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This week on Two Parents & A Podcast, we're joined by Emily Oster — bestselling author, economist, and the data-driven voice behind ParentData.org— to separate pregnancy facts from fear-based fiction. From sushi and soft cheese to caffeine, deli meat, and yes — even a little wine — Emily breaks down what's actually backed by research vs. what's just outdated “pregnancy police” rules we've all heard. We also get into nausea myths, Ozempic, Botox, NIPT false positives, elective inductions, epidurals, and the real risks people should pay attention to. If you've ever felt overwhelmed by conflicting pregnancy advice, Googled something you immediately regretted, or wondered what really matters for a healthy pregnancy — this one's going to bring so much relief (and maybe give you permission to enjoy that Diet Coke again!!!). Timestamps: 00:00:00 Welcome back to Two Parents & A Podcast! 00:00:44 Introduction to Emily Oster 00:03:25 How did an economist become one of the most trusted voices in pregnancy? 00:07:07 What's the #1 pregnancy rule that doesn't make sense once you look at the research? 00:10:16 How much of the advice we hear is truly backed by research vs. just old-school caution? 00:11:02 Is there any truth to “more nausea = healthier pregnancy”? 00:15:50 What's the real risk with deli meat and listeria today? 00:19:02 Can pregnant women safely eat sushi? 00:24:40 Soft cheeses & runny eggs 00:25:12 How much caffeine is safe during pregnancy? 00:26:54 Can you drink alcohol during pregnancy? 00:28:30 Can you smoke, vape, or eat gummies during pregnancy? 00:30:18 Can you take Ozempic, get Botox, or use retinol during pregnancy? 00:33:48 What is the #1 thing to avoid during pregnancy? 00:35:07 How accurate is NIPT really? (False positives explained) 00:38:45 Elective inductions at 39 weeks — what does data say? 00:45:09 Do epidurals affect labor progression? 00:45:40 Vitamin K shot & newborn eye ointment — what parents need to know 00:46:30 Should women eat their placenta? 00:49:16 Rapid-fire: Diet Coke, spicy food, stress, flying & prenatals 00:51:45 What pregnancy myth do you wish would disappear forever? 00:52:34 Thank you for listening! #twoparentsandapod --------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you to our sponsors this week: *Manukora: Get up to 31% off plus $25 in free gifts with the Starter Kit at https://www.manukora.com/TWOPARENTS. *Magnetic Me: New customers get 15% off at https://www.magneticme.com with code TWOPARENTS. *SKIMS: Shop Alex's favorite pajamas at https://www.skims.com/TWOPARENTS. #skimspartner *Aura Frames: $35 off with code TWOPARENTS — shop perfect holiday gifts at https://on.auraframes.com/TWOPARENTS. *Kachava: Get 15% off your next order at https://www.kachava.com with code TWOPARENTS. --------------------------------------------------------------- Listen to the pod on YouTube/Spotify/Apple: https://www.youtube.com/@twoparentsandapod https://open.spotify.com/show/7BxuZnHmNzOX9MdnzyU4bD?si=5e715ebaf9014fac https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/two-parents-a-podcast/id1737442386 --------------------------------------------------------------- Follow Two Parents & A Podcast: Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/twoparentsandapod TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@twoparentsandapod Follow Alex Bennett: Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/justalexbennett TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@justalexbennett Follow Harrison Fugman: Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/harrisonfugman TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@harrisonfugman Find our guest: Website | https://parentdata.org/ Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/profemilyoster TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@profemilyoster --------------------------------------------------------------- Powered by: Just Media House – https://www.justmediahouse.com/ --------------------------------------------------------------- Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jackie has changed her Yelping ways and writes not one, but two powerful, glowing reviews for a local oyster bar, reviews Wicked for Good, and goes cold turkey on Diet Coke in preparation for Paris.Thanks for supporting my sponsors:Revolve: Shop my favorites, and use code BITCH to get 15% off your first order at www.Revolve.com/BITCHBetterHelp: Get 10% off your first month at www.BetterHelp.com/BITCHBIBLEPique: Unlock 20% off for life for yourself and everyone on your list at www.Piquelife.com/BibleLittle Spoon: Use code BIBLE to get 50% off your first online order at www.littlespoon.com/BIBLEAddyi: Check out the FDA-approved treatment for certain premenopausal women who are bothered by low libido and want their sex drive back at www.Addyi.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Today we're diving into the world of artificial sweeteners. Back in July 1982, Coca-Cola launched a groundbreaking new product: Diet Coke. A healthier alternative for those Coke fans looking to cut back on sugar and manage their weight. Sounds great, right? Well, maybe not. You see Diet Coke, and many other low sugar drinks, rely on artificial sweeteners. And while they were once seen as a smart swap, emerging research is raising serious concerns about their long-term effect on our health. In this episode, I'm joined by Professor Eran Elinav and Professor Tim Spector to break down the latest science and explore how these sweeteners impact our gut microbiome.
Send us a textThank you for tuning in! On today's episode, I am joined once again by Jason Lady, a talented author, certified Gen X'er, and nostalgia nerd much like myself! In this episode, we take a look at our top 10 favorite tv commercial jingles, which we remember fondly from our childhoods, growing up in the '80s and '90s. I created a playlist on YouTube of our favorite jingles, you can check that out here.Support the showVisit: https://www.popcultureretrospective.com/ for all things Pop Culture Retrospective! Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/popcultureretrospective/ Follow me on Twitter!: https://twitter.com/PopCultureRetroReview the show! https://www.popcultureretrospective.com/reviews/new/Pop Culture Retrospective Merch!: https://pop-culture-retrospective-pod.myspreadshop.com/allEmail me anytime: amy@popcultureretrospective.com
Nuzzi. Lizza. Maga. Disney. Chemtrails. Folks, the world is getting weirder and weirder as human brains begin to wilt and grow mold. Perhaps we didn't water them enough. Perhaps some of us watered with Diet Coke, Monster Energy, and Electrolytes instead of classic H20, which would explain why some of us are so much more powerful than others. For this week's episode, Travis, Jake, and Liv form a meeting of the minds. We talk about some of the latest and ongoing news stories from pilled America that each host has been drawn to like a hummingbird to that sweet sweet sugar water. It's a grab bag, so reach in and pull out your favorite host, pull the cord on their back, and retreat in horror (or hopefully laugh) as they spit out their latest rabbit hole. Subscribe for $5 a month to get this full episode and all of the 300+ premium episodes: www.patreon.com/qaa Editing by Corey Klotz. Theme by Nick Sena. Additional music by Pontus Berghe. Theme Vocals by THEY/LIVE (instagram.com/theyylivve / sptfy.com/QrDm). Cover Art by Pedro Correa: (pedrocorrea.com) qaapodcast.com QAA was known as the QAnon Anonymous podcast.
Michael Wolff joins Joanna Coles to take a deep dive into Donald Trump's relationship with food. From his legendary buffets at Mar-a-Lago and his fast-food devotion to McDonald's, Jimmy John's, and oversized desserts, Wolff maps out the culinary habits that reflect Trump's personality and comfort zones. They discuss the White House dining struggles, state dinners he barely touches, and the unusual quirks—from eating in his bedroom to a Diet Coke button at his desk. Along the way, Wolff unpacks how Trump's palate, fears, and routines give a window into his larger-than-life persona. Thanksgiving at Mar-a-Lago has never been more telling. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Michael Wolff joins Joanna Coles to take a deep dive into Donald Trump's relationship with food. From his legendary buffets at Mar-a-Lago and his fast-food devotion to McDonald's, Jimmy John's, and oversized desserts, Wolff maps out the culinary habits that reflect Trump's personality and comfort zones. They discuss the White House dining struggles, state dinners he barely touches, and the unusual quirks—from eating in his bedroom to a Diet Coke button at his desk. Along the way, Wolff unpacks how Trump's palate, fears, and routines give a window into his larger-than-life persona. Thanksgiving at Mar-a-Lago has never been more telling. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
(1:20) – Matthew, Jay, and Connor recap Matthew's Diet Coke blunder on Monday(4:05) – QB Waiver Wire: C.J. Stroud, Trevor Lawrence, Jameis Winston, Tyrod Taylor, Tua Tagovailoa, Marcus Mariota, Cam Ward, Shedeur Sanders, Max Brosmer(19:40) – RB Waiver Wire: Devin Neal, Chris Rodriguez Jr., Bhayshul Tuten, Tyler Allgeier, Devin Singletary, Tyjae Spears, Bam Knight, Michael Carter, Jaleel McLaughlin(27:20) – WR Waiver Wire: Jayden Higgins, Christian Watson, Parker Washington, Chimere Dike, Luther Burden III, Andrei Iosivas, Greg Dortch, John Metchie III, Devaughn Vele(40:30) – TE Waiver Wire: Brenton Strange, Colston Loveland, Dalton Schultz, Harold Fannin Jr., Mike Gesicki, Gunnar Helm, Darren Waller(45:20) – Panthers at 49ers Reaction: Concern level with Brock Purdy, Christian McCaffrey continues to rack up touches(50:15) – Last Call: Early-week bets on Rams-Panthers, Texans-Colts, and Bills-Steelers Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Live from The Hyderabad Public School, a private high school in India which features notable alums 1) Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, 2) Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen 3) former Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga, 4) Fairfax Financial CEO Prem Watsa, and 5) Procter & Gamble CEO-designate Shailesh Jejurikar, it's an all-new Terrific Tuesday edition of Business Pants, featuring Analyst-Hole Matt Moscardi! On today's Lead Independent Turkey called November 25th, 2025: the Who Do You Blame? Game!Our show today is being sponsored by Free Float Analytics, the only platform measuring board power, connections, and performance for FREE.DAMIONCampbell's Places VP on Leave Following Viral 'Poor People' RantMartin Bally, Campbell Soup Company's vice president and chief information security officer: “"We have s--- for f---ing poor people. Who buys our s---? I don't buy Campbell's products barely anymore. Bioengineered meat — I don't wanna eat a piece of chicken that came from a 3-D printer."He also allegedly made derogatory comments about Indian coworkers and – according to the recording – claimed he sometimes came to work under the influence of marijuana: "F---ing Indians don't know a f---ing thing," the voice on the recording says. "They couldn't think for their f---ing selves."The statement follows claims made by former Campbell's security analyst Robert Garza, who filed a lawsuit in Wayne County Circuit Court alleging that Bally launched into an hour-long tirade during what was meant to be a discussion about Garza's salary.Campbell's: “We are proud of the food we make, the people who make it and the high-quality ingredients we use ... The comments on the recording are not only inaccurate—they are patently absurd.Campbell's also noted that Bally is not involved in food development. “Keep in mind, the alleged comments are made by an IT person, who has nothing to do with how we make our food,” the statement concluded.WHO DO YOU BLAME?The founding families:Voting power: (35%) Mary Alice D. Malone - 18% Bennett Dorrance- 15% Archbold D. van Beuren - 2%Board influence (76%): Mary Alice Dorrance Malone (61%; board member since 1990); Archbold Dorrance van Beuren (9%; wealth management); Bennett Dorrance (6%: bachelor's degree in art history from Princeton University and a master's degree in sustainable leadership from Arizona State University); Mary Alice Dorrance Malone Jr (accomplished equestrian, and a luxury fashion entrepreneur) MMInvestors: 11/18/2025 AGMAverage director support 98% (9 over 99%): 43% yes simple majority vote; regenerative agriculture program including pesticide reduction outcomes 11% yes; say on pay 99% yesAn unserious food board of 9 non-family board members:No food: Fabiola R. Arredondo (family investment trust); Howard M. Averill(former Time Warner CFO); Maria Teresa (Tessa) Hilado (former CFO Allergan); Grant Hill (NBA); Sarah Hofstetter (e-commerce sales); Marc B. Lautenbach (global shipping); Chair Keith R. McLoughlin (appliances); Kurt T. Schmidt (weed and pet food); CEO Mick J. Beekhuizen: 13 years with Goldman Sachs in roles including Managing Director in the merchant banking divisionAmerican pop-artist Andy Warhol for somehow making Campbell's Food company eternally relevant Q3 2025 Gender Diversity IndexLittle Movement on Boardroom Gender Diversity: 30% of Russell 3000 board members are women, a figure that has stayed within a narrow 30% to 30.3% range over the past five quarters.Percentage of Boards with 50% Women: Across the Russell 3000, 6% (175) of boards are composed of at least 50% women, while the remaining 94% (2,736) have less than 50% female representation.New Female Director Appointments Hit Record Low: 22.3% of new directors on Russell 3000 boards are women. This represents the lowest percentage recorded in the study (since Q12017)WHO DO YOU BLAME?The anti-DEI MAGA movementNominating Committees, specifically their Chairs MMPassive Investors (BlackRock, Vanguard, etc)The proxy experts: ISS, Glass Lewis, etc.Previous female board members who retired or died: if they were immortal maybe the numbers would be better?OpenAI announces shopping research tool in latest e-commerce pushOpenAI announced a new tool called “shopping research” that will generate detailed, in-depth shopping guides.The guides include top products, key differences between the products and up-to-date information from reliable retailers, OpenAI said.“With these new abilities, we can have shared prosperity to a degree that seems unimaginable today; in the future, everyone's lives can be better than anyone's life is now.”WHO DO YOU BLAME?The sycophants: open letter sent to the board of directors“We are unable to work for or with people that lack competence, judgement and care for our mission and employees,” the letter continues before demanding that “all current board members resign,” appoint “two new lead independent directors.”signed by a whopping 700 of the company's 770 employees — including CTO Mira Murati, who the board briefly named interim CEO only to be replaced just a few days later, and Altman's fellow cofounder Ilya Sutskever, who initially appeared to be one of the forces behind his ousterNew Initial Board (Nov 2023)Bret “Salesforce” Taylor (Chair), Larry “Epstein” Summers, and Adam “voted to fire him in the first place” D'AngeloNew Board Members (Mar 2024)Sue Desmond-Hellmann (former CEO, Bill “Epstein” & Melinda Gates Foundation); Nicole “Iran Contra” Seligman (former Sony GC); Fidji Simo (CEO of Instacart) MMThe wafflers: Ilya Sutskever and Adam D'AngeloNOT Helen Toner: Director of Strategy at the Georgetown Center for Security and Emerging Technology and Tasha McCauleySam:San Francisco, CA (Russian Hill): A historic mansion purchased for $27 million in 2020.San Francisco, CA (Adjacent Homes): Three adjacent houses purchased for $12.8 million each (totaling $38.4 million) in January 2024. These purchases appear to be consolidating a potential mega-compound next to his original Russian Hill home.Kailua-Kona, Hawaii (Big Island): A large, 22-acre oceanfront estate, quietly purchased in 2021 for $43 million (later listed for $49 million in 2025). It features multiple houses, a private marina/beach, helipadNapa, CA (Ranch): A 950-acre ranch, reportedly purchased for $15.7 million in 2020.Kohl's names Michael Bender as permanent CEO after a turbulent year and sales declines. WHO DO YOU BLAMEAshley Buchanan: On May 1, 2025, Kohl's board terminated Buchanan “for cause” following an outside investigation overseen by its Audit Committee. The investigation found that Buchanan directed Kohl's to do business with a vendor founded by someone with whom he had a personal relationship. He also caused Kohl's to enter into a multimillion-dollar consulting agreement involving that same person. Crucially, he did not disclose this personal relationship, which was a violation of Kohl's code of ethics.Golden hello: $17m equity and $3.75m cashFormer director Christine Day: Shortly after Buchanan was fired, Day resigned, citing “lack of transparency” and governance concerns. Day said she was frustrated that not all board members were kept informed of risks and that decisions seemed centralized (“Michael ‘handles' everything … then ‘tells' everyone what the decision is”). Kohl's strongly disputed her characterization, saying her resignation was not “due to any disagreements” over operations or practices.Investors: chair Bender named interim CEO 4/30/25… AGM 5/14/2595% yes bender; 55% yes pay; 89% yes Prising; 92% average; new chair 91% John E. Schlifske (2011-, longest-tenured)Compensation Committee: “regularly and actively reviewing and evaluating our executive management succession plans and making recommendations to the Board with respect to succession planning issues”Chair Jonas Prising (2015-)Member Michael BenderMichael Bender, who was the Board Chair and sat on COmp Committee and director since 2019, was named interim CEO$1.475M/175% target up to 350%/$9.5M equity ($500k more than ashley) target/$200k aircraft (up from $180k for ashley)/$160k relocationone-time award of restricted stock units (“RSUs”) valued at $3,775,000The glass cliff: women and POC promoted to precarious leadership positions, such as the CEO or a board seat, during times of crisis, organizational turmoil, or poor performance MMMATTWatchdog group warns AI teddy bear discusses sexually explicit content, dangerous activities. This is the $99 Kumma bear made by FoloToy using OpenAI's service. OpenAI said it was suspending Folotoy for violations of usage of ChatGPT. WHO DO YOU BLAME?:Folotoy, who's founder and CEO Larry Wang calls himself “Chief Geek Officer” and has a background in child psychology and behavioral science… oh, wait, not, he has background in computer science and was founder of a tech telecomm company and was a software developer for insurance before that. But he's obviously qualified to do this: “Kumma, our adorable bear, combines advanced artificial intelligence with friendly, interactive features, making it the perfect friend for both kids and adults. From lively conversations to educational storytelling, FoloToy adapts to your personality and needs, bringing warmth, fun, and a little extra curiosity to your day.”OpenAI - obviously Sam Altman's commitment to “the benefit of humanity” stopped short of “sex advice from baby toys,” even though he says having kids of his own will help him not destroy humanity. I assume he's not getting Sammy Jr a Kumma bear? DROpenAI's board - obviously if they had fired Sam Altman, there wouldn't be sex bears using ChatGPT. But Helen Toner was forced out by the rest of the board, investors, and public pressure - she's since said, “But for years, Sam had made it really difficult for the board to actually do that job by withholding information, misrepresenting things that were happening at the company, in some cases outright lying to the board,” and that Altman gave them, “inaccurate information about the small number of formal safety processes that the company did have in place.” Perhaps Altman said, “no, that teddy bear didn't just say he loved oral sex, that's just a misinterpretation.”Microsoft - Satya, despite misgivings from Bill Gates, threw $10bn at OpenAI in January 2023. In November 2023, the board removed Sam Altman. Turns out Microsoft had released a version of ChatGPT in India that Altman sanctioned outside of safety protocols - the board should have signed off, but Altman lied to them and hid it. But rather than Microsoft pulling back the release and recognizing the damage it could do, they swooped in and “hired” Sam Altman 3 days after his firing. Their $10bn investment might have been the first cog in a sex bear wheel.I'm the Chief People Officer at Walmart. I always wake up to the same U2 song and watch the 'Today' show. That is Donna Morris listening to U2's “Beautiful Day”, the first thing she does is go online, she doesn't drink coffee but drinks Diet Coke (“I've just never been a hot drink type of girl, I guess. I try to limit myself to two Diet Cokes a day, although every once in a while, I sneak in a third.”), she likes buying cookbooks but doesn't use them. Not mentioned: Walmart's DEI rollback, the new CEO coming in, working for a family dictatorship, and any of her colleagues - as chief people officer, there are almost zero people mentioned. WHO DO WE BLAME FOR THIS EXISTING?Professional Conservative Snowflake Robby Starbuck - he claimed Walmart as his first “victory” after Trump's election in the DEI rollback. Post-Starbuck snowflake-ism, Morris might have had a job managing humans, but now her job is basically to send pink slips and make sure there aren't TOO many swastikas in the bathroom stall. A few is fine, but c'mon. So to pass the time, Morris is stuck giving interviews to Business Insider.Business Insider, who must have known Morris had the potential to give an insipid review of her day when this was her excuse for Walmart's DEI rollback: "When you talk about diversity, equity, inclusion, all in part, there can be communities, and often the largest communities, that step back and say, 'Geez, I'm not sure if I'm even actually included'," Morris explained of the decision. Which echoes… ROBBY FUCKING STARBUCK, who said to anyone who would listen: "This is the biggest win yet for our movement to end wokeness in corporate America. This won't just have a massive effect for their employees who will have a neutral workplace without feeling that divisive issues are being injected but it will also extend to their many suppliers."Donna Morris, because as only we covered here when discussing the corporate move to blame the employees for every problem and getting fired, had this to say of her biggest red flag on an employee: “Nobody wants [to hire] a Debbie Downer. [Someone who is] constantly negative. You know they're going to show up [and] they're going to bring the problem, never the solution.” Literally, the JOB of HR is to field COMPLAINTS from employees about how their managers treat them - or is it too Debbie Downer to complain about racial discrimination of employees?Walmart's board - they must have signed off on Morris getting hired, right? Or a Walton? Someone somewhere thought this was a good idea? Take your pick:CFO of OpenAI Sarah Friar (who said OpenAI would need a government backstop, then clarified)Brian Niccol, the CEO of Starbucks who was given a golden hello, a golden parachute, and probably a golden shower, who just named to a “worst CEO” listThe current AND former CEO of WalmartSteuart Walton, who couldn't bother to even be named “Stuart” (he had to spell it with an extra “E”) with a claim to fame of marrying a Baywatch reboot actress, and Greg Penner, the son-in-law of a different Walton and snuck his way onto the board AND as co-owner of the Denver BroncosTom Horton, retired American Airlines CEO who was CFO of American for years right before they declared bankruptcy, but somehow is remembered for “restructuring” them instead of bankrupting them?Marissa Mayer - yes, that Mayer, formerly of YahooNot one, but TWO different consultantsRandall Stephenson, ex AT&T CEO, who, if I'm honest, seems to have actual integrity and I'm not sure why he's here, plus two DEI directors (because they're not white, so probably not qualified)
This is Part 3 of 6 of Episode 500. Enormous thanks to Humdinger Studios for hosting, filming, streaming, everything. You made all this possible.Very very gigantic thanks to Ellie for the great art on our livestream background.Vast, boundless thanks to all the many many guests who came along. You carried us with your mouths.To the TITTT scholars on the TITTT discord server here who worked together, watched hours of hour nonsense and updated the sketch count.To everyone who watched, even a little bit, of the live stream (here)And all the amazing a-listeners who bought hats and supported the Pozible campaign to get Alasdair back to AustraliaTo our families, who not only put up with our nonsense but sopport it.And everyone we forgot.And you.We love you.You can now purchase A Listener hats by emailing twointhethinktank@gmail.comVisit the Think Tank Institute website:Check out our comics on instagram with Peader Thomas at Pants IllustratedOrder Gustav & Henri from Andy and Pete's very own online shopYou can support the pod by chipping in to our patreon here (thank you!)Join the other TITTT scholars on the Alasdair Tremblay-Birchall: @alasdairtb and insta Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In today's episode, we're diving into what happens in our body when we drink soda pop. I'm sharing this knowledge to empower you to decide for yourself and your children if soda pop deserves a spot in your home. I often forget that soda pop is standard operating procedure for most Americans, but then a patient will come in and they are drinking a case of Dr. Pepper or another of late who started their day with a Diet Coke. 7 reasons to stop drinking soda pop 1. Mineral Depletion 2. Insulin and cortisol dysregulation 3. Gut microbiome injury from artificial sweeteners 4. Reduced stomach acid and digestive capacity 5. Uric acid and inflammation 6. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) 7. Advanced Glycation End Products (AGEs) ➡️Download 6 Protein Packed Breakfast Recipes https://drwholeness.com/recipes -------- Connect with Dr. Matt online:
In one of the most powerful conversations on Everyday Epigenetics: Raw. Real. Relatable., Susan and Kate sit down with Susan's longtime client, Cal Hoff, to share a transformation that's nothing short of extraordinary.From battling alcoholism and metabolic syndrome to reversing kidney damage, dropping 50+ pounds, and getting off medications, Cal's journey shows the power of science, self-awareness, and radical honesty. His story is raw, hopeful, and deeply human.If you or someone you love is struggling with health, habits, or hope, this episode will stay with you.In this episode:• How Cal went from detox to 1,000+ days sober• The genetics behind cravings, metabolic syndrome, and insulin resistance• Why his lab markers dramatically improved in weeks• How personalized epigenetics reshaped his nutrition, mindset, and energy• The surprising role Diet Coke played in worsening his health• The Guardian health type and why knowing your phenotype matters• The emotional work that restored his confidence, relationships, and daily life• What truly creates a radiant life after decades of struggleAbout our guest, Callen Hoff:Cal is a Guardian to his core — devoted, steady, and shaped by a lifetime of service. From defending classmates as a kid to serving in the National Guard as a Sergeant and squad leader, he has always protected and supported others.Throughout his career in agriculture, Cal championed conservation farming and farmer success. He served as Board Member and Chairman of the Manitoba/ND Zero Tillage Farmers Association and led the North Dakota Dry Pea & Lentil Council, helping expand pulse crops across the region. Farmers still call him for mentorship and guidance.But his greatest challenge was personal. After retiring, alcohol dependency quietly took hold, and his health declined rapidly. In fall 2022, he made the courageous decision to enter treatment and commit fully to recovery.Today, Cal is over three years sober — healthier, more present, and grounded in what matters most. His transformation has restored his energy, deepened his marriage of 46 years to his wife, Julie, and increased the joy he finds with his two grandsons.His journey proves healing is possible at any age — and that change begins the moment we decide we're worth saving.RESOURCES:Show notes + links: healthyawakening.co/2025/11/24/episode95Connect with Susan: healthyawakening.coConnect with Kate: theradiantlifeproject.comPodcast: healthyawakening.co/podcastListening links: healthyawakening.co/linksP.S. Want reminders about episodes? Sign up for our newsletter, you can find the link on our podcast page! https://healthyawakening.co/podcast
Think Diet Coke is a harmless swap for sugary soda? Think again. New research suggests this bubblyfavorite might be doing more behind the scenes — possibly altering your gut microbiome and tinkeringwith your blood sugar response. Before you crack open another can, discover what science says about the sweet deception of artificial sweeteners and how your “healthy” choice might not be so simple after all.Health Alternative of the WeekHealth Outrage of the WeekProduct Recall of the WeekHealthy Mystery of the WeekDr. Adam Brockman answers caller questions
It's an all new That Real Blind Tech show with once again just the guys, so if you are looking to join us as a regular podcast host since the ladies have turned in to giant flakes, email us in at ThatRealBlindTechshow@gmail.com, as we may have an opening soon! Yeah, yeah, the ladies claim to be busy with work and life. We kick the show off with an advertising disclaimer about possibly looking for a new CoHost. After our house cleaning we start the show discussing a recent article in the NY Post, asking what is A.I. ruining for children worldwide? Brian turns the question in to our second version of the Blind Feud. A common theme on this episode is stupidity, so we move on to discussing why I.Q. levels are dropping for the first time in decades. Which then leads us in to the dumbest thing we heard this week, Elon Musk's comments that money will cease to exist and work will be optional in the future. And continuing on our stupid theme, the internet now claims that Diet Coke is the Millennials cigarette. Europe wants to cut down on those pain in the ass cookie pop ups we have been getting for the past few years, but hey isn't Europe also the continent that created this whole issue? The NFB has partnered with Eleven Labs, and this conversation goes a tad bit off the rails. Vispero is starting to make use of User Accounts. Be My eyes is a finalist in the Apple App Store Awards. Brian and Ed then recap their epic experience down in Austin, Texas at the Blind Travel Summit. David then tells us about the NFB Pennsylvania Summit. And it's more of Watcha Streaming, Watcha Reading. To contact That Real Blind Tech Show, you can email us at ThatRealBlindTechShow@gmail.com, join our Facebook Group That Real Blind Tech Show, join us on the Twitter @BlindTechShow , or leave us an old school phone message at 929-367-1005.
Ep 237 | This week on Discover Ag, Natalie and Tara serve up a lighthearted holiday episode packed with farm-to-table realities, football meets farming, Western fashion collabs, and viral hippo content. Celebrity chef Tim Love explains why true farm-to-table dining is almost impossible — from inconsistent supply to the direct-to-consumer "ribeye problem." The hosts break down why local sourcing is so complex and why prices would have to rise by about 30% to make it viable. The Buffalo Bills celebrate National Farmer's Day by partnering with local dairy farmer "Farmer Shin," spotlighting New York's dairy industry. The segment also touches on quarterback Josh Allen's agricultural background, from FFA to his family's cotton and pistachio farms. Abercrombie & Fitch teams up with Kemo Sabe for a Western-inspired line. The hosts discuss whether blending mass-market and luxury works — and how the Yellowstone Effect continues to shape Western culture. A viral clip of a hippo eating a pumpkin during Denmark's Harvest Holiday leads to a conversation on seasonal feeding and closed-loop farming. The show ends with a story of a dairy farmer using colostrum to save a baby giraffe. BUT WAIT — there's more! The Disco Taste Test features a salted maple Dr. Pepper float perfect for Thanksgiving. Natalie spills hers, Tara swaps in Diet Coke, and both agree it's dangerously delicious. What We Discovered This Week
Guess Who Is Back On The Diet Coke...
From aircraft maintenance officer to professional fitness champion to executive coach, Tanji Johnson Bridgeman '97 has exhibited leadership on many stages. SUMMARY In the premiere episode of Focus on Leadership, she joins host Lt. Col. (Ret.) Naviere Walkewicz '99 to share how resilience, self-care and feedback transform challenges into growth — and why caring for yourself is key to leading with presence and impact. SHARE THIS PODCAST LINKEDIN | FACEBOOK TANJI'S TOP 10 LEADERSHIP TAKEAWAYS Lead with a Whole-Person Approach: Effective leadership requires nurturing mind, body, and spirit, not just focusing on one aspect. Reframe Failure as Feedback: View setbacks as events and learning opportunities, rather than personal flaws or endpoints. Consistency Over Perfection: Strive for regular, sustainable effort and give yourself grace rather than aiming for flawless execution. Self-Reflection Builds Authenticity: Regular reflection (e.g., journaling, meditation) helps clarify values and stay true to yourself as a leader. Executive Presence Matters: Project confidence through body language, eye contact, and purposeful communication to influence and inspire others. Take Inventory and Set Self-Care Rituals: Assess mental, physical, and emotional health, then develop small, habitual self-care practices to maintain energy and focus. Recognize and Address Burnout: Leaders must be attentive to signs of burnout in themselves and others, emphasizing rest, breaks, and boundaries. Normalize and Model Wellness in Leadership: Leaders should model healthy habits and make personal wellness a visible priority to support team well-being. Focus on Connection and Service: Shift focus away from self-doubt by being intentional about serving, connecting, and empowering others. Adapt and Accept Change: Growth requires adapting to new realities, accepting changes (including those related to age or circumstances), and updating strategies accordingly. CHAPTERS 0:00:06 - Introduction to the podcast and guest Tanji Johnson Bridgeman. 0:01:07 - Tanji shares her journey from the Air Force Academy to wellness and leadership. 0:04:13 - Discussing wellness strategies and advice for cadets and young leaders. 0:12:10 - Recognizing burnout, setting boundaries, and maintaining consistency in habits. 0:17:39 - Reframing failure as feedback with examples from Tanji's career. 0:27:58 - Exploring the concept of executive presence and practical ways to develop it. 0:38:07 - The value of authenticity and self-reflection in leadership. 0:44:21 - Creating sustainable self-care rituals and adopting healthy habits. 1:00:54 - Emphasizing wellness in leadership and the importance of leading by example. 1:02:18 - Final reflections and a summary of key takeaways from the episode. ABOUT TANJI BIO Tanji Johnson Bridgeman graduated from the United States Air Force Academy in 1997, where she distinguished herself by navigating the rigors of cadet life with both determination and initiative. As one of the first women to serve as Group Superintendent during Basic Cadet Training for the Class of 1999, she honed her leadership and public-speaking skills by addressing hundreds of incoming cadets nightly. Following her commissioning, she served on active duty in the U.S. Air Force — initially in the Academy's admissions office as a minority enrollment officer, then as an aircraft maintenance officer at Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington, where she led over 200 personnel across six specialties supporting KC-135 air-refueling operations. After four years of service, Tanji pivoted to a second career in fitness and wellness, becoming an 11-time professional champion in the International Federation of Bodybuilding & Fitness (IFBB) and competing for 18 years in 54 pro contests. She later leveraged her competitive success and military-honed leadership into executive-presence and lifestyle-coaching, founding the “Empower Your Inner Champion” brand and offering keynote speaking, coaching, and wellness solutions. CONNECT WITH TANJI LinkedIn Instagram: @OriginalTanjiJohnson CONNECT WITH THE LONG BLUE LEADERSHIP PODCAST NETWORK TEAM Ted Robertson | Producer and Editor: Ted.Robertson@USAFA.org Send your feedback or nominate a guest: socialmedia@usafa.org Ryan Hall | Director: Ryan.Hall@USAFA.org Bryan Grossman | Copy Editor: Bryan.Grossman@USAFA.org Wyatt Hornsby | Executive Producer: Wyatt.Hornsby@USAFA.org ALL PAST LBL EPISODES | ALL LBLPN PRODUCTIONS AVAILABLE ON ALL MAJOR PODCAST PLATFORMS FULL TRANSCRIPT Guest, Tanji Johnson Bridgeman '97 | Host, Lt. Col. (Ret.) Naviere Walkewicz '99 Naviere Walkewicz 0:00 If you love the Long Blue Leadership podcast, you'll want to discover Focus on Leadership, a Long Blue Leadership production of the U.S. Air Force Academy Association & Foundation. Here on Focus on Leadership, we move beyond the “why” and dive into the “how,” exploring the habits, mindsets and lessons that turn good leaders into great ones. In each episode, host, Lt. Col. (Ret.) Naviere Walkewicz, Class of '99, sits down with accomplished Air Force Academy graduates and other influential leaders to uncover their stories, their insights and real-world actions that drive excellence. Focus on Leadership: Offering impactful and actionable lessons for today's exceptional leaders. Without further ado, sit back and enjoy this premiere episode of Focus on Leadership. Naviere Walkewicz 0:58 Welcome to Focus on Leadership, where we take a close look at the practices that make strong leaders even stronger. I'm your host, Naviere Walkewicz, Class of '99. Today we're joined by Tanji Johnson Bridgeman, Class of '97, an Air Force Academy graduate whose journey has taken her from aircraft maintenance officer to professional fitness champion, American Gladiator known as “Stealth,” entrepreneur and executive coach. Tanji is here to teach us about leadership through the lens of health and wellness, how caring for yourself physically and mentally fuels your ability to establish presence and lead others with confidence. Tanji, welcome to Focus on Leadership. Tanji Johnson Bridgeman 1:36 Thank you, Naviere. It is so good to be here. Naviere Walkewicz 1:40 Such an honor to see you. I mean, as a ‘99 graduate to have a ‘97 trainer here in the presence, I'm already feeling wonderful. And you know, it's been about 10 years since you've been at your academy. How are you feeling? You came back last evening. What are your thoughts? Tanji Johnson Bridgeman 1:54 Wow, I was here nine years ago for my 20th reunion. I just feel so much gratitude. I mean, it's so surreal. Even last night, we went to work out. And you know, you're driving up the hill towards Vandenberg, and all these memories are coming back to me from the good times. But the biggest thing I'm feeling is pride, you know, pride and gratitude. Because, you know, we don't always reflect, but just being here, it forces you to reflect, like, this is where it all started. I mean, it really started with my upbringing, but the Air Force Academy, my experience here, laid the foundation for who I became, and I'm so grateful for that. Naviere Walkewicz 2:29 Well, let's go back to the fact that right off the bat, you got off the plane, you met me and we went to work out. So wellness, no joke, is right at the top of your foundation. So how did you get into this space? Let's kind of introduce that to our listeners, because I think it's important for them to really understand the depth of what wellness means. Tanji Johnson Bridgeman 2:46 Well, the funny thing about it is I never would have imagined that I would be doing what I'm doing today, because I was a die-hard — I thought I'm going in the military, and I'm staying in for 20 years. So when I was here, you know, I was on the cadet Honor Guard and I cheered, and that's when I fell in love with lifting weights. So I got into competing, even as a lieutenant, and I just I fell in love, and I turned professional. And so there was these transitions where I had an opportunity to be a professional athlete, and I took it, right? And so I became a professional bodybuilder, fitness champion. And then next thing you know, I'm on NBC's American Gladiators. That was wild. And so I did that for a while, and then I became a trainer and a coach and a promoter and a judge, and did all the things bodybuilding. And then I retired in 2016, and that's around the time I met my husband, and so really that's when my real wellness journey began. Because prior to that, it was heavily around physical fitness, but wellness for me began when I transitioned and retired from competing. And really, I had to figure out what is my fitness life going to look like, because it's not going to be working out three times a day on a calorie-deficient diet. Naviere Walkewicz 3:57 Three times a day… Tanji Johnson Bridgeman 3:58 Right, none of that. I was like, I'm done. I'm done. But I really had to design the rest of my life and really figure out what that was going to look like. So I got into functional medicine, health coaching. I married a chiropractor, so we believe in holistic medicine, and that's where it started. Naviere Walkewicz 4:13 Excellent. And so this is not a traditional career path. So let's kind of go back to the cadet mindset. For example: How would you — knowing what you know now — maybe talk to yourself as a cadet, or actually, cadets that might be listening, of what they should be thinking about in this priority space of wellness, in leadership? Tanji Johnson Bridgeman 4:30 Absolutely, I think that's a great question. The disadvantage for young leaders, whether they're cadets or lieutenants, is that they don't have the luxury of having a lot of life experience. And so building a foundation is important, and it takes mindfulness and just, “What should we be aware of?” So what I would want to impart on them is to adopt the philosophy of looking at wellness from a whole-person approach, because high performance is going to demand it. And so when I say whole person, wellness is multi-dimensional. So we want to look at the mindset, we want to look at the body and we want to look at the spirit, and being able to start from a place where you're going to go into all of those. Naviere Walkewicz 5:13 Well, as a cadet, there are so many hats they have to wear. No pun intended. They have to be on top of their game in the academic space. They have to be on top of the game in the military, and then also athletically. Can you talk about, or maybe share an example as a cadet, how you navigated that journey of wellness and what that looked like? Tanji Johnson Bridgeman 5:32 Well, let's go back to — so I didn't get a chance to break down. So mind, body, spirit. Why is that important? Because in anything, any philosophies that we adopt, we have to really see where it's important. So when you think of what is an officer, what is a leader going to have to do with their mind, this is where they have to have clarity. It's going to help with focus, creativity to innovate new solutions. And so we need to be able to prioritize our mindset and our mental health. And then there's the body, right? So a lot of us are going to be going on deployments. We're going to work long hours. Our body is what's going to give us the fuel and energy and the stamina to get through a day. It's literally bringing our energy. And then you think about the spirit, and this one is really special, and it's probably the most neglected. So when you think about the spirit, this is where you're going to anchor in with your emotional health. What is your purpose? What is your “why?” You know, earlier today, I was having a great discussion with Gen. Marks, and he shared with me that one of his goals for the cadets is that when they graduate, you know, they're going to be committed to being leaders, but are they committed — like really committed — and bought in to knowing what their purpose is going to be? And I think that a big part of that is being able to explore their spirit in advance, so they can discover their identity and their strengths in advance and to be able to go off into the leadership and fully own it. And so an example that I would like to present: When I was coaching bodybuilders and female athletes, I remember I started a team. And now this is going to be a team of women that they have the common goal of competing. So they're trying to pursue physical excellence with how they transform their physiques. But what I did was I brought this team together, this sisterhood of women. So a couple of things that I wanted to see, I wanted sisterhood and support. I wanted them to have the commonality of the same goal, and I wanted them to be able to support each other, and I wanted to be able to support them by elevating their mindset. And so one of the things that I did that was really unique at the time, that a lot of other coaches and leaders weren't doing, — when somebody wanted to work with them, they just sign them up. But I would have a consultation. It was kind of more of an interview, because one of the questions I would ask is, “Naviere, why do you want to compete?” And then I'd give them examples, like, you know, “Is this a bucket list? Are you trying to improve your health? Is this for validation and attention? Is this because you're competitive? Because, if you're competitive, and you're telling me that you just started working out last year, maybe we need to wait a couple of years.” You see what I mean. So when you go back to the “why,” it keeps you in alignment to move forward, in alignment with your why, but a lot of people don't know what that is, and sometimes all it takes is asking the question. Naviere Walkewicz 8:17 So the question I'd love to ask you then, is going back to the cadet side, because I think talking to Gen. Marks and the purpose piece, you know, you actually, I think as a cadet, remember, you were on Honor Guard. You were also a cadet… I think you were the cheer captain of our cheerleading team. I feel that that is such a great testament to the fact that you have to figure out, you know, the purpose of, how do I do more and give more and still stay connected to my purpose of where you said in the beginning, “I was going to serve 20 years in the Air Force.” How do our cadets get that same level of interviewer coaching with someone without having that life experience yet? Like, what would you share with them now, from your learning experience? Tanji Johnson Bridgeman 8:55 So when I think back to… OK, so when you look at wellness, and you think of mental wellness, physical wellness, emotional wellness, you know, I think what happens here at the Academy — and I remember starting this way — we prioritize physical fitness, right? I remember being in that fight-or-flight mode like, OK, if I can just show that I am, you know, prioritizing physical fitness, that strength is going to get me respect, and I could definitely feel the difference in how I was treated. The problem sometimes with prioritizing physical fitness… It's great because, you know, it can strengthen your mind. So if your body's feeling strong, your mindset is strong, but it becomes problematic when your body fails. So what happens when you fail? And I have plenty of stories and memories, my goodness, of being on Honor Guard, one that I remember distinctly is, you know, if you had me doing push-ups or pull-ups, oh, I was in a zone. I was impressing everybody. I was passing all the tests, but you put me in a formation where the short people are in the back, you throw a helmet, M1 Garand, and we have to go run 3 miles now, now I'm falling out and I'm getting exhausted. And you know, the body goes — the stress goes up, the blood sugar goes down. It's just physiology, right? And so what happens is, now mentally, my mind is becoming weak. So when the body fails, my mind is getting weak, Naviere Walkewicz 10:13 And you've been training your body right? Tanji Johnson Bridgeman 10:14 Right, right. And so I look back, and I just, I remember those days in Honor Guard where I would feel doubt, like, “Am I going to make it do? I deserve to be here? Am I good enough?” I would feel discouraged, right? And I would go back to my room and then something happened. So after about two weeks of suffering through this pain and this big challenge, I remember thinking, “Gosh, every time they beat me down physically, I feel so weak mentally. But I was in my room and I remember having anxiety for the next day, like, “Oh, I'm going out there again.” And for some reason that meme, you know, with the Asian guy that says, “But did you die?” Right? That's always in my head, and I remember saying that to myself, like, “It was hard. Today was hard, but did I die?” No. And actually, after two weeks, I'm like, “It's actually getting easier,” like, because I'm getting more fit, right? I'm able to do the push-ups. I'm running further. And I remember that was the mindset shift where I realized, “OK, now, tomorrow, when I go out to practice, I'm not going to be as afraid, because I've already decided that I can do hard things.” And so now, when I was enduring the practice, right, and the leadership of my Honor Guard cadre, I was prepared with that mental strength, right? And so that's what we need. We need to be able to train so that when our body fails, our mind prevails, right? Naviere Walkewicz 11:39 Love that — those three facets of wellness, and that's a really strong way to explain it. And so you gave a couple examples about when the body fails, so when we think about how we're wired, and I think many of us are this way, as cadets, as graduates, as those who really want to succeed in life, right? Thinking about resilience, how do we balance? Or maybe balance isn't the right word, but how do we make sure we're very mindful of that line between healthy discipline and then harmful overdrive. How do you navigate that? Maybe, what would you share with some of our listeners? Tanji Johnson Bridgeman 12:11 Well, you were asking like, how do we recognize when it's happened? You know, the good news is, your body will leave clues. You will have emotional clues, you will have physical clues, you're going to have behavioral clues. Your body will leave clues. So the first thing is, I think that if we can be willing to evolve — you know, look at what culture are we in now, like you and I, we come from a culture where the philosophy was grit at any cost. Push, push, push, push, and drive, drive, drive. You know, I think about, as an athlete, you know, especially if you're motivated. You're thinking, when I was training my body, I remember thinking, “I want to get these results, and so I'm going to do what it takes. So every day I'm doing the lifting, I'm eating the food, and I'm going to train every day.” And I remember on that seventh day, you know, I had done all the things, I took the supplements, I got all the sleep, and I went in to train, and my body was exhausted. And it's because I was physically burning out, and my body needed the rest. And then it really transferred into how I would choreograph my training and so with routine. So I was a fitness competitor. I did these fitness, crazy fitness routines where I'm doing push-ups and squats and gymnastics and flying around, right? And it's two minutes long. So think of doing like a crazy CrossFit routine for two minutes straight without stopping, and smiling. And so I remember being strategic, right? And how I would lay out those practices athletically, where I would do a portion, 30 seconds — I would train 30 seconds at a time, and then the next day I would do the next 30 seconds, a week later I would go for about a minute. But the part I want you to know is, right before the competition, I would decrease that training load. I would actually do less, because the year that I trained full out, all the way up into the competition, I didn't do well on stage because my body was exhausted. So again, our body is going to leave us clues, and we have to be willing to evolve, to say that self-care — it's not selfish, but it's strategic. And so we need to pay attention to those signs, because we're going to have a choice to either pivot and be intentional and strategic with taking care of ourselves, or we're going to stay stuck in this old-school thinking that's not going to serve us. Naviere Walkewicz 14:38 So if it's not the body telling you — because we talk about how wellness is more than just physical — how do you recognize signs on the spiritual side, on your emotional side, that you might be in this harmful space of it's too much give, give, give, and not enough fill, fill, fill. Tanji Johnson Bridgeman 14:55 I think that's a great question. So here's some telltale… So going back to physical, you know, like the examples I gave, you're going to feel exhausted, you're going to have muscle tension, you might even start to have stomach issues. Those are all great physical signs that you're reaching burnout. Now, when you think of mentally, if you notice emotionally and mentally, that you start getting irritable and you've become more impatient and you're having a harder time making decisions, those are also great clues that mentally, you're starting to get burnt out. And then when you think of behaviorally, you know, let's say you had a great morning routine, and now all of a sudden, you find yourself in this season where you've abandoned that, or you have deadlines that you're usually very protective, and you can get things done, but now you're starting to procrastinate, and you're thinking like, “Who am I right now? I'm procrastinating. I've abandoned my wellness routine. I'm not even… I don't even have a morning routine.” That's when you should really step back. And I think one of the practical tools that everyone can do is check in with themselves on a regular basis. So I'm being very transparent. I check in with myself daily. So let's say I do three back-to-back hours of Zoom calls: Maybe ones with an executive coaching clients. Maybe another one is a team Zoom, where I'm training a group of folks, and then another team meeting. After that three hours, I will stop, and I'll check in with myself, and I'll take a deep breath and say, “How am I feeling? Do I feel like getting right back on a call? No, my brain is fried right now.” And then I'll pivot and I'll go take a 10-minute walk around break. And that's just one of my strategies. Naviere Walkewicz 16:30 So it does… A check in doesn't have to be this grand “I take time off and I spend a week.” It literally could just be a few minutes of [breathes deeply] and check in with yourself, because I think sometimes time is a challenge as well, right? We talk about, how do we prioritize all these things and we're within this 24-hour period. How do we make sure that the time piece is something that we can also utilize to take care of ourselves, and so when you said it doesn't have to take a lot of time to check in. Tanji Johnson Bridgeman 16:58 And think about it. So we just talked about how to check in with yourself daily. What about like in your career? You know, I was helping physique athletes with poise mastery, basically teaching posing to athletes for over 15 years, and towards the end of that career, what I started to notice when I would mentally check in with myself, is I would notice that as I was driving to the office to go work with another client, I just did not feel as energized. I didn't feel as passionate. My motivation was going down, and this was a sign for me that I was getting burnt out from this specific way of serving, and it was my first clue that it was time to pivot and to look at something else. Naviere Walkewicz 17:38 That's really interesting, because when you think about when you're making big decisions, whether in career, whether in leadership or just, you know… The fact that you have these signs help you make those decisions, but I also wonder if it helps you at times think about part of the growth is maybe not totally pivoting, but it's recognizing that I'm supposed to go through this period of hardship. So what I'm kind of alluding to right now, is failure, right? So failure, as we go through some of our experiences are inevitable, right? How do we make sure we're using failure in a way to grow, as opposed to the easy button of, well, I failed, so I'm pivoting. Tanji Johnson Bridgeman 18:18 OK, so that would be like a reaction. You're reacting to what happened, and you think what you need to do is flee from it. So you have to be able to discern, “Am I pivoting because I'm afraid, or because I feel like I'm not good enough, or because my purpose and my spirit is telling me that my work is done here, and I'm looking for innovation.” I'm looking for something new. I'm looking to impact new people. So going back to failure — like public speaking, it's one of the top two fears, right? Naviere Walkewicz 18:52 What's the other? Tanji Johnson Bridgeman 18:53 Oh, public speaking, flying, swimming [laughs]. No, I'm just kidding. Only if you grow up like me. But going back to failure, I think that people fear failure a lot because they make the mistake of connecting it to their identity instead of realizing failure is an event. It's not your identity. And so how many times do we do something, and maybe it's a competition, or it's an event or an application, and you fail. You don't get the desired result. It's an event. So what we need to do is reframe failure as feedback. That's it. So I have a great example. When I think about a great example of someone who was able to show in person, in reality, that when they failed, it did not disrupt their identity at all. So I don't know if there's any boxing fans out there, Naviere Walkewicz 19:46 Oh, we have some, I'm sure. Yeah. Tanji Johnson Bridgeman 19:47 The Canelo and Crawford fight, it was a couple weeks ago. Did you see that? Naviere Walkewicz 19:50 I didn't, but I did hear about this. Actually, honestly, I fell asleep. I planned to watch it. My husband watched it, but I fell asleep. Tanji Johnson Bridgeman 19:57 Oh, they went all the rounds, right? It was a great fight. Really, really great. You saw two physical specimens, you know, at the top of their game. They were both undefeated. I believe Canelo was favored to win, but he didn't. He lost the belt, right? And so Crawford wins. And so I'm always very intrigued with how people respond to failure when it's public, right? And so Crawford got to make his speech, and then when Canelo made his speech, you know, one of the first things they ask is, “OK, so you didn't get the result you were hoping for. You didn't win this bout. How are you feeling?” And he gave an answer that I totally didn't expect. He said, “I feel great.” Naviere Walkewicz 20:39 Just like that? Tanji Johnson Bridgeman 20:40 Yes. He was like, “I feel great.” He was like, “It was a great fight,” you know. He affirmed Crawford, you know, edified him. Talked about how great he was, you know, but he maintained his identity, and you could feel that in his spirit. He said, “I feel great. I came out here. I did a great job. I did what I was supposed to do. Obviously, there's room for feedback, to learn. You know, I didn't get the result I wanted. So whether it was endurance or I wasn't strategic enough, or I didn't prioritize my offense, there's feedback there.” He's going to learn from that. But he basically had such a great attitude. And he ended it by saying, you know, “I feel great and it was great time.” And I remember thinking like, “Wow, now there's an example of someone who did not own the failure and make it a part of his identity. It was just an event.” And his legacy will still be restored, right? And to be honest with you, it made me think about my own career. Naviere Walkewicz 21:31 Yes, so did you, have you experienced anything like that in your career? Tanji Johnson Bridgeman 21:34 Have I experienced failure? Over and over again. Naviere Walkewicz 21:39 And how did you respond in your, you know, the wellness side of it, when you think about, you know, what you're trying to do, your purpose. How did you use that? Did you use it as feedback? Or what did that look like for you. Tanji Johnson Bridgeman 21:50 So let's say in sports, if you don't win, then that event is deemed as a failure, right? And so if you think about it, I did 54, I've done 54 professional bodybuilding, fitness competitions. Naviere Walkewicz 22:04 Wow. OK, what year did you start, just so we can get some perspective? Tanji Johnson Bridgeman 22:06 I started in 2001 and retired in 2016, so about 17 years. And I won 11 of them. So that means out of, and that's a lot, actually. So out of that many, that means I lost all the others. And there's one particular competition that will always be dear to my heart, and it was the Arnold Classic. Yes, the Arnold Schwarzenegger. You know, he has this gigantic competition every year. And midway through my career, I started I got in the top five. So I would get fourth, and then the next year I'd get third, and then I'd go down to fourth, and then I'd get second, right? I think I got second maybe four years in a row. So basically, in my 10th year of competing, I finally won the darn thing. So Arnold comes from across the stage, and I'm already crying, and, you know, with his accent, “Why are you so emotional?” And there's a picture of me taking the microphone from him because I had something to say, and in that moment, because it was a special moment, I realized, yes, all of these years of failure, every time I competed, I missed the mark. I missed the mark. I missed the mark. But what did I do? I took that feedback and I went back and said, “What do I need to do differently? What does this mean? How can I improve my physique? How did I need better stamina in my routine?” And every year, I was coming back better and better and better. But guess what? So were the other athletes, right? And so when I won in that 10th year, I actually would not have had it any other way, because I don't think it would have meant as much to me. Because what was happening, I may have won the Arnold Classic on that day, but I was becoming a champion throughout that whole 10-year process. You see what I did there. So it's not your identity, it's an event. So if you look at it and reframe it as feedback, then you can leverage that and use it as an opportunity to win. Naviere Walkewicz 24:00 So failure, and we're going to say synonym: feedback. Tanji Johnson Bridgeman 24:03 Exactly. Naviere Walkewicz 24:04 I like that. Tanji Johnson Bridgeman 24:05 I mean, and I'll give you another example. So you know, I did my first TEDx Talk last year, and I was a part of this coaching group. And here's the thing: As leaders, we get to create and build culture. And I think it's very important for leaders to create a culture where they normalize failure and they teach their teams that it's meant to be for feedback. So encourage courage, and then help them leverage the failure or the mistake as lessons learned so that they can grow and move forward. So I'm in this coaching group, and they told us, “We're going to have you send out probably an average of 80 applications. Now we're going to guide you and tell you what to do, but every application is different, because the event promoters are different. So we can't tell you exactly what they all want, but you're going to find out when you apply.” So I remember applying, I think, to UCLA Berkeley or something, and I applied to do a TEDx Talk, and midway through my application, they asked me, what was my scientific evidence and proof of my theory and my great idea? And I didn't have one at the time. And I remember thinking, “I'm going to go ahead and finish this application, but yay, I just got some feedback that I need to include scientific data in my pitch and in presenting my idea.” And it was shortly after, I think I did five more applications and I got selected. And so now I have been so trained to see failure as an opportunity to grow and excel, that when I am afraid of something, I reframe it immediately, and then I actually look forward to it, like, “Oh my gosh, I can't wait to get out there and do this thing, because I'm going to get this feedback, and that's going to make me better.” Naviere Walkewicz 25:39 Well, I think that's really wonderful in the way that you frame that. Because, you know, in the military, and I was actually just at a conference recently, and they were talking about how failure should be a part of training. Failure is actually the most important part of the training, because when it comes time to actual execution, operationally, that's when we can't fail, right? So, like, you want that feedback through all the training iterations, and so, you know, the way you just, you know, laid that out for us, it was in a sense that, you know, you had this framework, “I'm getting feedback, I'm training, I'm training, I'm training.” And then, you know, of course, when you took the champion spot… Tanji Johnson Bridgeman 26:10 And I love… I think back to when I physically learned to appreciate failure was through weight training. And I know you've done it too, because can you go back and remember the first time you know, as a bodybuilder, when you lift weights, you're trying to grow your muscle, and to grow the muscle, the muscle fibers have to tear, and so there has to be a certain level of intensity and hardship in doing that. So if you're one of those people that you go to the gym and you're doing, you know, 15 easy reps, four sets, you never break a sweat, you're toning and you're getting some movement in, but you're not tearing your muscle fibers, and that's probably why they're not growing. So when I worked with the trainer and we were doing overhead military presses, and I physically felt like I was done at about 12 reps, but he was spotting me, so he just kept force repping me through six to eight more. I mean, until my arms were done, and I put my arms down, and they started to float up in the air. And he looks at me, because I'm looking at him, like, “Dude, what are you doing?” I'm like, “Wow, are you trying to hurt me?” And he just said, “No, but I do need you to learn that you're going to have to fail in order to grow and win.” And I was like… So then after that, we're going in the gym, like, “All right, Naviere, we're going to hit failure today. Oh yeah, we're going to learn how to fail.” “Did you fail at the gym last night?” “Yes, I did.” So in the bodybuilding community, it's celebrated. You know, it's a concept where that's we're trying to work through failure because we know it's on the other side. Naviere Walkewicz 27:34 Yes. Oh, I love that. That's fantastic. Well, and then you said you retired in 2016, so that was probably quite a transition in the fact where you had to… You probably have been doing all the wellness check-ins. “Where am I at? What am I thinking?” How did you make that transition into the executive presence space? Because it doesn't seem like it's a direct correlation from someone's body building to executive presence. Or maybe it is. Tanji Johnson Bridgeman 27:58 So, in in body building, I developed a niche. So I started off as a trainer, and then very quickly, probably because of some of my Honor Guard background, I mean, we did precision drill, and I just realized that I can… I learned things really easily, and then I can teach it. I can see something and break it down in detail and teach it. And so I got really good at doing that for the athletes proposing to where I was able to build a whole career and get paid really well through poise mastery. Now what I think? You know when I think back to all the things we had to do as a cadet, from standing at attention, keeping your chest up, you know, your chin in projecting we were all we were already starting to work on our executive presence, but we just didn't know realize it, right? And so in the real world outside of the military, where people are not building habits of standing up straight on a regular basis, they don't. I go into board rooms. I go to events where I see people get on stage. They're looking down, they're fidgeting, they're not making eye contact, they're speaking too softly. And so executive presence is the ability to project confidence in how you show up and the way that you communicate and how you get people to experience you, because, unfortunately, we live in a society where perception shapes opportunity. So as a leader, if you're not commanding that authority right off the bat, you may you may be missing the mark on being able to influence, and that's what leadership is. And so I was basically elevating all of these athletes to just present the best version of themselves, and in leadership, that's what we want, too. We all have strengths, we all have learned skills. We all have something to offer. But if we're not projecting and presenting our inner power externally, a lot of times we miss that mark, and I want to connect the dots. And that's kind of what hit me when I thought about moving into the executive space, is, you know, I can… sure I can teach you how to stand in front of a red carpet and some power poses, but it goes beyond that. It's how we communicate. It's our body language. And so there's, there's a lot of skills that can be learned. Naviere Walkewicz 30:09 Well, let's start with maybe just sharing a couple. How can our leaders, our listeners start to display a stronger executive presence every day? What's the first couple things you might have them start thinking about? Tanji Johnson Bridgeman 30:22 OK, so physically, I would start like, let's say with body language is eye contact. So my concern with this, the generation that we have now is they're dealing with a disadvantage that we didn't have to deal with. You know, when we were in school together 20 years ago, we were connecting all the time. It wasn't even a challenge. We were always together in person, building relationships, connecting, communicating. And now we're in a digital world where our attention is, is we're fighting for it, right? And so a lot of times I will watch people, and I realize whether they're going out to dinner and they are not maintaining eye contact because they're distracted, and they really haven't been, they haven't been trained to really be present. So for example, when you're speaking with someone and you're making eye contact with them. They feel seen,, you know? And so that's, that's one of the strongest ones. OK, Naviere Walkewicz 31:16 OK. I like that a lot. That's perfect. So as they're starting to think about the first thing is being present and making eye contact, from a — that's a physical standpoint. Maybe what, from a mental or emotional standpoint should be they be doing from a starting point for executive presence? Tanji Johnson Bridgeman 31:33 OK, so being intentional. So when you think about your leader, and let's say you're going to speak in front of the Cadet Wing, or you're going to start managing a team, or you're going to a networking event as an executive, and you're trying to pick up a few sponsors. Before you even go to the event, you can be intentional about who am I meeting with, what is my goal and how do I want them to feel. So when you think about networking, a lot of times, there's people, I have a client. You know, she hired me because she has a little bit of social anxiety. She's younger, and so she's on a board where everybody's older than her. So there's a little bit of that mental insecurity of, you know, “Am I good enough? Do I have what it takes? Are these people going to respect me,” right? And so she's coming into the situation already insecure, and she's thinking about herself. “How am I going to be perceived?” instead of going there, focused on connection, right? So if she was to go there and say, “This is who's going to be there. This is how I want to make them feel. So I'm actually going to be very intentional about asking questions that's going to connect with them, that's going to make them feel a certain way. If I want this audience to feel respected, what do I what do I ask them, and what do I say? What do I highlight? If I want them to feel accepted and warm. What can I say?” And so it just gives you more power to show up, be present and be intentional, and you'll feel more confident, because now you've taken the focus away from yourself to how you're going to serve others. Naviere Walkewicz 33:02 That is excellent, and that leads us into a bit of the mental piece of it, right, the mindset. So earlier, you talked about how you had a mindset shift when you were getting beat down in Honor Guard, you know, you're in the back, you know, because of the vertical challenge, and you're running, you know, and you're hanging in there, and you got better. Tanji Johnson Bridgeman 33:19 Well, it makes me think about when I was auditioning for American Gladiators. And again, I'm going to go back to this executive presence and where I use my mental training to serve me, so when I was auditioning, so if you guys don't remember, the old show was, there was no water, right? It was just everything was over big, you know, pillows and just a flat area, OK? So when I went in there to audition, I remember there was for the sake of diversity, there was like, two of everything. There was two Black women there, there was two redheads, two blondes. And I remember looking around thinking, “OK, both of us are not getting this job.” And so the very last part of the audition, after many rounds, is you had to go in front of the executive committee, and you had a one-minute pitch. You could say whatever you want, but they're all sitting there with their arms crossed, and you just get to go in there. And I remember thinking, “OK, I am shorter than her, but I'm more muscular. And, you know, she's been on tons of fitness magazines. She's, you know, super beautiful, more popular. I want to go in there, and I want to be intentional about showing them that what I'm going to present is the right fit for the show.” And so I walked in there and I called the room to attention. I used my Honor Guard diaphragm, and I called the room to attention. And then I went in and I started telling them about how during basic training, I was like one of the pugil stick champions. And they thought that was great, because we had an event for that, right? And so, you know, going back to that mental training, you know, part of it is just that intention of being prepared, you know, what is it that you want to achieve? What are you going to do? And then you strategize and have a game plan for how you're going to go in there. Now, another example: So once I got… I got the job, yay, right? And then we go to Sony studios, and I look at the set, and I realized that half of the set is over water. So half of the events, the joust, Hang Tough, the rock climbing, it's all over water. And you guys remember when I talked about a little bit not, not being a big swimmer. And so this was fascinating to me, but I didn't want anyone to know, because I didn't want to lose my job, right? And so here's where I tapped into my mental and mindset training. So as an athlete, I did this a lot: To preserve my physical body, because of all the gymnastics and routines, I didn't overtrain, because there's damage when you over train. But I would visualize myself going through my movements, and I would picture myself being successful, so I didn't visualize myself messing up or anything like that. And there was, there would be repetition after repetition after repetition. And so what I did to face that fear of having to do events that were going to land me in the water is I had to use logic, you know, so I literally would say, “OK, if I end up being in the joust and I get hit, I'm going to fall in the water. And this is how far away the edge of the pool is. I'm going to take a deep breath. I'm going to I know how to do the stroke, so I'm going to get over there.” But I had to visualize myself falling and then I use logic to just keep myself calm. So I visualize myself hitting the water and being calm, because I would prepare myself to be calm. If I wasn't, I probably would have panicked and drowned. And so I think back to that, and I never told anybody, but I was ready, and I was not afraid, because I had already went through the mental training to prepare myself to do something that I was uncomfortable doing. Naviere Walkewicz 36:50 And so did you fall into the water, and did it play out the way that you had mentally prepared it for? Tanji Johnson Bridgeman 36:56 So here's what's crazy. I'm probably not even supposed to talk about this, but the way they film some of these shows, they're not in sequence. So imagine that I'm filming a water event from Episode 1, 3 and 8. OK, well, for me, like, my third day there, I actually tore my ACL falling off the pyramid. And so, you know, those viewers at home didn't know that. So actually the answer is no, I actually didn't even get put into a water event because I got injured beforehand. But I was ready mentally. Regardless, I was actually disappointed, because I was ready to see that courage come to the surface. Naviere Walkewicz 37:32 Oh my goodness! These are all such wonderful examples of how you have really almost embodied wellness throughout your decisions as a leader throughout your career. I'm really curious, as you think about how you've been true to yourself in this journey, because there's an authenticity to you that only Tanji could bring. And so I'm wondering, how do you know who is your authentic self as a leader, and how have you continued to really show up for yourself in that way? Tanji Johnson Bridgeman 38:07 I think this is very important. And you know, my heart goes out to the young leaders, because, again, like I was saying earlier, they haven't had the experience yet. And I even remember when my sister, my younger sister, she was struggling to figure out what she wanted to do for a living, and she was a college graduate, and she still didn't know. And a lot of it is because when you don't have that personal life experience, you know — experience is a teacher. It tells you, it leaves clues. So when you don't have that, you kind of feel like you're just shooting from the hip trying to figure it out. And so what I think is important is to start the art of self-reflection early. I will never forget I was on a TDY during the Kosovo crisis. I was at RF Mildenhall, and I was a maintainer, and I remember having, you know, a lot, I think, over 200 troops over there, but it was kind of a lonely season for me, because all my peers were pilots, and they were all flying, and, you know, I didn't have anyone to hang out with, and I wasn't home, you know, I was, I was TDY. So I remember just spending my time. I would go to the gym, and then I would go for walks, and I did a lot of journaling. And I don't know why I had the foresight been but I would, you know, ask myself questions like, “Who am I? What matters to me? What values are important to me?” And the process of doing that really helped me solidify my identity. And so, for example, I knew that I thought self-love was really important to me. It was a value that I care about. So when I see people that are self-deprecating, they're talking poorly about themselves. They don't believe in themselves. This hurts my soul. It's a part of who I am, right? And so I've always believed in self-acceptance, you know. For me, as a Christian, you know, I want to celebrate how God made me and have that level of self-love. So when I was a cheerleader at the Air Force Academy, I remember I didn't have self-esteem issues with my body image. Nothing about it, right? And then I go off an become a professional fitness competitor — now I'm competing. And in that industry, breast implants were very prevalent and they were starting to get really popular. And it made me really insecure. So if you think about it, I did not change, but my environment changed. So as leaders, how often are we going to be in situations where your environment is constantly changing and maybe you feel that pressure to conform? And so in my environment, most of the women around me, as a means to an end, were getting breast implants to change how their body looked, to look more feminine, to be more accepted. And there's nothing wrong if that's what you want to do, but I remember feeling like, “Now I'm insecure about my body. Now I don't feel as pretty. Now I don't feel as feminine.” And I remember that being problematic because it wasn't in alignment with my identity. And so, again, knowing what my values are, I thought, “Well, I could go get the operation like a lot of people do. But this is problematic because I don't want to lead a life — and how am I going to go back and coach other women and lead a team if now what I'm saying is whatever is true to who you are and your identity, it's OK to abandon that.” And so, for me, that's why I chose not to have that surgery. And I started this journey — it took about two years — of being able to redefine beauty, redefine femininity. And this is kind of where all the different tools came in. So I started looking in the mirror and I would do positive — because it's self-taught. Instead of looking at my chest and saying, “You're flat and it looks masculine and you're not feminine enough,” I would say, “Girl, do you know what this chest cand do? We can do crazy push-ups.” And I would say, “Wow, you're strong.” And over time, I changed how I felt about myself. And it was a very proud moment for me, because I look back, and that's why identity is so important. You need to take the time to reflect on who you are, what do you stand for, so that when those moments of pressure come, you're going to be able to make a decision to stay in alignment with who you are. Naviere Walkewicz 42:15 So you said — and maybe it's by grace — that you hadn't really planned. You just started journaling in those moments of quiet when you're feeling a little bit alone as TDY. Is that the best way, you think, to spend some time figuring out who you are? What's important to you? Or are there other tools you might suggest? Tanji Johnson Bridgeman 42:33 There's going to be multiple tools. You know, for me, I like to write. You know, for some people, they will pray and they will just ask a higher being to guide me and to make me more aware, make things known to me. For other people, they're going to meditate. You know, I liked journaling. I also have the strength of curiosity. And so, because of that, I was always not only asking myself a lot of questions, but I was asking other people too. And so, for example, if people don't have that strength of curiosity and they're thinking, “I really don't reflect very much and I'm never asking myself those questions,” you know, you don't necessarily have to journal it, but you can just take time to spend in reflection. But some of the work that I do, I take people through identity activation drills where I will list several, several different lists of values, different lists of strengths, and they'll think about each one and they'll really start to think about, “Let me think of a time where I experienced one of these strengths.” Or, “What's the last thing somebody celebrated?” Or, “What do people tend to tell me or complement?” And then all of a sudden they realize,” I didn't realize this was a strength, but, wow, this is a strength!” And now they can own it because they're aware of it. Naviere Walkewicz 43:48 That is outstanding. So, you've really taken wellness into practice with everything you've done. You started to elevate others around you to have this ability to discover themselves and then have this executive presence. You know, if all the things you are doing, it takes energy. How are you… Because I know you talked about not overtraining and making sure you preserve that and doing mental reps. Is that really the special sauce? The mental training so that you don't find yourself in a period where you just lack energy and burnout? Tanji Johnson Bridgeman 44:22 So basically, how do you sustain energy when it comes to wellness? So again, you go back to mind, body and spirit. So what I would do is I would — and this is for each person… You just break it down. You ask yourself, “OK, mind. How am I going to keep energy in my mind? What can I do?” One of the easiest things to do is to just take a short break. So when I gave you the example of how my mind was working at full capacity for three hours straight. So when I was done, it needed a bit of a reset. And so what I do every day when I'm at home is I go outside and I visit with my chickens. So I have chickens and I have four cats. And so I will take a mental break and it's a habit for me now. I get up from the table and I will walk, because it decreases your stress hormones when you have movement, and I will give my mind a break and I will allow myself to observe. That's my favorite thing: I call it mindful walks where I just go outside and I will just take a moment. You know when they say, “Just stop and smell the roses.” No, seriously. Naviere Walkewicz 45:28 Or the chickens… Tanji Johnson Bridgeman 45:29 So the chickens make me smile because when I come out there I typically have treats. But they just come… They bumrush me. So I go out there and they make me smile and then something wonderous will happen, like I might see my cat just sprinting up a tree and I'm just thinking, “Wow, what a hunter,” right? They're so fast. Then, you know, I see my dahlias that have been sprouting and I just can't believe how fast they grow overnight with sunshine. And that's just 10 minutes. And then I come back in and I instantly feel recharged and I sit down and I'm restored and ready to focus again on the next task. So, mentally, I like taking breaks. When it comes to physically, just getting into movement. And, you know, a lot of times people will think, “Well, I don't have time to go to the gym for an hour.” Naviere Walkewicz 46:16 Or, “I'm tired already. How am I supposed to go workout?” Tanji Johnson Bridgeman 46:17 Exactly. So when I think about the body, you know, there's four pillars that you can focus on. And if you feel like you're not mastering any of them, just start with one. So food is one. Food is fuel. And then we have hydration. You know, my husband's mom actually went to the hospital because she works all the time and she had been out in the sun and we discovered that she was dehydrated and it put her in the hospital. So sometimes when we're going after the mission and we're doing one task after — you know, when people forget to drink water and eight hours later you're dealing with brain fog, you're irritable, you don't understand what's happening. But you didn't fuel the body. So hydration, movement, food and sleep. So those are like the four pillars. And I would just ask yourself — so if I'm working with a health coaching client, I would say, “Out of those four areas, where do you want to start?” They'll say, “Sleep. My sleep health is terrible.” And then I can take it step further and say, “Have you heard of a thing called sleep hygiene?” They're like, “What's that?” “Sleep hygiene is literally, what is your sleep ritual? What are your habits to prepare for bedtime? Do you have a consistent bedtime? Do you decrease blue-light therapy? Do you put the phone away? Do you take a bubble bath to relax?” When you think about your environment and what your habits are, when some people tell you, “I do not feel rested,” we look at your sleep hygiene. What's going on? There's things that we can fix, and that's just with sleep. And so I ask people, “Where would you like to start? And you just pick one habit that you can commit to over time and once you've mastered that, you start to habit-stack.” Naviere Walkewicz 47:57 Amazing. So that was — you talked about, from the energy, when it comes to your physical and then your mental. What about from the spiritual side? Tanji Johnson Bridgeman 48:07 OK, so, this is — and I think this is important because, again, I talk about the spirit is the anchor for your emotional health, right? And so you want to think about activities that's going to feed your soul and your spirit. Now I'll give an example. If you're going through, let's say, a season where you're irritable and you're feeling ungrateful and you're pessimistic and everything just seems bad. We're actually kind of in a season like that right now sometimes. One of the things I do — so this is just an exercise, but it's a gratitude process. Write down 100 things you are grateful for. I did this for three months straight. It took me about 20 minutes, but I got really good at it. And when you have to list out 100 things, you know, at first you might do 20 and you're like, “All right. Where do I go from here?” But you're forced to dig deeper. And when I came up with my 100 list, first of all, I would think about my husband. And 10 things, I would get specific. Grateful for his provision. Grateful for support, for his sense of humor, for his hot, fit body. You know, I'd just go down all the things, right? And then every day I'm grateful for my home, for my physical abilities, for my flexibility, my mobility. You're just in a different frame of mind. And anyone can get there if they choose to do an exercise or a prompt that shifts them from their current circumstance. And that's why I'm most passionate about empowering people that they truly can design their life utilizing these tools. Naviere Walkewicz 49:47 Can you share an example when you've seen someone that was maybe in that season… Tanji Johnson Bridgeman 49:53 What kind of season? Negative season? Naviere Walkewicz 49:54 In the negative season. And how going through some of these, kind of, wellness check-ins or activities — what did it allow them to do? What did it open on the other side that changed for them with your help? Tanji Johnson Bridgeman 50:06 OK, so, one example would be we have social media; we have digital devices. And we can easily… Everything is about habit management and that's one thing I would tell people to do, you know? If you were to take inventory, look at how you live your life every day, and if you were to put every single action you did down as a habit — brush your teeth is a habit. Stop by and grab the Diet Coke is a habit. Sit down on the couch to watch TV is a habit. If you put it in a category of what serves you; what doesn't serve you. You know, one of the most… Naviere Walkewicz 50:41 So first list out all your habits and categorize them? Tanji Johnson Bridgeman 50:43 Right, right. So then you would recognize, “Oh my goodness. I have a habit of scrolling Instagram. Or social media.” And then you ask yourself how much time do you spend doing that. “Oh, I get caught up in a loophole of 30 to 45 minutes. And then what are you consuming? You know, so let's say the things that have happened in the last couple of weeks, you know, say something negative happens in society that's getting a lot of public attention and you're just ina rabbit hole reading about that incident over and over and over again. And when you're done scrolling, the question is, “How do you feel after that activity?” And most people would say, “I feel tense. I feel angry. I feel disappointed.” They list off all of these negative feelings. And so what I do is I help them realize, “OK, so does that serve you? Because you were in this negative health space, when you went to dinner with your family or when you went into this next assignment, how did you show up? How did you perform?” And then they realize, “Oh, wow. Not very well. I treated my wife like crap because I was irritable.” And so then you go back again. Your experience… We leave clues with how we're living our lives. So then you go back and you realize, “That is a habit I need to change. And I just need to make a decision, and I have to have a compelling reason. So let's say you want to work on your marriage and you want to show up better for your spouse, but you're always showing up with negative energy because of this habit that you do right when you get home, then you can — so we just come up with a plan, and it's different for each person. You know, “What could you do that would be more positive?” “I could come home play a game with my kid, because, you know, my kid is amazing, and it makes me smile and laugh,” and you're in a good mood, you know? And this is why, if I am stressed during the day, I already know if I get exposed to my chickens, my cat, or just go outside, I'm so mesmerized by the beauty of nature. All of those things I know fill me in a positive way. And so I am very intentional and aware of when I need to shift, and I know what my go-to are. So when I work with clients, I help them discover what their database of go-tos are going to be. The first part is just helping them become more aware of when it's happening so they can decide to shift. Naviere Walkewicz 52:57 Right. So that awareness is really critical, but then the next step is probably the discipline and actually doing something about it? Tanji Johnson Bridgeman 53:07 Right. Naviere Walkewicz 53:08 How can you take the lessons that you've had in bodybuilding, and then, you know, in all of your journey to help those now move from the awareness bucket to actually… Tanji Johnson Bridgeman 53:17 To making it happen? So I think that the first goal should be consistency, not perfection, right? And I learned this the hard way as a bodybuilder, because in the beginning of my career, I hated dieting. I've always hated dieting. I love food. Naviere Walkewicz 53:31 You and I are kindred spirits in that way. Tanji Johnson Bridgeman 53:32 I don't mind being, yes, I don't mind being on a structured, you know, meal plan. But, you know, being on a strict diet can be hard, so anytime you set a goal to do something that is difficult, you know, the first thing that I tried to do was be perfect. So I would hire a coach, and my nutritionist would tell me, “This is what you're supposed to eat for meal one, two, three, four, exactly down to the macros. And maybe I would do great for three days. And then, you know, I would fail. I would cheat or have something I'm not supposed to have, and I would feel so bad again. Going back to a lot of these principles are coming back up. I was letting the failure identified me as a bad person, so now I'm feeling shame, and that's making me feel discouraged. And I kept doing this thing, like, “Well, I blew it, so I'm just gonna take the whole day off.” Like, how dumb is that, right? Like, there's four more meals you can eat and you're just gonna sabotage the rest of the four. So think about if I did that every day. So if you messed up every day and you sabotage three out of the six meals every single day, where would you be at the end of the week? Naviere Walkewicz 54:31 Worse off. Tanji Johnson Bridgeman 54:32 Fat. [Laughs] No, I'm just kidding, Naviere Walkewicz 54:33 Worse off than you were when you started. Tanji Johnson Bridgeman 54:35 You would be, with no results. Naviere Walkewicz 54:37 No more Oreos in the house so you wouldn't have to worry about eating them anymore. Tanji Johnson Bridgeman 54:40 So that's when I realized, “Oh, I'm getting caught up with perfection, and that's causing me to sabotage.” So then I changed. I said 80/20, 90/10, I just want to be consistent. And so when you fail, you know you give yourself that grace, right? And so I always like to say courage, grit and grace. You have to have the courage to do something uncomfortable, the grit to endure and then the grace to embrace when you've messed up and then move forward. And so the first thing I would do with wellness habits is, you know, you build one habit at a time, and you do what you can to be consistent, and when you fail, again, here's that theme, you take that failure as feedback. “Why did you fail? Did you get hungry? Did you have temptation in the house? Did you not set your alarm?” Right? You know? “What could you do differently?” And then you just recommit to being consistent. Naviere Walkewicz 55:31 That is excellent. So talking about everything, this has been a wonderful conversation. When I think about lasting impact, right? So you know, you've had this incredible journey. You've helped people understand how to be more aware of their wellness, how to take action, be consistent and really drive change. What is one challenge you might have our listeners take in the w
New format, same value. I cover one startup idea, one trend, one news debate, one growth framework, one AI tool, and one product recommendation. Timestamps 00:00 – Intro 00:53 – Startup Idea 05:55 – Trend 08:17 – News Item 12:05 – Product Framework 15:31 – AI Tool 17:00 – Product Recommendation Startup Idea Solo Female Travel Safety Platform The problem: 84% of solo female travelers feel unsafe. No reliable platform answers basic safety questions. The solution: Map-based reviews where verified female travelers rate neighborhoods, hotels, and restaurants on actual safety metrics. Path to $500K ARR: 5,000 members at $30/month Hotel safety certifications at $500/month Lead magnet: Free travel safety quiz Distribution: Facebook groups (400K members), travel influencers, short-form video Trend: Gamification UI: Duolingo did it. Social platforms are built on it. More apps and websites are adding points, badges, leaderboards, and challenges. The opportunity: Launch an agency specializing exclusively in gamification. Start at $10K/month. News Item Ex-Reddit CEO: "AI Startups Have 12-18 Months" Yishan's viral take (20M views): AI apps are flash-in-the-pan cash grabs. Foundational models will crush them. Greg's counter: Great AI wrappers that own workflows, customers, and network effects will build billion-dollar companies. Remember when everyone said Apple would clone every successful app? That didn't happen. Product Framework: 3-Step Creator Growth Playbook for SaaS Attach the right creator (target 120K followers or less for higher response rates) Offer generous affiliates (30-50% lifetime, not 10-20%) Gamify the experience (contests, trips, prizes for top performers) Real example: Goji (apple cider vinegar gummy) hit hundreds of millions using gamified TikTok Shop affiliates. AI Tools: Krea AI: Alternative to Glyph AI. Generate images, video, 3D objects. Features Nodes product for building creative workflows. Mini apps: Virtual try-on, hairstyle generator, object remover, product photo editor. Product Recommendations: La Colombe Cold Brew (Light Roast) - $5-8.49 at Target for multiple servings. Light, smooth, always cold when you need it. Olipop Classic Root Beer - 35 cal, 3g sugar. Better than Diet Coke. 8.5/10. The #1 tool to find startup ideas/trends - https://www.ideabrowser.com LCA helps Fortune 500s and fast-growing startups build their future - from Warner Music to Fortnite to Dropbox. We turn 'what if' into reality with AI, apps, and next-gen products https://latecheckout.agency/ Boringmarketing - Vibe Marketing for Companies: boringmarketing.com The Vibe Marketer - Join the Community and Learn: thevibemarketer.com Startup Empire - get your free builders toolkit to build cashflowing business - https://startup-ideas-pod.link/startup-empire-toolkit Become a member - https://startup-ideas-pod.link/startup-empire FIND ME ON SOCIAL X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregisenberg Instagram: https://instagram.com/gregisenberg/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gisenberg/
On Wednesday's Drivetime with DeRusha... 3pm: just release the dang Epstein files already... this is ridiculous! Plus why is Tracy Perlman addicted to Diet Coke, and what's her go-to plane beverage? 4pm: Do you have Northern Lights FOMO after last night's heavenly display? Plus why are beef prices so high? Jason talks with U of M Extension professor Eric Mousel. 5pm: How high are your health insurance premiums going to go? Jason talks to Denise Robertson from Health Access MN. Plus, what's grinding your gears this week? It's time to vent on ENOUGH!!!
She's not the only one. Plenty of us are wedded to the artificially sweet nectar of Diet Coke. There's new data as to what it is that draws us in. Tracy Perlman joins Jason for her weekly visit where they tackle that topic and much more! (Photo illustration by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Wednesday 3pm Hour: Jason talks about today's Epstein email leaks and the impending release of the files. Why is this so difficult?! Then Tracy Perlman joins the show for her weekly visit - why are we so hooked on Diet Coke? (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
What's up Big Wigs, we're back and we're getting ready for Halloween. We deep dive into Anna's trip to DC with Jared Freid to do standup, seeing Sabrina Carpenter, Andrea's Diplo Run Club experience, how we're feeling about Halloween, and of course an update on that World Series!! Big Wigs Sports forever. We also get into Jill Zarin's love of Diet Coke, the All's Fair press tour that could rival Barbie & Wicked's press tours, Chris Evan's new baby, Paris Hilton's week of costumes, and more. PLUS, we're bringing you a ROUND up of our celebrity impressions this week - Teresa, Steve from SATC, Luann, Kristin Cav, they're all stopping by the pod to give you a taste of what you've been missing!! Stay tuned for more weekly episodes and find us on Youtube & Instagram! Love you! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Ashley James is a Master Practitioner and Trainer in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), Time Line Therapy, and holistic health coaching. She is host of the "Learn True Health" podcast.. She recently published "Addicted to Wellness", a book that guides you through a 12 week program promising a "total metamorphosis" in your approach to health.RESOURCES:This episode's Blog Page:https://drhaley.com/addicted-to-wellness/Buy "Addicted to Wellness" on Amazon:https://amzn.to/4oh1AMKVisit Ashley James's website :Learn True Health"https://learntruehealth.com/TIMESTAMPS:00:00 Intro Snip00:57 Introduce Ashley James02:40 Ashley's previous health challenges and how she overcame them06:48 Dr. Haley tells how he realized Diet Coke was causing tinnitis07:53 Ashley shares her soda healthy replacements09:20 Dr. Haley discusses the difference between medical care and alternative medicine10:40 Ashley discusses the parts of the Blood Type O diet that she likes11:27 Ashley James talks about her whole food plant based cooking program and gives some plant based diet tips13:45 Ashley explains how flu season is a lie and how is it actually candy (sugar) season15:28 Ashley did well from 6 years old until 13 when she rebelled by eating candy. What followed...19:20 Dr. Haley and Ashley James discuss the different diets and why diet dogma is bad22:07 Why you should ease into a big diet change and use the "crowding out" method23:00 Dr. Haley and Ashley discuss why plant foods are becoming more important in our diets24:20 Why do we need to detoxify and eat more fiber27:00 Why you should chew your food more29:32 What are post-biotics?32:54 What is the Food Mood Poop journal?36:20 What is the book "Addicted To Wellness"41:35 What really happens when you are dehydrated?44:45 What is the hydration challenge?48:40 How to get a free call with Ashley James49:30 What you get on the "Learn True Health Podcast"51:00 What do we know about aloe vera and HIV?53:20 How to Turn Off Anxiety
This week on Two Parents & A Podcast — IT'S A BOY!!!
fWotD Episode 3097: How You Get the Girl Welcome to featured Wiki of the Day, your daily dose of knowledge from Wikipedia's finest articles.The featured article for Monday, 27 October 2025, is How You Get the Girl."How You Get the Girl" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from her fifth studio album, 1989 (2014). She wrote it with its producers, Max Martin and Shellback. An electropop and bubblegum pop song, "How You Get the Girl" is a ballad that features acoustic guitar strums and a heavy disco beat. The lyrics find Swift telling a man how to win his ex-girlfriend back after their breakup. Some music critics praised the song as catchy and energetic; they particularly highlighted the chorus and how the track combines acoustic and electronic elements. Less enthusiastic reviews considered the production generic and the lyrics lightweight. "How You Get the Girl" charted on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart in the United States and on the Canadian Hot 100 chart in Canada. It received certifications in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Swift included "How You Get the Girl" in the set list of the 1989 World Tour (2015), with choreography that evoked the musical film Singin' in the Rain (1952). She performed it on some dates of her later tours, the Reputation Stadium Tour (2018) and the Eras Tour (2023–2024). The track was used in a Diet Coke advertisement prior to its release.Following a 2019 dispute regarding the ownership of her back catalog, Swift re-recorded the song as "How You Get the Girl (Taylor's Version)" for her fourth re-recorded album, 1989 (Taylor's Version) (2023). She produced the new version with Christopher Rowe. Music critics believed that the re-recording had a vibrant sound and an enhanced production quality. The track reached number 29 on the Billboard Global 200 chart and the top 40 on the national charts of Canada, New Zealand, and the United States.This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 01:14 UTC on Monday, 27 October 2025.For the full current version of the article, see How You Get the Girl on Wikipedia.This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes.Follow us on Bluesky at @wikioftheday.com.Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast.Until next time, I'm neural Joanna.
Mike dives into Trump’s viral exchange with a French reporter, laughing about accents, Big Macs, and Diet Coke. Also Mike tears into media hysteria over the new White House ballroom, mocking CNN’s “heart of America ripped out” coverage and Chuck Schumer’s dramatic outrage.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In this episode, I sit down with Hollis Cameron, a fresh voice in San Diego's comedy scene who I met in my very first comedy class. Though he's only been doing stand-up for about five months, Hollis has already made his mark by creating Comic Tonight (comictonight.com), a comprehensive resource that connects comedians with shows throughout San Diego.We dive into Hollis's comedy journey, from his first time on stage to his recent "bombing" experience, plus share plenty of laughs about Diet Coke addiction, edible mishaps, and the challenges of crowd work. Whether you're a comedian looking to find your people or just someone who enjoys a good laugh, this conversation offers a behind-the-scenes look at the local comedy scene and what it takes to put yourself out there on stage!Episode Timeline Highlights01:00 - Meeting Hollis and his comedy beginnings03:38 - Finding your people in the comedy world05:58 - What is Comic Tonight? A hub for San Diego comedy13:04 - Diet Coke addiction and comedy topics20:37 - Bombing stories and recovering from bad sets29:40 - The art of crowd work vs. prepared material42:00 - The freedom that comes with age in comedy48:33 - Hollis's future plans for comedy and Comic TonightLinks & ResourcesVisit Comic Tonight to find comedy shows in San Diego: https://comictonight.comFollow Hollis on Instagram: @Hollis_Cameron365Follow Comic Tonight on Instagram: @ComicTonightSDFollow me on social media: @SuziChicagoClosing NotesThanks for watching this episode with the wonderful Hollis Cameron! If you enjoyed our conversation, please hit that like button and subscribe to catch all of our future episodes. Leave a comment letting me know if you've ever tried stand-up comedy or if you use Comic Tonight to find shows in San Diego. And remember - life's too short not to laugh!
Save 20% on all Nuzest Products WORLDWIDE with the code MIKKIPEDIA at www.nuzest.co.nz, www.nuzest.com.au or www.nuzest.comThis week on the podcast, Mikki speaks to Hollie Nicholson — trainer, nutrition coach, and creator of the STRONG Method™, a program that's helped thousands of women over 40 reclaim their confidence, strength, and energy.In this conversation, they talk about what it really means to train and thrive as a busy woman in midlife. Hollie shares how she found her passion for helping women over 40, the biggest training mistakes she sees, and how her own approach has evolved — from “lifting like cardio” in her twenties to prioritising muscle and recovery now. They dive into mindset shifts, hormonal changes, and the reality of balancing fitness with family and work. Hollie also opens up about how to navigate body changes with compassion, stay consistent when life feels chaotic, and why self-care isn't selfish — it's strategic.Hollie is a French fry–loving, dessert-ordering, early-to-bed Midwest mum of three who feels most alive in the mountains and always has an afternoon Diet Coke in hand. In 2020, she swapped her fifth-grade classroom for a Zoom screen and discovered a dream she didn't know she had. What began with 40 women in a garage grew into a global movement — and today, Hollie helps women everywhere get stronger, inside and out.Hollie and her programs can be found here https://www.hollienicholsonstrong.com/about-me https://www.instagram.com/hollienicholsonstrong/?hl=en Curranz Supplement: Use code MIKKIPEDIA to get 20% off your first order - go to www.curranz.co.nz or www.curranz.co.uk to order yours Contact Mikki:https://mikkiwilliden.com/https://www.facebook.com/mikkiwillidennutritionhttps://www.instagram.com/mikkiwilliden/https://linktr.ee/mikkiwilliden
Navigating the Digital Frontier: Inside Shop the Boulevard with Kreigh and KristaIn this episode of the Samantha Parker Show, Samantha interviews Kreigh and Krista, the dynamic couple behind Shop the Boulevard and Electric Edge Media in St. George, Utah. They discuss their journey from starting a marketing company to expanding their services to include social media management and content creation for local businesses. They share insights on the challenges of engaging local audiences, the impact of social media on small businesses, and the evolving nature of digital marketing. The conversation also dives into the usage of TikTok, the importance of adaptability in business, and the personal anecdotes that shape their unique approach to marketing. Tune in for a comprehensive look at how local businesses can thrive in the ever-changing digital landscape.00:00 Introduction to the Samantha Parker Show00:23 Meet the Guests: Craig and Krista01:22 The Origin of Shop the Boulevard04:55 Challenges and Successes in Social Media Marketing09:34 The Meta Ray-Bans Experience15:48 Diet Coke and Personal Stories18:20 Life in St. George and Tech Moms23:32 Balancing Content Creation and Business Promotion28:07 Balancing Business and Consumer Needs28:43 Creative Ideas and Spontaneity29:11 Challenges with Client Expectations30:24 The Long Game in Marketing30:46 Trendy Content and Viral Hits32:25 Proving ROI to Clients34:42 The Value of Authentic Engagement38:25 Micro-Influencers and Local Impact44:30 The Power of Going Live47:22 Adapting to Change and Future PlansShop the blvd: https://www.instagram.com/shopstgeorgeblvd?igsh=MWVpNnN5MWl4ZzZhOQ==Electric Edge Media: https://www.instagram.com/electricedgemedia?igsh=dm16cDB0aTJjdDg=Step into Your Sober Era! Are you ready to embrace a life of clarity and empowerment? ✨ Check out Sam's Sober Club on Substack for journals, tips, community and more [Subscribe Now ➔] Sam's Sober CLUB | Samantha Parker | Substack Want to Work with The Samantha Parker for Content Management CLICK HERE Follow me on TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@samanthaparkershow YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@thesamanthaparker Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thesamanthaparker/
Hold onto your britches and hide your kids – Scruffy City Sports is the illegitimate love child of a midnight Rocky Top rager and a pit lane brawl. We're the podcast your mama warned you about and your preacher pretends not to listen to.Straight outta Knoxville, we're serving up sports takes hotter than Satan's kitchen and sassier than a drag queen at a church potluck. Think you know Tennessee sports? Our Vol coverage will make your granddaddy's postgame rants sound like Sunday school. We're mixing NASCAR drama spicier than your ex's Instagram stories with MLB tea steamier than a Tennessee summer night.This ain't just another sports show – it's a full-blown therapy session for sports addicts with a dash of pop culture chaos that'll make TMZ blush. We're messier than a mustard bottle at Neyland, louder than your uncle after his seventh touchdown beer, and more unhinged than a pit crew on Mountain Dew.Warning: Side effects may include spontaneous 'Rocky Top' outbursts, an unhealthy obsession with left turns, and the uncontrollable urge to start drama in your fantasy baseball league. If your hot take lasts more than 4 hours, call your doctor – or better yet, call into our show.Scruffy City Sports: Because sometimes you need your sports coverage like you need your whiskey – straight up and strong enough to put chrome on chrome. Now pass the moonshine, and let's talk some damn sports!"#VOLS #ROCKYTOP #KNOXVILLE #NASCAR #NCAAF #POPCULTURE #TENNESSEE
It’s Thursday (our fave day of the week) and it means we’re looking for those spicy, unpopular opinions you’ve got. Chrissie thinks that Diet Coke brings about some unhealthy food cravings, whilst Jack is taking a stand on meta sunglasses saying they should be illegal! Plus, Jack really lets us in on the inner workings of his brain which leads Chrissie to ponder 'How could you be bothered being yourself?' (00:00) Best day of the week is here! (01:00) Sweeping Statements, Chrissie's are bonkers, Jack's are privileged (08:00) Chrissie's, Do you accept this rose? (10:15) Chrissie's Clickbait #1 (14:15) Chrissie's Quizzie (17:20) Joel & Benji Madden, Welcome to the show! (26:20) Chrissie's Clickbait #2 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Are you up to date on this week's biggest news story? Anna and Raven will get you caught up on the trending news including Kim Kardashian's new underwear! Her famous brand Skims just released real-life “Bush” thong underwear! Surprisingly, a study said that diet soda isn't good for your health! Anna loves her diet soda! What is she going to do?!? Raven believes no one will stop drinking it though! Besides soda, other foods and items people consume can be unhealthy! Anna and Raven share your comments and calls about what you will not stop consuming! Raven also talks about what can potentially survive? What are the secrets for living over 100? Anna and Raven interview 101-year-old listener Bob Cunny, who shares his secrets and wisdom to living a long, great life! Jennifer Lopez talks about how long it took her to run a mile back in the day! Anna and Raven decided to challenge themselves and see how long it takes them to run/walk a mile! Anna's Dad has his own Italian restaurant and has a dish called the “Polo Anna”, a chicken and eggplant parmesan! But Cousin Tony has his own pizza on the menu! Anna wants to make a pizza for the show that will beat her cousin! More headlines you missed! Britney Spears' ex Kevin Federline wrote a new book! Anna and Raven talk about his history and the night before their famous wedding! And Katy Perry talks about her new book, ex-Canadian Prime Minster Justin Trudeau! She brags about him on stage at her tour, The Lifetimes Tour! Does the Red Nail Method actually work? When a woman wears red nail polish, allegedly it makes her more attractive and confidence! Does any color red work on a woman? Anna and Raven are looking for 3 single woman who are willing to paint their nails red! Choosing a name for your baby can be exciting yet stressful! Baby Name Consultant Taylor Humphrey talks to Anna and Raven about how they help people name their child in a safe space yet picking the perfect name! You can find her at https://www.whatsinababyname.com/ Luis works for a marketing company that has a popular auto supply company as a client. They have offered him $3000 in endorsement money if he and his fiancée, Erica, would do a few things at their wedding to advertise the company. First, they'd like them to put their logo on a banner at the sweetheart table, he would have to wear a patch on the sleeve of his tux of the company logo, and they would have to post a series of photos of them with the banner on their social media accounts and tag them. His fiancée says it's the tackiest thing she's ever heard and doesn't want to do it, he thinks she's being prude! Why not? $3k to put up a banner and post a few photos? Why wouldn't they? Bret and David have a chance to win $1200! All they have to do is answer pop culture questions than Raven in Can't Beat Raven!
Transforming Ordinary Customer Moments into the 'Best Day Ever' Shep interviews Steve Spangler, Emmy award-winning television host, STEM educator, and bestselling author. He talks about his new book, The Engagement Effect, and how leaders, teachers, and businesses can create powerful, engaging experiences that ignite emotional connections, build trust, and inspire action. This episode of Amazing Business Radio with Shep Hyken answers the following questions and more: How can leaders create more engaging experiences for their customers and employees? How can emotional and intellectual connections drive stronger customer loyalty? Why is it important for businesses to treat engagement as an experiment rather than a fixed process? How can leaders and managers inspire employees to deliver exceptional customer service? How can companies operationalize the "best day ever" experience for both customers and team members? Top Takeaways: Engagement is about creating experiences, not transactions. Create an experience that connects emotionally and intellectually with your customers by making them feel involved and valued. Treat engagement as an experiment. Try new things, see what works, and don't be afraid to fail or make changes. When leaders create a culture where it's okay to try and sometimes fail, employees feel more comfortable contributing and taking risks. The way you treat your employees and customers shapes their experiences and loyalty. Positive experiences lead to better engagement, while negative ones can create lasting disengagement. It's not enough to have a great product. What elevates your brand is how you present it. What creates a loyal following is getting people excited, curious, and the desire to be involved. Allow your customers to help craft their experience. Sometimes, your customers will create powerful moments themselves, and your job is to set the stage and then step back. Invite feedback and participation. Pay attention to what they find most meaningful and operationalize it so that it becomes a part of the typical experience. Approach leadership with a teacher's mindset. The best leaders don't just tell people what to do. They inspire, guide, and help others discover answers for themselves. Plus, hear how Steve's viral Mentos-and-Diet-Coke experiments, Chewy.com's famous pet owner story, and more real-world examples bring the engagement effect to life. Tune in! Quote: "The engagement effect is when you emotionally and intellectually connect to an experience, and it makes the customer move forward with an action." About: Steve Spangler is an Emmy award-winning TV host, STEM educator, and bestselling author. He is known for making science unforgettable through TV, social media, and live demonstrations. With over 4.3 billion video views and years on DIY Sci and The Ellen DeGeneres Show, he has inspired millions worldwide. His latest book, The Engagement Effect: Cultivating Experiences that Ignite Connection, Build Trust, and Inspire Action, is out now. Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert, New York Times bestselling author, award-winning keynote speaker, and host of Amazing Business Radio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
We start the show with a catch up on what's been going on, starting with an update on the "death" of Vegas. We dive "shallow" (31:00) into AI and it's future impact on society. We jumped into (50:00) Halloween chat, which of course leads to candy chat. We have a brief (76:00) SiblingDribblings as we talk about cities that should NOT have NBA franchies, and then a Swig (85:00) conversation breaks out...to no one's surprise. We close out (95:00) talking about Axl Rose and Guns N' Roses...thus ending one of our longest episodes ever!Sponsors: ScottyJ's album, SwigScotty Js YouTube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCV3WWSlwDKYf7P5k4XdP3zAIG & Twitter: the_bro_pod, littleBquotesE-mail the show!: thebropodnetwork@gmail.comBuy Merch!!: thebropod.threadless.comOur Website: www.bropodnetwork.com#Vegas#Sphere#Hickory#StevenLevin#SpinalTap#AI#chatGPT#candycorn#Halloween#candychat#Krackel#SiblingDribblings#pickleball#Swig#GunsNRoses#Airborne#podcasts#bropod#bropodnetwork
Welcome to Indulgence Gospel After Dark! We are Virginia Sole-Smith and Corinne Fay, here with our first-ever Patreon podcast episode! We're going to chat about: ⭐️ How we're feeling about the BIG MOVE. ⭐️ How to think about clothes after a significant size change. What even IS your style now?! ⭐️Figuring out fall uniforms! ⭐️ Diet culture in disaster prep. ⭐️ The one thing we wish straight-sized style bloggers would do differently. And so much more! To hear the full conversation, you'll need to be a paid subscriber. Reminder: Substack subscribers, make sure to redeem your gift to read this newsletter for FREE!
Learn conversational English phrases that you'll actually use and hear for bars and restaurants.Even if you don't drink, these phrases will boost your small talk, invitations, ordering, paying, and polite conversation skills. Stick around to the end for UK–US differences and useful idioms.How to learn these words and phrases: ALL PHRASES FROM THE LESSON• Fancy going for a drink? – friendly UK invite• Do you wanna grab a drink? – casual US invite• Do you want to grab a drink? – neutral variant• Fancy going to the bar? – UK invite variant• Fancy going to the pub? – UK invite variant• Let's go for a pint. – suggest getting a beer• Do you know anywhere good? – ask for recommendations• Do you know anywhere good around here? – local variant• There's a great place just around the corner. – close by• There's a great place just round the corner. – UK spelling• It's got a good vibe. – nice atmosphere• Happy hour. – time with cheaper drinks• I could use a drink. – need to relax• I could really use a drink. – stronger emphasis• We haven't been out in ages. – it's been a long time• Let's invite a few friends. – suggest a small group• I'll meet you there around eight. – plan the time• I'll meet you there round eight. – UK variant• I'm running a little bit late. – polite late notice• It's packed tonight. – very crowded• Shall we grab a table? – polite suggestion• Let's grab a table. – direct suggestion• Do you wanna sit inside or outside? – seating choice• Let's sit at the bar. – sit at the counter• Do we order at the bar or at the table? – clarify ordering• What you having? – very casual offer to buy• What are you having? – neutral version• It's my round. – I'll pay for this round• What do you want? – follow-up to buying• Can I help you? – what you'll hear at a busy bar• What can I get you? – what you'll hear from staff• Can I have a pint of lager, please? – ordering• Can I get a pint of lager, please? – US-style ordering• Can I get a Diet Coke? – soft drink• Can I get a lemonade? – soft drink (note UK/US lemonade differs)• I'll have a gin and tonic, please. – ordering with “I'll have…”• Could I get a soft drink? – polite request• Could I get another beer? – another of the same type• What's on tap? – ask about draft beer• What's on tap tonight? – “tonight” variant• Do you have any non-alcoholic options? – alcohol-free choices• Can I see the drinks menu, please? – ask for menu• Do you have a menu? – shorter variant• Do you serve food? – ask about food service• Are you serving food at the moment? – kitchen open?• Can I get another one of these? – repeat same drink• Could I get another one of these? – more polite variant• Same again? – staff offer to repeat your drink• Cheers! – toast before drinking• So, how's work been? – easy conversation starter• How's your trip been? – traveler version• So, how have you been? – general check-in• I've been good. – common reply• I've been busy, but I've been good. – nuanced reply• It's been amazing. – present perfect trip reply• I can't believe how expensive drinks are now. – friendly complaint• $10 for a pint—that's ridiculous. – stronger complaint• It's a bit loud in here. – noise comment• It's a bit bright in here. – lighting comment• Do you wanna go somewhere quieter? – suggest moving• Do you wanna sit somewhere quieter? – seating variant• I'll finish my drink and then we'll head out. – plan to leave• Let's head back soon. It's getting a bit late. – suggest leaving• Can I close my tab, please? – pay and finish (US)• Is this on one check or separate? – split payment question (US)• Can we pay separately, please? – ask to split the bill• That was such a good night. – positive wrap-up• It's on me. – I'll pay• Let's call it a night. – finish the evening• Hair of the dog. – a drink the next day for a hangover• A bit tipsy. – slightly drunk• I'm feeling a little bit tipsy. – variantCHAPTERS00:00 Introduction to Pub and Bar Phrases00:53 Inviting Someone for a Drink02:01 Finding and Describing a Good Place05:09 Ordering Drinks and Snacks11:01 Common Conversations at the Bar13:00 Paying and Leaving the Bar14:12 Idioms and Fun Phrases15:21 Cultural Differences: UK vs USA
In this episode of Restauranttopia, the crew dives deep into culture — not just within your restaurant walls, but in every corner of your business ecosystem. Inspired by Cameron Mitchell's book Yes is the Answer. What's the Question?, Dave, Brian, and Anthony unpack how a restaurant's mission and culture extend to employees, guests, purveyors, investors, and the community. From the dangers of ignoring toxic high performers to the power of making vendors raving fans, this conversation highlights practical strategies and real-life stories that restaurant operators can implement today. They also touch on hospitality “moments” like the milkshake story and a surprising Diet Coke lesson that reveal why “yes” should always be the answer. Whether you're an owner, manager, or aspiring operator, this episode challenges you to think about culture as the fuel that sustains success, loyalty, and long-term profitability. Key Talking Points Why mission statements actually matter (Hillcrest Foods' example: Love the employee and customer for a lifetime loyalty). The four core questions Cameron Mitchell asked himself when starting his restaurant group: Who are we? What do we want to be? Why are we in business? What is our role? The five groups every restaurant must make “raving fans”: employees, guests, purveyors, investors, communities. Vendor relationships: shifting from adversaries to partners. The real cost of keeping a toxic high performer. Stories of hospitality in action: the milkshake story, the Diet Coke moment, and splitting checks in Vegas. Culture lessons from Margaret Heffernan's TED Talk on the “super chickens” problem. Hiring and onboarding tips: the five traits Hillcrest looks for (great human being, likability, life-change potential, long-term fit, fun & competitive). Resources Mentioned in Episode: Cameron Mitchell Book: Yes is the Answer! What is the Question? ZingTrain - "It is Irresponsible to NOT make a profit" Remember the Titans: Attitude Reflects Leadership Attitude/Performance Matrix:
We're talking: WAYWARD's No. 1 spot on Netflix, celeb sightings at The Corner Store, Figure Skating & Gymnastics on Peacock, bag etiquette, AI Trump posts, One Big Beautiful Bill Act tax breaks & healthcare cuts, what extreme gender ideology actually is, situationship ghosting, Libra season, Diet Coke with Lime, and ponytails in baseball hats. Tiktok Roundup: MariSparkly JVN Talking OBBBA Judy Garland's Diet Pepsi Follow us on Instagram @gettingbetterwithjvn Jonathan on Instagram @jvn and senior producer Chris @amomentlikechris New video episodes Getting Better on YouTube every Wednesday. Senior Producer, Chris McClure Producer, Editor & Engineer is Nathanael McClure Production support from Chad Hall Check out the JVN Patreon for exclusive BTS content, extra interviews, and much much more - check it out here: www.patreon.com/jvn 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
Ever wonder what the hosts of The Audit talk about when the mics are rolling but the formal interview isn't happening? This Field Notes episode gives you exactly that—unfiltered conversations covering everything from coffee preferences and glider flying to trademark scams targeting cybersecurity professionals. Nick and Eric dive into Eric's latest aviation adventures (spoiler: gliders are apparently safer than planes with engines), share war stories about scam calls trying to exploit trademark filings, and swap tales about expensive vet visits. Plus, hear some nostalgic cybersecurity stories from the Wild West days when networks ran without firewalls and people could taste peanut butter straight from the jar at grocery stores. Key Topics: Eric's glider pilot training and why it's "safer" than powered flight Trademark registration scams targeting IT professionals Coffee roasting tips from flight instructors Cybersecurity nostalgia: Temple University's router-only network Why Eric kept a scammer on the phone for 5 minutes during pickleball Whether you're here for the cybersecurity insights or just want to know why Nick prefers Diet Coke to Coke Zero, this episode delivers the authentic conversations that happen between industry pros. Don't miss Eric's glider safety argument—it might just change your perspective on risk management. #cybersecurity #infosec #fieldnotes #aviation #scamcalls #itauditlabs
If you've ever wondered what types of intuitive eating, health and body image conversations are happening behind-the-scenes inside my coaching programs, this episode is literally going to allow you to listen in! What you're about to hear is me putting 4 members of my Intuitive Eating Made Easy Facebook community in the “Hot Seat” and coaching them through their questions, as if they were my private client sitting right in front of me. If you've been thinking about hiring me or joining us inside Non-Diet Academy, this is where you're going to get a taste of what it's like so that you can hear with your own ears the power of being in a group coaching program where you not only get the benefit of being coached yourself and being guided through your own struggles, but you also get to reap the benefits of others' work too! I honestly think you're bonkers if you don't want to get inside this program right now, because I know in my soul that it could 10x your progress and help you to have more peace and freedom with food, your body and your health than you can even imagine - before the holidays even hit this year!! Episode Highlights
"Never a dull moment," could easily be a tagline for the tourism industry in India. It's a land of contrast, color, and constant surprises. But if you want to experience the real flavor of India, you'd be hard pressed to find a better travelling companion than Thom Knoles. With more than 50 years of travelling to India, building deep and lasting relationships, not to mention his status as a Mahamandaleshwar, Thom has a vast collection of stories to tell. In this episode, Thom shares a tiny sample from this vast collection, featuring swamis, snakes, Diet Coke, and more.There are even more stories to come. If you'd like to be there and be a part of future adventures, Thom invites you to join him on his upcoming annual India retreat. You can find out more at https://thomknoles.com/india-retreat/. Generous early bird registration discounts apply until October 5th.Episode Highlights[00:45] A Visit from Swami Premananda[05:40] Passing the Lunch Exam with the Shankaracharya and Some Swamis[08:40] Eructations and Diet Coke[10:27] The Shankaracharya's Birthday Party[12:37] Of Course He Has a Snake in His Hair![15:11] A Full Spectrum of Experiences Await in RishikeshUseful Linksinfo@thomknoles.com https://thomknoles.com/https://www.instagram.com/thethomknoleshttps://www.facebook.com/thethomknoleshttps://www.youtube.com/c/thomknoleshttps://thomknoles.com/ask-thom-anything/
Welcome to Slim Fast Kids, the podcast where we unpack the diet culture circus that raised us — one decade at a time. In this debut episode, we're heading back to the 1980s, the era of spandex leotards, moms power-walking with Jane Fonda tapes, and refrigerators stocked with Diet Coke like it was holy water.This was the decade where diet culture really strapped on its leg warmers and hit the treadmill. With more moms entering the workforce, TV booming, and glossy magazines screaming “thin is in,” kids of the '80s were basically set up for a lifetime subscription to body shame. We'll break down the neon-lit nonsense, the “miracle” products, and the pop-culture moments that taught a whole generation that calories were evil and cottage cheese was a meal.Funny, biting, and just a little tragic — this is the start of the diet drama that shaped the rest of us.****made with AI
Join hosts Jennifer Dennis and Justin Kellough on "The Almost Amazing Podcast" as they navigate the chaotic but hilarious world of ministry, seminary, and life's big questions. In this episode, they dive into their new podcast format (which might still be a work in progress
Charlie Kirk Discussion, Royce Lopez From ROTC & Gearhead QuestionsFOR ALL THINGS BLIND MIKEhttp://blindmike.netFOR ALL THINGS CRAIGGERShttp://www.verygoodshow.orgFOR ALL THINGS HACKRIDEhttp://hackridethedemon.comFOR ALL THINGS DJ ELECTRA FRYhttp://djelectrafry.com
Happy Friday, Regular Guys and Gals! Hey Regular Guys and Gals, we did it again. We made it through another week! How trying to help can actually sabotage healing, and why presence, not fixing, is the real gift. How “helping energy” can be rooted in ego and disempower those we care about. When to lean in, when to back off, and how to spot the difference. How seeing people (really seeing them) changes everything, whether it's a friend in crisis or a waitress with perfect Diet Coke timing. How your victim story gets you attention....and entitlement and not in a good way. How nostalgia (and a few good carney memories) can spark gratitude and grit. How “The Magic” works when you work it. And why gratitude isn't just a tool — it's a way to rewire everything. RGF Bonus: The dream of “Victim Con” is born, Alice Cooper's unlikely spiritual side, Starbucks union organizing (courtesy of Evan), and what really happens when Kev almost entered the cube farm to be the temp from hell. Bye Betches. Reels discussed in the episode: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DNWX48WshHY/?igsh=NjZiM2M3MzIxNA%3D%3D https://www.instagram.com/reel/DIjv9c7pKuO/?igsh=NjZiM2M3MzIxNA%3D%3D -- 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: Shop My Macy's Storefront Prenuvo: Prenuvo.com/MARIA for $300 off EMR-Tek Red Light: https://emr-tek.com/discount/Maria30 for 30% off Airbnb: https://www.airbnb.com/ Join In-Person Heal Retreat Waitlist! https://mariamenounos.myflodesk.com/heal-retreat-waitlist 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.
This week on Literally, Not OK I am joined by my actual real-life angel sent from TikTok — the hilarious, talented, and stunning Andrea Lopez (@andrealopezcomedy)! We talk ALL the things: birthday breakdowns, missing weed pens, vomit flights, cheeseburgers soaked in Diet Coke, and why I'm literally in my “show me how good it can get” era. Andrea opens up about her major breakup, the chaos of car rentals, and how she rewired her whole brain post-heartache. We also dive into our worst habits, our “hear me out” crushes (shoutout animated Tarzan), and Andrea absolutely ends the episode with iconic impressions of Todd Chrisley, Kristen Cavallari, and Teresa Giudice.✨ Follow Andrea: @andrealopezcomedy
Tanner and I go all the way back to third grade! We hopped on the mics this week to catch up on—first and foremost—why Diet Coke matters so much to our little ex-Mormon hearts and how we're reevaluating our relationships with substances. From there we get into finding room for the mystical after leaving religion, “trusting your gut” both literally and figuratively, the soullessness of Freakier Friday, the TikTok-ification of art, and why we think we inherited a perfection problem from Mormonism. We hehe and haha the whole way through, and I hope you will too! “Essex Honey” by Blood Orange “Tested” podcast (on female runners who can no longer compete as women) “Shiversucker” music video Tanner's first episode on Girlscamp Tanner's Instagram Join the Girlscamp: After Dark Patreon account here. For more Girlscamp content follow along on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. For ad inquiries please email girlscamppodcast@gmail.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In this power packed Q&A, Kim breaks down cardio confusion for menopausal women and cuts through social media noise. Learn the difference between HIIT, LISS, and SIT, how to find your true fat burning zone, why consistency beats perfection, and how to set goals you can actually hit. We also cover real world topics like staying at lower calories without stalling, whether Diet Coke hurts fat loss, smart cardio planning, and a genius budget weights hack for home workouts. What you will learn • HIIT, LISS, SIT explained simply for menopause, what really matters for fat loss • How to calculate your fat burning heart rate and use it in any workout • Consistency over perfection, why data beats feelings every time • How to choose cardio frequency and duration based on your goal • Calories, plateaus, and building muscle while leaning out • Diet Coke and weight loss, what to change and when to leave it alone • Home equipment on a budget, sand filled water bottle hack • Program fit, when to set a new goal and how to assess progress photos Timestamps 00:00 Welcome, format, where questions came from 01:08 HIIT vs LISS vs SIT for fat loss, the fat burning zone 17:05 How to estimate max heart rate, practical target example 23:52 Masterclasses, why most people need emotional strength more than new info 37:04 Member success story, setting new goals when you reach your target weight 48:03 Cardio planning by outcome, how to know if it is working 53:11 Can you stay at 1,200 calories, avoiding unnecessary changes 57:04 Diet Coke question, when a habit actually matters 1:00:47 Budget weights hack, turning water bottles into adjustable dumbbells 1:04:09 Training with prolapse, general guidance and substitutions 1:05:22 Wrap up and next steps Resources mentioned • Sculpted Menopause App, Ask Kim tab for weekly questions • Butt Camp, glute focused training with follow along cardio • Blaze Cardio inside the app for add on fat loss Keywords menopause fat loss, HIIT LISS SIT, fat burning heart rate, consistency over perfection, cardio for women over 40, build muscle in menopause, calorie deficit, Diet Coke weight loss, home workout dumbbells, glute training, Sculpted Menopause App, Butt Camp CTA Join the Sculpted Menopause App, submit your questions in the Ask Kim tab, and follow along with Butt Camp and Blaze Cardio to accelerate fat loss and build strong, shapely glutes. Love Kim xo
Joel McHale and Grace Palmer come by the kitchen to chat about season 4 of their show, Animal Control. And, since Grace is vegetarian, I try my hand at Impossible Meat... news flash –the smell is aggressive. We also talk about the best way to drink Diet Coke, how much money I make and how awesome New Zealand is. Follow Joel: https://www.instagram.com/joelmchale Grace: https://www.instagram.com/gracemmpalmer Recipes: https://www.somethingsburning.show/recipes-season-5 Sponsors: Magic Spoon - Get 5 dollars off your next order at https://MagicSpoon.com/BURNING NASCAR - Don't miss this crown jewel race – Sunday night at Darlington. The Cook Out Southern 500. 6 PM Eastern on USA. BetterHelp - Our listeners get 10% off their first month at https://betterhelp.com/burning SUBSCRIBE so you never miss a video https://bit.ly/3DC1ICg For all TOUR DATES: http://www.bertbertbert.com For Fully Loaded: https://fullyloadedfestival.com For Merch: https://store.bertbertbert.com YouTube▶ http://www.YouTube.com/user/Akreischer X▶ http://www.Twitter.com/bertkreischer Facebook▶ http://www.Facebook.com/BertKreischer Instagram▶ http://www.Instagram.com/bertkreischer TikTok▶ http://www.TikTok.com/@bertkreischer Text Me▶ https://my.community.com/bertkreischer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices