Podcasts about designing

At 21, Cody Berman appeared on ChooseFI as a college student discovering financial independence. Three years later, he retired at 26. Now 30 with a $5 million net worth, he's back to reveal exactly how he compressed a decades-long journey into a three-year sprint—and why the same principles work whether you're 25 or 55. The Journey from 22 to FI at 26 00:05:30 Cody's path to financial independence was methodical and aggressive. Between ages 22 and 25, he experimented with over 20 side hustles, scaling his income from $96K to more than $400K annually. The key? He kept expenses locked at just $24K per year—creating a massive gap of $625K over three years. That gap fueled three wealth-building engines: $500K in stock market investments (VOO, VTSAX, VTI) 13 rental properties generating $3,700/month in passive income Digital products businesses producing $10K/month By his 26th birthday, Cody had achieved "cashflow FI"—his passive income streams covered living expenses without touching his investment portfolio. The Psychology of Financial Independence 00:18:00 Brad and Cody explore why some people achieve FI while others with similar incomes stay stuck. The answer isn't math—it's psychology and awareness. Cody attributes his success to having a clear destination. When you know exactly where you're going and why it matters, spending $100 on something that doesn't serve that destination becomes harder than saying no. The infamous "second marshmallow" experiment demonstrates this: delaying gratification becomes easier when you're aware of what you're trading for. As Cody puts it: "Earn more, spend less, invest the gap. Very simple. That is financial independence in a nutshell." Passive Income Reality Check 00:28:00 Let's demolish the myth of truly passive income. Cody manages 13 rental properties—but spends just 4-5 hours per month on them. This represents the spectrum of passive income: not zero effort, but minimal effort relative to the returns. The secret? Working in seasons rather than constant hustle mode. Some months require more attention (tenant turnover, maintenance issues), while others are nearly hands-off. Cody's businesses also follow this pattern—periods of intense development followed by relative autopilot. Brad reinforces this with math: "Every $100 a month you can cut out of your budget is $30,000 less you need in your FI number." Over 20 years, that $100/month compounds to $60K invested. That's a $90K swing from a single optimization. Designing the Perfect Tuesday 00:42:00 Forget exotic vacations—FI is about winning on a random Tuesday. Cody and Lauren's ideal weekday reveals what financial independence actually looks like: Morning: Wake naturally, coffee together, workout (him: gym; her: Pilates), shower, work on creative projects they enjoy Midday: Lunch together, afternoon walk in their neighborhood, separate time for individual pursuits Evening: Dinner together, reading, quality time before bed Nothing dramatic. No yachts. Just complete autonomy over every hour of a normal day. They maintain this through monthly alignment meetings—typically at a restaurant over a nice meal—covering: Money and real estate Health and fitness Travel plans Relationships (with a safe space to address concerns) Friends and family A rotating category Goals for the next month They also record an annual video reviewing the year, creating a time capsule of their journey. Post-FI Life and the Book 00:58:00 What actually happens when you achieve FI? Cody shares the uncomfortable truth: "Anything that you say that you want to do and that you don't do is a Cody problem. Before FI, you can blame things on time. You can blame things on money." When those excuses disappear, you're left facing yourself. That can be liberating and terrifying. His new book, Retire by Thirty, addresses this and more. Like Tim Ferriss's The Four Hour Workweek, the title is provocative but the principles are universal. Whether you compress your FI journey from 50-55, 33…

What if falling asleep has less to do with forcing your mind to be quiet, and more to do with giving it a gentle place to land? In this deeply calming conversation, Darin sits down with author, meditation teacher, and creator of the wildly successful Nothing Much Happens sleep podcast, Kathryn Nicolai. With more than 200 million downloads, Kathryn has helped millions of people quiet anxious minds, overcome insomnia, and rediscover rest through the ancient power of storytelling. Together they explore the neuroscience of storytelling, why our brains crave safe narratives before sleep, the role of the Default Mode Network in anxiety, how sensory-rich stories calm the nervous system, and why creating inner safety may be one of the most powerful wellness practices available. Kathryn also shares the moving personal story that inspired her to finally pursue her lifelong dream of becoming a writer after the death of a close friend, and how that decision changed millions of lives. This conversation is a beautiful reminder that healing doesn't always come through doing more, it often begins by feeling safe enough to simply rest. What You'll Learn Why storytelling naturally calms the nervous system How Nothing Much Happens grew into a global sleep phenomenon The neuroscience behind sensory-rich storytelling Why anxious minds need a "safe job" before sleep How bedtime stories shift the brain out of the Default Mode Network The connection between storytelling, meditation, and nervous system regulation Why creativity begins with feeling psychologically safe Kathryn's powerful story of pursuing her dream after losing a close friend How beginner's mind and play unlock creativity Why perfectionism keeps people from living fully How restorative storytelling helps trauma survivors feel safe Why cultivating internal safety transforms every area of life Chapters 00:00:00 – Welcome to SuperLife 00:00:33 – Sponsor: Alchemist Paint and creating healthier homes 00:03:25 – Introducing Kathryn Nicolai 00:04:04 – The neuroscience of sleep and storytelling 00:05:27 – Kathryn's journey from yoga teacher to sleep pioneer 00:06:37 – Learning to soothe herself through bedtime stories 00:07:51 – Launching Nothing Much Happens 00:08:35 – Why storytelling became a universal sleep solution 00:09:22 – Stories as tools for healing and transformation 00:10:20 – Why storytelling is ancient medicine 00:11:08 – Community, connection, and feeling safe 00:12:30 – Why podcasts satisfy our need for human connection 00:13:19 – How success transformed Kathryn's creativity 00:14:07 – The dying friend's message that changed her life forever 00:15:40 – Discovering confidence through creative practice 00:17:02 – Why fear keeps us from pursuing our dreams 00:18:18 – Millions of lives changed through one bold decision 00:19:32 – New creative projects and expanding the vision 00:20:23 – Writing On the Street Where You Live 00:21:35 – Sponsor: Shakeology 00:23:22 – Technology, phones, and meeting people where they are 00:24:19 – Building a community through storytelling 00:25:04 – Why play may be the shortest path to transformation 00:26:59 – What true psychological safety really means 00:28:23 – Creating stories where everyone belongs 00:29:30 – Cultivating internal safety instead of waiting for it 00:30:47 – Restorative witnessing and rewriting old narratives 00:31:48 – Planting hopeful stories into the subconscious 00:32:31 – Powerful listener stories and healing through sleep 00:33:38 – Helping children, trauma survivors, and hospice patients 00:35:15 – Letting go of perfectionism 00:36:34 – Why comparison steals joy 00:38:07 – The trap of endless self-optimization 00:39:17 – Beginner's mind and giving yourself permission to try 00:41:03 – Escaping subconscious programming 00:42:34 – Dreaming bigger than you've ever dreamed before 00:44:15 – Why Kathryn became passionate about sleep 00:47:05 – Creating a softer place for the human mind 00:48:26 – Finding the gap—and having the courage to fill it 00:50:19 – The role Kathryn's parents played in building confidence 00:53:04 – Designing stories that naturally quiet the mind 00:55:11 – Why sensory details help us become present 00:56:20 – Safety, tears, and nervous system release 00:57:20 – Speaking the language of the body 00:58:03 – The future of Nothing Much Happens 01:00:07 – Helping people reconnect through storytelling 01:02:49 – Meditation, observation, and calming the mind 01:04:13 – New books, the upcoming app, and final reflections 01:05:05 – Closing thoughts Thank You to Our Sponsors: Shakeology: Get 15% off with code DARINO1BODI at Shakeology.com. Alkemis: Go to https://alkemispaint.com/ and use code DARIN10 for 10% off your order. Join the Superlife Community: Get Darin's deeper wellness breakdowns — beyond social media restrictions: Weekly voice notes Ingredient deep dives Wellness challenges Energy + consciousness tools Community accountability Extended episodes Join for $7.49/month → https://patreon.com/darinolien Find More from Kathryn Nicolai Website: nothingmuchhappens.com Instagram: @iamkathrynnicolai Book: Nothing Much Happens Podcast: Nothing Much Happens Podcast Find More from Darin Olien: Website: darinolien.com Instagram: @darinolien Book: Fatal Conveniences Platform & Products: superlife.com New Show: Roadmap to Happiness Key Takeaway "Rest isn't something we force: it emerges when the nervous system finally feels safe enough to let go. Through storytelling, imagination, sensory awareness, and gentle presence, we can interrupt anxious thought loops, cultivate inner safety, and reconnect with the creativity, peace, and wonder that have always lived within us. Sometimes the most profound healing begins not by doing more, but by allowing ourselves to simply be." 

A Note from James:Mark Pincus is one of the true OGs of the internet. You probably know him as the founder of Zynga, the company behind FarmVille, Zynga Poker, and Words With Friends. Zynga was eventually acquired by Take-Two in a transaction valued at approximately $12.7 billion. Before Zynga, Mark started Tribe, one of the first social networks—before MySpace and Facebook. He has spent more than 25 years building, failing, and studying what gets millions of people to click, play, share, and come back. His new book, Life at the Speed of Play, inspired me to start coming up with new business ideas while we were still recording.What I really love is how Mark teaches people to copy like a master without looking like a copycat. He has a framework called “Proven–Better–New.” Start with something that has already been proven. Make it obviously better. Then isolate the new idea you want to test. It's one of the best systems I've heard for creating products people actually want.We talk about the early days of Facebook and MySpace, the failure of Tribe, the gaming industry, consumer psychology, AI coding, and how agents could eventually network and work for us while we're doing something else.I loved talking with Mark. I was still thinking about this conversation afterward—and I'm literally building businesses based on what I learned. His new book is called Life at the Speed of Play. Listen to this episode, and then read the book.Episode Description:Most founders begin with an idea and then spend months—or years—trying to prove that people want it. Mark Pincus thinks that process is backward.At Zynga, Mark's teams built “failure machines”: simple systems that allowed them to test hundreds of concepts before writing the code. They put unfinished ideas in front of real users, watched what people clicked, and refused to build anything until the demand was obvious. The objective wasn't to avoid failure. It was to make failure fast, cheap, and useful.Mark explains the framework behind that process: Proven–Better–New. First, study an existing success down to every screen, click, and design decision. Then identify one improvement that current users would immediately recognize as better. Only after that should a team add the unproven idea—the part most likely to fail.James and Mark also examine the problems facing today's consumer entrepreneurs. AI has made software easier to build, but distribution has become harder. People aren't searching for new apps, established platforms restrict organic growth, and algorithmic reach isn't the same as users actively sharing something with friends.Mark uses the failure of his early social network, Tribe, to explain why virality is not enough. Tribe grew quickly but lacked retention and trust. He ignored the communities users loved because they didn't match the business model he had already chosen. That painful mistake became the foundation for much of his later product philosophy.The conversation ends with Mark's current experiments: personal AI agents modeled after members of his family, a proposed work network built specifically for agents, an enterprise AI company called Hivemind, and the difficult decision to end a four-year passion project without abandoning the instinct behind it.This is a practical conversation about testing ideas, separating instinct from ego, learning from the past, and killing the wrong product before it consumes the right opportunity.What You'll Learn:How to build a failure machine: Test headlines, offers, videos, and fake doors before investing in a finished product.How to apply Proven–Better–New: Begin with a proven behavior, make one unmistakable improvement, and isolate the risky innovation.Why distribution is now harder than development: AI can generate a prototype quickly, but it cannot guarantee attention, trust, or adoption.Why Tribe failed despite rapid growth: Virality without retention, safety, and alignment with user behavior does not create a lasting network.How to copy without becoming a copycat: Study successful products at the pixel level, preserve what works, and innovate only where it matters.When to abandon an idea: Preserve the underlying instinct, but stop funding the particular expression of it when the evidence turns against you.How AI agents may change networking: Agents could eventually search for opportunities, exchange work, build reputations, and bring useful leads back to their users.Timestamped Chapters: [02:00] Finding the “OMFG” Moment [02:58] A Note from James [05:00] Build a Failure Machine Before Building a Product [06:25] Testing Demand With Fake Doors and Broken Links [08:08] Writing Copy That People Actually Notice [10:52] Test More Ideas in a Week Than the Industry Tests in a Year [11:53] Why Neglected Products Become Innovation Labs [13:26] How Mobile Apps Slowed Product Experimentation [15:09] Can AI Bring Rapid Testing Back? [17:08] Why Consumer Technology Feels Uninvestable [18:38] The 90/10 Rule for Investable Platforms [20:08] Why Nobody Downloads New Apps Anymore [21:20] Franchises, “Spicy New,” and Healthy Platforms [23:21] The Internet's Lost Cocktail Party [27:58] Why Tribe Failed While Facebook Won [30:26] Virality Without Trust or Retention [31:31] Ignoring What Tribe's Users Actually Wanted [33:22] Facebook, Raya, and Designing for Trust [35:03] Social Networks as Lead-Generation Engines [37:12] Facebook, Instagram, and the App Nobody Knew It Wanted [37:51] Net Promoter Scores and the Feeling of Quitting a Drug [40:25] Algorithmic Virality vs. People Sharing With Friends [42:00] Building Products That Help People Create [43:47] What Entrepreneurs Should Build With AI [44:54] The Proven–Better–New Framework [47:12] What “Obviously Better” Actually Means [48:25] Why “All New Fails” [50:23] Zynga Poker and the Power of Removing One Click [52:00] What AI Does Well—and Where Humans Still Matter [54:25] Picasso, Slack, and Copying the Past [55:11] Adding Fun to Boring Enterprise Products [57:39] The Moral Arbitrage of Killing Your Ego [57:58] How to Copy Without Looking Like a Copy [59:10] Why Old Internet Mechanics Keep Returning [01:00:16] Anonymous Social Apps With an AI Twist [01:01:17] Don't Invent a New Business—Reinvent a Big One [01:02:00] Test 20 Variants Before Building One [01:02:58] Mark's Frustrating Experiments With AI Coding [01:05:29] Creating a Personal Team of AI Agents [01:07:57] Killing a Four-Year Passion Project [01:09:29] The “Social Membrane” of the Agentic Internet [01:09:57] Building a Work Network for AI Agents [01:12:16] Hivemind and the Human Side of Enterprise AI [01:13:52] Missing Twitch—and Knowing Your Zone [01:15:06] Why the Gaming Industry Still Isn't Social Enough [01:16:30] Chess Ratings, Competition, and Mark's Daughter [01:19:19] Writing Life at the Speed of Play [01:21:18] Don't Chase Every New Technology Race [01:22:05] Final ThoughtsAdditional Resources:Mark Pincus and the BookLife at the Speed of Play — official websiteLife at the Speed of Play — HarperCollins — published June 23, 2026. Mark Pincus on X — the account Mark recommends for updates on his agent-network experiments. Mark Pincus on LinkedIn Mark's interview about open-sourcing Stem Studio Zynga, Games, and Product ExamplesZynga's company history — covers its launch as a Facebook poker project and the development of FarmVille, CityVille, and Words With Friends. Words With Friends FarmVille Take-Two and Zynga acquisition announcement — the transaction carried an enterprise value of approximately $12.7 billion. Tribe.net history — the early social network Mark analyzes as a major product failure. Raya — the private community Mark discusses as an example of building trust through curation. Grow a Garden on Roblox See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

GG Hawkins speaks with production designer Vivian Gray about building the visual world of Obsession, from Southern Gothic references and texture-heavy interiors to practical blood gags and micro-budget problem-solving. They discuss what a production designer actually does, how Gray collaborated with the director, cinematographer, costume designer, and art team, and why color, texture, aging, and window treatments can make a major difference on an indie horror film. In this episode, No Film School's GG Hawkins and guest Vivian Gray discuss... What a production designer does and how the role shapes the visual world of a film How Vivian Gray landed the job on Obsession through a recommendation and visual pitch deck Building the film's Southern Gothic and Midwestern Gothic-inspired visual language Why production designers should come onto a project as early as possible Collaborating with cinematography, costumes, props, set decoration, lighting, and graphic design How a small indie crew used hands-on collaboration to make the film's world feel cohesive Designing horror environments through texture, color, maximalism, and unease Practical lessons from blood gags, aging props, window treatments, and set dressing The highest-impact production design choices for micro-budget filmmakers Vivian's advice for aspiring production designers Memorable Quotes: “My job basically is I'm in charge of the visual design of the film and the visual world.” “Because they have nothing to shoot until there's something to shoot, right?” “Everything has to have a texture.” “I think it is color and texture. It's going to make the biggest impacts in your film, from my experience.” Guests: Vivian Gray Resources: Obsession on IMDb Universal Studios Prop House & Drapery The Hand Prop Room Find No Film School everywhere: On the Web: No Film School Facebook: No Film School on Facebook Twitter: No Film School on Twitter YouTube: No Film School on YouTube Instagram: No Film School on Instagram

Would you like access to our advanced agency training for FREE? https://www.agencymastery360.com/training Are you still inside every client relationship because no one on your team has been given the room to own one? Have you hired people who look great on paper only to later discover the skills do not actually transfer? Today's featured guest built her agency deliberately, one client at a time, carrying systems from her years at L'Oréal before anyone told her those systems would matter. She talks about how she structured accountability on her team from the beginning, how she filters out candidates who cannot think without AI holding their hand, and why she stopped caring about working with the sexiest beauty brands and started caring about working with the right ones. Mimi Banks is the founder and CEO of MB Social, a New York-based social media agency specializing in beauty. She spent years at L'Oréal, where she was among the first people to build social media infrastructure at the company, then moved to a Paris-based startup before eventually launching MB Social. Her team of 25 now handles social strategy, community management, and content for beauty brands across the market. In this episode, we'll discuss: Starting off with a vision on accountable vs responsible Can your team do 80% of what you do? Then you're set Why she stopped chasing the wrong clients Subscribe Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio Sponsors and Resources E2M Solutions: Today's episode of the Smart Agency Masterclass is sponsored by E2M Solutions, a web design and development agency that has provided white-label services for the past 10 years to agencies all over the world. Check out e2msolutions.com/smartagency and get 10% off for the first three months of service. Building From the Beginning with Systems, Not Just Instinct Mimi came into agency ownership with something most founders spend years trying to build after the fact: a working model for how things should get done. Her time creating social media infrastructure at L'Oréal gave her a process orientation before she had a team to apply it to. When she started bringing people on at MB Social, the systems came with her. The ways of working, the documentation, the clarity around who was responsible versus who was accountable: those were in place because she had already built them once somewhere else. For instance, she started off with clarity on the distinction between responsible and accountable. She positioned herself as accountable from day one while making sure there was always a specific person responsible for each piece of work. That structure kept her from becoming the default executor on everything, which is the trap most founders walk into when they hire without clarifying ownership. The 80 Percent Standard That Actually Frees You Mimi is far enough along in her evolution that she no longer reviews most of what her team produces. She trusts the people leading each department to make judgment calls without routing them upward. Getting there required learning to live with the gap between what she would do and what her team does, and deciding that gap was acceptable. This is a framing every mastermind member knows: if your team does 80 percent of what you would do, that is good enough. Because you cannot do a hundred percent of everything, and the cost of trying is that you stay in the operator role indefinitely. The coaching method Mimi asks her leadership team to apply is asking questions. Similar to the Mastermind's 1-3-1 method, it's basically about asking questions that will help your team come up with options they have already considered, which leads to them coming up with the solution on their own. Do that enough times and the team stops treating the founder as the answer key. Hiring for Beauty When Everyone Says They Know Social The challenge Mimi keeps running into in hiring is the gap between what candidates say they can do and what the work actually requires. Social media for enterprise beauty brands is not the same skill as posting on a personal Instagram. The strategy is more complex, the client demands are higher, and the responsiveness required is relentless. Candidates do not always know that going in, and some of them figure it out in ways that are expensive to the team. The hiring process she built with Hireflex added a video interview layer with no retry option that filters for candidates willing to do the uncomfortable thing even when it is not required. From there she takes the transcripts, runs them through AI against a scoring rubric tied to the job description, and uses that data alongside her own read to make decisions. What she is testing for is the ability to think, not just to produce a clean output with AI assistance. The perfect presentation that does not match the resume tells her nothing useful. The candidate who works through a problem imperfectly, in their own words, tells her a great deal. Designing the Agency Around the Clients You Actually Want Mimi stopped chasing the sexiest beauty brands. Not because she cannot get them, but because sexy and right are not the same thing. Payment terms that stretch to 120 days, clients who treat the team poorly, brands that want work done yesterday and deliver assets a month late: those are not problems that prestige solves. She now runs the agency with a no bullshit attitude and is quick to address when a client's behavior affects her team. That boundary is what makes it possible to keep the team she has built. The version of client selectivity that actually holds is based on being clear enough on what you are building that you can recognize a client who does not fit before the contract is signed. After all, client relationships are like dating: you have to see if you get along before you commit, because the worst version of a client relationship looks a lot like a bad marriage, and the damage it does to a team is not undone when the contract ends. Do You Want to Transform Your Agency from a Liability to an Asset? Looking to dig deeper into your agency's potential? Check out our Agency Blueprint. Designed for agency owners like you, our Agency Blueprint helps you uncover growth opportunities, tackle obstacles, and craft a customized blueprint for your agency's success.

Text a question to Victoria!Have you ever felt like your entire business lives in your head? Do you know you need to start outsourcing, but worry about being the bottleneck? Jessica Frigon is a Fractional COO and Strategic Operations Architect. She's the founder of HavenOaks, a full-service operational partnership for creative women who are ready for their business to match the standard of the work they deliver. In this episode, Victoria and Jessica have a conversation about what it looks like to get operational support in your business, and why it's so important as you grow. They cover signs your business could be founder-dependent and step-by-step how to build a strong business architecture.If you don't know where to start when it comes to streamlining your business operations, this episode is for you. After listening, you'll be able to identify which systems your business is missing in order to scale—without being the bottleneck. Put your feet up, pour yourself a hot cup of coffee or tea, and get out your notepad for this one, because Jessica is bringing you a crash course on business operations.Links Mentioned in Today's Episode:Watch The Video on YouTubeListen to Victoria's episode on the At Home With Founders PodcastConnect with Jessica on InstagramWork With HavenOaksListen to the At Home With Founders PodcastWork With BrandWell DesignsFor show notes, head to www.thebrandingbusinessschool.com/thepodcast/Show notes for episodes 1-91 can be found at www.brandwelldesigns.com/thepodcast/Follow BrandWell on Instagram. Follow The Branding Business School on Instagram.Save on your first year of Honeybook using this link! Save 50% off your first year of Flodesk using this link! Get $30 off your first month of Nuuly using this link!Get up to $150 off your first box of Factor Meals using this link!

Bart from Cleverscope returns to discuss and show off designing a 2000V isolated oscilloscope, and demonstrates measuring high voltage GaN transistors and Solid State Transformers. https://cleverscope.com/products/CS548 Forum: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-1753-designing-a-2000v-isolated-oscilloscope-(cleverscope)/

In this episode, Caroline, Taryn, and Liz talk with kitchen expert Cyndy Cantley, principal designer of Cantley & Company. Cyndy joins the show to share her wealth of knowledge on building bespoke, beautifully functional kitchens that stand the test of time, drawing from a legendary career that includes a Bon Appétit magazine cover feature early in her business. The hosts pick Cyndy's brain about shifting kitchen trends—from the cringe-worthy pink laminates of the past to modern hyper-functional layouts—and get her top recommendations for cabinetry, countertop materials, and space planning. Embrace the English Inset: To design a kitchen that looks gorgeous decades later, stick to timeless styles like simple English flush inset cabinetry. Limit your options rather than getting overwhelmed by hundreds of trendy door styles. Prioritize Drawers Over Doors: Base cabinets with deep drawers are far superior to standard doors for storage because they eliminate the need to move items in the front to get to the back, making heavy pots and pans completely accessible. The Case for Clear Islands: If space permits, aim for a clean kitchen island devoid of sinks, cooktops, or appliances. An uninterrupted surface creates an ideal multi-use environment for meal prep, serving, homework, and entertaining. Design for Reality, Not a Dream: Avoid tailoring an expensive kitchen remodel around an idealized version of your lifestyle. If you only host formal dinners twice a year, don't sacrifice daily functionality for features meant only for entertaining. The Magic of Real Stone: Don't let builders scare you away from natural marble. It's far more resilient than people think, ages with a beautiful European patina, and chips can easily be blended because it is solid rock. 00:34 – Introduction to kitchen expert Cyndy Cantley. 01:17 – Cyndy's serendipitous start: Designing a show house kitchen that led to a project for award-winning chef Frank Stitt and a Bon Appétit cover. 03:24 – The history of kitchen design trends, from pink Corian and pickled wood to painted finishes. 06:04 – Falling in love with English inset cabinetry and keeping a portfolio timeless. 09:17 – The anatomy of a cabinet door: Rails, styles, and maintaining perfect proportions. 11:16 – Understanding the standard 4-inch toe kick and aligning it with major American appliances. 12:24 – The functionality of wide drawers vs. standard doors and pull-outs. 14:48 – Smart corner solutions: Why swing-out organizers beat old-school lazy Susans. 16:35 – High-value internal inserts worth your budget: Alphabetical spice drawers, dual cutlery organization, and tray dividers. 25:00 – Designing for pets: Incorporating custom dog bowl cubbies built with slab scraps. 28:39 – Smart alternative storage: Utilizing ceiling-height cabinets and 12-to-15-inch deep floor-to-ceiling dish cabinets. 30:36 – Appliance garages, coffee stations, and pocket door mechanics. 36:38 – The truth about microwave placement, microwave drawers, and hidden panel-ready fridges. 47:36 – Countertop deep-dive: Falling in love with marble, managing budgets, and color matching slabs. 55:34 – Choosing kitchen flooring: The warmth of wood vs. traditional cold tiles. 56:45 – Kitchen hardware layout tips: Mixing knobs, drop pulls, and custom backplates. 01:00:06 – Functional spatial rules: Why right-handed cooks should always place dishwashers on the left and trash pull-outs on the right. Mentioned in This Episode Cantley & Company: Cyndy's custom design studio specializing in bespoke cabinetry and space design. Frank Stitt's Kitchen: The career-launching project featured on the cover of Bon Appétit. Calacatta & Carrara Marble: The pros, cons, and budgeting realities of high-movement stones. Instagram: @cantleytoulman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jacob Gibbs and Dan Schneier break down Omarion Hampton.

Welcome to episode 427 of Growers Daily! We cover: we are designing the perfect farm, when to just get rid of a pest- or disease-covered crop, and what my living pathways have taught me about patience. We are a Non-Profit! 

In this episode of Maximize Your Hunt, the host discusses various strategies for improving hunting properties through effective land management and habitat improvement. The conversation covers the importance of cooperation among plants, innovative pruning techniques, and the integration of pioneer species to enhance soil health and biodiversity. The host also shares insights from a master class and emphasizes the significance of designing optimal habitats for deer, ultimately aiming to create a sustainable and productive environment for both wildlife and hunters. In this conversation, the speakers delve into the intricacies of tree planting, pruning techniques, and the importance of creating healthy ecosystems for wildlife, particularly deer. They discuss the significance of timing in pruning, the tools that can be used, and the ecological principles that govern successful land management. The conversation also touches on the role of pioneer species in establishing a thriving habitat and the practical steps one can take to improve deer habitat on their property. Additionally, the speakers highlight the importance of sustainable practices in the nursery business and the benefits of using simple tools like machetes for efficient land management. takeaways The podcast focuses on maximizing hunting properties through land management. Master classes provide hands-on learning experiences for advanced hunting strategies. Cooperation among plants can enhance soil health and biodiversity. Pruning techniques are essential for maintaining tree health and productivity. Integrating pioneer species can improve soil conditions for fruit trees. Pruning can induce new growth and vigor in surrounding plants. Designing habitats with diverse plant species benefits wildlife. High-density plantings can create optimal conditions for deer. Understanding plant relationships is crucial for effective land management. Intensive habitat management can reclaim degraded landscapes. Planting trees can reclaim degraded agricultural land. Pruning is essential for tree health and productivity. Timing of pruning affects tree growth and vigor. Branches contain a high percentage of tree nutrients. Using simple tools can be effective for land management. High-density plantings can reduce vole damage. Creating diverse habitats attracts more wildlife. Pioneer species are crucial for soil health. Establishing a nursery can support sustainable practices. Effective land management benefits both wildlife and humans.   Social Links https://whitetaillandscapes.com/ https://www.facebook.com/whitetaillandscapes/ https://www.instagram.com/whitetail_landscapes/?hl=en Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

For this week's podcast takeover, I'm turning the microphone over to Ivy Slater, host of Her Success Story podcast.   I share the story behind my business journey, the lessons I learned from a failed company, and how generating 112 referrals in my first year as a coach completely changed the direction of my business.   We also discuss building a business that supports your life, creating systems for referrals, and challenging long-held beliefs about how referrals actually work.   Resources and links mentioned in this episode can be found on the show notes page at http://www.staceybrownrandall.com/419

Robert Wright of Nonzero joins Nathan to discuss The God Test, his argument that AI is humanity's “God test” rather than just a technical challenge. They explore his evolutionary lens on deep learning, from training as selection to marketplace selection among models that may reward selectively honest, power-sensing, or deceptive agents. Wright connects those risks to the noosphere, US-China relations, cognitive empathy, and whether global coordination arrives deliberately or through a coercive singleton. The stakes are whether consumers, companies, and governments select for AIs that strengthen non-zero-sum cooperation or race toward systems that reflect and amplify our worst incentives. For full show notes, links, and references, read the episode page:https://www.cognitiverevolution.ai/the-god-we-deserve-nonzero-s-robert-wright-on-ai-as-humanity-s-ultimate-test/ Mercury: Command is Mercury's new conversational interface, giving you natural-language access to your finances and helping you take actions within your existing permissions and approval policies. Visit https://mercury.com to learn more and apply online in minutes. Sponsor: Claude: Claude by Anthropic is an AI collaborator that understands your workflow and helps you tackle research, writing, coding, and organization with deep context. Get started with Claude and explore Claude Pro at https://claude.ai/tcr CHAPTERS: (00:00) About the Episode (04:23) Special Sponsor (06:10) Early AI encounters (18:36) Pretraining as evolution (Part 1) (19:50) Sponsor: Claude (21:42) Pretraining as evolution (Part 2) (32:19) Deceptive market pressures (41:13) Noosphere and directionality (51:02) Global brain choices (01:08:23) Designing wiser models (01:24:11) Reframing China relations (01:37:57) Building organic transparency (01:45:54) Positive nationalism and tools (01:54:21) Pausing superintelligence races (02:09:07) Applications and consciousness (02:25:27) Episode Outro (02:28:27) Outro PRODUCED BY: https://aipodcast.ing SOCIAL LINKS: Website: https://www.cognitiverevolution.ai Twitter (Podcast): https://x.com/cogrev_podcast Twitter (Nathan): https://x.com/labenz LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/nathanlabenz/ Youtube: https://youtube.com/@CognitiveRevolutionPodcast Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/the-cognitive-revolution-ai-builders-researchers-and/id1669813431 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6yHyok3M3BjqzR0VB5MSyk

Twenty years ago, Abraham Burickson and his collaborators asked a simple question: what if a work of art were designed for just one person? Instead of creating experiences for the masses, they spent months crafting deeply personal journeys for an audience of one. That experiment grew into a new way of thinking about design, participation, and transformation. In this revisited episode, Dart and Abraham discuss what those lessons can teach us about management, why experience cannot be fully designed, and how organizations can become platforms for people to create meaning together.Abraham Burickson is an author, speaker, and experience designer who has spent more than two decades exploring how designed experiences can transform people. He is the co-founder and Artistic Director of Odyssey Works and the author of Experience Design: A Participatory Manifesto.In this episode, Dart and Abraham discuss:- How to create a transformative experience for a single individual- Can managers be experience designers?- Why experience is not designable- How to implement experience design at work- Baking experiences within static products- Designing for transformation- Work as a shared experience- The origin story and myths of organizations- And other topics…Abraham Burickson is an author, experience designer, and artist who has spent more than two decades exploring how design shapes human experience. He is the co-founder and Artistic Director of Odyssey Works, where he creates immersive performances for audiences of one, and co-directs the Experience Design Certificate Program. Trained in architecture at Cornell University, his work spans art, design, education, and consulting. He is the author of Experience Design: A Participatory Manifesto and co-author of Odyssey Works: Transformative Experiences for an Audience of One.Resources mentioned:Experience Design, by Abraham Burickson: https://www.amazon.com/Experience-Design-Participatory-Abraham-Burickson/dp/0300269471Odyssey Works, by Abraham Burickson: https://www.amazon.com/Odyssey-Works-Transformative-Experiences-Audience/dp/1616895152The Anatomy of Genres, by John Truby: https://www.amazon.com/Anatomy-Genres-Story-Forms-Explain/dp/0374539227Connect with Abraham:https://www.abrahamburickson.com/https://www.owprograms.com/Work with Dart:Dart is the CEO and co-founder of the work design firm 11fold. Build work that makes employees feel alive, connected to their work, and focused on what's most important to the business. Book a call at 11fold.com.

If you've ever wondered how a dying loved one's request could become a calling, episode 440 of Grief and Happiness is for you. Ceramic artist Rae Delai shares how a promise to her dying aunt led her to leave nursing and open White Lily Urns, crafting memorial pieces — including a teapot urn for a young woman lost to anorexia and a reef urn that becomes part of the ocean.In This Episode, You Will Learn:(00:55) Rae's path from 30 years in nursing to becoming a full-time ceramic artist(01:27) How her dying aunt's request for an urn led to White Lily Urns(08:30) Why Australian culture — and even most potters — avoid making urns(13:54) The meditative discipline of clay: why you can't create while angry(14:33) How clients find Rae's work and why most of her urns ship overseas(16:38) The personal stories behind her urns, including a dragon urn for a teen who died by suicide(19:00) Designing a custom teapot urn for a young woman who died of anorexia(22:26) Why ceramics are like crystals — and the surprises every kiln firing brings(24:28) How grieving clients choose an urn in the moment, without overthinking it(25:40) The reef-friendly urn Rae created for her own grief, built to become part of a coral reefRae Delai is the ceramic artist behind White Lily Urns, a memorial pottery studio in Atherton, Far North Queensland, Australia. After 30 years as a nurse in intensive care, midwifery, and palliative care, she took up pottery as a creative outlet — and when her dying aunt asked her to make an urn for her ashes, Rae found few handmade options existed in Australia. That gap led her to leave nursing for a full-time business making custom urns, capturing each loved one's story with input from families. She now sells through her website and Etsy as White Lily Urns, shipping worldwide.On the episode, Rae drew on her nursing background and her craft to discuss death, grief, and the comfort of creating something meaningful from loss. She described Australians' general discomfort with death, even among potters, and how nursing taught her to sit with grieving families without absorbing their pain. She shared personal projects: a teapot urn for a young woman who died of anorexia, a dragon-faced urn for a teen who died by suicide, and a reef urn made for her own grief that dissolves into the ocean. She closed on the centeredness clay demands and the realities of running her business alone.Connect with Rae Delai:WebsiteLinkedInInstagramFacebookYouTubeXPinterestLet's Connect: WebsiteLinkedInFacebookInstagramTwitterPinterestThe Grief and Happiness AllianceBook: Emily Thiroux Threatt - Loving and Living Your Way Through Grief Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

JOIN THE ACADEMY!! FOR A LIMITED TIME, VISIT CONCRETESCHOOL.CO FOR YOUR FREE ACCESS!! CONCRETESCHOOL.COON THIS EPISODE OF THE CONCRETE LOGIC PODCASTShould we really design concrete infrastructure for 75 to 100 years?In this episode, Seth is joined by Dr. Jon Belkowitz to question one of civil engineering's favorite ideas: the 100-year design life.Using Hoboken, New Jersey as the example, Seth and Jon talk about what happens when old infrastructure has to serve a city that no longer looks, moves, or functions the way it did when that infrastructure was built.The issue is not just whether the concrete lasts.The bigger question is whether the original decision still makes sense.Jon argues that the industry should stop designing only for age and start designing around use, performance, maintenance cycles, and accountability.Maybe a 20-year design life with zero maintenance is harder, and more honest, than a 100-year design life nobody is around to answer for.WHAT YOU'LL LEARN· Why Dr. Jon Belkowitz questions the 100-year design life· What Hoboken, New Jersey teaches us about old infrastructure· Why designing for time may not be the same as designing for use· The difference between design life and maintenance life· Why a 20-year, zero-maintenance target may be harder than a 100-year target· How infrastructure decisions made today can trap future generations· Why compressive strength is not enough to define concrete performance· How sensors, inspections, and data could change infrastructure maintenance· What pavement condition index means and why timing matters· Why Roman concrete is not always a fair comparison for modern infrastructure· Why Jon says we should design for decision cycles instead of ageCHAPTERS00:00 Introduction and support for the show 04:55 Rethinking 100-year design life 07:39 Why designing for time may be the wrong approach 09:57 Seth pushes back on whether we already design shorter than we admit 11:11 Hoboken as a case study 14:13 The 20-year, zero-maintenance idea 15:00 Performance, sensors, and maintenance systems 16:15 Pavement condition index and the cost of waiting 17:45 Why Roman concrete is not the right comparison 18:08 Bridge inspection and infrastructure careers 22:56 Building on top of old Hoboken infrastructure 26:14 Why predicting 100 years out is almost impossible 28:59 Final takeaways: design for decisions, not ageGUEST INFODr. Jon Belkowitz Intelligent ConcreteGuest link: https://www.concretelogicpodcast.com/guests/jon-belkowitz/CONCRETE LOGIC ACADEMYThe people who understand concrete are the people who get listened to.Not the loudest person in the meeting.Not the guy repeating what he heard ten years ago.Not the person blaming every problem on the latest material change.The person who understands the “why” behind the concrete usually has the most valuable voice in the room.That is what Concrete Logic Academy is built for.You get practical concrete education, PDH courses, and real-world lessons pulled from the same topics we cover on the Concrete Logic Podcast.Design life changes. Materials change. Specs change. Owners change their minds. Infrastructure ages.Your knowledge needs to keep up.Start learning here: https://www.concretelogicpodcast.com/concreteschoolSUPPORT THE PODCASTIf the Concrete Logic Podcast gives you value, send a little value back.You can support the show here: https://www.concretelogicpodcast.com/support/You can also support the show through our KUIU affiliate link: https://www.concretelogicpodcast.com/kuiuInterested in sponsoring the podcast or working with Concrete Logic Media?Email Seth: seth@concretelogicpodcast.comCREDITSProducers: Tom Cummings, Jodi Tandett and Concrete Logic MediaMusic by: Mike Dunton https://www.mdunton.com/WHERE TO FIND SETHConcrete Logic Podcast: https://www.concretelogicpodcast.com/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@concretelogicpodcastLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seth-tandett/Concrete Logic Academy: https://www.concretelogicacademy.com/Until next time, let's keep it concrete.

Are you tired of fighting over the same high-equity lists as every other investor in your market? In this episode, Brent Daniels sits down with Rob Schimmenti, a relentless real estate entrepreneur from Queens, New York, who has generated an astounding $3 million in profits using one simple, traditional strategy, which is Driving for Dollars. Rob breaks down exactly how he built a massive, untouchable database of over 41,000 highly distressed properties by manually scouring the streets and targeting the ugliest houses in his area. Rob also shares his complete blueprint, including his unique job-posting framework for hiring top-tier commission-only cold callers, why he transitioned from wholesaling to flipping massive hoarder houses, and the specific trust-based direct mail designs that are doubling his callback rates. Stop searching for the easy button, get in your car, and start building true wealth. Be a part of the TTP training program now.---------Show notes:(0:00) Beginning of today's episode(1:15) Introducing Rob Schimmenti and his $3 million driving for dollars success story(2:57) Adding 1,500 to 2,000 highly distressed properties to the database every single month(4:06) Understanding the fundamental strategy and visual criteria of driving for dollars(5:52) Dramatically reducing marketing expenses and eliminating competition with manual lists(7:23) How to successfully structure and pay commission-only cold callers for lead generation(9:26) Using a powerful job posting framework and video screening to find the perfect hires(13:53) Why transitioning from traditional wholesaling to flipping can yield massive profits(15:18) The critical importance of understanding construction lingo when managing contractors(17:33) Designing large, custom trust-based direct mail pieces to double callback rates(19:49) Utilizing BatchLeads for high-quality skip tracing and efficient single-line dialing(22:22) Breaking down Rob's very first miraculous deal that proved the driving concept(25:52) Turning your vehicle into a mobile university for continuous real estate education(27:21) Analyzing a $150,000 Mastic Beach hoarder house that netted a $95,000 profit----------Resources:DealMachineBatchLeadsBiggerPocketsRob's Website: Fliplaunch.comBrent's Free Blueprint: Wholesalinglaunch.comRob Schimmenti on Instagram: @robschimmentiBrent Daniels on Instagram: @realbrentdanielsTo speak with Brent or one of our other expert coaches call (281) 835-4201 or schedule your free discovery call here to learn about our mentorship programs and become part of the TribeGo to Wholesalingincgroup.com to become part of one of the fastest growing Facebook communities in the Wholesaling space. Get all of your burning Wholesaling questions answered, gain access to JV partnerships, and connect with other "success minded" Rhinos in the community.It's 100% free to join. The opportunities in this community  are endless, what are you waiting for?

Freddie is back from Italy and he has something to say about rest. Not the kind where you check your phone less — real, full untethering from your life, your obligations, your identity as a health entrepreneur. Two weeks of pasta, espresso, cannolis, and walking a hundred miles through Florence, Rome, and Sardinia. And what he came back with wasn't a protocol. It was a perspective shift as powerful as any medicine he's ever taken. In this solo episode he unpacks what Italian culture actually showed him about time, community, meals as ceremony, and why the absence of chronic illness paranoia in that culture might be saying something profound about the relationship between stress, belief, and biological terrain. He also gets honest about the financial design choices that make a trip like this possible — and why he thinks more people could engineer that kind of freedom than they realize. The second half of this episode is a love letter to MagnaCon — the l PEMF conference hosted by MagnaWave and AuraWell in Louisville, Kentucky, where Freddie served as emcee for 500 practitioners, scientists, veterinarians, and wellness enthusiasts celebrating FDA Class II cleared PEMF technology. From touring the US-made AuraWell factory to watching speakers share stories of Kentucky Derby horses healed from the brink, Freddie describes it as one of the most genuinely full experiences of his professional life. He closes with sponsor love for SilverBiotics — his travel immune staple across five international flights — and a personal update on the LightPath LED Orange Torch and intranasal red light therapy, which has been producing HRV and sleep score improvements that are hard to explain and impossible to ignore. Use code BEAUTIFULLYBROKEN for discounts at silverbiotics.com and lightpathled.com.   Episode Highlights [01:42] – What Italy revealed about food, culture, and living at a different pace [02:49] – Why a true vacation felt as powerful as any wellness intervention [04:20] – The cultural lessons Freddie observed around meals, community, and presence [07:46] – How stepping away from daily life creates clarity and perspective [09:05] – Designing a lifestyle that allows freedom, travel, and flexibility [09:53] – A deeply personal reflection on gratitude and recovery after years of digestive challenges [11:05] – The opportunity to host MagnaCon and why Freddie initially hesitated [13:31] – How PEMF technology became a turning point in his own healing journey [15:07] – What made MagnaCon one of the most impactful wellness events he has attended [17:14] – The power of community, shared purpose, and leaving an event feeling energized [18:03] – Touring the MagnaWave and AuraWell facilities and seeing wellness technology built from the inside out   Upgrade Your Health LightPathLED: https://lightpathled.pxf.io/c/3438432/2059835/25794 Code: beautifullybroken AURAWELL PEMF + Magnawave: https://calendly.com/cameron-ci3b/podcast Silver Biotics Wound Healing Gel: https://bit.ly/3JnxyDD 30% off with Code: BEAUTIFULLYBROKEN MaxGen Labs: https://maxgenlabs.com/BEAUTIFULLYBROKEN Code: beautifullybroken BEAM Minerals: http://beamminerals.com/beautifullybroken Code: BEAUTIFULLYBROKEN   CONNECT WITH FREDDIEWork with Me: https://www.beautifullybroken.world/biological-blueprintWebsite and Store: (http://www.beautifullybroken.world) Instagram: (https://www.instagram.com/freddie.kimmelYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@beautifullybrokenworld Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Learn more about Perform Better Summits HERE. Follow Perform Better on Instagram and Facebook. Or check them out at performbetter.com About Business for Unicorns Business for Unicorns helps gym owners and fitness studio operators build profitable, sustainable businesses without burning out. Founded by Mark Fisher and Michael Keeler —who built and sold the $34-million Mark Fisher Fitness —BFU provides coaching, mentorship, courses, and events for gym owners ready to grow revenue, systemize operations, and create more freedom in their lives. To learn more, check out businessforunicorns.com. Get More BFU In Your Life: Claim your FREE copy of Gym Marketing Secrets HERE Follow BFU on Instagram HERE Subscribe to MF's YouTube Channel HERE Ready to Grow Your Gym? If you're a gym owner with 30+ clients looking to add $5k-$10k/month in the next 90 days, book your FREE Brainstorm Call HERE.

Stewart Alsop hosts a conversation with Oliver Polzin, a founding team member of Meow Wolf and naturalist, exploring the intersection of creativity, conservation, and architecture. Oliver discusses his current postgraduate work at SCI-Arc in Los Angeles studying synthetic landscapes through an architectural lens, his deep fascination with Pleistocene megafauna and the La Brea Tar Pits, and his vision for creating a "biophilic culture" that reframes humanity's relationship with other species and ecosystems. The discussion ranges from Oliver's early work building mud caves at Meow Wolf to his current explorations of AI-assisted design tools, 3D printing with recycled materials, holistic grazing management systems for the Great Plains, and the ancient Amazonian practice of creating terra preta soil—all part of his broader investigation into how we can design interventions for climate and conservation issues while maintaining what makes us fundamentally human.Timestamps00:00 Stewart introduces Oliver Polzin from Meow Wolf's founding team and discusses how his yoga teaching there inspired the podcast's exploration of creativity and stress relationships.05:00 Oliver describes his architecture graduate program studying climate and conservation through synthetic landscapes, contrasting dark green naturalist ecology with bright green capitalist environmentalism.10:00 Discussion of conservation ethics and AI's potential for monitoring environmental systems, with Oliver explaining his journey from painting to experimental mud construction at early Meow Wolf.15:00 Stewart shares his robotics learning journey with ESP32s in Buenos Aires while Oliver questions humanoid robot design, suggesting functional form factors matter more than human resemblance.20:00 Oliver explores cardboard as material obsession and explains treasure hunt mechanics in Meow Wolf exhibits, creating dopamine-driven discovery experiences through layered storytelling.25:00 Stewart describes creating treasure hunts for Spanish learners in Buenos Aires parks while Oliver validates experiential art's growing importance in an increasingly digital culture.30:00 Conversation shifts to three-d printing flexible filaments for architectural models and Oliver's megafauna book project about La Brea Tar Pits Pleistocene fossils.35:00 Oliver connects Earth consciousness to Pale Blue Dot perspective, arguing humans face developmental threshold understanding planetary responsibility after 300,000 years as anatomically modern species.40:00 Deep dive into end-Pleistocene extinction events and megafauna loss, discussing two-ton capybaras and how predator relationships shaped human psychology and anxiety responses.45:00 Oliver presents speculative Great Plains biopreserve concept with de-extinct megafauna, contrasting holistic rotational grazing with destructive monoculture agriculture systems.50:00 Discussion concludes with Amazonian dark earth technology and indigenous landscape management, emphasizing need for biophilic culture embracing deep time ecological perspective.Key Insights1. Oliver Polzin is part of the founding team of Meow Wolf and is currently studying at SCI-Arc in Downtown LA in a postgraduate program called Synthetic Landscapes, which examines global scale climate and conservation issues through an architectural lens. Architecture exists between art and science, and he believes architectural thinking offers a valuable framework for designing interventions for climate and conservation challenges. This program represents a significant evolution from his earlier work at Meow Wolf, where he created immersive experiential art installations using materials like adobe and cardboard.2. There is an important distinction in ecological thought between what Paul Kingsnorth calls dark green and light green approaches to environmentalism. The dark green strain represents the older naturalist movement from the early twentieth century, focusing on biological systems, ecosystems, and endangered species. Light green emerged in the 1970s after the Earth Day movement and centers on clean energy, solar panels, and wind power as a way to maintain our current lifestyle. Oliver argues that the bright green approach represents a capitalist overlay that has captured the conservation movement, whereas true conservation requires focusing on actual biological systems rather than just technological solutions.3. The experiential art form that Meow Wolf pioneered still has enormous untapped potential, particularly as society becomes increasingly digital. Oliver believes there will be a huge wave of experiential desire in this decade as people crave human connection and real-world excitement. The treasure hunt and scavenger hunt format represents a compelling form of real-life RPG that creates meaningful human interactions. This type of experience design, which Meow Wolf developed through installations like the House of Eternal Return, plays with human dopamine systems by compelling people to open doors, explore spaces, and follow narrative threads through physical environments.4. The architectural model or dollhouse concept represents a crucial rhetorical tool that Oliver is learning to apply to climate and conservation work. Architects have long created physical models to show stakeholders what a building will be like, and this practice of showing a story in compelling ways for different types of brains is essential for getting traction on projects. While architectural models used to be made from foam core, paper, and balsa wood, they are now largely created through 3D printing, which allows for incredibly complex forms and interlocking structures that would have been impossible to construct manually.5. Oliver is obsessed with megafauna and the end Pleistocene extinction event that occurred roughly twelve thousand years ago. For three hundred thousand years, anatomically modern humans existed alongside massive beasts like short faced bears and American lions, and we were the smaller creatures in the ecosystem. The extinction of over one hundred genera of animals over ninety nine pounds, combined with sea level rise of nearly four hundred feet, fundamentally changed human existence and led to the development of agriculture and civilization. Much of our current psychological development, including anxiety responses, is still based on this time period when we lived among these massive animals.6. The current food system in the Great Plains is fundamentally broken compared to the historical managed food system maintained by Plains tribes, who sustained thirty to sixty million bison through 1800. Oliver explored a speculative project about turning the Great Plains into a massive biopreserve of de-extinct megafauna, contrasting the natural system of rotational grazing where predators keep herds moving with the current monoculture crop agriculture that requires external inputs like fertilizer, pesticides, and herbicides. The natural system builds soil and increases fecundity, while industrial agriculture degrades soil, creates toxic runoff, and produces genetically modified crops that feed animals in toxic concentrated feeding operations.7. The fundamental challenge facing humanity now is creating what Oliver calls a biophilic or ecophilic culture that is loving of other species and our home planet. This requires both psychological shifts and changes in how we design systems at all scales. The Amazon provides a powerful example of this, as recent LiDAR mapping has revealed that what appeared to be pristine wilderness was actually a vast tended garden created by indigenous civilizations who developed technologies like Amazonian dark earth through burning middens with various additives. These cultures understood how to be embedded in a web with other species while playing an important orchestrating role, offering a model for how humans might relate to other forms of life in our current era.

» Produced by Hack You Media: pioneering a new category of content at the intersection of health performance, entrepreneurship & cognitive optimisation.Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hackyoumedia/Website: https://hackyou.media/James Sexton, a divorce lawyer, on why fear is good, why marriage needs a plan, and why heartbreak matters.As someone who sees relationships fail every day, James explains that scepticism about marriage is actually healthy, real bravery requires fear. Most people don't realise marriage is the most legally significant thing you'll do and enter it with zero plan, yet they plan everything in fitness. Passion and chemistry don't equal partnership compatibility, and complacency kills relationships when partners stop trying after "locking someone in." Relationships need intentionality, maintenance, and honest feedback like any other area of life.The hardest part isn't falling in love, it's believing you're worthy of it. Heartbreak is painful but beautiful because grief proves you had something worth losing, and those experiences create the depth most people never experience.00:00 Introduction06:21 Past Relationships and Compatibility10:19 Relationships as Career vs Side Hustle14:55 Designing a Perfect Life Without Marriage18:40 Complacency and Maintenance in Marriage27:10 Honesty and Difficult Conversations in Relationships30:21 Teaching Relationship Skills and Managing Disconnection35:12 Comparison Between Fitness and Relationships40:42 Age and Experience in Love and Marriage45:48 Intentionality in Relationships and Maintaining Love50:01 Appreciating and Valuing Relationships55:14 Overcoming Fear and Embracing Love1:02:59 The Importance of Having Children1:05:47 Financial Stability and Motivation with Children1:11:22 Fame, Wealth, and Relationship Challenges1:18:10 Performance Art in Relationships and Social Media1:25:33 Belief in Love and Life's Fundamental Questions» Escape the 9-5 & build your dream life - https://www.digitalplaybook.net/» Transform your physique - https://www.thrstapp.com/» My clothing brand, THRST - https://thrstofficial.com» Discover Bioniq Lab peptide products- https://bioniqlab.com/mike1010% off with code MIKE10» Join our newsletter for actionable insights from every episode: https://thrst-letter.beehiiv.com/» Join Whoop and get your first month for free - join.whoop.com/FirstThingsThrst» Follow JamesInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/nycdivorcelawyer/?hl=enWebsite: https://www.nycdivorces.com/

Production gaps are often blamed on low case acceptance or insufficient diagnosis, but the real issue may begin with how the schedule is structured, protected, and maintained. In this episode, Kirk Behrendt talks with dental practice coach Ariel Siegel about identifying whether lost production begins in the schedule or the operatory. You will learn how reappointment systems, downtime monitoring, intentional scheduling, and future schedule protection can create more consistent production and smoother clinical days. To understand where production gaps begin and what your team can do about them, listen to Episode 1063 of The Best Practices Show!Main TakeawaysProduction problems may result from scheduling systems even when diagnosis and treatment acceptance remain strong.Constantly filling last-minute openings prevents administrative team members from completing other production-building activities.Filling schedule gaps with unsuitable appointments can disrupt the intended flow and energy of the clinical day.Strong reappointment systems help patients understand why they are returning and reduce future cancellations.Protecting the future schedule allows the team to maintain production goals and minimize bottlenecks.Monitoring doctor and hygiene downtime reveals both large openings and smaller gaps that accumulate throughout the day.Designing the schedule around provider energy and appointment type supports more consistent monthly production and revenue.Snippets:00:00 Metric Mondays Intro01:19 Schedule vs Operatory02:20 Why Gaps Happen03:28 When It Goes Wrong04:26 Scramble Fill Trap06:51 Getting It Right07:57 Protect Future Schedule09:17 Design Around Energy10:07 Action Steps Today11:17 Resources and Wrap Up11:57 Final Thanks and OutroGuest Bio/Guest Resources:Ariel has a master's in healthcare administration and several years of dental experience in all aspects of the administrative roles within the dental office. Her passion is to work with dental teams to empower team members to realize their full potential in order to better serve patients, improve office systems to ensure a well-functioning team/office, and to help everyone have fun in the process!Guest Resources:https://www.actdental.com/free-resources/More Helpful Links for a Better Practice & a Better Life:The Best Practices Show: https://www.actdental.com/podcast/Best Practices Association: https://www.actdental.com/bpaUpcoming Events & Workshops: https://www.actdental.com/events/Smile Source: https://www.smilesource.com/Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.comSubscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com

In this special episode of Omnivore, Anupama Joshi of the Center for Science in the Public Interest and Alon Chen, co-founder and CEO of Tastewise, join the podcast for a preview of the ideas shaping IFT FIRST Annual Event and Expo, taking place July 12–15, 2026, in Chicago. Joshi, who will speak in the keynote panel Building Trust: Scientific Consensus and Policy for a Safer Food Future, explores how misinformation, policy gaps, and evolving scientific standards are influencing public trust in food and nutrition and what it will take to build greater transparency and credibility across the food system. Chen, featured in the closing keynote Designing with Agentic Intelligence: Faster, Smarter, Safer Food Innovation, discusses how AI is helping food companies identify emerging trends, translate early signals into actionable insights, and move more quickly from concept to commercialization. Together, these conversations highlight the intersection of science, policy, and technology that will define discussions at IFT FIRST—and the challenges and opportunities facing food professionals today.  Plus: This episode of Omnivore is brought to you by IFT FIRST—Food Improved by Research, Science, and Technology. Join us July 12–15, 2026, at McCormick Place in Chicago. Learn more at ift.org. 

Erica Goode spent her early career on the traditional accounting track — Big Four, Fortune 50 finance, the late nights and missed dinners that come standard with the path. Then she looked up at the senior leaders above her and realized she didn't want to be any of them when she grew up. That single honest moment set off a decade-long pivot that took her out of corporate, into full-time motherhood, and eventually into building the kind of accounting firm she'd never seen modeled for her. In this conversation with Paul Dio, Erica unpacks what it looks like to bring corporate-level skill — forecasting, cash-flow modeling, strategic finance — to the small businesses sitting right down the street. She talks about her first client, a Taekwondo studio, and how the work she'd built her career on suddenly became the thing standing between that small business and bankruptcy during the early months of COVID. The story is a quiet argument for why human accountants still matter, especially now. The episode also takes a hard look at the million-dollar revenue obsession that's everywhere in the consulting and accounting worlds. Erica makes the case that a business owner pulling $300K can take home almost as much as one chasing seven figures — minus the headcount, the overhead, and the burnout. Million-dollar revenue, in her words, is a vanity metric. What actually matters is what lands in your personal bank account at the end of the month, and how much of your life you got to keep along the way. There's also a fascinating detour into AI. Erica fed her own redacted tax return into Claude this past tax season just to see what would happen — and walked away with a 50/50 hit rate that captures exactly why human advisors still matter. The conversation lands on an optimistic note for the profession: when AI handles the rote work, accountants finally have room to be the human their clients actually need. Timestamps 00:00 – Introduction and welcome 01:00 – From Big Four to Fortune 50 to walking away 03:30 – "I don't see anybody I want to be when I grow up" 04:45 – Choosing to be home and not knowing there was a third path 06:00 – Missing accounting and the first client down the street 09:00 – The freedom of choosing your clients 11:00 – Books worth keeping on the shelf 13:00 – Why the Life First Accounting Firm podcast exists 17:00 – The vanity metric of seven-figure revenue 18:30 – Where AI can't replace the human 20:30 – Feeding her tax return into Claude 23:00 – Where accounting goes from here 25:30 – The Taekwondo studio and a cash-flow story that saved a business 30:00 – Where to find Erica Episode Resources Discover how Erica helps small business owners and entrepreneurs build profitable, life-first accounting practices through intentional forecasting, strategic finance, and client-by-client growth: www.ericagoodie.com Legacy Podcast: For more information about the Legacy Podcast and its co-hosts, visit https://businesslegacypodcast.com Leave a Review: If you enjoyed the episode, leave a review and rating on your preferred podcast platform. For more information: Visit https://businesslegacypodcast.com to access the show notes and additional resources on the episode.

There is something in your life that you have been pretending is not there. You have been walking around it. Designing your days around it. Making choices that accommodate it instead of choices that address it. And it has been shaping your life in ways you do not even see anymore because you have gotten so used to working around it. It is just there. Like a piece of furniture in a room that you have arranged your whole life around. You do not notice it anymore. You just live around it. But it is still there. And it is still affecting how you move. How much space you take up. How you sit in a room. It is still there. And tonight I want to ask you to look at it. To really look at it. To stop walking around it and actually see it.

Ever watch a promising writing class lose steam by midterm? We've been there, and we built this conversation to flip that script using the ARCS model—Attention, Relevance, Confidence, Satisfaction—as a practical blueprint for motivated, higher-quality writing across live and online courses. With award-winning author and curriculum developer Ruth A. Douthit, we unpack what actually keeps students engaged, why “busy work” backfires, and how to design assignments that feel purposeful from the first hook to the final draft.Ruth closes with before-and-after assignment makeovers and shares where to connect with her books and A Writer's Day podcast. If you're ready to replace disengagement with momentum and help students produce writing they're proud to share, this episode will give you the scripts, structures, and confidence to start.Enjoyed the conversation? Follow and share the show, leave a thoughtful review, and send this to a colleague who's redesigning a writing course. Your support helps more educators find actionable ideas that work.

Host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha's top stories with editor Amy Cortese. Up this week: At SuperReturn in Berlin, asset-light is out, HALO is in as private equity titans focus on AI, energy and defense; a look at public and private approaches to sharing the AI wealth; and, Realize Capital Partners' fund-of-funds secures $277 million for Canada's impact fund managers.To try ImpactAlpha Edge, ⁠⁠⁠⁠click here⁠⁠⁠⁠. This week's stories:“At SuperReturn in Berlin, asset-light is out, HALO is in as private equity titans focus on AI, energy and defense,” by Amy Cortese and Danielle Rossingh.“Designing broad-based ownership of AI to share power along with wealth,” by Delilah Rothenberg of The Predistribution Initiative"Realize Capital Partners' fund-of-funds secures $277 million for Canada's impact fund managers," by Roodgally SenatusRealize's ImpactSpace profile.

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Across her previous visits to The Good Life EDU Podcast, Dr. Katie Novak has helped listeners understand the foundations of Universal Design for Learning, its role within MTSS, and the possibilities created when educators bring UDL and artificial intelligence together. In this return conversation, Katie and Andrew take the next step by examining what educators must understand themselves before they can use AI to design learning responsibly and effectively. Drawing from her latest book, The UDL Shift, Katie explains why strong instructional design begins with firm goals and flexible means. Through a live example, she demonstrates how an AI-generated “UDL lesson” can unintentionally remove the very skill students are expected to learn and why standards alignment, pedagogical knowledge, and human review must remain central to the design process. The goal is not simply to generate something quickly, but to use AI within a thoughtful cycle of planning, analysis, revision, and human transformation. The conversation also extends beyond lesson planning. Katie explores how educators can prepare students for standardized assessments without abandoning flexible and inclusive instruction, why interleaving is more effective than last-minute test preparation, and how students can build the metacognitive awareness needed to transfer their learning into less-flexible settings. Katie and Andrew also address growing concerns about screen time, accessibility, and device use, making the case for purposeful technology integration rather than an all-or-nothing approach. This episode is a reminder that AI does not reduce the need for educator expertise; it makes that expertise even more important. Resources Referenced in This Episode The UDL Shift: Designing Inclusive Learning That Works by Katie Novak Elevating Educational Design with AI: Making Learning Accessible, Inclusive, and Equitable by Catlin Tucker and Katie Novak Nebraska Learning Network, where Nebraska educators can access Katie's free three-course UDL learning series. AI-Enhanced Processes by Alex McMillan Katie Novak's UDL Flowchart

▶︎ Watch Get ready to power up! On this special bonus episode of Superhero Slate, Chris and guest host Patrick sit down with prolific game designer and founder of Lynnvander Studios, Tommy Gofton, to talk about his explosive new Kickstarter campaign: Dragon Ball Z: The Board Game Saga. This game is a true survivor, having […]

Host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha's top stories with editor Amy Cortese. Up this week: At SuperReturn in Berlin, asset-light is out, HALO is in as private equity titans focus on AI, energy and defense; a look at public and private approaches to sharing the AI wealth; and, Realize Capital Partners' fund-of-funds secures $277 million for Canada's impact fund managers.To try ImpactAlpha Edge, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠click here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. This week's stories:“⁠At SuperReturn in Berlin, asset-light is out, HALO is in as private equity titans focus on AI, energy and defense⁠,” by Amy Cortese and Danielle Rossingh.“⁠Designing broad-based ownership of AI to share power along with wealth⁠,” by Delilah Rothenberg of The Predistribution Initiative"⁠Realize Capital Partners' fund-of-funds secures $277 million for Canada's impact fund managers⁠," by Roodgally Senatus⁠Realize's ImpactSpace profile⁠.

Season 3 is here with new co-host Lily. This episode tackles a question every designer should sit with: are you mastering your craft, or just mastering your tools?They dig into why "Figma" isn't a skill, designers vibe coding their own tools, and what a pro photographer with a Barbie camera teaches about fundamentals. Plus: why cross-platform handoffs are still broken, what AI agent demos conveniently skip, and the Ferrari Luce debate, where brand legacy meets bold new design.00:00 Intro: Welcome to Season 300:14 Craft vs. Tooling: The Core Debate01:18 Building Your Own Tools03:40 Analog vs. Hyper-Future05:22 Tooling That Incentivizes Better Design06:49 Designing for Context, Not Just Platform08:22 Cross-Platform Continuity & The AI Demo Problem18:24 Bringing It Back: What Is Craft, Really?20:09 How Tool Companies Captured Design Culture22:45 The Ferrari Luce: When Brand Meets New Craft27:00 Digital vs. Tactile in Car Interiors32:37 Wrap-Up: Own the Vertical

Episode 263: What does it feel like to go into space? To rocket past the Kármán line, float in perfect silence, and return to Earth—all in 11 minutes? Blue Origin's astronauts experience an expensive thrill ride: part theme park roller coaster, part life-altering pilgrimage. In this episode, Allie Kuehner, a Blue Origin astronaut from the New Shepard flight NS-33, relives the intense pause before liftoff, the three-G climb that somehow feels slow, and the instant gravity disappears. Joining her is Sarah Phelps, Blue Origin's former managing director of astronaut and customer experience, who reveals how her team turns that fleeting flight into a story people cherish for life. We take a behind-the-scenes look at Blue Origin's astronaut training program. It's curated, detail-oriented, and built to guide participants through an emotionally charged moment of awe. We unpack how a month-long window after Allie first decided to go into space narrows down to an intentionally designed two-day training sprint—one that forges six strangers into a crew that is forever changed upon their return to Earth. We explore, through Sarah's lens, what makes the experience meaningful via her design choices, such as why hearing that audible launch countdown is a moment you never forget. And how the first flight-suit try-on became an unexpected, emotionally charged moment of emphasis for astronauts and their loved ones. Sarah made many experience tweaks, as she explains: "We were going into the debrief, and I said, 'But I didn't hear the "go" poll.' … The answer was, 'Well, the astronauts don't need to hear that; that's not part of it. They can just hear the countdown.' I said, 'But I want to hear, "INCO go. Capsule go. Booster go. CAPCOM go. Crewmen go." I want to hear the flight director, "New Shepard is go for launch." … And just because that's never been done before and astronauts on previous vehicles didn't need to hear it, my astronauts … need to feel that reverberation in their whole being that we are go for launch." Allie and Sarah also share lessons any brand can use to choreograph peak emotion without sacrificing operational precision. And they cover what the future of space tourism looks like, such as why going to the space station just for a weekend may become a reality within our lifetimes. Guest: Allie Kuehner, Blue Origin Astronaut, New Shepard flight NS-33, conservationist, and board member of Nature is Nonpartisan Guest: Sarah Phelps, VP, Games Hospitality, United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee, formerly Blue Origin's Managing Director of Customer Experience Host: Rob Markey, Partner, Bain & Company Give us feedback: Customer Confidential Podcast Feedback Send us a note: Contact Rob Timestamped Topics [00:06] Seven-second rumble before motion and the surprise of a slow ascent [00:09] Capsule-booster separation and sudden silence [00:12] First look at Earth from above [00:14] The astronaut experience inspiration and reimagining astronaut training for modern civilians [00:16] Design brief and making 11 minutes meaningful without formal astronaut prep [00:18] Managing human variables like pausing the launch for final phone calls to family [00:19] Adding the audible "go" poll for emotional impact [00:22] Flight-suit reveals and custom bomber jackets as milestone markers [00:23] Humanizing an engineering culture and lessons CX leaders can mirror [00:25] Looking ahead to Sarah's vision of weekend trips to orbit Notable Quotes [00:00:02] "You're going faster than a speeding bullet. You go through three Gs, but you don't even feel the three Gs, because there's so much else going on. You're looking out the window, it's so loud, and then all of a sudden the rocket and the capsule dislodge from one another. And it goes to perfect silence." [00:00:48] "We're giving people an opportunity to go 62 miles above the earth, and you know that somehow, some way, that experience is going to change you, and it's going to change how you see the world moving forward. For me, it's how do we build an experience around that?" [00:05:34] "One of the most surprising things to me was the ascent—how beautifully slow it felt." [00:06:57] "The first time you get to look out these windows down at Earth, you just see this delicate, finite, beautiful planet. And in that moment, you just realize how connected we all are." [00:09:41] "This thing is an 11-minute flight. It's basically a half-million-dollar roller coaster ride." Additional Resources Watch a full replay of Allie's Blue Origin New Shepherd Mission NS-33 flight here: https://www.blueorigin.com/news/new-shepard-ns-33-mission

Send us Fan MailIn this special compilation episode of AI and the Future of Work, we are bringing you four conversations recorded live on the show floor at HumanX 2026. This is the second and final compilation of our three-part HumanX Live series.Our first compilation explored how AI amplifies the human potential it can never replace. This one turns to the technical side, and to a question that gets harder the more these systems touch our lives: how do you build AI you can actually trust not to fail when it matters most? As technology reaches further into the moments that count (the systems that monitor our health, drive our cars, and work alongside us on the job), these four builders share how they design for accountability, safety, and harmony between people and machines.What You'll LearnWhy reading code is no longer enough, and how observing real outcomes (not system metrics alone) is the only way to know whether AI is actually serving the people who depend on itWhat "AI values" are, and why companies will soon need shared norms for how people disclose, review, and engage with work produced by agentic systemsHow robots earn trust on a job site by measuring their own uncertainty, asking questions, and communicating their intentions before they actWhy the most valuable place for automation is the dirty, dull, and dangerous work humans were never meant to do, and what that means for keeping people safeWhy physical AI should be built first as a reasoning and communication model that can explain its thinking to people, rather than one that jumps straight to actionHow "harness engineering" moves teams beyond prompt and context engineering, and why orchestrating several frontier models together can outperform any single oneFeatured GuestsChristine Yen, CEO and Co-Founder of Honeycomb. Listen to the full conversation here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/520474/episodes/19362645 Dr. Ali Agha, CEO and Co-Founder of FieldAI. Listen to the full conversation here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/520474/episodes/19362711 Dr. Jaime Lien, Co-Founder & Chief Scientist of Archetype AI. Listen to the full conversation here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/520474/episodes/19363341 XD Huang, Chief Technology Officer of Zoom. Listen to the full conversation here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/520474/episodes/19363454 Inspired by something you heard in this episode? Share your favorite insight about the future of work and tag us on social:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/ai-and-the-future-of-work Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aifutureofwork/ And don't forget to subscribe to AI and the Future of Work for more conversations with the leaders shaping what comes next.Explore the Full HumanX 2026 SeriesThis episode is part of a special three-part series recorded live at HumanX 2026:Episode 1: Special conversation with Stefan Weitz, CEO of HumanX: https://www.buzzsprout.com/520474/episodes/19210355Episode 2: Compilation featuring the CEOs of Scribe, Operative Games, and Dataiku, and the Chief Business Officer of Zensai: https://www.buzzsprout.com/520474/episodes/19257142LIVE EVENT: See how leading enterprises are using agentic AI to give employees back 4–6 productive hours every week. Join PeopleReign CEO Dan Turchin for a live demo on June 25, 2026.Register here: https://go.peoplereign.io/live-demo-how-agentic-ai-is-being-used-by-global-enterprises

Hair and makeup can be one of the most powerful storytelling tools in film and television. In this episode of Filmmaker Mixer, we sit down with hair and makeup designer Jacqueline Fowler to discuss her work on the television adaptation of Lord of the Flies. Jacqueline shares how she approached character design, visual continuity, collaboration with other departments, and the challenges of creating authentic survival-driven transformations. Filmmakers will gain valuable insight into the creative and technical side of makeup design for television.

In this episode of Just Compensation, Megan Monson, Taryn E. Cannataro, and Zachary Bocian discuss Internal Revenue Code Sections 457(b) and 457(f), two deferred compensation vehicles available to tax-exempt organizations and state and local governments. The hosts detail who can sponsor these plans, how these plans work, when taxation occurs, and how Section 409A overlays with these rules. Be sure to check out our previous episode, "The Impact of 457A on Deferred Compensation from non-US Entities", to learn more about Internal Revenue Code Section 457A. Speakers: Megan Monson, Partner, Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits Taryn E. Cannataro, Counsel, Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits Zachary Bocian, Associate, Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits

Typography is often treated as a detail — the thing you finalize after the real design decisions are made. But for our next guest, it's closer to the foundation everything else rests on. He's spent two decades in editorial design at some of the most iconic American magazines — Men's Health, Esquire, Popular Science, Entertainment Weekly — and he's now the Creative Director of Fast Company, where he recently led a redesign that does something pretty unusual: the magazine gets a completely new typeface every single issue. His name is Mike Schnaidt. This is a preview of a premium episode. Visit our Substack to listen to the entire interview: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/mike-schnaidt Mike's also a professor, a runner, and the author of Creative Endurance — a book that maps the principles of physical and mental endurance onto the creative life. It's built around 56 rules for sustaining a career in design, drawn from interviews with ultra-marathoners, astronauts, and designers who've pushed way past the limits most people set for themselves. And as you'll hear, he's already working on book two. We chat about the nuts and bolts of typography (utilitarian vs. expressive, food metaphors, Fast Company's per-issue typeface system) to the philosophy underneath it all (design as service, authorship, hospitality). We dig into his book Creative Endurance — 56 rules for sustaining a creative career drawn from athletes, astronauts, and designers — and his counterintuitive take on burnout: the cure isn't rest, it's picking up something creatively different. Bio Mike Schnaidt is the creative director of Fast Company. He's also the host of the Webby-awarded video series It's All in the Typeface, a professor of illustration at the School of Visual Arts, and the former president of the Society of Publication Designers. One of the coolest moments in his life was when Paula Scher said his first book, Creative Endurance, was “beautifully designed.” His second book arrives in 2028. *** Premium Episodes on Design Better This is a premium episode on Design Better. We release two premium episodes per month, along with two free episodes for everyone. New premium subscriber benefit: we've launched a private Slack workspace…join now to connect with designers, product leaders & creative practitioners in our community. And get a behind-the-scenes pass to every episode with The Roundup, where each week we bring you insights and actionable tactics from recent episodes. Premium subscribers get access to the documentary Design Disruptors and our growing library of books. You'll also get access to our monthly AMAs with former guests, ad-free episodes, discounts and early access to workshops, and our monthly newsletter The Brief that compiles salient insights, quotes, readings, and creative processes uncovered in the show. And subscribers at the annual level now get access to the Design Better Toolkit, which gets you major discounts and free access to tools and courses that will help you unlock new skills, make your workflow more efficient, and take your creativity further. Upgrade to paid Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Send us Fan MailWhat do you do when the business, career, or life plan you built your identity on suddenly disappears?In this episode of Spartan Leadership, Josh Kosnick sits down with Dr. Christine Whelan, the “purpose professor,” to talk about why purpose is a verb—something you do every day with your gifts and values—rather than a job title or a single life calling.They unpack what happens when everything falls apart: Josh's story of losing his business five years ago, empty nest transitions, career changes, and the quiet identity crises that come when a chapter ends. Dr. Whelan explains how to separate your purpose from your role, why transitions make purpose feel more urgent, and how to design a life where you spend more time on the things you're gifted at and actually enjoy.You'll hear a research‑backed definition of purpose, a fresh take on happiness as a byproduct (not the goal), and a practical framework for living with pro‑social purpose—using your gifts, in keeping with your values, to positively impact other people in the community. If you've ever asked “What now?” after a loss, layoff, or big life change, this conversation is for you.In this episode:• Why “purpose is a verb,” not a one‑time discovery or slogan• How to think about purpose when your business, role, or season ends• Designing work you love using a simple “T‑chart” exercise• Purpose in parenting and raising kids who live their values• Pro‑social purpose, “eco‑you” vs “ego‑you,” and why community mattersConnect with Dr. Christine Whelan: - Website: https://christinewhelan.com- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cbwhelan/Connect with Josh Kosnick:- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/joshkosnick- Instagram: https://instagram.com/joshkosnick- Website: https://joshkosnick.com #PurposeIsAVerb #ChristineWhelan #SpartanLeadership #PurposeAfterLoss #LifeTransitions #FindYourPurpose #ChristianLeadership #BusinessLeadership #PersonalGrowth #Podcast Support the showCONNECT WITH ME HERE:FacebookInstagramLinkedInTwitterTikTokYouTubeSUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST HERE:Apple PodcastsSpotifyYouTube

What does it take to build a company culture people actually feel when every single person works from home?

In this episode, Caroline and Liz talk with artist and product designer Susan Hable. Susan is the co-founder of the Athens, Georgia-based design studio Hable Construction, which she runs with her sister, Katherine. Celebrating 27 years in business, Susan's work spans lighting, furniture, fine art, textiles, and jewelry, all rooted in her bold, hand-painted patterns and joyful sense of color. Susan joins the show to discuss her 20-plus-year partnership with lifestyle brand Garnet Hill, her artistic origins, her approach to building an intentional art collection, and the story behind her historic 1905 home. Key Takeaways from the Episode The Power of Small Patterns: While large expressions are artistic, small, tightly repeated patterns—like Hable Construction's iconic, best-selling "Beads" print—have a unique, calming effect that anchors a space. Small patterns add excellent grounding texture on everything from seat cushions to linens. Trust the Emotional Value of Art: When collecting art, buy pieces that speak directly to your heart and make you feel a specific emotion, rather than shopping for what is trendy. If original art is out of your budget, high-quality prints, art books, and local school or community art auctions are excellent alternatives. Design with Out-of-Print Inspiration: Rather than relying exclusively on the internet, Susan builds a personal library of physical books, estate sale finds, and historical reference materials to inform her custom textile patterns and landscape aesthetics. Building a Historical Garden: For her 1905 home, Susan designed a garden mirroring traditional Victorian landscapes, prioritizing an organic mix of loose, "floppy" movements (like anemones and Gaura) bordered by clean, tight lines. Episode Timeline 00:34 – Introduction to Susan Hable and Hable Construction. 01:54 – Susan's artistic childhood, early mentors, and grandmother's influence on her style. 06:17 – The accidental textile breakthrough after a trip to India that led to their first major retail order with Barneys. 09:35 – How a dream inspired the sisters to pivot to screen printing and scale production. 12:12 – The history of the signature "Beads" print and how it functions as design's "white shirt and jeans". 18:12 – Sourcing creative inspiration from physical books, libraries, and out-of-print collections. 34:56 – Moving from New York to Athens, Georgia, and renovating a historic 1905 home through the 2008 market shift. 42:13 – Susan's philosophy on collecting art, avoiding trends, and shopping without friend interference. 52:13 – Artists Susan loves, including Rose Wiley, David Shrigley, Leanne Shapton, and Martha Rich. 59:36 – Tips for collecting local art through local auctions and charity events. 01:02:24 – Designing the latest Garnet Hill collection: Portuguese linens, deconstructed tossed florals, and custom rickrack details. Mentioned in This Episode The "Beads" Print: Susan's number-one-selling organic linear-circular pattern utilized across multiple product categories. Garnet Hill Latest Collection: Features an apparel debut, high-drape Portuguese linen duvets, shams, and pajama sets trimmed with custom pale yellow rickrack. Susan's Art Show: Currently on display at the Spalding Nix Gallery in Atlanta, Georgia. Susan's House Tour: Available to watch on the Ballard Designs YouTube channel. Artists Mentioned: Rose Wiley, David Shrigley, Leanne Shapton, Martha Rich, Louise Belcourt, Christie Bush, and Otis Jones. Where to Find Susan Hable Instagram: @HableLand Website: Hable Construction Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of the Year of Plenty Podcast, we're joined by Susan Poizner, certified arborist, fruit tree care educator, author, and host of The Orchard People Podcast. We explore how to choose, plant, and care for fruit trees that fit your climate, property, and goals so you can build a productive backyard orchard that lasts for decades.Susan also shares lessons from her newest book, Designing a Fruit Tree Garden, and explains why thoughtful planning before planting can save growers years of frustration.Episode Overview:Why fruit trees are a powerful investment in long-term food resilienceHow fruit tree grafting and rootstocks workChoosing trees for your climate, hardiness zone, and available spaceSelf-pollinating trees versus trees that need a pollination partnerWhere to buy healthy bare-root fruit treesNative fruit trees and faster-producing varietiesChoosing the best location based on sunlight, soil, and drainageWatering, fertilizing, composting, and mulching fruit treesHow to plant a grafted fruit tree correctlyFruit tree pruning principles for beginnersProtecting trees from wildlife, pests, and disease naturallyCompanion planting and creating a pollinator-friendly orchardUse code “yearofplenty” for 15% OFF at www.mtblock.comMY ULTIMATE FORAGING GEAR LIST - Check it outLeave a review on Apple or Spotify and send a screenshot to theyearofplenty@gmail.com to receive a FREE EBOOK with my favorite food preservation recipes.Watch the Video Episode on Youtube:https://www.youtube.com/live/4EKA2PNWUtg?si=JhoWxSVMcDNgcLoMSign up for the newsletter:www.theyearofplenty.com/newsletterSupport the podcast via Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/yearofplentySubscribe to the Youtube Channel:https://www.youtube.com/@yearofplentyvideoDo you follow the podcast on social media yet?IG: https://www.instagram.com/bigforagingguy/X: https://x.com/yearofplentypodI want to hear from you! Take the LISTENER SURVEY: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/KZW53R

It's a time of change in higher education. Jeff and Michael look back on what they learned over the course of this ninth season of Future U in a one-on-one discussion. They recap key moments and share their favorite episodes. And one theme keeps emerging: “it's all about institutional mission.” Chapters 0:00 - Intro 1:08 - Many of Today's Challenges Were Predicted 10 Years Ago 3:51 - Why Mission Is Key 4:56 - A ‘Ghost Town Campus' 12:35 - Big Deficits at Colleges 13:47 - The Fire Sale on MBAs 17:05 - How to Restore Trust in Higher Ed 19:17 - The Many Software Vulnerabilities for Colleges 24:29 - How to Design the AI University 26:52 - Jeff's Favorite Episode of Season 9 30:58 - Michael's Favorite Episode of Season 9 33:11 - Thanks to the Podcast Team Relevant Links: “Season 9 Annual Listener Survey” - Help us prepare for next season “2026: The seismic shifts for transforming the future of higher education,” by Jeff Selingo, in The Chronicle of Higher Education “Sonoma State University is in crisis. Can a new president save it,” in The San Francisco Chronicle. “What happens when students let an economist pick their college?,” in Marketplace.  “Harvard's FAS Is Running a $365 Million Structural Deficit. The Problems Started Well Before Trump,” in The Harvard Crimson. “There is a Fire Sale on MBAs,” in The Wall Street Journal. “Report of the Committee on Trust in Higher Education,” by Yale University. “Designing the AI University,” by Jeff Selingo. “Leading Faculty in an AI Era,” by Jeff Selingo. "The Lie at the Center of Higher Education," by Melik Peter Khoury. Connect with Michael Horn: Sign Up for the The Future of Education Newsletter Website LinkedIn X (Twitter) Threads   Connect with Jeff Selingo: Dream School: Finding the College That's Right for You Sign Up for the Next Newsletter Website X (Twitter) Threads LinkedIn Connect with Future U: Twitter YouTube Threads Instagram Facebook LinkedIn   Submit a question and if we answer it on air we'll send you Future U. swag! Sign up for Future U. emails to get special updates and behind-the-scenes content.

In this episode of Maximize Your Hunt, the host discusses various strategies for improving hunting properties through effective land management and habitat improvement. The conversation covers the importance of cooperation among plants, innovative pruning techniques, and the integration of pioneer species to enhance soil health and biodiversity. The host also shares insights from a master class and emphasizes the significance of designing optimal habitats for deer, ultimately aiming to create a sustainable and productive environment for both wildlife and hunters. In this conversation, the speakers delve into the intricacies of tree planting, pruning techniques, and the importance of creating healthy ecosystems for wildlife, particularly deer. They discuss the significance of timing in pruning, the tools that can be used, and the ecological principles that govern successful land management. The conversation also touches on the role of pioneer species in establishing a thriving habitat and the practical steps one can take to improve deer habitat on their property. Additionally, the speakers highlight the importance of sustainable practices in the nursery business and the benefits of using simple tools like machetes for efficient land management. Takeaways The podcast focuses on maximizing hunting properties through land management. Master classes provide hands-on learning experiences for advanced hunting strategies. Cooperation among plants can enhance soil health and biodiversity. Pruning techniques are essential for maintaining tree health and productivity. Integrating pioneer species can improve soil conditions for fruit trees. Pruning can induce new growth and vigor in surrounding plants. Designing habitats with diverse plant species benefits wildlife. High-density plantings can create optimal conditions for deer. Understanding plant relationships is crucial for effective land management. Intensive habitat management can reclaim degraded landscapes. Planting trees can reclaim degraded agricultural land. Pruning is essential for tree health and productivity. Timing of pruning affects tree growth and vigor. Branches contain a high percentage of tree nutrients. Using simple tools can be effective for land management. High-density plantings can reduce vole damage. Creating diverse habitats attracts more wildlife. Pioneer species are crucial for soil health. Establishing a nursery can support sustainable practices. Effective land management benefits both wildlife and humans.   Social Links https://www.instagram.com/erik.schellenberg/ https://bcfnursery.com/home https://whitetaillandscapes.com/ https://www.facebook.com/whitetaillandscapes/ https://www.instagram.com/whitetail_landscapes/?hl=en   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Presented by HBO Max | For Your Consideration – HALF MAN – Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Contemporary Program (One Hour or More)Production Designer Emer O'Sullivan joins Decorating Pages to discuss the production design of the HBO/BBC limited series Half Man, created by Emmy-winning Richard Gadd and starring Richard Gadd and Jamie Bell.Emer breaks down the design of Half Man, including Laurie's house, the boys' bedroom, the kitchen, the hospital room, the prison visiting room, the wedding locations, and the Glasgow architecture that grounds the story across multiple decades.In this conversation, Emer talks about using social realism photography, fashion photography, mood boards, hand drawings, wallpaper, pattern, color, and Scottish municipal architecture to create a world that feels emotionally truthful. She also discusses the responsibility of portraying working-class homes with warmth, pride, and specificity, rather than reducing them to gray or downtrodden spaces.Kim and Emer also discuss the “cozy claustrophobic” design of Laurie's house, the pistachio and pink palette, how domestic spaces change over time, building the upstairs of the house, transforming a rough location into a major set in eight days, and designing the prison visiting room with glass, brutalist influence, and controlled discomfort.This episode is a must-listen for fans of Half Man, Richard Gadd, Jamie Bell, HBO dramas, production design, set decoration, Scottish television, character-driven interiors, and anyone interested in how sets carry emotion, memory, trauma, and story.Half Man is now streaming on HBO Max.For Your Consideration: HALF MAN — Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Contemporary Program (One Hour or More)

When Maxine Clark left a top job in retail to start a make-your-own stuffed animal store, people thought she'd lost her mind. Investors doubted it. Friends questioned it. Retail experts couldn't understand how it would scale.But drawing on more than 20 years as a retail executive, Maxine built a massively successful shopping “experience,” where kids could stuff, dress and personalize their own stuffed animals. Today, Build-A-Bear has generated billions in sales, survived the decline of malls, weathered the financial crisis, and become a global brand.WHAT YOU'LL LEARN How a failed errand—and an offhand comment by a kid–inspired a business plan How Maxine leveraged two decades of retail experience to launch Build-a-Bear How Willy Wonka and Walt Disney were early inspirations How she built a wedge against competitors How she got through the financial crisisHow she knew when to step down as CEO– and how to collaborate with her successor TIMESTAMPS: 05:52 - A mom Who Worked for Eleanor Roosevelt 09:18 - The Impromptu Interview That Changed Maxine's Career16:00 - Becoming One of the Few Female Fortune 500 Executives18:43 - Why She Walked Away From Payless21:27 - The Beanie Baby Disappointment That Sparked Build-A-Bear26:14 - Designing the First Store: “Make it Like Willy Wonka.”37:53 - Opening Day — and a Line Out the Door39:53 - Defending the Brand Against Copycats and Lawsuits45:53 - Scaling to Hundreds of Stores and Going Public58:25 - Letting Go: Stepping Down as CEO and Building a LegacyThis episode was researched by Rommel Wood and produced by Kerry Thompson, with music by Ramtin Arablouei, and edited by Neva Grant. Follow How I Built This:Instagram → @howibuiltthisX → @HowIBuiltThisFacebook → How I Built ThisFollow Guy Raz:Instagram → @guy.razYoutube → guy_razX → @guyrazSubstack → guyraz.substack.comWebsite → guyraz.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How do you handle the immense pressure of designing a creative live event specifically for creatives? And as technology rapidly evolves, should church production teams be embracing or avoiding Artificial Intelligence (AI)?In this episode, we are joined by Luke McElroy, the visionary founder of the SALT Conference and the SALT Community. Luke pulls back the curtain on the difficulty of live events, sharing the inspiring origin story of SALT and what it actually takes to run a massive gathering for church technical artists. We also zoom out to discuss the profound, eternal impact that worship and production teams have on their congregations every single Sunday.In this episode you'll hear: 0:00 The Reality and Difficulty of Live Events4:00 Luke McElroy (Founder of SALT Conference) Joins8:45 The Origin Story of the SALT Conference15:30 Behind the Scenes: Running Events for Creatives18:15 The Eternal Impact of Worship and Production Teams22:50 The Pressure of Designing a Conference For Creatives26:30 Storytime: The Christian Magicians Disaster35:40 The Big Debate: Should Church Production Use AI?45:20 Church Tech Disaster Story: "We Couldn't See a Thing"Get expert help and care on your next integration project with our friends at HouseRight here.  Hang out with us at The Mix in Vegas here! Get more money back in your budget and more space in your closet by selling us your used gear here. Resources for your Church Tech MinistrySell Us Gear: Does your church have used gear that you need to convert into new ministry dollars? We can make you an offer here. Buy Our Gear: Do you need some production gear but lack the budget to buy new gear? You can shop our gear store here.  Connect with us: Sales Bulletin: Get better deals than the public and get them earlier too here!Early Service: Get our best gear before it goes live on our site here. Instagram: Hangout with us on the gram here! Reviews: Leaving us a review on the podcast player you're listening to us on really helps the show. If you enjoyed this episode, you can say thank you with a review! 

Have you ever wondered whether your biggest dreams are truly yours—or shaped by fear, validation, and old conditioning? Jessica sits down with bestselling author and TBMer Tara Mohr to explore the powerful distinction between your inner critic and inner mentor. Together, they unpack how we hide from visibility, delay our purpose through perfectionism, and unknowingly play small in pursuit of safety. Tara shares the framework that has helped thousands of women reconnect with their authentic voice and step into greater self-expression, impact, and fulfillment. From the nervous system's role in self-doubt to reframing feedback and confidence, this episode offers practical tools for anyone ready to be seen—in work, creativity, relationships, and life. Whether you're launching a business, sharing your story, or simply feeling the pull toward a more authentic version of yourself, this conversation is a reminder: your wisdom already lives within you. Ready to step into your power? The Be Seen Challenge is live — drop into the TBM app to take the kickoff quiz and begin. Find the complete show notes here → https://tobemagnetic.com/expanded-podcast   Resources: The Be Seen Challenge Stop playing small in your career, relationships, and life and manifest your next level. Now live inside The Pathway.   Summer Sale: $23/Month Start your manifestation journey at our lowest price of the season: $23/month! Join now and step into the Be Seen Challenge with us before this offer ends.   Free Masterclass: Step Into Your F*ck It Energy If you missed our live masterclass with Lacy and Jessica — don't worry, you can still watch the replay! Learn how to step into your f*ck it energy and feel genuinely safe being seen.   Join the Pathway Membership Use code EXPANDED for 20% off your first month! The Pathway Membership gives you unlimited access to all of our manifestation workshops—including How to Manifest, Unblocking Your Inner Child, Shadow, Love, Money, Rock Bottoms, Ruts, and Energetic Updates —plus 70+ self-hypnosis tracks designed to unlock your full potential. LEARN MORE HERE   Get the latest from TBM Join the Pathway now - Return to Magic Challenge, Money Challenge, and Nervous System Reset available now!   New to TBM? Free Offerings to Get You Started Learn the Process! Expanded Podcast - How to Manifest Anything You Desire  Get Expanded! The Motivation - Testimonial Library Ready to find out what's holding you back? Try our Free Clarity Exercise   Be an EXPANDER! Share Your Manifestation Story Submit to Be a Process Guest What did you manifest during the Return to Magic Challenge? Share a voice note of your question, block, or Process to be featured in an episode!   This Episode Is Brought to You By:  ARMRA - Get 30% off your first subscription order with code TBM  Colostrum: Immune Revival - Immune barrier superfood    Fatty15 - go to fatty15.com/TBM use code TBM at checkout to get an additional 15% off your 90-day subscription Starter Kit   PIQUE - Get  20% off any Pique products at piquelife.com/tbm, and use code TBM at checkout.  Sun Goddess Matcha   In this episode we talk about: The concept of the Inner Mentor and how to access it Distinguishing intuition from fear-based thinking Understanding the true role of the inner critic Why visibility activates the nervous system Playing big versus playing small The hidden ways women avoid being seen Perfectionism and its connection to self-worth Designing at the whiteboard versus taking action Finding confidence through values instead of validation Why feedback reflects the giver as much as the receiver The relationship between curiosity and fear Language patterns that diminish personal authority Reclaiming your authentic voice and self-expression Sharing your story versus hiding behind expertise The joy and fulfillment that emerge from living authentically   Mentioned In the Episode:  Take the Be Seen Quiz in the TBM app Playing Big book available here: https://www.taramohr.com/the-playing-big-book/ Find our Be Seen Challenge plus all our workshops and all workshops mentioned inside our Pathway Membership! (Including the Inner Child Workshop, Safe to Be Seen DI, and the Be Seen Challenge Challenge)   Connect with Tara Mohr! Playing Big book available here: https://www.taramohr.com/the-playing-big-book/ Meet Your Inner Mentor (guided visualization): https://www.taramohr.com/book/inner-mentor-signup/ Free Inner Critic chapter from the Playing Big book: https://www.taramohr.com/the-playing-big-book/free-chapter/ HOW TO MANIFEST by Lacy Phillips (with exercises by Jessica Gill)Available now! The Expanded Podcast, from To Be Magnetic™ (TBM), is the leading manifestation podcast rooted in neuroscience, psychology, and energetics. Hosted by TBM's Chief Content Officer Jessica Gill, with monthly appearances from founder Lacy Phillips, Expanded is where science and the mystical meet to help you manifest in the most grounded, practical, and life-changing way.At TBM, we've redefined manifestation through Neural Manifestation™—our proven, science-backed method developed with neuroscientist Dr. Tara Swart. This process helps you reprogram limiting beliefs at the subconscious level so you can create the life most aligned with your authenticity.Each week, we take you inside the TBM practice to help you expand your subconscious to believe what you desire is possible. Through expert interviews, thought leader conversations, TBM teachings, and real member success stories, you'll learn how to: – Rewire your subconscious mind and step into your worth – Heal your inner child and integrate shadow work – Set boundaries, strengthen intuition, and reclaim self-worth – Manifest relationships, careers, abundance, and experiences that align with your true selfWith over than 40 million downloads and a global community in over 100 countries, Expanded has become the gold standard in manifestation content. Think of it as your weekly practice for expanding your mind, believing what you want is possible, and manifesting the life you're meant to live.Past guests include leading voices such as Mel Robbins, Lewis Howes, Jenna Zoe, Martha Beck, Dr. Joe Dispenza, Dr. Gabor Maté, Mark Groves, and Brianna Wiest. Where To Find Us!@tobemagnetic (IG)@LacyannephillipsLacy Launched a Substack! - By Candlelight - Join Here@Jessicaashleygill@tobemagnetic (youtube)@expandedpodcast

What happens when one of the world's most legendary tropical fruit hunters, permaculture pioneers, and community builders sits down to talk about plants, purpose, spirituality, and the future of humanity? In this deeply inspiring conversation, Darin Olien welcomes longtime friend, ethnobotanist, permaculture educator, and visionary community creator Stephen Brooks for a wide-ranging exploration of regenerative living, plant intelligence, community building, food systems, and humanity's forgotten relationship with nature. From the global success of Down to Earth with Zac Efron to the creation of the Church of Fruit, the evolution of permaculture, tropical fruit exploration, regenerative communities, and Stephen's newest visionary project in Costa Rica, this conversation is a powerful reminder that the solutions to many of humanity's biggest challenges may already exist within nature itself. The question is whether we are willing to listen.     What You'll Learn How Down to Earth almost never made it to air The hidden challenge of translating complex ideas to mass audiences Why Stephen created the Church of Fruit How ritual, food, and community can fill a modern spiritual void What permaculture actually means beyond gardening Why perennial agriculture may be one of humanity's most important solutions How exotic fruit hunters are preserving genetic diversity around the world Why plants may be humanity's greatest teachers The future of regenerative communities and conscious living How technology is helping preserve indigenous wisdom Stephen's newest Costa Rican project: Eterna Why community, gathering, and real human connection matter more than ever     Chapters 00:00:00 – Welcome to SuperLife 00:00:33 – Sponsor: Manna Vitality 00:02:27 – Introducing Stephen Brooks 00:02:51 – The Down to Earth connection 00:03:18 – Punta Mona, Alegría Village, and 30 years in Costa Rica 00:03:36 – Stephen's newest project: Eterna 00:03:53 – The rise of the Church of Fruit 00:04:19 – Reconnecting people through nature and ritual 00:04:59 – How Darin and Stephen first connected 00:06:02 – The creation of Down to Earth 00:07:26 – The challenges of bringing meaningful content to mainstream audiences 00:09:58 – Life off-grid and observing modern culture 00:11:42 – Why education works best through experience 00:11:55 – The spiritual purpose behind the Church of Fruit 00:12:53 – Addressing modern society's spiritual void 00:13:57 – Stephen as a bridge between humans and plants 00:14:32 – The language of plants 00:16:20 – Why humanity has become disconnected from nature 00:16:56 – The incredible world of exotic fruits 00:18:31 – Plant collectors, seed preservation, and biodiversity 00:20:25 – Discovering new fruits from around the world 00:22:18 – Indigenous wisdom and preserving plant knowledge 00:23:05 – The culture of radical sharing in the plant community 00:24:22 – Sponsor: Shakeology 00:25:59 – The importance of preserving rare genetics 00:30:14 – What permaculture actually means 00:31:12 – Regenerative agriculture and the future of food 00:32:29 – Why current food systems cannot continue 00:33:25 – The concept of the perennial diet 00:34:50 – Meeting human needs with less energy 00:36:07 – Permaculture as a decision-making framework 00:37:47 – Why annual agriculture is energy intensive 00:38:50 – Creating abundance through design 00:39:49 – Learning directly from nature 00:40:29 – How disconnected society has become 00:41:18 – Covid, collective behavior, and social change 00:42:05 – The role of education in transformation 00:42:56 – Building EcoTeach and online communities 00:43:27 – Becoming a "karmic billionaire" 00:44:08 – Why consumer demand is changing the food industry 00:45:23 – Signs humanity is waking up 00:46:26 – Stephen's vision for the future 00:47:19 – Eterna: regenerative living meets community 00:48:42 – Creating event spaces for transformation 00:49:29 – Educational hospitality and regenerative design 00:50:08 – Integrating local communities into development 00:51:30 – Building schools, programs, and shared resources 00:52:03 – Music, festivals, and creating meaningful culture 00:53:17 – Floresta and educational gatherings 00:54:22 – Why community matters more than ever 00:55:12 – Loneliness, connection, and finding your tribe 00:56:01 – Not Your Average Garden Club 00:56:56 – The future of farm schools and regenerative education 00:57:25 – Final reflections on purpose, plants, and possibility     Thank You to Our Sponsors Manna Vitality: Go to mannavitality.com/ and use code DARIN12 for 12% off your order. Shakeology: Get 15% off with code DARINO1BODI at Shakeology.com.     Join the SuperLife Community Get Darin's deeper wellness breakdowns — beyond social media restrictions: Weekly voice notes Ingredient deep dives Wellness challenges Energy + consciousness tools Community accountability Extended episodes Join for $7.49/month → https://patreon.com/darinolien     Find More from Stephen Brooks Website: eterna.earth Education: Ecoversity Instagram: @stephenrbrooks Join the World's Largest Garden Club Here! Attend: The Church of Fruit     Find More from Darin Olien: Website: darinolien.com Instagram: @darinolien Book: Fatal Conveniences Platform & Products: superlife.com New Show: Roadmap to Happiness     Key Takeaway "Nature is not something separate from us—it is the original teacher, the original technology, and the original community. The more we align ourselves with the principles that forests, ecosystems, and living systems have been demonstrating for millions of years, the more abundance, connection, resilience, and purpose we create in our own lives. The future may not require inventing something entirely new—it may simply require remembering what nature has been trying to teach us all along."

If you've ever felt called to write a book but haven't taken the first step, this episode is for you. K+L share the unfiltered story behind writing their book—the excitement of landing a book deal, the moments they wanted to quit, the creative blocks that surfaced, and what it actually took to bring their vision to life. They open up about the parts of the process most people never see: the self-doubt, perfectionism, pressure, and vulnerability that come with putting your ideas on paper + sharing them with the world.  You'll also hear the lessons they learned navigating publishing, building a sustainable writing practice, and finding their authentic voice in a world overflowing with content. We also talk about: Why social media matters in publishing Balancing creativity + business The reality of the editing process Writing routines + accountability Designing a book cover that feels timeless Writing a book takes longer than you think Book marketing + launch strategy Resources: Instagram: @lindseysimcik  Instagram: @itskrista  Sponsors: Ka'Chava | Go to https://www.kachava.com and use code ALMOST30 for 15% off your first order. Hero Bread | Hero Bread is offering 10% off your order. Go to https://hero.co and use code A30POD at checkout. The Absorption Company | Start taking supplements your body can actually absorb. Go to https://absorbmore.com and enter ALMOST30 at checkout for up to 35% off your first order.  BetterHelp | This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. You don't have to say yes to everything this summer. Find support in therapy. Sign up and get 10% off at https://BetterHelp.com/almost30. Naturium | Give your skin the affordable, luxurious glow up it deserves. Go to https://Naturium.com/ALMOST30 for 10% off your first purchase today. To advertise on this podcast please email: partnerships@almost30.com. Learn More: Get your copy of Almost 30, A definitive guide to a life you love for the next decade and beyond. https://almost30.com/book Listen to Morning Microdose! A quick trip into higher consciousness - https://almost30.com/morning-microdose Watch on YouTube - https://youtube.com/Almost30Podcast Join our community - https://www.facebook.com/Almost30podcast/groups Follow: https://instagram.com/almost30podcast https://tiktok.com/@almost30podcast Podcast disclaimer can be found by visiting: almost30.com/disclaimer.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices