Podcasts about Drinking

Some psychological and addiction experts say that making and sticking to resolutions can do wonders for your health. And just because it's not the New Year right now, that doesn't mean you can't start a resolution right away. After all, there's no time like the present, right? Let's face it though, sticking to a resolution can be tough, especially when it comes to giving up something you're used to doing, eating or drinking on a regular basis. Like alcohol for example. If you're looking to cut back on alcohol but can't see yourself managing to go without, we've got an approach from Tiktok to tell you about today, which may just help you in your quest: it's called the one-week method. How does it work? What are the benefits? Should I be looking to give up alcohol completely after a while? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to the last episodes, you can click here: ⁠⁠What are the health impacts of taking public transport?⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Does true crime help us fall asleep?⁠⁠ ⁠⁠What is goblin mode?⁠⁠ A podcast written and realised by Joseph Chance. First Broadcast: 18/5/2024 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Dr. Jockers breaks down the number one benefit of drinking apple cider vinegar before bed and why timing matters more than most people realize. You'll learn how this simple habit supports fat burning and gut health while you sleep.   In this episode, you'll discover how acetic acid strengthens intestinal mitochondria, helping your body clear out damaged cells and replace them with more efficient, fat-burning ones. These behind-the-scenes changes play a major role in reducing inflammation overnight.   In this episode, you'll explore how improved gut function at night leads to deeper sleep, better blood sugar balance, and a more resilient intestinal lining. These shifts can leave you waking up more refreshed, clear-headed, and energized.     In This Episode:  00:00 Introduction to Apple Cider Vinegar Benefits 02:05 Exploring Blood Sugar and Insulin Resistance 04:15 Apple Cider Vinegar Before Bedtime 04:51 The Science Behind Apple Cider Vinegar 06:53 Vagus Nerve and Sleep Benefits 10:05 Healing Intestinal Lining with Apple Cider Vinegar 14:07 Practical Tips for Using Apple Cider Vinegar 15:18 Conclusion and Call to Action     Ready to supercharge your metabolic health? BiOptimizers Berberine is a powerful, natural compound known for regulating blood sugar, supporting healthy cholesterol levels, improving liver function, and boosting metabolic balance. It's backed by research showing benefits for insulin sensitivity, lipid profiles, and reducing inflammation.   Order Berberine Breakthrough today at bioptimizers.com/jockers and save 10% with the code JOCKERS!   If you're serious about reducing your toxic load, I highly recommend upgrading to the P600 ceramic cookware. It's 100% free from Teflon, PFAS, and plastic coatings, ensuring a non-toxic cooking experience. Right now, you can get it for 50% off, plus an extra 20% off with the code SAFE20 at checkout! Don't miss this limited-time offer—head to chefsfoundry.com/jockers to claim your discount today!     "The #1 benefit of apple cider vinegar before bed is strengthening intestinal cell mitochondria so your gut becomes more resilient and less inflamed."  ~ Dr. Jockers     Subscribe to the podcast on: Apple Podcast Stitcher Spotify PodBean TuneIn Radio     Resources: Use code JOCKERS at bioptimizers.com/jockers to save 10% Use code Safe20 at chefsfoundry.com/jockers     Connect with Dr. Jockers: Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/drjockers/ Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/DrDavidJockers YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/user/djockers Website – https://drjockers.com/ If you are interested in being a guest on the show, we would love to hear from you! Please contact us here! - https://drjockers.com/join-us-dr-jockers-functional-nutrition-podcast/ 

We hope your Christmas was good and you're loading up your cooler with freshies for NYE! Short week, expect some things like: The best Lagers in Craft Beer right now. Rage barking. A variety of Roller Beers. What is your NYE Beer? Why did Brut IPAs die so hard? Are Hockey Beers the wildest sports beers? You even f' with new hops? And more! download Thanks for listening! HOSTED BY: Nick, Rad Stacey, Mikey MUSIC BY: Sunburns and Paul From Fairfax. BEER AND SHOW-RELATED LINKS: SUPPORT THE SHOW AND BECOME A GOLDEN GOD! Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts. You can also find us on Spotify and most podcast players. Perfect Pour's YouTube Channel. VOICEMAIL/TEXT LINE: 559-492-0542 Drop Us a Line: Email Perfect Pour. Join our free Lager Line Discord channel! Send Postcards or Samples to us: The Perfect Pour – co Mike Seay 2037 W. Bullard Ave #153 Fresno, CA 93711 Mikey's newsletter: Drinking & Thinking. Check this!: Mikey's Dorky Amazon Storefront.  

Maedhbh Firmino on Xmas Drinking by Clare FM

In this special holiday revisited episode of Think Thursday, Molly explores why mental rest is essential for brain health, especially coming out of a season of overstimulation. She explains how modern life is designed to hijack our attention, keeping us in constant reaction mode and depriving the brain of the downtime it needs to function well.Molly breaks down what happens neurologically when the brain is exposed to nonstop input, including cognitive fatigue, reduced creativity, increased stress, and weaker memory consolidation. She revisits the role of the default mode network and explains why creativity and quiet, not constant consumption, are key to restoring mental clarity and emotional regulation.The episode closes with practical, science backed strategies for reclaiming mental rest and intentionally creating space for the brain to recover and thrive.What You'll LearnThe difference between mental rest and sleep or meditationWhy the brain is not designed for constant stimulationHow nonstop input leads to cognitive fatigue and decision fatigueThe role of the default mode network in creativity and problem solvingWhy overstimulation increases stress, anxiety, and emotional reactivityHow modern technology has removed natural stopping points for the brainWhy attention is the product in today's digital economyKey Concepts ExplainedCognitive fatigue from continuous information processingDefault mode network and its role in reflection and creativitySympathetic nervous system activation from constant stimulationMemory consolidation requiring downtime and restAttention as a limited resource that must be protected intentionallyPractical Strategies Shared in the EpisodeSchedule at least 30 minutes of tech free time each dayEmbrace boredom and allow moments of silence without distractionCreate a no phone zone in one part of your day, such as meals or bedtimeReplace scrolling with hands on, real world creativityPrioritize presence over constant consumptionReal World Creativity Ideas MentionedPlaying music or learning an instrumentDrawing, painting, or doodlingWriting by hand through journaling or copying quotesGardening, crafting, sculpting, or woodworkingCreative movement such as dancing, stretching, or mindful walkingWhy Mental Rest MattersMental rest is not wasted time. It allows the brain to process information, regulate emotions, consolidate memory, and restore cognitive energy. Without intentional breaks, the brain stays in reaction mode, making it harder to focus, create, and feel calm.Listener InvitationFor the next 24 hours, find one way to engage in real world creativity with no screens involved. Notice how your brain and body feel afterward, and share your experience by emailing Molly or connecting in The Alcohol Minimalist community. ★ Support this podcast ★

Männerabend Special – Winter Weihnachts Walk 2025! Dennis, Reinhold und BlockBräu Braumeister Thomas Hundt haben sich das Mikrofon und ein paar Bierchen (und Schnaps) geschnappt und wandern durch Hamburg. Unser Start: Der BlockBräu-Zwickelkeller von unseren sehr guten Freunden Thomas & Anna. Unser Ziel: Der Hamburger Weihnachtsmarkt am Rathaus und zum Absch(l)uss die Augustiner Stubn von Susanne! […]

Ever gotten a scarlet, hot face after drinking alcohol or know someone who has? Many people felt it as they celebrate the holidays with loved ones, sipping mulled wine, cocktails or champagne. That's because this condition, commonly called "Asian flush" or "Asian glow," affects an estimated half a billion people, who can't break down aldehyde toxins that build up in their bodies. But what if there's a benefit to having Asian glow? Katie Wu, a staff writer for The Atlantic, has looked into the research as to why the condition might have been a powerful tool for some of our ancestors to survive disease. (encore episode)Questions about other potential tradeoffs for our genetics? Email us at shortwave@npr.org. We've love to hear from you and we might cover it in a future episode!Read Katie's article to learn more.Questions about other potential tradeoffs for our genetics? Email us at shortwave@npr.org. We've love to hear from you and we might cover it in a future episode!Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.This episode was produced by Rebecca Ramirez, edited by Berly McCoy and fact-checked by Brit Hanson. Gilly Moon was the audio engineer.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Fresh off a firing from Ol' Gomez, FORMER GaS Producer Mike Harrington joins Chris & Chris to recap the eventful day of his demise. The boys also get into Harringtons schemes for money in his funemployment, how the NFL season is shaping up for their guys, some sus news reporting on recent tragedies, how the Mormons are taking over the entertainment industry, and the end of consumer goods as we know them.DON'T FORGET TO WATCH FAGA'S NEW SPECIAL "BURN AFTER SAYING" ON THE HSR YOUTUBE PAGE!⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxIHJU2LotU⁠⁠Support Our Sponsors!Body Brain Coffee: https://bodybraincoffee.com/ - Grab A Bag of Body Brain Coffee with Promo Code HSR20 to get 20% off!YoKratom: https://yokratom.com/Chris Stanley is the on air producer for Bennington on Sirius XM.Chris Faga is a lifelong street urchin, a former head chef, county comitteman and supposed comedian. Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChrisFromBklynInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/chrisfrombklynEngineer: DomExecutive Producer: JorgeInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/themharrington/Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheMHarringtonSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this episode:- Jordan's back- Worst towns in North Dakota - Albuquerque- Best Christmas Gifts- Going Back in Time- How Much Milk is Too Much Milk- Going to the Eye DoctorFollow No Brains No Headache on social media and make sure to follow, rate, and review wherever you get your podcasts. Apple Podcasts. Subscribe + rate + review.Spotify. Follow along.iHeartRadio. Or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.New episode every Tuesday!Twitter. https://twitter.com/nbnhpodcastInstagram. https://www.instagram.com/nobrains_noheadache/Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/nbnhpodcastYouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbXoHzYhhDigOaNXVYdK3gTik Tok. @NBNHPodcast

Amanda and Anita are taking a little holiday break. A chance to recharge, overindulge in tea, and maybe plan a few more of their famous walks. But we didn’t want to leave you high and dry without your dose of chatter, so we’ve lined up some of our favorite episodes to keep you company over the holidays. Sober-ish: The New Trend in Drinking The holiday season is upon us, and with it, a new trend: the rise of being sober-ish. In this episode, Amanda and Anita discuss drinking habits, the effects of alcohol on health, and the changing patterns of alcohol use among younger generations. Facebook Instagram The Double A Chattery podcast is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute professional health care services, including the giving of medical advice. No doctor/patient relationship is formed and this podcast is no substitute for professional psychological or other medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. The use of information in this podcast is at the listener’s own risk. Listeners should seek the help of their health care professionals for any medical conditions.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Have you ever felt like you're the only one who can't get a handle on your drinking? Like all the success and determination you have in other areas of your life just disappears when it comes to alcohol?   For years, I carried so much shame about my drinking. I'd go to therapy and talk about everything else in my life, but never broach this topic. When I searched for answers online, everything pointed to the idea that some people are powerless over alcohol. That's why I'm excited to share something new with you on this episode.   Tune in this week to hear how you can submit your drinking questions directly to me, starting right now. Whether you're worried about cravings, excuses, other people's opinions, or feeling like it's too late to change, I'm here to help you see there's an answer that doesn't make YOU the problem.   Find a personalized approach that helps you change your habit in my new book, The Ultimate Guide to Drinking Less, here: https://rachelhart.com/guide/   Discover alternative approaches to drinking less inside our membership program, Take a Break: https://rachelhart.com/tab/   Get the full show notes, transcript, and more information here: https://rachelhart.com/448

Check out Shanes New Book, Sober Guy How Do I - https://a.co/d/81ZIgtE Join “The Victory Circle”, our FREE Sober Guy Mens Community at https://www.thatsoberguy.com/offers/SvjjuEQ2/checkout AMPLIFY Sober Voices Event - https://amplify.soberliferocks.com/ Tired of Drinking? Try Our 30 Day Quit Drinking Dude Challenge! - https://www.thatsoberguy.com/quit-drinking-alcohol-for-30-days Work with Shane 1 on 1 Coaching - https://www.thatsoberguy.com/coaching Invite Shane to Speak - https://www.thatsoberguy.com/speaking For More Resources go to http://www.ThatSoberGuy.com Follow us on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/shane-ramer-7534bb257/ Follow us on Instagram @ThatSoberGuyPodcast Follow us on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/thatsoberguypodcast  Follow us on X @ThatSoberGuyPod Music - Going Late courtesy of Humans & Haven Sounds Inc. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline - 1-800-273-TALK (8255) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Chester and Rick Duff share a special friendship, one that was once fuelled by drinking and addiction. They both joined me in the studio to share the full story of the different places addiction took them to and how they have been able to break the cycle. For Chester is was more daily drinking, which triggered a true hatred towards himself and Rick Duff was more of the weekend warrior but sobriety has changed things completely. We go over many "Rock Bottoms" and failed attempts at sobriety to Chester reaching 9 months sober on the date this episode goes live.  ---------- Chester on IG: https://www.instagram.com/chester_alarie/ Rick Duff on IG: https://www.instagram.com/rickduffmusic/  

If you've been stuck in a job that's slowly draining you—and using wine to cope with the Sunday scaries—this episode is your permission slip to start thinking about what's next. Career coach Michelle Schafer has been through two major career reinventions herself, and she's spent the last decade helping people figure out what they actually want and build a plan to get there. But here's what makes this conversation different: we get into the real stuff. The limiting beliefs that keep you playing small. The shame that makes you hide your job loss from your own family. And the tactical, right-now advice on how to use AI to actually get hired—without getting screened out by the same technology. This episode is for you if: You're languishing in a job that's draining you but feel too stuck to move You've been numbing the career dissatisfaction with wine and wondering if there's another way You're curious about using AI in your job search but don't know where to start You've been applying to jobs and hearing nothing back You need a kick in the ass to stop overthinking and start taking action Connect with Michelle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelleschafercoaching/  Free offer #1: A free chapter from Michelle's book - sign up here: https://mschafercoaching.ca/cultivatingcareergrowth/  Free offer #2: Download the reflection tool Career Focus Framework here: https://mschafercoaching.ca/gain-clarity-and-confidence-in-your-job-search/  If you are ready to get support from a community of women who are co-creating this change with intention and clarity— Click here to BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL.    Do you want help from Colleen with a situation you're struggling with? Click here to submit your question for Colleen's NEW Q&A episodes. Your name will not be mentioned on air!    Find me on: YouTube: @HangoverWhisperer TikTok: @hangoverwhisperer Instagram: @thehangoverwhisperer  X (Twitter) : @NotAboutTheAlc   Transcript  

We know all about the Christmas traditions we’ve grown up with, but where did they originate? We celebrate with Christmas trees, cards, lights, visits from Santa Claus, and lots of great food. But our ancestors were more likely to celebrate with drunken dancing, weird games, and street fights. How did Santa Claus, Christmas carols, and eggnog become a thing? And a reminder… 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.

When Drinking Becomes a Daily Requirement w/ Mike Schuab | The Hopeaholics PodcastIn this deeply personal episode, Mike Schuab shares an unfiltered account of how alcohol gradually took control of his life while he worked tirelessly to convince everyone—including himself—that everything was fine. What began as normal social drinking slowly evolved into secretive behavior, isolation, and a daily reliance on alcohol just to feel steady, leading to broken relationships, constant lying, and an overwhelming sense of shame. Mike walks through the moments when drinking stopped being fun and started feeling necessary, the fear of being exposed, and the painful realization that his life was shrinking around his addiction. He opens up about confronting his family, facing the possibility of losing everything he cared about, and finally surrendering by walking into treatment emotionally exhausted and out of options. This conversation dives into the emotional toll of addiction, the mental gymnastics of denial, and the relief that comes with radical honesty. Mike also reflects on the difficult process of learning how to live, cope, and find meaning without alcohol, and how recovery forced him to rebuild trust one day at a time. This episode is a powerful reminder that addiction doesn't always look dramatic on the outside—but the internal struggle can be just as devastating—and that real change begins the moment someone admits they need help.#thehopeaholics   #redemption #recovery #AlcoholAddiction #AddictionRecovery #wedorecover #SobrietyJourney #MyStory #Hope #wedorecover #treatmentcenter #natalieevamarieJoin our patreon to get access to an EXTRA EPISODE every week of ‘Off the Record', exclusive content, a thriving recovery community, and opportunities to be featured on the podcast. https://patreon.com/TheHopeaholics Go to www.Wolfpak.com today and support our sponsors. Don't forget to use code: HOPEAHOLICSPODCAST for 10% off!Follow the Hopeaholics on our Socials:https://www.instagram.com/thehopeaholics https://linktr.ee/thehopeaholicsBuy Merch: https://thehopeaholics.myshopify.comVisit our Treatment Centers: https://www.hopebythesea.comIf you or a loved one needs help, please call or text 949-615-8588. We have the resources to treat mental health and addiction. Sponsored by the Infiniti Group LLC:https://www.infinitigroupllc.com Timestamps:00:01:12 – Growing Up Around Alcohol and Chaos00:05:48 – First Time Drinking Changes Everything00:09:31 – Realizing He Can't Drink Like Other People00:13:06 – Drinking Becomes the Solution to Everything00:17:42 – Alcohol Turns Into an Everyday Requirement00:22:15 – Lying to Everyone While Falling Apart00:27:08 – Drinking Alone and Hiding Bottles00:31:54 – The Moment He Knows He's Out of Control00:36:29 – Family Finally Sees How Bad It Is00:41:03 – Consequences Catch Up All at Once00:46:18 – Facing the Reality of Losing Everything00:50:42 – Saying “I Can't Do This Anymore”00:55:09 – Walking Into Treatment Broken01:02:37 – Learning to Live Without Alcohol01:11:44 – Finding Purpose Through Recovery

January will mark our 2nd birthday as a podcast, and like most restless toddlers, we're really only getting started. But before we turn the calendar to 2026 we first take a look back at highlights from just a few of our favorite Season 2 episodes, focusing on the many founders we've featured sharing why they're passionate about mindful drinking. Here's seven of those founders / leaders, talking specifically about their 'why':Laurel Harrop, Busty LushLauren Chitwood, SpiritlessIan Blessing, All The BitterMark Ruf, NA Beer ClubCarl Radke, Soft Bar + CafeGary Long, Botanical SciencesMary Bernuth, Pharos BrandsSpecial thanks to our sponsor, Go Brewing / Easy Man, makers of delicious craft beer and infused brews! Use promo code NATION15 to take an additional 15% off your online order.We'd love your feedback!

On this episode: Lucy Lopez, Elizabeth Newcamp, and Zak Rosen are drinking, crafting, and answering listener questions. Find out how to make a Gin Snowball, learn Elizabeth's surprisingly easy paperbag snowflake method, and learn who Ray Keith is. While getting festive, they talk about toys of yore that changed their lives, ponder how necessary Santa is to Christmas magic, and throw out ideas for teen stocking stuffers.  Watch us on YouTube! Podcast production by Cheyna Roth. Video production by Micah Phillips.  Join us on Facebook and email us at careandfeedingpod@slate.com to ask us new questions, tell us what you thought of today's show, and give us ideas about what we should talk about in future episodes. You can also call our phone line: (646) 357-9318. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get to hang out with us on the Plus Playground every week for a whole additional grab-bag of content — and you'll get an ad-free experience across the network. And you'll also be supporting the work we do here on Care and Feeding. Sign up now at slate.com/careplus – or try it out on Apple Podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode: Lucy Lopez, Elizabeth Newcamp, and Zak Rosen are drinking, crafting, and answering listener questions. Find out how to make a Gin Snowball, learn Elizabeth's surprisingly easy paperbag snowflake method, and learn who Ray Keith is. While getting festive, they talk about toys of yore that changed their lives, ponder how necessary Santa is to Christmas magic, and throw out ideas for teen stocking stuffers.  Watch us on YouTube! Podcast production by Cheyna Roth. Video production by Micah Phillips.  Join us on Facebook and email us at careandfeedingpod@slate.com to ask us new questions, tell us what you thought of today's show, and give us ideas about what we should talk about in future episodes. You can also call our phone line: (646) 357-9318. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get to hang out with us on the Plus Playground every week for a whole additional grab-bag of content — and you'll get an ad-free experience across the network. And you'll also be supporting the work we do here on Care and Feeding. Sign up now at slate.com/careplus – or try it out on Apple Podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode: Lucy Lopez, Elizabeth Newcamp, and Zak Rosen are drinking, crafting, and answering listener questions. Find out how to make a Gin Snowball, learn Elizabeth's surprisingly easy paperbag snowflake method, and learn who Ray Keith is. While getting festive, they talk about toys of yore that changed their lives, ponder how necessary Santa is to Christmas magic, and throw out ideas for teen stocking stuffers.  Watch us on YouTube! Podcast production by Cheyna Roth. Video production by Micah Phillips.  Join us on Facebook and email us at careandfeedingpod@slate.com to ask us new questions, tell us what you thought of today's show, and give us ideas about what we should talk about in future episodes. You can also call our phone line: (646) 357-9318. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get to hang out with us on the Plus Playground every week for a whole additional grab-bag of content — and you'll get an ad-free experience across the network. And you'll also be supporting the work we do here on Care and Feeding. Sign up now at slate.com/careplus – or try it out on Apple Podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sign Up for Mostly Dry January--The DailyIn this episode of the Alcohol Minimalist podcast, Molly tackles a common end-of-year mindset trap: the “sin and repent” cycle. It's the idea that December is for overindulgence and January is for repentance—a pattern that often reinforces all-or-nothing thinking and keeps us stuck in old drinking habits.Through personal reflections and practical coaching, Molly unpacks the power of permission-giving thoughts like “It's the holidays, I deserve this” or “I'll get back on track in January.” These seemingly harmless ideas delay change, undermine self-trust, and reinforce avoidance patterns.But there's a better way—and it starts by practicing mindful thought shifts right now, not later. With her See, Soothe, Separate, Shift method and a science-backed approach to building new thought habits, Molly shows listeners how to move through the holiday season with more clarity, agency, and peace.What You'll Learn in This Episode:Why the “I'll be good in January” mindset is not harmless—and how it reinforces habits you're trying to breakWhat permission-giving thoughts sound like and why they feel so rationalHow delaying behavior change until January trains your brain to avoid discomfortThe difference between self-compassion and excuse-makingHow to use the See, Soothe, Separate, Shift framework to rewire your thinking in real timeKey Quote“It's not a willpower problem—it's a pattern problem. The thoughts you choose now are training your brain for what you'll do next month and next year.”Mentioned in This EpisodeBehavior Map – Results CycleSee, Soothe, Separate, Shift framework for thought changeGet InvolvedJoin Mostly Dry January: The Daily Go beyond white-knuckling Dry January. Molly's new daily experience gives you:Real-time behind-the-scenes video check-insA private podcast feed for bite-sized daily mindset coachingWeekly science-backed brain lessonsLive group coachingAccess to a private Facebook community Sign up here: [Insert Link] or visit mollywatts.com/dryjanuaryTake Action This WeekYou don't need to “start over” in January. You can begin noticing and shifting thoughts right now—before the year ends.Ask yourself:Is this a self-compassionate thought?Or is it a permission-giving excuse?What's one small choice I can make today that aligns with who I'm becoming?Low risk drinking guidelines from the NIAAA:Healthy men under 65:No more than 4 drinks in one day and no more than 14 drinks per week.Healthy women (all ages) and healthy men 65 and older:No more than 3 drinks in one day and no more than 7 drinks per week.One drink is defined as 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof liquor. So remember that a mixed drink or full glass of wine are probably more than one drink.Abstinence from alcoholAbstinence from alcohol is the best choice for people who take medication(s) that interact with alcohol, have health conditions that could be exacerbated by alcohol (e.g. liver disease), are pregnant or may become pregnant or have had a problem with alcohol or another substance in the past.Benefits of “low-risk” drinkingFollowing these guidelines reduces the risk of health problems such as cancer, liver disease, reduced immunity, ulcers, sleep problems, complications of existing conditions, and more. It also reduces the risk of depression, social problems, and difficulties at school or work. ★ Support this podcast ★

On this episode: Lucy Lopez, Elizabeth Newcamp, and Zak Rosen are drinking, crafting, and answering listener questions. Find out how to make a Gin Snowball, learn Elizabeth's surprisingly easy paperbag snowflake method, and learn who Ray Keith is. While getting festive, they talk about toys of yore that changed their lives, ponder how necessary Santa is to Christmas magic, and throw out ideas for teen stocking stuffers.  Watch us on YouTube! Podcast production by Cheyna Roth. Video production by Micah Phillips.  Join us on Facebook and email us at careandfeedingpod@slate.com to ask us new questions, tell us what you thought of today's show, and give us ideas about what we should talk about in future episodes. You can also call our phone line: (646) 357-9318. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get to hang out with us on the Plus Playground every week for a whole additional grab-bag of content — and you'll get an ad-free experience across the network. And you'll also be supporting the work we do here on Care and Feeding. Sign up now at slate.com/careplus – or try it out on Apple Podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Quaranteam - Dave In Dallas: Part 1 Surviving a horrible plague has unusual conditions. Based on a post by RonanJWilkerson, in 12 parts. Listen to the Podcast at Explicit Novels. Forward: This story occurs within the Quaranteam universe created by CorruptingPower. If you have not red the original, or any of the other spinoffs, they are highly recommended. That is not required to understand this story, they're just good, and a lot of fun. This fictional drama coincides with the timing of the 2nd wave outbreak of the Covid 19 pandemic. The modified cold virus escaped from a Chinese laboratory and directly killed more than 7 million people, but is suspected of indirectly causing the early deaths of over 20 million, in about 24 months. The DuoHalo virus that this series of novels pertains to, is far more deadly, and can only be combatted with a gene therapy injection, but it wears off in just days, unless followed up by human hormones, and only through a continual booster through both male and female genital fluids. Only the female body is capable of enduring the inoculation gene therapy dose, but she still needs the catalyst of male genital fluids, which then activates both physical and psychological mutations. Her libido goes into hyper drive. The corresponding male partner also absorbs the hormone-based anti-viral, by absorbing the woman's rich antiviral genital fluids. The world order undergoes a fundamental rest, and the fight for survival of the species becomes dependent on heterosexual mating ‘bareback', with women devoting themselves to monogamy, while men retain a capacity to be the catalyst for however many females their stamina allows. The most notable psychological mystery is the absence of female jealousy and possessiveness. Cohabitation is an essential accommodation to make the treatment work. Chapter 1. September 18, 2020. Dave Belsus sat on the floor of his hallway texturing the wall over the patch he'd installed a few days earlier. It had taken a sizable piece of sheetrock (from a layman's perspective) to repair the big gaping hole in his wall. There wasn't really a right or wrong pattern to the texturing and Dave was simultaneously restless and reluctant to move on to a different task. He finally stood, gathered his tools and materials, and hauled them down to the garage. There are still things to do. There are people depending on him. He went out to his greenhouse and stopped, closed his eyes and smelled the green. Let it soak into him. He needed to feel life around him. He just stood there for; he wasn't sure how long. Not long enough. He still felt dead inside. But he had work to do. David started harvesting some veggies to exchange with his neighbor, Lupie. Inspecting the cucumber plants, he could see two large ones were ready. He'd keep one for his own salads and send the other next door. Becca, Lupie's houseguest (once babysitter) had developed a taste for them after Dave offered one a few months ago. Several beefy tomatoes were ready, so he plucked them, keeping a few for himself. Maybe a tomato sandwich tonight or tomorrow. That'd be nice. Three heads of redleaf lettuce (he'd staggered his lettuce so a few heads were harvestable every week) were next, again, one for Dave, two for next door. Finally, a handful of strawberries were perfectly ripe. He'd let Lupie and the girls have all of those. Esme, Lupie's daughter loved strawberries. Well, who didn't? Cute little girl. Always gave Dave fierce, friendly hugs. Dave missed the farmer's markets on the weekends where he could trade or buy/sell for other varieties and veggies he didn't have space or time for. Well, now he had all sorts of time, but he still didn't have the space. Dave brought the harvested veggies into the house and sorted the veggies. Stuff for him went on the counter basket. Items for Lupie, Becca and Esme went back in the basket he'd carried into the greenhouse. Dave grabbed the basket and walked over to what had been a parlor just off his entryway. Now it was a decon area. Dave added a plasticized suit over the clothes he'd been wearing. Mid-September was still toasty in Texas, but fortunately not as bad as late August. That had been brutal. Hot enough Dave had thought about adding a water bottle with a straw to the inside of the suit. He hadn't come up with a way to attach it without breaching the suit's integrity, so he nixed the idea. He doubled down on pre-hydrating when it was absolutely necessary to go out in the damn thing. Dave gathered up the basket in the clumsy gloves. He'd gotten fairly good at manipulating medium size items while wearing the gloves. The gloves were disposable dish gloves, tucked into the suit and duct taped to it for a seal. He opened his door and crossed the lawns over to Lupie's porch. He carefully transferred the veggies over to Lupie's porch pickup box, then gathered the dozen eggs she'd left him. Lupie had several hens in a large coop in her back yard. Dave had helped her install some anti-predator devices to the top of her fence and around the coop in the before times. Being that close to Lupie was a fond memory. Nothing romantic between them, just very comfortable. And it had paid off well too. He got a dozen eggs twice a week, and sometimes a whole chicken, plucked and dressed. Sometimes even separated into parts. If he was really lucky, after bringing her some good meat, he'd get homemade tamales. Lupie was a great cook. Her cooking wasn't the only thing Dave appreciated about Lupie. Absolutely lovely inside and out. She wasn't beauty pageant pretty, she was normal girl pretty. What a lovely face to wake up to. A face that'd make a man want to come home. Nice figure too. She never wore anything too showy, but she wasn't one for baggy stuff either. Sure, she's in her early thirties and has a real job and a kid to keep track of, so she most certainly wouldn't have a washboard tummy under her shirts. Or dresses. God, Lupie looks fantastic in a dress. The way they billow around her calves always caught Dave's eye. And that hair. Long, lovely, raven black hair. Hopping back onto his own porch, Dave put the basket down and flipped on the UV lights he'd installed in the porch awning. Step one in his decontamination process. Arms straight out from his shoulders, he turned slowly. One full circle palms down, another palms up. He flipped off the light, opened the door and grabbed the basket. Inside, he stripped off the outer suit, hanging it on hooks in the entryway, set the basket in the kitchen, then went straight to the upstairs shower, the one near the unused bedrooms. Excessive? Possibly. But Dave wasn't going to be another statistic. Viruses don't negotiate. Dave didn't either. That's what Lysol was for. Not that the average person could get much of that anymore. Still, if you weed out the essential oils nuts, there were some good recipes for home sanitizers online. You just had to pay attention to the recommended duration. Some were stronger than others and didn't need to be left on a surface as long. After toweling off and tossing the towel in the hamper, Dave went to the master bedroom to put on fresh clothes. Then he went back down to wash the lettuce and cucumber and started making a small salad. Dave didn't like eating right before exertion, but he hadn't eaten in a day and a half. He need to workout the anger surging through him too. So he compromised - a small salad, then beat the crap out of imaginary opponents. Lettuce base, quartered tomato, quartered boiled egg, diced cucumber, and balsamic vinaigrette. Tasty enough that he'd finish it. Small enough he wouldn't blow chunks while he's exercising. Kitchen cleanup gave the food a little time to settle. Dave walked across the house to get his staff from the gym, then went back to the sliding glass door separating the living room from the backyard. He walked to the large flat platform in the middle of the yard, stretching his arms as he went. He stretched his legs when he got there. Then he took a several minutes with warm up motions. He ran through each of the basic strikes and defenses in a pattern he practiced at least three times a week. He repeated the sequence five times. Then he launched into a series of combination motions. Half-staff upper hand strike on the right, followed by the left. A horizontal block leading into a full staff strike starting from the lower left into the upper right. On and on. Each pattern repeated. Each repetition faster. Turning. Striking. Blocking. Faster. Dave's face, initially a blank mask, grew pained, then angry. Anger flowed into rage. In his rage, Dave lost track of his position on the platform. He unknowingly stepped off the platform. It was only two or three inches high, but that was enough. He caught his fall with his staff and avoided an unceremonious face plant. Still, the interruption pulled him out of the mental space he'd been in. His breathing was ragged. Sweat soaked his clothes, dripped from every part of his body. The air was no longer flinty, but it was still too hot for heavy, continuous exertion. He felt a small wave of nausea roll through his belly. Time to pack it in. He cleaned off the end of the staff he'd use to stop his fall, then walked inside, stowed the staff back in the gym, and went up to the master suite shower stall. The shower refreshed Dave's body. Time to give his mind something to do. Eastfield College had only partially re-opened, just a few online classes. He had one section of astronomy to teach for the folks that wanted something more exciting than physical science for their science core requirement. No one was taking chemistry or physics this semester. The chemistry instructor was still alive. She'd laid down the law in her house and they had taken lockdown seriously. They just didn't have a good substitute for teaching the lab part of the class yet. The full-time physics guy had inexplicably taken the same attitude as too many in the county. He died before the spring semester ended. The guy had a doctorate in physics, twelve published papers to his name and spent twenty years living in scientific circles. You'd think he'd know better than to fall in with the idiot brigade. Hell, maybe the college would take Dave on full time to cover the physics courses once they opened up for real. Dave logged into to the course website, checking grades in the online homework column and looking for any labs submitted by the faster, more diligent (or just bored) students. No new work since yesterday. Maybe the rest would wait until last minute on Sunday night. On no, a procrastinating college student. What a surprise! A text message notification pulled him out of his reverie. It was from Lupie. "Please say yes." He was about to reply, asking her what he was supposed to say yes to, when he heard the doorbell. Crap. Dave rushed downstairs to the door, hearing a second ring on the way down. He grabbed a mask and slipped it on quickly just before opening the door a crack with his shoulder braced against it if he needed to slam it shut again. A man in a hazmat suit stood on Dave's porch, carrying a small case and wearing what appeared to be a watch on his right wrist. "Good morning sir, my name is Arthur Samuelson, I'm with the CDC. May I come in?" "You ain't a vampire are you?" The grin on Dave's face indicated he was joking. Arthur chuckled. "No sir, just administering tests checking for DuoHalo and making arrangements for vaccination." Dave got the impression a few details were being skipped here, as if the man in front of him was easing him in with the broadest strokes first. "A vaccine? Holy shit. Yeah, come on in dude." Dave backed up and opened the door fully. After making sure the door was fully closed, Dave led Arthur to the dining room table. Arthur immediately pulled out sterile cotton swabs, the kind with wooden stems and cotton only on one end, a small box. Arthur tapped the face of the watch and then typed in a numeric sequence when a digital number pad popped up. "It's a monitor. Some folks have taken a militant approach since the lockdowns started. Every time the watch buzzes at me, I have to enter a code within 30 seconds or they send a squad of troops to my coordinates." Dave reacted briefly, but nonverbally. Well, some people try to drown the lifeguard that's there to save their ass. Whoever said we've evolved past our caveman days isn't paying attention. Arthur handed one of the hospital style cotton swabs to Dave. "Just swab the inside of your cheek very well, no brain tickling this time." Dave swabbed as instructed, then handed the stick back to Arthur. Arthur set about processing the sample and placing it in the testing device. "This will take a few minutes. While we are waiting, is there anyone else to be tested here?" "No, I live alone." "Big place." "Yeah, I . . . had other plans, but they didn't pan out. Been here by myself for a few years now. Nice neighbors, especially next door, Lupie." Dave mentioned Lupie intentionally. Given the short time span between the text and the doorbell, it was possible, but not certain, the two were connected. "Yes, I just came from there. Nice ladies." "So, are you going door-to-door doing this, like somebody selling steak knives?" Arthur guffawed. "Not quite. We used electric usage rates to determine which houses still have people living in them. Then we set routes for each test administrator for a day. Also, you're going to like what I'm offering a lot more than steak knives, but they won't all come at once." Dave chuckled, but held back a bit. "So multiple booster shots?" "Something like that." Arthur's grin was slightly cryptic, like he was hiding a joke he wasn't ready to reveal just yet. "I hate needles man. I put up with them, but I usually have to look away when I get stuck for shots or blood donations." "We'll see what we can do to make it easier on you." The cryptic grin hadn't receded. Then the box trilled a three note sequence. Arthur checked it. "Congratulations, you are virus free. Let's make arrangements to keep you safe from this thing." Arthur pressed a button on the box, which then printed out a strip of paper. He handed the strip over to Dave. "So here's the deal: you know by now DuoHalo is deadly, especially to men. Like an 80% fatality rate for us guys." Dave's eyes hooded over. "I'm aware." "Yes, well it seems directly administering the vaccine is 100% fatal to men." "How the fuck is that supposed to help? Leave a planet of Valkyries that only survives if they solve cloning or learn to create artificial semen in one generation?" Dave shouted, but managed not to rise out of his seat. Arthur leaned back somewhat, as if subconsciously giving Dave a little extra space. "No sir, we have a solution, just please hear me out." Dave calmed himself and prepared to listen to what comes after three of the worst words to hear. Whatever followed those three words was either incredibly good, or monumentally bad. Dave wasn't holding his breath for the former. "No, no, nothing like that. It turns out that women can act as intermediaries for the vaccine, sort of a buffer solution. I'm sorry, that may not - " "I know what a buffer solution is and how it functions." "Oh, excellent. You see, we have found that if a vaccinated woman has intercourse with a man, her body buffers the vaccine serum and her immunity transfers - in part - to the man." "Intercourse? As in sex?" Arthur smirked "Someone at the office started referring to this as the STV - Sexually Transmitted Vaccine." Dave rolled his eyes briefly, then closed them and shook his head. "Okay, there is a website with text and videos to explain more details, but a few more things I should say before I leave. First, it takes more than one woman to keep a man safe. That means you will have multiple women 'sharing' you." Dave's eyebrows shot up, but he kept his mouth shut and listened for now. "The vaccine also creates some kind of bond between men and women, so once they sleep with you, they can't be with another man. Ever. It's extremely dangerous for the woman." Seeing Dave start to object, Arthur rushed along "The website I gave you is a highly detailed and personal survey. Women take the same survey. The results get processed through a system called Oracle that has been rigorously tested to match people. We don't want someone stuck with a person they can't stand." Hearing this, Dave was somewhat mollified. Arthur's haste from a moment ago clearly intended to forestall Dave's objection. Of course, Arthur probably thought the concern was for Dave being stuck with an objectionable woman. Dave was equally concerned with a woman getting stuck with him. "Alright so last few questions, how much space is there in this house?" "Oh, well, I have a king size canopy bed in the master bedroom. There are four more bedrooms upstairs, two of which have twin beds in them. The other two have no furniture." "You're going to want to change that. Your first partner will likely arrive tomorrow, with more coming every week, maybe four days apart, at least until we get you up to four partners. Eventually, you will be assigned at least twelve women. Oh, and one more thing." Arthur handed Dave a plain white letter envelope bearing Dave's name in a flowing script. "Your neighbor Lupie asked me to give this to you. I'll step out to the living room to give you some privacy, but I'll need an answer before I leave." Dave was puzzled and concerned but nodded Arthur towards the couch visible through the archway separating the dining and living rooms. Dave pulled out his pocketknife and slit the envelope open. His eyes widened at the first line. First line, hell - the salutation! Dearest David, Words cannot express just how wonderful it is just to address you in that way. I don't know when I began falling for you. I can tell you that last year, when I said I wanted a man who could make a living for us so that I could stay home, raise our kids, and love him with my whole heart, I was thinking of you. Yes, I know it's a bit silly to some, since I earn quite a nice income without any help, but that does not make me feel whole. I want to love you, and Esme, and the children we have together. Yes David, I want to bear your children and raise them with you. I wanted that before all of this lockdown and death started. And now, with all that's been lost, I want to feel life in my body. I want you to put it there. I never want to be away from Esme again. I want to manage your household and love you and our children and whomever else comes into our lives with the way the world is changing. I understand from the gentleman that came to our door that the vaccine has some unusual effects, including emotional and psychological impacts. This is why I am writing to you now, before I take the vaccine. I want to make sure you know this is really what I want. Before anything affects me. I love you. I want to be with you for a lifetime. You should also know that Becca wants to be with you as well. I suspect you will have objections based on her age. Yet, you know she is incredibly mature and responsible. You know what she went through to protect Esmeralda. You know what she has suffered through. Her world is completely unmoored. You, Esme, and I are all that she has left. Your heart and your mind know these things to be true. One thing you may not be aware of - Becca considers you her hero. For so many things big and small that you have done for us during this lockdown. Besides, she's a sci-fi and gaming nerd too, you two will get along quite well if you give her a chance. I love you desperately David. Please say yes. For both of us. Forever yours, Lupie. Dave reached into his back pocket for a handkerchief to dry his eyes. Lupie wanted him all along? Images flashed through his mind. Lupie laughing in a flowy dress on a pleasant spring day. Lupie's hands touching his as they exchanged eggs or produce. Lupie bringing him a glass of ice water while he repaired her fence because he couldn't bear the thought of her blowing money on a contractor. Lupie's proud grin as he thanked her and expounded on the deliciousness of the fresh tamales she brought over late last fall. Their hands had touched then too, hadn't they? No, she touched his hand. Not an accident. Dear God what an idiot! Hell yes he wanted Lupie in his life! And she had been showing him she wanted him in hers. Then his mind turned to Rebecca. Just barely eighteen, and him already forty-six. If she were five years older, she'd still be half his age! Everything Lupie said in her letter was true though. The four of them had gotten through this lockdown together - Lupie, her nine-year-old daughter Esme, and Becca, the young babysitter that had taken on so much when this first started. Loyalty to someone that had weathered the storm with him. Sympathy for someone who'd lost her entire family, even her extended relations. Admiration of the strength, character and resilience she'd shown. Mix in a little lust, 'cuz she's kinda cute. Nerdy cute. But then, Dave is a nerd, he likes nerd girls. Among others. So the only thing holding him back was a number? He'd seen that girl show more loyalty and honor than women twice her age! David took a cleansing breath and blew it slowly out. Arthur picked up on the change, stood and strode back to the dining room. "Have you made a decision?" "Yes. I will accept them both. I'd be a fool not to. How do we do that though? You said something about a matching program?" "Right, however a man may ask for a particular woman. The computer jockeys have to do some manual work for this to happen, so it's not a common occurrence. The two profiles are run through Oracle and the woman is informed of the request, the man's brief bio, and the match percentage of their profiles. Then she can choose to assent or decline." "Sounds like something waiting to be abused." "Hmm. I don't know of any such abuse occurring. I can see the potential you're talking about, but that would require one or more well placed conspirators in one of the vaccination centers." "And that never happens?" "Not to my knowledge. Not yet anyway. I need to get going. I'll inform your neighbors you've agreed. They'll pack a small suitcase and be ready to get picked up tonight or possibly tomorrow morning. You should expect your first partner to arrive sometime tomorrow. As long as you get that profile filled out. And be ruthlessly honest. It's quite thorough. Some questions might make you a bit uncomfortable. Fudging the answers could lead to poor results. And get it in quick. As soon as - Lupie and Becca? -" Dave nodded "are entered in the system, they will be compared to you. If your profile isn't there when the programmers run the comparison, they will be given a random match." Dave nodded his understanding, then rose to walk his guest out. Guest. After all these months, isn't that a hell of a thing? "Remember man, completely, brutally honest." With that, Arthur left. Dave closed the door behind him. He pulled out his phone and started typing. Yes To both of you. The little dots started dancing while he was still typing the second line. Thank you, David! Thank you so much! I'm sorry I held back so long! I have a lot to say to you too. But I want to say it in person. To look you in the eyes. Lupie, you have made me very happy. Happier than I feel I am worthy of. I can't wait to see you again. Face to face. Dave's phone buzzed with an incoming message, but there was nothing new from Lupie. He popped back to the inbox screen, finding an entry from Becca with an image. He opened it and just stared for a moment. He blinked when he realized his mouth was hanging open. Framed in the image was Becca, clearly taking a selfie, from just above her head to the bottom of her ribcage. She was biting her bottom lip and blushing furiously. Probably because the hand not holding the phone was holding her shirt and bra pulled up above her tits. Dave was embarrassed for a moment, then decided why not savor it? Hell, he'd be sharing a bed with her. He would see more than just her pert young boobies then. He sent a thumbs up, followed by: When you're all in, you're really all in huh? ; Laugh emoji ; Yeah, is that ok? ; Do you like them? Are they too small? They're beautiful. They're a part of you, and that makes them wonderful. Always remember that your body, as lovely as it is, is merely a bonus. You won me over with the strength of your character, your courage, your resilience. ; crying emoji, heart emoji ; You make me want to come over right now. ; peach, eggplant, water spurt ; See you in a few days. ; Lover. Dave had made it back to his office and woke his computer with a quick mouse shake. As he logged in, his phone buzzed again. This time it was Lupie. ; Is everything ok? Becca is acting really skittish, and she's blushing like she's embarrassed. Didn't you say yes to her? I did and do. If she doesn't want to tell you, I won't either. Yet. ; monocled raised eyebrow emoji I promise. I'll see you both - all three of you soon. Tell Esme she's getting a big hug. ; I will. I'll have a really nice hug for you too. Looking forward to it. Oh wow. GuadaLupie Jimena Angelina Gutierrez Ramos is itching to live in his house, share a bed with him, and spend her life with him? Fairy tales .. can come true.. it can happen to you; Dave forced himself to focus. He typed in the u r l Arthur had given him. Things started out bland enough. Girls, boys, both? Ladies only. Age range? Dave's first instinct was to set the bottom age to around 25 or 30. He's forty-six for God's sake. Yeah, it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out repopulation was going to be an issue, and younger women had both more years of fertility and were more fertile, so at some point, someone would force the issue and each man would be paired with some women under twenty five. But Becca. If Dave set the minimum above eighteen, she might not even get a chance to match with him. That would likely separate her from Lupie and Esme as well. But that left the door open for other teens. Well, Arthur did say women got to pick who they paired with. Fuck it. I'm not screwing over Becca. That's not even a choice. We'll deal with whatever else results as we go. By the time Dave finished the Oracle survey, his stomach was growling. He wasn't quite done yet though. He only had a bare minimum of sheets and towels, so he went online and ordered three changes of sheets for both of the twin beds (there was already one set on each now), two full-sized beds for the two unfurnished rooms, four changes of sheets for those, and four dressers. He went down to the kitchen and pulled out the half tomato left from his lunch salad and started slicing it. After making his tomato sandwich, he added some chips and pickles to the plate. He sat quietly, alone, at the table, realizing that this may be the last dinner he has by himself. Arthur said multiple women. This whole house would be full of people. Full of life. What a difference a day makes. Dave was cleaning up from breakfast the next morning when he heard a knock at the door. He had just turned the water off at the sink, so it was possible this wasn't the first knock. He rushed to the door, grabbing a mask enroute. When he opened the door, a soldier stood there with a clipboard, a young lady beside and behind him. "You David Belsus?" "I am." "Meet your new partner sir, sign here please." Dave signed by the red x. "Y'all have a good day." He tipped his ball cap bill "Ma'am" and walked off. "Hi, I'm Janice Hoppler." She stuck out her hand and Dave shook it while processing what he was seeing. She was cute, late twenties or early thirties, distinctly Korean features, and jet black hair reaching the middle of her back. Dave had marked long hair as one of his desired traits in a woman, giving it a seven out of ten priority. Short hair can be nice, but nothing is so distinctly feminine as long hair. He'd pass up big boobs if a woman had long hair. Not that he'd mind getting both. Not even a little. "Can I come inside?" Dave realized he'd been shaking her hand for a bit too long and not saying anything. "Oh, sure. Sorry, this is kinda surreal." She grinned. "Ya, I know. First a pandemic kills off a huge part of the population, and now the solution is to fuck like bunnies and every man gets like a dozen women? Sounds like some high school boy's fantasy dream." Her dark eyes danced as she laughed. Dave brought her in to sit in the living room, mindful to sit somewhat close so he didn't appear distant, but not all up in her personal space. "Yeah, well, the hard part will be keeping up with the libidos of ten or twelve women. Especially since the videos mentioned you're each going to have an accelerated sex drive." "They also said you would get some invigoration as well. But don't worry, I'll make sure your part is plenty hard so it can do its work." Janice giggled when Dave blushed and closed his eyes. "Sorry, that's not the kind of thing I'd normally say out loud, but they did say all of us ladies will wind up much more forward than we had been before." "That could be helpful, I'm not great at picking up on subtle signals. When it happens, I just think a woman is being nice, but not interested. Or I think she's interested and she's just being nice." "Well, I'm interested enough to choose to be bonded with you for the rest of my life so consider this carte blanche to get frisky anytime you feel like it." She stood, strode to his chair and planted a smoky kiss on his lips, but no tongue. Dave took a breath to recover and register that this was really happening. "So, would you like to see the place first?" "Sure." Janice took his hand as he stood. "You've seen the entryway and parlor," Dave said guiding Janice past the couch into the dining room and beyond into the kitchen. "So here's the kitchen. The small door in the corner is the pantry. Upper two cabinets next to the fridge are dry foods. The other two are dishes and glasses. Lower cabinets are pots, pans, etc." Janice sniffed the air. "You cook much? Smells like you just had breakfast." "Yeah, I had just finished dishes. Did y'all have to knock more than once?" "Twice. But that's worth it for a man that can cook." "You cook much?" "I have to follow box directions carefully to get mac n' cheese to come out decent. I can only do cakes with help from Betty or Duncan and even that is an iffy proposition. Is that a problem, that I don't cook?" "Oh no, not at all." Dave led her out of the kitchen, winding back through the dining room and living room. "Up the stairs are the bedrooms, a full bath, my office, and the master suite." Her eyes glimmered. "Shortly." He paused. "Wow, that's new, me being the one to hold off." "I can see you want it. It's kinda sexy you wanting me, but not just jumping me." "Hmm. I 'll keep that in mind." He hoped his eyes were conveying his interest. Guess they were. "So, we were talking about cooking. I love to cook and so does Lupie. Becca enjoys it I think, but she's still learning. Not bad. She made me birthday cupcakes over the summer. Of course, we had to do the careful packaging and cleaning bit. She wanted to so bad after I made her a birthday dinner and cupcakes." "Who are Lupie and Becca?" "Oh, right, my neighbors." "Oh, the Latina woman and her daughter?" "The daughter is Esme. She's nine. Becca is the eighteen year old blonde. When did you see them?" "They were loading -" Dave and Janice had just arrived at the first door off the hallway past the living room. A former guest bedroom, Dave had done some renovations, adding the closet space of the room onto the half bath and converting that into a full bath. The rest of the room he had filled with bookshelves and comfortable chairs. A few small tables sat near the chairs to rest a drink or a book on. One table bore a good-sized and fairly recent globe. A map of the U S A and a world map adorned one wall in the sitting area. And of course, all the shelves were loaded with books. Janice took a few steps into the room past Dave, who had stopped the moment she cut herself off, wondering what was wrong. When she spun to face him, he saw the look of a kid walking into a candy store with a hand full of monthly allowance. Janice swiftly crossed the small distance between them, launched her short frame into his arms and kissed him fiercely. "Fuck me. Fuck me right here, right now." Dave's brain was not keeping up with the changes. Janice wasn't waiting anyway. She quickly unbuckled his belt, unbuttoned and unzipped his pants and shoved them to his ankles, along with his boxers. She dropped to her knees and started kissing and licking his cock. As it began to fill out, she took it in her mouth and bobbed her head along its length. Dave had always been self-conscious about his cock. It wasn't anything impressive as far as he knew. It didn't help that it shrank in both length and girth in the flaccid state. A cheating ex-wife didn't help things either. And yet, here was this beautiful woman, on her knees, hungry for his cock. Janice's eyes rolled back in her head and a deep, guttural moan issued from her chest. She stilled for a moment, falling back with her ass on her heels. She looked like she might fall over, so Dave took hold of her shoulders. After a minute or so, She looked up at him, happy and hungry. "That. was. Awesome!" Then her eyes zeroed in on his cock again, taking the same look as a hawk spying a squirrel. He was fully erect now. Janice rose up enough to shove his hips. "On the ground baby. Time to finish this. Make me your horny little bitch for life." Dave lay down, Janice not even waiting until he was all the way down to crawl up his body and straddle him. The sensations he picked up from the tip of his cock as she settled herself told him she wore no panties under her loose skirt. She quickly lined him up with her entrance and sat back forcefully. "Fuck yeah. This thing feels so damn good baby. God, how the hell are you still single? I'd fucking sell my soul to you if you promised to fuck me." She started rising a bit, then shoving herself back down, then grinding her clit against him. "Fucking perfect fucking thickness and length. I feel so stuffed, and not painful." She placed her palms over his nipples and began focusing her efforts on riding up and down, her breathing getting ragged. Janice emitted several moans and grunts as she worked herself and Dave up to a pinnacle. For his part, Dave was just hoping to last long enough for her to enjoy this. It had been a while since he'd been with a woman and Rosy Palm just isn't the same. He felt his pleasure rising rapidly and focused on holding it back. Just then she threw her head back and howled in pleasure as her inner muscles ran riot gripping him. He crested too, shooting up into her. Her howl nearly became a scream, her whole body shaking, seizing. Dave grasped her torso at the bottom of her ribcage to give her some stability. She collapsed like a ragdoll, her arms, limbs and neck going limp, dangling from her still vertical body in Dave's hands. Dave lowered her body to his and gently rolled them over, one hand behind her head to keep it from flopping around. He pulled up his boxers and pants so his legs could move enough to stand. Doing so, he tucked himself back in and fastened his pants. Dave crouched beside his sleeping beauty, gave her a soft kiss on her forehead, then scooped her into his arms and carried her up to the master bedroom. He laid her out gently on top of the covers and draped a light blanket over her. Then he went back to his computer to watch some of the videos he had skipped. Clearly, he had missed a few important facts. Janice has Dave all to herself for one day. Chapter 2 - Janice's Day. September 19, 2020. Dave fought the urge to go straight to his computer and watch more videos on this vaccine. He'd anticipated the chanting of 'imprinting' but he'd skipped over the parts of the videos on sexual effects, thinking it would wait, or not even matter. That reaction was not natural. Okay, he's somewhat decent in bed, but that shit was next level, pornstar stuff. No way a woman got that excited over his crank. Before he could go video surfing, he needed to get over and feed Lupie's chickens. No telling when they'd be back, probably tomorrow, and the chickens had to get fed. At least he wouldn't need to truss up. He wasn't running into anyone else. Dave slipped through the fence gate separating Lupie's front yard from her backyard. She left it unlocked all the time. Dave only mentioned it once, and then remained low-level worried for her when she never locked it. Dave was pulled out of his musing by a low growl. In the backyard, glaring at him, was a large dog, a mutt with a lineage that ran thick and muscular. The eyes looked somewhat red, but the muzzle showed clear evidence of dried blood. Most likely a neighbor had died, thus cutting of the dog's food supply. It broke out of its own backyard and had been killing other dogs, cats or squirrels thus far. Now it was thinking squab for breakfast and Dave had just interrupted. Well, first good news, no foaming at the mouth so it's probably not rabid. Still a good idea to not get bit though. Holding stock still, Dave scanned the area, moving his eyes only, searching for anything that could be helpful. Ironically, Dave had a number of weapons at home that would have solved this little problem for the neighborhood. Not that they were doing him any good right now. A shop broom. Lupie kept a shop broom on the back porch, and it was just a few feet away. Well that's something. Dave took a small step sideways and the growling turned to a couple of loud barks. The dog leaned to one side, as if anticipating the need to intercept Dave running sideways. Dave's hand reached out slowly, causing the dog to bark harshly and take two steps closer. Dave's hand connected with the broom. When he began pulling the broom to him, the dog charged, open mouth, teeth bared. Feeling a little ridiculous, Dave snapped into ready position, the brush part of the broom held low. He thrust the broom under the dog's muzzle, the bristles splaying out absurdly. The dog reared back, possibly about to leap over the broom, so Dave adjusted his motion upward, catching the dog's chin and flipping it up and back. The dog kept his back feet planted and swiveled its head to take the broom head in its mouth. It swung its head back and forth, attempting to pull the broom from Dave's hands. Dave took a firm grip and unscrewed the handle from the broom, with a few added jabs to keep the dog off balance as he did so. The dog noticed the moment the head come loose from the handle. It threw down the head and came charging again. Dave of course was ready for this, swinging the metal threads on the head end of the handle in an arc that delivered an upper cut to the dog's jaw. With an angry yip, the dog pulled back, barked, and circled. Dave turned with the dog, waiting for the next charge. When it came, Dave snapped the end of the handle on the dog's head in a downward strike that connected, but did not stop the dog. Dave slipped sideways as he brought the other end of the handle around, catching the dog in the shoulder. At this point, Dave realized scaring the dog off might not work at all, and if it did, the dog would be back in an hour or so. He was going to have to kill the dog to keep the chickens safe. Dave had already maneuvered to the concrete porch in Lupie's backyard. He slammed the end of the broom handle in a downward strike on the porch, snapping the end off and leaving a splintered point on the end. He now had a spear. The dog charged again. This time, Dave waited until the dog reared up to leap before plunging the sharpened end of the handle into the dog's torso. A sickening yelp issued from the dog as the makeshift spear drove into its chest cavity. The dog fell, pulling Dave's weapon from his hands, and lay growling, panting and whimpering on the porch. Mortally wounded, the dog was still dangerous. It was also in pain. Dave needed to dispatch it quickly. Every moment it wasted away would wear on his soul. He spotted Lupie's garden trowel. Moving swiftly, he grabbed it, slipped behind the dog, and drove the trowel into the base of the skull, ending the animal's pain. Once he was sure the animal was neither a danger nor in pain, Dave sat back on his haunches and wept bitter tears. Hell, he'd kill deer and turkey before, but that was hunting. What meat he didn't eat or give to Lupie was donated to a local charity to feed the poor or homeless. The butcher he used sold the deerskin and turkey feathers to local crafters for their works. This animal was dead because it was hungry and targeted the wrong prey. Feeling like an utter wimp, Dave wiped his eyes and face dry. He went back to his own garage, pulled out a tarp, and headed back to Lupie's yard. Dave wrapped the dog in the tarp, then carried it through the back gate, and tossed the carcass in the rolling garbage bin. More waste. More death. By the time Dave got back, the chickens had largely settled down. He scattered some seed into their enclosure and filled the water tank from the backyard hose. Dave left the backyard, pulling Lupie's gate closed tightly behind him and returned to his own home. He went upstairs to the master suite bathroom and scrubbed his arms thoroughly. Partly to remove any fluids that might have gotten on him. Mostly as a psychological exercise, trying to wash away what happened. Emerging from the bathroom, Dave was captured by Janice's sleeping face. He climbed into bed and lay beside her, watching her gently breathe. Drinking in the feeling of another life nearby. But he had work to do. And some research on what happened this morning. Maybe watching the videos first would help get his head settled again so he could focus on his project. Rewatching the video he'd skipped parts of, he hit the part explaining the bonding effect of the serum on women with a male partner. Did that work in reverse? Is that why he found Janice's muttering of 'imprinting' slightly sexy, but not the lady in the video? His thoughts were interrupted by his text warning bing. Lupie sent; Can you look a few things up for me? There's a lot of terms here I don't know and I can't ask Lupie face to face. And I can't look it up without leaving the survey. Sure, what do you need defined? If I don't know, I'll search it up for you. Lupie sent; Okay, the first one is fictophilia. That one I'll need to look up. Oh, okay, that's having an attraction to a fictional character. Not sure if that's the same as cosplay or not. Lupie sent; So if I had that, would you dress up as Malcom Reynolds for me? Sure. But I might want reciprocation. Lupie sent; Zoey, Kaylee, or Inara Sera? Yes. Lupie sent; huge crying laughing emoji ok, how about lactophilia? I mean, it's tasty, but I'm not fixated on it. She posted a question mark. Oh, sorry, it means you like for your partner to suckle mother's milk from you during foreplay or sex. Or, you know, you want to suckle *from* them. Another lady I mean Lupie sent; Oh Shit, I didn't know that was a thing! Okay, I kinda like the idea of you sucking on me during, you know. Not sure I'm into other girls though. Eventually we are going to get better at finishing those sentences kitten. We'll be 'you knowing a lot. Lupie sent; laugh emoji And you don't have to do anything with another woman Never, if you aren't interested. It took a few minutes, and Dave was about to hit play again on the video when another text from Becca came in. Lupie sent; somnophilia? It means you get aroused seeing a sleeping person. Or you want to be taken in your sleep. Lupie sent; Oh god, I just had this thrill run through me at the idea of waking up with you already in me, on top of me. So we're doing that? Lupie sent; Oh yeah. oh, and I hit yes on watersports too. I'd love to do it in the shower, or a pool. God, wish we had a pool, that would be awesome. No no no no! That is not; what watersports means! Watersports means pee! You want to be pee'd on or you want to pee on your partner! Lupie sent; Oh Gross. barf emoji People do that? Surely you've seen porn pics of girls squatting and peeing in a field or on a road? Lupie sent; Yeah. Well, that's what it's for. Lupie sent; No offense Dave, but that's a hard no. We are in absolute agreement kitten. Lupie sent; Okay, finally finished. I hit submit, now the great microchip brain gets to spin our data and tell us how close we are. Lupie sent; I'm a little scared David. What if it doesn't match us? Becca, worrying isn't going to help you at all. Just get a snack, talk with Esme or Lupie. Or talk with another lady if there's someone nearby. Lupie sent; I miss you already. The text went quiet. Dave waited a few more minutes and then turned his attention to his computer. Time to focus on his side project. The secret one. For his public side job, Dave did data analysis, but no one was sending him new numbers to crunch or putting out bids at the moment. Government types probably had more data than they knew how to process, but Dave had never done government jobs and never had any clearance level. His 'quiet' side job was less boring but could be problematic if some prudish Karen found out. Well, some folks knew, because they paid him money. But no one had connected his online persona with him. Dave had written two adult visual novels, with good reviews. Now he worked on a game with adult themes. And pictures, of course. Fitting his personal fiction interests, the background was an apocalyptic scenario, and the main character built a harem of capable and beautiful ladies to; survive. Even with software support, Dave wasn't much of an artist, so he had an arrangement with someone else to render the images and short video scenes. Version 0.3 had been out for three months, so he was working intently to complete 0.4 before Thanksgiving. The artist was reliable and good. Dave just needed to give him (her? They used anonymous internet handles) clear and detailed descriptions of what he wanted. That meant figuring out what was happening in this next update. Lockdown had somewhat helped. Dave had more free time available. He'd gotten 0.3 out early, but that just meant his paying supporters wanted more. And they are paying, even in months he didn't produce anything. Half an hour of banging his head against code (and thinking strongly of banging his head against the wall) Dave finally got 'in the flow' and cranked out the last bit of story structure over the next two hours. That ended when his grumbling stomach informed him of his neglect. First though, he'd look in on Janice. It was both strange and comforting, seeing this lovely woman in his bed, sleeping peacefully. His heart warmed at the sight, but a nagging fear rose in him as well. He knew this was only due to this strange vaccine. How long until the bio geeks find a solution so women were not stuck with a guy forever? That would be a very telling day. One which Dave would welcome, but also feared. Feeling the need for some comfort food, Dave made himself a couple of grilled cheese sandwiches, then piled two handfuls of chips on the plate. He didn't keep soda in the house unless company was coming, so he grabbed a lime flavored seltzer. He liked soda, but that's why he didn't keep it around. After cleaning up from lunch, Dave headed back to his office space to check in on his Astronomy class. They had a project due this past weekend, so it was time to grade the results. Thirty minutes later, he felt like his eyes were bleeding reading the same errors repeatedly. Most of them were doing the math correctly, but they were measuring completely wrong. Which didn't make sense, given that Dave had made a video explicitly showing how to take the measurements. It was a simple parallax trick astronomers used for gauging distance to stars. It told also be used by surveyors to measure distance across a river or gorge. If you do it right. What he wanted to do was bang his head against a wall for ten minutes, then arrange a live zoom session with his students to find out what they didn't understand, and then have them do the project again. But there may not be enough time to complete all the semester topics. Fuck it, put out another tutorial video on the topic so they can get the parallax questions right on the midterm, and just be a little lenient grading this set of work. Work email popped a new message. From the dean. What the fuck? Seriously? Online physics? For majors? The whole point of slipping physics into the degree plans of doctors and other professionals has more to do with analytical techniques and detailed, careful experimental training than the topics covered. Yeah, several of the topics apply closely to those future careers also, but mostly it's used to make sure these kids understand the precision needed in scientific professions, how to analyze data, read graphs and use equations. And since it's tough, it weeds out those without the dedication or talent to go the distance. Dave shot back a reply email, asking for clarification. Will there be a budget to buy kits so kids can do experiments at home? How long to I have to assemble my own kits, or source some third party? What's the budget limit? Dave groaned. Just two years ago they'd gotten a grant to buy some great new lab equipment. But he only had one classroom set, and it was expensive. No way could he send out this gear to the students. Not enough for each one to have a set. And even if no one tried anything fishy, basic forgetfulness would result in a third of the equipment missing by the end of the semester. This shit was way too expensive for that. A second email from the dean, not a reply to his reply, a new topic. At least she was dependably methodical on that. Different topic required a different email chain. She might be a squishy (the dean was a microbiologist, Dave referred to all life science degreed folks as 'squishies') with little imagination on administrative matters, but she was very consistent and precise. Okay, so she's giving him a heads up on; a vaccine? Cute. Dave sent back a reply, thank her for the information, but his first partner arrived this morning and is currently passed out. She shot back a reply, relieved that he was safe, followed by an observation that departmental parties with spouses were going to be much larger from now on. Then she replied to the other email, pointing out that several big universities do online, without hands on labs. They sent the students pre-collected data and had them only do the analysis. Dave could go that route if he wanted. Of course, if Dave chose to put a few labs requiring data collection by the students, along with other labs that only used canned data, that would make their online physics more rigorous than those other schools. Just saying'. Lovely. Dave went back to grading and finished the column out. At least for those that had already submitted. A half hour surfing science kit supply companies left him unimpressed, so he pulled out a sheet of paper and outlined a video on parallax. His head wasn't right to shoot it today, but he could plan it. The day was wearing on and Dave had already gotten a lot done. Time for a brain break. Dave locked out the computer and headed downstairs to the library. Standing in the fiction area, He browsed for a bit before pulling out an old favorite, Executive Orders by Tom Clancy. He settled into a lounge chair in the library and let his mind and body relax. As usual, Dave lost all track of time while immersed in a book. He was midway through a particularly engrossing passage when Janice came through the library door with a huge grin. She'd changed out of her clothes from this morning, now dressed in his 'not procrastinating, just doing side quests' shirt and a pair of her panties. Well, maybe panties. The shirt hem was low enough to reach an inch or so below her groin. She was not wearing a bra however. The pinpoints sticking out of the shirt proclaimed that fact loudly. Dave smiled, setting the book aside and began to rise. Janice placed a soft hand on his chest and then settled herself in the lounger alongside him. She kissed him firmly on the cheek and temple, then rubbed the side of her face against his. They ended the nuzzling nose to nose, looking into each other's eyes. "Have a nice nap?" "Best sleep ever." Janice took another look around the room, taking in a deep breath. "God I love the smell of books." She snuggled in tighter. "Your profile mentioned reading as one of your pastimes, but nothing about having a full-on library in your house. I saw the smaller bookshelves in the entryway, but this really blew me away. And you have another bookshelf in the bedroom!" She stopped to deliver another steamy kiss. "It's hard sometimes finding other bookworms, except at work. I love it, but sometimes I just want to enjoy books, ya know?" "What is it you do? It feels like I should already know that, before we, um; " "Before I jumped you?" Dave nodded, then chuckled. "I just texted Becca this morning about being free talking with each other about sex, and here I am all tongue tied." Janice laughed with him. "Well, lover, I'm a librarian over at Cedar Valley." "Wow. Obviously a love of books could drive you into that career, but does it ever get to you? Make you want to get away from books?" Janice just stares at him. "I withdraw the question and humbly beg the court's forgiveness." She chuckled and kissed him on the nose. "How about you feed me something, I'm starving." "Starving, or starving?" Dave said, pushing lightly towards her with his pelvis along with the second iteration. After a hearty laugh, Janice said "Both, in that order. Give me the meat buster." Dave chortled while lifting her off him and setting her, standing on the floor. He stood beside her, giving her side eye as they walked side by side, holding hands, to the kitchen. "You give this appearance of coquettish innocence and then talk saucy enough to get me half hard before you remove so much as a single button. Is that due to the vaccine?" Janice rubbed first her shoulder, then her tit against his arm while looking up into his eyes. "Mostly just me, a few friends have said I give a reserved air until I'm with people I trust. The vaccine's effects might lower that veil a bit faster." A brief wash of pain passed over Janice's face. Dave didn't inquire, knowing it must be concern or mourning for friends no longer living. Dave took a quick look through the fridge. "We can do steak, mashed potatoes, and broccoli in about an hour, mostly because of the potatoes. Or we can do broccoli beef, probably about 45 minutes. Or we can do sloppy joes and chips in about twenty or twenty-five minutes." "Sloppy joes it is." Dave grabbed the thawed pound of ground beef, an onion, and a green bell pepper from the fridge. "Can you go into the pantry and grab a can of tomato sauce?" Dave said, while pointing to the pantry door. He remembered pointing it out this morning, but reinforcement usually helps assimilate new information. When Janice came back out, Dave had two skillets on the stove, and spices on the counter alongside a cutting board, knife and the two veggies. "Can I help?" "Sure, how's your knife skills?" "Well, I can cut a bitch if I have to; " Dave burst out laughing, lowering the knife to the counter just to be safe. He turned to Janice, giving her a fierce kiss. "Oh, I think I needed that." He wiped a few tears from his eyes and got back to dicing the pepper and onion. "Aright, how about you sauté these while I get the meat started?" With a light grimace, she asked "How?" "Toss 'em in the skillet on medium-low heat, about a tablespoon of butter" Dave looked at the veggies again, "maybe two, a couple shakes of salt. Keep the veggies in the butter, stirring a bit once in a while, until the onions start to look clear." Janice set to work sautéing, while Dave got the ground beef browning. He stepped aside from the stove to the adjacent counter to leave her more space. Dave poured 'eyeball' measured amounts of powdered garlic, paprika, cumin (very little), salt, and chili powder in to a small bowl and swirled the bowl to mix everything. When he leaned towards the stove to tend the beef, Janice leaned her head against his shoulder. "Comfy?" Janice nodded her head. Dave kissed her on the crown and she hummed. "Think you could watch both of these? Just make sure to turn the beef and keep chopping it into small bits so we get crumbles instead of big chunks. I'm going to toast some bread. Sorry, we don't have any buns." "That's okay, I know what buns I want to bite." Janice punctuated her statement with an impish wink. Dave just shook his head, grabbed the loaf out of the cabinet and got to work with the toaster. A few minutes later, Janice called out, "The beef is sizzling and sticking. I'm getting some brown in the bottom of the pan." "Perfect, pour in the veggies, then the tomato sauce." Seeing her do that he added, "Great, now sprinkle the spices over the top, as evenly as you can. Good, Now just stir that up a bit. Let it cook down some, boil off some of the liquid. Stir it every few minutes." Dave had finished the toast well before Janice had called out, but she seemed to be doing well so far and he wanted to let her get more comfortable in the kitchen. Sounded like something she wanted, based on what she'd said this morning. He did walk up behind her and give her a gentle, loose hug as she worked the skillet. Janice rested her head back on his chest. "This is so thoroughly domestic. Thank you." "You don't have to cook you know. There'll be three cooks in the family by tomorrow evening." "Yeah, and one is an eighteen year old girl who's fifteen years younger than me." "That teen girl has been through the wringer. She's shown some serious maturity. That's why I accepted her. She's the only reason I set my age range that low." "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound dismissive." Dave was quiet for a moment. "I'm sorry for coming off snappy. We lived in separate houses, but the four of us rode this mess out together." Janice nodded. "How about you tell me more over dinner. Starting tomorrow they're going to be family." With the meat reaching its final stage, Dave put a hot pad on the table for the skillet, and grabbed two open bags of chips from the cabinet. He'd already placed the toast on the table as soon a

On this edition of The Arts Section, host Gary Zidek goes behind the scenes of a local production of IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE: A LIVE RADIO PLAY. The classic film is the inspiration for this play within a play. The Dueling Critics, Kelly Kleiman and Jonathan Abarbanel, join Gary to review a new musical production of SISTER ACT. Later in the show, Gary visits a west suburban bookstore to get the scoop on what titles are on peoples' wish lists this holiday season. And we'll sit down for some Tom & Jerrys at a Chicago bar that specializes in the festive drink.

Bueno Bueno Podmas Day 19, An episode everyday for 25 days! Buy The Bueno Coffee Hoodie here!https://www.inlandentertainment.com/product-page/bueno-coffee-hoodie More Content On Patreon!patreon.com/buenobueno Call Us To Be On The Show!https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdV8WNMg69TLL4nYttVh_mKAoLRYzRtnCT226InJqh3ixQR5g/viewform Want to send us a gift?PO BOX 311145Fontana, Ca 92331 Follow Us!https://linktr.ee/buenobuenopdc Saul V GomezInstagram -  https://www.instagram.com/saulvgomez/Twitter - https://twitter.com/Saulvgomez_Tik Tok - https://www.tiktok.com/@saulvgomez Hans EsquivelInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/hans_esquivel/Tik Tok - https://www.tiktok.com/@hanss444 RexxInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/rexxb/Twitter - https://twitter.com/rexxgodbTik Tok - https://www.tiktok.com/@rexx.b1 Bueno Bueno EP. 17900:00 – Intro01:40 – Mukbang chaos & food commentary05:30 – podcast format discussion10:15 – “What's the craziest thing you've eaten?”18:35 – Women Are Having More Sex Than Men50:10 – Drinking stories & vulnerability56:00 – Protecting your partner while intoxicated58:30 – Wild party story wrap-up

Hello, mate. Thanks for joining us here on Craft Beer little jackass show, The Perfect Pour. This week we have things like: Forced 20% tipping. Secret drinkers. When do bartenders and waitstaff get their tips? Beer quiz groups are OVER! IPA Boat tangent. Playing KENO! Making a reservation tangent. Buzz Ball on Untappd? Hazy Black IPAs? The Year In Beer begins. Waffle tangent. And more! download HOSTED BY: Nick, Rad Stacey, Mikey MUSIC BY: Sunburns and Paul From Fairfax. BEER AND SHOW-RELATED LINKS: SUPPORT THE SHOW AND BECOME A GOLDEN GOD! Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts. You can also find us on Spotify and most podcast players. Perfect Pour's YouTube Channel. VOICEMAIL/TEXT LINE: 559-492-0542 Drop Us a Line: Email Perfect Pour. Join our free Lager Line Discord channel! Send Postcards or Samples to us: The Perfect Pour – co Mike Seay 2037 W. Bullard Ave #153 Fresno, CA 93711 Mikey's newsletter: Drinking & Thinking. Check this!: Mikey's Dorky Amazon Storefront.

Happy Winter Solstice! This is a time for rebirth, renewal, and new beginnings. It's also a time to receive, which is something that many of us struggle to do. Do you freely accept the generosity of others or does it make you feel vulnerable? Do you keep a tally of these “transactions” in your mind so that you can quickly repay the giver? Maybe you fear that when it really counts, others will let you down. What if this Yule, you learned to graciously and lovingly accept the kindness and love of others? As we sit by the fire, contemplate how you might be blocking blessings in your life. It's a perfect time to clear the path for something new.  What am I reading?The Winter Witch by Paula Brackstonhttps://bookshop.org/a/111301/9781250042705uWinter in the Highlands: Eating, Drinking, and Celebrating in Scotland by Flora Shedden https://bookshop.org/a/111301/9781837833689https://bookshop.org/shop/witchywomanwalkingWhat's playing on repeat?The Solstice Carole by Saffie What's for dinner? Savory Solstice PieIngredients:1 lb ground beef or plant-based meat1 onionGarlic2 tbsp olive oil 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce 1 tsp dried thyme 1 tsp ground black pepper 1⁄2 tsp salt 1 cup stock 2 tbsp all-purpose flour 1 cup peas, fresh or frozen 1 cup diced carrots 1 cup diced potatoes 2 sheets of store-bought or homemade shortcrust pastry 1 egg, beatenInstructions:Preheat oven to 40O degrees f. Heat oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, cooking until onion is translucent.Increase the heat to medium-high and add the ground meat to the skillet. Cook until browned.Stir in the Worcestershire sauce, thyme, pepper, and salt. Cook for another 2 minutes.Sprinkle flour over the meat and stir to combine. Pour in stock, stirring continuously until mixture thickens.Reduce heat to low and add peas, carrots, and potatoes. Simmer for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let it cool slightly.Roll out one sheet of the pastry and line a 9-inch pie dish with it. Trim any excess pastry.Pour the meat and vegetable mixture into the pie dish.Roll out the second sheet of pastry and place it over the filling. Trim and crimp the edges to seal the pie.Cut a few slits in the top pastry to allow steam to escape.Brush the top with beaten egg.Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown and crispy.Allow the pie to cool for a few minutes before slicing. Enjoy!Sparkling Cranberry Rosemary MocktailIngredients:2 cups unsweetened cranberry juice2 cups sparkling waterJuice two limes 2 rosemary sprigsFresh cranberries1–2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup Ice cubesInstructions:Fill glasses with ice cubes.In a pitcher, combine cranberry juice, sparkling water, and lime juice. Stir gently to mix.Stir in sweetener until dissolved.Lightly bruise rosemary by tapping sprigs with the back of a spoon to release their aroma. Add to pitcher or place in the glasses.Add a few fresh cranberries into each glass.Pour the cranberry mocktail into glasses. Enjoy!Support the show

This week I'm the guest and my friends at Whiskey Web and Whatnot are the hosts. And they're great hosts, because they send their guests a bottle of whiskey before talking web and whatnot...As we head into the holidays I hope you'll raise a glass with us and enjoy this very laid back episode... Chuck and Robbie hosted me a year ago and I love that they got me on tape when they did, because it was just as I was starting to consider making some big changes to my show... Changes that I will announce in late January... so get excited for that! and please subscribe to this here podcsat in your favorite apps, and get the newsletter at crafted.fmHere's how they described the episode:Robbie and Chuck talk with Dan Blumberg about his journey from radio producer to product manager and podcaster. They explore the art of building great software, podcasting essentials, and the changing landscape of podcast platforms. Plus, Dan shares his kayaking adventures and insights on balancing authenticity and growth.And if you please…Subscribe to the CRAFTED. newsletter atcrafted.fmShare with a friend! Word of mouth is by far the most powerful way for podcasts to growSponsor the show? I'm actively speaking to potential sponsors for 2026 episodes. Drop me a line and let's talk.Get psyched!… There are some big updates to this show coming soonFor more on Whiskey Web and Whatnot...Check ou:t https://whiskey.fmConnect with Robbie Wagner: https://x.com/RobbieTheWagnerConnect with Chuck Carpenter: https://x.com/CharlesWthe3rd In this episode:- (00:00) - Intro- (03:26) - Whiskey review and rating: Woodinville Straight Bourbon- (09:23) - Apple Podcasts vs Spotify- (11:20) - Spotify video vs YouTube- (13:02) - Podcasting audio vs video- (15:24) - Advice on starting a podcast- (19:24) - Equipment requirements for guests on podcasts- (22:15) - Having a pre-interview interview- (26:06) - Social media and podcasting challenges- (27:37) - How to grow your audience- (33:18) - How to make money as a podcaster- (37:28) - Being yourself vs having a persona- (38:42) - Monetizing your podcast- (42:11) - What's missing from RSS- (43:38) - Dan's non-tech career ideas- (45:40) - Podcast recommendations- (49:12) - Dan's plugsLinks- Woodinville Straight Bourbon: https://woodinvillewhiskeyco.com/- Crafted: https://crafted.fm- WNYC: https://www.wnyc.org/- NYT: https://www.nytimes.com/- Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/- Spotify: https://www.spotify.com/- Pocket Casts: https://pocketcasts.com/- IAB: https://www.iab.com/- National Geographic: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/- Shure SM7B: https://www.shure.com/en-US/products/microphones/sm7b- Focusrite: https://focusrite.com/- Shure MV7: https://www.shure.com/en-US/products/microphones/mv7- Elgato: https://www.elgato.com/- AirPods: https://www.apple.com/airpods/- Audio Technica: https://www.audio-technica.com/en-us/- Morning Edition: https://www.wnyc.org/shows/me- Chicago Public Radio: https://www.wbez.org/- Riverside: https://riverside.fm/- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/- Mr. Beast: https://youtube.com/@mrbeast- Docker: https://www.docker.com/- Artium: https://www.thisisartium.com/- Jay Clouse: https://creatorscience.com/- Hark: https://harkaudio.com/- Syntax: https://syntax.fm/- Hard Fork: https://www.nytimes.com/column/hard-fork- Big Technology with Alex Kantrowitz: https://www.bigtechnology.com/- Decoder with Nilay Patel: https://www.theverge.com/decoder- How I Built This: https://www.npr.org/series/490248027/how-i-built-this- Acquired: https://www.acquired.fm/- Smartless: https://smartless.com/- Wondery: https://wondery.com/- Sacha Baron Cohen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacha_Baron_Cohen- Tim Burton: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Burton- Beetlejuice: https://www.warnerbros.com/movies/beetlejuice- Darknet Diaries: https://darknetdiaries.com/

Thank you to my sponsor: BlueChew BlueChew - Get 10% off your first month of BlueChew Gold with code DAVID at http://bluechew.com More Bryan Callen Bryan Callen's Comedy Special “False Gods” on YT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqiw3oF04RU Tour Dates: https://bryancallen.com/ The Fighter and The Kid Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@TheFighterAndTheKid Off Limits Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vn2PUleuGII&list=PLmAhHQAKGAqrmn7PFCxLThEExNBGoRIPO IG: https://www.instagram.com/bryancallen X: https://x.com/bryancallen Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/therealbryancallen/ David Lucas Tour Dates: https://www.davidlucascomedy.com/tour 0:00 Fishing, Hiking, Drinking wine 4:57 Dating and relationships 21:43 Brian Simpson, Jay Legend, Myles Johnson 26:42 Joking about all topics, David's family 34:27 Jaime Foxx, Kurt Metzger, Conspiracy theories 40:03 Ashkenazi Jews, Black Israelites 45:14 Austin, Always working, Always wanting NEW MERCH AVAILABLE https://shopdavidlucas.com/ Connect with David Lucas Website: https://www.davidlucascomedy.com Merch: https://shopdavidlucas.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidlucasfunny Twitter: https://twitter.com/funnydavidlucas Youtube: ​⁠@DavidLucasComedian David Lucas was born in Macon, GA. He started acting an early age, performing in numerous stage plays at the Macon Little Theatre. He relocated to Hollywood where he was a contestant on, “MTV Yo Momma”. He has since written for several television shows and continues to perform stand up all over the country (for such comedians as Louis CK, Erik Griffin, Joe Rogan, Brendan Schaub, Tony Hinchcliffe, Bert Kreisher, DL Hughley and many more). David is a Kill Tony Hall of Famer and currently headlining his own tour! Filmed By Daniel Casas https://www.instagram.com/presentedbydaniel A 7EQUIS Network Show https://www.instagram.com/7equis https://www.7equis.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to DTC Newsletter - https://dtcnews.link/signupThis one's for the Amazon operators. Eric's joined by Pilothouse's Amazon leads Tyler and Takai for a tactical BFCM debrief: how one brand 3x'd in November, and the optimizations that separated the winners from the stalled-out.For Amazon brands prepping for deal season 2026...Why adjusting bids every few hours on BFCM isn't overkill, it's table stakesHow Buddha Board used Q1 seasonal keyword campaigns to dominate Q4Why not discounting your hero product can kill your momentum—and rankWhat to watch: Buy Box battles, billing failures, and inventory stockoutsWho this is for: Brands selling on Amazon, agencies running client accounts, operators trying to scale beyond ad-only growthWhat to steal:Search Query Performance Report: find keywords you're under-targeting with high conversion potentialDeal discount strategy: 20% minimum, monitor competitor offers in real timeBuild keyword rank 6–12 months out from your key seasonTimestamps00:00 Amazon BFCM optimization mindset02:10 Why frequent bid and budget changes matter04:00 How aggressive Amazon bid adjustments get during BFCM07:00 Building Amazon keyword ranking before Q411:00 Buddha Board case study and seasonal keyword strategy15:00 How early planning led to 3x November growth17:00 Amazon buy box explained and reseller risks23:30 Common BFCM pitfalls: billing, inventory, hero SKUs28:00 What actually worked in Amazon BFCM 202529:50 The discount levels that moved buyersHashtags#AmazonFBA #AmazonAdvertising #BFCMRecap #BlackFridayStrategy #CyberMonday #AmazonPPC #EcommerceMarketing #DTCBrands #AmazonBuyBox #AmazonGrowth #EcommercePodcast #Q4Strategy #AmazonCaseStudy #RetailMedia #Pilothouse Subscribe to DTC Newsletter - https://dtcnews.link/signupAdvertise on DTC - https://dtcnews.link/advertiseWork with Pilothouse - https://www.pilothouse.co/?utm_source=AKNF569Follow us on Instagram & Twitter - @dtcnewsletterWatch this interview on YouTube - https://dtcnews.link/video

Have you moved beyond the initial steps of your caregiving journey and now find yourself needing to take more control while your loved one still believes they can do most things independently? Are you noticing that simple tasks are becoming increasingly challenging for them, yet they resist your help? You're not alone! You've entered what we call the “messy middle” stage of your caregiving journey. We created for you the comprehensive, 20-step caregiving journey roadmap guide, Navigating Dementia Caregiving Roadmap Connect with us and share your tips: Website: https://thecaregiversjourney.org/Donate: https://give.cornerstone.cc/thecaregiversjourneyInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecaregiversjourney/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecaregiversjourneys/Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/suearmstrongryan/, https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancytreaster/Email: sue@thecaregiversjourney.org, nancy@thecaregiversjourney.org Full Show Notes Additional Resources Mentioned Messy Middle First Steps - You recognize it's time to assert more control  11. Focus on safety.  Listen to these podcasts or read these blogs.Home Alone - Hear about the deal breakers for living home alone:21 minute TCJ podcast: 6. Home AloneTCJ blog: 6. Home Alone.Medication - Understand strategies to safely manage medication:20 minute TCJ podcast: 20. Medication ManagementTCJ blog: 20. Medication Management.Home Safety - Find approaches to the basics of home safety:25 minute TCJ podcast: 7. Home Safety TCJ blog: 7. Home SafetyWandering - Learn ways to manage three types of wandering: outside, inside and during the night.20 minute TCJ podcast: 4. Wandering TCJ blog: 4. Wandering. 12. Continue to prioritize your self-care.  Understand how to approach the realities of self-care:23 minute TCJ podcast: 27. The Realities of Caregiver Self-CareTCJ blog: 27. The Reality of Caregiver Self-Care. 13. Educate yourself on activities of daily living (ADLs). Prepare for changes in your loved ones ability to manage their ADLs.Listen to these podcasts or read these blogs on activities of daily living:26 minute TCJ podcast: 9. Preparing for Incontinence TCJ blog: 9. Preparing for Incontinence21 minute TCJ podcast: 14. Bathing and DressingTCJ blog: 14. Bathing and Dressing21 minute TCJ podcast: 15. Personal Care e.g. brushing teeth, trimming hair TCJ blog: 15. Personal Care21 minute TCJ podcast: 16. Eating and Drinking TCJ blog: 16. Eating and Drinking. 14.Create a Care Plan - at minimum a Family Emergency Plan. 25 minute TCJ podcast: 33. How to Create a Care Plan TCJ blog: 33. Creating a Care Plan. Messy Middle - Continued Second Steps - It's time for more support 15. Start or increase leveraging dementia/adult day programs.  Community resource finder: Select Community Services and choose Adult Day Centers for your search. 16. Start thinking about professional help. Educate yourself: Evaluate continuing care communities (even if you never plan to use one) just in case.33 minute TCJ podcast: 28. Home and Community Living Options TCJ blog: 28. Home and Community Living Options.Understand the types of paid caregivers:26 minute TCJ podcast: 32. Hiring a Paid Caregiver TCJ blog: 32. Hiring a Paid Caregiver.Find an organization to help. Search online: ‘Senior Care Advisor' + ‘your area'.Look for options yourself. Go to the Community Resource Finder sponsored by the Alzheimer's Association and AARP. 17. Continue your education. Take the Savvy Caregiver Advanced training (this can be taken in-person or virtually).Delusions:38 minute TCJ podcast: 23. DelusionsTCJ blog: 23. Delusions.Incontinence:26 minute TCJ podcast: 10. Incontinence Begins TCJ blog: 10. Incontinence Begins. Support the nonprofit The Caregiver's Journey: https://give.cornerstone.cc/thecaregiversjourney

Ian McNulty joins Don Dubuc to talk about the best places to eat and drink in New Orleans.

Ohio head coach Brian Smith was fired this week...for allegedly having a relationship with an undergrad student. Brian Smith was allegedly having an extramarital affair...but the University of Ohio also fired Brian Smith for consistently drinking on the job. We discuss the ongoing scandal at the University of Ohio...that resulted in Brian Smith getting fired. We question why head coaches continue to risk their career...to engage in extramarital affairs. We also explain why collegiate coaches are held to a different standard...and why Ohio was justified in firing Brian Smith. SUBSCRIBE TO BEHIND THE LINE - SHORTS: https://www.youtube.com/@btlshorts-84

Sign Up for Mostly Dry January--The DailyIn this Think Thursday episode, Molly explains why the holiday season can feel emotionally harder even when nothing is “wrong.” Using neuroscience and psychology, she introduces the concept of the window of tolerance and explores how cumulative stress, anticipation, sensory overload, emotional memory, and disrupted routines narrow our capacity for regulation during December.Molly walks through what happens in the brain under prolonged stress, including the role of cortisol, emotional flooding, and nervous system survival responses. She reframes coping behaviors as signals of an overwhelmed nervous system rather than a lack of discipline, and shares realistic, supportive ways to gently expand capacity during a demanding season.What You'll LearnWhat the window of tolerance is and why it mattersHow December compresses our stress tolerance through cumulative demandsWhy anticipation can activate stress before events even happenThe role of cortisol in emotional flooding and impulse controlHow the prefrontal cortex, amygdala, and hippocampus are affected by prolonged stressWhy coping urges increase when nervous system capacity is lowPractical, doable ways to support regulation without adding pressureKey Concepts ExplainedWindow of tolerance as a flexible range that expands and contractsHyperarousal and hypoarousal as nervous system survival statesEmotional flooding when feelings rise faster than regulation systems can manageCapacity over discipline as a more helpful framework for behavior change during stressful seasonsPractical Tools Shared in the EpisodeCreating predictability with small daily routinesUsing gentle movement to lower cortisolSupporting the nervous system through sensory regulation like warmth, sound, and lightTaking frequent micro recovery moments rather than long breaksNaming emotions to reduce amygdala activationAdjusting expectations when capacity is lowerChoosing stability over optimization during high stress periodsResearch and References MentionedDr. Dan Siegel's Window of Tolerance modelResearch in Psychoneuroendocrinology on cortisol and prolonged stressNeuroscience findings on stress effects in the prefrontal cortex, amygdala, and hippocampusUCLA research on affect labeling and emotion regulationThe Feelings Wheel by Dr. Gloria Wilcox, referenced from Breaking the Bottle LegacyRelated Think Thursday EpisodesThe Neuroscience of AnticipationSelective IgnoranceDefensive PessimismNovelty for Habit ChangeThe Neuroscience of Mental Rest ★ Support this podcast ★

What was it that made Paul McCartney's bass sound so unique?  We dive into that before welcoming our amazing guest, Diallo Riddle, and talking best Beatles roommates, a lot of Pee Wee's Big Adventure, the strange creepiness of The Magical Mystery Tour Cover, and the sped up b-side Rain.  Is it the best Beatles cover?  Where does it land on our big old list?  Listen in to find out.As always, you can find Team Blotto Beatles on Instagram (@blottobeatles) and Twitter / X (@blottobeatles), by emailing us (blottobeatles@gmail.com), or on the web (blottobeatles.com).  We want to hear from you!Please also take the time to rate and review us on Apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.We have a shop!  Grab some merch.  You can always drunk dial us at 1.857.233.9793 to share your thoughts, feedback, confessions, and concerns to be featured in an upcoming episode. Enjoying the show? Buy us a beer via the tip jar (don't forget to include a message telling us what we should drink with the money).You know we're making a list of it, see the canonical, argument-ending list of Beatles songs we are assembling here: http://www.blottobeatles.com & listen to it on Spotify here.Please remember to always enjoy Blotto Beatles responsibly.Peace and Love.Hosts: Becker and TommyGuest: Diallo Riddle (@diallo)Executive Producer: Scotty C.Senior Director of Sonic Strategies: RBAssociate Musical Supervision: Tim Clark (@nodisassemble)Artist-in-Residence: Colin Driscoll (@theroyal.we)

Matty grew up as the youngest of 8 on the South Side of Chicago. He quickly turned to substances as a remedy for life, which led him to the rooms young. For years he came and went, but he always came back. Today, Matty's life stands as a testament to the program and to his commitment to working it.Sobriety Date: 3/3/2023Quotes“I didn't get sober to be miserable.”“It changed for me when I stopped viewing myself as a victim to life.”“Praying is like smiling, I do it even when I don't want to ‘cause at some point I'll mean it.”Referred by: Sara A. (Episode #211)InstagramFacebook

There was a time in my life when I didn't think I deserved better than what alcohol was doing to me.I knew — intellectually — that God loved me. But I didn't love myself. And somewhere along the way, I started believing the lie that this mess was mine to clean up alone.In this episode, I'm speaking to you the way I speak to a woman sitting across from me in coaching — honestly, gently, and without pressure. We talk about the real battle beneath drinking: the voices in your head, the shame that fuels the urge to numb, and how the enemy works through lies when we're at our weakest.You'll hear parts of my own story of breaking free from alcohol, how I learned to discern God's voice from the voice of accusation, and why alcohol often shows up as a “cheap substitute” right when healing is about to happen.We talk about:Why drinking often has more to do with shame than willpowerHow the enemy whispers lies about your identity when you're most vulnerableThe difference between conviction and condemnationWhy alcohol promises relief but ultimately deepens the painWhat it actually means to “take every thought captive”How learning to reject lies and claim truth changes everythingThis is a conversation about healing, identity, and freedom — not perfection.If this episode resonates with you, this is the kind of work we practice together inside the Sacred Sobriety Lab. You'll find more details in the show notes, along with a special listener discount available through January.Drop us a Question or CommentBreak free from alcohol with Christ-centered guidance, community support, and powerful tools. Transform your life with the Sacred Sobriety Lab. Join today at https://SacredSobrietyLab.com. Use Code NEWYEAR20 for 20% off

In this last free show of the year. We speak to Simon Wady who is the author of the new book, Fleming's Kent. More info on the pre-order and competition here. On the show todayANYTHING BONDIAN PETE & ROB: There are tales of my (Pete) Fleming location hunting in Vienna, such as this clock featured in Thrilling Cities. Rob meets David Arnold and Martine Beswick all on the same weekend. For listener mail : therewillbebond@gmail.comThis month we are partnered with ⁠⁠⁠Wilde & Harte⁠⁠⁠ Razors.Use TAILORS20 for a discount at W&H. Join us on Patreon for as little as a pound week. https://www.patreon.com/c/ThereWillBeMoreBondEpisode #111S2. EP#010

Chityah and Mar'quae celebrate Beyonce's 25th birthday in style by all getting too drunk to function so enjoy LMAO. 

What Cynthia's Drinking: Freixenet Zero Brut (non-alcoholic sparkling wine) What Jessica's Drinking: 2023 Chenin Blanc from Encanto Vineyards (Lake County) This week on Wine & Chisme, we sit down with Cynthia Prato- Army veteran, author, and certified life coach, for one of our most powerful conversations yet. Cynthia opens up about enlisting in the National Guard on a dare, becoming a military interrogator, and being one of the only women in her unit. She shares her experiences with military sexual trauma (MST), the PTSD she carried silently for years, and the moment she realized her unhealed trauma was affecting her son. From growing up as a Mexi-Nica in Miami to serving in Hungary during post-9/11 tensions, Cynthia's journey is raw, real, and ultimately redemptive. We talk about: ✨ Being the first Latina woman in her family to serve ✨ Navigating relationships while carrying unprocessed trauma ✨ The decision to stop drinking and start healing ✨ Setting boundaries with family ✨ Why self-care doesn't require a spa day ✨ How to find your purpose when life doesn't go as planned This conversation gets deep, but it's also filled with hope, humor, and hard-earned wisdom. Cynthia reminds us that healing isn't linear, it's never too late to choose yourself, and whatever you're not changing, you're choosing. Guest: Cynthia PratoWebsite: BeyondTheHorizonllc.comInstagram: @beyondthehorizonconsultingBook: Get It Together Without Losing Your Mind (Available on Amazon)

Are you ready for some real talk about what may be missing in your healthcare experience? Dr. Bob Uslander highlights the “gaps in care” we rarely name — gaps in planning, knowledge, understanding treatment options, and navigating care needs, including hospice. How does poor coordination in our healthcare system limit communication and leave crucial choices, like VSED (Voluntarily Stopping Eating and Drinking), poorly understood and seldom discussed? And how can we better recognize life-enhancing services and therapies that improve quality of life, even while on the path of dying? Ultimately, how do we navigate complex medical situations with clearer information and better understanding of the limitations we will likely face?For more information on Best Life Best Death please visit our website at ⁠⁠www.bestlifebestdeath.com⁠⁠Follow us on our social channels to receive pertinent and helpful resources on death, grieving, and more at:Facebook: ⁠⁠www.facebook.com/bestlifebestdeath⁠⁠Instagram: ⁠⁠www.instagram.com/bestlifebestdeath⁠⁠

A family vacation in Central Florida turns deadly after a father allegedly falls asleep in a hot tub while holding his toddler daughter. A strange smell inside an SUV in Tennessee leads to a long, yellow python hidden under the hood. Drew Nelson reports.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“Drink your milk,” we are told as children. CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta examines our practice of continuing to drinking cow's milk as we grow up. Plus, how to get the best sleep if you work the night shift.  Producer & Medical Writer: Andrea Kane Showrunner: Amanda Sealy Senior Producer: Dan Bloom Technical Director: Dan Dzula Executive Producer: Steve Lickteig Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A Higher Self Hypnotic Journey for Clarity, Completion, and the Next Version of YouIf you've been feeling unclear about what actually changed this year…If part of you wonders whether anything really shifted, even though you know so much transformed internally…If you're craving a meaningful end to the year that feels intentional rather than chaotic…This episode is for you.In this hypnotic journey, you'll connect with your Higher Self - the version of you who sees the bigger picture, who already understands what has completed, and who knows what's rising next.This is a gentle, powerful reset you can listen to any time of year when you need clarity, validation, or alignment.//  INSIDE THE JOURNEY  We'll ask your Higher Self...What can your Higher Self help you recognize about the growth you achieved in the past year? What can you give yourself more credit for?What inner strength, clarity, or wisdom quietly expanded within you this year?What is your Higher Self gently asking you to set down, not because it was wrong, but because you've simply outgrown it?What helps you receive guidance more clearly: stillness, movement, journaling, breath, nature, or something else entirely?How can you carry your connection with your Higher Self into daily life, not just during journeys or meditation? What would that look like for you?What is the next aligned action your Higher Self wants you to take as you move into a new season of your life?After the journey, you'll deepen your integration with optional journal prompts for integration below. I recommend writing about your experience for at least a few minutes after the journey. It can help to solidify the information and perspectives into your mind AND give you even more insights and trust into this connection you have to your Higher Self.//  HYP SUGGESTIONS YOU'LL RECEIVE  These suggestions gently continue the work long after the episode ends:With every breath, your Higher Self becomes easier to hear, easier to trust, and easier to follow.Your body now recognizes the difference between what's complete and what's truly yours to carry forward.As you set down what no longer fits, space opens naturally for the new version of you that is already rising.//  JOURNAL PROMPTS  Let your Higher Self say even more + use these to anchor the shift. Sit quietly after the hypnotic journey and write the answers that come to you when you read these questions.What habits, beliefs, or emotional patterns made it harder for you to hear your Higher Self this year?What supported you the most in staying connected to your Higher Self this year? Even in small, quiet moments?What feeling, energy, or expression is beginning to rise within you next? What wants space to grow?//  TIME STAMPS :00 - 4:45 :: A few mins for me to tee-up this journey for you4:46 - End :: Journey to your Higher Self// MORE HYP JOURNEY INFO + PREP Access the PDF, hypnotic track and more here - https://www.jinaseer.com/session-prepEpisode 3 - Anatomy of a Past Life RegressionEpisode 214 - Awareness: Your New RealityEpisode 215 - Anatomy of a Hypnotic Journey: Another Lifetime, Higher Self & SuggestionEpisode 245 - A Soft Ending: Your 3-Journey Ritual for Releasing the Year | Seer Sessions #245//  THE  VIDEO  Another full-color sunrise from my backyard. Drinking coffee and getting my day started with this view makes me so grateful.//  FREE HYPNOTIC JOURNEYS  //Journey to Another Life, Meet Your Higher Self, or Connect with Loved Ones on the Other Side: https://www.jinaseer.com/free-hyp

Got a question, comment, or just want to drop some encouragement? Send us a text.The holidays can fill a room with warmth, noise, and nostalgia—and still leave one partner quietly overwhelmed. We dig into the messy middle where alcohol meets family rituals, social anxiety, and the pressure to keep everything magical for kids. Through a candid case study of Heath and Bailey, we unpack why couples get stuck arguing over “how many drinks” while missing the deeper issue: presence and shared responsibility.We explore the common reasons people drink at festive gatherings—soothing awkwardness, enhancing joy, numbing grief—and show how a quick pour can shift from choice to reflex. Instead of counting glasses, we focus on what actually protects connection: clarity, planning, and agreed signals. You'll hear a practical set of questions to map your approach before events: whether to drink at all, who drives, what limits feel respectful, how to read each other's signals, and what you want your kids to observe about adult decision-making. We also talk openly about family addiction history, genetic risk, and how to avoid shame while still taking risk seriously.Our goal is simple: help you design holidays where you remain reachable to yourself and each other, even in crowded rooms. Expect straight talk about boundaries that don't feel controlling, compassion for the partner who leans on a drink to get through, and concrete ways to replace reactivity with choice. If you've had the same argument on the drive home year after year, this conversation offers a path to alignment you can actually use at the next gathering.If this resonates, follow the show and leave a rating. Share this episode with someone who needs a calmer holiday plan, and tell us: what's one agreement you'll try at your next celebration?Get your copy or audiobook of Too Tired to Fight today!: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/059371427X Want some personalized help. Schedule a free coaching consultation here: https://calendly.com/ccfp/meet-the-mitchells

It's the High Society Radio Christmas special no one invited them to. Chris Faga and Chris Stanley are back to basics — talking parties they didn't make the list for, Sandals resorts, and the invention of the “suaslide.” The boys break down Polymarket bets on global wars, Tucker Carlson's new Qatari adventures, and the chaos of AI teaming up with Disney. Add in some CIA “breaking news,” a few perfectly timed bleeps, and a solid argument about mail-order brides, and you've got another top-tier mix of politics, perversion, and vacation envy.The Christmas Party They Weren't Invited ToBack to BasicsBig Sandals GuyPolymarket Betting on the Ukraine WarCambodia vs ThailandWhy Do We Still Listen to Washington?Glenn Beck's Botox ForeheadBreaking CIA News“If We Could Vote From Our Phones…”Tucker Carlson Buys a House in QatarDoorDash Pricing RantDesigner Galaxy GasJapan Is F***ed UpMail-Order BridesDisney and OpenAIDON'T FORGET TO WATCH FAGA'S NEW SPECIAL "BURN AFTER SAYING" ON THE HSR YOUTUBE PAGE!⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxIHJU2LotU⁠⁠Support Our Sponsors!⁠⁠https://yokratom.com/⁠⁠ - Check out Yo Kratom (the home of the $60 kilo) for all your kratom needs!Body Brain Coffee: https://bodybraincoffee.com/ - Grab A Bag of Body Brain Coffee with Promo Code HSR20 to get 20% off!⁠⁠https://fatdickhotchocolate.net/⁠⁠ Get you a fat dick at fatdickhotchocolate.netHigh Society Radio is 2 native New Yorkers who started from the bottom and didn't raise up much. That's not the point, if you enjoy a sideways view on technology, current events, or just an in depth analysis of action movies from 2006 this is the show for you.Chris Stanley is the on-air producer for Bennington on Sirius XM.A Twitter Chris Really Likes: ⁠⁠https://x.com/stanman42069⁠⁠Chris from Brooklyn is a lifelong street urchin, a former head chef and current retiree.Twitter: ⁠⁠https://twitter.com/ChrisFromBklyn⁠⁠Follow Mike Suarez X: https://x.com/MikeVSuarez Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mikevsuarezEngineer: JorgeEditor: TannerInstagram: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/lilkinky69/⁠⁠Executive Producer: Mike HarringtonInstagram: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/themharrington/⁠⁠Twitter: ⁠⁠https://twitter.com/TheMHarrington⁠See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Want to work with us? Reach out! inquiries at milestomemories dot com Get an easy $200 from Melio for making your first payment! (Affiliate link. Terms below) https://affiliates.meliopayments.com/travelonpointsteam Episode Description On this episode of MTM Travel Mark returns to recap his Thanksgiving family adventure to London and Paris. From flights to hotels and what to do, he covers his unique perspective on these two iconic cities. Shawn also recaps this weekend's MTM Diamond meetup in San Antonio and the two contemplate whether big family trips are worth it. 0:00 Welcome to MTM Travel 0:24 Disney drinking around the world inflation 6:14 The rush to visit Saudi Arabia? 9:10 The spouse trip - Another side benefit of miles & points 11:50 Mark's upcoming solo trip to the Azores 16:18 1:1 transfer partners - Going to become a thing of the past? 23:17 How to rarn an easy 15K+ 26:00 The dangers of Fintech? Mesa card abruptly shuts down 28:25 What are Fintech cards and how do they differ from traditional credit cards? 32:10 Why does Bilt get so much coverage and are they different? 35:15 The moves towards earning points on mortgages Enjoying the podcast? Please consider leaving us a positive review on your favorite podcast platform! You can also connect with us anytime at podcast@milestomemories.com.  You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, TuneIn, Pocket Casts, or via RSS. Don't see your favorite podcast platform? Please let us know!

In this episode of the Alcohol Minimalist podcast, Molly explores one of the most powerful yet under-recognized tools for transforming your relationship with alcohol: the language you use in your thoughts.She explains how common phrases like “I need a drink” or “I deserve this glass of wine” are not just throwaway expressions. These words create specific emotional reactions that drive habitual behaviors, especially during emotionally charged moments. Using the Alcohol Minimalist framework and the Behavior Map – Results Cycle, Molly walks through how rewording your thoughts can unlock more peaceful, intentional decisions about drinking.This episode focuses on two key language pairs:“Need” vs. “Want”“Deserve” vs. “Choose”You'll discover how shifting these words can reduce emotional urgency, increase your sense of agency, and help you align more closely with your alcohol core beliefs and long-term goals.What You'll LearnWhy your thoughts matter more than you think—especially the words you useThe neurological and emotional impact of saying “I need” versus “I want”How “I deserve this” may be fueling your desire without your awarenessWhy choosing your language intentionally supports long-term changeHow to rewire beliefs using the Alcohol Core Beliefs framework and the Behavior Map – Results CycleMentioned in the EpisodeMolly's book: Breaking the Bottle LegacyAlcohol Core Beliefs worksheetThe Behavior Map – Results CycleNew program announcement: Mostly Dry January – The Daily A daily support experience launching this January to help you stay focused, inspired, and mindful throughout the month.Key Quote“Your thoughts are not just background noise—they're the engine behind your emotions and actions. Change the thought, and you change the result.” – Molly WattsLinks and ResourcesLearn more about the Alcohol Core BeliefsJoin the Mostly Dry January – The Daily experienceInstagram: @alcoholminimalistFacebook Group: Alcohol MinimalistsTake Action This WeekStart tuning into your internal dialogue. When you catch yourself thinking “I need a drink” or “I deserve this,” pause and reframe it. Try saying “I want a drink” or “I choose to have a drink” and notice the emotional difference.Language is the entry point to lasting change.Low risk drinking guidelines from the NIAAA:Healthy men under 65:No more than 4 drinks in one day and no more than 14 drinks per week.Healthy women (all ages) and healthy men 65 and older:No more than 3 drinks in one day and no more than 7 drinks per week.One drink is defined as 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof liquor. So remember that a mixed drink or full glass of wine are probably more than one drink.Abstinence from alcoholAbstinence from alcohol is the best choice for people who take medication(s) that interact with alcohol, have health conditions that could be exacerbated by alcohol (e.g. liver disease), are pregnant or may become pregnant or have had a problem with alcohol or another substance in the past.Benefits of “low-risk” drinkingFollowing these guidelines reduces the risk of health problems such as cancer, liver disease, reduced immunity, ulcers, sleep problems, complications of existing conditions, and more. It also reduces the risk of depression, social problems, and difficulties at school or work. ★ Support this podcast ★

DiscoShow closes, Wynn plans to use the Desert Inn name, Golden Nugget plans a new poker room, Fremont plans a new gastropub The post FHBM #988: Show Me Your Fingers first appeared on Five Hundy By Midnight.

Text Me!If you've ever told yourself… “I just need to try harder.” “I should be able to control this.” “Tomorrow will be different.”…but nothing actually changes, this episode is for you.Today, I break down the REAL reason quitting feels impossible when you're relying on willpower alone and why this doesn't mean you're weak. It means you're using the wrong tool for the job.If you're trying to figure out how to stop drinking every night, tired of white-knuckling your way through evenings, or wondering why logic and good intentions never seem to stick, you'll finally understand what's going on beneath the surface.This episode is especially supportive for women who feel frustrated, ashamed, discouraged, or confused about why they can be successful in every other area of life… except this one.In this episode, you'll learn:Why willpower is a temporary emotion, not a strategyHow alcohol hijacks the brain's reward systemWhy cutting back feels impossible when you're stressedThe deeper emotional triggers behind drinkingWhat actually works if you want long-term changeHow to build real coping tools so you know how to relax without alcoholWhy sobriety coaching helps you succeed without burnout or perfectionismThe strategy that replaces shame and willpower with clarity and confidenceIf you're stuck in the “I will do better tomorrow” loop, this episode will help you understand why and how to break free, finally.Resources Mentioned:Subscribe to my YouTube Channel1:1 CoachingMy Book PODCAST SPONSOR:This episode is sponsored by Soberlink, a trusted accountability tool for anyone navigating early recovery. Whether you're rebuilding trust with loved ones or want more structure in your sobriety, Soberlink offers a discreet and empowering way to stay on track.Sober Vibes listeners, sign up HERE and claim our $100 Enrollment Bonus.This episode is sponsored by ExactNature, a trusted holistic tool for anyone navigating recovery and sobriety. Use code SV25 at checkout to save on your order. Click here to shop and save. Grab my Masterclass for Free:Gain access to my Masterclass when you submit a review on iTunes. Email me sobervibes@gmail.com with a screenshot of the review, and I will send you the code to unlock my Masterclass for free!Thank you for tuning in!Thank you for listening! Help the show by Rating, Reviewing, and/or Subscribing to the Sober Vibes Podcast. Connect w/ Courtney:InstagramJoin the Sobriety Circle Apply for 1:1 CoachingOrder the Sober Vibes Book