns about me. Being obsessed with their wins and losses – Treating their outcomes like a report card on my parenting. Waiting on my life because of them – Pausing my own dreams instead of showing them what a fully lived life looks like. If you are interested in watching the show rather than listening to it - you can do that by clicking here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How much are the Cubs depending on Justin Steele's return? (Hour 1) full 3880 Mon, 16 Feb 2026 16:50:00 +0000 fBeDXfRkX8SdoZMHQsfIgfyuvMJVUB94 sports Mully & Haugh Show sports How much are the Cubs depending on Justin Steele's return? (Hour 1) Mike Mulligan and David Haugh lead you into your work day by discussing the biggest sports storylines in Chicago and beyond. Along with breaking down the latest on the Bears, Blackhawks, Bulls, Cubs and White Sox, Mully & Haugh routinely interview the top beat writers in the city as well as team executives, coaches and players. Recurring guests include Tribune reporter Brad Biggs, former Bears coach Dave Wannstedt, Pro Football Talk founder Mike Florio, Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer and Cubs pitching coach Tommy Hottovy. Catch the Mully & Haugh Show live Monday through Friday (5 a.m.- 10 a.m. CT) on 104.3 The Score, the exclusive audio home of the Cubs and the Bulls, or on the Audacy app. For more, follow the show on X @mullyhaugh. © 2026 Audacy, Inc. Sports False https://player.amperwavep

Sunday, 15 February 2026   Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; Matthew 17:1   “And after six days, Jesus, He takes with – Peter, and James and John his brother, and them, He uphefts into a high mountain off alone” (CG).   In the previous verse, Jesus finished up Chapter 16, noting that there were some standing there with Him who would not taste death till they saw the Son of Man coming in His kingdom. Chapter 17 now begins, saying, “And after six days.” Mark says the same. Luke says, “about eight days.” Of this somewhat indeterminate time, “Jesus, He takes with – Peter, and James and John his brother.”   These selected men are, at times, referred to as the inner circle. This is because this is not the only time they are selected to come separately with Jesus. Rather, there are several such instances in the gospels. Of this group accompanying Jesus, it next says, “and them, He uphefts into a high mountain off alone.”   A new word is seen here, anapheró. It is derived from ana, up, and pheró, to bring, bear, or carry. The ten uses of the word combine to give a sense not found in any single English word. It refers to leading others up a mountain, being carried up into heaven, offering up sacrifices, carrying the sins of others, etc.   In each case, there is upward motion and the sense of bearing or leading a mass that has weight. A single word, that now exists as of the typing of this commentary, and which can describe all of these various thoughts understandably, is “upheft.” With a right click of the mouse, the red line under the word has disappeared, and it is now entered into the computer's dictionary.   As for the mountain Jesus uphefted the men to, there are various views. A later tradition identifies it as Mount Tabor. However, it is known that a fortress was on top of Tabor at the time. Further, its location is not conducive to the surrounding narrative as well.   A good candidate is Mount Hermon. It is the snowcapped mountain bordering Israel, Lebanon, and Syria. In typology, it is used in the Old Testament to symbolize heaven from which the Jordan (the Descender) then flows, picturing Jesus descending from heaven.    This seems like the likely mountain to accommodate what will next take place, but because it is not named, this remains speculation. This account, however, is a good contrast to what was said in Matthew 4 –   “Again, the traducer, he takes Him to a mountain – exceedingly high – and shows Him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them.” Matthew 4:8   “And after six days, Jesus, He takes with – Peter, and James and John his brother, and them – He takes up into a high mountain off alone.” Matthew 17:1   Life application: It was noted above that Matthew and Mark say, “after six days,” while Luke says, “about eight days.” There is no contradiction in that. The word after means “after.” The word about means “about.” Seven is after six, and a general ending of seven is about eight. The indeterminate wording allows people to speak and write in their natural way without there being a contradiction.   Depending on the time reference of a person's statement, such things happen all the time. If one reckons the time after the day of an event, the timing would be –   Monday – Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday/Friday/Saturday/Sunday.   If one reckons from the day of an event, it would be –   Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday/Friday/Saturday/Sunday – Monday.   Thus, the first is six days after the first day, while the second is about eight days. We do the same type of reckoning all the time. If you arrive in Florida on a plane at 11:30 pm on 11 April, during a later conversation, you might still say you were in Florida on that day. If you left Wednesday morning at 5 am, you might say you were there that day also. Thus, you have been at the location three days, despite your total time there being about thirty-six hours.   When you are reading the Bible, be sure to consider such things. Luke uses a different perspective to say exactly the same thing as Matthew and Mark did. This is to be expected from a chronicler who is from outside of Israel as he sits and counts days. The timing provided by those inside Israel would be from their personal experience and how that aligns with culturally accepted norms.   When considering these things in their proper light, it is evident that no contradiction exists. Instead, the accounts are reliable and actually support the veracity of what is stated.   Lord God Almighty, You have given us a word which is challenging to our minds, and yet understandable when it is properly and carefully evaluated. Thank You that we will get out of Your word just what effort we put into it. Thank You for such a wonderful gift to guide and instruct us. Amen.  

- Check my video for more details! -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUIr0iPNRWM&t=425s===============================================The full script is available from my Patreon page!Please check it our from⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠!

Depending on one's outlook and relationship status (and a willingness to spend lavishly on romantic gestures), Valentine's Day is an annual ritual to be loved or loathed. But is it living up to its unstated end goal – i.e., romance blossoming into love and commitment, which in turn leads to parenthood? Valerie Ramey, an economist and the Hoover Institution's Thomas Sowell Senior Fellow, looks at the economic engine that is Valentines Day (literally “a day of wine and roses”), the various social factors that've contributed to America's declining birth rate, plus why it is that modern-day parents engage in what she calls the "rug rat race” – mothers and fathers raising children in a more hands-on manner so as to assure their progeny are admitted to top-flight universities. Recorded on February 12, 2026. ABOUT THE SPEAKERS Valerie Ramey is the Thomas Sowell Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution.  She is also a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research, a Research Fellow of the Centre for Economic Policy and Research, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a Fellow of the Econometric Society.  Ramey has published numerous scholarly and policy-relevant articles on macroeconomic topics such as the sources of business cycles, the effects of monetary and fiscal policy, the effects oil price shocks, and the impact of volatility on growth.  She has also written numerous articles on trends in wage inequality and trends in time use, such as the increase in time investments in children by educated parents.  Her work has been featured in major media, such as the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. Bill Whalen, the Virginia Hobbs Carpenter Distinguished Policy Fellow in Journalism and a Hoover Institution research fellow since 1999, writes and comments on campaigns, elections and governance with an emphasis on California and America's political landscapes. Whalen writes on politics and current events for various national publications, as well as Hoover's California On Your Mind web channel. Whalen hosts Hoover's Matters of Policy & Politics podcast and serves as the moderator of Hoover's GoodFellows broadcast exploring history, economics, and geopolitical dynamics. RELATED SOURCES The Rug Rat Race by Garey Ramey & Valerie A. Ramey ABOUT THE SERIES Matters of Policy & Politics, a podcast from the Hoover Institution, examines the direction of federal, state, and local leadership and elections, with an occasional examination of national security and geopolitical concerns, all featuring insightful analysis provided by Hoover Institution scholars and guests. To join our newsletter and be the first to tune into the next episode, visit Matters of Policy & Politics.

Before SURVIVOR was popular, people in the 1920's would find themselves on an isolated, inhospitable island, driven by survival and searching for that one piece of personal peace and salvation.Ron Howard's EDEN kinda does that with a bunch of sexy actors enacting the true story of a group of people setting up life in the Galapagos Islands. What ensues is a pinch of madness. A crumble of humanity and plenty of foul behavior.Depending on who you speak to, this is either "not bad" or "straight down the middle". That equates to a whole bunch of mediocrity. But it's coming out near Valentine's so, all is forgiven!

02-12-26 - Entertainment Drill - THU - w/Bret And Dale Hellestrae - Teaching Dale To Sing Like Michael McDonald - How Pro Athletes Are Taxed Depending On Where They Play GamesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

02-12-26 - Entertainment Drill - THU - w/Bret And Dale Hellestrae - Teaching Dale To Sing Like Michael McDonald - How Pro Athletes Are Taxed Depending On Where They Play GamesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Even when you know "what to do" (theoretically) in a volatile, challenging and/or emotional situation - especially with loved ones - good luck with the "execution" of that knowledge when your prefrontal cortex gets hijacked by your amygdala. That is, when your emotions take over your body and your ability to think clearly and be the calm in the chaos goes out the metaphoric window. Depending on the situation, I could be relatively smart right down to being the dumb-arse in the corner crying into his protein shake. Bobby, Tiff and I opened this conversational door and quite a few others in this episode of TYP. Also, someone whose name rhymes with vague may have gotten a little emotional. I'm not crying, you are. Enjoy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The retail operator for Eddie Bauer’s North American stores has filed for bankruptcy. Depending on how things turn out, the outdoor gear brand could see the closure of nearly 200 stores across the United States and Canada. The Seattle Times also reports that the company's store operator plans to close its headquarters in Seattle and lay off 60 workers. This isn’t the first sign of trouble for the Seattle-based business, which faced bankruptcy proceedings in 2003 and 2009. This latest filing won’t affect the company’s wholesale, manufacturing or online operations -- so it’s not like the brand’s going away completely. But the news still feels pretty big…. Because once upon a time, not too long ago, Eddie Bauer was a premiere spot for outdoor gear. It outfitted the first American to summit Mount Everest. And there was a time when it was quite the fashion statement to walk into work with an Eddie Bauer puffer. As the company faces an uncertain future, we decided to reflect on its legacy. Guests: Clara Berg, a fashion historian and Curator of Collections at MOHAI. Related links: Our Story – Eddie Bauer Eddie Bauer to close its Seattle headquarters, lay off 60 workers | The Seattle Times Eddie Bauer: From Outdoor Staple to Bankruptcy Watch - Business Insider Retail operator of Eddie Bauer files for bankruptcy, will keep stores open during restructuring | AP News Eddie Bauer store operator files for bankruptcy, seeks sale | Reuters Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hello children, have you ever heard of WAR? Depending on who you ask about it, you may hear it described in a variety of ways. Some say it never changes. Some say it has changed. Some ask what it's good for and others answer “absolutely nothing.” Here at the Smashterpieces School of Radiance we have our own answer: war is a ballista that crits several times in the span of a single battle. What the hell, man? That just doesn't seem right, but the numbers don't lie. The numbers only hurt.We'll be back next time for our final installment of Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, for war can only continue to march on.

Further reading: I Can Has Mutant Larvae? 200-Year-Old ‘Monster Larva' Mystery Solved ‘Snakeworm' mystery yields species new to science Hearkening back to the hazelworm Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I'm your host, Kate Shaw. A few weeks ago when I was researching big eels, I remembered the mystery eel larva we talked about back in episode 49, and that led me down a fun rabbit hole about other mystery larvae. Let's start with that eel larva. Eel larvae can be extremely hard to tell apart, so as a catchall term every eel larva is called a leptocephalus. They're flattened side to side, which is properly referred to as laterally compressed, and transparent, shaped roughly like a slender leaf, with a tiny head at the front. Depending on the species, an eel may remain in its larval form for more than a year, much longer than most other fish, and when it does metamorphose into its next life stage, it usually grows much longer than its larval form. For instance, the larvae of conger eels are only about 4 inches long, or 10 cm, while an adult conger can grow up to 10 feet long, or 3 meters. On January 31, 1930, a Danish research ship caught an eel larva 900 feet deep, or about 275 meters, off the coast of South Africa. But the larva was over 6 feet long, or 1.85 meters! Scientists boggled at the thought that this larva might grow into an eel more than 50 feet long, or 15 meters, raising the possibility that this unknown eel might be the basis of many sea serpent sightings. The larva was preserved and has been studied extensively. In 1958, a similar eel larva was caught off of New Zealand. It and the 1930 specimen were determined to belong to the same species, which was named Leptocephalus giganteus. In 1966, two more of the larvae were discovered in the stomach of a western Atlantic lancet fish. They were much smaller than the others, though—only four inches and eleven inches long, or 10 cm and 28 cm respectively. Other than size, they were pretty much identical to Leptocephalus giganteus. The ichthyologist who examined them determined that the larvae were probably not true eels at all, but larvae of a fish called the spiny eel. Deep-sea spiny eels look superficially like eels but aren't closely related, and while they do have a larval form that resembles that of a true eel, they're much different in one important way. Spiny eel larvae grow larger than the adults, then shrink a little when they develop into their mature form. The six-foot eel larva was actually a spiny eel larva that was close to metamorphosing into its adult form. Not everyone agrees that Leptocephalus giganteus is a spiny eel. Some think it belongs to the genus Coloconger, also called worm eels, which are true eels but which have large larvae that only grow to the same size as adults. But worm eels don't grow much bigger than about two feet long, or 61 cm. If the mystery larvae does belong to the genus Coloconger, it's probably a new species. Until scientists identify an adult Leptocephalus giganteus, we can't know for sure. Another mystery larva is Planctosphaera pelagica, which sits all alone in its own class because the only thing it resembles are acorn worms, but scientists are pretty sure it isn't the larva of an acorn worm. It's not much to look at, since the larva is just a little barrel-shaped blob that grows about 25 mm across. This sounds small compared to the eel larva we just discussed, but it's actually quite large compared to similar larvae. Acorn worm larvae are usually only about a millimeter long. Planctosphaera has been classified as a hemichordate, which are related to echinoderms but which show bilateral symmetry instead of radial symmetry. Hemichordates are also closely related to chordates, which include all vertebrates. They're marine animals that resemble worms but aren't worms, so it's likely that Planctosphaera is also wormlike as an adult. Planctosphaera isn't encountered very often by scientists. It has limited swimming abilities and mostly floats around near the surface of the open ocean, eating tiny food particles. One suggestion is that it might actually be the larva of a known species, but one where an occasional larva just never metamorphoses into an adult. It just grows and grows until something eats it. So far, attempts to sequence DNA from a Planctosphaera hasn't succeeded and attempts to raise one to maturity in captivity hasn't worked either. Some people have estimated that an adult Planctosphaera might be a type of acorn worm that can grow nine feet long, or 2.75 meters, which isn't out of the realm of possibility. The largest species of acorn worm known is Balanoglossus gigas, which can grow almost six feet long, or 1.8 meters, and not only is it bioluminescent, its body contains a lot of iodine, so it smells like medicine. It lives in mucus-lined burrows on the sea floor. Another mystery larva is Facetotecta, which have been found in shallow areas in many oceans around the world. Unlike the other larvae we've talked about, they're genuinely tiny, measured in micrometers, and eleven species have been described. They all have a cephalic shield, meaning a little dome over the head, and scientists have been able to observe several phases of their development but not the adult form. The juvenile form was observed and it looked kind of like a tiny slug with nonfunctioning eyes and weak muscles. Scientists speculate that facetotecta may actually be the larva of an endoparasite that infests some marine animals. That would explain why no adult form has been identified. Genetic testing has confirmed that Facetotecta is related to a group of parasitic crustaceans. DNA has solved some mysteries of what larvae belong to which adults. For instance, Cerataspis monstrosa, a larval crustacean that was first described in 1828. It's over a cm long, pinkish-purple in color with stalked eyes, little swimming leg-like appendages, and neon blue horn-like structures on its head and back which act as armor. The armor doesn't help too much against big animals like dolphins and tuna, which love to eat it, and in fact that's where it was initially discovered, in the digestive tract of a dolphin. But scientists had no idea what the monstrous larva eventually grew up to be. In 2012 the mystery was solved when a team of scientists compared the monster larva's DNA to that of lots of various types of shrimp, since the larva had long been suspected to be a type of shrimp. It turns out that it's the larval form of a rare deep-sea aristeid shrimp that can grow up to 9 inches long, or 23 cm. Let's finish with another solved mystery, this one from larvae found on land. In 2007, someone sent photos and a bag of little dead worms to Derek Sikes at the University of Alaska Museum. Usually when someone sends you a bag of dead worms, they're giving you an obscure but distressing message, but Sikes was curator of the insect collection and he was happy to get a bag of mystery worms. The worms had been collected from an entire column of the creatures that had been crawling over each other so that the group looked like a garden hose on the ground. Sikes thought they were probably fly larvae but he had never heard of larvae traveling in a column. If you've listened to the hazelworm episode from August 2018, you might have an idea. The hazelworm was supposed to be a snake or even a dragon that was only seen in times of unrest. It turns out that it the larvae of some species of fungus gnat travel together in long, narrow columns that really do look like a moving snake. But that's in Europe, not Alaska. Sikes examined the larvae, but since they were dead he couldn't guess what type of insect they would grow up to be. Luckily, a few months later he got a call from a forester who had spotted a column of the same worms crossing a road. Sikes got there in time to witness the phenomenon himself. The larvae were only a few millimeters long each, but there were so many of them that the column stretched right across the road into the forest. He collected some of them carefully and took them back to the museum, where he tended them in hopes that they would pupate successfully. This they did, and the insects that emerged were a little larger than fruit flies and were black in color. Sikes identified them as fungus gnats, but when he consulted fungus gnat experts in Germany and Japan, they were excited to report that they didn't recognize the Alaskan gnats. It was a new species, which Sikes described in late 2023. His summer students helped name the species, Sciara serpens, which are better known now as snakeworm gnats. He and his co-authors think the larvae form columns when they cross surfaces like roads and rocks, to help minimize contacting the dry ground. Fungus gnats live in moist areas with lots of organic matter, like forest leaf litter and the edges of ponds. So the next time you see a huge long snake crossing the road, don't panic. It might just be a whole lot of tiny, tiny larvae looking for a new home. Thanks for your support, and thanks for listening! BONUS: here’s the Hazelworm episode too! The hazelworm today is a type of reptile, although called the slow worm, blind worm, or deaf adder. It lives in Eurasia, and while it looks like a snake, it's actually a legless lizard. It can even drop and regrow its tail like a lizard if threatened. It spends most of its time underground in burrows or underneath leaf litter or under logs. It grows almost 2 feet long, or 50 cm, and is brown. Females sometimes have blue racing stripes while males may have blue spots. It eats slugs, worms, and other small animals, so is good for the garden. But that kind of hazelworm isn't what we're talking about here. Back in the middle ages in central Europe, especially in parts of the Alps, there were stories of a big dragonlike serpent that lived in areas where hazel bushes were common. Like its slow-worm namesake, it lived most of its life underground, especially twined around the roots of the hazel. Instead of scales, it had a hairy skin and was frequently white in color. It was supposed to be the same type of snake that had tempted Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. It had a lot of names besides hazelworm, including white worm for its color, paradise worm for its supposed history in the Garden of Eden, and even war worm. That one was because it was only supposed to show itself just before a war broke out. People really believed it existed, although stories about it sound more like folklore. For instance, anyone who ate hazelworm flesh was supposed to become immortal. It was also supposed to suck milk from dairy cows and spread poison. Some accounts said it was enormous, as big around as a man's thigh and some 18 feet long, or 5.5 meters. Sometimes it was even supposed to have feet, or have various bright colors. Sometimes drawings showed wings. There does seem to be some confusion about stories of the hazelworm and of the tatzelwurm, especially in older accounts. But unlike the tatzelwurm, the mystery of the hazelworm has been solved for a long time—long enough that knowledge of the animal has dropped out of folklore. Back in the 1770s, a physician named August C. Kuehn pointed out that hazelworm sightings matched up with a real animal…but not a snake. Not even any kind of reptile. Not a fish or a bird or a mammal. Nope, he pointed at the fungus gnat. The fungus gnat is about 8 mm long and eats decaying plant matter and fungus. You know, sort of exactly not like an 18-foot hairy white snake. But the larvae of some species of fungus gnat are called army worms. The larvae have white, gray, or brown bodies and black heads, and travel in long, wide columns that do look like a moving snake, especially if seen in poor light or in the distance. I've watched videos online of these processions and they are horrifying! They're also rare, so it's certainly possible that even people who have lived in one rural area their whole life had never seen an armyworm procession. Naturally, they'd assume they were seeing a monstrous hairy snake of some kind, because that's what it looks like. Sightings of smaller hazelworms may be due to the caterpillar of the pine processionary moth, which also travels in a line nose to tail, which looks remarkably like a long, thin, hairy snake. Don't touch those caterpillars, by the way. They look fuzzy and cute but their hairs can cause painful reactions when touched. The adult moths lay their eggs in pine trees and when the eggs hatch the larvae eat pine needles and can cause considerable damage to the trees. They overwinter in silk tents, then leave the trees in spring and travel in a snaky conga line to eat pine needles. Eventually they burrow underground to pupate. They emerge from their cocoons as adult moths, mate, lay eggs, and die, all within one day.

"You know, at the core of Working Genius, what it does is it allows us to avoid guilt and judgment—guilt about ourselves and judgment of others." That's Patrick Lencioni, bestselling author and organizational health expert, talking about his breakthrough Working Genius productivity framework on the Sales Gravy podcast. If you're leading a sales team, this explains why high performers thrive in some roles and burn out in others. Right now, you probably have high performers who are miserable, rockstars who've lost their spark, and top reps who suddenly can't hit quota. And you're wondering—did you hire wrong, did someone lose their edge, or do you need to have “the conversation”? What if the problem isn't the person at all?  The Real Reason Your Best People Are Struggling Not all work is created equal, and your sales reps aren't wired to do all of it. Lencioni stumbled on this insight while reflecting on himself. He'd show up to work loving his job and the people he worked with, yet swing from energized to frustrated without understanding why.  His colleague asked, “Why are you like that?” Over a few hours, Lencioni and his team pinpointed six distinct types of work. Depending on which type you're doing, you're either energized or drained. Five years later, over 1.5 million people have taken the Working Genius assessment. Why? Most organizations force talented people into work that drains them, then blame them when they struggle. Most sales leaders hire a closer for their ability to seal deals, then wonder why they can't prospect. They promote a quota-crusher into management, then watch them implode under administrative responsibilities. Or move an account manager into new business development and act shocked when performance tanks. The talent was there all along, but their positioning was wrong. Six Types of Work—and Why Most People Only Excel at Two Patrick Lencioni identified six distinct types of work that exist in every organization: Wonder (W): Spotting opportunities, asking big-picture questions Invention (I): Creating new solutions, processes, or systems Discernment (D): Evaluating ideas, figuring out what will work Galvanizing (G): Rallying the team, getting people moving Enablement (E): Supporting others, clearing obstacles, making things happen Tenacity (T): Following through, finishing tasks, closing deals Here's what matters: most people are strong in two, competent in two, and are drained by the remaining two. And there are no good or bad geniuses. Your closer with natural Tenacity isn't more valuable than your strategic thinker with Wonder and Discernment. Your rep who rallies the team (Galvanizing) isn't better than the one who quietly enables everyone behind the scenes. Different geniuses are valuable in different ways. The goal is to build a team where all six are represented, and people work in their areas of strength. Force someone into work that drains them, and sales team performance tanks. Leave them in their genius zones, and energy and results skyrocket. Stop Judging Your People (And Yourself) You've probably got a rep right now who frustrates you. Maybe they're brilliant in client meetings but terrible at following up. Maybe they generate incredible account strategies, but can't stand the daily grind of outbound prospecting. Maybe they close deals but never update the CRM. Your first instinct is to judge them. "They're not coachable." "They don't care about the details." "They're lazy." Working Genius removes that judgment. It shows you that their struggle isn't about character—it's about wiring. A rep isn't bad at follow-up because they don't care. They're bad at it because Tenacity isn't their genius. A rep isn't a bad team player because they don't remove obstacles for others. Enablement isn't their strength. And here's the part most sales leaders miss: you need to stop judging yourself, too. You feel guilty that you hate certain parts of your job. You think you should be better at forecasting, or administrative work, or whatever drains you. But guilt about your own limitations makes you harder on your team. When you accept that you're not built to excel at everything, you can extend that same grace to others. You stop punishing people for being human and start positioning them for success. Start With Self-Reflection Which activities give you energy? Which leave you drained? I'll be honest about my own wake-up call. I travel over 300 nights a year, giving keynotes and working with clients. Last summer, I got to the point where I thought I was going to have a mental breakdown. Days stacked with short calls, client check-ins, alignment meetings, and podcasts. I was furious when I got to the office, and furious when I left because those days completely destroy my brain. I'm a wonderer and a thinker. I need space to ideate. Without that time, I can't function. So I implemented a new rule: no more than two meetings per day. I understood my working genius and restructured my time. Once you see your own patterns, look at your team. Track what lights people up and what slows them down. Patterns emerge quickly. How to Apply Working Genius to Your Sales Team We had a team member at Sales Gravy who was noticeably unhappy. Not complaining out loud, just clearly not thriving. When we looked at what the job required versus their working genius profile, the answer was obvious. We had them doing work completely opposite of their natural abilities. Once we restructured their role to align with their strengths, everything changed. Here's how you can apply it: Pair complementary geniuses. Big-picture thinkers need execution-focused partners. Strategic planners need implementers. Someone strong in Wonder and Invention but weak in Tenacity needs to work with someone who loves finishing and closing. Restructure roles around natural strengths. Don't force people into weaknesses. Reassign or support tasks that drain them.  Be intentional with promotions. Top performers don't automatically make good managers. Your best individual contributor may hate administrative work. Your best manager may dislike strategic planning. Know what fits before making moves. Have your team take the assessment. Get everyone's working genius profile. Put it at their workstation. Use it in real-time during team meetings when you're trying to figure out why something isn't working. We do this at Sales Gravy, and it's transformed how we work together.  The Bottom Line Your sales team isn't broken, but your understanding of how they work might be. When you force talented people into roles that clash with their natural strengths, you get frustration, underperformance, and attrition. Then you blame the person and start hiring again.  Everyone has areas of frustration. Everyone faces work they aren't naturally good at. Working Genius doesn't let people avoid the draining tasks—but it helps you understand why some work feels impossible, build teams that complement each other, and stop punishing your people for being human. Stop judging that rep who struggles with CRM updates. Stop feeling guilty that you hate certain parts of your job. Start positioning people where their natural abilities can shine. Over 1.5 million people have discovered their working genius. Most of them wish they'd found it sooner. Visit workinggenius.com and take the assessment. Use coupon code GRAVY for 20% off. 

“You know, at the core of Working Genius, what it does is it allows us to avoid guilt and judgment—guilt about ourselves and judgment of others.” That's Patrick Lencioni, bestselling author and organizational health expert, talking about his breakthrough Working Genius productivity framework on the Sales Gravy podcast. If you're leading a sales team, this explains why high performers thrive in some roles and burn out in others. Right now, you probably have high performers who are miserable, rockstars who've lost their spark, and top reps who suddenly can't hit quota. And you're wondering—did you hire wrong, did someone lose their edge, or do you need to have “the conversation”? What if the problem isn't the person at all?  The Real Reason Your Best People Are Struggling Not all work is created equal, and your sales reps aren't wired to do all of it. Lencioni stumbled on this insight while reflecting on himself. He'd show up to work loving his job and the people he worked with, yet swing from energized to frustrated without understanding why.  His colleague asked, “Why are you like that?” Over a few hours, Lencioni and his team pinpointed six distinct types of work. Depending on which type you're doing, you're either energized or drained. Five years later, over 1.5 million people have taken the Working Genius assessment. Why? Most organizations force talented people into work that drains them, then blame them when they struggle. Most sales leaders hire a closer for their ability to seal deals, then wonder why they can't prospect. They promote a quota-crusher into management, then watch them implode under administrative responsibilities. Or move an account manager into new business development and act shocked when performance tanks. The talent was there all along, but their positioning was wrong. Six Types of Work—and Why Most People Only Excel at Two Patrick Lencioni identified six distinct types of work that exist in every organization: Wonder (W): Spotting opportunities, asking big-picture questions Invention (I): Creating new solutions, processes, or systems Discernment (D): Evaluating ideas, figuring out what will work Galvanizing (G): Rallying the team, getting people moving Enablement (E): Supporting others, clearing obstacles, making things happen Tenacity (T): Following through, finishing tasks, closing deals Here’s what matters: most people are strong in two, competent in two, and are drained by the remaining two. And there are no good or bad geniuses. Your closer with natural Tenacity isn’t more valuable than your strategic thinker with Wonder and Discernment. Your rep who rallies the team (Galvanizing) isn’t better than the one who quietly enables everyone behind the scenes. Different geniuses are valuable in different ways. The goal is to build a team where all six are represented, and people work in their areas of strength. Force someone into work that drains them, and sales team performance tanks. Leave them in their genius zones, and energy and results skyrocket. Stop Judging Your People (And Yourself) You’ve probably got a rep right now who frustrates you. Maybe they’re brilliant in client meetings but terrible at following up. Maybe they generate incredible account strategies, but can’t stand the daily grind of outbound prospecting. Maybe they close deals but never update the CRM. Your first instinct is to judge them. “They’re not coachable.” “They don’t care about the details.” “They’re lazy.” Working Genius removes that judgment. It shows you that their struggle isn’t about character—it’s about wiring. A rep isn't bad at follow-up because they don’t care. They’re bad at it because Tenacity isn’t their genius. A rep isn't a bad team player because they don't remove obstacles for others. Enablement isn't their strength. And here’s the part most sales leaders miss: you need to stop judging yourself, too. You feel guilty that you hate certain parts of your job. You think you should be better at forecasting, or administrative work, or whatever drains you. But guilt about your own limitations makes you harder on your team. When you accept that you’re not built to excel at everything, you can extend that same grace to others. You stop punishing people for being human and start positioning them for success. Start With Self-Reflection Which activities give you energy? Which leave you drained? I’ll be honest about my own wake-up call. I travel over 300 nights a year, giving keynotes and working with clients. Last summer, I got to the point where I thought I was going to have a mental breakdown. Days stacked with short calls, client check-ins, alignment meetings, and podcasts. I was furious when I got to the office, and furious when I left because those days completely destroy my brain. I’m a wonderer and a thinker. I need space to ideate. Without that time, I can’t function. So I implemented a new rule: no more than two meetings per day. I understood my working genius and restructured my time. Once you see your own patterns, look at your team. Track what lights people up and what slows them down. Patterns emerge quickly. How to Apply Working Genius to Your Sales Team We had a team member at Sales Gravy who was noticeably unhappy. Not complaining out loud, just clearly not thriving. When we looked at what the job required versus their working genius profile, the answer was obvious. We had them doing work completely opposite of their natural abilities. Once we restructured their role to align with their strengths, everything changed. Here's how you can apply it: Pair complementary geniuses. Big-picture thinkers need execution-focused partners. Strategic planners need implementers. Someone strong in Wonder and Invention but weak in Tenacity needs to work with someone who loves finishing and closing. Restructure roles around natural strengths. Don't force people into weaknesses. Reassign or support tasks that drain them.  Be intentional with promotions. Top performers don’t automatically make good managers. Your best individual contributor may hate administrative work. Your best manager may dislike strategic planning. Know what fits before making moves. Have your team take the assessment. Get everyone’s working genius profile. Put it at their workstation. Use it in real-time during team meetings when you’re trying to figure out why something isn’t working. We do this at Sales Gravy, and it’s transformed how we work together.  The Bottom Line Your sales team isn't broken, but your understanding of how they work might be. When you force talented people into roles that clash with their natural strengths, you get frustration, underperformance, and attrition. Then you blame the person and start hiring again.  Everyone has areas of frustration. Everyone faces work they aren't naturally good at. Working Genius doesn't let people avoid the draining tasks—but it helps you understand why some work feels impossible, build teams that complement each other, and stop punishing your people for being human. Stop judging that rep who struggles with CRM updates. Stop feeling guilty that you hate certain parts of your job. Start positioning people where their natural abilities can shine. Over 1.5 million people have discovered their working genius. Most of them wish they’d found it sooner. Visit workinggenius.com and take the assessment. Use coupon code GRAVY for 20% off. 

Depending upon how you look at it, time passes either slow or fast. It was nearly 50 years ago that we began learning magic in a whole new way: video. Prior to that, most magic was learned through books, magazines, lectures, or through an apprenticeship that was passed on from one magician to another. In some ways it seems that our evolution moved slowly from video tape to where we are today with digital images.In the late 1970's, Bob Yorburg, went into the studios and recorded a two volume VHS set where he taught close-up magic. It wasn't long after that before others ran through the door. I was one of those who watched that video set over and over and learned many of my early routines from Bob. He transitioned from one character to another before he found his true passion, refurbishing old magic props, carving Punch and Judy dolls, and working on band organs. View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize This week Bob Yorburg tells us about how he came to produce those first video tapes, plus his work as the first Burger King in New York. He apparently worked in many other commercials besides the hamburger giant and he has some great stories. As mentioned, his passion is now carving carousel animals, carousel band organs, Punch and Judy dolls, and is respected and awarded in that field. Download this podcast in an MP3 file by Clicking Here and then right click to save the file. You can also subscribe to the RSS feed by Clicking Here. You can download or listen to the podcast through Pandora and SiriusXM (formerly Stitcher) by Clicking Here or through FeedPress by Clicking Here or through Tunein.com by Clicking Here or through iHeart Radio by Clicking Here. If you have a Spotify account, then you can also hear us through that app, too. You can also listen through your Amazon Alexa and Google Home devices. Remember, you can download it through the iTunes store, too. See the preview page by Clicking Here.

Episode 2758- Vinnie Tortorich and Chris Shaffer discuss the practice of periodization by keeping it fresh to optimize your strength training and health. https://vinnietortorich.com/2026/02/keeping-it-fresh-episode-2758 PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS Pure Vitamin Club Pure Coffee Club NSNG® Foods VILLA CAPPELLI EAT HAPPY KITCHEN YOU CAN WATCH THIS EPISODE ON YOUTUBE - @FitnessConfidential Podcast Vinnie's workout videos are available to purchase! Choose from a 2-day, 4-day, or 6-day workout–or buy all three at a discount! TO PURCHASE VINNIE'S WORKOUT VIDEOS, CLICK THIS LINK: https://vinnietortorich.com/workout Keeping It Fresh What is Periodization? (6:15) Vinnie's workouts haveperiodization built into the program. Periodization is the structure of workouts into cycles: "macro, meso, micro." (12:30) Another way of saying this is: to change things up to keep things fresh. Vinnie goes deeper, using his 2-day routine as an example. (15:00) Periodization is a way to build strength by focusing on different parts of the body. (19:00) Another approach Vinnie uses is in his aerobic exercise. (23:00) Depending on his goal, Vinnie changes things up. How do you know when you should mix things up? (33:00) When you're not seeing much change happening in your strength, or when you're getting bored. (39:00) There is such a thing as changing things up too frequently as well. (41:00) If you feel like you are not making progress, it may actually be time to let up for a little bit, not necessarily grind harder. Did you miss it?: The NSNG® VIP group closed, but you can get onto the waitlist for next time by signing up at https://www.nsngvip.com/join. A New Sponsor Jaspr Air Scrubbers has a discount code, VINNIE, that gets you $300 off for a limited time. Jaspr offers a lifetime warranty. Go to Jaspr.co for more information or to purchase. (1:05:00) You can book a consultation with Vinnie to get guidance on your goals. https://vinnietortorich.com/phone-consultation-2/ More News Serena has added some of her clothing suggestions and beauty product suggestions to Vinnie's Amazon Recommended Products link. Self Care, Beauty, and Grooming Products that Actually Work! https://www.amazon.com/shop/vinnietortorich/list/3GPVU29UHHPMY?ref_=aipsflist Don't forget to check out Serena Scott Thomas on Days of Our Lives on the Peacock channel. "Dirty Keto" is available on Amazon! You can purchase or rent it here.https://amzn.to/4d9agj1 Please make sure to watch, rate, and review it! Eat Happy Italian, Anna's next cookbook, is available! You can go to https://eathappyitalian.com You can order it from Vinnie's Book Club. https://amzn.to/3ucIXm Anna's recipes are in her cookbooks, on her website, and on Substack —they will spice up your day! https://annavocino.substack.com/ PURCHASE DIRTY KETO (2024) The documentary launched in August 2024! Order it TODAY! This is Vinnie's fourth documentary in just over five years. Visit my new Documentaries HQ to find my films everywhere: https://vinnietortorich.com/documentaries Then, please share my fact-based, health-focused documentary series with your friends and family. Additionally, the more views it receives, the better it ranks, so please watch it again with a new friend! REVIEWS: Please submit your REVIEW after you watch my films. Your positive REVIEW does matter! PURCHASE BEYOND IMPOSSIBLE (2022) Visit my new Documentaries HQ to find my films everywhere: https://vinnietortorich.com/documentaries REVIEWS: Please submit your REVIEW after you watch my films. Your positive REVIEW does matter! FAT: A DOCUMENTARY 2 (2021) Visit my new Documentaries HQ to find my films everywhere: https://vinnietortorich.com/documentaries FAT: A DOCUMENTARY (2019) Visit my new Documentaries HQ to find my films everywhere: https://vinnietortorich.com/documentaries

Watch the YouTube version of this episode HEREAre you looking for a tool to help support your staff and your business? In this episode of The Maximum Lawyer Podcast, host Tyson Mutrux shares his personal journey with the Kolbe assessment. Tyson discusses the differences between his initial and later Kolbe results and how understanding instinctive energy can improve leadership and team dynamics. Tyson shares some insights on using the Kolbe assessment and his lessons learned. Kolbe measures how you instinctively take action when you are faced with an issue. Instincts are deep rooted and can change over time, which can lead to different scores for those that take the assessment. For law firm owners, many issues are people driven.This can range from someone not doing a good enough job or just causing problems for your firm. This is ultimately an alignment issue and the assessment can be used to decide how to restructure your firm to ensure people are working in ways that benefit themselves and the business.Depending on the assessment results, you might need to re-align roles with strengths. This can be challenging because you don't want to change the way your firm runs. But, you can figure out how to align roles and strengths as much as possible to improve productivity. Look at how your firm operates, where people might need more support and find ways to shift your structure. This will improve happiness and uphold retention for your firm.Listen in to learn more!5:56 Understanding What Kolbe Measures 11:25 Energy Placement vs. Preference17:53 Aligning Roles with Strengths 22:35 Reducing Friction and Improving Culture 28:41 Letting People Work Their WayTune in to today's episode and checkout the full show notes here.  Resources:Join the Guild MembershipSubscribe to the Maximum Lawyer Youtube ChannelFollow us on InstagramJoin the Facebook GroupFollow the Facebook PageFollow us on LinkedIn

Jessica Pierce and Mark Bekoff discuss a thought experiment regarding dogs in a post-human world, suggesting dogs will not physically revert to wolves but will adopt wolf-like social structures and pack behaviors depending on available prey, viewing themselves as fluid ecosystem participants.1828 ENGLISH SPRINGERS

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