Podcasts about Diet Coke

Audacy maven Ray Martel is fond of Diet Coke to the tune of a dozen a day. He's had to dial the cost back to store brand.

We open with Draymond Green's new Warriors deal, navigate the challenges of dining out with a vegan for Gio's mother-in-law's birthday, and react to station staffer Ray Martel swapping his 12 daily Diet Cokes for Dollar Store Diet Summit Cola. Jerry returns with updates on a football-focused Geno Smith, Aaron Rodgers declaring his final season after getting approval from his wife, Dave Sims calling a Yankees win over the White Sox, and Draymond Green's shock over Jalen Brunson taking a discount with the Knicks. Finally, Rami's day off to see Mumford & Sons earns Moment of the Day before we wrap with news that the Gotham sports app will shut down after the MLB season to shift all streaming to DAZN.

Max gives farmer's market arrival advice and has to suck it up when it comes to everything, a new LA pizza force of a neighborhood, dinner party planning tips, Jordo's Taco Bell lettuce feelings and restaurant bathrooms, kid friendly spots, a Diet Coke vs. Coke Zero talk, tipping, Nancy Silverton being spread too thin, top 5 peking ducks, and what really makes a successful restaurant if it isn't the food?

Video Version: What does it actually mean when disability advocacy is “level funded”? What are federal appropriations, and why are they such a big deal for disability rights? On this episode of National Disability Radio, Alden Blevins (Communications Manager), Stephanie Flynt McEben (Public Policy Analyst), and Eric Buehlmann (Deputy Director for Public Policy) pull back the curtain on the federal funding process and what it means for the Protection and Advocacy (P&A) network. They discuss the successful FY26 funding fight, why advocacy on Capitol Hill matters, and how everyday people can help. You also get the added bonus of hill-day survival tips, advocacy myths and truths, and a very important debate about coffee and tea. Transcript: Alden Blevins: Hello, and welcome to National Disability Radio. I am here today with two wonderful people who are about to introduce themselves. I am Alden Blevins, Communications Manager here at NDRN. I have my own lived experience with disability and I’m really glad to be here today. What about you guys? Who are you, What do you do? Stephanie Flynt…: Yeah, I’m Stephanie Flynt McEben. I am also one of your hosts of the podcast and NDRN’s Public Policy Analyst. And I have beef with a music streaming app, and I’m not going to talk about which one, but let’s just say that this [00:00:30] music streaming app told me that I was 67 for Christmas this year. And then it had the audacity to… Oh gosh, what was the playlist the other morning that was recommended? It was Old Camping Man Sunday Morning, and it was really weird. Why? I don’t listen to old camping man music unless James Taylor and Chappell Roan and Taylor Swift count as that. But anyway, hope everybody else is having a good day. And hey, if Spotify thinks [00:01:00] you’re old, you’re just… I don’t know. You’re young at heart, anyway. Alden Blevins: I think it clocked my age exactly. And I must say that I listened to a lot of Lady Gaga and Kesha in the last year. Stephanie Flynt…: Yes. Alden Blevins: And to be fair- Stephanie Flynt…: You were in the 2010’s era. Alden Blevins: They were still the two most popular artists when I was graduating from high school, so they clocked me. They clocked me for sure. Stephanie Flynt…: Oh my gosh. Time to introduce Eric, who is our Deputy Executive [00:01:30] Director for Public Policy. How are you doing? It’s great for you to be here. Eric Buehlmann: Great, it’s wonderful to be here. Evidently, your phone must be listening to my music then in that way [inaudible 00:01:44] Stephanie Flynt…: Maybe so. I don’t know what’s going on, but I don’t know how I feel about it. And also, I guess… I don’t know. I guess the Spotify age thing is eclectic because my top artist was Taylor Swift, so I don’t know. Anywho. Eric Buehlmann: So I’m Eric Buehlmann. I’m the Deputy Executive [00:02:00] Director for Public Policy. As Stephanie said, my first choice is not Taylor Swift, but my wife listens to it a lot. So when I’m in the car with her, that’s what I’m listening to. Alden Blevins: This is National Disability Radio. We are the official podcast of the National Disability Rights Network. The National Disability Rights Network works in Washington DC and around the country on behalf of the protection [00:02:30] and advocacy systems, the P&As and the client assistance programs or CAP. We are the nation’s largest provider of legal advocacy services for people with disabilities. The first thing we want to talk about is some big and good news. The P&A network was funded for the rest of FY26. Can we get a hallelujah? Stephanie Flynt…: Yay, woo-hoo! Alden Blevins: The first thing I was just going to ask is, Eric, can you explain to us why it’s a big deal that we were funded and level funded, [00:03:00] and kind of what it took for us to get to this point? Eric Buehlmann: In terms of being able to, why we were able to do this, it’s really our members reaching out to all the representatives, all the senators, making the case, all the good work that the P&As and the CAPs do, and showing all the examples and saying, “Look, if you don’t fund us, this is what’s going to happen, is that person with a disability is not going to be able to get accessible housing or accessible transportation, or the student’s going to be able to go to school or someone’s going to have an assistive [00:03:30] technology device or rampant abuse and neglect are going to be occurring in either the community or institution.” So they made those cases. Congress said, “We agree with you.” And the best we could hope for at this time was at least maintaining our funding and not losing it. Alden Blevins: I think it’s really important to remember that this is not just numbers on a spreadsheet, this has real world impacts on peoples’ lives, the lives of people with disabilities, whether or not they can access enforcement of their civil rights, so [00:04:00] super important. Stephanie Flynt…: Absolutely. Alden Blevins: Just to peel back the curtain and give a little more context for some of our listeners, I just want to go ahead and ask the kind of general question of what are federal appropriations and what does that really mean when we talk about them? Stephanie Flynt…: Yeah, sure. I’m happy to jump in a little bit here. Essentially what federal appropriations are is how Congress allocates funding. And so essentially, there is a long process as Eric kind of talked through a little bit [00:04:30] earlier, in terms of everything that’s been going on with the budget. And so individuals are able to make various appropriations requests to their office. But essentially in a nutshell, it’s essentially just how we get the funds that we need in order to do the work that we do. Alden Blevins: And just kind of practically, what are the steps in an appropriations process or what can people kind of expect out of appropriation season? Oh Stephanie Flynt…: Oh my goodness. Okay, so usually, [00:05:00] of course in the spring, we usually see a big influx of appropriations forms, which, we’re starting to kind of see that now with the House setting their committee deadlines for appropriations, so we’re starting to kind of see an influx of that now. In the Senate, we’ll probably see that a little bit later on as that comes down. But usually the offices will set their personal deadlines, their committee deadlines. And then the appropriations bills, just kind of depending on where they sit, which, all of ours sit on the subcommittee for Labor, [00:05:30] Health and Human Services, Education and related agencies on both the House and the Senate side on the Appropriations Committee. And so there will be a House markup usually around June, as well as a Senate markup in July with the hope that we are able to go ahead and pass the appropriations, the funding that we need for the next fiscal year that starts on October 1st. Alden Blevins: My next one is just why do you guys think advocacy on Capitol Hill matters [00:06:00] during appropriation season? The regular person might not realize how important this is and why. Stephanie Flynt…: Yeah. In my experience, like you said, Alden, a lot of people don’t realize how important and how crucial that kind of advocacy is. But really and truly, that kind of advocacy is what helps us acquire our funding for services, particularly advocacy. So it’s definitely super important to be continuing to follow up with your members. Of course, meeting with your members if you can, [00:06:30] and their staff. Having a steady contact in their offices, things like that. And even just building those relationships in my viewpoint is a good form of advocacy and just making sure that they know who you are, they know what your programs do. They know how it benefits folks in their state/district, et cetera, et cetera, the constituency that they serve. So just making sure that, those points. Eric Buehlmann: And the specific, the biggest requirement is staff [00:07:00] are always seeking information. You’re covering hundreds of programs, multiple issues. They don’t know everything that is going on. They can’t track everything at the same time because they just have information overload. So putting a face with a person, with the story, with the request in front of them makes the biggest difference, because then the staff begins to know who you are. But otherwise, they’re just overloaded with how much material they’re trying to cover and how much stuff they’re trying to do. And if you’re not in front of them, I mean, as [00:07:30] it’s basically said, if you’re not talking to them, you’re on the menu, you’re not the one that’s providing them the information. Stephanie Flynt…: You’re not at the table, you’re on the menu, yeah. Alden Blevins: That makes a lot of sense to me. I was also just going to ask, we’re all so excited and grateful that we were level funded for FY26, but what does level funding really mean? What has that looked like over the last couple years? And having that level or that stagnant funding, what does that mean in terms of the [00:08:00] P&A’s services or the take home impact? Eric Buehlmann: It’s difficult for the P&As because level funding really is in a way, a kind of a cut. Costs are going up continually, healthcare costs are going up. Cost of travel, cost of everything is going up. So level funding ultimately means that they’re able to do less or they may need to shift from doing as much individual case work to more systemic work where you’re helping multiple people by solving one problem. [00:08:30] So level funding is great, especially when you’re facing the potential of cuts. But ultimately if you do that for many, many years, it ultimately means that the P&As and the CAPs will have less staff and able to serve less people. Alden Blevins: Now that we’ve kind of grounded ourselves in a little bit of how this process works, we’re going to talk about the larger policy landscape that we’re all living in right now. What are some of the disability policy concerns we saw come to a head in 2025 and how do we think [00:09:00] that might influence our policy landscape for the rest of 2026? Stephanie Flynt…: Oh my goodness. Do you want to start or do you want me to? Eric Buehlmann: You go first. Stephanie Flynt…: Oh, goodness. I think for me, the biggest thing that comes to mind is the dismantling of the Department of Education. We’ve definitely seen different things that have kind of gone ahead in that regard. And so obviously, there’s a lot of different concerns that are there in those types of things. And so [00:09:30] just continuing to monitor that and what all of that looks like. Of course, I’ll leave a little bit of the healthcare stuff to Eric since that’s more of his specialty, but of course, that is something that I would be remiss not to mention. The various concerns around the Medicaid work requirements that will be taking effect and how that’s going to impact our community. So there are definitely a lot of different policies and a lot of different things that you don’t think about necessarily intersecting with [00:10:00] the disability community, but that are still having impacts on the disability community, particularly those who are members of multiple marginalized communities. Eric Buehlmann: I think building on that for Stephanie is, it’s not just the Medicaid work requirements that are going to hit people. It’s just the massive amounts of cuts to the amount of funding that the states are getting. It’s sort of a partnership between states and the federal government. And if the federal government cuts their share of funding, it means states are going to be cutting their share of funding. And what those cuts [00:10:30] really mean in the long run is that unfortunately, not required services or waiver services are going to be the ones that are going to get hit. If they have to do it, the state will pay for it. If they don’t have to do it and the state’s not willing to put up the money, then those services are going to go away. And in our case, that means home and community-based services for the most part. So not only are a number of people going to get kicked off of Medicaid because they’re having problems following the work requirements or understanding [00:11:00] what the work requirements are and/or having to go through getting re-certified every six months rather than every year, that’s going to mean more people are going to be kicked off. On top of it, you add in all the cuts and the states are going to look around and say, “Well, we’re losing $1 billion,” let’s say, in California, I think is the number they said. “How are we going to make up that gap?” And what they’re going to do is they’re going to say, “Well, these are required and required in the Medicaid program is institutionalized care versus [00:11:30] the ones that we choose to do on our own, which is home and community-based services. Well, if we have to do it, we’ll have to pay for it.” And that means there’s a gap and that gap is going to come out of home and community-based services. Alden Blevins: Yeah. And I think this is kind of a great connection to that home and community-based services piece. I was going to kind of ask, generally speaking, what themes might we be seeing in Congress right now that could affect P&A programs or disability justice as a whole? Eric Buehlmann: I do think one issue [00:12:00] that we’re encountering is more and more members that may not understand disability as well, or what the desires of people with disabilities are, and may listen to not just the person with a disability, they may be listening to their guardians or they may be listening to their parents. Not saying that they don’t know what the person with a disability wants, but if you want to go to the source, the source is the person with a disability. So I think one of the themes, and I think this is why it’s critically important for people with disabilities to be involved in these discussions and [00:12:30] doing this advocacy, is you’ve got to put yourself front and center. And you have to say, “This is what I desire, this is what I want. I want to live in the community, I want to live at home. I want to be able to work in an integrated environment. I don’t want to be paid subminimum wage.” And if they’re not hearing from people with disabilities about that, then that’s a problem. And I think what we’re seeing is sort of a return to sort of the old way of thinking, sort of pre-IDEA, pre-ADA. And people with disabilities should be [00:13:00] off to the side and not at the forefront. And so I think that theme is carrying over in a lot of the ways Congress and the administration are looking at these issues. And I think in terms of other themes, it’s, “We got to save money somewhere.” And their ideas of trying to save money is to cut programs, which actually in the long run, costs more. It costs more to be served in an institution than it costs to live and get served in the community. And [00:13:30] so we’ve really got to be making those cases. I think those are two themes that I’m thinking of. Stephanie Flynt…: Yeah, for sure. And I think that another theme really is just broader justice in the civil rights community, just not completely and fully understanding disability. And so I definitely think that if we’re not careful with everything going on, we definitely could regress back a little bit more into the medical model as opposed to the social model. And I think that some of the demonstration in the legislation [00:14:00] that could potentially be introduced, and of course that we are closely monitoring and making sure that we’re continually keeping an eye out. And of course, we’ll keep folks in the network apprised of those things. But all that to say, I think that’s kind of a demonstrated action when it comes to their understanding of what disability is. Alden Blevins: I love what you guys said, especially about people with disabilities being front and center and telling their own stories and determining, [00:14:30] telling the world what they really want and seek out in their lives. I think that that’s so important for people with disabilities to be in the driver’s seat. For those of you who don’t know, we do have a saying in the disability community that is, “Nothing about us without us.” So kind of speaking about some of the messages that have been happening in the last year, we know that a lot of things have become very polarized throughout the last year, 2025. What opportunities do you guys see for collaboration towards [00:15:00] a better future for people with disabilities? What efforts might be a good target for bipartisan support? Stephanie Flynt…: Yeah. I think for me, definitely always on the hunt for bipartisan opportunity. Because the truth of the matter is that disability, even though it is being portrayed as a partisan issue, it’s not a partisan issue. It’s a nonpartisan issue. And so just kind of keeping that in mind as we continue to do this policy work. I think [00:15:30] what it boils down to really, at least a part of it, is messaging. Because looking at the issues that are in the disability community, because they’re nonpartisan, I think that really, it comes down to it’s not about what you’re saying, it’s how you’re saying, it’s how you’re presenting it. When we’re talking to different offices, we want to emphasize different things that they are most concerned about or that may matter most to their particular constituency or the folks [00:16:00] with disabilities that they may serve. Those would be my things, but I definitely, even though it can be challenging at times, definitely just continuing to keep hope there. Eric Buehlmann: I mean, there’s always a lot of different things. And as Stephanie said, you have to sort of tailor your message around what people are interested in. I mean, things like the Transformation to Competitive Integrated Employment Act, I think there’s a large number of people, and we’ve seen it in the states, they’re phasing out the subminimum wage, even in some [00:16:30] very conservative states. And so that’s something that’s garnered bipartisan support, that people should be paid at least the minimum wage for the work they’re doing. And that they should be integrated into the employment environment and not just in segregated workshops. We were able to get a Republican co-sponsor for the Keeping All Students Safe Act this year, which would place some kind of federal restrictions on the use of restraint and seclusion in schools and provide money for [00:17:00] training, which is critically important so that the teachers know and the school personnel know what they do when they’re encountering tough situations. There’s a number of bills. I mean, ultimately disability is very bipartisan and it impacts everybody. So usually whether you’re a Republican, a Democrat or Independent, you either have a family member or know someone very close to you that has a disability. So you just got to frame the message right. Alden Blevins: I love that you guys both mentioned messaging and disability [00:17:30] being affecting everyone. That’s part of my core messaging that I always try to put out there, is that disability can come for anybody. You can be a person who has no disabilities one morning and your situation could be different by that evening, depending on what happens to you in your life. And even as you age throughout the lifespan, most of us are going to experience some degree of disability in our lives. So advocating for this [00:18:00] community now when you have the chance to is only going to benefit you when you inevitably become a part of it. I think that’s really important to remember. My kind of last question on this topic is just, what do you think you would want policymakers today to know most about our programs at the P&As? Stephanie Flynt…: I’m going to yield to the executive overseer to start. Eric Buehlmann: I mean, I think our members are hidden gems. I think that’s the biggest [00:18:30] thing, is that most people don’t know what a protection advocacy agency is and/or what it does. As I’ve said many times in my stories is I had met the Executive Director of the Vermont P&A for many times when I worked up on the Hill. Had no idea he worked for the Protection & Advocacy Agency. Talked to him about housing, talked to him about employment, talked to him about all these different things, had no idea that there was a Protection and Advocacy Agency. My second day at the job, I go into an NDRN board meeting and there he is, [00:19:00] sitting there. And I’m like, “Oh, that’s what a Protection & Advocacy Agency… Because I didn’t have a clue. So I think we’re sort of a hidden gem. And I think really, the big thing is that the P&As do a lot of work that other agencies can’t. We have these really strong… I hate saying we, but our members have strong authorities to go in and investigate and monitor for abuse and neglect. If that’s going on, they can go in unannounced. They could do these kinds of investigations that other places can’t. There are [00:19:30] story after story of the police being kept out of certain places or Child Protective Services or Adult Protective Services. But the P&A goes in and is able to sort of expose that abuse and neglect. And that’s really the important thing. And I think people just need to know they exist. But there’s more than just the systemic work. Individually, they are helping people around employment or education or accessible transportation and housing. So I just think there are ultimately hidden gems the more [00:20:00] you delve into it. And as you said, Alden, everyone’s going to become, in my opinion, a member of the disability community at one time in their life or not. Could be permanently, could be temporarily if you break your leg or something like that. And now all of a sudden, you begin to realize that yeah, curb cuts do make a heck of a lot of sense. And yes, automatic doors are very helpful and all those kinds of things. And so we just need to do a better job of sort of explaining the beauty of the work the P&As do and that [00:20:30] it’s not just these giant exposes of abuse and neglect, but there’s all the little individual work that they do that’s extremely important to families and people with disabilities. Alden Blevins: We know in this world that policy is never static. There’s always a lot coming at us, coming at you guys, to kind of figure out and think about how it impacts our community. So my next question is just what do we think might be coming in the landscape of 2026? [00:21:00] It’s hard to speculate, but what should we be looking ahead towards as a community? Eric Buehlmann: Election years are always a weird little duck. Stephanie Flynt…: Yes. Eric Buehlmann: Partly because Congress does not stay around that much, they like to go home and they like to campaign. Some would say they’re not here to do as much damage. But the administration’s still here, they could do plenty of damage. And so I mean, my expectation is there will not be [00:21:30] a lot that’s going to really occur. They’re going to do what they normally have to do, which is sort of the appropriations and try to get that done as well as they can before the elections. There may be some messaging bills that they try to work on, but I’m not expecting a lot of things to actually get passed and a lot of work to get done. But I think this gets back to the theme issue and that kind of discussion, which is you need to be laying the foundation for the members that are here now and those that are running, especially [00:22:00] in someone in a seat where a member’s retiring or if there’s an open seat. And you need to be making sure the candidates understand the needs and desires and wishes of people with disabilities so that when they do come here, they already have at least some based foundation. So I would really look at ’26 as you got to focus on funding because that’s going to have to happen no matter what. And then making sure that your candidates and then making sure that your members of Congress understand about disabilities so that when [00:22:30] they come back next year, that they’re really almost ready to get going on the issues of importance. Stephanie Flynt…: Yeah. Alden Blevins: So much of what we do is kind of playing a little bit of defense about whatever is going on in the larger policy landscape or the news cycle of that week. But we obviously also have our own policy priorities that we would like to see and that we would like movement on in the next year. So I was just going to ask, what are NDRN’s top three [00:23:00] public policy priorities? Eric Buehlmann: I think if you’re looking in the proactive world, that’s tough in this day and age. I think our policy priorities tend to be much more in the defensive world now, Which is, there’s sort of a 1A and a 1B. You always have the money aspect of it, the appropriations aspect of it, and making sure that our members have hopefully increased funding, but at least level funding. The second, as I talked about before, is our members have amazingly strong authorities [00:23:30] to sort of ferret out abuse, neglect, fraud and waste. And we got to make sure that those aren’t reduced. And so that’s sort of the other big thing. I think structurally, we’re looking at the administration and saying, “We need to make sure that disability is still centered here.” The Department of Education is extremely important for students with disabilities and the amount of work they do. And around employment because the vocational rehabilitation system is there. Health and Human [00:24:00] Services impacts people with disabilities in huge, humongous ways. And so we got to make sure that those structures stay strong, that are providing the training, the technical assistance, the support to all the different programs that support people with disabilities and that they’re strong. Alden Blevins: Yeah, absolutely. I heard education, I heard healthcare. I think these are all bread and butter issues for us and for the community at large. [00:24:30] It can just be tricky to decide when and where to focus your attention. Stephanie Flynt…: Right. And also too, again, going back to that, how do we mesh the priorities in a way that we could potentially try to work with folks and get stuff done? And I think that that’s kind of where that point of collaboration comes in. Figuring out what the priorities of various offices are and see, how can we kind of mesh ours together? Where’s the common ground? What can we work together [00:25:00] on in order to make things better for disabled folks? Eric Buehlmann: And I think as Stephanie said, this is where these relationships come into effect, because you have no idea what’s going to be the big issue of the day. Today it may be X, tomorrow it’s going to be Y. The day after it’s going to be Z, and the staff are just overwhelmed a little bit. But if you have those relationships with them, if something comes up and you need to get in touch with them, you shoot them that email, you send them that note [00:25:30] and they know who you are and they’re willing to look and listen to figure out what you’re saying and where it needs to fit in their priorities. They don’t know who you are, this gets back to the, if you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu, then they’re not going to understand why this is a problem because you’ve not laid that foundation. So that’s where those relationships come to be critically important, because you just never know what’s going to pop up. Alden Blevins: My next question is, what are kind of the strategies or things that [00:26:00] everyday folks can do to kind of help or support? There’s a lot of overwhelming information coming at folks on all sides. And it would just be really nice if we could know what would be most helpful in terms of getting that community support to advance our priorities. Stephanie Flynt…: I think for me, the biggest thing that I can think of there is just making sure that your voice is being heard and that you are able to kind of amplify your voice when it comes to these issues. [00:26:30] Making sure that you are reaching out to your senators and representative, things of that nature. Of course, there’s the number for the Capitol switchboard and we can certainly put that in the show notes if that’s helpful to people. But for everyday folks, it’s so interesting. I’ll be on Facebook and I’ll just see different things and it’ll be videos of people just calling their senators and representative. And it sounds scary, it sounds daunting, but I promise you, getting [00:27:00] constituent calls is definitely something that is super, super helpful in terms of advocacy there. So definitely, definitely recommend that. Eric Buehlmann: And as Stephanie said, take advantage of those action alerts, take advantage of those days. If you’re looking at your state and local legislatures, a lot of them have disability days where a number of groups will come together and they’ll go to the Capitol and they’ll talk up their issues. Take advantage of those. In terms of the federal, try to keep track of if they’re going to do a town hall or if they’re going to be having a [00:27:30] get together. And go and have a discussion with the staff and the members that are there. And then when it comes to the campaigns, get involved with the campaigns. Make sure that the candidates have some kind of disability platform as part of their work and what they’re doing. Because ultimately if you’ve, I’m going to say trained, trained them ahead of time, then when they come to Congress or they go into the state legislature, you don’t have to explain as much. You’re not having to spend your time explaining why this issue is important. [00:28:00] You get to jump to, “This is why we need to do this.” So you need to be working at those candidates. You need to be looking at their platforms and you need to be talking to them so that they know that you’re there. Alden Blevins: Absolutely. I think a lot of times people feel overwhelmed with just knowing how or why to help. And I love that you even mentioned people posting their calls onto social media, because I think that’s another avenue that folks can use. Talk to your friends, talk to your neighbors, talk to people that you talk with online about how these issues impact you [00:28:30] and your life personally. I think that hearing those stories from people with disabilities can be really impactful as well. All right, I’ve got some quicker round of questions just to kind of help folks get to know both you guys and your work. Stephanie Flynt…: Yay. Alden Blevins: The first one is just almost similar to two truths and a lie. If you could give me one myth and one truth about federal advocacy, what would you say? Eric Buehlmann: I think it’s sort of the flip side of the same coin. To me, [00:29:00] the myth that’s out there is, “My voice doesn’t matter.” And that, “Whatever I say isn’t going to be heard by the staff, isn’t going to be heard by the member and I’m not going to really have an impact.” It does. Again, as I said early on, staff are constantly looking for those sources of information. They cannot keep track of all the topics they cover, all the bills they have to do, all the differing appropriations they’re following. They can’t. They rely on the constituents to provide them information. And if you are a trusted resource and providing them good information, [00:29:30] you’ve got your in and they’ll understand and they’ll follow what you’re asking them to do as best they can. So I think that’s the myth, is that their voice doesn’t make any difference. To me, the flip side of that is the truth is it does make a difference. And so if you’re not engaged, then you’re automatically losing. The disability community needs to be and put itself front and center. Because as Alden said, people with disabilities are a majority of this country. You will eventually be a member [00:30:00] of the disability community. And so therefore, you need to make sure your voice is heard. And so I think the truth is your voice does matter, the myth is people think that it doesn’t. Stephanie Flynt…: I think for me, a myth that I would say, not as interesting as Eric’s, but I think a myth that I would say, and these are probably for people who are kind of newer or just more on the outskirts of things, is that a bill is going to pass overnight. That’s not how policy works. Usually it takes lots of reiterations of introduction [00:30:30] and stuff, but that’s how it’s designed. And so I think that’s kind of where my truth comes in or where the truth comes in for the myth versus truth, is that policy is designed to take a while, even though it can be frustrating at times, but that’s in order to ensure the appropriate checks and balances and whatnot. So no, you’re not going to enter in and pass a bill in two days. Hate to break into any hopefuls, but you know. Eric Buehlmann: No, that is a huge one. People think that policy moves at a lightning quick pace. [00:31:00] It is a snail. Stephanie Flynt…: Yep. Eric Buehlmann: It takes years. I worked eight years on election reform before we were finally able to get it through Congress. And reauthorizations, I mean, this is one of our smaller ones. The Assistive Technology Act program was last reauthorized in 2004. We finally got the next reauthorization done in 2021. So it moves slowly and you have got… I guess that’s another thing, sort of following up on what you’re saying. The truth is you have to stick to these people. Stephanie Flynt…: Yes. Eric Buehlmann: You can’t just say, ” [00:31:30] I talked about this once and it’s going to get done this year.” No, you’re probably back next year. Stephanie Flynt…: Not how it works. Eric Buehlmann: And you’re probably back the next Congress and you’re probably back the next Congress. So you will repeatedly have the same conversations. Stephanie Flynt…: Yes. Especially with staff turnover, too. There are going to be different staff members, folks may move back to the representative or the senator’s districts or their own home districts or change roles, what have you. But there can sometimes be a lot of that [00:32:00] turnover. But that can also be a good thing, too. Eric Buehlmann: But Stephanie, I think we’ve got another good truth and myth. Stephanie Flynt…: Oh, okay. Eric Buehlmann: Which is, the myth in my mind is if I feel like the member’s not supportive or following what I’m talking about and caring about disability, then it’s not worth my time. The truth is staff do a lot of work. Stephanie Flynt…: Yes. Eric Buehlmann: And you may encounter a member that is not really [00:32:30] interested in disability, doesn’t really care about disability, but the staff is very interested in disability. And so your message can get conveyed from the staff to the member. You may not always get everything exactly the way you wanted from the member, but you’ve moved him in a direction, or her, in a direction that they weren’t going to go without the staff. Stephanie Flynt…: Exactly, exactly. Staff definitely have a lot of influence when it comes to different member priorities and things like that, that might not usually be on their [00:33:00] radar, such as disability. Alden Blevins: Actually, I caught Eric saying something yesterday that I thought was so impactful. Somebody was expressing disappointment that their meeting was with a baby staffer. And I heard Eric say, “That baby staffer could be in charge in 10 years.” Stephanie Flynt…: I was going to say, like a Chief of Staff in five years- Alden Blevins: Yeah, you never know what inroads you’re making when you get into those rooms. And you should take the chance once you’re in that room, to make the case for people with disabilities. Stephanie Flynt…: Yes. Alden Blevins: This next one, I’m [00:33:30] hearing a lot of themes of perseverance, maybe having to stay on people, having to return year-to-year. This is just a silly question, but what is your Hill day fuel of choice? Is it coffee, is it tea? What keeps you going? Stephanie Flynt…: I think that mine is probably either, probably Celsius. And then I don’t know if y’all have ever had the Mary’s Gone Crackers, but I like to have little hummus things with me. And so I’ll do the Mary’s Gone Crackers with some hummus on the Hill. And so that’s really good to eat between [00:34:00] meetings and stuff, but they’re really good. They’re quinoa seed crackers, gluten-free, garlicky, basil. I don’t know, they’re really good, especially with hummus. So I guess for me, that’s my food and caffeine. Eric Buehlmann: And Stephanie no doubt, could tell any of everybody what mine is. Stephanie Flynt…: Anything gluten-free/unsweetened iced tea from McDonald’s. Eric Buehlmann: Yep, bingo. I’ve never had coffee in my life. Alden Blevins: Wow. Eric Buehlmann: Yeah, I’ve never had coffee in my life. Stephanie Flynt…: I thought you would at least- Eric Buehlmann: Nope, never had coffee in my life. Alden Blevins: Just not even curious? Stephanie Flynt…: Not a sip? Eric Buehlmann: I’m curious, [00:34:30] but I’ve never had it. I’ve now reached the age of, “Why should I now start?” Alden Blevins: This is so fair, because once you start, it’s hard to stop. Stephanie Flynt…: You’re not going to be able stop. Alden Blevins: It’s real hard to stop. Stephanie Flynt…: Especially when you find a roast that you really like. Eric Buehlmann: I’m a caffeine addict, don’t get me wrong. For many years it was Dr. Pepper, Diet Coke. Stephanie Flynt…: Diet Coke. Eric Buehlmann: Doctor said, “No.” Now I’m an unsweetened tea… Well, I’m not going to say always unsweetened tea, but it’s always usually some form of iced tea. Alden Blevins: [00:35:00] Yeah. And sometimes you sneak in the sweet tea as a treat, I assume? Eric Buehlmann: No, not really. I’m not a big fan of sweet tea. I find it too sweet. Alden Blevins: Wow. Stephanie Flynt…: You have to have the right sweet tea, though. Eric Buehlmann: Yeah, I’m not from the South. Stephanie Flynt…: I was going to say- Eric Buehlmann: I’m in Virginia, but I’m not the South. Stephanie Flynt…: They don’t make good sweet tea up in the DMV if you want good sweet. Actually, they just started carrying Milo’s at my local grocery store, so that’s what I recommend. Eric Buehlmann: I’ve seen Milos. Milos is good? Stephanie Flynt…: I love Milos, yes. Eric Buehlmann: Okay, I’ll have to get that one. Stephanie Flynt…: So good, yeah. I mean, it’s sweet, but it’s not too sweet. Anyway. Eric Buehlmann: See, I find it too sweet. I’ll [00:35:30] mix it with unsweetened iced tea at times. I grew my tea at home. And what I’ll do is I’ll pour a little lemon iced tea in and sort of mix it, but I find it too sweet. But yeah, I’ve never had coffee in my life. Coffee ice cream once or twice, but never- Stephanie Flynt…: Okay, but that’s really good. Eric Buehlmann: Nah, no. Stephanie Flynt…: No? Eric Buehlmann: No. Coffee smells great. I love the smell of coffee, but I’m not going to try it now if I can avoid it. Alden Blevins: Good for you. My next one [00:36:00] is just, what is your go-to story when speaking with folks on The Hill? Do you have a P&A story that you feel like you come back to? Do you speak about issues more generally or do you have a go-to story in your back pocket? Eric Buehlmann: Well, I mean, I think the one I always fall back on is the Kaufman House in Kansas. There was a place in Kansas. I think if you just Google Kaufman House in Kansas, you’ll find it. Basically, this is one of those examples where the P&A was the only one that got in. These [00:36:30] were a husband and wife that were running a, I guess I’d call it a group home, that were doing unspeakably horrible abuse and neglect of people with mental illness. And the state had been called in a number of times, the local people had been called in a number of times, and they just shut the door on them. The P&A went in and exposed the whole thing, basically showing what was going on there. They got convicted of a number of crimes, they were sent away to jail. To me, that’s the example that I will go [00:37:00] to a lot, is without the P&A, these people would’ve been just still going through abuse and neglect. I mean, I think the P&As are creating stories every single day, honestly. The number of reports that come out from P&As, we just got one from the Maryland… Maryland, wrong M. Minnesota P&A, about the use of seclusion with some amazing pictures of the various seclusion rooms in Minnesota that they had come upon. I think they’re occurring every single day and all these reports that are coming out. [00:37:30] Our members are in all sorts of facilities, just exposing abuse and neglect. Unfortunately, some of the stuff we really can’t talk about is they’re exposing the waste, fraud and abuse that’s occurring at times in the representative payee program because people aren’t using the benefits to the benefit of people with disabilities, to the beneficiaries. But the one, if you were going to ask me the one, it would be the Kaufman House. And Nancy Jensen testified [00:38:00] in front of Congress on the importance of the P&A program. She’s written some books on the issues that arose, but that would be the one go-to. Stephanie Flynt…: Yeah. I think for me personally, it really just varies from office to office and various priorities. I will say that one thing I do try to do before meeting with particular offices is I try to reach out to the P&A, just to see if there are any particular stories or any particular things that I should highlight going [00:38:30] on in their state for their senators or representative, or even if there’s anything specific in their district. Eric brought up the report that Minnesota did on restraint and seclusion. And one thing that staffers love is data. So if you’re able to kind of bring in a visual, say like the report or even send in a report of what’s been going on along with a story, along with data, that’s really going to get you far. And so those are things that I really [00:39:00] try to bring, just tangible stuff that they can take back to their higher ups in order to try to get different things up the chain, in order for us to get the support that we’re wanting to get from that particular office, whether the goal is co-sponsoring a particular bill or sponsoring something, or whether the goal is just general support or flagging something. Just making sure that you have those materials that folks can take back. Alden Blevins: Yeah, absolutely. And I [00:39:30] think what Eric said about the network generating stories all of the time, every day. Stephanie Flynt…: Yes. Alden Blevins: Where I sit, working in communications, is I try to share a story. At least every week, there’s a new, new story coming out about something that a P&A is doing, whether it be work related to abuse and neglect, whether it be work related to some states, they’re already talking about the Medicaid waiver programs and how they can apply some systemic advocacy to ensure that those are protected through the changes [00:40:00] coming in the Medicaid landscape. There’s just always something to be aware of that’s going on. And I think that really harnessing all of those stories together presents a really strong case for what our network is able to do. Stephanie Flynt…: Absolutely. Alden Blevins: Yeah. I’ve been told that maybe you’ll have a Hill day or appropriations pun and/or joke? Stephanie Flynt…: I always have a joke, you know this. Alden Blevins: Okay, so? Stephanie Flynt…: Oh my goodness. Alden Blevins: Let’s get a drum roll. Stephanie Flynt…: Yes. All right, [00:40:30] so it’s more of a question for Eric. Eric Buehlmann: Oh, no. Stephanie Flynt…: Are you ready? Eric Buehlmann: No, because we did not test this out beforehand. Stephanie Flynt…: Sorry, okay. How would you describe the appropriations process? Eric Buehlmann: How? Stephanie Flynt…: It’s fund. Alden Blevins: So much fun-d. Stephanie Flynt…: So much fun. Alden Blevins: So much fund. Stephanie Flynt…: Oh my goodness. Alden Blevins: Incredible. Stephanie Flynt…: But yes, that is my joke of the month. I’ll be here next month, assuming that I’m not kicked off the podcast [00:41:00] yet. Sorry, Michelle, you weren’t here for the joke, but I’m sure you’re actually laughing even though you pretend you don’t like them. Alden Blevins: Michelle is groaning from afar. Stephanie Flynt…: Yes. Alden Blevins: Yes. Eric Buehlmann: Stephanie’s puns get us through the day. Stephanie Flynt…: Yes, they do. See, I knew there was a… Yep, there we go. Alden Blevins: You got to laugh, you got to laugh. Stephanie Flynt…: Yes, exactly. Laughing is the best form of self-care when it comes to this kind of work, that’s for sure. Alden Blevins: Absolutely. It’s important to remember that congressional budgets and federal decision [00:41:30] making say a lot about whose rights are protected and whose are not, what voices are included, what voices are not. And I’m very grateful that I got the chance today to sit down with two of my amazing coworkers and hear more of their voices, get to share more about the amazing work that they do for our larger community. This has been National Disability Radio, where we highlight issues that impact people with disabilities. If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe and continue the [00:42:00] conversation at ndrn.org or anywhere you get your favorite podcasts. Thanks for listening. Until next time, let’s keep working together to create a world where people with disabilities can thrive. Stephanie Flynt…: Bye.

In this episode, we discuss whether teens should lift heavy, benefits of sunlight, the challenges & joys of parenting, diet soda, and more.We hope you enjoy this episode and if you'd like to join us in The Online Fitness Business Mentorship, you can grab your seat at https://www.fitnessbusinessmentorship.comThank you!-J & MWATCH this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/maa84Ow7X5YTIMESTAMPS:(00:00) — Intro(00:11) — Sun runs are S-tier(01:42) — Jordan's GLP-1 card has been officially REVOKED(07:34) — It turns out Jordan DOES manage his stress...(12:04) — Mike can't prove this, BUT...(17:31) — The older you get, the more impressive it is to be in shape(19:34) — Q&A is BACK, baby!(19:57) — Coke Zero vs Diet Coke(20:12) — Are we World Cup fans?(22:30) — Understanding metabolism & weight management (check out our book on Amazon for more details & some fun stories)(25:51) — The challenges & joys of parenting(30:36) — Top tier ice cream flavors (& a fun story about lactose intolerance...)(33:33) — The best way to meet new people after moving to the other side of the world alone(35:08) — Our favorite Jiu-Jitsu submissions(37:27) — Should teens lift heavy?(38:39) — Thanks for listening!Follow the show on social:YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@personaltrainerpodcastInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/personaltrainerpodcastTikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@personaltrainerpodcastJoin our email list & get our FREE '30 Ways To Build A Successful Online Coaching Business' manual: https://bit.ly/30O2l6pCheck out our book 'Eat It!' at https://www.amazon.com/Eat-It/dp/0008543046If you have any questions you'd like to have answered on the show, shoot us an email at info@fitnessbusinessmentorship.comIf you enjoyed the episode, we would sincerely appreciate it if you left a five-star review.----Post-Production by: David Margittai | In Post MediaWebsite: https://www.inpostmedia.comEmail: david@inpostmedia.com© 2026 Michael Vacanti & Jordan Syatt

Diet Coke is the brand Sprague is most loyal to in his life, can he get a deal? The Matt Miller story just gets more bizarre by the day...and Doesn't Tom Brady know he's the goat and he's beneath all this WWE crap.

Sprague is desperate for a Diet Coke endorsement...can the Matt Miller story get weirder...lots of specials in the Cafe...Day 1 of SEC Media Days offers all kinds of gems...Blazers and City Council gets icier and the Male Sack overflows this week.

RUNDOWN   Mitch and Hotshot Scott open Episode 391 by previewing football season for patrons before a laugh about Scott's father-in-law hijacking the family's evening. They hit the Mariners' 100-game .500 mark, reminisce about the Big Red Machine, then shift to the World Cup, where both stayed hooked long after Team USA's exit. Mitch and Scott rave about teenage phenom Lamine Yamal, poke fun at FIFA's halftime show, preview Seahawks camp, Ryan Fox's British Open win, and Bryson DeChambeau's penalty. Ray Roberts and Mitch discuss Seattle's new ownership, why the defending Super Bowl champs still seem overlooked, and what the Seahawks gained—and lost—this offseason. Roberts also shares hilarious training camp stories, from sneaking home to sleep in his own bed to finally meeting childhood hero Ed "Too Tall" Jones, the player who inspired him to wear No. 72. Mitch, Joe Doyle, and Brady Farkas break down another uneven Mariners series as Seattle reaches the 100-game mark at 50-50. They argue Dan Wilson has become an unfair scapegoat for a flawed roster, praise Cole Young's continued rise, and discuss Julio Rodríguez's return, Colt Emerson's progress, and looming roster decisions. Mitch welcomes three beat reporters who know the Mariners' top draft picks better than anyone. Sam Sklar breaks down first-round slugger Ace Reese, Koki Riley explains why LSU outfielder Jake Brown could become a second-round steal, and Scott Springer profiles Cincinnati right-hander Nathan Taylor, whose bulldog mentality and dominant slider made him one of the draft's best values. Together, they provide an inside look at Seattle's newest wave of talent and what fans can expect from each prospect.   GUESTS   Ray Roberts | Former Seahawks offensive lineman and Seahawks Radio Network Analyst Brady Farkas | Host, Refuse to Lose podcast Joe Doyle | MLB analyst, Over-Slot Sam Skylar | Mississippi State beat reporter, Clarion Ledger Koki Riley | LSU beat reporter, The Daily Advertiser and USA Today Scott Springer | Cincinnati Bearcats beat reporter, The Enquirer   TABLE OF CONTENTS   0:00 | World Cup Wrap, British Open Chaos & Birthday Trivia 26:378 | Ray Roberts; Training Camp Memories, New Seahawks Ownership & Barry Sanders Stories 55:12 | Mariners No-Table; Mariners Tread Water as Trade Deadline Decisions Loom 1:13:03 | Sam Skylar, Koki Riley, Scott Springer [Beat Reporters]; Inside the Mariners' Top Three Draft Picks 1:39:34 | Other Stuff: Josh Kerr breaks the 27-year-old mile record with a blistering 3:42, Roger Bannister's four-minute mile legacy, Alex Rodriguez's factually disastrous Justin Verlander interview during the All-Star Game, Mike Tyson's viral ESPYs moment after learning Shohei Ohtani is a man, Baron Davis sued by his sister over an alleged real estate fraud, suspended Cardinals executive Ryan Gold denies violating the NFL gambling policy, Matt Fitzpatrick says legalized sports betting is fueling fan abuse of golfers, JPMorgan executive Lorna Tsoujini countersues after denying allegations she tried to make a coworker her "sex slave." HEADLINES 93-year-old truck driver seeks Guinness World Record, naked man arrested for surfing atop a moving locomotive, reports claim Donald Trump's biological waste was transported back to the United States after a trip to Turkey, woman prescribed Diet Coke for an Ozempic-related stomach blockage, Peru sees a surge of babies named Holland and Erling Haaland after the Norwegian soccer star. RIPS Sam Neill (78), Brenda Fricker (81), Janice McNair (89).

Which SEC football teams are headed for a shocking upset in 2026? On Episode 5 of The Connor O'Gara Show, Connor is joined by Ryan Brown to make bold SEC preseason predictions and identify the potential trap games that could turn the College Football Playoff race upside down. Could Florida stun Ole Miss in Gainesville one week after the Rebels' emotional showdown with LSU? Can Texas A&M walk into Tuscaloosa and defeat Alabama? Is Arkansas capable of upsetting Tennessee in Fayetteville? Connor also predicts that Oklahoma will become the SEC's ultimate “agent of chaos”—beating Georgia in Athens and Texas in the Red River Rivalry before somehow losing to Mississippi State in Starkville. Ryan explains why he views the Sooners as an 8-4 team rather than a legitimate playoff contender, while Connor questions whether quarterback John Mateer can withstand the physical demands of Oklahoma's brutal schedule. Connor and Ryan also discuss:

The Diet Coke saga is responsible, but I don’t hate this for myself.

A story about my love for Diet Coke, and the consequences. Transcript

Love Island inspires Serina's rant about exclusivity, Matt reveals how much pilots make, Tino can't believe these odd marriage tips, and Are You Smarter Than Nicasio...See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Joe and Brandon find an online community that's very unexpected to say the least, The debate for the best soda and Joe's desire to learn how to dance and more.

Last Second Dropout (Canadian led band, formed at Berklee and based in Brooklyn) returns with a reimagined version of their song “Aspartame,” available on all streaming platforms June 12. Last Second Dropout – “Aspartame” – Digital Assets Originally released earlier in the band's career, the new version, produced by Garth Richardson, captures both the evolution of the band's sound and the perspective that comes with revisiting a song years later. Blending pop-punk, alternative rock, emo, and hip-hop influences, “Aspartame” pairs explosive guitars and emotionally charged vocals with modern production and a sharper sense of urgency. Canadian lead singer Mark MacDonald explains: “’Aspartame’ is about the difference between the truth of what power people and corporations try to tell you is the truth. It’s also about Diet Coke unless you’re Coca-Cola and you’re gonna sue us then it’s about Diet Pepsi.” Last Second Dropout is a NYC/Toronto-based alternative band that is a little pop-punk, a touch emo, a tad alternative rock and with some hip-hop influences, that create emotionally driven songs built for both catharsis and connection. Known for high-energy performances and emotionally honest songwriting, the band continues to grow through touring, independent releases, and a dedicated online fanbase. Social LinksWebsiteSpotifyApple MusicInstagramFacebookTikTokYouTube Checkout my YouTube Channel with long form interviews from the Subversives | the History of Lowest of the Low. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9d1VSeOHYuxFWKuRdmn9j8UTW6AHwS_fAlso my Weekly Tour Vlog is up an live on the YouTubeshttps://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9d1VSeOHYuwphwhc4zd0VgY66f1OUQZp Pledge monthly with Patreon https://www.patreon.com/apologueShop Apologue products at http://apologue.ca/shopCheck out new Four Square Here: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/brighton-beach-ephttps://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/seven-oh-sevenhttps://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/industry-at-home–21st-anniversary-remix-remasteredhttps://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/when-weeks-were-weekends

It's been 10 days since the wedding and we have yet to see any photos of our queen! Chrissie definitely speaks for all the Swifties and Swiftocrats out there when she says that we feel left out. Plus we've discovered a new secret flavour of Diet Coke!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lords: Chall RT-55J https://samarantes.neocities.org/ https://metroidconstruction.com/hack.php?id=878 Topics: Remembering the Dynowarz Instagram private server, and social media thoughts every Mastodon user had already Why don't CPUs do analog arithmetic? Leaves, by Ursula LeGuin https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/148293/leaves-5bd9e153d78b2 Microtopics: DogTroid, the first Metroid ROM hack to star a dog. Self-finishing games. Sparkling water: it's like water but a lot more interesting. Caffeine Free Diet Pepsi. What sodas foam the most in response to a mento. Foam persistence. Foaminess reactions of a mento on various vintagesn of Diet Coke. Jolt Cola: all the sugar, twice the caffeine, three times the foam. A can of soda that's safe to open in a bathroom stall. Artisanal Coca Cola cans on Etsy that finally allow you to open a can of soda in a bathroom stall without anyone realizing you're drinking a Coke on the toilet. Flushable soda cans: as flushable as a flushable wipe. Why do toilets have pee traps when the pee deserves to be free? The second worst game in your NES collection. Desert Chrome title screens. Playing as a little spaceman until you enter the dinosaur mech. Shooting some alien brain or maybe a heart. 8bitnintendo.science How to pick what video games to buy in the late 1980s. How Metroid improved on the maze-with-keys genre. Nanosaur. A velociraptor with a techno-backpack. A game that is exhilarating and scary and endless when you're a child turning out to be a twenty minute trifle when you're an adult. Trespasser (1998) Simulation dinosaur emotions but you can't find a good balance so you just permanently lock them all to angry. Installing a violent action game about dinosaurs in the elementary school computer lab because dinosaurs are technically educational. Revisiting games that perplexed you as a child. Playing bad video games because no matter how bad they are they're still better than going outside and talking to people. The one where Kirby eats a car. The Roblox-like games you can find by logging into third party Minecraft servers. Starting your own Pixelfed server. Following the only person you know on Mastodon. Bluesky's recommendation algorithms recommendeding you nothing but bots. Inventing Internet forums from first principles. When your brain makes up garbage and you need a void to shove it into. Doing your part to make AI worse. CSS Crimes. How to find people to follow on Cohost. Signing up for a social media site and looking around and realizing you doing know anyone here. Mining and reposting. The ongoing maintenance requirements of running a Mastodon server. Ways you can interact with your family that only work if you have an iOS developer in the family. Off-box SQL database backup. Hypothetical IRC servers that support chat logs. Hardware random number generation. The pot of boiling water every Intel CPU draws thermal noise from for random number generation. The most commonly used analog computers in 2026. The market forces that led to semi-modular synthesizers being available for $300. Using your analog CPU to run a million instances of Lunar Lander at once. A rustic summer retreat ranch in the hills of Napa Valley, California. What makes us perceive the gradient of identities over the course of someone's life as a single identity. The most ephemeral thing possible. Musing for a few sentences and then thinking "hmm, I could put some line breaks in here and then publish it." Musing about the nature of identity, with line breaks. Topic Slingers. Topics: throw them around a lil bit. They love it. A lot of people don't know that.

SIMON discusses different trends this hour; increasing rise in men's plastic surgery, weight loss, parental fines for unruly kids in restaurants, clothing teenagers and a Diet Coke miracle? Listen and find out!

Hey, if it works... it works.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hey Heal Squad! It's Friday and somehow, once again, we fooled them and made it through another week. This week, it's an RGF International Edition as Keven checks in from Greece, where a long flight becomes a conversation about travel, patience, kindness, and the little things that somehow drive us all crazy. We talk airplane etiquette, chatty seatmates, the people who refuse to close the window shade on a red-eye, and why the strangers testing our patience often end up reminding us to be a little more compassionate. We talk traveling lighter, lost luggage, disco parties in Greece, celebrity travel etiquette, and why sometimes the smartest travel strategy is to simply buy what you need when you get there. We talk Coke Light versus Diet Coke, Greek politics, Walmart fashion, barrel jeans, tomato sauce stains, and whether moving and grooving through life is better than trying to look perfect while doing it. Happy Friday. We'll Talk Shawtly! Join us at our Canyon Ranch 2026 Retreat: https://www.canyonranch.com/lenox/retreats/heal-retreat-maria-menounos HEAL SQUAD SOCIALS IG: https://www.instagram.com/healsquad/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@healsquadxmaria HEAL SQUAD RESOURCES: Heal Squad Website:https://www.healsquad.com/ Heal Squad x Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HealSquad/membership Maria Menounos Website: https://www.mariamenounos.com My Curated Macy's Page: https://stylecrew.macys.com/@mariamenounos EMR-Tek Red Light: https://emr-tek.com/discount/Maria30 for 30% off Airbnb: https://www.airbnb.com/host ABOUT MARIA MENOUNOS: Emmy Award-winning journalist, TV personality, actress, 2x NYT best-selling author, former pro-wrestler and brain tumor survivor, Maria Menounos' passion is to see others heal and to get better in all areas of life. ABOUT HEAL SQUAD x MARIA MENOUNOS: A daily digital talk-show that brings you the world's leading healers, experts, and celebrities to share groundbreaking secrets and tips to getting better in all areas of life. DISCLAIMER: This Podcast and all related content (published or distributed by or on behalf of Maria Menounos or http://Mariamenounos.com and http://healsquad.com) is for informational purposes only and may include information that is general in nature and that is not specific to you. Any information or opinions provided by guest experts or hosts featured within website or on Company's Podcast are their own; not those of Maria Menounos or the Company. Accordingly, Maria Menounos and the Company cannot be responsible for any results or consequences or actions you may take based on such information or opinions. This podcast is presented for exploratory purposes only. Published content is not intended to be used for preventing, diagnosing, or treating a specific illness. If you have, or suspect you may have, a health-care emergency, please contact a qualified health care professional for treatment.

Huge mass in woman's stomach dissolved with Diet Coke, Woman arrested in Japan for sewing housemate's lips shut, Have you heard about the dangerous'nullo' penis fantasy some men have? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mamdani has ticked off the Italians in New York City, Taco Bell omits many ingredients from their menu due to "poop parasite", a huge mass in a woman's stomach dissolved with Diet Coke, Iran plots new assassination attempt against President Trump, a massive plume of Saharan dust has reached Florida, Graham Platner is waiting until Monday to withdraw, and a deputy is miraculously uninjured after launching his patrol car into a pond at over 90mph...

“I crack the tab open, and I feel the cold metal… I hear the tink and give of the aluminum. And maybe when I'm done, I crush it into a small patty.” — Ian Bogost on the everyday enchantment of a Diet Coke can Don't sweat the small stuff is one of the most persistent (and annoying) mantras of the self-help industry. But the counter-intuitive Atlantic columnist Ian Bogost advises the opposite. In his new book, The Small Stuff, Bogost suggests that gratification lies in our appreciation of small stuff like the crinkle of empty Diet Coke cans and the foldability of plane tickets. Max Weber argued that disenchantment was the defining quality of modernity, but in The Small Stuff, Bogost maps a way back to it. What we need to get away from, he says, is “optimization” — metrics, feedback loops, money as a proxy for a place in heaven. Rather than the cult of delayed gratification, pick up that empty coke can and revel in its architectural glory. Or lick a tree. That's how to be enchanted in postmodernity. Five Takeaways •       Sweat the Small Stuff. Bogost inverts three decades of self-help orthodoxy: the small stuff is precisely what we should be sweating. The crack of a Diet Coke tab, the cold metal warming in your hand, the can crushed into a patty before the recycling bin — these sensory encounters are not where deep purpose lives, and Bogost never claims they are. But they recur every day, sometimes several times a day, and accepting them as meaningful rather than as noise to get through delivers what he calls a surprising payload of engagement and enchantment. For some it's Diet Coke; for others, woodworking, gardening, or the gear shift of a manual transmission. •       Dematerialization: How We Lost the World. The book's central diagnosis is what Bogost calls dematerialization — the slow disconnection from the physical world driven by convenience technologies. The QR code that replaced the concert ticket you might have pinned to a bulletin board. The automatic faucet you wave at awkwardly in the public restroom — which never works, and doesn't even save water; it just makes buildings easier to manage. The process is decades old, hardly limited to computers, and it stripped the texture from everyday life so gradually that nobody noticed what was being given up. •       It's Sensory, Not Physical — and Not Anti-Tech. This is not a go-touch-grass book. Bogost insists the small stuff is sensory rather than physical, and that smartphones are compelling precisely because they are delightful — the smooth glass that demands to be touched, the thunderstorm animation in the weather app. Everything is technology, including the clothes on your body and the language in your mouth. He gave his twelve-year-old a smartwatch rather than banning screens, because parenting means living in the same world as your kids — and kids must live a contemporary life to become the adults who invent the next one. •       We Already Got Rid of God — So Meaning Had to Move. Pressed on Weber and the Protestant ethic, Bogost argues that secularization emptied out the place where meaning used to live — good works justified by an infinite time in heaven — and replaced it with happiness, purpose, and wealth as proxies. The result is a hyper-optimized, future-oriented culture in which everything worth doing is worth doing for some later payoff. Bogost admits he struggles with this himself: the health wearable he wears while writing a book against quantification. What he loves about his morning walk isn't the step count. It's the twigs crunching underfoot. •       The Quietism Charge — and the AI Twist. Isn't this stoicism for the age of Trump, the same charge leveled at Heidegger's silence before the Nazis? Bogost anticipates the critique: we are and must be both political creatures and creatures who live moment to moment in our bodies — he asks no one to abandon the fight, only to stop missing the life underneath it. And the timing is no accident. As AI takes over the big stuff, Bogost suspects it may push us back into the sensory world — he consults ChatGPT about fixing his range thermostat, then goes and fixes it with his hands. About the Guest Ian Bogost is a contributing writer at The Atlantic and the author of eleven books, including The Small Stuff and Play Anything. He is the Barbara and David Thomas Distinguished Professor at Washington University in St. Louis, where he teaches computer science and engineering, film and media studies, and art and design. He is also an award-winning game designer whose work is held in collections including the Smithsonian American Art Museum. He is the author of The Small Stuff: How to Lead a More Gratifying Life (Simon & Schuster, July 7, 2026). References: •       The Small Stuff: How to Lead a More Gratifying Life by Ian Bogost (Simon & Schuster, July 7, 2026). The New Yorker: “Bogost's joy is infectious.” •       Play Anything: The Pleasure of Limits, the Uses of Boredom, and the Secret of Games (2016) — Bogost's earlier book, the subject of his June 2020 appearance on the show. •       Alien Phenomenology, or What It's Like to Be a Thing (2012) — Bogost's “straight up philosophy book” where he first explored the idea of wonder. •       Max Weber — the German sociologist who identified disenchantment as the defining quality of modernity, and whose The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism frames the discussion of delayed gratification and the afterlife. •       Matthew Crawford — mutual friend of host and guest, author of Shop Class as Soulcraft and The World Beyond Your Head, earlier explorers of the same terrain. •       Martin Heidegger — the philosopher whose ideas of thrownness and being-in-the-world haunt the book, though his name never appears in it, and whose Nazi-era quietism frames the political critique. About Keen On America Nobody asks more awkward questions than the Anglo-American writer and filmmaker Andrew Keen. In Keen On America, Andrew brings his pointed Transatlantic wit to making sense of the United States — hosting daily interviews about the history and future of this now venerable Republic. With nearly 3,000 episodes since the show launched on TechCrunch in 2010, Keen On America is the most prolific intellectual interview show in the history of podcasting. Website Substack 

In hour 1, Mark is joined by Brian Kilmeade, a Co-Host of Fox and Friends and the Host of One Nation with Brian Kilmeade and The Brian Kilmeade Show. They discuss the latest on the Charlie Kirk preliminary hearing, Graham Platner pulling out of the Maine Senate race, and U.S.M.N.T's disappointing World Cup exit and more. Mark is then joined by Curtis Houck, the Managing Editor of News Busters at the Media Research Center. They discuss liberal media's coverage of the Graham Platner debacle as well as a new late night show bias study on guesting.

Andy Kendeigh is stepping in for Lauren to talk about his Diet Coke consumption, preparations for the upcoming sports season, and Husker athletics.

Is the "purest" water you can buy actually the worst thing for your body?This week I sat down with Martin Riese, the world's water sommelier and water advocate, the man behind the very first water menu and the guy Netflix, National Geographic, and Buzzfeed all call when they want the truth about water.Martin's been studying water since 2005, and he's built his whole career on debunking the myths the rest of us have been sold. He dropped a bomb early on: the viral "water crystal" science everyone loves came from a man with a fake doctorate who refused a million-dollar offer to replicate his findings in a real lab.Here's what blew my mind: last year, AI data centers used more water than every bottled water company in America combined. And he told me exactly why the "pure" water so many of us chase — the zero-TDS, ultra-filtered kind — can actually strip your body of the minerals it needs to hydrate you at all. He even told me why a Diet Coke can technically hydrate you better than nothing, and unpacked the $5,000 MLM water machine he says has zero proof behind its health claims.After this conversation, you'll never look at your glass of water — or your water bill — the same way again.What we talk about:Why "water sommelier" is a real certified job, not a jokeThe fake doctorate behind the viral water crystal trendWhy filtered water isn't actually dehydrating youThe zero-TDS trick that's fooling people into buying the wrong waterWhy he's against the $5,000 machine everyone's selling onlineWhat Flint, Michigan's tap water actually tasted likeWhy AI data centers might be the next water crisisWhy he refuses supplements, creams, and quick fixesEpisode Links:Website: ⁠https://www.martin-riese.com/⁠Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/martinriese/⁠TikTok: ⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@martinrieseofficial⁠YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/c/MartinRiese⁠Connect with Tracy:Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://tracyduhs.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠Hydration Shop: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://sanctuarysd.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/tracyduhs/⁠⁠Flow FAM Community: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://tracyduhs.com/join-flow-fam/⁠⁠

In this episode of the Near Future Laboratory Podcast, I talk with my old friend Ian Bogost about his new book, “The Small Stuff: How to Lead a More Gratifying Life” — a funny (like..I laughed out loud) , generous, and quietly radical invitation to recover the sensory enchantment of everyday life.Ian's book begins with ordinary things: stick shifts, toasters, paper cups, plastic film, doorknobs, faucets, pre-ordering shirts, Diet Coke cans, plunger force cups when they are missing their handle, the texture of a phone case, the sound of ice in a motel ice bucket. Of course our conversation quickly opens into something larger, which I think Ian has been asking for awhile: how modern life has dematerialized so many of our encounters with the world, replacing small tactile gratifications with convenience, automation, frictionless interfaces, and screens.What I especially loved about this conversation is that Ian is not making a nostalgic argument for going backward. He is not saying we need to abandon technology or recreate some lost analog past. Instead, he is asking us to accept what the world is already offering everyday: these small, recurring, very much embodied encounters that make up the actual texture of a life. This isn't “mindfulness” as another productivity technique. Nor is it a kind of self-improvement as a grind. Ian is wondering about the possibility that contentment might be right in front of is, even as we appear to be just pulling the pull-tab on a can of suds; it's under our fingertips, in our peripheral vision, in the overlooked background of the day.We talk about the origins of the book, Ian's long path from games and object-oriented philosophy to ordinary experience, the decline of sensory life, why curiosity may be a virtue worth defending, how to “bring the background into the foreground,” and why gratification and imagination might belong to the same family of openness.It is a conversation about small stuff, which means it is also a conversation about almost everything.https://smallstuffbook.comhttps://bogost.comhttps://www.theatlantic.com/author/ian-bogost/

Good Morning BT with Bo Thompson and Beth Troutman | 7/1/26 6:05 Beth’s Song of the Day | The Puerto Rico song rears its head again6:20 GUEST: Theresa Payton - AI documentary premiere, data protection services6:35 New Willy Wonka Reality Show coming soon6:50 RAM Biz Update; Coke Zero vs Diet Coke 7:05 Where could Lebron go next season?7:20 GUEST: Willy P - USMT World Cup game tonight7:35 GUEST: Willy P - USMT World Cup game tonight (cont)7:50 GUEST: Bill Graham - on SCOTUS rulings 8:05 GUEST: Bill Graham - on SCOTUS rulings (cont) 8:20 WBT SkyShow this Saturday / Bo throws down the hot sauce gauntlet8:35 GUEST: Scott Huffmon - Midterm GOP convention, SCOTUS rulings8:50 GUEST: Scott Huffmon - Humphrey's Executor overturned, JD Vance press tour 9:05 GUEST: Mick Mulvaney - America 2509:20 GUEST: Mick Mulvaney (cont) - Midterm GOP Convention9:35 GUEST: Mick Mulvaney (cont) - First flight on the Qatari plane this morning9:50 GUEST: Mick Mulvaney (cont) - SCOTUS RulingsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, we chat about what it actually feels like to come home after time abroad (hint: air conditioning has never felt so good), a wild pickpocketing incident in Rome that took an unexpected turn, and why a cold Diet Coke is genuinely one of America's greatest gifts to the world. We also get into why World Cup social media has been one of the most surprisingly feel-good corners of the internet lately, what it looks like to teach kids real gratitude without dismissing hard things, and why choosing a good attitude, even when it's hard, is always worth it. Plus, we're making Chatbooks a real habit now, because the memories are happening whether you're documenting them or not.

Diet Coke and Lilith are BACK and checking out Dirty Mountain Dew together. Intro voiceover by Jarett Raymond Music & Sounds used during the intro & Outro: Hall of the Mountain King by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Thunder by lennyboy (freesound.org) Door, Front, Opening, A - InspectorJ (freesound.org) Noise - Juandamb (fresound.org) Walking through Mud - Breviceps Strong wind inside house _ Viento fuerte interior casa - SonoRec (freesound.org) Tape Start - unfa (freesound.org) video_recorder_load_cassette_02 - Magedu (freesound.org) creaky door - m_marek (freesound.org) Door, Front, Closing, A - InspectorJ (freesound.org) Door closing, door closed - steinhyrningur (freesound.org) Door_Heavy_Reverb_Open_Close - LamaMakesMusic (freesound.org) video_recorder_eject_cassette - magedu (freesound.org) Music used for snack descriptions: Soft Synth Pad Chord Progression 95 bpm - tyballer92 (freesound.org)

And more audience questions are answered like fixing DTLA, how Mish Deli is getting Max to come in, old Air Jordan episode love, the best restaurant scenes, Jordudo strikes again, more nicknames, Hillstone beef, Max restaurant beef, two Spain spots,  and Culver City vs. Sherman Oaks.

We don’t have time for jingles anymore! No time for sweeping stories or marketing tie-ins with VHS releases or anything in between. The Taco Bell bong is all that we have left from a fleeting nostagic era and honestly we’re probably better off in the end. It’s a great bong noise! You know it means… Read more S10X:E12 – Indiana Jones Diet Coke Ad (1989)

It's fun Friday in the studio (for everyone except Matt!) and we're asking the big questions. Does Diet Coke really help you loose weight? What do Australian kangaroos wear in the winter? Most importantly, is Bob's voice still traveling through space? You may even get to hear our alien call-in.Support the show: https://www.klbjfm.com/mattandbobfm/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today, Josh and Nicole put Diet Coke and Coke Zero HEAD TO HEAD! Leave us a voicemail at (833) DOG-POD1 Check out the video version of this podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@ahotdogisasandwich To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, we're talking: Liza the Cat Updates, why the World Cup is low-key tea, hazards of cruising, Diet Coke erasure, JVN's cannabis break, PRIDE Spelling Bee, the cage fight & the peeling reflection pool, sunscreen advice, a shoutout to JVN's husband Mark, and the gay bat.  Wanna see JVN on stage? Get tix to the Hot & Healed Comedy Tour here.  Catch Getting Better & The Monday Edit, now on YouTube!  Check out the JVN Patreon for exclusive content, bonus episodes, and more! www.patreon.com/jvn  Follow us on Instagram @gettingbetterwithjvn Jonathan on Instagram @jvn and senior producer Chris @amomentlikechris  Executive Producer, Chris McClure Producer, Editor & Engineer is Nathanael McClure Production support from Chad Hall Our theme music is also composed by Nathanael McClure. Curious about bringing your brand to life on the show? Email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How do restaurants decide who gets the worst tables? Why are Americans obsessed with the German supermarket chain Aldi? And should iced coffee only be consumed in hot weather? We get into all that and more in our Salad Spinner! Dan is joined by Deena Shanker, who covers food and health for Bloomberg Businessweek, and Elazar Sontag, food critic at The Washington Post. They discuss why Diet Coke's biggest rival may be Coke Zero, and weigh in on the latest wellness product: cookies.    The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Kameel Stanley, and Jared O'Connell. Right now, Sporkful listeners can get three months free of the SiriusXM app by going to siriusxm.com/sporkful. Get all your favorite podcasts, more than 200 ad-free music channels curated by genre and era, and live sports coverage with the SiriusXM app. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Forget renderings, Taylor Hall O'Brien is making the case for real light, real rooms, and real collaboration in an industry that AI is circling like a hawk. He and Mark talk through the art of consistent storytelling across a photo gallery, how Taylor built relationships with top editors one Instagram follow at a time, and why being easy to work with matters more than being the most talented person in the room. It's part photography lesson, part business strategy session, and part really lovely conversation over Diet Coke at sunrise. Support the show - https://www.curiousbuilderpodcast.com/shop See our upcoming live events - https://www.curiousbuilderpodcast.com/events The host of the Curious Builder Podcast is Mark D. Williams, the founder of Mark D. Williams Custom Homes Inc. They are an award-winning Twin Cities-based home builder, creating quality custom homes and remodels — one-of-a-kind dream homes of all styles and scopes. Whether you're looking to reimagine your current space or start fresh with a new construction, we build homes that reflect how you live your everyday life. Sponsors for the Episode:  Pella Website: https://www.pella.com/ppc/professionals/why-wood/  Contractor Coalition Summit: Website: https://www.contractorscoalitionsummit.com/ Where to find the Guest:  Website: http://taylorhallobrien.com/ Instagram: http://instagram.com/taylorhallobrien Where to find the Host:  Website - https://www.mdwilliamshomes.com/  Podcast Website - https://www.curiousbuilderpodcast.com Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/markdwilliams_customhomes/  Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/MarkDWilliamsCustomHomesInc/  LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-williams-968a3420/  Houzz - https://www.houzz.com/pro/markdwilliamscustomhomes/mark-d-williams-custom-homes-inc

If your mind starts spinning the second your head hits the pillow, replaying the conversation you had at lunch and rehearsing the one you have to have tomorrow, I want to tell you something that genuinely surprised me. Sometimes the goal is not to get rid of your anxiety at all. In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Chloe Carmichael, the clinical psychologist and USA Today bestselling author of Nervous Energy, who taught me to treat anxiety as a signal rather than a malfunction. Dr. Chloe and I work through how to tell the worry that is worth listening to from the kind that just loops, and then we go somewhere I did not expect, into why holding everything in might be quietly making your anxiety worse. In This Episode Why trying to get rid of your anxiety can backfire, and the single question to ask it instead The mind map exercise for the kind of worry you cannot quite put your finger on How to tell healthy fear from overthinking that just spins in circles The eight Diet Cokes story that changed how I check for anxiety, because the body comes first Why holding things in actually creates more anxiety instead of less The difference between self censorship and healthy self restraint, and a simple way to spot which one you are doing What to do when you finally speak up and it does not go well, including a tool Dr. Chloe calls the debrief date What the friendship between two famously opposite Supreme Court justices teaches us about staying close to people we disagree with This episode is for anyone who has ever laid awake at 2am with a brain that simply would not power down, then dragged through the next day exhausted and wired at the same time. It is also for you if you have ever smiled and nodded along with something you did not believe, and walked away feeling a little smaller for it. Anxiety and authenticity are far more connected than most of us realize. This conversation is about both, and about how getting a grip on one quietly helps you with the other. Episode Breakdown 00:00:00 Why You Shouldn't Try to Get Rid of Your Anxiety 00:08:21 From a Yoga Mat to a PhD: How Anxiety Became Her Life's Work 00:18:06 Healthy Fear or Overthinking? How to Tell the Difference 00:24:30 The Mind Map Exercise for a Racing Mind 00:27:21 The Eight-Diet-Cokes Client: When Anxiety Is Actually Physical 00:34:40 Why Holding It All In Actually Makes Anxiety Worse 00:39:04 Self-Censorship vs. Healthy Self-Restraint 00:49:36 How to Speak Up Without Blowing Up the Relationship 00:59:27 The Three Doors: A Simple Way to Decode Any Anxiety Resources The full episode and show notes Anxiety support, schedule a free consultation What's Holding You Back? Quiz (free) Special thanks to this month's sponsors of the podcast: Upwork — When you need specialized talent fast, Upwork gives you access to vetted professionals across 125+ categories, from marketing to web development to operations support. No long recruiting cycles. No guesswork. Just the right person, when you need them. Check it out at upwork.com — posting a job is free. Shopify — The all-in-one platform for building and growing your online business. Visit shopify.com/lhs to explore their tools and access exclusive listener discounts. OSEA — Amazing, clean, science-backed skincare made with the power of the sea. Use code LHS at oseamalibu.com for 10% off your first order. LNutra Prolon — A science-backed, plant-based nutrition program that supports fat loss, metabolism, cellular rejuvenation, and overall longevity. Head to ProlonLife.com/LHS for 15% off your first order + a bonus gift.

Actor-Writer-Producer Paul Witten (You Are Here): "My Pinky Is So Extended And I'm Guzzling"   Dennis is joined via Zoom by Paul Witten, the creator and star of a new TV pilot called You Are Here, which is having its world premier on June 20th at the Dances With Films festival in Los Angeles. The story centers on a 50-something gay man in Los Angeles and three of his friends who all feel like they're still unfinished in a way. Maybe their lives haven't turned out the way they expected but they have much to be thankful for and, as the title says, they are here. Paul talks about what inspired him to create the show and then make it happen, the joy of working with friends and managing expectations when you put something big out in to the world. He also talks about his work on shows like Brooklyn 99, The Residence and The Morning Show. Other topics include: being single and being okay with it except at certain times, why working on a Shondaland show is magical, why cater-waiters deserve to not be punchlines, the significance of the title You Are Here and which is better, Diet Coke or Coke Zero. https://danceswithfilms.com/2026-you-are-here/

In this episode Lydia discusses how best to make all her friends hangry by making them do puzzles before releasing food. By which I mean, she got Stephen and Mark to do her work for her.So, if you were part of the weekend of puzzles and quests that Lydia was preparing for, please tell us how Stephen and Mark did, at nicegames.club/feedback.Lydia got Mark a present, which the clubhouse audibly reacts to, but never describes. This is it:Puzzeling the BachelorettesRebusRebus generatorfestisiteRebus generatorEduPicsPuzzle completion

Addiction doesn't stay self-contained — especially in a marriage. In this honest and pastorally rich conversation, Derek, Gabrielle, and John Elmore talk about how to recognize addiction, what it does to a marriage, and what courageous, biblical steps actually look like for both the addict and the spouse who loves them.DISCUSSION QUESTIONS- John described the difference between being "enslaved" to something versus "occasionally enticed" by it. Using that framework, is there anything in your life right now that feels more like enslavement than struggle?- John mentioned several "Ds" of addiction: duration, depth, deceit, destruction, defensiveness, dependency. Are any of those present in your life or your marriage in ways worth naming?- Gabrielle shared that when asked to give up Diet Coke for a year, her reaction surprised her. Is there anything in your life where the thought of giving it up produces a stronger reaction than you'd expect?- John said that "struggling" looks like confessing, feeling convicted, and moving toward accountability — while addiction looks like enjoyment despite destruction. Which of those better describes your relationship with your hardest habit?- If your spouse gently raised a concern about something you're running to, how would you honestly respond — and what might that response reveal?- For the spouse walking alongside an addict: have you carried this alone, or have you brought others in? Who could you call this week?RESOURCES- Freedom Starts Today by John Elmore

In this episode, Ethan sits down with Paige to talk about one of the hardest parts of losing weight: keeping it off. Ethan shares the mindset shift that finally changed things for him, moving away from chasing diets and toward understanding energy balance, maintenance, and long term habits.They talk about years of experimenting with HCG and keto, the unexpected lessons that came from challenging old beliefs about food, and why changing your body does not automatically change the way you see yourself. Ethan also opens up about identity after weight loss, self criticism, and the habits that can stay long after the scale changes.Plus, Ethan answers a listener question about OMAD, protein intake, and how to approach fat loss while preserving muscle.Subscribe to Ethan's newsletter here: Ethan Suplee NewsletterSHOW HIGHLIGHTS00:00 - Introduction02:46 - How I finally made weight loss stick06:28 - Why maintenance is harder than dieting09:56 - Learning energy balance changed everything13:34 - HCG, keto, and years of chasing results18:39 - The gym conversation that shifted my thinking22:35 - Reading Bigger Leaner Stronger and changing approach24:55 - Diet Coke guilt and inherited beliefs about food30:28 - Why results matter more than food rules36:00 - The hidden part of weight loss: identity39:22 - Still feeling like the old version of yourself42:08 - Practical ways to challenge negative self-talk49:44 - Does that feeling ever go away?50:41 - Why action helps more than overthinking53:49 - Listener Q&A: OMAD, protein, and maintaining muscle58:15 - Tips for fitting protein into a limited eating window Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Chairman Jason Smith of the House Ways and Means Committee joins the Try That In A Small Town podcast from CMA Fest in Nashville. He breaks down what the powerful Ways and Means Committee actually does and how it touches every American's life through taxes, trade, Social Security, Medicare, and more. Jason opens up about his small-town Missouri roots, being a fourth-generation farmer, raising white buffalo, and why he still lives in the same rural community he represents. He explains how he took the Ways and Means Committee on the road to 32 states to listen to working families, small businesses, and farmers before writing what he calls the “Big Beautiful Bill” – the largest tax cut in U.S. history, including no tax on tips and overtime. The conversation gets candid on Social Security's future, election integrity and slow vote counts in places like California, and what happens when people lose trust in the system. Jason also shares behind-the-scenes stories of working closely with President Trump – from grilling him for three hours on every line of a 103-title tax bill in the Oval Office to the now-famous “red button” that just orders Diet Coke. Along the way, they talk CMA Fest, Jason's obsession with Reba, the Chiefs, Mahomes vs. Brady, cleaning up Washington, D.C., and why he believes the founding fathers' values are really small-town values. Jason closes with a powerful story of a single mom whose $10,000 tax refund changed her life – and why that's why he still fights for small towns and working families. Timed highlights 2:00 Who is Chairman Jason Smith and what is the Ways and Means Committee? 5:13 CMA Fest, first concerts, and Jason's country music roots 7:11 The Ozarks, one of America's poorest districts, and small-town values 8:14 Reba superfan stories and being starstruck in DC 10:02 How the guys first met Jason at the South Dakota Governor's Hunt 11:49 Nashville's Bluebird Café, songwriting, and music in DC 13:06 Jason's priorities: working families, small businesses, and farmers 14:19 White buffalo, donkeys named Bill, Hillary, Chelsea, and Hunter 15:29 Growing up poor in a trailer, farm life, and why that shapes his politics 19:15 Taking Ways and Means to 32 states and writing the “Big Beautiful Bill” 20:20 No tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and tax ideas from real Americans 22:06 Social Security history, FDR, and why both parties will keep it 23:35 Will Social Security ever go away? Jason's answer and insolvency warning 26:49 How Jason became the youngest Ways and Means chair since before the Civil War 29:01 Inside the steering committee and what it takes to win the gavel 32:31 Life on call with President Trump and 5:30 a.m. texts 33:00 Three-hour Oval Office grilling on the “Big Beautiful Bill” 35:07 The Diet Coke button story and a handwritten note after Jason's dad passed 37:34 Elections, slow vote counts in California, and voter trust 40:31 Why “every vote counts”: Jason's one-vote victory story 43:03 Chiefs fandom, Mahomes vs. Brady, and elite QB mindset 48:19 How Trump cleaned up Washington, D.C. and made it feel safe again 51:39 What do you buy a president for Christmas and Trump's generosity with guests 52:14 Jason presents a Congressional Record honoring “Try That In A Small Town” 54:57 Why the song struck a nerve in small-town America 56:24 The waitress, a $10,000 refund, and how tax policy changes real lives 59:19 Jason's schedule, gym routine, and juggling DC with life back on the farm 1:01:21 Final thoughts on serving small towns and inviting listeners to DC ______________________________________________________________________________________________SPONSORS: The Try That in a Small Town Podcast is powered by e|spaces!Redefining Coworking - Exceptional Office Space for Every BusinessBook a tour today at espaces.comFrom the Patriot Mobile studios:Don't get fooled by other cellular providers pretending to share your values or have the same coverage. They don't and they can't!Go to PATRIOTMOBILE.COM/SMALLTOWN or call 972-PATRIOTRight now, get a FREE MONTH when you use the offer code SMALLTOWN.Original Brands - Our original sponsor since the beginning!!Original brands is starting a new era and American domestic premium beer, American made, American owned, Original glory.Join the movement at www.drinkoriginalbrands.comPeacemaker Coffee CompanyFounded by retired police officer/chief Chris Morris, Peacemaker delivers clean, low-acidity coffee while supporting police, firefighters, EMS, military, veterans, teachers, dispatchers, and medical personnel through donations and programs.https://www.peacemakercoffeecompany.com/________________________________________________________________________________________________Follow/Rate/Share at www.trythatinasmalltown.com -For advertising inquiries, email info@trythatinasmalltown.comProduced by Jim McCarthy and www.ItsYourShow.coSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today's story: The 'cola wars' of the 1980s and 1990s pitted Coca-Cola against Pepsi. Both brands had their classic recipes and their 'diet' alternatives. But as consumers pivoted away from full-sugar sodas, makers of fizzy drinks found a new hit: 'zero-sugar' recipes that tasted just like the original. Now, the hot debate among soda drinkers is between diet and zero-sugar recipes. Transcript & Exercises: https://plainenglish.com/873Get the full story and learning resources: https://plainenglish.com/873--Plain English helps you improve your English:Learn about the world and improve your EnglishClear, natural English at a speed you can understandNew stories every weekLearn even more at PlainEnglish.comMentioned in this episode:Hard words? No problemNever be confused by difficult words in Plain English again! See translations of the hardest words and phrases from English to your language. Each episode transcript includes built-in translations into Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, German, French, Italian, Japanese, Polish, and Turkish. Sign up for a free 14-day trial at PlainEnglish.com

Stephanie is again joined by Jody Hamilton. They dissect Trump's repeated declarations of imminent deals with Iran, questioning the credibility of his statements as he seems increasingly detached from reality. The conversation takes a humorous turn as they highlight his bizarre behavior during public appearances, including falling asleep on stage and his drugged demeanor. They also touch on the political implications of Trump's actions, from his perceived threats to Iran to the ongoing cover-up of serious allegations against him. With special guests John Fugelsang and Frangela, they explore the outrageousness of the current political climate, the hypocrisy of Republican narratives, and the need for accountability in the face of such overwhelming chaos.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

John talks about Trump's repeated declarations of imminent deals with Iran, questioning the credibility of his statements as he seems increasingly detached from reality. He highlights Trumps bizarre behavior during public appearances, including falling asleep on stage and his weird drugged demeanor. John also discusses Trumps ​new ​nominee ​for ​Director ​of ​National ​Intelligence, ​Jay ​Clayton. ​And ​if ​you're ​wondering ​what ​intelligence ​experience ​Clayton ​has ​that ​qualifies ​him ​to ​oversee ​your ​country's ​entire ​intelligence ​apparatus, ​the ​answer ​is... ​he ​went ​on ​CNBC ​this ​week ​and ​hinted ​that ​California ​elections ​might ​be ​rigged. Next, Ann Larson, author of "Clean Up on Aisle Five," joins the conversation, shedding light on the struggles of grocery workers during the pandemic and the systemic issues of poverty and exploitation in the food industry. Together, they explore the implications of corporate greed and the urgent need for a living wage for essential workers. Then, Simon Moya Smith and Julie Francella, return for another edition of "We're Still Here". One of the standout moments in the episode is the discussion around the upcoming House of Smoke and Ash event, organized by the James Beard Foundation. This indigenous culinary event showcases the rich foodways and traditions of native chefs, emphasizing the importance of food sovereignty and the need for greater recognition of indigenous contributions to our culinary landscape.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On todays episode, Betsy talks about healing, traveling back to her hometown and how to really choose yourself in the face of pressure and old dynamics. Transcript:  Welcome to The Art of Living Big, where we explore how to live intentionally and with more joy. I’m Betsy P, your host, master, coach, and creator of the Navigate Method. Here to help you listen in to your true desires, elevate your standards, and live life to the fullest. Now, let’s go live big. Hello, fellow adventurers. Hi, everybody. I am back home after a long weekend of being in Vermont. That’s where I grew up, in Vermont, and that’s where my dad still lives. He lived for a long time in Vermont and in Florida, and about a year ago decided to sell his home in Florida, and he’s just in Vermont full-time. So, um, he is 85 years old, and weirdly seems really young. And I know it’s not just me. I know it’s not just my bias view, because I saw so many of my friends from high school, and I’ll get into that, but they all were like, “Why does your dad seem so young? Like, he seems just like he did even 20 years ago.” It is a little unnerving. He’s like Benjamin Button, I guess. Rides his bike, goes to the gym three times a week. He’s very busy, and cognitively still really there. I don’t know. I know intellectually 85 is, you know, a- an advanced age, but I guess the older we get, the more young older age seems. And now 85 just doesn’t seem that old to me, but I know cognitively, I know that it, it is. So this past weekend- I went up to Vermont because my best friend growing up, I had a best friend named Heather, and her younger sister was just a year younger, so Linny. So Linny and Heather were my very best friends, and I spent every waking moment with them. Um, if you have been here for a long time, you may remember when my friend Heather’s mom died about five years, four years ago probably now. Um, and I went up to Vermont and just flew in, went to the hospital, and stayed a few days and then left. So I didn’t see anything in Vermont. It wasn’t like a real visit, but I went up for that. My mom and Heather’s mom were very best friends, so our families were very, very connected. And so a few months ago, Heather’s dad, Bob, passed away, and they were having, like, a celebration of life for him. And so I, I, I really don’t go, like, I’m using air quotes, home very often. I hadn’t been since before I was married, except for when, you know, to go to the hospital, when Michelle was in the hospital. So, you know, it’s… I really don’t go. I, I joke that the only thing that will get me to make the trek home is Heather and Linny. Um, but, you know, they needed me, and so of course I was gonna go, and Bob was such an important part of my life. It feels funny calling him Bob. That was his name. But Daddy Oved is what I c- I called him Daddy or Dad or Mr. Oved. Um, but when he passed away and they were having this celebration for him, then I really wanted to go, and it was really beautiful actually. You know, so many people came to the celebration. It was, like, at the legion hall there in the little town where I grew up. And so many of my friends from growing up were there. You know, people whose lives he had touched, and I think really importantly People who find Heather and Linney to be really important. You know, I think it was also such a beautiful example of the impact that they have on the world, you know, and on their, on their world. And so anyway, it was really nice. Um, you know, Heather still lives in Vermont, has lived a couple places, but she’s back in Vermont, and Linney is just outside New York City. So, you know, it was nice to have everybody come and to see so many friends. And, you know, seeing those friends from growing up, it, it’s like a light, nice little reunion, you know? I think that Mr. Ovitt was complicated, like a lot of our dads. Not especially emotional, but you knew that he cared about you. I remember, and my dad was mentioning this, and, and we talked about this a little bit, but when my mom died, Mr. Ovitt was the first one over at the house and just started cooking for everybody. And I remember actually sitting in my family room. Everybody was in the living room, and I had gone to, like, the family room to kinda, like, get away from all the people. I mean, I was, I was stunned. I was stunned and in shock. But I remember looking from the couch and seeing him leaning over the kitchen and, or over the kitchen sink and doing something. And, um, and yeah, it was just, he had an impact on, on all, on all of our lives. And then, of course, my dad still lives in Vermont, and so I made sure that I planned this trip also around visiting him while I was there, and that’s really kinda what I wanna talk about. You know, I think it can be hard sometimes to go back to the place where we were, who we were, and try and keep the version of us that exists today. I think this is why so many people, you know, fight at the holidays and all that, because we have changed or grown so much, and then you go home, and you are expected to be the same. You know, I wonder sometime if I do this to my own child, you know? I expect them to be a certain way ’cause that’s the way they are. And so in all of that, in trying to manage that experience for myself, I decided to stay at a hotel down the street from where my dad and his wife live. I thought this would be really nice for me so that I could have my own space. And, you know, I knew that going to have this visit was gonna be tricky. You know- I, I’m gonna guess that you all kinda know what I mean by that, right? Like, family dynamics can be really complicated sometimes, and sometimes you just need to have a plan. You know, you need to know how you’re gonna move through it without disappearing into it. And so, you know, the celebration of life for Bob was super nice, and, um, that was on a Saturday. I got there on, um, like the middle of the night on a Thursday. The flights, the flights from Atlanta to Vermont are not simple. Um, but I spent the day with my dad and his wife on Friday, and the celebration of life, and I stayed with my friend, and then went back to a hotel the following day. So all of it was really nice, but at, you know, at the end of the night, my, my family wanted me to stay with them. They wanted me to go get my stuff from the hotel and just stay with them. You know, just keep- Like, c- I, and I guess I understand this in a, in a way, right y’all? Like, we want our children under our roof. Like, I, I, I understand this. But that isn’t the kind of relationship that I really have with my family. And so I had to really decide which version of me is gonna show up here. Is it the old version of me? And really, it’s a version of me from maybe 15 years ago. I haven’t been there since before I got married, like, for a visit. You know, before all the things that I have looked at and healed over the past, you know, I would say 2010, I probably started my real heal- healing journey, so the past 16 years. You know, am I going, am I going to be the version of me who used to show up with them, or am I gonna be the version of me that has done the work? You know, am I gonna be the version of me that would’ve just folded and done what they wanted? You know, if they pressured me or asked me enough, I would’ve just said, “Oh, you’re right, I’ll just do it. It’s easier.” You know, she would have stretched herself thin and made herself available even though she didn’t have it in her. You know, it, I think that at the end of the day she would’ve resented them a little. She would’ve resented them for asking. She would’ve resented herself for doing what they wanted. And I think that in a lot of ways, and I’m gonna say something that’s gonna sound very dramatic, but it would have put me in the crosshairs for continued trauma. And I, I say this, and I know it sounds dramatic. We all have our things with family, so I’m not saying my thing is worse or better or, eh, you know, anything about the degrees of it other than my body and my nervous system interprets what’s happening as a layer of trauma. So what I noticed on this trip was that my body was really working to keep me out of the crosshairs of further injury, and it was a lot to navigate. It was a thing and a moment where I think I had to honor The version of me who was healed and recognizing when something didn’t feel right so that I could make a different choice in the moment. And I could feel it when I would make a different choice, and my whole body would relax. And I would say, “Okay, well, that was the right choice.” My nervous system was speaking to me so, so clearly. And I think when we have lived in a certain way for so long, and then we heal, and then we go back to the place where we used to be that old version of ourselves, it can be really difficult to stay in the version of us that lives our everyday life. You know, I think that when I look at my life in Vermont and the time that I had spent there, and, and really I left, I mean, I left right after high school and went to college, but I would come back. For the first year, I think, of college I went back to my dad’s house. After that, I didn’t go back. I would stay with my sister at her apartment when my dorm would shut down, you know? But, you know, we have continued cr- you know, interactions with our family even if we don’t live with them. And so I feel like when I was there this particular time as a healed person for the first time in 15 years, I could see so clearly my old patterns, the patterns of the people around me, and really why so many things felt familiar inside my marriage. Like, why I chose the way that I chose. Because those same things were actually inside my family dynamic, but I had never really noticed it before. I never noticed it because it was normal. It was, like, reality. I’m using air quotes. Like, reality. Those things were there the, the whole time. And then when I could see it so clearly, I could make a really different choice. So I wanna share with you sort of something that I did knowing going into this and how I kinda handled it. So before I got to Vermont, maybe, like, four or five days before, my nervous system started really reacting to what was coming, and my aura ring was like, “Hey, are you okay? You’re experiencing a lot of stress. You’re not sleeping. You’re in a sleep deficit. What’s going on?” And so I decided that I needed to have a, a real plan, not only for myself and, like, where my personhood was, where my body was gonna be, but also how I wanted to be thinking about this. And so, you know, I’m gonna share this with you in case this helps you, uh, because you’ll have things like this, too, right? It might be when you go home to family, but it might be other things, too. And so what I did was I sat down, and I imagined how I wanted to feel at the end of the trip, not how I wanted them to feel And I know that can be really hard, ’cause so many times we frame things around how we want other people to experience us. But what I wanted to do is I wanted to figure out how I wanted to feel inside my body, but also how I wanted to think about myself and how I moved through that experience. You know, inside the Navigate method, we talk about moving through your divorce with bravery and integrity, and I think that’s really what I brought into this. I really wanted to be in integrity with who I am, like, h- how I treat people, but most importantly, how I treat myself. And I wanted to be brave. I wanted to be brave enough to choose myself, and that word brave that, it sounds so d- I feel like I sound so dramatic. But, it, it is, it is an act of bravery to say no to a family dynamic that has always said yes. It can be difficult to make a different choice and to say, “I know I’ve always just gone with the flow. I know I’ve always done it the way they wanted me to do it, but I’m not going to this time.” And I’ll tell you, it was difficult because There was an ask for me to do something many times, and then when I said no, the ask was asked again and again and again, and the pressure mounted. And I had to remind myself of how do I wanna feel when I leave? Like, when I’m on the flight on the way home, when I look back on this experience, how do I wanna look at how I acted? And I wanted to feel light. I didn’t wanna feel small. I wanted to feel like I had sort of embodied my, my fullness, who I am. You know, I asked myself did I wanna feel proud of how I showed up, or did I wanna carry resentment home with me? And when I would make a choice, I would say which, which way is this gonna land? Am I gonna feel proud of this, or am I gonna feel resentful? You know, I asked myself, like, how did I want to honor what I actually needed, or did I wanna make myself just fit into, you know, the space that they had for me? And I decided in the end, before I even left, I, I did this, like, days before, that I wanted to feel like myself. And so when they asked me not to stay at a hotel, when they wanted me to do what they wanted me to do, I didn’t have to fight with them. I didn’t have to fight with myself either. I just had to remember the feeling that I had decided on, and I knew that if I felt in alignment, if I felt good about myself, if I didn’t have resentment, my relationship with them would be better. And so I said no so many times. I drove myself somewhere. I went back to my hotel. I decided to take a walk. You know, I honored what I had committed to myself, which was really taking care of myself. It was really listening. And you know, in those moments, I really, I really have realized something, that, that choice, the choice wasn’t It wasn’t hard because I’m selfish. It wasn’t hard because I don’t love them. It was hard because for so long the version of me that said yes was the version that I thought I was supposed to be, you know, to be loved or how, whatever it is that we think. That that was the person I believed I had to be in order to belong in that family dynamic, in order to be okay But the truth is, that’s not who I am anymore, and so many of you are likely not who you were last time you went home, or last time you went into an experience, you know, a- an environment. Maybe it’s with your former spouse and you’re doing a family thing with your kids. You know, you’re stepping into something and you’re like, “I’m not the version of me that I was when I was in this last.” And so every time I chose myself, even in the small moments, and there were small moments where I had to say, “I don’t want that. I want this.” “Uh, would you like a Diet Coke?” “No, thank you.” “Have a Diet Coke. I bought you the Diet Coke.” “I don’t really want a Diet Coke.” “You said you liked Diet Coke, so I bought it.” “I, I, I’m choosing not to have a Diet Coke right now.” I mean, like, it, it was a choosing of myself over and over and over again, and I knew, even in those little moments, I am building the version of me that doesn’t have to question whether she belongs here or whether she should do what they want. Do you see what I’m saying? It’s these, like, small choices. They’re not separate from big choices. They’re the same exact thing. It’s the same muscle. And, you know, over the last 15 years of, of healing myself, I have been able to witness these patterns instead of being inside them. You know, before I, I used to feel like I w- would go there, and I would w- be, like, inside a washing machine. Like, I was just being, like, w- waterboard, waterboarded and, and tossed around, and I couldn’t see what was happening while I was in it. I just knew it felt awful. But now, this time, I could step back. I could witness myself. I could see it. And when you can see something really clearly, you get to choose something different and feel more steady in it. And so that’s what happened in Vermont. I could see the pattern. I could see the old impulse to say yes and to shrink myself, and I could still choose differently. So here’s what I want you to try. This is a little tool for you this week. Before you walk into a situation where you know that the tricky parts are gonna show up, take five minutes, close your eyes, and imagine yourself at the end of that time. Not at the beginning, at the end, when it’s all over, when you’re on the flight home, when you’re driving back to your house, when you’re settled in your own bed that night. How do you wanna feel? Not how do you want them to feel, not what do you think you’re supposed to do, not any of those things. But how do you actually want to feel in your body, in your bones? And then as you’re moving through it, you’re not fighting anyone. You’re not white-knuckling through it. You’re calibrating towards a feeling, and you’re making decisions that move you towards the version of yourself that you decide on beforehand, and it changes everything. It’s not about being card, card… Ca- cold, cold or hard. That is my new word, card, trademark. Or selfish. It’s not about putting up walls. It’s just about knowing who you wanna be and letting that be the thing that guides you instead of letting everyone else’s comfort guide you. And I’m gonna say it again, but when we can be truly ourselves, our relationship with those other people can be better. And instead of old patterns, instead of the version of you that you thought you had to be, you get to show up as you, and then you feel good about that, and you don’t have resentment or carry any, you know, harmful feelings afterwards. And I think when you make a choice with yourself in the small moments, you’re not just choosing yourself. You’re saying something to yourself. You’re saying, “I see you, I hear what you need, and I’m gonna take care of you.” And for me, I think that was so huge. Like, I’ve have felt like, you know, perhaps the people around me had failed me in some ways, but I won’t ever fail me. I won’t ever fail me again. And I think every time you can do that, you start to build a version of yourself that knows she can trust herself, she knows she can make decisions, she can count on herself, and I think that is how you live a big life. That is the work. That’s the healing. And that’s what it looks like, you know, when you’re stepping into a version of you that you really wanna be. All right. Thank you so much for being here with me this week. I love you guys so much, and if I can do anything for you, be sure to reach out. Message me on Instagram. If you have a podcast suggestion, please let me know. And if you haven’t ever given this podcast a review, if you could do that, go to iTunes, give us a review. It would mean so much to me. I noticed that recently we got some new reviews, and I forgot how much life that brought me. You know, it’s hard sometimes doing this work on this end of the microphone, not looking at anybody or seeing anybody, and wondering if this is landing, like wondering if this is helping. So if you wanna give me a review, I would be forever grateful. I really do check ’em now, and, and I’m looking. So, all right. Thanks so much for being here. I’ll see you all next week Thanks for joining me on The Art of Living Big. I hope today’s episode sparked something within you, maybe pushed you to dream a little bit bigger and live a little larger. Don’t forget to subscribe. Leave us a review and share this podcast with someone you know who might need a little inspiration today. You can find me over on Instagram at Betsy Pay and on my YouTube channel. Remember, the world is vast. Your potential is endless, and your life, it’s yours to shape. Until next time, keep reaching, keep exploring, and keep living big.

Today we are answering text messages! From questions about my church's temple garments, to siblings, to Aldi, to dipping cheeseburgers in Diet Cokes, we cover A LOT of different topics! Plus we discuss Pizza Hut bringing back their reading program. Europeans enjoying uniquely American things (mostly food) and jobs that husbands are just better equipped for around the house. More about garments: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media/video/2018-12-1400-what-are-temple-garments?lang=eng https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/tools/what-is-the-temple-garment?lang=eng My special She's So Brave is now available to stream on Amazon Prime! https://www.amazon.com/Jenna-Kim-Jones-Shes-Brave/dp/B0CGQHFF1R Need help with you brand? Maybe you need a new website? Head to wicky.co - Your brand's creative partner! Come cruise with me at Moon River at Sea: https://moonriveratsea.tbits.me/trk/jennakimjones Join my website today for exclusive content and the full podcast video: https://jennakimjones.com/product/membership/ Call or text me at 404-477-4160

Did you know which Medicare plan is right for you? Well, I've seen it firsthand when patients don't know their options, and it's devastating...That's why I brought Ari Parker on the show. He's a Stanford-trained attorney, co-founder of Chapter, and one of the few people in this country who is genuinely fighting for Medicare recipients — not selling them something.What we talk about in this episode could save you thousands of dollars, protect your access to the doctors you trust, and give you something most people on Medicare don't have: real options.On this episode, you'll learn: Why signing up for Medicare even two years late can cost you a lifetime penalty (03:00)How Medicare Advantage plans use free dental, vision, and hearing benefits as bait 14:09)The two types of Medicare most people don't realize they have to choose between, and why the option that's never advertised on TV may actually be the better fit for you (06:48)What the "Three Ps" are — and how they can match you to a plan that actually fits your life, not a salesperson's quota (16:58)Exactly what happens when your insurance company denies a test your doctor ordered — and how to advocate for yourself (28:43)Top tips you should know about your Medicare plan before important windows close (19:40)The real reason Diet Coke makes you overeat (I was once a Diet Coke addict!) (33:55)This episode was sponsored by Chapter, but Dr. Gundry's experiences and opinions are his own.For full show notes and transcript: https://drgundry.com/medicare-mistakes-to-avoidThank you to our sponsors! Check them out: ADD CHAPTER CTAGet a quote today at Progressive.com.Shop my new air filter, Homekind Total Air! Use code CLEANAIR for 10% off. Go to timelinenutrition.com/GUNDRY to get 10% off any Timeline Nutrition product.Transform your sleep experience with Cozy Earth bedding. Go to cozyearth.com/gundry for 20% off. Get up to 60% off your Babbel subscription at Babbel.com/gundry.For all your blue-light and EMF-blocking accessories, go to boncharge.com/GUNDRY and use the coupon code GUNDRY to save 15% off your entire order.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Grab your Tickets to the IPO Tour: Our In-Person OfferingSan Francisco 9/23: https://www.ticketmaster.com/event/1C0064AFB5F688BDBoston 10/14 (21+): https://tickets.citywinery.com/event/tboy-the-ipo-tour-in-person-offering-8cdhupSeattle 11/4 (21+): https://www.axs.com/events/1446394/the-best-one-yet-ticketsDolly Parton's next business venture is a gas station… with a concert hall.Oura Ring filed to IPO with its lightest ring ever… but will it hit the Wall of Over-Optimizing?Instagram's $4/mo subscription is live… but it doesn't include the #1 feature you want.Plus, the biggest new divide in America ain't Coke vs Pepsi… It's Diet Coke vs Coke Zero.$KO $PEP $METANEWSLETTER:https://tboypod.com/newsletter OUR 2ND SHOW:Want more business storytelling from us? Check our weekly deepdive show, The Best Idea Yet: The untold origin story of the products you're obsessed with. Listen for free to The Best Idea Yet: https://wondery.com/links/the-best-idea-yet/NEW LISTENERSFill out our 2 minute survey: https://qualtricsxm88y5r986q.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_dp1FDYiJgt6lHy6GET ON THE POD: Submit a shoutout or fact: https://tboypod.com/shoutouts SOCIALS:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tboypod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tboypodYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tboypod Linkedin (Nick): https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolas-martell/Linkedin (Jack): https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-crivici-kramer/Anything else: https://tboypod.com/ About Us: The daily pop-biz news show making today's top stories your business. Formerly known as Robinhood Snacks, The Best One Yet is hosted by Jack Crivici-Kramer & Nick Martell. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.