Podcasts about engineers

Episode Description:Mike Massimino's path to space was not a straight line. It was a long series of obstacles, failures, second attempts, and decisions not to quit.In this From the Archive conversation, James talks with Mike about his memoir Spaceman, his two shuttle missions to service the Hubble Space Telescope, his career at NASA, his work at Columbia, and the deeper lessons behind becoming an astronaut.Mike explains that spaceflight may look impossibly complex from the outside, but NASA makes it possible through preparation, checklists, training, repetition, and teamwork. In space, even the hardest work has structure. Back on Earth, ordinary life can sometimes feel harder because there is no checklist for getting through the day.James and Mike talk about the view of Earth from orbit and why Mike's first reaction after a spacewalk was: “The Earth is a planet.” From space, Earth no longer looks like a safe, permanent background. It looks like a fragile home traveling through a dangerous universe.The conversation then moves back to Mike's childhood. He watched Neil Armstrong walk on the moon and saw the New York Mets win the World Series in 1969, but he did not believe becoming an astronaut was realistic. Astronauts seemed like superheroes. It felt like something other people did.Still, the dream stayed with him.Mike describes failing his PhD qualifying exam at MIT, being told he might not be suited for the program, and deciding to try again anyway. He talks about applying to NASA four times, being rejected, failing the medical exam because of his eyesight, and then doing the seemingly impossible: training his eyes to pass the standard without surgery.For James, this becomes the central lesson. Most people would have accepted medical disqualification as proof that the dream was over. Mike saw it as another obstacle.The episode also explores what “the right stuff” really means. Mike pushes back against the old image of the astronaut as a lone, fearless test pilot. The real right stuff, he says, is whether someone can be trusted with your life. Can they work on a team? Will they help when you need help? Will they ask for help when they need it?Near the end, James identifies another pattern in Mike's life: he may not have been the best at any single thing, but he became unusually good at a combination of things. Astronaut. Engineer. Spacewalker. Teacher. Communicator. Author. Public face for science. That combination made him uniquely valuable.The result is a conversation about space, but also about persistence, meaning, teamwork, and the improbable path from childhood dream to real achievement.Editorial Note:This is a From the Archive episode. References to NASA programs, the Space Launch System, Orion, Commercial Crew, SpaceX, Boeing, Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic, the shuttle program, and Mike's recent book activity reflect the original recording period.What You'll Learn:Why astronauts rely so heavily on checklists, procedures, training, and team support.How the view of Earth from space changed Mike Massimino's relationship to the planet.Why Mike believes life likely exists somewhere else in the universe.What the Hubble Deep Field revealed about galaxies hiding in a seemingly empty patch of sky.Why childhood dreams can matter even when they seem impossible.How Mike decided which dreams were worth paying the price to pursue.Why failing at MIT did not end his path to NASA.How he handled repeated NASA rejections.Why failing the astronaut eye exam became one of the defining obstacles of his life.How Mike trained his eyes to pass NASA's vision requirements.Why the most successful people are not people who never fail.What “the right stuff” means beyond bravery, intelligence, or physical ability.Why teamwork, trust, and character matter so much in spaceflight.How imposter syndrome can change when you understand your role on a team.Why the odds only become zero when you give up.How private space companies could expand access to space.Timestamped Chapters:[04:53] NASA Checklists vs. Normal LifeMike explains why complex work in space can feel simpler than ordinary life when training, procedures, and support are in place.[07:13] Training for Spacewalks UnderwaterJames asks about NASA's massive training pool, full-scale mockups, and how closely underwater training matches a real spacewalk.[08:33] The Overwhelming View of EarthMike says the work itself is trained into you, but the view of the planet from space is impossible to fully prepare for.[09:16] “The Earth Is a Planet”Mike describes seeing Earth as a fragile home surrounded by the rest of the universe.[11:32] Is There Life Somewhere Else?Mike explains why Hubble's view of billions of galaxies makes it hard for him to believe Earth is the only place with life.[12:27] Why Hubble MattersJames and Mike talk about Hubble's images, the telescope's cultural impact, and why servicing it mattered.[14:03] The Hubble Deep FieldMike explains how Hubble found galaxies in a patch of sky that had seemed empty.[15:33] The Kid Who Wanted to Be an AstronautJames rewinds to Mike's childhood: Neil Armstrong, the 1969 Mets, bad eyesight, fear of heights, and an impossible dream.[18:10] Losing Touch With the DreamMike reflects on how people can talk themselves out of what they really love because the path looks too hard.[18:28] Failing at MITJames compares his own graduate-school failure to Mike's decision to keep going after failing his PhD qualifying exam.[20:43] Which Dreams Are Worth the Cost?Mike explains how he knew acting was interesting but space was something he was willing to suffer for.[23:20] Meaning, Public Service, and the Book's Real ThemesMike says Spaceman became about dreams, persistence, the wonder of space, and the value of doing work that serves something larger.[26:29] Interest Plus MeaningJames identifies the pattern in Mike's decisions: he pursued the work that combined personal interest with deeper purpose.[28:00] Finding the Path When There Is No MapMike explains why he chose to keep pursuing his PhD even though there were other possible routes to NASA.[30:06] Thirty Seconds of RegretMike remembers the advice to give yourself a short period of regret after failure, then move on.[31:19] The People Who Never Let Failure Stop ThemMike says the most successful people he has met are not people who never fail, but people who refuse to be stopped by failure.[35:20] Failing the NASA Eye ExamJames asks about the obstacle that seemed impossible to fix: Mike's eyesight.[36:35] Applying to NASA Four TimesMike describes two early rejections, one interview, a failed medical exam, and the long road toward another chance.[39:10] “How Could I Have Given Up?”Mike explains why he could live with NASA saying no, but not with himself giving up.[40:28] Training His Eyes to See BetterMike finds a doctor, works through vision training, and eventually improves enough to pass the acuity requirement.[41:27] Getting to Space Was Not the EndJames notes that even after becoming an astronaut, Mike faced more setbacks, including the Columbia tragedy and the uncertainty around later Hubble missions.[43:07] Knowing When a Chapter Is OverMike explains why he eventually felt satisfied with his astronaut career and ready for the next phase.[43:48] Imposter Syndrome and TeamworkMike describes feeling like an imposter at MIT and NASA, and how belonging to a team helped him understand what he could contribute.[46:16] Redefining “The Right Stuff”James and Mike discuss why the real astronaut test is not swagger, but trust, character, and whether someone has your back.[49:11] Would You Trust This Person With Your Life?Mike explains the qualities NASA looks for beyond credentials: teamwork, reliability, humility, and character.[54:02] The Fourth Theme: Combinations of SkillJames points out that Mike's power came from combining many abilities: astronaut, engineer, spacewalker, teacher, communicator, and author.[57:26] The Right Person Because He Wouldn't Give UpMike says he may not have been the best spacewalker, but he was the person who would not quit when the Hubble repair became difficult.[01:00:14] The Odds Are Never Zero Until You QuitMike explains that near-impossible is not impossible—and the only way the chance disappears completely is if you give up.[01:01:05] The Future of SpaceflightMike talks about NASA, the International Space Station, Commercial Crew, SpaceX, Boeing, Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic, and private citizens in space.Additional Resources:Mike Massimino Official WebsiteMike Massimino BiographySpaceman by Mike MassiminoMike Massimino at Columbia EngineeringNASA: Mike Massimino Servicing the Hubble Space TelescopeNASA: STS-109 MissionNASA: STS-125 MissionNASA Science: Hubble Astronaut MissionsNASA Science: Hubble Servicing Mission 4NASA: Astronaut Mike Massimino Departs NASA for University PositionSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode of The Cyber Revolution Podcast, host Adam Hewitt chats with alumni student Doug Hyde, who successfully transitioned from a decade-long engineering career into a cybersecurity role in the aerospace industry. Doug shares how being impacted by the Optus data breach sparked his passion for cyber, how he managed his studies while traveling for work, and how leveraging his existing engineering experience gave him an edge during job interviews.Whether you are feeling flat in your current career or doubting whether your non-tech background has value, Doug offers practical advice on daily study habits, researching the field, and highlighting transferable skills. Tune in to hear how you can build a rewarding new career in cybersecurity without starting from zero.Key Takeaways:1. Your existing career is an asset, not a handicap: Employers value your past professional experience, communication, and problem-solving skills just as much as entry-level technical knowledge. Focus on what you bring to the table rather than what you lack.2. Cybersecurity exists in every industry: You don't have to work at a traditional IT firm. Industries like aerospace, defense, healthcare, and manufacturing urgently need cybersecurity talent.3. Personal triggers can ignite a new path: Being impacted by major events (like the Optus or Medibank data breaches) can turn curiosity about cyber into a rewarding long-term career.4. Consistency overrides busy schedules: Building a regular, incremental study habit—even while working full-time or traveling—is key to working through certifications and landing your first role.5. Practical labs and career support accelerate the shift: Combining hands-on practice with structured career coaching builds the confidence needed to succeed in interviews.Chapters:[0:35] Welcome to Cyber Revolution[1:35] Leaving Engineering After 10 Years[4:34] How Optus Sparked Cyber Interest[6:34] Changes in Australian Cyber Policy[8:34] Landing an Aerospace Cyber Role[11:34] Leveraging Your Transferable Skills[17:11] Cyber Revolution Mentor Support[21:11] Top Tips for Career ChangersConnect with Adam:Website: https://cyberrevolution.com.auFollow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cyberrevolutionausSubscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@cyberrevolutionausFollow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cyberrevolution_aus/

Mike Matthews investigates the fascinating news from the week so far and Mike answers what is happening in the odd world of insanely huge companies. Join Mike as he podcasts live from Café Anyway in podCastro Valley with Chely Shoehart, Floyd the Floorman, and John Deer the Engineer. Next show Mike Talks to Benita, the Disgruntled Fiddle Player, and the Brewmaster.

Mike Matthews investigates the fascinating news from the week so far and Mike answers what is happening in the odd world of insanely huge companies. Join Mike as he podcasts live from Café Anyway in podCastro Valley with Chely Shoehart, Floyd the Floorman, and John Deer the Engineer. Next show Mike Talks to Benita, the Disgruntled Fiddle Player, and the Brewmaster.

​Mike Matthews investigates the fascinating news from the week so far and Mike answers what is happening in the odd world of insanely huge companies. Join Mike as he podcasts live from Café Anyway in podCastro Valley with Chely Shoehart, Floyd the Floorman, and John Deer the Engineer. Next show Mike Talks to Benita, the Disgruntled Fiddle Player, and the Brewmaster.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/mike-s-daily-podcast--609595/support.

Why do perfectly confident people suddenly become nervous when they pick up the phone to sell? In this episode of the Sales Today podcast, Fred Copestake is joined by sales trainer and coach Anna Bates to explore how to make telephone selling simpler, more natural and far less intimidating. Anna shares her straightforward approach to phone conversations — from getting your mindset right before the call, to using tone effectively, asking better questions and actually asking for the sale. They also explore Anna's "corridor" analogy: rather than pushing someone towards a decision, your role is to calmly help them move from where they are now towards the right next step. In this episode: Why people become nervous selling on the phone Why selling doesn't mean being pushy How tone of voice changes a conversation Why you don't need a clever opening line How to use structure without sounding scripted Why gatekeepers can be incredibly valuable How to recognise buying signals Why so many people simply forget to ask for the sale How better questions help customers think The big message? Stop trying to sound like a salesperson. Be human, understand the customer's world, have a useful conversation and help them decide what to do next. Connect with Anna LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-bates-woodhart Website: https://www.room11coaching.co.uk     Follow Fred: https://linktr.ee/fredcopestake   More from Fred Take the free Collaborative Selling Scorecard to see how your sales approach suits today's selling environment. https://collaborativeselling.scoreapp.com/   Watch this episode on YouTube:  https://youtu.be/6Einmxxg9EA   Watch Fred's FREE YouTube Course: Sales Mastery for Engineers: https://bit.ly/Sales-Mastery-For-Engineers  

​Mike Matthews investigates the fascinating news from the week so far and Mike answers what is happening in the odd world of insanely huge companies. Join Mike as he podcasts live from Café Anyway in podCastro Valley with Chely Shoehart, Floyd the Floorman, and John Deer the Engineer. Next show Mike Talks to Benita, the Disgruntled Fiddle Player, and the Brewmaster.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/mike-s-daily-podcast--609595/support.

What happens when we start asking AI to help us make decisions about our lives, relationships, and mental health? JVN sits down with NYU Professor, author, and AI researcher Meredith Broussard to unpack what AI actually is, what it can and can't do, and how we can make smarter choices about when to use it. Jonathan and Meredith break down the AI bubble, generative and agentic AI, how AI models are built, and why the benchmarks we use to measure them don't always tell the whole story. They also get into one of the most personal questions of the AI era: What happens when we start asking machines for advice about our lives, our relationships, and our mental health? Meredith explains why human expertise and critical thinking still matter, why AI can be especially risky when we're vulnerable or looking for emotional support, and how relying on machines for connection can change the way we relate to other people. They also explore the environmental costs of AI infrastructure, the realities behind talk of “superintelligence,” and practical guidelines for deciding when AI is useful, and when it's better to turn to a human. Because getting better in the age of AI may not mean learning how to use more technology. It may mean getting better at knowing when not to. Tiktok Algorithm Article: WALL STREET JOURNAL Full Getting Better Video Episodes now available on YouTube.  Follow Meredith Broussard on Instagram @meredithbroussard Follow Getting Better on Instagram @gettingbetterwithjvn  Follow Jonathan on Instagram @jvn Check out the JVN Patreon for exclusive BTS content, extra interviews, and much much more - check it out here: www.patreon.com/jvn  Executive Producer, Chris McClure Producer, Editor & Engineer is Nathanael McClure Production support: Chad Hall Our theme music is also composed by Nathanael McClure. Curious about bringing your brand to life on the show? Email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Episode 348 of the Dad's Guide to Twins Podcast Show Notes Today we continue our father of twins interview series with Russell Newman, father of twin boys, a singleton daughter, and expecting fraternal boy/girl twins. Listen as we explore his twin parenting journey, including: Why they needed to move after finding out about their first set of twins When the twins spent 2 weeks in NICU and had therapeutic hypothermia Applying an engineer mindset to parenting young children How they involved grandparents after the birth of the children Why a mix of au pairs and preschool after 6 months worked well for their family What twin gear they will use again First twin pregnancy vs second twin pregnancy Sleeping arrangements for children when the family grows How they successfully potty trained their twin boys over a weekend and more… Connect with Russell via his website russellnewman.com or on Twitter. Get Russell’s book Rocket Science for Kids: An Easy-to-Understand Guide (Engineering for Kids) on Amazon or save 15% and order directly from the publisher here. Podcast Transcript This is transcript auto-generated so please forgive any mistakes. INTRO (Joe Rawlinson): Today we are continuing our father of twins interview series with a father of three, including identical twin boys — plus they’re expecting their second set of twins. We discuss the differences between this twin pregnancy and the first one, some of the things they learned along their journey that they’re going to change or do the same with the second set of twins, and so much more today on the podcast. Today’s show is brought to you by my first book for dads of twins. It is called Dad’s Guide to Twins: How to Survive the Twin Pregnancy and Prepare for Your Twins. If you’re expecting twins, this is the perfect book to pick up to help you get through the pregnancy, know what to expect, some of the challenges that may be coming your way, and how to get ready and excited for those twins and get through those first couple months. You can pick up a copy at twindadbook.com. Today, I’d like to welcome to the show a fellow father of twins, soon-to-be father of twins again, and author of the book Rocket Science for Kids. Welcome to the show, Russ Newman. RUSS: Thanks for having me. JOE: Welcome, Russell. Tell us a little about your family right now — how many kids do you have, what are their ages, and what’s fun about this time of life? RUSS: Yeah, so let’s see. I have twin boys — identical — Lucas and Marcus, who just turned four. I have a daughter, Diana, who just turned two. And I also have a pair of fraternal twins due in October, so soon it’ll be a family of five. Me and my wife are both aerospace engineers. It’s super exciting. I just love my kids and I’m so happy that we’re going to have such a big family soon. JOE: That’s fantastic. My background’s in engineering too — computer engineering in college, more software. Aerospace always fascinates me, so I think that’s amazing that you and your wife were both in aerospace. That’s pretty cool. JOE: So when you found out that you would be having your first twins, what was the family situation like at that time? How did you react to that news? RUSS: I was secretly hoping for twins. I love kids. When my wife got pregnant and we went to our first doctor’s appointment for the ultrasound, I could tell that the ultrasound technician was being a little cagey. Then she told us it was twins. My wife started crying and I was so overjoyed. But yeah, it sort of threw us for a little bit of a loop because we lived at the time in a nice high-rise apartment in downtown Los Angeles. We’re like, “Okay, if we have two babies, we don’t have enough space, and we’re probably going to need the grandparents.” So we moved to El Segundo where we could have three bedrooms and let the grandparents stay with us. We had twins and grandparents help us out as my wife went through her maternity leave. Both of our workplaces were very supportive, and yeah, that got us through the first six months. JOE: That’s fantastic. Moving from the big city — were you still having to commute for work, or was there a remote work situation? RUSS: At the time, my wife was working remote and I actually got a new job in El Segundo. So it ended up being really fantastic — such a short commute. El Segundo is such a nice walkable city. I take my kids on walks every single day going outside. I love it. JOE: Are the twins in some kind of daycare or preschool right now? RUSS: Yeah, we’ve done a mix of au pairs and preschool. After the grandparents moved out in the first six months, we had an au pair from Brazil who stayed with us and helped us with all the childcare related to the twins. Then once my daughter was born, the boys were old enough to go to preschool — which actually happened to be right on our block so we could walk them to school. The au pair cared for Diana during the day. Now more recently, all three of them are eligible for preschool, so all three of them go. We do a fantastic morning walk that goes circuitously around the neighborhood — we get to look at bugs, look at plants — and then we just end the walk at preschool. Then I pick them up from school and cook them dinner. We’ve done a mix of preschool and au pair. The au pair program is fantastic. Going forward, it’ll be preschool plus grandparents, and then I’d probably say in six months or so, we’ll get another au pair to care for the new twins until they’re eligible to go to preschool around two or two and a half. JOE: That’s a great setup. For other twin parents interested in the au pair route, how did you go about finding someone that was a good fit for your family? RUSS: It’s sort of like interviewing someone for a job. The United States has a very structured program. You find a good agency and they’ll already have a vetted group of au pairs. Then you just sort of interview them — see if they’re a good fit for your family, if you vibe with them, if you think they’d be good with the kids. You chat and video chat and then you narrow it down. They’re going to be basically a family member living in your house for a year. We’ve done it with two au pairs and they both were fantastic, and both renewed for an extra year — two years and two years. What’s nice too is the first au pair helped us interview the second one, so they could talk in Portuguese directly and act as our references. It’s very economical compared to other forms of childcare like preschool, nannies, or daycare. We’ve done a mix of all of that — au pairs plus preschool plus grandparents — and it really lets us get the best of everything. JOE: Yeah, absolutely. Childcare is a huge expense. When you’ve got more than one kid in childcare, these creative solutions are actually more economical, which is fantastic. JOE: So you had the boys, and then you find out you’d be having your daughter. What was that transition like going from twins to having three? RUSS: Having the boys — the twins — was such a gauntlet that having the daughter, everything was a piece of cake. It’s so funny. Doing diapers was like, “Oh, it’s only 10 diapers a day, not 20 diapers a day.” There was a lot of challenge and sleep deprivation with the twins, but man, having one after two was so much easier. We didn’t even really need that much grandparents’ help. I think we went back to just 100% au pair care after two months and we were just back in the groove being super parents. JOE: You already know how to do so many different things with the twins that it’s just old hat to have only half as much work with the next one. RUSS: That’s right. JOE: So now as you look ahead to your next set of twins — what are some of the things where you’re like, “Okay, I remember this”? What are you looking forward to, or what challenges do you expect? RUSS: We had to do a lot of experimentation to try to get our routines in, and I think we’re a lot better about that now. One of our little life hacks — we’re engineers, so we actually have a full-size whiteboard, a wheel-around whiteboard we use for engineering diagrams. We made that our master schedule and note-taking system. We have a whiteboard in the living room, and we write down when they went down for naps, when we fed them, all the notes for all the shifts. Just used that for our cadence about what to do next. When our twins arrive, we’re going to break out our old bag of tricks and just survive. I think this next set of twins is going to be harder than the first, but we’ll just be more experienced about it. JOE: Did you keep any of the infant twin gear that you’ll be using again this time? RUSS: Yeah, we kept everything. We knew there was a small probability we’d have twins again, so we actually have two of everything and kept it all in storage — two car seats, the small infant car seats. We have all the little newborn sleep wrappers. We have tons of our bottles and everything. We also kept our twin stroller, the little tandem side-by-side stroller. So we’ll break that back out again. We only used about half of it when we had Diana, but we kept it all. JOE: That’s great. All our parents have their twins and then they’re like, “We’re never doing this again” — and then sometimes things work out a little differently. JOE: How was the division of labor between you and your wife and the au pair when you all got back to work? RUSS: It was a very regular schedule. The au pair basically handled the work hours when we would be at work. I took point on the mornings and evenings — I helped the kids wake up, my wife would cook breakfast, and then I would help get the kids to preschool. Around 8:30, the au pair would take over for Diana, and then we’d all leave for work. I would come back around 5:30, pick up the kids from preschool, and take over from the au pair. Then my wife would come home from work, we’d have dinner, and then we’d start the bedtime routine. JOE: Is there anything you would change with that now as you’re going to be going through that process again? RUSS: That battle rhythm seemed to be the best. Now that we have preschool in the mix, it’s going to be grandparents all-hands-on-deck for the first three to six months. After that, the older kids will go to preschool and the new twins will stay with the au pair during the day while we’re at work. I work from home now, so I have a lot more flexibility, which is really nice. When the boys were six months old and started with the au pair, it was really fantastic — they got so much private attention. She’d take the kids to the park once or twice a day, put them down for their nap, read them books, let them play in the living room, and help with all the laundry and tidying up kids’ toys, just really running a tight ship. I think the au pair really helped our kids be super social and fun because they get so much more outdoor time and one-on-one time compared to if they were at daycare. From six months to two years, they got so much more park time and fun time — and they love going to school now because they’re learning how to read. But it’s really fun just having them go to the park and swing. JOE: So now you’re two or three months away from having your next round of twins. Where are you in the pregnancy? RUSS: We just passed week 20. My wife just passed the halfway mark — a little more than halfway, because twins typically don’t make it all the way to 40 weeks. JOE: How many weeks were your boys born? RUSS: My wife’s an absolute trooper. They were born at 38 weeks and one day, and I think they were around six and a half pounds apiece, which was a very healthy weight for twins. JOE: That is really good — 38 weeks and good weight. Any complications with the first twin pregnancy? RUSS: In the beginning, just the usual stuff — nausea, lack of appetite. It was really good towards the end, though she grew very large. It’s not like she ate a basketball; it’s more like she ate a beach ball. It almost gets comedic how large your wife can grow. Really, the only hard part was the last week because of a lot of water retention and swelling in her hands and feet. The rest of it was just the normal being uncomfortable — not being able to eat, heartburn. But besides the last week, absolute trooper. We went in for delivery trying for a regular birth, but due to the water retention and swelling, we had to go for an emergency C-section. We had picked out a really good hospital with a great NICU and resources. When our doctor called for the C-section, the boys were out in 13 minutes. It was really fast. They gave us a little bit of a fright because they were getting distressed during delivery — not enough space for two very large babies. They actually spent two weeks in the NICU. They had to undergo what’s called therapeutic hypothermia, where because they were so distressed, they lowered their core body temperature and kept them essentially asleep for several days, then let them slowly warm up while being monitored. It really helps prevent brain damage or other after-effects from not having 100% oxygen delivery. Out of an abundance of caution, they went through the therapeutic hypothermia and slowly warmed up. It was really stressful and pretty scary for us. But after they were back and awake, they had so much energy and were wonderful little boys — no ill effects of any kind whatsoever from the birthing process. We’re very grateful for that. JOE: So in the moment, you had a change of plans from natural birth to emergency C-section. And then when they were born, it sounds like it looked like something was wrong. Is that what your experience was like? RUSS: Yeah, they were basically born unconscious. They were squirming around and having trouble, and they started tangling with the umbilical cord. So the doctor called for emergency C-section. 13 minutes later, one was out; one minute after that, the second one was out. Yeah, they were born unconscious, which was a little bit of a fright. But modern medicine — we were in a Level 4 NICU — and they did everything right. Absolutely no ill effects. We’re just so grateful to the doctors. And we plan to do the same thing this time around — give birth in a Level 4 hospital. JOE: Are you all trying for a vaginal birth or going straight to C-section this time? RUSS: No, we’ll try for vaginal birth again. Diana was born vaginally — my wife is absolutely fantastic. From start of pushing to baby being born was 57 minutes. We don’t know if we can do a vaginal birth again with the twins just because there might be more complications — more swelling, not enough room, other effects that just throw a wrench in our plans. But we’ll try for it and see how well they cooperate. JOE: So now you’re 20 weeks into this round — how have the pregnancies compared to each other, twin versus twin, or even twin versus singleton? RUSS: No problems right now. I’m sure the second half is going to be a lot harder than the first half. But my wife is starting to show now, breaking out more of her old clothes, wearing more blazers. She’s already told people at work, and she’s actually switching jobs — the new job also knows she’s pregnant. We’re just so grateful. It’s going to be really fun having our growing family. JOE: You mentioned moving from LA with the first kids. Are you having to move again or upsize your house, or are you going to fit everybody where you are? RUSS: No, we’re going to try to stay where we’re at, just so we’re close to the doctor. Our au pair is ending her contract, and that will free up our third bedroom for the grandparents, which really helps us. We have very economical rent, so we want to stay here as long as possible. All three of the kids actually sleep in the same room, and they absolutely love it. So it’ll be: me and my wife’s bedroom, the third room for the grandparents, and the middle room where the older kids sleep. We’ll have the new babies sleep in the bassinet in our bedroom for the first six months, and then we’ll have to figure out what to do after that. Probably more bunk beds in the kids’ room. JOE: Yeah, just make a big bunkhouse — a dormitory! RUSS: Exactly, yeah. JOE: For your first twins, the boys, were they in your room as well for those first several months? RUSS: Yeah, for the first six months they slept in the bassinets — the computerized bassinets, the SNOO. We absolutely love those. They were in our master bedroom: one on her side of the bed, one at the foot of my side of the bed. Then at six months they sort of outgrew that and we put them in the middle room. It’s sort of funny — in the beginning, we didn’t have any cribs. We did floor beds from IKEA, nice and firm, about four inches thick. We had two of them set on either side of the room, and they would take their naps there. But then they would always crawl across the room to go sleep with their brother. Every morning or every nap, we would find them both sleeping together. We eventually said, “Why do we have two floor beds? Let’s just make one.” And they kept sleeping in one floor bed in a big pile until I got them their bunk beds. It’s actually a really nice travel cot that’s also a bunk bed — we can bring it when we visit the grandparents. They rotate between the floor bed and either the top or bottom of the bunk bed, all in a big pile together. JOE: We had separate cribs too, but when our girls started getting older, they actually wanted to be in the same bed together for a while. It’s always fascinating with twins at that age — how they interact with each other. Like you mentioned, crossing the room to go sleep with each other. Very fascinating. We’d had singletons before, and they didn’t have that interaction — the squawking at each other, always wanting to be near each other, touching each other when they’re very young. That’s a fun part of twin parenting. RUSS: Yeah. For our kids’ room, we baby-proofed 100% of the room — that was actually one of our little life hacks. They had their floor bed and a small selection of toys. They would just wake up naturally at like 6 in the morning and either talk to each other, babble to each other, or crawl over and play with their toys. That could let us sleep until like 7 in the morning. Because we didn’t have cribs, we didn’t need to go get them out of a crib — they could just wake up on their own schedule and play. Then we would get them out at 7. JOE: That’s a great setup. I love how you created a safe room for them. It does give you some added benefits — they can be self-sufficient without you needing to move them from A to B all the time. JOE: Any other engineering masterpieces in your house that have been great for parenting? RUSS: We have our stroller. We always get compliments every time we go out. It’s a beast — a four-person stroller, literally the largest one I could ever find. It’s made by Keenz, a big four-kid wagon stroller. It weighs like 50 pounds, but it’s absolutely awesome. We take the kids to the air show and we have change of clothes, snacks, lunches, jackets — we can just toss it all in this giant wagon and have the kids on the bench seats. Our wagon has been such a trooper carrying three or four kids plus a bunch of gear. It’s getting pretty beat up and I’m probably going to buy a new one, but that giant monster of a wagon stroller has been a lifesaver. JOE: Yeah, that’s one thing that catches you off guard — how much stuff you need to take with you. It’s not just the kids, but the diaper bag supplies, snacks, change of clothes, everything. RUSS: We’ve gotten pretty light now that they’re four and two. Sometimes I can walk to our local farmer’s market with no diaper bag because they’re potty trained. All three of us just walk together, get some popcorn and some french fries, have some fun, then walk home. But once we have babies, we’re going to have a big reset with bottles and diapers and all that gear again. JOE: Yeah, somebody will be walking or wanting to push the stroller with the new babies, I’m sure. You mentioned potty training — any tricks that worked? RUSS: We read a really good book called Oh Crap! Potty Training. It doesn’t quite work in three days, but you can get like 75% of the way there in three days, which is actually really good. They were potty trained somewhere around two. Diana has been hitting her milestones always much faster than my boys. We found what they liked — Peanut M&Ms. We always had a little tiny Tupperware jar full of them. They always got one for going pee, two for going poop, and it was always tons of celebration and hype. What we did was a big ceremony over a three-day weekend — we called it “Big Boy No Diapers.” We got a box out and collected all the diapers in the house. They all threw them in the box, chanting “Big Boy No Diapers!” We gave them their underwear in a big fanfare, then took the box of diapers out and threw it away. On that weekend, we fed them as many snacks as we could. They were just around the house in their underwear. I got them miniature CamelBaks and filled them with water — we were just trying to get them to drink as much as possible. We fed them salty chips and tried to get them to go pee every 30 to 45 minutes, nonstop for three days. That was the kickstart to the potty training. From there on, they were about 75% potty trained. There’s a long tail — it takes a long time to get to 100% — but it was amazing to go from 20 diapers a day to only one or two accidents a day, then only a few accidents a week. And of course now they’re 100% potty trained. Big Boy No Diapers — ceremoniously throw all the diapers, do a big thing, get their big-boy underwear, make them wear their CamelBaks. So they’re running around on their scooters inside the house sucking on the little hydration hose. JOE: Yeah, that’s a great setup. JOE: So Russ, let’s talk a little bit about your book. You’ve written Rocket Science for Kids. What was the impetus for this book? RUSS: I’m a rocket scientist. I worked at SpaceX and a couple of other rocket companies, and I’m super interested in space. I had this idea — I have kids, I want to buy a book that talks about rockets. When I actually looked at what books were available and bought basically every book I could find, I found there was a missing segment. There’s a bunch of baby books that are very silly — “Rocket goes up, zoom!” — and there’s a bunch of books for middle schoolers with 200 words a page. There actually was no high-quality book meant for kids ages four to five that was a true introduction to rocket science. So I decided to make one. I asked my wife if I could do it and we agreed. It was a passion project. I had to go find an illustrator — interviewed a few, found one that I really jived with, really liked her art style. Then over the course of four years, I helped her do all the illustrations, dialed it all in, and created what I think is the best book on rocket science for young kids. It’s only a thousand words, 100% technically accurate, and has over 60 pages of full watercolor illustrations with animals explaining every single detail of rocket science. It’s full of totally real engineering. I started before the kids were born and only got to publish it last year. It’s really hard to make a children’s picture book, but I’m just so proud of it. I’ve been getting so many great reviews. My kids have seen every single version of it — as I drafted the book, I would show them the manuscript and edit each page. It’s really hard to explain rocket science in only a thousand words without getting into gibberish baby talk. JOE: Well, it’s not easy to write a book. It’s not easy to do that while raising small children, and it’s definitely hard to mix in rocket science and simplify concepts so they can be understood by children. So congratulations on the launch of your book and the good reviews you’ve had so far. If listeners want to pick up a copy, where should they go? RUSS: It’s available on Amazon and everywhere books are sold. I can also provide a link for the show notes where you can buy it direct from my publisher at a lower price than Amazon. JOE: Fantastic. I’ll link that up in the show notes for everybody listening so you can pick up your own copy and help those future rocket scientists. JOE: Russ, as we wrap up today — in addition to the book, if listeners want to connect with you, what’s the best way to reach out? RUSS: They can reach out to me on my personal website at russellnewman.com, or they can follow me on social media. I have the same handle everywhere, which is @RussReadsBooks — I’m most active on Twitter. JOE: Fantastic. I’ll link up to all that on the show notes as well so people can connect and reach out. Russ, thank you so much for sharing your story with us today. We really appreciate it. RUSS: Yeah, thanks so much. OUTRO (Joe Rawlinson): I hope you enjoyed that conversation with Russ about his adventures as a father of twins, plus one, and soon to be an additional set of twins. You’ll find all the show notes for this episode, including links to his book and how to contact Russ, over at TwinDadPodcast.com. If you would like to share your story like Russ did today, I would love to hear from you — email me at joe@dadsguidetotwins.com, or find me on Instagram and X at @TwinDadJoe. If you’re still expecting your twins, I invite you to pick up a copy of my book, Dad’s Guide to Twins, at TwinDadBook.com. Thank you so much for listening, and I’ll see you next time. Subscribe to the Podcast To subscribe to the podcast, please use the links below: Apple Podcasts Spotify Subscribe via RSS (non-iTunes feed) Share Your Thoughts Please let me know what you think of this episode of the podcast, you can contact me with any questions or comments or leave a comment on the blog. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a rating and review on your favorite podcast player. It will help other parents of twins find the show! Download the Podcast Download the podcast in .mp3 format (right click and “save as…”) The post Aerospace Engineer Shares Twin Parenting Tips and Prepares for Another Set of Twins with Russell Newman – Podcast 348 appeared first on Dad's Guide to Twins.

Mike Matthews investigates the fascinating news from the middle of the week and Mike answers what is happening in the odd world of people trying to be more lazy. Join Mike as he podcasts live from Café Anyway in podCastro Valley with Madame Rootabega, Valentino, and Bison Bentley. Next show Mike Talks to Chely Shoehart, Floyd the Floorman, and John Deer the Engineer.

The Edge of Risk Podcast by IRMI welcomes Joe Reynolds, executive vice president at RT Specialty, to discuss a framework for consideration regarding professional liability when contractors are collaborating with design professionals on design-build projects. Originally presented as a Snap Talk at the 2025 IRMI Construction Risk Conference, Joe highlights the importance of implementing appropriate contractual and coverage requirements while considering market availability in such negotiations. Joe discusses adequacy of limits requirements, limitations of liability provisions, and waivers of consequential damages, among other negotiated terms.

In this podcast episode, we are venturing into an area of technology many of us have not heard of before, but one that could have profound implications for agriculture, environmental sustainability, manufacturing, and even food security across our region. We are talking about plasma engineering, and what happens when it is combined with the power of AI. Engineer and Principal Investigator of Lightning, a research cluster at the Artificial Intelligence Innovation Centre, Dr Yohan Seepersad joins us to discuss the pioneering work being done to develop affordable and practical plasma-based engineering solutions specifically designed for the needs of developing economies. We cover, among other things:   *  how plasma technology can improve areas such as crop production, wastewater treatment, and healthcare;   *  how AI fits into the work on plasma systems;   *  what it would take to commercialise the plasma-based solutions the Lightning cluster develops; and   *  which Caribbean challenge Yohan would most want his research to solve.    The episode, show notes and links to some of the things mentioned during the episode can be found on the ICT Pulse Podcast Page (www.ict-pulse.com/category/podcast/)       Enjoyed the episode?  Do rate the show and leave us a review!       Also, connect with us on: Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/ICTPulse/   Instagram –  https://www.instagram.com/ictpulse/   Twitter –  https://twitter.com/ICTPulse   LinkedIn –  https://www.linkedin.com/company/3745954/admin/   Join our mailing list: http://eepurl.com/qnUtj    Music credit: The Last Word (Oui Ma Chérie), by Andy Narrell Podcast editing support:  Mayra Bonilla Lopez   ---------------

AI is everywhere in the headlines right now, but is it actually doing anything positive for engineers? Or is it just going to take jobs and produce less competent engineers by putting everything on autopilot? I sat down with Tobias Pohl, Co-Founder and CEO of CELUS, and Matt Bromley, VP of Product Strategy for Siemens EDA, to try to get past the hype and talk honestly about what agentic AI is actually changing, from early concept and ideation all the way through the PCB design process, and just as importantly, what it's not changing. CELUS and Siemens EDA have partnered to bridge that early, "fuzzy" stage of concept design into the traditional schematic, layout, and manufacturing flow. Toby and Matt talk about how agentic AI is compressing the design flow, from comparing datasheets and selecting components to running simulations, while the architecture and the judgment calls stay firmly with the engineer. They also talk about how agentic AI is now working across toolsets. Engineers can ask a question in one platform and have it orchestrated across another, without all the manual handoffs, file conversions, and integration work that used to eat up so much time and introduce design risks.    00:00 — Introductions Toby and Matt introduce themselves and how the CELUS/Siemens EDA partnership came together. 01:17 — Why CELUS and Siemens EDA partnered The gap between early concept design and traditional engineering tool chains, and how the two platforms connect ideation to schematic, layout, and manufacturing. 04:20 — The real bottlenecks in modern design Why comparing datasheets and chip selection can eat weeks of engineering time, and how a non-linear design process creates constant rework. 07:59 — Where AI is already delivering real value Extracting models and data from datasheets, evaluating BOM choices against manufacturability and lead time, and using AI to interpret simulation results. 11:35 — Inside agentic architecture Toby explains the shift from single LLM assistants to full agentic systems, including guardrail agents, review agents, and orchestration across multiple tools, including agents that hand off work between CELUS and Siemens EDA without the engineer manually reconnecting the two. 17:54 — Does the engineer stay in control? I push Toby and Matt directly on whether AI is encroaching on architecture and design judgment. The answer is still no, and they explain why. 19:39 — Walking the design journey, start to finish Toby and Matt trace a real workflow: describing design intent in natural language, generating an initial architecture, comparing multiple approaches, and handing off an electrically correct design into Siemens EDA tools for simulation, layout, and DFM. 28:19 — Who holds the judgment Why the designer still drives architecture and intent, and how agentic tools add robustness rather than replace decision-making. 35:00 — The hard question about jobs I ask the question our listeners won't forgive me for skipping: didn't software engineers lose jobs when AI hit? Toby and Matt respond with the historical parallel to compilers, high-level languages, and past technology hype cycles. 40:46 — What's next Toby and Matt preview upcoming agentic capabilities across both platforms and how you can start exploring the tools yourself. Key takeaway The engineer remains the design intent and architecture. Agentic AI is built to take the manual grind out of design, the spreadsheets, the datasheet comparisons, the repetitive tool-switching, so engineers can spend more of their time on the judgment calls, the creativity, and the innovation that only they can bring. Learn more Siemens EDA:  To learn more about Xpedition and PCB Design For a 30-day trial of Xpedition Standard with powered-by-CELUS integration Matt Bromley on LinkedIn   CELUS:  CELUS Website CELUS Platform Tobias Pohl on LinkedIn        

Want an AI content engine that publishes at a pace your domain can actually carry? Go to https://www.8figureagency.co/get-aiagency-ops for a free AI consultation.Any agency can do SEO. Any agency can also torch its domain in six weeks doing it wrong.A few weeks back I had someone on this show who was publishing 20 AI-written blog posts a day. Cameron LiButti — founder of BidView Marketing, 13 people, ~70 clients, close to 200 locations across medical, legal, professional services, and large home services — told me exactly what would happen. Google de-indexed the site inside six weeks.So I brought Cam on to answer the question I actually have as a founder learning this myself: how do you use AI for SEO aggressively without setting off Google's alarm bells?We get concrete fast. Cam explains crawl budget — how much compute Google decides your site is worth, and why a site crawled every three to six weeks publishing 20 posts a day is a flare in the sky. He covers the audience question most agencies skip: his medical practices serving 65+ patients get under 5% of leads from AI search, while his tax attorney client gets 40–50%. Same firm, same tactics, completely different priority.Then the part you can build on this week. Google's non-commodity content standard, and the two-part article structure that satisfies it: the first half answers the questions traditional SEO and AI both want answered, the second half is a real client situation — the problem, what you did, the outcome. That's the point of view Google can't get from a commodity blog.Cam gives the exact ramp: start at three posts a week, submit each one in Search Console, and check whether it's still indexed two weeks later — not 48 hours later. Still indexed at week three? Go to four. Then five. You earn 14 a week; you don't switch it on. And if pages drop out of the index, that's your signal to stop and diagnose before you scale the problem.We close on off-site: niche directories like G2 and Clutch, local citations off a Google Business Profile, press releases as safe volume, newsjacking for the links that actually move, and the two sources AI models cite most — YouTube and Reddit.If you're an agency owner planning to point AI at your own SEO this quarter, listen before you publish anything.CHAPTERS00:00 — He got de-indexed. Cam saw it coming.00:57 — Engineer to SEO: BidView Marketing, 13 people, ~70 clients, ~200 locations02:51 — The card catalog framework: Dewey decimal → PageRank → organizing data for AI05:37 — Crawl budget explained, and why 20 posts a day on a low-authority site is a red flag07:48 — Where are your clients? 5% of leads from AI vs. 40–50%, same tactics08:24 — Site foundations that still matter, plus why brand became an SEO input10:49 — Non-commodity content: Google's term, and what it demands from you11:18 — The two-part article: the how-to, then the client case with a point of view13:38 — How often can you publish? Jordan's real numbers pressure-tested14:37 — The ramp: 3 a week, index checks in Search Console, the two-week rule, earning 1417:15 — Off-site: directories, local citations, press releases, and newsjacking19:40 — YouTube and Reddit: the citation sources AI models pull from20:18 — Where to find CameronLINKSCameron LiButti — bidviewmarketing.comCameron on LinkedIn — search "Cameron LiButti"Google Search Console — for the index checks discussed at 14:37CTAWant an AI content engine that publishes at a pace your domain can actually carry? Go to 8figureagency.co for a free AI consultation.

​Mike Matthews investigates the fascinating news from the middle of the week and Mike answers what is happening in the odd world of people trying to be more lazy. Join Mike as he podcasts live from Café Anyway in podCastro Valley with Madame Rootabega, Valentino, and Bison Bentley. Next show Mike Talks to Chely Shoehart, Floyd the Floorman, and John Deer the Engineer.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/mike-s-daily-podcast--609595/support.

In this episode of the Share PLM Podcast, we are joined by Gregory Yow, Senior Director of R&D Centralized Engineering Services at a global animal-health company. Gregory is a senior engineering and digital transformation leader with more than two decades of experience spanning R&D, PLM, CAD, and enterprise systems. He currently holds a senior director role at a global animal health company, where he leads centralized engineering services and drives efficiency, consistency, and adoption across a large, regulated R&D organization. Gregory is known for his user-centered approach to systems and process design, focusing on removing constraints from critical business processes to accelerate improvement at scale. Let's hear Greg's practical perspective on these topics.⚉ Why PLM Became a Passion ⚉ Reducing Administrative Burden for Engineers⚉ PLM in Regulated Industries⚉ Working with Scientists in R&D Organizations⚉ Time-to-Market in the Pharmaceutical Industry⚉ The Role of AI in Engineering and PLM⚉ The Importance of Stakeholders and Communication ⚉ Choosing the Right Implementation Partner ⚉ Why Organizational Change Management MattersCONNECT WITH GREGORY: ⚉ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregyow/ CONNECT WITH SHARE PLM:Website: https://shareplm.com/ Join us every month to listen to fascinating interviews, where we cover a wide array of topics, from actionable tips, to personal experiences, to strategies that you can implement into your PLM strategy.If you have an interesting story to share and want to join the conversation, contact us and let's chat. We can't wait to hear from you!

​Mike Matthews investigates the fascinating news from the middle of the week and Mike answers what is happening in the odd world of people trying to be more lazy. Join Mike as he podcasts live from Café Anyway in podCastro Valley with Madame Rootabega, Valentino, and Bison Bentley. Next show Mike Talks to Chely Shoehart, Floyd the Floorman, and John Deer the Engineer.

This episode starts with a confession: Dee Kei wants a new compressor. Specifically, he's been eyeing the Heritage Audio Grandchild 670N — a $3,000 stereo Fairchild-style compressor in a 5U rack unit that launched in late 2025. From there, the episode opens up into something much more interesting than a gear review.Dee and Lu walk through exactly what makes the original Fairchild 670 so mythologized — the tube count, the time constants, the maintenance costs that make owning one feel like buying a second car you're afraid to drive — and why Heritage Audio's approach of distilling the circuit down to four tubes in an affordable, modern form factor is either brilliant or sacrilegious, depending on who you ask. They break down what the Grandchild 670N actually has on the front panel — DC threshold, AC threshold, sidechain filters, mid-side and stereo linking, true bypass — and why $3,000 for two channels of Fairchild-esque compression is a genuinely different proposition than it was even three years ago.But the most interesting part of the episode isn't the gear. It's what happens when Dee reads from two actual peer-reviewed studies on whether listeners can hear the difference between analog and digital processing at all. The first study tested analog modeling plugins against free non-modeling alternatives across 540 participants — and found that not only did listeners show no preference for the analog mix, the majority who thought they could identify it were wrong. The second covered DAX differences using a loopback method with over 1,300 respondents. The conclusion: people largely can't tell the difference, and the majority who claimed they could were misidentifying what they heard.So why does any of this matter — and why does Dee still want the compressor? The episode lands on something more philosophical than a gear recommendation: the difference between buying hardware because you believe it's objectively better, and buying it as an act of devotion to the craft. Dee draws a sharp distinction between using gear purchases to fill a hole in your love for music versus buying from a place of already loving it deeply — and how Tony Mazzarati still sharpening techniques at his level is proof that the rabbit hole never ends for people who genuinely want to go deeper.Gear talk, research, psychology, and the irrational passion that keeps working engineers working. A lot going on in this one.SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PATREON FOR EXCLUSIVE CONTENT!⁠SUBSCRIBE TO YOUTUBE⁠Join the ‘Mixing Music Podcast' Discord!HIRE DEE KEIHIRE LU⁠HIRE JAMES⁠Find Dee Kei and Lu on Social Media:Instagram: @DeeKeiMixes @MasteredbyLu @JamesParrishMixesTwitter: @DeeKeiMixes @MasteredbyLuThe Mixing Music Podcast is sponsored by ⁠Izotope⁠, ⁠Antares (Auto Tune)⁠, Sweetwater, ⁠Plugin Boutique⁠, ⁠Lauten Audio⁠, ⁠Filepass⁠, & ⁠Canva⁠The Mixing Music Podcast is a video and audio series on the art of music production and post-production. Dee Kei, Lu, and James are professionals in the Los Angeles music industry having worked with names like Odetari, 6arelyhuman, Trey Songz, Keyshia Cole, Benny the Butcher, carolesdaughter, Crying City, Daphne Loves Derby, Natalie Jane, charlieonnafriday, bludnymph, Lay Bankz, Rico Nasty, Ayesha Erotica, ATEEZ, Dizzy Wright, Kanye West, Blackway, The Game, Dylan Espeseth, Tara Yummy, Asteria, Kets4eki, Shaquille O'Neal, Republic Records, Interscope Records, Arista Records, Position Music, Capital Records, Mercury Records, Universal Music Group, apg, Hive Music, Sony Music, and many others.This podcast is meant to be used for educational purposes only. This show is filmed and recorded at Dee Kei's private studio in North Hollywood, California. If you would like to sponsor the show, please email us at ⁠deekeimixes@gmail.com⁠.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Today we're doing a crossover episode with the folks at Cybr.Sec.Media to talk about CYBR.SEC.CON, a community-driven security conference that JJ and Drew will be attending in Houston, TX September 15 and 16 2026. We talk with conference founders Michael Farnum and Sam Van Ryder about the origins of the event, and get into our... Read more »

Today we're doing a crossover episode with the folks at Cybr.Sec.Media to talk about CYBR.SEC.CON, a community-driven security conference that JJ and Drew will be attending in Houston, TX September 15 and 16 2026. We talk with conference founders Michael Farnum and Sam Van Ryder about the origins of the event, and get into our... Read more »

This special episode features the Munk Debate on the Gene Editing, held before a live audience of 800 students and faculty at Deerfield Academy in April 2026.Arguing in favour of the motion was the biophysicist, best-selling author, biotechnology entrepreneur, and the former director of the Program on Medicine, Technology and Society at UCLA School of Medicine, Gregory Stock. His debate partner was the internationally acclaimed strategic philosopher and pioneering transhumanist Max More. Arguing against the motion was the prominent American bioethicist Ezekiel Emanuel, Special Advisor to the Director General of the WHO and a former founding chair of the Department of Bioethics at the NIH. His debate partner wass the award-winning educator, author, and Professor of Reproductive Science at University College London, Joyce Harper.Become a Munk Donor ($50 annually) to get 72-hour advanced access to the full length editions of Friday Focus and Munk Dialogues. Go to www.munkdebates.com to sign up. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Maria Sharapova is one of only 10 women to complete a Career Grand Slam in tennis, and was inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame in 2025. After retiring in 2020, she has also become a mother, an investor, and podcast host. In this episode, Adam talks with Maria about resilience, motivation, and the evolution of her rivalry with Serena Williams. Maria reflects on the moments in her career that forced her to take a step back and rethink her mindset, from hard losses and wisdom from coaches to relationships with her peers and opponents. Adam offers insight on two different kinds of winning in psychology, and why sports aren't really as zero-sum as they seem.Featured guestFollow Maria Sharapova on Instagram, YouTube, and XSubscribe to Maria's Substack Pretty ToughBuy her book Unstoppable: My Life So FarConnect with the teamFollow Adam on Instagram, LinkedIn, and at adamgrant.net/Subscribe to Adam's Substack GrantedWatch ReThinking videos on YouTube at TEDPodsFollow TED on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTokReThinking is produced by Cosmic Standard. Our Senior Producer is Jessica Glazer, our Engineer is Aja Simpson, our Technical Director is Jacob Winik, and our Executive Producer is Eliza Smith.For the full text transcript, visit ted.com/podcasts/rethinking-with-adam-grant-transcripts Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If AI can produce the code, what becomes more valuable for engineers?John Kuhn, CTO and cofounder of Integral, joins The Tech Trek to discuss how agentic development is changing engineering work, product ownership, experimentation, and hiring. Integral helps companies de identify and anonymize data for model training, including unstructured data.John argues that the value of an engineer is shifting away from simply writing code. As AI handles more implementation work, engineers need stronger product judgment, better systems thinking, and the ability to make decisions when requirements are incomplete. That means asking better questions, understanding customer problems more directly, and taking greater ownership of the outcome.The conversation also looks at what happens when software becomes cheaper to produce. Teams can prototype and experiment faster, but lower development costs do not eliminate the cost of building something customers do not want. Good product discovery still matters, especially when engineers are expected to operate with more autonomy.What You'll Take Away• Why engineers increasingly need to think like product managers• How agentic tools are changing the economics of prototyping and product experimentation• Why good product discovery requires questions that seek information instead of confirming an existing idea• Why engineering interviews may need to focus more on assumptions, constraints, systems thinking, and decision quality than manual coding speedA Moment Worth Pulling Out“Engineers are not meant to write code anymore. They're meant to solve problems.”John also raises an interesting idea for the future of technical hiring: instead of giving candidates only a time limit, give them a fixed AI compute budget and evaluate how efficiently they use it to reach a solution.Follow The Tech Trek for more conversations about AI, engineering, product, data, and technical leadership.

This week, we're talking: NYC apartment drama, Enough starring Jennifer Lopez, the reflecting pool, and much much more! Wanna see JVN on stage? Get tix to the Hot & Healed Comedy Tour here.  Catch Getting Better & The Monday Edit, now on YouTube!  Check out the JVN Patreon for exclusive content, bonus episodes, and more! www.patreon.com/jvn  Follow us on Instagram @gettingbetterwithjvn Jonathan on Instagram @jvn and senior producer Chris @amomentlikechris  Executive Producer, Chris McClure Producer, Editor & Engineer is Nathanael McClure Production support from Chad Hall Our theme music is also composed by Nathanael McClure. Curious about bringing your brand to life on the show? Email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, we are giving a second listen to our very special episode with Andrea Beaty. Beaty is an award-winning children's author. Before she became known for her curious and clever characters in Rosie Revere, Engineer and Ada Twist, Scientist, she was on track for a career in STEM. In college, Beaty studied biology and computer science and then went on to work at a software company. It wasn't until she volunteered to write a tech support newsletter for a customer audience that she honed her skills as a writer and copy editor. She first tried her hand at fiction by writing stories inspired by the books she read to her kids before eventually getting published in the 2000s. Since then, Beaty's work has landed her on the New York Times Best Sellers list multiple times and has even been adapted into an award-winning Netflix animated series. She often credits her time as a technical writer as what gave her the skills to break down big concepts and life lessons for kids. Now, more than 20 years after writing her first book, Beaty shows no signs of slowing down. Since this episode's original release, Beaty released The Questioneers: What's That Color? in March of 2026 and her next book, The Questioneers: How Many Is That?, is slated to release in October of 2026. 

Today's episode features two Action Academy members Jake And Dhriti @coffeemetchaiIf you want to leave corporate America in the next 6-18 months - you should check out our Action Academy Community

The summer of 2026 will go down in history books as the hottest, driest and most deadly set of heatwaves Britain has ever experienced. This weather isn't normal – but it is predictable according to a global consensus of scientists. And yet this summer, according to the science, will be one of the coolest summers we ever have again. Things will only get hotter from here. Beginning his career as an oil-rig engineer before retraining as a climate scientist, Kevin Anderson's career has been an extraordinary journey. On Downstream this week, Aaron Bastani sat down with him to discuss what has become his life's work: sounding the alarm on man-made climate change, and on the fossil fuel industry that gave him his start. Just how much has the planet heated, and why? Is the Paris Agreement's aim of keeping heating to beneath 1.5°C still achievable, or delusional cope? What are the political obstacles to tackling the issue? Having worked with Andy Burnham in Manchester, what does Kevin think he will do on climate, as PM? Is avoiding catastrophe still possible, and if so, how much time have we got to act, before it's too late?

On today's Midday Report with host Terry Haines:U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski has introduced a bill that would allow federal fishery managers to start analyzing the DNA collected in ocean waters to help inform their decisions. And an answer to Juneau's plea for a solution to glacial outburst flooding is on the horizon. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Thursday. Photo: Suicide Basin, pictured in 2023, is the birthplace of Juneau's annual glacial outburst flood. It sits about two miles above the terminus of Mendenhall Glacier. (Anna Canny/KTOO)

On a federal construction job the government pays the general contractor within about 30 days, but the subcontractor gets paid only after hitting a milestone and floats the materials and labor in the meantime. West Edwards, a construction and roofing contractor who works Army Corps of Engineers projects, walks through how a subcontractor gets money on the ground early, uses supplier terms to push real payment out roughly 90 days, and negotiates payout timelines with a GC before the job starts. What you'll learn in this episode: The way to get paid upfront on a government job by setting materials on the ground for the inspector to see Why there are no mobilization fees in federal work and how that changes the way you finance a project How to use 60 day supplier terms and a line of credit to stretch your real payment out to about 90 days The conversation to have with your GC about milestones, the G703, and when you can submit for payment Why managing the cash flow matters more than knowing how to do the actual work Chapters: 0:00 - Finding federal contracts across SAM.gov and agency forecasts 0:48 - What going wrong on a job actually means 1:23 - Scope, spec, and the Unified Facilities Code trap 3:04 - The roof observer who was a silent competitor 4:03 - Why you build a margin into every bid 4:40 - Financing the job while you wait for payment 5:18 - How to get money upfront on a government contract 6:40 - Why cash flow beats craft on federal work 7:24 - The payment timeline from material to G703 to payout Mindy gives you the federal opportunities, agency signals, recompete intel, and pursuit briefs that tell you not just what contracts exist, but which ones to chase and how to win them. Sign up for free Daily Alerts and get opportunities delivered to your inbox before the day starts.

Bill Smith, Audio Engineer/Archivist - Part 2 of 2 - Insights In Sound 219 S22 E10 Multi-Grammy Nominated Recording Engineer Bill Smith is one of the Zeligs of the audio world - he seems to pop up everywhere. Working with engineering yogis like Al Schmitt and Geoff Emerick...recording sessions at studios in every corner of the world....and legendary artists from every corner of popular music including Rod Stewart, YES, Diana Krall, Toto, Natalie Cole, George Benson, John Fogerty, Barbara Streisand, Trevor Horn, Steve Lukather, Whitney Houston and so many more. We met up with the elusive engineer and audio nerd for an extended foray into his 40+ year career. We talked about his history as a recording engineer, his audio archiving & restoration work and went down a few techno-dweeb rabbit holes...two hours of conversation that still didn't cover everything. This is part one of two parts. (There might be a third coming...) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bob Zimmerman highlights several developments in space, starting with the startup Catalyst's daring mission to rescue the decaying Swift space telescope. Despite thruster failures, engineers are attempting to use the remaining hardware to move the telescope's orbit. Zimmerman also discusses a Falcon 9 upper stage that impacted the moon, providing valuable spectroscopic data. Good news arrives from Voyager 2, which underwent a "big bang" power reconfiguration to extend its life to at least 2027. On Pluto, new analysis of Sputnik Planitia suggests the planet is geologically active, featuring melting nitrogen underneath its frozen surface. Regarding corporate updates, Blue Origin has identified an oxygen valve failure as the cause of a recent engine explosion, while SpaceX prepares for an orbital Starship flight this month. Finally, Zimmerman reviews the struggles of commercial spaceports in New Zealand and the UK. (5)

Other Transaction Agreements, known as OTAs, are a federal contract vehicle that carries almost none of the standard bidding rules, and agencies now issue them at every project size rather than only for large awards. Eric Coffie breaks down how a small firm can pitch a contracting officer on using an OTA, why the same vehicle powers major technology awards like Palantir's, and how the vehicle fits alongside 8(a), WOSB, and IDIQ. What you'll learn in this episode: - What an OTA is and why it operates with far fewer rules than a standard solicitation - Why OTAs now fund contracts of all sizes, not just billion-dollar programs - How to pitch a contracting officer on the buying vehicle that gets them the least pushback from leadership - Where OTAs sit alongside 8(a), WOSB, and IDIQ as options to put in front of an agency - Why safety and Corps of Engineers standards like EM385 can keep a federal contractor on a project when others get removed Chapters: 0:00 - Finding the contract before you bid on it 1:10 - Making a requirement mandatory to bid 2:40 - OTAs fund projects of every size 3:54 - How Palantir wins work through OTAs 4:40 - Pitching the government on which vehicle to use 7:05 - OTAs for construction and the bonding question 7:24 - The $20 million safety company story 9:38 - Why the bond is really insurance Mindy gives you the federal opportunities, agency signals, recompete intel, and pursuit briefs that tell you not just what contracts exist, but which ones to chase and how to win them. Sign up for free Daily Alerts and get opportunities delivered to your inbox before the day starts.

────────────────────────────────────────[00:03:02]Tucker's Third Party Manifesto Calls for JFK and 9/11 Accountability — Knight: Start With Your Own 9/11 RecordTucker sandbagged an Architects and Engineers guest refusing to show Building 7 footage; 9/11 was the Reichstag fire for the 21st century police state.────────────────────────────────────────[00:16:18]Trump's Michigan Endorsee Beaten by a Dropped-Out Candidate Who Raised $1,600Smith filed on paper, apologized to the FEC, dropped out, and still got 50%; Trump's endorsement had zero effect.────────────────────────────────────────[00:21:02]The GOP Is Now the ZOP — Zionist Owned Politicians — Blowback Is Giving Us Islamic CommunistsThe open buying of government by Israel and the technocrats is pushing voters toward socialists and Muslims who won't be cowed on Israel.────────────────────────────────────────[00:24:51]Burger King Woman Fired for Saying "Free Palestine" — GoFundMe Raised Over $150,000She wasn't aggressive; the customer videotaped her from his car; there's always a blowback. ──────────────────────────────────────── ── Interview 1: Humberto Cancio — Comey 86-47 Case Analysis ──────────────────────────────────────────[00:28:09]A Threat Must Be Explicit, Direct, or Contextually Unmistakable — Watts v. US: Soldier Threatening LBJ Was ProtectedA soldier said LBJ was first in his rifle sights; Supreme Court said not a threat; the 86-47 case has a longer road.────────────────────────────────────────[00:38:24]Hyperbole and Satire Are Core Protected Speech — Criminal Exception Requires an Extremely High StandardJudges from left and right agree; Cancio doubts it survives the judge; he pities the AUSA who has to try it.────────────────────────────────────────[00:57:09]Section 230 Public Square Argument Fails When Platforms Boost Content for Commercial GainBoost commercially and you are a publisher liable for libel and wrongful death; AI hallucinating citations cost one Florida lawyer his license. ──────────────────────────────────────── ── Interview 2: Iowa State Rep Cindy Golding (cindygolding.com) — Data Center Transparency Bill ──────────────────────────────────────────[01:22:10]Golding's Transparency Bill Passed Committee Unanimously — Google and NextEra Killed It in House LeadershipGoogle refused to disclose water consumption; NextEra called it proprietary; you use our land and tax dollars — we have a right to know.────────────────────────────────────────[01:26:40]Once a Data Center Is Zoned, Utilities Commission Gets Eminent Domain Authority — Citizens Lose Their WindowOnce approved, the board mandates power delivery and can raise rates; stop it at zoning before the permit request arrives.────────────────────────────────────────[01:32:37]Economic Development Departments Measured on Dollars Brought In — Not Community Impact or Job Quality$11-13 million in state incentives per permanent job; 8,000 temp workers overwhelmed landfill, roads, hotels, and housing — they leave and the community absorbs the costs. ──────────────────────────────────────── Money should have intrinsic value AND transactional privacy: Go to https://davidknight.gold/ for great deals on physical gold/silver For 10% off Gerald Celente's prescient Trends Journal, go to https://trendsjournal.com/ and enter the code “KNIGHT” For high quality made in America products go to HomeSteadProducts.shop and use promo code “Knight” for 10% off your purchases Find out more about the show and where you can watch it at TheDavidKnightShow.com If you would like to support the show and our family please consider subscribing monthly here: SubscribeStar https://www.subscribestar.com/the-david-knight-show Or you can send a donation throughMail: David Knight POB 994 Kodak, TN 37764Zelle: @DavidKnightShow@protonmail.comCash App at: $davidknightshowBTC to: bc1qkuec29hkuye4xse9unh7nptvu3y9qmv24vanh7Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-david-knight-show--2653468/support.

────────────────────────────────────────[00:03:02]Tucker's Third Party Manifesto Calls for JFK and 9/11 Accountability — Knight: Start With Your Own 9/11 RecordTucker sandbagged an Architects and Engineers guest refusing to show Building 7 footage; 9/11 was the Reichstag fire for the 21st century police state.────────────────────────────────────────[00:16:18]Trump's Michigan Endorsee Beaten by a Dropped-Out Candidate Who Raised $1,600Smith filed on paper, apologized to the FEC, dropped out, and still got 50%; Trump's endorsement had zero effect.────────────────────────────────────────[00:21:02]The GOP Is Now the ZOP — Zionist Owned Politicians — Blowback Is Giving Us Islamic CommunistsThe open buying of government by Israel and the technocrats is pushing voters toward socialists and Muslims who won't be cowed on Israel.────────────────────────────────────────[00:24:51]Burger King Woman Fired for Saying "Free Palestine" — GoFundMe Raised Over $150,000She wasn't aggressive; the customer videotaped her from his car; there's always a blowback. ──────────────────────────────────────── ── Interview 1: Humberto Cancio — Comey 86-47 Case Analysis ──────────────────────────────────────────[00:28:09]A Threat Must Be Explicit, Direct, or Contextually Unmistakable — Watts v. US: Soldier Threatening LBJ Was ProtectedA soldier said LBJ was first in his rifle sights; Supreme Court said not a threat; the 86-47 case has a longer road.────────────────────────────────────────[00:38:24]Hyperbole and Satire Are Core Protected Speech — Criminal Exception Requires an Extremely High StandardJudges from left and right agree; Cancio doubts it survives the judge; he pities the AUSA who has to try it.────────────────────────────────────────[00:57:09]Section 230 Public Square Argument Fails When Platforms Boost Content for Commercial GainBoost commercially and you are a publisher liable for libel and wrongful death; AI hallucinating citations cost one Florida lawyer his license. ──────────────────────────────────────── ── Interview 2: Iowa State Rep Cindy Golding (cindygolding.com) — Data Center Transparency Bill ──────────────────────────────────────────[01:22:10]Golding's Transparency Bill Passed Committee Unanimously — Google and NextEra Killed It in House LeadershipGoogle refused to disclose water consumption; NextEra called it proprietary; you use our land and tax dollars — we have a right to know.────────────────────────────────────────[01:26:40]Once a Data Center Is Zoned, Utilities Commission Gets Eminent Domain Authority — Citizens Lose Their WindowOnce approved, the board mandates power delivery and can raise rates; stop it at zoning before the permit request arrives.────────────────────────────────────────[01:32:37]Economic Development Departments Measured on Dollars Brought In — Not Community Impact or Job Quality$11-13 million in state incentives per permanent job; 8,000 temp workers overwhelmed landfill, roads, hotels, and housing — they leave and the community absorbs the costs. ──────────────────────────────────────── Money should have intrinsic value AND transactional privacy: Go to https://davidknight.gold/ for great deals on physical gold/silver For 10% off Gerald Celente's prescient Trends Journal, go to https://trendsjournal.com/ and enter the code “KNIGHT” For high quality made in America products go to HomeSteadProducts.shop and use promo code “Knight” for 10% off your purchases Find out more about the show and where you can watch it at TheDavidKnightShow.com If you would like to support the show and our family please consider subscribing monthly here: SubscribeStar https://www.subscribestar.com/the-david-knight-show Or you can send a donation throughMail: David Knight POB 994 Kodak, TN 37764Zelle: @DavidKnightShow@protonmail.comCash App at: $davidknightshowBTC to: bc1qkuec29hkuye4xse9unh7nptvu3y9qmv24vanh7Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-david-knight-show--5282736/support.

Alex Ticer had It all: a degree from UCLA, a job as a software engineer, financial security, a beautiful family, a house in Texas, but something was terribly wrong. It was something he couldn’t fix with money or intelligence or grit. He had a genetic disease that would cause him to waste away no matter what he did. He cried out to God, and something miraculous happened. He saw a bright light and got a new lease on life. What he did next, however, will blow your mind. He quit his job and began reading the Bible–especially the Gospels intensely. What he found there changed his life again.   Listen on Spotify   Listen on Apple Podcasts —— Links —— Learn more about Alex Ticer at his One God Church website Get the transcript of this episode Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Facebook group, follow on X @RestitutioSF or Instagram @Sean.P.Finnegan or Threads @sean.p.finnegan Leave a 90 second voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play it out on the air Who is Sean Finnegan?  Read his bio here Check out Finnegan’s books on Amazon. Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library.

Mike Matthews investigates the fascinating news from the end of the week and Mike answers what is happening in the odd world of the growing pet travel industry. Join Mike as he podcasts live from Café Anyway in podCastro Valley with Chely Shoehart, Floyd the Floorman, and John Deer the Engineer. Next show Mike Talks to Madame Rootabega, Valentino, and Bison Bentley.

​Mike Matthews investigates the fascinating news from the middle of the week and Mike answers what is happening in the odd world of unpopular cars. Join Mike as he podcasts live from Café Anyway in podCastro Valley with Madame Rootabega, Valentino, and Bison Bentley. Next show Mike Talks to Chely Shoehart, Floyd the Floorman, and John Deer the Engineer.

Catherine Wood is the owner if Los Angeles studio Planetwood, and has an amazing body of work as a producer and engineer. She has also worked on a variety of TV and film projects, and numerous commercials (which you may recognize). Catherine also focuses on giving back to the industry and speaks with us about all the service positions she holds.   Hosted by: Rebecca Wilson Executive Producers: Karrie Keyes, Beckie Campbell, and Susan Kost Edited by: Marina Baglivo (with updates by Rachel Suffian) Music by: Jess Fenton (https://www.jessfenton.com/) Admin by: Kanika Khanna The SoundGirls Podcast is presented by soundgirls.org 

Connection isn't just about being around people — it's about feeling seen. This week on Getting Better, JVN sits down certified mental health coach and founder of the SEEN Method, Morgan Burch, for a powerful conversation about authenticity, isolation, and what actually makes relationships work. Together, they unpack why so many of us feel disconnected even when we're surrounded by others, how fear and rumination can quietly shape our relationships, and the ways cancel culture and manipulation can push people into deeper isolation. Morgan breaks down the psychology behind feeling “separate,” how visualization can either heal or trap us, and what it really means to be emotionally safe with another person. From recognizing when you're being pulled away from connection to learning the key foundations of healthy, successful relationships, this episode is about finding your way back to yourself — and to others — with clarity, compassion, and intention. Whether you're navigating friendship shifts, romantic relationships, or just trying to feel less alone, this conversation offers grounding tools to help you reconnect. Full Getting Better Video Episodes now available on YouTube.  Follow Morgan Burch on Instagram @goodmorgantherapy  Follow Getting Better on Instagram @gettingbetterwithjvn  Follow Jonathan on Instagram @jvn Check out the JVN Patreon for exclusive BTS content, extra interviews, and much much more - check it out here: www.patreon.com/jvn  Executive Producer, Chris McClure Producer, Editor & Engineer is Nathanael McClure Production support: Chad Hall Our theme music is also composed by Nathanael McClure. Curious about bringing your brand to life on the show? Email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Scott and Wes tackle your questions on the rise of the design engineer, why AI still lacks “taste” (and why it's about more than just looks), and how to actually write tests in the age of AI-assisted coding. Plus: is AI a bubble about to burst, keeping coding agents efficient in massive codebases, introducing kids to AI, a Linux life update, and more! Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 01:18 The Rise of the Design Engineer Role 08:39 Why AI Has No Taste: It's Not Just How It Looks 14:28 Brought to you by Sentry.io 14:52 Testing in the AI Era: Are We Using AI to Write Tests? 20:09 Is AI a Bubble? Will It Burst? The AI Bubble is Bursting on YouTube 24:35 Negative Public Sentiment Towards AI and Data Centers 30:16 Update on Scott Using Omarchy and Linux Is The Omarchy Hype Real? 38:14 Introducing AI to Kids: A Parent's Perspective with Dr. Courtney 49:34 Getting Hired Without AI Experience: How to Catch Up 52:53 Keeping Coding Agents Efficient: Token Usage, Speed, and Accuracy Modem.dev Article Fallow Docs 57:10 Sick Picks + Shameless Plugs Sick Picks Scott: Kitchen Sink Brush Wes: Magnet Fishing Shameless Plugs Scott: Phases Podcast, Phases Podcast on YouTube Hit us up on Socials! Syntax: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Wes: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Scott: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Randy: X Instagram YouTube Threads

Aviation is being reimagined for a changing planet: Vertical take-off passenger cars for city centres. Hydrogen powered planes for zero carbon travel. Hyper-sonic flights to take the London to Sydney journey to under two hours. Kelly Latimer, US Aerospace engineer, flight test pilot, and former Flight Test Director of Virgin Galactic; Rob Miller, Net-zero aviation pioneer and Director of the Whittle Lab at Cambridge University, UK and Daniel Moczydlower, president of the Brazilian future aircraft innovators, Embraer-X, join BBC presenter Caroline Steel on stage in London, to discuss their trailblazing work and answer questions from a live audience at the Royal Geographical Society, London.

Today's episode of ID The Future comes from our sister podcast Mind Matters News. Today, guest host Pat Flynn welcomes Dr. Robert Marks and Dr. Michael Egnor to the show to critique Integrated Information Theory (IIT), a popular mathematical model that attempts to explain consciousness through computational complexity. Source

Packet Protector uncorks another News Roundup! We talk about attackers capturing hotels’ captive portals to steal Microsoft credentials, and the OpenAI-attacking-Hugging Face story and how it ties into a broader industry effort to keep the US government from blocking access to open weight AI models from China. Nvidia and the Linux Foundation launch separate AI... Read more »

Packet Protector uncorks another News Roundup! We talk about attackers capturing hotels’ captive portals to steal Microsoft credentials, and the OpenAI-attacking-Hugging Face story and how it ties into a broader industry effort to keep the US government from blocking access to open weight AI models from China. Nvidia and the Linux Foundation launch separate AI... Read more »

Today we're talking: JVN's West Coast tour, last minute hotel switches, scalp treatments, an astrological spelling bee, LOUISIANA v. CALLAIS, our White House Instagram feature, lipstick setting, and AG8! Wanna see JVN on stage? Get tix to the Hot & Healed Comedy Tour here.  Catch Getting Better & The Monday Edit, now on YouTube!  Follow us on Instagram @gettingbetterwithjvn Jonathan on Instagram @jvn and senior producer Chris @amomentlikechris  Executive Producer, Chris McClure Producer, Editor & Engineer is Nathanael McClure Production support from Chad Hall Our theme music is also composed by Nathanael McClure. Curious about bringing your brand to life on the show? Email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In nature, enzymes are the catalysts that make much of biology work. They jumpstart chemical reactions that either wouldn't happen, or would happen super slowly. They break down food, build other molecules, extract energy, and more. What if we could harness evolution to engineer designer enzymes that do other specific jobs that benefit us?  Putting that idea into practice changed the game for chemistry, and earned Frances Arnold the Nobel Prize prize in 2018. She called it “directed evolution.” Today, thousands of labs use her methods to coax enzymes into doing things no one ever thought of. She joined Host Flora Lichtman in March 2026 to talk about where she sees this approach going in the future, and the personal evolution that brought her into science. Guest:  Dr. Frances Arnold is the Linus Pauling Professor of Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering and Biochemistry at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California. Other episodes you may enjoy: Enzymes Are Taking On Our Plastic Problem Even Nobel Prize Winners Deal With Imposter Syndrome The transcript for this episode is available at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that's keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Last time we spoke about autumn battle of Changsha. In late September and early October 1941, the Chinese commander Chen Cheng focused on Yichang, a crucial Yangtze stronghold whose loss would threaten China's position and the approach toward Chongqing. Chen Cheng's plan tightened a ring around the city while Chinese forces blocked Japanese reinforcement routes, including efforts to cut retreat lines at places like Jingmen and Dangyang. The battle's pressure was intensified by shifting momentum elsewhere. As the Japanese situation around Changsha became unstable—strained by supplies, exhaustion, and mounting casualties—the Japanese command began to withdraw north. Chiang Kai-shek used this to accelerate Chinese priorities, ordering rapid capture of Yichang within a tight deadline. Inside Yichang, the defense turned tragic as Japanese troops faced encirclement, heavy artillery barrages, and desperate street fighting.    #213 Blood, Rain, and Flags: The Last Struggle Around Yichang Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. While the struggle around Changsha occupied one half of the battlefield, another contest of equal consequence was taking shape farther west at Yichang. The two operations were not separate stories. They belonged to the same campaign, and each influenced the fate of the other. If Changsha was the city whose danger was plain to every observer, Yichang was the stronghold whose importance weighed most heavily on the calculations of commanders. In the autumn of 1941, the outcome in one place could not be understood without the other. For Chen Cheng, Yichang was more than a military objective. It was a wound that had never closed. The city stood on the Yangtze at a point of major strategic value, tied not only to communications and transport but also to the defense of the river approach toward the wartime capital. When Yichang had fallen in June 1940, it had done more than alter the front line. It had left behind humiliation. Three Japanese divisions—the 3rd, 13th, and 39th—had seized the city after twelve days and nights of intense fighting. At five in the afternoon on June 11, a unit of the Japanese 13th Division under Tanaka Seiichi had broken in from the southeast. Chinese troops of the 18th Army under Peng Shan and Luo Guangwen's 18th Division fought a savage close-quarters battle inside the city for a full day and night, while Japanese forces of the 3rd and 39th Divisions pressed from the north. At four in the afternoon on June 12, with Deng Ping's battalion covering the withdrawal, the Chinese finally pulled out and Yichang was lost. Men in high command do not always remember defeat in the same way as the men who fight through it. Soldiers tend to remember heat, hunger, the dead, or the exact corner where a friend fell. Commanders also remember those things, but they remember something else as well: failure recorded in the language of responsibility. Chen Cheng could not forget that twenty Chinese corps had been beaten by three Japanese divisions. At the time, Li Zongren had commanded the operation. Now the chance to erase that old disgrace seemed to be passing into Chen Cheng's own hands. On September 20, he received two telegrams, one from the Military Commission and one from Chiang Kai-shek himself. From that point onward, Yichang dominated his thoughts. By September 23, the Military Commission approved Chen's request to transfer the 33rd Army Group of the Fifth War Zone into the Sixth War Zone for the coming attack. On paper, his position seemed powerful. He now had fourteen divisions at his disposal. Yichang itself was held only by Uchiyama Eitaro's 13th Division and the Hayabuchi Detachment, together amounting to roughly sixteen thousand men. Even granting the usual Japanese superiority in training, firepower, communications, and local tactical cohesion, the Chinese possessed absolute numerical advantage. By September 28, the Chinese units had reached their attack positions, and Chen Cheng set his operational design in motion. The forces on the right bank were to attack first and pull the main body of the Japanese 39th Division southward. The 33rd Army would strike toward Jingmen and Dangyang in order to cut off the enemy's routes of retreat and reinforcement. Once these movements took hold, Yichang itself would be enclosed and crushed. Li Jilan's 94th Army, Li Yannian's 2nd Army, Song Kentang's 32nd Army, and other formations advanced according to plan. On paper the arrangement had clarity. On the ground it had resistance. The Japanese defended from strong fieldworks, and progress came slowly. Earthworks, wire, trenches, and mutually supporting positions transformed every apparent advance into hard labor. The Chinese pushed forward, but not with the speed Chen Cheng wanted. Even a favorable comparison of troop numbers could not cancel the fact that an entrenched Japanese force, once determined to hold, could impose a terrible price on assault. By October 1, Japanese troops outside Yichang began withdrawing into the city proper. Chen Cheng responded by ordering all troops to complete the encirclement. At last the operation seemed to be reaching the decisive stage. The city was tightening under pressure. The ring was nearly closed. Yet at that very moment time began pressing harder on both sides. On October 2, both Chen Cheng outside the city and Uchiyama inside it received telegrams that sharpened the crisis. The message sent from the Japanese 11th Army headquarters in Wuhan informed Uchiyama that the famous Tokyo Asakusa Art Troupe was coming to Yichang to comfort the front-line troops. The Expeditionary Army Headquarters in Nanjing had decided that, for political reasons, the troupe could not be turned back merely because combat conditions were dangerous. Their purpose was morale. That such a message could arrive at such a time reveals much about Japanese wartime culture. Appearances, spirit, ritual reassurance, and the emotional theater of endurance still had to be maintained even when military reality was worsening by the hour. The telegram that Chen Cheng received was very different. Chiang Kai-shek's order stated with brutal directness: the Japanese in northern Hunan had begun to withdraw, and Chen was ordered to spare no effort to capture Yichang within three days. Chen stared at the message for a long time. There was no need for explanation. He understood at once what Chiang meant. The battle for Yichang had already consumed days of hard fighting. Chinese units had suffered substantial losses. But the essential fact stood over every map and every order: if Japanese forces disengaging from northern Hunan reached Yichang in time to reinforce it, then all the effort already expended might amount to nothing. The battle had become not only a contest of strength, but a race. At nearly the same time, the command post of the Japanese 11th Army at Yueyang was confronting the other half of the same problem. On the night of September 30, the headquarters was brightly lit as Chief of Staff Isamu Kinoshita arranged reports, reconnaissance findings, and field messages before the army commander. The Japanese still possessed a valuable advantage: they had access to Chinese communication codes. But such intelligence could not solve every operational problem. It could not conjure food where there was none, restore exhausted bodies, or stop the battlefield from changing shape. By then the Japanese situation around Changsha had become increasingly unstable. The Hayabuchi Detachment, after entering the city, was entangled in fierce urban fighting with the Chinese 6th Provisional Division of the 79th Army. By the evening of September 30, neither side had eliminated the other inside the city. Outside Changsha, the Japanese 3rd, 4th, 6th, and 40th Divisions had assembled and kept major Chinese forces at bay. One element of the 3rd Division had even moved south by truck to Zhuzhou, fifty kilometers away, and occupied the abandoned city. Yet these outward signs of success concealed a serious weakness. The Japanese rear was fraying. Ammunition and food were running low. Divisions operating that deep in hostile territory could not sustain a prolonged campaign under such conditions. More than ten days of uninterrupted movement and fighting had also produced rising non-combat casualties. Men were collapsing from fatigue along the march. Sickness increased steadily. Units that had looked formidable on the offensive were beginning to wear thin from inside. At the same time, Chinese remnants from earlier defeats, new reinforcements, and formations that had regrouped after being thrown back were all watching for signs of weakness. Even if the Japanese divisions in Hunan still had the strength to fight several more actions, another question overrode everything else: Yichang. Yichang was not simply another point on the map. It was a strategic stronghold on the Yangtze and one of the key places from which Japan threatened Chongqing. The city also carried institutional memory. After its capture in June 1940, the occupying troops had initially been ordered to withdraw for rest and reorganization. But Imperial General Headquarters had reversed that decision almost at once and demanded that Yichang be held after all. Troops already on the road had to turn back and retake a city that had been burned, stripped, and rendered difficult to occupy. Among those who had insisted most strongly that Yichang must be retained was Anami Korechika, then vice minister of the army. Now Anami faced the consequence of that earlier insistence. However attractive the gains in Hunan might appear, Yichang could not simply be sacrificed. Uchiyama's 13th Division was not strong enough to hold indefinitely without relief. Anami looked at Hunan on the map—a rich province, beautiful and militarily tempting, much of it seeming almost within reach. But strategy does not reward attachment. With great reluctance, he gave the order to retreat. On the morning of October 1, all Japanese divisions received the reversal instructions, and at four in the afternoon they began moving north. For Xue Yue, this altered the entire meaning of the campaign. Since the beginning of the battle, he had known frustration, disappointment, and anger. Whatever private calculations he may have made about Chiang Kai-shek's strategic direction, Chen Cheng's political influence, his own mistakes in the earlier phase of operations, or the rivalries that had long poisoned Republican military life, none of those feelings prevented him from seeing the opportunity now before him. Once the Japanese turned north, pursuit was no longer merely a matter of salvaging dignity. It became an operational necessity tied directly to Yichang. His staff quickly drafted a pursuit order defining routes, timings, and methods. The document explicitly called for tracking and pursuing, interception, flanking movement, ambush, and surprise attack. This was not to be a ceremonial following of a retreating enemy at a respectful distance. It was meant to be pressure—enough pressure, if possible, to delay Japanese movement back toward Hubei. Two hours after Xue issued the order, another telegram arrived from Chongqing. Chiang Kai-shek instructed that since the enemy which had advanced into northern Hunan had begun retreating toward Yueyang on the night of October 1, the Ninth War Zone was to exploit their fatigue, pursue boldly, seize Yueyang if possible, sabotage the Wuyue Railway, and launch attacks, ambushes, and fierce strikes along the retreat route to prevent the Japanese from regaining their former defenses or shifting quickly toward Wuhan. The purpose was stated clearly: to facilitate the operations of the Third, Fifth, and Sixth War Zones. Xue Yue understood the message at once. The support provided by the Third and Fifth War Zones had been limited and often symbolic. The operation that truly mattered now was Chen Cheng's assault on Yichang. Pursuit in Hunan was not simply retaliation for the threat to Changsha. It was an attempt to buy time in blood, mud, and delay. He adjusted the pursuit deployment and ordered commanders at every level to go forward and supervise their units in person. Autumn rain began to fall over northern Hunan. Hills disappeared in mist and drizzle. Along the roads leading north moved Japanese soldiers under the Rising Sun flag; behind them and beside them, often through fields, villages, and broken country, moved Chinese troops under the Blue Sky, White Sun, and Red Earth flag. Their uniforms differed, their languages differed, their causes differed—but the exhaustion in their faces must often have looked terribly alike. Both armies moved through damp air, hunger, uncertainty, and the constant expectation of another clash. The pursuit, however, revealed the limits of Chinese strength as well as its persistence. On October 2, the battered remnants of the Chinese 74th and 26th Armies cleared battlefields along the Liuyang and Laodao Rivers and found no Japanese left there. The 74th withdrew to Liling to regroup. The 26th halted at Changle Street for replenishment. Yang Sen sent the whole 27th Army Group after the retreating enemy. Ou Zhen's 4th Army attempted to intercept the Japanese 40th Division, but the Japanese maneuvered skillfully and escaped. Ou Zhen pursued them north of the Miluo River for three days, reached the Changshui River, and found the south bank empty. The 20th Army tried to cut off the Japanese 6th Division at Fulipu. At first they could not even locate the enemy, but they did collect large amounts of matériel left behind. Deputy Commander Xia Jiong remarked, with rough optimism, that the Japanese were still "steaming hot" and would certainly be caught. His men ran hard, crossed the Miluo River, and finally did catch a rearguard. Yet the Japanese, intent only on getting away, adopted what Chinese accounts described as a low-key method of not retaliating and not becoming decisively engaged. After crossing Gaoqiao they withdrew into their previous defensive area, and Xia could do little more than stop, rest, and continue to watch them. The 58th Army intercepted more than two thousand Japanese troops near Guanwang Bridge. For a moment it seemed a major clash might erupt. Instead the Japanese fled, leaving behind large quantities of supplies. The Chinese followed them as far as Taolin and then halted when it became clear that the enemy had regained strong ground. These episodes were frustrating, but they were not meaningless. They showed that many Chinese formations had been too badly mauled in the earlier phase of the campaign to sustain relentless offensive pressure. They also showed that the Japanese, though in retreat, were still disciplined enough to avoid disastrous entanglements while shedding matériel to gain speed. The Chinese units that struck hardest during this phase were not those most damaged at the beginning of the battle, but fresher formations such as Xia Chuzhong's 79th Army and Fu Zhongfang's 99th Army. Xia's men ambushed the Hayabuchi Detachment and nearly destroyed it, killing two of its three battalion commanders. Fu's 99th Army fought a series of clashes with the Japanese 3rd and 6th Divisions and with the Hirano and Araki Detachments. The Japanese, eager to keep moving, absorbed losses rather than pause for extended battle. The 99th Army captured so much matériel that transporting it became a problem in itself. On October 4, a squad leader of the 197th Division even shot down an aircraft with machine-gun fire. Yet even here success had limits. By October 9, the entire Japanese force in northern Hunan had crossed the Xinqiang River and reoccupied its original positions. Chinese attacks achieved nothing decisive. The river once again became, in military imagination, almost a fixed frontier. As gunfire subsided in Xiangbei, all attention turned toward Yichang. The encirclement of the city was completed at noon on October 4. Chen Cheng ordered a general offensive to begin at four in the morning on October 6. Outside the city, Li Yannian's 2nd Army held fast against the Japanese 39th Division, which was trying to come in from Jingmen. Altogether, the Sixth War Zone had committed fourteen divisions—more than one hundred thousand men—to the operation. What followed was the familiar but always arresting spectacle of a great battle gathering itself. Small detachments moved forward to cut wire and destroy fortifications outside the city. Artillery officers adjusted their fire with care. Ammunition boxes changed hands continuously. Telephone operators hurried back and forth laying lines. Engineers worked with picks and shovels. Trucks forced their way down crowded roads with horns blaring. Boats were requisitioned along the riverbank, and dark-skinned boatmen weathered by the Yangtze wind moved among soldiers and officers. Behind the assault units stood medical stations under Red Cross flags, waiting for the wounded they knew were coming. All the machinery of battle was in motion. Inside Yichang, meanwhile, another scene unfolded that could only exist in wartime Japan's peculiar mixture of militarism and performance. At the field hospital of the Japanese 13th Division on the campus of Mingde Middle School, wounded soldiers wrapped in white bandages stood, sat, lay on stretchers, or leaned on medical orderlies in the yard watching entertainers from home perform while the dull rhythms of artillery sounded in the distance. The Asakusa Art Troupe had been founded in the mid-1920s and had made its name by combining modern popular elements with traditional stage culture. It had first won over ordinary audiences and then, as its reputation rose, gained acceptance among official and elite circles as well. After the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War, it was gradually folded into the machinery of wartime propaganda, performing works meant to praise sacrifice, glorify the empire, and strengthen morale. When the delegation of more than thirty members arrived at the 11th Army headquarters in Wuhan, the army added a military band of more than twenty men to accompany them to Yichang. But by the time they reached the city, the battle had already drawn close. They could not visit forward positions. Instead they performed for the wounded. The last performance featured heavily made-up young men and women dancing a popular folk number. As the dance continued, the women bowed and invited medics and wounded men who could still move to join them. Kimono and military uniform mixed. Smiles appeared beside bandages. Music from the home islands drifted out beneath the sound of an approaching siege. Then war interrupted the scene completely. Before dawn on October 6, Chinese artillery opened on Yichang with a deafening bombardment, and the cries of attack rolled over the city. As day came up, the troupe members watched stretchers being rushed into the field hospital where they had only recently performed. One of the sixteen-year-old twin geisha sisters, Mihoko, asked the troupe leader Akizuru through tears whether they would ever be able to return to Tokyo. Qiuhe, the famous dance artist in her fifties, answered gently that they would. General Anami, she said, was leading brave troops there and would arrive in the next few days. The child must pray. The reassurance was human, but it was also part of the wartime language of consolation. Outside the city, reality was harsher. For two days and nights the fighting remained severe. The Japanese fell back toward the edge of the city and resisted with desperation. The Japanese 3rd Air Regiment in Hankou committed itself heavily to the defense, flying sortie after sortie over Yichang. Aircraft came so often that some made four round trips in a single day. On the morning of October 8, a unit of the Chinese 94th Army crossed by boat from the west bank, bypassed the Gezhouba area, and landed at the northern end of Huangcaoba. Advancing south along the embankment, it established positions on the Yangtze side only about half a kilometer from the city. This foothold effectively dominated Japanese positions west of Yichang. Mortar rounds crossed the water. Heavy and light machine guns pinned the defenders outside the walls. At the same time, the 9th Division of the 32nd Army and part of the 99th Army pressed inward as well. The ring tightened. October 9 was grave for both sides. The Japanese withdrawal from northern Hunan had by now produced a relief force. Anami assembled elite troops from several divisions into a rapid deployment column for Yichang. For the Chinese Sixth War Zone, however, victory seemed very near. Inside the city the Japanese situation was increasingly desperate. Casualties were severe. The field hospital yard was filled with groaning wounded. Uchiyama summoned support personnel, medics, cooks, ordnance repairmen, and any wounded men still capable of firing. He armed them all and formed an improvised reserve. Then, while this force was assembling, he heard the sound of a trumpet. One of the band members, still practicing as if battle had not reached its climax, reminded him that the more than twenty members of the 11th Army band were also soldiers in uniform. He added them as well, creating a special unit of 388 men. Hundreds of sacks of rice were taken from storage and piled around division headquarters as fortifications. Uchiyama then turned to Chief of Staff Akinaga and said, "Let's not believe any miracles will happen." The line was bleak, but lucid. It meant that there would be no rescue through wishful thinking. If they lived, it would be because they held long enough. If they died, they would die without pretending that destiny had cheated them. Outside the city, Chen Cheng faced a different but equally harsh pressure. On October 2, Chiang Kai-shek had ordered Yichang taken within three days. On the 4th, Chen requested an extension until the 8th; Chiang agreed, but warned that because the Japanese were retreating from northern Hunan, the city must be captured by then or all previous effort would be wasted. Chen launched the general assault on the 6th, but fierce resistance on the ground and in the air slowed him. By the 8th, the city still had not fallen. He requested another extension, asking to take Yichang by October 10. This time Chiang sent no reply. Chen understood the silence. It meant that no political room remained behind him. At 2:30 in the morning on October 10, the Sixth War Zone opened another general offensive. One hundred and forty artillery pieces joined the bombardment. Shells fell across every part of the Japanese defenses until the repeated flashes made it hard for the gunners to tell what had not yet been hit. Then the infantry went in. Men shouted and surged forward like water breaking through a barrier. Hidden Japanese machine guns cut them down in wave after wave, but more men followed behind. The dead piled on the approaches so thickly that nationality itself seemed to vanish in blood and mud. Under that fire, dawn rose red. Uchiyama watched the sunrise from the highest building in the city, the three-story Yichang Bank. After the war, he told a reporter that the sky, the earth, and even the Yangtze had all seemed red to him, as if the river itself were carrying the blood of Chinese and Japanese alike. According to a later Japanese account, messages reached him from every side that morning reporting collapse. Roughly 5000 men were estimated killed or seriously wounded. At eight o'clock Uchiyama went down to the operations room. Waiting there were his chief of staff and senior officers. At that moment the final ritual of battlefield defeat began. A farewell telegram to Anami Korechika was read aloud. Nearby stood the regimental flag of the 104th Regiment, entrusted to Captain Izumi Shigeru before the regiment's complete destruction. Uchiyama then took the 13th Division's own flag—the imperial military color—and laid it over the regimental flag. Officers and men wept, removed their caps, and bowed their heads. Uchiyama's hands trembled so badly that it took him three matches to set the flag alight. In Japanese military culture, burning a flag was among the sternest rites of defeat. The flag could not be allowed to fall into enemy hands. To destroy it was to acknowledge annihilation while presenting that annihilation as a final offering to the imperial state. When the flags had burned and places for seppuku had been chosen, the farewell message remained. It declared that all officers and soldiers had done their utmost for the empire in the final struggle, that military flags, confidential documents, and imperial edicts had been burned, and that it was deeply regrettable that overseas Chinese and the delegation in Yichang had also suffered this fate. Uchiyama then added one final sentence in red pencil: the soldiers of the empire had fulfilled their duty and died for their country amidst the heroic cries of "Long live the Grand Marshal!" At 8:50 the clerk began encoding the telegram. Then Uchiyama said quietly to the officers waiting to die: "Please wait a little longer." The words postponed death by minutes. There was still the narrow possibility that communication mattered, or that the battle had not yet reached its absolute end. Chief of Staff Akinaga summoned his adjutant, Sakata Ryūshirō, and ordered that if the division commander and chief of staff died before the telegram was sent, Sakata was to form a suicide squad, break out by any means possible, and report the division's fate to 11th Army headquarters. At ten in the morning, the Japanese 39th Division attacking from Jingmen launched a new assault under Anami's strict orders against Li Yannian's 2nd Army. One regiment used poison gas to break through part of the Chinese line and reached the outskirts of Yichang. Chen Cheng personally directed the Chinese response, using elements of the attacking force and the 2nd Army to surround and beat back the thrust. By two in the afternoon, only the Dongshan Temple line remained intact among the different sectors of the Japanese city defense. Chinese troops had penetrated the city and were fighting bitterly in the streets, moving steadily toward division headquarters. At four in the afternoon, more than 2000 Japanese rapid deployment troops from northern Hunan reached the northeast approaches of Yichang and at once joined the relief effort. Chen Cheng threw reserves in to block them, and both sides locked in combat six kilometers outside the city. As dusk fell, the Chinese assault units in the city had also suffered terrible losses. Chen Cheng ordered them to regroup, replenish, and launch a final attack after dark. Then, at seven in the evening, almost as the order was issued, a violent gale rose and torrential rain began to fall. Such heavy rain was unusual in the Yichang area in October, and to men who had been living for days under the pressure of siege, death, and deadline, it must have seemed uncanny. The Chinese attacked through the downpour, but progress was painfully slow. At the same time, more than ten thousand Japanese troops arriving from northern Hunan reached the outskirts, fought for over two hours in the rain, and finally broke into the city, linking up with what remained of the 13th Division. At eleven that night, Chiang Kai-shek ordered the attack on Yichang halted and instructed the Chinese troops to return to their original defensive positions. The battle ended not in a clear verdict, but in exhaustion. One elderly resident of Yichang, Huang Jupu, later left a memory of the aftermath more vivid than any headquarters summary. He recalled that the heavy rain began at nightfall on the twentieth day of the eighth lunar month—October 10 in the Gregorian calendar—and continued into the next afternoon. Rainwater soaked the corpses lying in the streets until the water became a deep brownish-red pool more than two feet deep before it drained into the Yangtze and changed the river's color. The next day, he said, both sides sent corpse-collection teams into the streets under Red Cross flags. They pushed carts and worked separately, avoiding conflict, though sometimes they spoke to one another when trying to identify bodies. The Japanese recovery party included Chinese helpers and local residents. They turned corpses over, looked at clothing and weapons, and tried to determine nationality. Some bodies were naked, perhaps stripped wounded, which made identification harder. Since Chinese and Japanese could resemble one another, neither side wanted to take the wrong dead, fearing that a mistake would disturb the heroic souls to whom each army believed it owed proper burial. In the end, Huang remembered, it was the people of Yichang who pooled their money to bury many of the dead north of the city. Later an unmarked stone was raised there, with a bowl of rice and a stick of incense set before it. That image does something military history often fails to do. It restores weight to the end of battle. Armies issue attack orders, counterattack orders, pursuit orders, and retreat orders. Staff officers mark arrows on maps. Commanders calculate reinforcement and delay. But after all of that comes the business of soaked bodies in the street, identification, carts, shallow graves, and local people forced to do what armies can no longer fully do for their own dead. Seen as a whole, the operations in Hunan and Hubei during these weeks form one connected historical drama. The Japanese advance toward Changsha was real and dangerous, but it failed to produce decisive strategic gain. The battle strained the Chinese defense badly. Some units collapsed. Others improvised and recovered. The city was entered, contested, and then fought over again. Behind the forward line, Chinese forces such as Yang Sen's 27th Army Group harassed Japanese communications and supply, turning depth into vulnerability. At the same time, Chen Cheng's offensive against Yichang transformed what might otherwise have remained a local success for Japan in Hunan into a strategic dilemma. Once Yichang came seriously under threat, the Japanese command could not continue to treat the Hunan offensive as self-contained. It had to weigh possession against preservation, momentum against strategic necessity. That calculation compelled the retreat from northern Hunan. The retreat in turn changed the meaning of Xue Yue's operations. Pursuit became valuable not mainly because it might recover wounded pride or even because it might damage the retreating enemy, but because every hour of delay imposed on Japanese units moving north was another hour in which Yichang might fall. Yet Yichang did not fall. That fact is central, but it must be interpreted carefully. Chen Cheng had numerical superiority and fought with determination, but numbers alone could not cancel the difficulty of assaulting a fortified Japanese position under air attack and against fanatical resistance. Time worked against him. Every day lost increased the chance that Japanese relief would arrive from Hunan. Chiang Kai-shek's increasingly urgent telegrams reflected strategic logic, but they could not abolish battlefield reality. Men still had to cross open ground, cut wire, silence guns, and survive fire. Inside Yichang, Uchiyama's defense reveals the same pressure from the opposite side. He understood that his task was simple in principle and terrible in practice: hold until relief arrived. That necessity drove him to arm cooks, medics, repairmen, musicians, and wounded men. It drove him to build fortifications from sacks of rice. It brought him to the point of burning flags and preparing for ritual death while still delaying the final act long enough to see whether rescue might come. The presence of the Asakusa Art Troupe inside the besieged city sharpened the tragedy. They had been sent for morale and appearance, as if cultural performance might reassure an empire already growing anxious about the costs of war. Instead they became trapped witnesses to near-annihilation. The young girl asking if she would ever return to Tokyo cuts through all rhetoric. It is the ordinary human question that waits behind every doctrine of heroic sacrifice. In the end, neither side obtained everything it sought. Japan failed to turn its push into Hunan into a decisive result. China failed to retake Yichang despite concentration of force and a window of opportunity that for a time seemed very real. But that does not mean the campaign resolves into stalemate in any empty sense. It revealed important truths. For China, it showed both weakness and development. Weakness appeared in broken lines, uneven coordination, exhausted pursuit, and the inability to convert superiority in numbers into victory at Yichang. But development appeared too: a greater ability to coordinate war zones, to pressure Japanese rear areas, to force the enemy into strategic compromise, and to sustain resistance under conditions that would once have threatened outright collapse. For Japan, the campaign exposed the narrowing gap between aggressive offensive action and dangerous overextension. Japanese divisions could still strike hard, move with speed, and defend with ferocity. Their aircraft could still exact terrible cost. But logistics, fatigue, sickness, and the obligation to rescue threatened positions like Yichang increasingly limited what offensive success could mean. The deepest memory of the campaign may belong not to generals, however, but to the smaller figures history often notices only in passing: the soldier chewing dry ration without water; the wounded man who blew himself up rather than submit; the old beggar who revealed a depot; the band member still practicing trumpet in a city preparing for death; the frightened girl from the troupe; the townspeople who buried the dead after rain washed blood into the Yangtze. These are not decorative details. They are what make the history real. The autumn of 1941 in Hunan and Hubei was not one clean victory, nor one clean defeat. It was a season in which pressure in one sector altered decision in another, in which tactical success did not always yield strategic reward, and in which endurance itself increasingly became a form of power. That is why the campaign matters. It shows a war whose balance had begun to change, not dramatically or conclusively, but perceptibly. China still suffered, improvised, and fell short. Japan still advanced, struck hard, and held important ground. Yet the margin between them was no longer what it had been in the earlier years of the war. History moved that autumn not by omen or destiny, but by the hard materials of war: supply, timing, weather, command, fatigue, communications, morale, and blood. In Hunan and Hubei, all of those forces converged. They carried armies north and west, into cities and out again, across rivers, through rain, and finally into memory. I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. As Chinese pressure tightened, Japan's wider situation around Changsha deteriorated—fatigue, supply strain, and losses accumulated. When the Japanese began retreating north, relief efforts turned Yichang into a desperate struggle marked by shifting fronts, poison gas, street fighting, and heavy bombardment. Chiang Kai-shek demanded a deadline, forcing Chen into final assaults that ultimately failed to secure a clean victory.  

Mark Piesing, author of N-4 Down: The Hunt for the Arctic Airship Italia, recounts a secret meeting in Norway in July 1925 that brought together legendary explorer Roald Amundsen and Italian engineer Umberto Nobile to plan the first airship flight over the North Pole. Amundsen, seeking a final financial triumph and the completion of his polar legacy, joined forces with Nobile, a brilliant designer facing political pressure from Mussolini's fascist regime. Their initial 1926 expedition in the airship Norge was a success, but it sparked a bitter rivalry as Nobile was celebrated as a "new Columbus" while Amundsen felt sidelined. By 1928, Nobile returned to the Arctic in a new airship, the Italia, a mission fueled by nationalistic pride and individual obsession. After reaching the North Pole, the craft encountered fierce winds and heavy ice, eventually smashing into the frozen wilderness. The crash split the crew; six men drifted away with the airship's envelope and vanished forever, while ten survivors, including Nobile, were stranded on the ice. A massive international rescue effort ensued, leading to the tragic disappearance of Amundsen, who vanished while flying to save his rival. The Soviet icebreaker Krassin eventually rescued the remaining survivors. However, Nobile's reputation was permanently tarnished when he allowed himself to be rescued first, leaving his crew behind. Upon returning to Italy, he faced the wrath of Mussolini, as the fascist state used him as a scapegoat to deflect from the expedition's failure. (1)1906 AMUNDSEN

This simple process works on anything and makes your output exceptional every time.  Here is the link to the companion Substack blog post for this episode: https://tinyurl.com/ep14-Reverse-Engineer-Anything My full collection of growth hacks, playbooks, and meta prompts lives on my Substack at: https://ClaudeGenius.com

What if burnout isn't a sign that you're broken—but that you've become disconnected from yourself? Jonathan Van Ness sits down with Qigong master and author Master Mingtong Gu to explore why so many of us feel overwhelmed, exhausted, and stuck in our heads—and how reconnecting with our bodies can help us find our way back. Together, they unpack what Qi actually is, why modern life keeps us disconnected, and how simple Qigong practices can help regulate stress, build resilience, and create more balance in everyday life. Plus, Master Mingtong leads JVN through guided exercises you can practice at home and shares his remarkable journey from chronic illness to becoming one of the world's leading Qigong teachers. Whether you're curious about energy work or simply looking for new tools to navigate stress, this conversation offers a grounded, compassionate approach to getting better. www.chicenter.com/master-mingtong/ Wanna see JVN on stage? Get tix to the Hot & Healed Comedy Tour here.  Full Video Episodes now available on YouTube.  Follow Eric Sedeño on Instagram @ricotaquito Follow us on Instagram @gettingbetterwithjvn Follow Jonathan on Instagram @jvn Executive  Producer, Chris McClure Producer, Editor & Engineer is Nathanael McClure Production support from: Chad Hall Our theme music is also composed by Nathanael McClure. Curious about bringing your brand to life on the show? Email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices