Podcasts about dostoevsky

Today, we're joined by Manuel Schönfeld, Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) and Chief AI Officer (CAIO) at Qu POS, Inc. the pioneer of the restaurant industry's first unified commerce platform. We talk about:Fundamentally changing a company to achieve an eight X multiplierHow AI can help maintain softwareHow getting AI to work on your code is a double-edged swordAI enabling, “one person teams” for product, coding, QA, etc.The mindset change needed to understand how to build maintainable code

Sean talks with writer Liz Bruenig about faith, doubt, and the experience of believing in God in a modern, skeptical age. They discuss religious experience, the limits of science, the appeal of cynicism, Dostoevsky, beauty, mystery, and whether belief is ultimately a choice. They also explore why religion persists and whether living with uncertainty is itself a form of faith. Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling) Guest: Elizabeth Bruenig (@ebruenig) We would love to hear from you. To tell us what you thought of this episode, email us at thegrayarea@vox.com or leave us a voicemail at 1-800-214-5749. Your comments and questions help us make a better show. And you can watch new episodes of The Gray Area on YouTube. New episodes drop every Monday and Friday. Listen to The Gray Area ad-free by becoming a Vox Member: vox.com/members. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You've been meaning to read Dostoevsky. This is the episode that makes you actually do it.In this episode of The Icon Series from Hot Literati, we cover everything you need to walk in ready: who Dostoevsky actually was, what a mock execution and four years in a Siberian prison camp did to his writing, how he thinks about guilt and free will and the things we want that we shouldn't, and the reading order that actually makes sense.No spoilers. No lit crit. Just the person and the books.Where to start:Notes from Underground — 130 pages, read it this weekendCrime and Punishment — reads like a thriller, hits like philosophyThe Brothers Karamazov — save it, then give it everythingWant to go deeper?The Icon Series: Dostoevsky is a five-lesson written course — full context, full reading guide, field assignments, no spoilers. $35 on its own, included with a Hot Literati membership.Join the community at hotliterati.com — $25/month. Events in NYC and beyond, book clubs, writing verticals, and the people who are doing exactly what you're doing right now.

William Shatner made his film debut in this Richard Brooks adaptation of the Dostoevsky novel. Bill is the youngest of the brothers, and he’s fourth-billed, behind Yul Brynner and some other people we’ve seen before on LTS. Shelly Brisbin with David J. Loehr, Nathan Alderman and Micheline Maynard.

Matt and Michael explore language itself — how the same sentence can carry seven different meanings depending on which word you emphasize. From Christopher Walken's acting advice to watching a toddler learn to speak, they examine how we communicate far more than dictionary definitions. This spirals into the central claim of John's Gospel: Jesus Christ is the Word. What does it mean that the creative power of the universe is linguistic? And why do we so often use language to hide rather than reveal? They move through imposter syndrome, scripted relationships, and the death of authentic communication in a transactional culture. The conversation lands on forgiveness and repentance as the antidote to false representation, and asks whether our deepest divide isn't political but spiritual. Cheers y'all

In this podcast, we will be talking about How To Stop Caring What Others Think About Your Status Or Finances  from the philosophy of Fyodor Dostoevsky. Fyodor Dostoevsky was a 19th-century novelist and philosopher whose ideas helped shape the philosophy of existentialism.So with that in mind, here are 7 Ways To Stop Caring What Others Think About Your Status Or Finances from the philosophy of Fyodor Dostoevsky - 01. Money is just a tool, nothing more02. Reject the Illusion of "Financial Salvation"03. Financial hardship is just a situation04. Nobody is watching you05. Be Ordinary06. Drop your pride07. Practice  "Active Love"I hope you enjoyed listening to this audio and hope these 7 Ways To Stop Caring What Others Think About Your Status Or Finances from the philosophy of Fyodor Dostoevsky will add value to your life. Fyodor Dostoevsky was a 19th century novelist and philosopher, considered by many to be one of the most influential authors in all of world literature. Born and raised in Tsarist Russia, Dostoevsky was heavily exposed to the misery and injustice characteristic of his time. Among his more marking experiences, he spent four years in a Siberian labour camp, went through compulsory military service in exile, and had to beg for money while in Western Europe due to his gambling addiction. And yet, despite his first-hand experience of misery and suffering, Dostoevsky remained hopeful and optimistic about what life is. He is considered to be one of the first writers to incorporate concepts of what we now know as existentialism. Dostoevsky's works revolve around a few major themes like the meaning of life, the constancy of suffering, the divide between rationality and emotion, spirituality, and the various sides of the human condition.  Some of his well known novels and essays are Crime and Punishment, The Brothers Karamazov, The Idiot, and Notes from the Underground. Through his novels and essays, Dostoevsky tried to make sense of the suffering and misery around him, attempting to find meaning and hope even in the bleakest of times. His work represents a deep dive into human suffering, the evil surrounding us, and the problems caused by moral corruption and in each of the universes he created, he gave ways to escape the apparent  constant suffering and torment of his characters through moral virtue, love, compassion, and one's own sense of meaning. His writings were heavily influential for the existentialist current of philosophy, representing sources of inspiration for other consecrated authors like Friedrich Nietzsche and Jean-Paul Sartre.

Dostoevsky is often credited with saying, “The best way to keep a prisoner from escaping is to make sure he never knows he's in prison.” The practice of renunciation begins by recognizing the ways we're already trapped—by anger, craving, impatience, and the endless search for satisfaction outside ourselves. This meditation helps us see these patterns clearly and turn toward a deeper source of freedom, discovering a refuge within our own mind that no external circumstance can provide.Episode 18. Guided Meditation - RenunciationJoin our third annual How to Train a Happy Mind three-day in-person retreat in California's redwoods August 13–16. LEARN MOREIf you'd like to practice with others and bring these ideas into your life, join our weekly meditation community with Scott.

Highlights• Why transformation often requires losing something rather than gaining something• How burdens, fears, and old stories can become part of our identity• What Jung, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, and Dostoevsky reveal about psychological growth• Why people often remain attached to familiar suffering even when it hurts them• The uncomfortable question at the center of transformation: Who would you be without the burden?Why do people remain stuck in patterns that no longer serve them? Why do old fears, old wounds, and old identities continue to shape the way we see ourselves and the world? In this episode of Autism & the Structure of Reality, we explore why transformation is often less about gaining something new and more about surrendering something old.Drawing from Jung, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Dostoevsky, and the broader themes of the series, we examine how burdens become identities, how suffering can become part of the self, and why the familiar often feels safer than growth. At the center of the episode is a simple but uncomfortable question: What are you carrying—and who would you be without it?Elevate How You Navigate with Len & a free call https://elevatehowyounavigate.comMAYU Water, use "autism" for 10% off at https://mayuwater.comDaylight Computer Company, use "autism" for $50 off at https://buy.daylightcomputer.com/autismDaylight Kids (!!!) https://kids.daylightcomputer.com/autism ‪Chroma Light Devices, use "autism" for 10% discount at https://getchroma.co/?ref=autism00:00 Elevate How You Navigate, MAYU Water, Daylight Computer & Daylight Kids, Chroma Light Devices05:18 The Weight of the Self; Why Change Is So Difficult08:40 Transformation & Loss; What Must Be Surrendered12:20 Adaptation, Identity & the Persona17:45 What Are You Carrying?; Burdens, Stories & the Self20:12 Jung; Individuation, Masks & Becoming Yourself24:15 Kierkegaard; Anxiety, Freedom & Possibility28:45 Nietzsche; Self-Overcoming & Letting the Old Self Die31:20 Resentment, Identity & the Burdens We Defend36:05 Dostoevsky; Suffering, Identity & the Underground Man41:10 The Common Thread; Jung, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche & Dostoevsky43:05 Final Reflections; The Burdens That Become RealityX: https://x.com/rps47586YT: https://www.youtube.com/@FromTheSpectrumemail: info.fromthespectrum@gmail.com

Crime and Punishment (Pt.3)Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821 - 1881)Translated by Constance Garnett (1861 - 1946)Crime and Punishment focuses on the mental anguish and moral dilemmas of Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov, an impoverished St. Petersburg student who formulates and executes a plan to kill a hated, unscrupulous pawnbroker for her money, thereby solving his financial problems and at the same time, he argues, ridding the world of evil. Crime and Punishment is considered by many as the first of Dostoevsky's cycle of great novels, which would culminate with his last completed work, The Brothers Karamazov, shortly before his death. (Summary from Wikipedia)Genre(s): Published 1900 onwardLanguage: EnglishKeyword(s): literature (1959)

Crime and Punishment (Pt.2)Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821 - 1881)Translated by Constance Garnett (1861 - 1946)Crime and Punishment focuses on the mental anguish and moral dilemmas of Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov, an impoverished St. Petersburg student who formulates and executes a plan to kill a hated, unscrupulous pawnbroker for her money, thereby solving his financial problems and at the same time, he argues, ridding the world of evil. Crime and Punishment is considered by many as the first of Dostoevsky's cycle of great novels, which would culminate with his last completed work, The Brothers Karamazov, shortly before his death. (Summary from Wikipedia)Genre(s): Published 1900 onwardLanguage: EnglishKeyword(s): literature (1959)

healing and nihilism vs meaning

Crime and Punishment (Pt.1)Crime and Punishment focuses on the mental anguish and moral dilemmas of Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov, an impoverished St. Petersburg student who formulates and executes a plan to kill a hated, unscrupulous pawnbroker for her money, thereby solving his financial problems and at the same time, he argues, ridding the world of evil. Crime and Punishment is considered by many as the first of Dostoevsky's cycle of great novels, which would culminate with his last completed work, The Brothers Karamazov, shortly before his death. (Summary from Wikipedia)

In this episode, I read from Dostoevsky notes from the underground.Can a sick society produce anything but sick people?can a broke machine produce anything but broken product?In group, there have been many discussions about the political from the United States of America and the failure of the politician, as well as the failure of the American voter. Many of the guys in the group had theories about what it was to be a victim not just a victim of childhood sex abuse, but the abuse we take is the adult being an American.And his victims of childhood sex abuse there is always that idea that somebody around us knew what was happening to us, but they didn't do anything to stop it because we were the proof, but that person the perpetrator was evil.This episode touches upon a life lived in failure of society.

Episode 4157 │ June 24, 2026 America's moral collapse isn't coming from outside. The statistics from inside the church prove it. And AI just made it catastrophically worse. WHAT THIS EPISODE COVERS Scott Kesterson opens with a comment posted to the previous night's show blaming outside forces for America's moral collapse — and uses it as the entry point into a documented statistical case that the rot is not external but structural, embedded in the institutions the nation has trusted most. Drawing on the John Jay Report, the Guidepost Solutions SBC investigation, international clergy abuse data from France, Australia, and Germany, and cross-denominational Protestant surveys, Scott builds the case that the pattern across every denomination is identical — move the offender, silence the survivor, protect the brand — while the church's own pornography statistics reveal a congregation-wide crisis that 69% of church leaders acknowledge and 7% have any infrastructure to address. The episode closes with the emergence of AI-generated child sexual abuse material as the newest escalation pathway — self-coaching dark web communities building synthetic abuse content from children's social media images, an unbroken pipeline from consumption to normalization to contact offense, and a Supreme Court ruling already suggesting First Amendment protections may apply — while the church, the one institution with the moral authority to lead the response, remains largely silent. KEY QUESTIONS ADDRESSED  What do the documented statistics across Catholic, Southern Baptist, and Protestant denominations reveal about whether the church's child abuse crisis is an exception or a structural pattern — and why does decentralized church governance make the problem systematically worse? What is the escalation pathway from pornography normalization to AI-generated child sexual abuse material to contact offenses — and why does a Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling on First Amendment protections make the AI dimension nearly impossible to prosecute? What does Dostoevsky's warning about self-deception have to do with the comment blaming Muslim immigration for America's moral collapse — and why is the rot actually internal rather than imported? ABOUT BARDSFM BardsFM is a daily independent podcast covering faith, liberty, history, and information warfare. Hosted by Scott Kesterson — combat veteran, documentary filmmaker, and rancher. Over 4,100 episodes and 50 million lifetime downloads. New episodes every weekday. bards.fm This episode was researched and produced under the Sentinel Framework v3 — the analytical methodology built by Scott Kesterson — with AI-assisted research synthesis at a 70/30 human/AI authorship ratio, fully disclosed. All analysis, conclusions, and editorial judgments are those of Scott Kesterson. AFFILIATE LINKS Bards Nation Health Store: www.bardsnationhealth.com MYPillow promo code: BARDS >> Go to https://www.mypillow.com/bards and use the promo code BARDS or... Call 1-800-975-2939.  EMPShield protect your vehicles and home. Promo code BARDS: Click here Treadlite Broadforks...best garden tool EVER. Promo code BARDS26: TreadliteBroadforks.com EnviroKlenz Air Purification, promo code BARDS to save 10%: www.enviroklenz.com Morning Intro Music Provided by Brian Kahanek: www.briankahanek.com Founders Bible 20% discount code: BARDS >>> TheFoundersBible.com Windblown Media 20% Discount with promo code BARDS: windblownmedia.com White Oak Pastures Grassfed Meats, Get $20 off any order $150 or more. Promo Code BARDS: www.whiteoakpastures.com/BARDS Mission Darkness Faraday Bags and RF Shielding. Promo code BARDS: Click here DONATIONS: If you wish to support this podcast directly you can donate here... DONATE: Click here MAILING ADDRESS: Xpedition Cafe, LLC Attn. Scott Kesterson 591 E Central Ave, #740

You can learn:• Why Kierkegaard believed despair is not simply suffering, but the failure to become yourself• How the gap between your current self and potential self creates anxiety, resistance, and growth• Why distraction, conformity, and the "crowd" can quietly pull you away from an authentic life• How Jung, Dostoevsky, and Kierkegaard converge on the same question: Who are you becoming?• Why transformation requires confronting reality rather than escaping from itWhy do people remain stuck in patterns they know are hurting them? Why do we avoid the very changes we claim to want? In this episode of Autism & the Structure of Reality, we explore Kierkegaard's concept of despair—not as sadness or depression, but as the tension between who we are and who we could become. Drawing connections to Jung, Dostoevsky, modern psychology, social media, education, and contemporary life, the discussion examines how distraction, conformity, and comfort can prevent genuine growth. At its core, this episode is about the courage required to face reality, accept responsibility for your life, and take the difficult steps toward becoming the person you are capable of being.Support the Podcast with these chosen products:Elevate How You Navigate with Len & a free call https://elevatehowyounavigate.comMAYU Water, use "autism" for 10% off at https://mayuwater.comDaylight Computer Company, use "autism" for $50 off at https://buy.daylightcomputer.com/autismDaylight Kids (!!!) https://kids.daylightcomputer.com/autism ‪Chroma Light Devices, use "autism" for 10% discount at https://getchroma.co/?ref=autism0:00 Len Arcuri, MAYU water, Daylight Computer, Chroma Light Devices05:14 Kierkegaard & the Hard Question; Why Is Change So Difficult?07:00 The Current Self vs. The Potential Self; The Gap Between Them09:15 Dostoevsky, Regret & Betraying Yourself for Nothing10:45 Information vs. Transformation; Knowing Isn't Becoming13:35 Why We Resist Change; Despair & the Divided Self17:10 The Crowd Is Untruth; Conformity, Responsibility & Modern Life19:00 The Algorithmic Crowd; Social Media, Attention & Inherited Values20:15 Systems, Schools & Becoming a Self21:50 Taking a New Step; Why Possibility Creates Anxiety23:10 Commitment, Freedom & Building a Life25:05 Distraction, Stimulation & Avoiding the Self26:35 Every Avoidance Trains Avoidance; Repetition & Character27:45 The Greatest Danger; Living Unconsciously28:35 The Bronze Serpent; Facing What Is Biting You30:05 Encounter vs. Escape; Becoming a New YouX: https://x.com/rps47586YT: https://www.youtube.com/@FromTheSpectrumemail: info.fromthespectrum@gmail.com

We all know we should learn from our mistakes.But somewhere along the way, many of us confuse self-reflection with self-punishment.In this episode, I explore the difference between shadow work and self-loathing. Drawing from Stoicism, Carl Jung, Seneca, Dostoevsky, and Tolkien, I examine why looking honestly at our flaws is necessary—and why beating ourselves up for them isn't.The goal isn't to ignore your mistakes.The goal is to face them honestly, learn from them, and move forward without carrying unnecessary suffering.Because grace is a paradox:“I accept you exactly as you are, and I believe you can become more.”That applies not only to your friends and family.It applies to you.

We all know we should learn from our mistakes.But somewhere along the way, many of us confuse self-reflection with self-punishment.In this episode, I explore the difference between shadow work and self-loathing. Drawing from Stoicism, Carl Jung, Seneca, Dostoevsky, and Tolkien, I examine why looking honestly at our flaws is necessary—and why beating ourselves up for them isn't.The goal isn't to ignore your mistakes.The goal is to face them honestly, learn from them, and move forward without carrying unnecessary suffering.Because grace is a paradox:“I accept you exactly as you are, and I believe you can become more.”That applies not only to your friends and family.It applies to you.

From Shipping in Paraguay to Photojournalism in Kyrgyzstan: Luke Oppenheimer's Journey & the Making of Ottuk

Join BeFluent Camp - https://befluent.net/campФёдор Достоевский был великим русским писателем, но жил очень трудно и часто сидел без денег, в долгах. Однажды он подписал договор с издателем: нужно было написать новый роман почти за месяц. Если бы он не успел, издатель получил бы права на все его книги.Времени было очень мало, а Достоевский уже работал над другим романом. Тогда ему посоветовали взять стенографистку — человека, который быстро записывает то, что говорит писатель. Так появилась молодая Анна Сниткина — умная, серьёзная и ответственная девушка.Каждый день Достоевский диктовал, ходил по комнате и думал, а Анна внимательно записывала каждое слово. Они работали вместе над романом «Игрок» — книгой о человеке, который не может перестать играть в рулетку. Эта тема была близка самому писателю, потому что он тоже много играл и проигрывал деньги.Они успели закончить роман вовремя, и Достоевский не потерял права на свои книги. Позже он и Анна поженились. Она стала его женой, помощницей и близким другом и сильно изменила его жизнь.Эта история показывает, что иногда один человек может появиться в самый трудный момент и помочь изменить всю жизнь.Telegram Channel - https://t.me/befluentinrussian

In Part 2 of our discussion on Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, translator Michael Katz returns to discuss the symbolic colors of the cover of the Norton Library edition, his first encounter with Dostoevsky's work and other Russian literature, and his favorite line from the novel. Michael R. Katz is the C. V. Starr Professor Emeritus of Russian and East European Studies at Middlebury College. He has translated over twenty Russian novels, including The Brothers Karamazov, Crime and Punishment, Fathers and Children, and Notes from Underground.To learn more or purchase a copy of the Norton Library edition of Crime and Punishment, go to https://wwnorton.com/books/9780393427950. Learn more about the Norton Library series at https://wwnorton.com/norton-library.Have questions or suggestions for the podcast? Email us at nortonlibrary@wwnorton.com or find us on Twitter at @TNL_WWN and Bluesky at @nortonlibrary.bsky.social. 

Witness Weekly | WW001 | Kickoff Episode!0:00 Intro0:15 Mario Andrew – News6:26 Discussion of the Week21:05 James St Simon – Book & Film Recommendations / Review26:28 Michael – Redlines (Philosophy & Politics)30:25 Jeremy Jeremiah – Viewer Comments & Questions“Smells and bells” vs “bare walls” misses the point. We debate beauty, Scripture, continuity, and why people say they met God at the Divine Liturgy.A bishop detained under murky circumstances. A fresh call for Orthodox unity a decade after the Council of Crete. A study that claims part of a papal encyclical reads like it was AI assisted. We kick off the first Witness Weekly by moving fast through the headlines, then slowing down where it matters: what these moments reveal about religious freedom, public pressure on clergy, and the real stakes for Christians trying to live faithfully in a tense political climate.We launch Witness Weekly with Orthodox news, a deep dive on why evangelicals convert to Orthodoxy, and a candid look at how rhetoric and assumptions can flatten real theological differences. We close with Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov, a challenge to political fixes for evil, and listener questions on worship music, conversion, and parish life.• Metropolitan Hilarion's detention in Lithuania and why prayer for clergy matters• Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew's renewed call for Orthodox unity and what changed since Crete• A study suggesting AI assisted writing in a papal encyclical and where the line might be• Archbishop Elpidophoros' hospitalization and continued prayers for his recovery• Common conversion motives and why “aesthetics only” is an unfair summary• Purgatory as a Roman Catholic doctrine and why Orthodoxy gets mislabeled• Institutional continuity versus doctrinal continuity and how Reformers argued their case• The catechumen process as evidence that conversion is usually slow and deliberate• Book of the week The Brothers Karamazov and why it speaks to believers and skeptics• The problem of evil, the Grand Inquisitor, and the limits of political solutions• Listener comment on worship music, tradition, standards, and Christian art• Advice for Protestants navigating hard conversations when exploring OrthodoxyPlease let us know your thoughts in the commentsFrom there, we take on a question we keep seeing everywhere: why are evangelicals converting to Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy? We challenge the lazy take that people switch churches because they got dazzled by “smells and bells” or seduced by a vague sense of history. We talk about the long, prayerful process most converts go through, the catechumen journey, and the way outsiders often lump Orthodoxy and Catholicism together, especially around doctrines like purgatory. We also dissect the rhetoric behind “continuity” claims, including how Reformers like John Calvin argued they were the true heirs of the ancient Church.We pivot into culture and formation with our book of the week, The Brothers Karamazov, and why Dostoevsky still feels uncomfortably current. We connect the problem of evil, the Grand Inquisitor's political temptation, and the hard truth that there is no ideology that can substitute for personal responsibility and repentance. Finally, we respond to listener comments on worship music, tradition, and standards, and we offer practical advice for Protestants navigating difficult conversations while exploring Orthodoxy. Can worship music be “frozen in time” and still alive? We respond to a tough listener critique, talk standards, lyrics, and the difference between church worship and Christian art. Mario Andrew  ⁨@AndrewStMercy⁩ James St Simon  ⁨@jamessaintsimon⁩ Michael  ⁨@redlineshq⁩  Jeremy Jeremiah Questions about Orthodoxy? Please check out our friends at Ghost of Byzantium Discord server: https://discord.gg/JDJDQw6tdhPlease prayerfully consider supporting Cloud of Witnesses: https://www.patreon.com/c/CloudofWitnessesFind Cloud of Witnesses on Instagram, X.com, Facebook, and TikTok.Please leave a comment with your thoughts!

Live June 8, 2026 | Yaron Brook Show(Season 12, Episode 100)Israel/Iran/Lebanon/Trump; Russia; Interview; H1B; N. Korea; Achievements | Yaron Brook ShowIsrael vs. Iran: Is Trump Saving Hezbollah, Betraying Israel, and Rewriting Reality?Plus: Russia's grinding war, the H-1B battle, North Korea's weapons boom, and the technological breakthroughs changing the future.Israel strikes. Iran retaliates. Hezbollah refuses to disappear. And Donald Trump inserts himself into the center of the Middle East's most dangerous conflict.In this episode of The Yaron Brook Show, Yaron returns to break down a dramatic weekend in the Middle East, the escalating Israel-Iran-Hezbollah confrontation, Trump's pressure campaign on Israel, and what the conflict reveals about America's role in the region.But that's only the beginning.Yaron also examines the state of Russia's war in Ukraine, Trump's latest claims about January 6 and the 2020 election, the growing fight over H-1B visas and legal immigration, North Korea's surprising economic gains from arms sales, and several astonishing technological breakthroughs—from autonomous trucking and Parkinson's treatments to supersonic flight.Then, in a wide-ranging Q&A, Yaron tackles everything from Neil deGrasse Tyson and Kant to Elon Musk, altruism, capitalism, immigration, gun rights, Netanyahu, Hezbollah, and the future of Objectivism.Whether you agree or disagree, this episode pulls no punches.Watch now and join the conversation.

Key Highlights:• Why the “Three Temptations” are not ancient stories but modern psychological systems• Why thoughts are not neutral & how repeated thoughts become personality• Jung, Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Dostoevsky, neuroscience, & predictive processing brought together into one framework• How modern systems industrialize temptation through stimulation, performance, & certaintyWhat actually owns you?In this episode, we explore the psychological depth behind the Three Temptations — not simply as religious stories, but structures organizing modern life through comfort, validation, & control. Drawing from Jung, Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Dostoevsky, neuroscience, predictive processing, and internal calculators, the episode examines how thoughts become patterns, patterns become identity, & modern systems progressively shape the self through stimulation, performance, certainty, & emotional regulation. From dopamine & reward systems to persona formation, ideological rigidity, & the human search for meaning, this episode explores how the temptations never disappeared — they industrialized.Part 5 (and links to part 1-4 in the notes) https://youtu.be/-IJcXrJJMuU?si=xa0Psj0V_X-nrO0cInternal Calculators part 1 https://youtu.be/uKa3wzpRoxQ?si=57tk2tO14VNVdzcpInternal Calculators part 2 https://youtu.be/5lsQIJUPgQ4Elevate How You Navigate with Len & a free call https://elevatehowyounavigate.comMAYU Water, use "autism" for 10% off at https://mayuwater.comDaylight Computer Company, use "autism" for $50 off at https://buy.daylightcomputer.com/autismDaylight Kids (!!!) https://kids.daylightcomputer.com/autism ‪Chroma Light Devices, use "autism" for 10% discount at https://getchroma.co/?ref=autism00:00 Elevate How You Navigate, MAYU Water, Daylight Computer & Daylight Kids, Chroma Light Devices05:16 What Owns You?07:57 The Three Temptations; Wilderness, Jung & the Shadow12:00 First Temptation: Comfort, Relief & Instant Gratification16:00 Internal Calculators; Thoughts, Habits & Identity20:00 Why Comfort Becomes a Trap21:58 Second Temptation: Validation, Persona & Social Media24:14 Kierkegaard, the Crowd & Performance Identity26:45 Authenticity vs Visibility28:14 Third Temptation: Power, Control & Certainty30:10 Nietzsche, Ideology & Psychological Rigidity32:50 Why We Crave Control34:10 The Industrialization of Temptation36:55 Self-Actualization, Meaning & the Void39:05 Logos, Transformation & Identity41:20 What Ultimately Owns You?43:00 Discipline, Strength, Logos & Final Reflections

Video Link: https://youtu.be/_dS2ZK-6jJY?si=eoXAqStqBU7yYu8lYou can learn: 1) Humans have an infinite capacity for Thoughts; Thoughts are Human Creation, & You DO NOT owe your thoughts ANYTHING 2) What Owns You? 3) How the Three Temptations are alive today 4) Philosophy & Psychology meet Christianity (even though it is a Human Story) 5) Autism Research is worthless so it is necessary to be an N=1 This leads into Part 7: The How and the Beatitudes & Self-Transformation Elevate How You Navigate with Len & a free call https://elevatehowyounavigate.com MAYU Water, use "autism" for 10% off at https://mayuwater.com Daylight Computer Company, use "autism" for $50 off at https://buy.daylightcomputer.com/autism Daylight Kids (!!!) https://kids.daylightcomputer.com/autism ‪ Chroma Light Devices, use "autism" for 10% discount at https://getchroma.co/?ref=autism Key Highlights: • Why the “Three Temptations” are not ancient stories but modern psychological systems • Why thoughts are not neutral & how repeated thoughts become personality • Jung, Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Dostoevsky, neuroscience, & predictive processing brought together into one framework • How modern systems industrialize temptation through stimulation, performance, & certainty What actually owns you? In this episode, we explore the psychological depth behind the Three Temptations — not simply as religious stories, but structures organizing modern life through comfort, validation, & control. Drawing from Jung, Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Dostoevsky, neuroscience, predictive processing, and internal calculators, the episode examines how thoughts become patterns, patterns become identity, & modern systems progressively shape the self through stimulation, performance, certainty, & emotional regulation. From dopamine & reward systems to persona formation, ideological rigidity, & the human search for meaning, this episode explores how the temptations never disappeared — they industrialized. Part 5 (and links to part 1-4 in the notes) https://youtu.be/-IJcXrJJMuUInternal Calculators part 1 https://youtu.be/uKa3wzpRoxQInternal Calculators https://youtu.be/nTs2m8SGqXcInternal Calculators https://youtu.be/5lsQIJUPgQ4

Beauty is one of the most celebrated words in art and faith conversations, but it may also be one of the most misunderstood. Is beauty simply what pleases the eye, or is it something deeper? Can beauty exist alongside suffering, loss, and the grotesque? And what happens when we settle for beauty that comforts us while avoiding the realities that transform us?What if beauty requires darkness, mystery, and even lament in order to reveal its deepest meaning? In this roundtable discussion, Stephen Roach and guests Corey Frey, Liv Ross, and Scott Aasman wrestle with beauty not as sentimentality or surface appeal, but as a force capable of holding together truth, goodness, suffering, and hope.KEY TOPICSWhy beauty can feel inauthentic when it is removed from struggleThe original meaning of "glamour" as a veil designed to trap and deceive, and why that etymology still matters for artists todayHow the three transcendentals — goodness, truth, and beauty — function like a trinity: remove one and the others collapse into vanity, brutality, or cover-upWhat Edmund Burke and Kant meant by the sublime, and why terror and beauty belong together rather than apartThe real context behind Dostoevsky's phrase "beauty will save the world," drawn from The Idiot, and why stripping it from that argument changes everythingThomas Kinkade's stated goal of painting a world where the Fall never happened, and what his private life and Andy Warhol quote reveal about the cost of bypassing Holy SaturdayWhy form without substance is essentially pornographic, and how true beauty requires the material and the spiritual coming togetherHow artistic isolation stunts creative roots the way a tree grown in perfect conditions falls in the first storm and why community, friction, and disagreement strengthen both the artist and the workAbout the Guests:Corey Frey is a multidisciplinary artist, writer, and co-founder of The Well Collaborative, a community dedicated to creativity, curiosity, and culture. He lives in Maryland with his wife and continues to explore the intersections of art, faith, and imagination.Liv Ross is an urban monk, poet, essayist, and Managing Editor of Traces Journal. Writing from the Ozarks, her work explores place, wonder, memory, and spiritual formation. Her first book, The Blackbird Ballad, was published by Solum Literary Press in 2026.Scott Aasman is an award-winning illustrator, educator, and co-founder of Salt Cellar Arts, an arts-focused community for the spiritually attentive and creatively engaged. He lives in Hamilton, Ontario, with his wife and two children.Resources MentionedBeauty Will Save the World by Brian ZahndThe Idiot by Fyodor DostoevskyThe Thought of the Heart and the Soul of the World by James Hillman Works by Flannery O'Connor Works by Cormac McCarthy Paintings of Thomas Kinkade Landscapes of J. M. W. TurnerConnect with Our GuestsCorey Frey coreysfrey.comLiv Ross The Abbey of Curiosity Substack The Blackbird BalladScott Aasman Instagram – San IllustrationSend us Fan MailSupport the showJOIN US FOR BOOK CLUB! Every Tuesday at 8 pm EST in June 2026, we will be reading James's book online in our Patreon community! We'd love to have you with us. Visit patreon.com/makersandmystics to RSVP. Sign Up for Our Newsletter! http://eepurl.com/g49Ks1Give a one-time donation https://buy.stripe.com/9AQeYj7431fD12waEOJoin the Makers & Mystics Creative Collective https://www.patreon.com/c/makersandmystics

Marilyn Monroe was the ultimate bombshell. This week she would have turned 100 years old, but she’s still the iconic sex symbol of mid 20th century Hollywood. Despite her carefully crafted dumb blonde persona, she was also wildly intelligent. She had a library filled with books by authors like James Joyce and Dostoevsky. So . . how did she use that intelligence and what was her Achilles heel? Feel free to DM me if you have a story you’d like me to cover . . on Facebook it’s Patty Steele and on Instagram Real Patty Steele.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

rWotD Episode 3316: Polyphony (literature) Welcome to random Wiki of the Day, your journey through Wikipedia's vast and varied content, one random article at a time.The random article for Tuesday, 2 June 2026, is Polyphony (literature).In literature, polyphony (Russian: полифония) is a feature of narrative, which includes a diversity of simultaneous points of view and voices. Caryl Emerson describes it as "a decentered authorial stance that grants validity to all voices". The concept was introduced by Mikhail Bakhtin, using a metaphor based on the musical term polyphony.Bakhtin's primary example of polyphony was Fyodor Dostoevsky's prose. According to Bakhtin, the chief characteristic of Dostoevsky's novels is "a plurality of independent and unmerged voices and consciousnesses, a genuine polyphony of fully valid voices". His major characters are, "by the very nature of his creative design, not only objects of authorial discourse but also subjects of their own directly signifying discourse" (italics in the original).Polyphony in literature is the consequence of a dialogic sense of truth in combination with the special authorial position that makes possible the realization of that sense on the page. The dialogic sense of truth, as it manifests in Dostoevsky, is a radically different way of understanding the world to that of the monologic. Dostoevsky's novels, according to Bakhtin, cannot be understood from within the monological tradition of western thought, a way of thinking about "truth" that has dominated religion, science, philosophy and literature for many centuries.This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 01:14 UTC on Tuesday, 2 June 2026.For the full current version of the article, see Polyphony (literature) 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 Mastodon at @wikioftheday@masto.ai.Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast.Until next time, I'm neural Salli.

In Part 1 of our discussion on Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, we welcome translator Michael Katz to discuss the effects of Dostoevsky's personal and family life on his writing, the "big questions of life" and morality woven into Dostoevsky's works, and the challenge of translating Dostoevsky's repetitive writing style. Michael R. Katz is the C. V. Starr Professor Emeritus of Russian and East European Studies at Middlebury College. He has translated over twenty Russian novels, including The Brothers Karamazov, Crime and Punishment, Fathers and Children, and Notes from Underground.To learn more or purchase a copy of the Norton Library edition of Crime and Punishment, go to https://wwnorton.com/books/9780393427950. Learn more about the Norton Library series at https://wwnorton.com/norton-library.Have questions or suggestions for the podcast? Email us at nortonlibrary@wwnorton.com or find us on Twitter at @TNL_WWN and Bluesky at @nortonlibrary.bsky.social. 

Life keeps happening. Pope Sixtus is the next name on the docket and I will get it out by July. Another fascinating history if not as long as Leo or Gregory. I have promised a former student to read along with her: Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky, Fathers and Sons by Turgenev, and Paradise Lost by you know who. So I will attempt to drop a few thoughts about that sometime over the course of June. Another topic: Pope Leo's first encyclical. After reading the first ten paragraphs, I am very struck by his distributist (that word is clearly lurking in the background) interpretation of Nehemiah, the story he presents as paradigmatic for human economic effort arranged in a way consistent with human nature and our relationship with God. Surely Bill and I can find some grist to grind there when I get him corralled and back at a microphone.

Matt and Michael dive deep into the meaning of Jesus Christ's death and resurrection. Starting from last week's cliffhanger about whether Jesus had to die, they explore the story of Cain and Abel, the problem of human sin, and why God chose to meet humanity in its darkest place rather than simply forgive from a distance. The conversation weaves through Job, the cross as the ultimate expression of love, and why this story demands a response that other worldviews don't. They discuss Carl Jung's Answer to Job, CS Lewis's analogy of God outside of time, and why Christianity's claim of divine self-sacrifice is unique among world religions. Michael shares his experiential journey through multiple religions and why Jesus was the one that actually changed him. Matt reflects on seeing a Rothko painting at the Met and how biblical stories are interactive in a way art cannot be. The episode grapples with troubling questions: What kind of God commands slaughter? What does it mean that God justifies himself to Job? Why did God choose to die rather than simply forgive? And what does it mean that we are all Cain? Cheers y'all

What happens when a mind built for depth, precision, and pattern recognition is forced to survive inside systems designed for generalization, compression, and social conformity?Part 5 explores how modern environments shape behavior, identity, attention, and even self-worth through constant pressure to adapt. Pulling from neuroscience, autism research, predictive processing, and the work of Jung, Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, and Dostoevsky, this episode examines masking, chronic self-monitoring, cognitive translation, hyper-awareness, and the hidden metabolic cost of trying to fit into systems that were never designed for certain kinds of minds.The episode also explores individuation, authenticity, predictive processing, and why many autistic individuals experience the world as intensely detailed, emotionally costly, and cognitively overwhelming. Rather than framing autism as a deficit, this discussion asks a deeper question: what if many struggles emerge not from the mind itself, but from the mismatch between the individual and the environment surrounding them?Part 1 https://youtu.be/fqDAfjMXTBQ?si=zzhf5ZrQ8nlwcVuuPart 2 https://youtu.be/bM7kw6ni3Tk?si=sSH_CJcV42Rx-xLrPart 3 https://youtu.be/lFP-anBiei4?si=UlJrsNLjQWJKMZnrPart 4 https://youtu.be/KpjLo75XHK0?si=Ns4F8_oEV2yN438yMAYU Water, use "autism" for 10% off at https://mayuwater.comDaylight Computer Company, use "autism" for $50 off at https://buy.daylightcomputer.com/autismand Daylight Kids (!!!) https://kids.daylightcomputer.com/autism ‪Chroma Light Devices, use "autism" for 10% discount at https://getchroma.co/?ref=autism00:00 – MAYU Water01:12 – Daylight Computer Company & Daylight Kids02:19 – Chroma Light Devices03:26 – Self, crowd, mind, shared reality & the system04:13 – Why schools, workplaces & society break on difference06:22 – Systems as compression machines; rules, metrics & expectations08:52 – Misalignment vs deficiency; compatibility mistaken for capability11:20 – School systems; task switching, attention, pacing & deep processing14:42 – Jung's persona; masking, survival architecture & translation cost18:34 – Why systems resist change; stability, predictability & the herd22:58 – Chronic misalignment; exhaustion, identity confusion & suppression24:55 – Dostoevsky; hyper-awareness, contradiction & the “piano key” system27:40 – What actually helps; individuation, environment & cognitive diversity30:47 – Final synthesis; internal structure vs institutional structureX: https://x.com/rps47586YT: https://www.youtube.com/@FromTheSpectrumemail: info.fromthespectrum@gmail.com

Most extraordinary people are never famous.History remembers a few names — Marcus Aurelius, Churchill, Dostoevsky — but civilization itself is carried forward by ordinary people doing small things faithfully. Good fathers. Loyal friends. Honest workers. Men and women who plant trees whose shade they will never sit under.In this episode, I reflect on anonymous greatness, mortality, forgotten ancestors, war, courage, and why being forgotten may actually be one of the most beautiful truths about being human.We talk about:Why most virtuous lives are invisible to historyThe courage that comes from accepting your impermanenceWhy relationships matter more than recognitionThe quiet nobility of doing good without applauseWhat Marcus Aurelius can teach us about presence and legacyWhy civilization survives because of ordinary peopleBecause in the end, very few people will remember our names.But a handful of people may truly know who we were.And maybe that's enough.

Most extraordinary people are never famous.History remembers a few names — Marcus Aurelius, Churchill, Dostoevsky — but civilization itself is carried forward by ordinary people doing small things faithfully. Good fathers. Loyal friends. Honest workers. Men and women who plant trees whose shade they will never sit under.In this episode, I reflect on anonymous greatness, mortality, forgotten ancestors, war, courage, and why being forgotten may actually be one of the most beautiful truths about being human.We talk about:Why most virtuous lives are invisible to historyThe courage that comes from accepting your impermanenceWhy relationships matter more than recognitionThe quiet nobility of doing good without applauseWhat Marcus Aurelius can teach us about presence and legacyWhy civilization survives because of ordinary peopleBecause in the end, very few people will remember our names.But a handful of people may truly know who we were.And maybe that's enough.

What happens when a culture loses belief in God?In this deep and surprisingly funny conversation, Dr. Chris Palmer joins Dr. T. Michael W. Halcomb to discuss nihilism, modern despair, AI, atheism, church hurt, faith, science, memes, Dostoevsky, Nietzsche, and why Christianity still matters in a collapsing culture.Dr. Palmer's new book A World Without God explores what happens when society abandons transcendence and attempts to construct meaning without God. Along the way, this conversation tackles:• Why modern culture feels empty• The psychological consequences of nihilism• Why faith and science “play by different rules”• Church hurt and hypocrisy• Dostoevsky vs Nietzsche• AI, memes, absurdism & modern despair• Why beauty still points people toward God• Whether Christianity is essential for human flourishingThis episode is thoughtful, philosophical, pastoral, and unexpectedly hilarious.

Everyone worships something. The rock star, the ideology, the bottle of wine, the beautiful person across the room. Dostoevsky identified it as an incessant, painful longing: so long as man remains free, he strives for nothing so persistently as to find someone worthy of complete surrender. We have free will — and where we invest our affection becomes our most important choice. In this episode Raghunath and Kaustubha explore that longing alongside the Vedic text's most sacred passage — where the gopi girls of Vrindavan invest everything in the very source of rasa itself. Srimad Bhagavatam 10.29.12-19 ******************************************************************** LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108 *********************************************************************

What if reality is not experienced directly, but constructed through prediction, compression, memory, and social agreement? In this episode of Autism & the Structure of Reality, we explore how the brain builds models of the world — and why most people stabilize reality collectively through shared assumptions, habits, and social compression. Drawing from neuroscience, predictive processing, Jung, Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, and Dostoevsky, this episode examines how perception itself may be shaped by consensus rather than objective truth.The episode also explores autism, heightened detail processing, uncertainty, social conformity, pattern recognition, and why different perceptual styles can create radically different experiences of the same world. If the brain is constantly simplifying reality to conserve energy, what happens when a mind compresses less and perceives more? This discussion dives into predictive processing, internal vs external reality, cognitive friction, and the hidden psychological cost of maintaining the shared structures humans call “normal.”Part 1 https://youtu.be/fqDAfjMXTBQ?si=zzhf5ZrQ8nlwcVuuPart 2 https://youtu.be/bM7kw6ni3Tk?si=sSH_CJcV42Rx-xLrPart 3 https://youtu.be/lFP-anBiei4?si=nvcheRbdPnaE9ygLMAYU Water, use "autism" for 10% off at https://mayuwater.comDaylight Computer Company, use "autism" for $50 off at https://buy.daylightcomputer.com/autismand Daylight Kids (!!!) https://kids.daylightcomputer.com/autism ‪Chroma Light Devices, use "autism" for 10% discount at https://getchroma.co/?ref=autism00:00 MAYU Water01:12 Daylight Computer Company & Daylight Kids02:19 Chroma Light Devices03:24 Autism & the Structure of Reality; Prediction & Consensus Reality05:18 Predictive Processing; Shared Perception & Compression07:46 Autism, Detail Processing & Reduced Compression10:31 Jung, Nietzsche, Kierkegaard & the Crowd13:42 Dostoevsky, Meaning & Collective Illusions16:18 Internal vs External Reality; Social Conformity18:56 Pattern Recognition, Salience & Autistic Perception21:37 Prediction Errors; Uncertainty & Resistance to Change24:11 Shared Reality, Identity & Cognitive Friction26:54 Autism & the Structure of Reality — Final ThoughtsX: https://x.com/rps47586YT: https://www.youtube.com/@FromTheSpectrumemail: info.fromthespectrum@gmail.com

Everyone worships something. The rock star, the ideology, the bottle of wine, the beautiful person across the room. Dostoevsky identified it as an incessant, painful longing: so long as man remains free, he strives for nothing so persistently as to find someone worthy of complete surrender. We have free will — and where we invest our affection becomes our most important choice. In this episode Raghunath and Kaustubha explore that longing alongside the Vedic text's most sacred passage — where the gopi girls of Vrindavan invest everything in the very source of rasa itself. Srimad Bhagavatam 10.29.12-19 ******************************************************************** LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108 *********************************************************************

That Dostoevsky has taught me anything, let alone about workout consistency is not something I expected to be saying as a health and fitness coach!But finishing Crime and Punishment on holiday turned out to have more in common with getting in shape after 40 than I could have imagined.

Send us Fan MailThe Russian people and their destiny played an important role in Dostoevsky's works, but in the contemporary context, what does this mean for Slavophilism and other nationalistic movements? In this video, I am joined by Dr. George Pattison to discuss this question.Support the show--------------------------If you would want to support the channel and what I am doing, please follow me on Patreon:www.patreon.com/christianityforallWhere else to find Josh Yen:Philosophy YT: https://bit.ly/philforallEducation: https://bit.ly/joshyenBuisness: https://bit.ly/logoseduMy Website: https://joshuajwyen.com/

In this episode of Autism & the Structure of Reality (Pt. 3), we go deeper into one of the biggest questions in neuroscience, philosophy, and human experience: What is reality from the perspective of the mind? Building from Jung, Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, and Dostoevsky, this episode connects phenomenology and modern neuroscience to show how perception is not passive. The brain filters, predicts, suppresses, and constructs experience long before we consciously recognize it. Topics include the thalamus as a sensory gatekeeper, predictive processing, salience networks, attention, filtering, compression, and why different minds can inhabit fundamentally different experienced realities.This episode also explores how the autistic phenotype may process the world with less compression, stronger bottom-up sensory detail, and different salience weighting, creating tension between the individual and the social system. Rather than framing difference as dysfunction, the discussion reframes it as a different way of organizing reality itself. If Episodes 1 and 2 explored the conflict between the self and the crowd, this episode examines the deeper computational and perceptual mechanisms underneath that conflict — and why the world different people experience may not actually be the same world at all.Part 1 https://youtu.be/fqDAfjMXTBQ?si=zzhf5ZrQ8nlwcVuuPart 2 https://youtu.be/bM7kw6ni3Tk?si=sSH_CJcV42Rx-xLrMAYU Water, use "autism" for 10% off at https://mayuwater.comDaylight Computer Company, use "autism" for $50 off at https://buy.daylightcomputer.com/autismand Daylight Kids (!!!) https://kids.daylightcomputer.com/autism ‪Chroma Light Devices, use "autism" for 10% discount at https://getchroma.co/?ref=autism00:00 – MAYU Water; hydration, minerals & absorption01:12 – Daylight Computer Company & Daylight Kids; low-stimulation tech, focus & sleep02:19 – Chroma Light Devices; full-spectrum lighting & circadian rhythm support03:26 – Intro; Jung, Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Dostoevsky & the self vs the crowd05:50 – What is reality? Perception, lived experience & phenomenology07:18 – The thalamus; sensory gating, awareness & perception filtering09:12 – Attention shapes reality; William James, alpha rhythms & suppression12:03 – The predictive brain; prediction error, beta/gamma rhythms & constructed reality15:08 – Salience networks; ACC, insula, spindle neurons & what the brain flags as important18:21 – Filtering & compression; detail processing, prediction weighting & social tension21:42 – Different processing = different realities; the individual vs the system24:37 – Closing thoughts; deeper truth, perception & organizing reality differentlyX: https://x.com/rps47586YT: https://www.youtube.com/@FromTheSpectrumemail: info.fromthespectrum@gmail.com

Michael plays devil's advocate and argues that human societies naturally refine their values over time. Monogamy works better. Less crime is good. These truths emerge through trial and error. Matt pushes back hard. Without truth and love as a fixed reference point, he argues, the word "better" loses all meaning. What looks like natural progress is actually borrowed capital from a civilization built on Judeo-Christian values. They explore Canada's assisted suicide program, the sterilization of young people through the transgender movement, and Nietzsche's warning that removing God does not just remove religion. It unmoors everything. This one goes deep. It is about what happens when a culture forgets where its values came from. And why substituting anything for God makes your world smaller. Cheers y'all

Send us Fan Mail"What happens when the inventor of the Video Sales Letter meets AI? Jon Benson joins us for a conversation that will change how you think about creativity, copy, and your business."In Episode 271 of Navigating the Customer Experience, host Yanique Grant sits down with Jon Benson, the pioneering copywriter and entrepreneur who invented the Video Sales Letter (VSL) the format that became the backbone of modern digital marketing. Since 2010, Jon has been quietly working at the intersection of AI and persuasion science, partnering with early AI companies as far back as 2015 to teach machines the nuances of high-converting copy. Today, he's the creator of BNSN (pronounced "Benson"), a proprietary AI copywriting platform built exclusively for ethical marketers who want to attract their ideal customers not just anyone with a credit card.But before any of that, Jon was a graphic designer who nearly lost his life. At 38 years old, he suffered a heart attack a consequence of obesity, stress, and burning the candle at both ends. His recovery led him to write a bestselling book on fitness transformation, which launched him unexpectedly into the world of internet marketing and copywriting. It's one of the most compelling origin stories you'll hear, and it sets the tone for everything Jon has built since.In this episode, Jon and Yanique explore:

In this episode, we explore autism, identity, intuition, & the tension between authenticity and social conformity through psychology and philosophy. Expanding from part 1 & Carl Jung's work, we add Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, & Dostoevsky, and ask a deeper question: what happens when someone is naturally more connected to their internal structure than to the social roles the world expects them to perform? Topics include sensory processing, visual thinking, pattern recognition, the psychological cost of masking, and the struggle between the “self” and the persona people present to the world.This conversation explores why many autistic individuals experience tension not because of who they are, but because of constant pressure to become someone else. We discuss intuition, internal consistency, social adaptation, individuality, meaning, and the challenge of staying connected to yourself in a world that often rewards performance over authenticity. Rather than viewing autism only through deficits or labels, this episode examines it as a different orientation toward perception, identity, and human experience itself.Part 1 https://youtu.be/fqDAfjMXTBQ?si=Sf918WWPsyIsnNKQMAYU Water, use "autism" for 10% off at https://mayuwater.comDaylight Computer Company, use "autism" for $50 off at https://buy.daylightcomputer.com/autismand Daylight Kids (!!!) https://kids.daylightcomputer.com/autism ‪Chroma Light Devices, use "autism" for 10% discount at https://getchroma.co/?ref=autism00:00 – MAYU Water01:12 – Daylight Computer Company & Daylight Kids02:19 – Chroma Light Devices03:27 Introduction; autism, the self, and the tension between the individual and society05:05 Friedrich Nietzsche and the “herd”; stability, conformity, prediction, and why systems resist difference07:50 Immediate certainty, misunderstanding, and why insight depends on the structure receiving it09:38 Becoming vs being formed; imitation, social reinforcement, and developing from within11:40 Søren Kierkegaard, “the crowd is untruth,” and the danger of losing the self14:10 Internal alignment, masking, adaptation, and the cost of staying true to your structure17:36 Fyodor Dostoevsky; deep processing, overthinking, and translating complex internal worlds into social reality20:02 Compression, misunderstanding, and why depth can appear “wrong” to the external world22:05 Schools, workplaces, autism, stimming, eye contact, and the difference between “error” versus alternative structure25:14 Closing; the tension between internal structure and external expectation, and why the traits that create friction are often the ones that move systems forwardX: https://x.com/rps47586YT: https://www.youtube.com/@FromTheSpectrumemail: info.fromthespectrum@gmail.com

On this week's episode of the RealClearInvestigations Podcast, RCI Editor J. Peder Zane and RCI Senior Reporter James Varney speak with Gary Saul Morson, a professor of Arts and Humanities at Northwestern University and a scholar of Russian literature about what Dostoevsky can teach us about modern progressives. In our round-up of the week's best investigative reporting, Zane and Varney discuss a Wall Street Journal article about China's stranglehold on drone production, Roger Pielke Jr.'s Substack piece on a dramatic change in climate change forecasts, and a Daily Wire story on the Los Angeles arsonists who drew inspiration from the assassin Luigi Mangione. 00:00 Introduction and Overview of Current Events 03:13 The Impact of Chinese Supply Chains on U.S. Defense 05:58 Climate Change Narratives and Scientific Realities 09:10 The Ideological Underpinnings of Violence in Society 12:07 Interview with Professor Gary Saul Morrison on Communism and Ideology 14:45 Dostoevsky's Insights on Modern Progressivism 17:53 The Role of the Intelligentsia in Revolutionary Movements 20:59 The Normalization of Violence in Political Discourse 24:09 Comparisons Between Historical and Modern Revolutionary Movements 32:44 The Role of Liberals in Political Change 34:00 The Dangers of Labeling Political Opponents 38:21 Lessons from History: The Power of the Majority 41:13 The Importance of Literature and Universal Values 47:16 The Psychology of Political Identity 51:32 The Challenge of Compromise in Democracy 55:22 The Role of Science in Political Ideology 01:01:04 The Transformative Power of Literature Articles Discussed in This Podcast:   Gary Saul Morson: Re-Possessed – Commentary Magazine Gary Saul Morson: Solzhenitsyn Warned Us – Commentary Magazine Gary Saul Morson: The Return of the ‘Useful Idiot' – Commentary Magazine Gary Saul Morson: The Red Star Returns - The New Criterion Gary Saul Morson: Marxism Is a Gulag of the Mind - WSJ Wall Street Journal: U.S. Targets China's Stranglehold on Drone Production  Roger Pielke Jr. Substack: New Climate Report Eliminates Most Extreme Scenarios  Daily Wire: LA Arson Suspect Obsessed Over Luigi Mangione  Sign up for the RealClearInvestigations Newsletter. Watch each episode on the RealClearPolitics YouTube ChannelContact us with your thoughts and feedback: jpederzane@realclearinvestigations.com

Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky---Exploring Fyodor Dostoevsky's Notes from Underground, hosts unpack the dangers of self-deception and the challenge of living with integrity as a leader. They analyze how self-awareness without mastery leads to alienation, the importance of matching words with actions, and the societal consequences of habitual lying. The episode weaves Dostoevsky's legacy with real-world leadership, discussing how courage and honest self-examination are vital in modern organizations.Book Title: Notes from UndergroundAuthor: Fyodor DostoevskyGuests: Jesan Sorrells (Host), Dr. Hana Kabele Gala (Guest)---Time Stamped Overview---00:00 The enduring power of truth06:38 Introducing Co-Host Dr. Hana Kabele Gala12:52 Discussing Dostoyevsky's challenging books20:55 Living and writing in Arkansas22:52 Dostoevsky's productivity and inspirations30:58 Dr. Hana Kabele Gala's Internship with Vaclav Havel33:44 Christianity and modern evangelicalism40:04 Dealing with societal challenges48:26 Navigating choices as a leader52:46 Discussing moral courage and context56:37 Struggling with self-identity01:03:10 Discussion on storytelling and conflict01:09:16 Meaningless corporate mission statements01:12:17 AI's impact on middle management01:20:07 Mentoring and coaching team members01:22:51 Putting aside self-righteousness01:29:04 Seeking constructive feedback01:36:46 Money and social status in Russia01:42:45 American perception of wealth and class01:45:33 Comparing serfdom and chattel slavery01:53:27 American Christianity's future challenges01:57:30 Lessons from Dostoevsky's characters---Dr. Hana Kabele Gala Substack, Tough Cookies - https://hanakabelegala.substack.com/ Dr. Hana Kabele Gala LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/hanakabelegala/Dr. Hana Kabele Gala Website - https://www.rtncwithhana.com/The Way of Integrity by Martha Beck - https://www.amazon.com/Way-Integrity-Finding-Path-Your/dp/1984881507/On Bullshit by Harry Frankfurt - https://www.amazon.com/Bullshit-Harry-G-Frankfurt/---Opening theme composed by Felipe Sarro - Bach - Silotti - "Air"  from Orchestra Suite No. 3, BWV 1068 Closing theme composed by Brian Sanyshyn of Brian Sanyshyn Music.---Pick up your copy of 12 Rules for Leaders: The Foundation of Intentional Leadership NOW on AMAZON!Check out the Leadership Lessons From the Great Books podcast reading list!---Subscribe to the Leadership Lessons From The Great Books Podcast: https://bit.ly/LLFTGBSubscribeCheck out Leadership ToolBox at: https://leadershiptoolbox.us/ ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Pamela Anderson was the ultimate '90s tabloid machine — Baywatch bombshell, Playboy's most-covered model, and ground zero for the mechanics of celebrity . So how did she end up quoting Dostoevsky and giving spiritual speaking tours in Australia, selling skincare and preaching slow living at 58 yeard old? We break down the one of the most audacious celebrity rebrand of the decade — the Pamverse in full. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bitcoin Archive opens up about his 2026 El Salvador reset, life in El Salvador Before and After Bukele, Bitcoin adoption, and how he escaped the fiat rat race for a total Circadian Health and dopamine reset.Archie from Bitcoin Archive joins Mike Peterson to reveal the reality of his journey toward financial sovereignty. After years of explosive growth, he realized high-level content creation is a double-edged sword that can compromise mental sovereignty. He shares why he finally doxxed his identity to find an authentic path through podcast hosting, proving that even the biggest accounts need real human connection to survive the fiat system.The duo explores the neurological price of being "always on" and why a digital detox is the only way to heal a brain fried by the fiat rat race. Archie describes the moment he realized his dopamine receptors were so conditioned for short-form hits that he could no longer focus on a book. During his 2026 reset in El Zonte, he consulted with Dr. Jack Kruse to understand how the modern attention economy had compromised his biology. Inspired by Jack Kruse's protocols for biological sovereignty, Archie explains how fixing your circadian rhythm and watching the sunrise beats any "hustle culture" life hack for reclaiming your mental focus.To bridge the gap between digital chaos and mental clarity, Archie turned back to creative writing. He discusses why escaping short-term thinking is a necessary exercise to transition from the fiat mind to a contemplative life. It is a reminder that a Hard Money Standard is not just about money, but about changing how you interact with time.The experience in Bitcoin Beach shows a story of seamless merchant adoption. Bitcoin has evolved here into the primary hard money used for everything from dinners to coffee. Most importantly, local businesses now treat sats as a strategic Bitcoin reserve, mimicking the treasury strategies of nation-states. Seeing this circular Bitcoin economy function without the friction of traditional banking offers a glimpse into a future that many still think is impossible.—Bitcoin Beach TeamConnect with ArchieX: https://x.com/BitcoinArchiveYT: https://www.youtube.com/@BitcoinArchiveIG: https://www.instagram.com/btc.archive/Newsletter: https://newsletter.bitcoinarchive.coApple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/bitcoin-archive-w-archie/id1811833668Support and follow Bitcoin Beach:X: https://www.twitter.com/BitcoinBeach IG: https://www.instagram.com/bitcoinbeach_sv TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@livefrombitcoinbeach Web: https://www.bitcoinbeach.com Browse through this quick guide to learn more about the episode:00:00 Intro05:25 What is the mental cost of Bitcoin content?08:32 Why did Archie quit corporate banking in London?13:01 How to grow 1 million Twitter followers from zero?19:53 Why did Bitcoin Archive dox his identity?25:17 Dr. Jack Kruse: How to fix your dopamine in El Salvador30:54 Can reading Dostoevsky heal a fiat brain?40:13 How does the fiat system crush the middle class?49:24 How did El Zonte solve Bitcoin merchant adoption?56:19 Why are small businesses building a Bitcoin reserve?59:38: Nayib Bukele: the "Founding Father" of the Nation-State Bitcoin StandardLive From Bitcoin Beach

In honor of the 30th anniversary of David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest, novelist Hannah Smart once again joins us for a discussion of the ethical limits and critical revaluation of this maximally ambitious and chronically misunderstood novel.  A polygenetic and polyphonic novel, Infinite Jest's interlocking themes and characters circle back to the urgent need and paradoxical impossibility of self-forgetting and transcendence within the American psyche ravaged by the grotesqueries of late consumer capitalism and the imperatives of individualism. Infinite Jest builds its literary DNA out from the spiritual seriousness of Dostoevsky, the parables of Kafka, Pynchon conspiracism, and Gassian forebodings of the infantile fascist lurking in the intellectual artifices of the hidden American heart. It is a novel about the deadly pleasures of the culture industry and temptation of the hedonic oblivion promised by advertisers. In this discussion, we focus on what it can still teach us about the hard-won discipline of sustained activity of reading, what's still true about the ethics of individual responsibility, and hold up a comic mirror to the horror of our American political present and besieged future.Follow Hannah on Twitter(X): @fowlinghantodSubscribe to Hannah's Substack: @howlingfantodPreorder Hannah's debut novel, Meat Puppets: https://merchtable.bigcartel.com/product/meat-puppets-by-hannah-smartRead Hannah's LARB piece: https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/nothing-ever-happens-mister-squishy-and-the-year-of-the-sentence-diagram/Please consider becoming a paying subscriber to our Patreon to get exclusive bonus episodes, early access releases, and bookish merch: https://www.patreon.com/MoralMinorityFollow us on Twitter(X).Devin: @DevinGoureCharles: @satireredactedEmail us at: moralminoritypod@gmail.com

John Baker is a former Major Leaguer turned coach who is wiser than both of us—that’s for sure. He is well-studied in the minds of individuals, which he applies to the mindset of ballplayers. Visit www.baker-hq.com for more details and see how your ballplayer can benefit from his life’s work. We talk all things big leagues, including something we never knew about John Lackey and the COVID year. Plus, we dive into that incredible Cubs team that won it all in 2016. He also got us into the minds of Paul Skenes and up-and-comer Konnor Griffin—trust me, these guys are next level. For moms and dads of little leaguers, we spent a lot of time talking about growing up in the game—there’s plenty here for all of us to learn. And speaking of learning, we picked up new words and explored new books with Baker. What a great guest. Stranger things have happened on this podcast—that’s for sure! Subscribe and follow for more!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Gangland Wire, retired Kansas City Police Intelligence Unit detective Gary Jenkins sits down with author Aaron Mead to discuss his gripping novel Body in the Barrel, a story inspired by a real-life discovery in Lake Mead that shocked the nation. In 2022, as water levels at Lake Mead dropped to historic lows, authorities discovered a body in a barrel with a gunshot wound to the head—a killing style that many investigators immediately linked to organized crime. The discovery triggered speculation that the remains could date back to the 1970s or 1980s, the heyday of mob activity in Las Vegas. Aaron Mead explains how this discovery sparked the idea for his novel. Although Mead is a longtime water engineer for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the mystery of the barrel victim and the history of mob activity in Las Vegas inspired him to craft a fictional story grounded in real events. Gary and Aaron dive deep into the Chicago Outfit's influence in Las Vegas, discussing figures like Tony Spilotro and hitman Frank Cullotta, whose violent methods and stories helped shape the mythology of organized crime in the desert. They also explore the long-standing mob practice of disposing of bodies in barrels, including the infamous case of mobster Johnny Roselli, whose body was also discovered stuffed in a drum. The conversation examines several possible identities of the Lake Mead victim, including casino insiders and Outfit associates who disappeared during the era of casino skimming. Mead's novel follows a fictional mob associate named Lenny Battaglia, who becomes terrified when news breaks about the barrel discovery. The reason? He knows there's another barrel—with his victim—still resting somewhere in Lake Mead. The discussion moves beyond mob history into the psychological consequences of violence, comparing Mead's story to classic works like Crime and Punishment. Rather than focusing on a traditional “whodunit,” the novel explores what happens after the crime, examining guilt, fear, and the moral weight carried by those who commit violence. Gary and Aaron also discuss the broader context of violence in American culture, including parallels between organized crime murders and modern tragedies such as the 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting. Finally, the conversation shifts to Mead's professional expertise in Western water law and the Colorado River, explaining how drought and declining water levels at Lake Mead are literally revealing pieces of hidden history—sometimes including crimes buried for decades. This episode blends mob history, real crime mysteries, and fiction inspired by true events, offering listeners a fascinating look at how the past can resurface in unexpected ways. Click here to find Body in a Barrel Hit me up on Venmo for a cup of coffee or a shot and a beer @ganglandwire Click here to “buy me a cup of coffee” Subscribe to the website for weekly notifications about updates and other Mob information. To go to the store or make a donation or rent Ballot Theft: Burglary, Murder, Coverup, click here To rent ‘Brothers against Brothers’ or ‘Gangland Wire,’ the documentaries click here.  To purchase one of my books, click here. [0:02]Introduction to Gangland Wire [0:00]Hey, all you wiretappers, good to be back here in studio of Gangland Wire. This is Gary Jenkins. You know, I’m a retired Kansas City Police Intelligence Unit detective. Now I have a podcast and I interview real crime mobsters, policemen, FBI agents, do authors that are doing true crime books. And I do authors that are doing novels that are based on true crime. Because we stick with true crime as close as we can here, guys. You know that. And today I have one of those authors that has written a book that is a novel, but it’s based on a lot of real events in Las Vegas. And we all know a little bit about Las Vegas and the Mafia. So Aaron Mead, welcome, Aaron. Thank you. It’s a pleasure to be here. It’s great to have you on the show. Tell us a little bit about yourself, a little bit about your history. [0:47]Sure. Yeah, I’m actually I’ve been working as an engineer, a water engineer for 30 some odd years. And so I come by my writing habit as a sort of a side interest. I, I, yeah, I just, I got a very, I’ve got a varied educational background too. So I started out as a, as an engineer in my training and then just had a creative itch and went back to school, ended up doing a PhD in philosophy of all things. And while I was doing that, I, I thought I might be an academic. I thought I might be a professor at one time and through the job search, things didn’t really work out. I did find a job, but it just wasn’t going to pay well enough, consider moving my family across the country for it. So I ended up not going into academia, but I stuck with writing, which was my favorite part of the PhD, the dissertation. [1:31]And I just started writing different things, some nonfiction stuff related to my dissertation research, but then just got an idea for a story, wrote a novel. It’s still sitting in the drawer. I’m interested in publishing that someday. But this idea for the book related to kind of Las Vegas mob stuff actually came connected with my work as a water engineer. So I work for Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. We import water to Southern California from the Colorado River. And so I track the Colorado River news pretty closely. And in 2022, the lake was dropping because of drought and overuse. And this body in a barrel showed up on the shore of Lake Mead. And there was a gunshot wound to the head. And this looked an awful lot like a mob hit to the authorities. And so this just piqued my interest and got me thinking about how did this barrel get there and this body and what’s the story behind it. And I started doing a little research and it turns out that the clothing on the body was pretty well preserved. [2:29]So the police dated it to the late 70s, early 80s potentially. And that’s of course the heyday of the mob activities in Las Vegas. It got me onto the Chicago outfit and, Some of the characters involved in the outfits activity in Vegas there. And so my story just went from there. But, yeah, I guess that’s a little about me and the story. So, yeah. Yeah. Those are the days when Tony Spolatro was really active out there. Chicago outfit man on the scene, if you will. And Body in a Barrel, another interesting Chicago link is they found a guy named Johnny Roselli, who was a highly placed mob guy who was connected to Las Vegas and Los Angeles. He had been their guy before Spalatro. He had been their representative out in the West, and they found his body in a barrel down in Florida. Wow, okay. There’s some reference there. [3:21]I’d read a little that this is a pretty popular method of body disposal in various times. And Tony Spalatro was, I understand that they haven’t actually identified the victim yet, but the kind of style of killing they think is pretty connected with something Tony Spalatro might do. I guess the sort of low caliber gunshot wound was a popular way to dispose of it, to whack people just because it was a little less messy than a high caliber weapon. Yeah, this is one they call it a lupara blanca, which means white shotgun in Italian. And that means that you never find the body. In this case, they found the body. Every once in a while, they’ll find the body. Not very often, though. Usually they hide them pretty good. Now, who’d ever thought that Lake Mead would drop that much? Yeah, they dropped it at 100 feet of water, and I don’t think anybody expected it to drop that low. And it could go even lower in the next couple of years here, honestly. Really? Oh, really? It’s still dropping. I thought there’d been some more rain and some snow up in the mountains that were going to add to that. It’s going to be still dropping, huh? Yeah, there has been a fair bit of precipitation this year, but in the areas that count most, where you get most of the runoff, which is up in the mountains of Colorado and Utah, it’s really quite dry, actually. They’ve had some rain, but not much snow, and so they’re talking about a snow drought. Yeah, things could. It just depends. We’ll see how things develop, but it could get bad. Yeah, talk about that gun now. Chicago was noted. [4:40]For using these 22 caliber high standard i think they’re browning semi-automatic pistols with a silencer on it and they had them out there i believe and they also another interesting thing about the outfit in order to keep the sound down they would load their own shells and so they were had less powder in them and sometimes the shells didn’t do the job that they wanted to do now frank Kulata, who was in Las Vegas working for Tony Splattro during these years, he tells a story about trying to kill a guy with one of those guns and how he had such a hard time getting him killed. So I don’t know how many holes were in this guy’s head, but you got to get somebody just right in the head with that .22 caliber pistol. Yeah, they say it had to be pretty close range. You’re talking about the Jerry Listener murder, I think. Is that right? Yeah. I read about that one. That’s actually the kind of the murder in question in my book is based on that loosely. And so yeah, Kolata advises my main character, Lenny, to load his gun with half loads because they’ve lost their silencer or something. So that’ll keep the sound down. But yeah, I guess Lister ended up with multiple bullets to the head. And when they found them, more than you’d imagine would be necessary. [5:55]Really? There’s a guy that worked for the Stardust named Jay VanderWalk that disappeared at the time. It disappeared for a long time. Did you look at that one, too, as some of your source material? Yeah. So there’s this great article that’s been turned into a podcast on the Mob Museum website. I don’t know if you’re familiar with that in Las Vegas there. And they suggest there might be three potential victims. [6:21]VanderMark is one of the—is that the guy you mentioned, George VanderMark? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, they call him by Jay. That’s right. Yeah. So, yeah, he is one of the, he’s a missing person, right? From that era, had connections with the Argent company. So they think he, that’s one of the possibilities. He was running the skimming operation, at least in some of the casinos there for Argent. And I guess the, as the gaming control board in Nevada found out about the skimming operation, gradually, they were starting to talk to people. And I think that they were worried that he was going to talk or actually this is, I think the, the outfit suspected he was stealing money from him. I think it was a combination. Stealing money is worse than talking. Right, yeah. So I guess he took off to Mexico, maybe, I read, or Costa Rica even. But I think… He came back. I can’t remember the exact story, but yeah. Yeah. So from what I read, Nick Calabrese, who I guess was a hitman for the outfit, and then turned eventually and started talking to the feds. He suggested that, I guess, Vandermark ended up in a hotel in Phoenix or something, and the outfit sent a couple of hitmen after him and whacked him there. And then Calabrese said they buried his body in the desert. So that means, you know, if that’s true, then obviously it’s not the guy in the barrel, but he’s one of the ones they talk about because they never found his body. Yeah. And I guess the other one I read about was William Crespo. [7:40]I don’t know that story. Yeah. So the little I know of it is he was a drug runner [7:48]Stories of the Las Vegas Mob [7:45]involved with the outfit in Las Vegas. And he got caught kind of landing in the Las Vegas airport coming from Miami with $400,000 worth of cocaine on him. And the feds arrested him. He accepted an offer of immunity to become an informant. And he was set to testify about this drug ring that the outfit was part of. And he actually ended up testifying before a grand jury, got a bunch of folks indicted. I guess one of the names of folks who was indicted was Victor Greger, according to this article. He was a former Argent executive. But then when Crespo himself went to testify, he was set to testify in June 83. And they got to him before then and he never testified. So, he’s another kind of missing person they suspect could be in the barrel. But the article thought the most likely candidate was a guy named Johnny Pappas. I don’t know if you know him at all. Yeah, I don’t know the story of that. Okay. So, this is a Chicago native guy who was involved in some of the Argent Corporation casino work. And he was, I guess by the 70s, late 70s, he was managing this resort on the northern part of Lake Mead called Echo Bay Resort, which was an Argent Corporation Resort. [9:00]And it’s closed now. It’s not there anymore. It used to be like a hotel and a boat launch. And so he was at the lake at different times. He also owned a boat on Lake Mead. And so in 1976, the day he disappeared, his wife told authorities basically that he went to meet this guy at a restaurant who was interested in buying his boat at Lake Mead. And so they think it could have been a ruse set up by outfit folks luring him basically down to the lake to show him his boat. And then they knock him off and take him out on his own dang boat and drop him in the lake. The motive is a little less clear in this case, but it was around that time when stuff was coming out about the Argent Corporation and the skimming. And they could have just thought he was a liability, might be set to talk or something. Yeah, those are the three that I read about anyway. He just disappeared after this meeting to go sell his boat. Yeah, they found that theory makes sense. They found his car parked in the circus casino parking lot on the strip the next day. And yeah, he’s just gone, disappeared. [10:01]I’ll be darned. I hadn’t heard that story. That is a pretty likely scenario. Say, hey, I’ll drive and let’s run down there and let’s see that boat. I got the money right here. You show the guy a bunch of money and he’ll drop all caution. It’ll go to the wind. That’s how they do it. and got him isolated then. [10:18]Yeah. And maybe it’s a last minute deal. So nobody really knows who he’s meeting and where he’s going and that he’s even going. So that’s, that’s a classic in the mob. Yeah. Apparently he told his wife he was going to go sell his boat, but that’s about it. Yeah. I’ll be darned. Yeah. The, as Lake Mead’s gone down, has there been any other bodies or any other things that have been found out there recently? Yeah, there’s been some strange things turned up. One is a sort of a World War II era airplane, honestly, started coming out of the water. But that was known about for some time. You could see it, I guess, from aerial photos. But other bodies, yeah, there’s a few other bodies, just skeletons, nothing in barrels and no gunshot wounds. And so, people just, I think authorities have identified most of those and suspect they were just drowning victims, unfortunate boating accidents and whatnot. But nothing like this body in a barrel. I think they’ve been trying to identify that body. There’s lots of DNA evidence, right? You got still a pretty intact body. But the problem is back in that era, I guess they didn’t have the DNA database to be matching with. Yeah. So, it’s not borne a lot of fruit. I think it’s still an open case, honestly. Really? The chance they have is if one of that guy’s descendants goes to something like 23andMe and then does that. And I know they’ve come up with a deal where they can start running an unknown DNA through those… [11:44]Files and see if you can come up with a connection and then go back and say, okay, where would this guy have ever come across or be in this other person’s family tree, if you will, and then they can eventually get it. That’s fascinating. Amazing. Yeah, it is what they could do. I had a guy that used to be a professional criminal talking about it. He said, I don’t know why anybody does crime today. He said with the DNA and the cameras and the cell phones and all that, he said, there’s just way, way too many ways to get caught. That’s wild. Yeah. Oh boy. Yeah. I watch a lot of crime shows and I see a lot of that stuff. And everybody watches those crime shows. So they know about those tools out there. So first thing, you got to go get a burner phone. If you’re going to go do something, you better go get a burner phone. And then you better dress up in one of those suits in those English police movies, those white hazmat suits and your whole face covered. Crazy, crazy. Yeah. And then go do it. Don’t use your own car. You better go steal a car somewhere. Man, complicated. It’s too hard. Yes. And even then, if they look at you and say, your phone never moved for 24 hours, but yet you were seen over here or over there. How come you didn’t have your phone with you or your car? You parked your car here for 12 hours and then you came back and got it. What were you doing? [13:08]It is just crazy, isn’t it? Yeah. But tell us, what’s the storyline of your book? Don’t give too much away. You want people to buy it. I understand that. But tell the guys the storyline of your book. Sure, yeah. So the storyline is, it starts out with the true events of 2022, right? This headline that there’s a body in a barrel shows up on the shore of Lake Mead. And my main protagonist, who’s sort of made up from my imagination, his name’s Lenny Battaglia. [13:37]The Body in the Barrel [13:33]And he reads this headline. He’s an old time mob associate. He, at one time when he was young, was connected with the outfit, but ended up getting out of it barely. But he reads this headline and starts to get worried because he’s got a barrel with a body in it that’s his victim farther out in the lake. So this one that he reads about is not his. It’s actually his partners who, in my story, the partners loosely based on Frank Collada, actually. [14:01]And so he reads this headline, gets worried, goes out in his little boat to try to move his victim farther out into the lake because he’s concerned that his lake, the lake’s continuing to drop and the kind of the falling lakes acts like a ticking clock in my story in some ways. I think the Sopranos did something like this. They thought somebody was going to come up and buy some farm, and they had said, these guys have to dig this body up and move it. So that is not out of the realm of possibility, is it? No, no. But what is out of the realm of possibility is this old guy in his tiny little boat actually moving the barrel. So he goes out with just a gaff with a hook on it and tries to yank it out with his little outboard motor, and it just won’t budge. The thing’s really heavy. If you know anything about water, stuff under water is really heavy. Really heavy. Yeah. He’s wrestling with it and ends up falling in while he’s trying to pull this barrel farther out. And so it’s a big failure. And while he’s falling in, he has this flashback to the killing, basically. And so the story kind of goes from there, but it’s really focused on how he deals with what he’s done, basically. [15:10]Crime is no mystery from the beginning. it’s not a it’s not a traditional it’s not a traditional police procedural of where who done it yeah it’s not like that it’s more like kind of what is what’s the aftermath what’s the effect of, a terrible crime like this on even the perpetrator yeah yeah and as I said one of my characters is based on Frank Collada who so he was the story takes place in kind of two time frames right we’ve got the, contemporary time frame, but then we got flashbacks to his time at the mob and Frank was his partner in this hit. We’ve also got a character showing up who’s based on Tony Spolatro. I call him Tony Bonucci, named after one of my favorite Italian soccer players. [15:50]But yeah, so we’ve got this connection to the early 80s, late 70s, and then also this kind of contemporary period. And I understand Frank Collado was actually, he recently just died, right he was he did during covid times i think he he already had copd he was already everything he did he you’d see me to have his oxygen on and so he was already weakened then he got covid during uh during covid that’s a shame you know yeah i did some listening to a podcast he was on in researching my book and it was really fascinating to listen to yeah yeah he is he’s and he’s got his there’s a whole book out there that he mainly just told stories about his life during the whole book. It’s amazing. I did one with him and then added some more clips in from that a long time. One of my earlier ones, I got to know him real early because we had the mob con out there. I knew the guy that was getting it going and I went out to the guy that actually Denny Griffin who wrote the books with Frank Collider, wrote several books with Frank Collider and I’d gotten to know Denny and so Denny invited me to come out and do a program at the first mob conference and I met Frank then. I met him and a couple others after that. He was gruff, but he was a good guy. I mean, he was gruff, I’ll tell you. He wasn’t a guy that just, it was hard to joke around with him. Interesting. Okay, interesting. [17:12]Yeah, I got a bit of that vibe from the podcast of him that I was listening to. Yeah, it’s funny. Just genuine Italian Chicago, like to the core. Yeah, he was that. He was born and bred, born and bred from early his childhood. He was a Chicago mobster. There’s no doubt about that. That’s wild. [17:32]Yeah, Denny Griffin’s book was really helpful to me, actually, in my research. Yeah, the battle for Las Vegas in particular was. Yeah, that’s the one I used. Denny was that. Denny’s dead now. I don’t know if you knew that. I did know that, unfortunately. Yeah, I was pretty good friends with Denny. He helped me out a lot when I got started and got me out there. And he gave me for my first documentary, which was about the skimming, a lot about the skimming. He got me several people to interview, lined me up with them and verified, hey, this guy’s okay and work with him. And I flew out to Las Vegas and interviewed a bunch of people and interviewed him too. But he got me an employee of the Best Casino that knew Lefty Rosenthal really well. She gave us some really great sound bites. I get calls today or emails wanting to know if she’s still around. She’s died since. People are still trying to find her to get to interview her. That’s wild. That’s wild. That’s because old Denny Griffin, he was a good guy. He really was. That’s neat. His book was certainly good. Yeah. Interesting. So what else do you want to say about your book before we get out of here? Besides, go out and buy it. Go out and buy it. It’s on Amazon, I’m sure, and I’ll have a link to the Amazon site. I appreciate that. Yeah, it is on Amazon. What do I want to say about it? I guess the other thing to say is it’s got some, I don’t want to give too much away, but gun violence is really a big part of the book. Not only this single mob hit, but also it wraps in. [18:56]This mass shooting in 2017, the one where the guy was a shooter was in the hotel suites up high and he was shooting across the street into that country music festival. So it’s really funny. I compare it to two things, right? I compare it to Casino, which is this famous Scorsese film from that mobster era, which everybody knows about. And actually, Frank Collado was in. He had a cameo in that. Yeah, that’s funny. But then the other thing I compare the book to is Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, which is obviously this sort of towering literary novel. But the parallel is just dealing with this aftermath of violence, right? What happens when you kill somebody and what’s the sort of dealing with guilt and fear and the consequences. [19:44]Exploring Themes of Violence [19:40]So I’d say those are the sort of things I point to as parallels for the book. I don’t know. There’s a lot more to say. Like you’ve said, it’s grounded in true life crime, but it’s also definitely fiction. I’ve made up the better part of it. Yeah. [19:54]All right. Aaron Mead. The book is Body in the Barrel. Aaron, I really appreciate you coming on the show. And guys, I’ll have links to this book down below. Yeah, thank you so much for having me. It’s been a pleasure meeting you and hearing some of your stories. And I’m enjoying your podcast. And it’s been a privilege to be on here. So thank you. Okay. We like to hear that. Thanks a lot, Aaron. [20:17]Yeah, thank you. Okay. Okay. I’ll do a little extra here in a minute. I just want to tell you something. When I went to law school at the police department and my favorite class was water law and I did my, you have to do a 50 page publishable paper to get out of law school. I did mine on Western water law and it was just, I was fascinated by that Western water law and all the things that go into that, the Rio Grande Pact and all the different political entities that are trying to use that water and how they use it. And then how the EPA rules and figured in on using water out West. And the fact that out West, they treated water like they treated gold or some other mineral. If you found the source, you owned it. Whereas they had riparian interest in [21:06]The Complexities of Water Law [21:03]laws back East here, where you have plenty of water. You can use all the water you want as long as you don’t reduce it. But nobody owns that source of water. [21:12]If it’s a big source, it’s just a fascinating topic. Yeah, it is a bit of the Wild West, like applies to water out West. It’s that first in time, first in right thing. It’s pretty crazy. The Colorado River especially is so complicated. You got seven, seven states take water from it. You got the federal government running the dams there. You’ve got Mexico that takes a portion of it. You’ve got this whole hundred year history of law layered on top of each other. And even today, the rules on how the water gets distributed are about to expire in this year. And so we’re trying to come up with new rules. And it’s just so tough because… [21:49]There’s less water in the river than there used to be, and so the old agreements don’t quite work out, and we’re having to take reductions, and, you know, who takes what? It’s just sort of a big mess, honestly. We’re fighting over it. I wouldn’t be surprised if we end up in court, honestly. But that would be not a good outcome, but it seems potentially likely. Yeah. There’s a judge I heard say once that, you better make a deal outside of my courtroom. If you come into my courtroom, my decision is not going to hurt everybody’s feelings with my decision. Yeah. And inevitably, like the folks, the special masters or whatever the justices are that are making the decisions, they don’t know as much about water as we do. If we can’t work it out, it’s going to happen. I know. And there are just so many pressures that are on it. And it’s tough. And plus, one thing we haven’t mentioned is a huge growth in population over the last 20, 30 years out there. It’s true. Yeah, it’s true. Yes, unbelievable how many people have moved to Phoenix and Albuquerque and Las Vegas, especially Las Vegas, but just being such a huge growth in population out. And before it was desert that nobody really, they didn’t live, they didn’t want to live out there. [22:55]It’s true. Yeah. And surprisingly, like in a lot of these cities, actually, the demand for water has not increased. Like in Las Vegas, it’s actually gone down. Oh, really? They have done an incredible job of conserving water. Same in Los Angeles. The demands for water have gone down despite the population growth. The thing that makes it challenging is that the whole pie is shrinking and it’s the agricultural use that’s the highest. I think it’s something like 85% or 80% of the water in the Colorado Basin is agriculture. And so, those are the things you’re going to need to find conservation there, which is harder. [23:30]Like those Israelis did, it was something called drip irrigation where they used, they were more skillful in the way they used their water in their fields down in the desert. Yeah, and some of the folks that’s been, some of the agricultural folks have been converting to that kind of irrigation for quite some time now. So, it’s like we’re wringing out every sponge we got and running out of options. But, yeah, we’ll figure it out one way or the other here. Yeah, I’m sure we will. This is America, after all. [23:59]Or is it still America? It’s hard to know. Yeah, it’s hard to know. We’re going down that path. Looking a little different these days. Yes, it is. Yeah. Oh, my God. Okay, Aaron, I really appreciate it. I’ll get in touch with you whenever I send an email with the links after I put them up. It’ll be, I don’t know. It’ll probably be a month or more before I get it up. Sure. I stay way ahead. I’ve got quite a few kind of scheduled up for the next two weeks now or three. Smart. Two weeks now, one just went up today. So I put it up, video, I put them up on Sunday evening, and then the audio comes out like 4 o’clock in the morning on Monday morning. Okay. Don’t ask me why. I just started doing that. Yeah. No worries. It gets ahead of everybody. Then they can see it. Hey, I’ve got a question for you, if you don’t, if you don’t mind. No. Do you know about any contemporary organized crime activity in Las Vegas? Is there still stuff going on or is it? I don’t. I really don’t. Yeah. Okay. [24:59]Trying to think of a source for you. I’ll check with a source for you. Okay. I know it’s not Midwest folks from your era, but yeah. Yeah, no, probably something up there out at Los Angeles and people that moved out there a generation ago and stayed under the radar. And then, of course, international. Yeah. Those like Russians and people like that out of Phoenix or in Los Angeles, both. Anyhow, I’ll check on that. Okay. Yeah. If you think of something, that’d be great. I’d be interested. Okay. Okay. I will. All right. Thank you. Thank you again. Take care. All right. Bye-bye. Can you go ahead and do, can you exit the meeting? I’m going to do a little ending thing here. I will. Yeah. [25:40]That was interesting, folks. I did Waterlaw in, well, that was interesting, folks. I really liked Aaron and I think his Body in the Barrel book is going to be pretty darn good. [25:53]Concluding Thoughts on Crime and History [25:50]So I’d recommend you try it. I haven’t actually read it myself. I’ve read excerpts from it. I’ve got it here. I need to sit down and take some time and read it. I like when they base it on the real life people and some people that I know something about. It’s kind of like hearing stories about your hometown. Oh, yeah, I know that guy. Oh, yeah, I remember when that happened. And it’s an interesting thing, the lowering of Lake Mead. He and I, he’s a water engineer, and he and I talked a little bit more about it. I find it a fascinating topic, that Western water law and Western water rights and how that all works. It’s different than back east where we have plenty of water. So don’t forget, I’ve got videos on Amazon Prime for rent. Just use my name and mafia, Gary Jenkins Mafia on Amazon Prime, and you’ll find them. And I’ve got books there. Do the same thing. Gary Jenkins Mafia books. I’ve got three books on Amazon and I’ve got them on my website. And I always appreciate when people make comments on my YouTube channel or on my Gangland Wire podcast page. We’re just here to report mob history. That’s all we want to do is report mob history. And in this case, we got a fictional book that’s reporting mob history based on real mob history. I’ll do that every once in a while, too. [27:07]So thanks a lot, guys. I always appreciate doing this show. It’s a way to end my life out, if you will. I’m down to that last quarter, maybe down to the last two minutes one of these days, but we’ll get there. Thanks a lot, guys.