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What happens when the world of GLP-1s collides with the operating room? Today, we're diving into the new era of obesity care. Hosts·       Matthew Martin, trauma and bariatric surgeon at the University of Southern California/Los Angeles General Medical Center (Los Angeles, California) @docmartin2·       Adrian Dan, bariatric and MIS surgeon, program director for the advanced MIS bariatric and foregut fellowship at Summa Health System (Akron, Ohio) @DrAdrianDan·       Crystal Johnson Mann, bariatric and foregut surgeon at the University of Florida (Gainesville, Florida) @crys_noelle_·       Katherine Cironi, general surgery resident at the University of Southern California/Los Angeles General Medical Center (Los Angeles, California) @cironimacaroniLearning objectives1.          Understand the evolving role of OMMs in bariatric surgical practice·       Recognize how widespread GLP-1 and dual-incretin therapies have reshaped patient presentations, expectations, and referral patterns.·       Appreciate current evidence comparing surgery to GLP-1 therapy, including the JAMA Surgery study out of Allegheny Health (2025), noting:o   Superior weight loss with bariatric surgery (~28% TBWL vs ~10% with GLP-1s)o   Higher health-care utilization and cost in GLP-1–treated patients.·       Frame OMMs not as alternatives but as complementary tools within a chronic disease model when treating obesity.2.           Review pharmacologic classes and their expected efficacy·       Surgeons should be able to articulate the mechanisms, efficacy, and limitations of:o   GLP-1 receptor agonists – incretin-based satiety; 5–12% TBWL.o   Dual GIP/GLP-1 agonists – most potent agents; 15–22% TBWL.o   Sympathomimetics – norepinephrine-driven appetite suppression; 3–7% TBWL.o   Combination agents (bupropion-naltrexone, phentermine-topiramate) – 5–12% TBWL depending on regimen.o   Emerging therapies – retatrutide, maritide, oral GLP-1s, with promising TBWL in phase 2 trials3.          Apply OMMs strategically in the preoperative phase·       Integrate OMMs without compromising surgical eligibility—OMM-related weight loss does not negate the indication for surgery.·       Counsel patients that medication response does not equal disease resolution; surgery remains the most durable intervention.·       Manage delayed gastric emptying and aspiration risk:o   Pause weekly GLP-1 or dual agonists for ≥1 week pre-op (longer if symptomatic).o   Collaborate closely with the anesthesia/OR teams·       Screen for nutritional depletion before surgery, especially protein deficits exacerbated by appetite suppression.·       Navigate insurance barriers that may paradoxically approve surgery but deny medication continuation.4.          Implement postoperative OMMs safely and effectively·       Establish criteria for OMM introduction:o   Typical initiation at 6–12 months, once the diet stabilizes and the physiologic curve flattens.o   Earlier initiation (4–6 weeks) may be appropriate in pediatric or select high-risk populations.·       Recognize altered pharmacokinetics after sleeve and bypass:o   Injectables may be preferred due to altered absorption of oral agents.·       Prevent postoperative nutritional compromise:o   Monitor protein intake, hydration, and micronutrient status (including iron, B12, and fat-soluble vitamins).o   Titrate doses slowly to minimize nausea/vomiting that can precipitate malnutrition.·       Frame OMM use as a tool for disease persistence (plateau/regain), not as a marker of failure.5.          Identify systems-level barriers and the implementation of coordinated care·       Understand insurance inconsistencies—coverage for surgery is often not paired with coverage for long-term medical therapy.·       Clearly document disease persistence and medical necessity when appealing denials.·       Avoid fragmented care: establish shared-care pathways between bariatric surgery, obesity medicine, and primary care.·       Use patient-centered language emphasizing complementary therapy, not hierarchy or competition between surgery and medications.6.          Counsel patients ethically and accurately within a chronic disease model·       Set expectations: sustained success requires surgery + medication + behavioral change.·       Educate patients that postoperative OMM use does not imply surgical failure.·       Normalize long-term multimodal management of obesity, analogous to diabetes or hypertension models.*Sponsor Disclaimer: Visit goremedical.com/btkpod to learn more about GORE® SYNECOR Biomaterial, including supporting references and disclaimers for the presented content.  Refer to Instructions for Use at eifu.goremedical.com for a complete description of all applicable indications, warnings, precautions and contraindications for the markets where this product is available. Rx only Please visit https://behindtheknife.org to access other high-yield surgical education podcasts, videos and more.  If you liked this episode, check out our recent episodes here: https://behindtheknife.org/listenBehind the Knife Premium:General Surgery Oral Board Review Course: https://behindtheknife.org/premium/general-surgery-oral-board-reviewTrauma Surgery Video Atlas: https://behindtheknife.org/premium/trauma-surgery-video-atlasDominate Surgery: A High-Yield Guide to Your Surgery Clerkship: https://behindtheknife.org/premium/dominate-surgery-a-high-yield-guide-to-your-surgery-clerkshipDominate Surgery for APPs: A High-Yield Guide to Your Surgery Rotation: https://behindtheknife.org/premium/dominate-surgery-for-apps-a-high-yield-guide-to-your-surgery-rotationVascular Surgery Oral Board Review Course: https://behindtheknife.org/premium/vascular-surgery-oral-board-audio-reviewColorectal Surgery Oral Board Review Course: https://behindtheknife.org/premium/colorectal-surgery-oral-board-audio-reviewSurgical Oncology Oral Board Review Course: https://behindtheknife.org/premium/surgical-oncology-oral-board-audio-reviewCardiothoracic Oral Board Review Course: https://behindtheknife.org/premium/cardiothoracic-surgery-oral-board-audio-reviewDownload our App:Apple App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/behind-the-knife/id1672420049Android/Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.btk.app&hl=en_US

Welcome back to the podcast Gorg! On today's episode I am giving you some tips on tricks on how to stay locked in your new identity. You ladies know how important identity work is but you also know how hard it is to ACT like the new you when you're so used to being old you.  Well, on this week's episode I am giving you plenty of tools to utilize on a daily basis.  If you are are not focusing on at least one or more of these things mentioned on the podcast..then chances are you are being the old you. Listen in to hear all about it.  As promised on this episode (due to our website being under construction) here is the outline to my program HER UPGRADE. Click HERE to join the program. Program Outline: Week 1: Releasing everything old ✨ You'll: Reflect on who you've been throughout 2025. Identify your energetic blocks, magnetism-killing habits, and time-wasting patterns. Make a forgiveness list and cut energetic cords with the old you. Do a full physical clean-out — closet, room, drawers, car, or anywhere your energy lingers.   Week 2: A fresh slate ✨ You'll: Dive into love and gratitude practices that open your heart and raise your vibration. Instantly elevate your energy through embodiment work. Align with your higher self and reconnect with your divine power. Identify one key desire you've been neglecting. Write a love letter — to yourself or to someone whose energy you're finally ready to release.   Week 3: The Self-Concept Glow-Up ✨ You'll: Create your 2026 Vision Board — the aesthetic, lifestyle, and energy you're stepping into. Rebrand yourself using Pinterest or ChatGPT to design your "Main Character Blueprint." Rewire your self-concept and define your new identity statements. Elevate your physical appearance by changing one thing that upgrades your energy. Book at least one glow-up appointment — spray tan, blowout, facial, nails, or any treatment that makes you feel brand new.   Week 4: Bridging the Gap ✨ You'll: Get crystal clear on the habits and standards your dream girl embodies. Identify which habits, behaviors, or environments you need to drop, shift, or change Take one bold, life-altering action that instantly bridges the gap between who you are and who you're becoming.   Week 5: Systems & Routines ✨ You'll: Audit your current routines and identify what no longer aligns. Create one life-changing morning routine that sets your energy and focus. Establish one evening routine that grounds you in peace and presence. Start reading one book that will expand your mindset and elevate your glow-up journey.  

Most investors don't blow up because they “didn't know enough.” They blow up because they frame the decision wrong. Lance Roberts & Jonathan Penn break down narrow framing—the behavior where investors judge one investment in isolation (“Why don't I own that?”) instead of evaluating results through the entire portfolio and a long-term plan. When something becomes “hot,” it feels obvious, safe, and inevitable. But return-chasing often ends the same way: buying after a big run, then selling after the first real drawdown. That cycle turns investing into reaction instead of strategy—headlines instead of planning, emotion instead of discipline. 0:00 - INTRO 0:19 - ISM Manufacturing Feed Reflation Narrative 4:15 - Sector Rotations Worth Watching 8:20 - Markets Continue in Rising Trend 13:24 - The Trap of Cahasing Returns 15:58 - The Trouble w Investor Complacency 18:20 - The Flaw in Framing 22:09 - Momentum Drives Price 23:21 - Leverage Unwinding & Volatility 24:42 - It's Silver Profit Taking Time 25:47 - Risk Tolerance vs Risk Capacity 28:03 - A Portfolio is Like a Car 31:12 - The Misconception Between Risk & Volatility 34:23 - Risk is the Destruction of Capital 35:58 - Markets Do Not Compound Returns 37:31 - Would You Rather... 42:33 - Everybody Idolizes Warren Buffett 43:30 - Establish a Discipline 45:52 - Have a Plan - Write it Down 48:51 - E-book Library Hosted by RIA Advisors Chief Investment Strategist, Lance Roberts, CIO, w Senior Investment Advisor, Jonathan Penn, CFP Produced by Brent Clanton, Executive Producer ------- Register for our next Candid Coffee, 2/21/26: https://streamyard.com/watch/Wq3Yvn9ny5GV ------- Watch Today's Full Video on our YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/live/sKXpfWf8oRs?feature=share ------- Watch our previous show, "Bears Are an Endangered Species," here: https://www.youtube.com/live/NAyXnrquGiQ -------- The latest installment of our new feature, Before the Bell, "Reflation Rotation" is here: https://youtu.be/9f2tn_O1BUc ------- Visit our E-book Library (no library card required!) https://realinvestmentadvice.com/ria-e-guide-library/ -------- SUBSCRIBE to The Real Investment Show here: http://www.youtube.com/c/TheRealInvestmentShow -------- Visit our Site: https://www.realinvestmentadvice.com Contact Us: 1-855-RIA-PLAN -------- Subscribe to SimpleVisor: https://www.simplevisor.com/register-new -------- Connect with us on social: https://twitter.com/RealInvAdvice https://twitter.com/LanceRoberts https://www.facebook.com/RealInvestmentAdvice/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/realinvestmentadvice/ #StockMarket #SectorRotation #RiskManagement #ReflationTrade #PortfolioRebalancing

https://teachhoops.com/ A program-building coaching call is a high-level strategic session designed to help you move beyond the "game-to-game" mentality and start thinking like an architect of a basketball culture. While tactical calls focus on the "how" of a 2-3 zone or a motion offense, a program-building call focuses on the infrastructure that supports those tactics. This includes everything from defining your program's "Core Values" to establishing a vertical integration plan with your youth and middle school feeders. By having an objective, Hall of Fame perspective look at your entire system, you can identify the structural "leaks" that are preventing you from building a sustainable, year-after-year winner in your community. During these sessions, we dive into the "Off-Court" essentials that often determine a head coach's longevity and success. This involves managing administrative relationships, navigating parent dynamics, and creating a marketing plan that builds "brand loyalty" for your team. Many coaches use these calls to audit their staff roles—ensuring that assistant coaches are being utilized effectively and that the "message" remains consistent across all levels. Whether you are taking over a struggling program or trying to push a good program to "elite" status, a structured building plan provides the roadmap necessary to maintain your focus during the mid-season grind and ensures you are making decisions that benefit the program's health three to five years down the line. Ultimately, a program-building call provides the clarity and confidence needed to lead with authority. It turns your vision into a documented "Blueprint" that you can share with your players, parents, and athletic director. This level of professional preparation sets you apart as a leader who isn't just "coaching for a season" but is "building for a decade." By utilizing the collective wisdom found on TeachHoops and these personalized mentoring sessions, you can avoid the common pitfalls that lead to coach burnout and instead create an environment where excellence is the standard and success is inevitable. A championship isn't just won on the court; it's engineered through the deliberate, strategic building of every facet of your basketball community. Basketball program building, coaching leadership, team culture, basketball mentorship, youth basketball integration, coaching philosophy, high school basketball, program infrastructure, athletic director relationships, parent management, basketball strategy, coach development, coaching career, building a basketball brand, basketball legacy, coaching roadmap, coach unplugged, teach hoops, basketball success, team standards, coaching accountability, administrative coaching, basketball community, program audit, championship culture, staff management. SEO Keywords Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week Chase discusses how we establish morality, and mentions how it depends on the fact that we are under the Law of Christ (with discussion of the previous Patriarchal Law and the Law of Moses). Email me at tcgreen008@yahoo.com. Description Visit our linktree: https://linktr.ee/scatteredabroadnetwork Visit our website, www.scatteredabroad.org, and subscribe to our email list. "Like" and "share" our Facebook page: https:// www.facebook.com/sapodcastnetwork Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ the_scattered_abroad_network/ Subscribe to our Substack: https://scatteredabroad.substack.com/Subscribe to our YouTube channel: The Scattered Abroad Network Contact us through email at san@msop.org. If you would like to consider supporting us in any way, don't hesitate to contact us through this email.

Join Dr. Janet Pilcher, Founder and President of Studer Education, as she reflects on four decades in education leadership and shares why this moment calls for greater focus, consistency, and action. In this episode, Dr. Pilcher explains the 9 Pillars of Leadership Excellence—a practical leadership operating system designed to help organizations move from intention to results.Listen to hear how leaders can:Establish consistent leadership behaviors and routines that build trust and alignment.Focus on what matters most to drive engagement, performance, and improvement.Create people-first systems that sustain excellence over time.This episode sets the foundation for a deeper exploration of the 9 Pillars and invites leaders to reflect on where they are, where they want to go, and the next step they can take to lead their organizations to the next level.Follow Host Dr. Janet Pilcher on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janetpilcher/

1 Peter 5:8-14 (NKJV)Andrew, Isack, Edwin discuss God's grace in restoring, confirming, strengthening, and establishing us. This is why we can keep hanging on even if we have messed up.Read the written devo that goes along with this episode by clicking here.    Let us know what you are learning or any questions you have. Email us at TextTalk@ChristiansMeetHere.org.    Join the Facebook community and join the conversation by clicking here. We'd love to meet you. Be a guest among the Christians who meet on Livingston Avenue. Click here to find out more. Michael Eldridge sang all four parts of our theme song. Find more from him by clicking here.   Thanks for talking about the text with us today.________________________________________________If the hyperlinks do not work, copy the following addresses and paste them into the URL bar of your web browser: Daily Written Devo: https://readthebiblemakedisciples.wordpress.com/?p=24279The Christians Who Meet on Livingston Avenue: http://www.christiansmeethere.org/Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/TalkAboutTheTextFacebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/texttalkMichael Eldridge: https://acapeldridge.com/ 

Most marketers worry about whether buyers trust their brand. Brent Adamson, author of The Framemaking Sale, argues that the actual issue sits somewhere else: Buyers do not trust themselves. In this episode, Drew sits down with Brent to challenge three big assumptions: That more supplier trust is the answer, that buyers have a neat journey to map, and that customer centricity is always the right north star. In this episode:  Why decision confidence matters more than supplier trust  How shifting from "trust us" to "trust yourselves" reshapes GTM  How to rethink buyer journeys through the "never again" and spaghetti-bowl lens.  Framemaking in practice, from nudges and checklists to maturity models.  The three Es, Establish, Engage, Execute, as a shared marketing and sales playbook. Plus:  Escaping the smartness arms race by editing content to reduce anxiety and build buyer self-confidence.  Turning social proof into a confidence engine, using "other customers like you…" stories.  Making content supplier-agnostic, helping buyers ask better questions and weigh tradeoffs. If you want your buyers to trust themselves enough to decide, start here.  For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegademarketing.com/podcasts/ To learn more about CMO Huddles, visit https://cmohuddles.com/

If your job as CEO hasn't changed in three years, your company might be outgrowing you. To elevate your business 10x, it's essential to reassess your role as CEO, make tough calls, and prioritize with unwavering focus. These are the key areas where you can unlock significant value for yourself, your team, and your customers.   Jess Dewell from Red Direction, Christy Maxfield of Purpose First Advisors, and Dean Barta from Barta Business Group have an open discussion about how you might be the bottleneck hindering your business growth.   Here are key notes you don't want to miss:    ** Assess and sharpen your focus - The greatest obstacle to growth often lies in avoiding tough decisions. Failing to make a choice is still a choice — and it can dilute your impact. Set aside dedicated time (like a focused retreat) to review your priorities, clarify the true value you provide, and eliminate the "busywork" that distracts from strategic advancement.   ** Differentiate your roles for clarity and growth - Many business owners find themselves unintentionally wearing the CEO hat, which can pose challenges. Ask yourself: would you hire yourself for this role? Establish clear job descriptions for both CEO and Owner to define your responsibilities, promote effective delegation, and identify where you can add the most value — then focus relentlessly on those areas.   ** Unleash your greatest asset: YOU - Sustainable and exponential growth begins when leaders evolve authentically, delegate tasks that no longer align with their strategic vision, and cultivate habits that keep them in their zone of genius. Keep in mind: the value you realize for yourself directly influences the value your company delivers to customers and prospective buyers.   After the discussion, your expert panel shared their biggest takeaway:   Dean Barta: Separating the roles of owner and CEO: Assess whether you would hire yourself to be the CEO of your company.   Christy Maxfield: This about making sure that you can unlock more value for your customer, about unlocking more value for you as an owner, about unlocking more value for a future buyer.   Jess Dewell: Your ability to make decisions will get easier, stronger, and clearer. That ensures that you are evolving and assessing as you go.   --------------------   If you want to identify business bottlenecks, the necessary skills, the initial actions to take, the expected milestones, and the priorities for achieving growth, try the "Growth Framework Reset" approach. This will help you keep learning and growing while working strategically on your business. -------------------- You can get in touch with Jess Dewell on Twitter,  LinkedIn or Red Direction website.

In this episode, Jeff Mains sits down with Alistair Gordon, founder of Expertunity and author of "Master Expert," to explore why technical excellence alone isn't enough to drive career momentum and organizational impact. Alistair reveals how subject matter experts (SMEs) can unlock influence without abandoning their technical edge through what he calls "expert ship"—a set of enterprise skills that translate expertise into clear business value. The conversation challenges the assumption that management is the only path forward for technical professionals and offers practical frameworks for founders looking to retain and grow top technical talent.Key Takeaways[5:00] - The leadership development gap: Only 11% of first-time leaders receive training in their first year, leaving 89% to sink or swim[7:50] - Why "knowledge leader" failed: Technical experts don't want to be leaders—they want to avoid "useless meetings where nothing gets done"[12:00] - The invisibility problem: Much of experts' work (like keeping email systems running) is completely invisible until something breaks[14:30] - Expert as coach: The most transformational skill is learning to ask better questions before providing technical advice[19:30] - The coaching paradox: Half of stakeholders love the questioning approach; the other half just want immediate answers[23:00] - The negativity trap: Experts often spend 22 minutes explaining why something is difficult before mentioning it's actually a good idea[29:00] - The promotion trap: Three out of four times, forcing technical experts into management roles is "a train wreck"[40:30] - The remuneration shift: In successful tech companies, technical experts often earn more than leaders because they add more valueTweetable Quotes

Victoria Coates warns that the Kremlin may use the presence of Russian-speaking populations in the Baltic states as a justification for future aggression, replicating the strategy currently deployed against Ukraine. She notes that this established pattern, which claims that Russian speakers belong to Russia, poses a threat not only to the Baltics but also to Moldova, although she expresses concern that European powers like Germany are failing to heed these warning signs.1923 PETROGRAD

A heated debate broke out on Twitter between sharp bettors. On one end Establish the Run, a well respected business that sells information to bettors. On the other - sharp sports bettors who either use or have to deal with that information in their market.This debate highlights the fundamental issues that come with selling good information in sports betting, and more broadly the best way to monetize sharp information (JUST BET IT BRO v. Selling)0:00 Intro2:15 ETR & The Challenge of Sharp Touting43:45 News1:00:15 Q&AWelcome to The Risk Takers Podcast, hosted by professional sports bettor John Shilling (GoldenPants13) and SportsProjections. This podcast is the best betting education available - PERIOD. And it's free - please share and subscribe if you like it. Follow SportsProjections on Twitter: https://x.com/Sports__ProjFollow GP on Twitter: https://x.com/goldenpants013

What does endurance look like when perfection is no longer the goal?In this deeply personal episode, host Corrine Malcolm sits down with professional runner and mountain athlete Olivia Amber for a conversation about movement, identity, health, and choosing paths that don't always make sense on paper but that feel right in the body.Olivia grew up in a small Nordic ski community in northern Wisconsin, racing at a high level before stepping away from elite skiing after college. What followed was a series of pivots: a career outside sport, a rediscovery of running as a form of exploration, and eventually a return to the mountains — this time on her own terms.At the center of this episode is Olivia's recent completion of Norman's 13, a roughly 105-mile, 40,000-foot link-up of California's Sierra Nevada 14ers. Olivia became the first woman to establish a known time on the route, claiming the FKT in the process, but this achievement can't be separated from the years that came before it: shaped by chronic pain, a stage IV endometriosis diagnosis, major surgery, and learning to listen to a body that no longer responded to “push through it.”This is a conversation about redefining success, navigating health within high-performance sport, and allowing dreams to evolve when the old version no longer fits.In this episode, we talk about:Growing up in a Nordic ski community and how family shapes athletic identityWalking away from elite skiing — and why it wasn't a failureFinding running as freedom, not replacementLiving and training with stage IV endometriosisFertility decisions, surgery, and long-term health realitiesWhat makes Norman's 13 such a unique mountain challengeChoosing a harder line because it felt safer — and truerThe role of community in big, lonely objectivesLetting go of outcomes and committing to the process@feisty_media@trail.societyrabbit: Visit https://www.runinrabbit.com/to upgrade your running kit

Leila Philip explains how John Jacob Astor founded America's first multi-millionaire fortune by overhearing traders discuss the massive profit margins on beaver fur. Astor leveraged the Lewis and Clark expedition to establish global trade routes, utilizing beaver pelts—which functioned as a literal currency—to jumpstart American capitalism before the species was nearly wiped out.

FILE 1. HARRY HOPKINS AND UNCONDITIONAL AID. GUEST AUTHOR SEAN MCMEEKIN. Professor Sean McMeekin discusses his book Stalin's War, highlighting Harry Hopkins's pivotal 1941 mission to Moscow to establish direct communication with Stalin,. Despite significant American political opposition viewing Stalin as a "monster" comparable to Hitler, Hopkins and FDR provided unconditional Lend-Lease aid—including aluminum and tanks—without demanding reciprocal concessions regarding Japan or transparency,.1921

Most brain decline, mood instability, and impulsive behavior start with a breakdown in how the brain's immune cells produce and use energy. This episode shows how mitochondrial health inside microglia influences cognition, emotion, and long-term brain resilience, and how everyday inputs quietly push those systems toward damage or repair. Watch this episode on YouTube for the full video experience: https://www.youtube.com/@DaveAspreyBPR Host Dave Asprey is joined by Dr. David Perlmutter, a board-certified neurologist and six-time New York Times bestselling author whose work focuses on the intersection of neurology, nutrition, metabolism, and brain health. A Fellow of the American College of Nutrition and member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, Dr. Perlmutter brings decades of clinical and research experience to this conversation on how inflammation and mitochondrial function shape the brain across the lifespan. Together, they explore how microglial cells shift their behavior based on metabolic conditions, and how those shifts influence neurodegeneration, emotional regulation, impulse control, and cognitive performance. The discussion covers real-world inputs that shape these systems, including sleep optimization, fasting, ketosis, glucose regulation, gut signaling, environmental toxins, and tools referenced in the episode such as red and infrared light, 40 Hz light and sound, hyperbaric oxygen, lithium, nicotine, supplements, nootropics, GLP-1 agonists, and dietary approaches like carnivore and ketosis. The conversation connects brain biology to lived experience, showing how metabolism influences behavior, decision making, and long-term human performance through a Smarter Not Harder lens. You'll Learn: • How microglia shift between supportive and destructive states and why metabolism drives that change • How mitochondrial function inside immune cells influences inflammation and brain resilience • How inflammation affects the prefrontal cortex, impulse control, and reward-driven behavior • What the episode says about GLP-1 agonists and behavior changes like reduced cravings and gambling • How gut-derived signaling and short-chain fatty acid balance (butyrate vs propionate) relates to brain function • How tools like red and infrared light, hyperbaric oxygen, and 40 Hz light and sound connect to microglia • The lifestyle levers discussed in the episode: sleep optimization, fasting, ketosis, glucose control, and toxin reduction • The compounds mentioned, including lithium, nicotine, urolithin A, CoQ10, rosmarinic acid, and dihydromyricetin Dave Asprey is a four time New York Times bestselling author, founder of Bulletproof Coffee, and the father of biohacking. With over 1,000 interviews and 1 million monthly listeners, The Human Upgrade is the top podcast for people who want to take control of their biology, extend their longevity, and optimize every system in the body and mind. Each episode features cutting edge insights in health, performance, neuroscience, supplements, nutrition, hacking, emotional intelligence, and conscious living. Thank you to our sponsors! KILLSwitch | If you're ready for the best sleep of your life, order now at https://www.switchsupplements.com/ and use code DAVE for 20% off. BodyGuardz | Visit https://www.bodyguardz.com/ and use code DAVE for 25% off. Stop cooking with toxic cookware and upgrade to Our Place today. With a 100-day risk-free trial, plus free shipping and returns, you can experience this game-changing cookware with zero risk. Visit: fromourplace.com/DAVE Use code: DAVE for 10% off sitewide Establish a powerful foundation for sustained wellness with Pique. Unlock 20% off: piquelife.com/DAVE Dave Asprey is a four-time New York Times bestselling author, founder of Bulletproof Coffee, and the father of biohacking. With over 1,000 interviews and 1 million monthly listeners, The Human Upgrade brings you the knowledge to take control of your biology, extend your longevity, and optimize every system in your body and mind. Each episode delivers cutting-edge insights in health, performance, neuroscience, supplements, nutrition, biohacking, emotional intelligence, and conscious living. New episodes are released every Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday (BONUS). Dave asks the questions no one else will and gives you real tools to become stronger, smarter, and more resilient. Keywords: microglia brain health, brain immune system mitochondria, neuroinflammation podcast, mitochondrial dysfunction brain, david perlmutter podcast, dr david perlmutterneurologist, grain brain author podcast, alzheimers brain metabolism, parkinsons microglia, autism brain inflammation, gut brain immune signaling, short chain fatty acids brain, butyrate propionate brain, glp-1 brain behavior, glp-1 addiction research, red light therapy brain, infrared light mitochondria brain, 40 hz light sound brain, hyperbaric oxygen brain health, lithium microglia brain Resources: • Learn More About Dr. Perlmutter at: https://drperlmutter.com/ • Get My 2026 Biohacking Trends Report: https://daveasprey.com/2026-biohacking-trends-report/ • Join My Low-Oxalate 30-Day Challenge: https://daveasprey.com/2026-low-ox-reset/ • Dave Asprey's Latest News | Go to https://daveasprey.com/ to join Inside Track today. • Danger Coffee: https://dangercoffee.com/discount/dave15 • My Daily Supplements: SuppGrade Labs (15% Off) • Favorite Blue Light Blocking Glasses: TrueDark (15% Off) • Dave Asprey's BEYOND Conference: https://beyondconference.com • Dave Asprey's New Book – Heavily Meditated: https://daveasprey.com/heavily-meditated • Upgrade Collective: https://www.ourupgradecollective.com • Upgrade Labs: https://upgradelabs.com Timestamps: 0:00 - Introduction 1:45 - Autism Spectrum 4:38 - Alzheimer's & Beta Amyloid 7:02 - Brain Immune Cells 8:06 - GLP-1 & Parkinson's 10:44 - M1 vs M2 Microglia 13:08 - Pharmaceutical Microdosing 15:51 - Gene Therapy 19:09 - Mold & Toxins 21:58 - Environmental Pollution 26:05 - MPTP Discovery 29:07 - Healing Interventions 31:39 - Light & Sound Therapy 36:35 - Mitochondrial Function 44:57 - Inflammation & Prefrontal Cortex 48:00 - GLP-1 Global Impact 52:11 - Mitochondrial Community 56:05 - Consciousness & The Field 1:00:00 - Psychedelics 1:01:59 - Love & Judgment 1:06:35 - Death & Knowing 1:09:06 - Heart-Brain Connection 1:11:06 - Closing Thoughts See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Leading Into 2026: Executive Pastor Insights Momentum is real. So is the pressure. This free report draws from the largest dedicated survey of Executive Pastors ever, revealing what leaders are actually facing as they prepare for 2026. Why staff health is the #1 pressure point Where churches feel hopeful — and stretched thin What worked in 2025 and is worth repeating Clear decision filters for the year ahead Download the Full Report Free PDF • Built for Executive Pastors • Instant access Welcome back to another episode of the unSeminary podcast. We’re continuing our conversations with executive pastors from prevailing churches, unpacking what leaders like you shared in the National Executive Pastor Survey, so you can lead forward with clarity. Today we're joined by Paul Alexander, Executive Pastor at Sun Valley Community Church and Senior Consultant with The Unstuck Group. With more than 25 years of ministry experience and nearly 15 years at Sun Valley, Paul brings a blend of practitioner insight and coaching wisdom. Sun Valley is one of the fastest-growing churches in the country, with six physical locations, a prison campus, and more expansion on the way. In this conversation, Paul helps unpack one of the most pressing themes from the National Executive Pastor Survey: staff health, culture, and organizational structure. Is your church clear on vision and strategy but still struggling to move forward? Do you sense tension or fatigue beneath the surface of your staff team? Paul offers candid, practical guidance on how leaders can cultivate both healthy and high-performing teams. Staff culture is often the real growth lid. // Many churches leave strategic planning sessions with remarkable clarity—clear vision, strong strategy, and actionable next steps—yet still fail to move forward. The reason is rarely theological or missional; it's cultural. Team culture and staff structure often become the limiting factor. Just as personal growth stalls when internal issues go unresolved, churches stall when unhealthy patterns persist within leadership teams. Healthy and high-performing. // Many churches swing between two extremes: high performance with little concern for soul health, or relational warmth with minimal accountability to achieve the vision. Neither honors the full call of ministry. The healthiest teams refuse to live at either end of the pendulum. Instead, they pursue a culture where people are cared for deeply while being challenged to steward their gifts faithfully toward the mission. You can't legislate health. // Health cannot be enforced through policies alone. Leaders set the tone through example, not rules. Staff watch how senior leaders manage time, rest, family, boundaries, and pressure. Late-night emails, skipped days off, and constant urgency quietly shape expectations—even if leaders say otherwise. Pastors need to lead with moral authority, not moral perfection: modeling rhythms that reflect trust in God rather than fear-driven overwork. Practical rhythms that protect people. // At Sun Valley, staff health is reinforced through intentional systems. Leaders are expected to take their days off and use vacation time; reports track whether staff actually do. Full-time staff receive sabbaticals every seven years, including non-director-level roles. Marriage retreats are offered as a gift to staff couples, recognizing that healthier marriages produce healthier ministry. These investments cost little financially but yield long-term fruit in sustainability and trust. Hire leaders, not doers. // A common staffing pitfall is hiring doers instead of leaders. While competence and skill earn someone a seat on the team at Sun Valley, long-term effectiveness depends on their ability to develop others. Staff are evaluated not on how much ministry they personally accomplish, but on how well they equip volunteers to lead. Volunteers are the heroes; staff exist to serve and multiply them. This mindset shifts ministry from bottlenecked to scalable. Structure must evolve with growth. // Churches often treat structure as fixed, but Paul insists that growing churches must restructure continually. Span of care, staffing ratios, and role clarity must be revisited regularly. He points to healthy benchmarks—such as staffing costs and staff-to-attendance ratios—as helpful indicators, not rigid rules. When leaders ignore structure, culture suffers; when structure is aligned, momentum increases. Fruit requires clarity and measurement. // Every staff role at Sun Valley includes measurable outcomes. Paul likens this to personal goals—no one expects a marriage to improve without intentional action. Clear metrics create focus, alignment, and accountability. Monthly one-on-ones blend personal care with performance review, ensuring leaders are supported holistically while still moving the mission forward. Encouragement for leaders sensing tension. // For executive pastors who feel something is “off” but can't quite name it, Paul urges them not to ignore that instinct. Growth exposes weaknesses, and structure or culture may need adjustment. Whether the issue is misalignment, unclear expectations, or misplaced roles, addressing it early prevents deeper damage later. To learn more about Sun Valley Community Church, visit sunvalleycc.com. For resources on staff health, structure, and strategy, explore theunstuckgroup.com or email Paul directly. Watch the full episode below: Thank You for Tuning In! There are a lot of podcasts you could be tuning into today, but you chose unSeminary, and I'm grateful for that. If you enjoyed today's show, please share it by using the social media buttons you see at the left hand side of this page. Also, kindly consider taking the 60-seconds it takes to leave an honest review and rating for the podcast on iTunes, they're extremely helpful when it comes to the ranking of the show and you can bet that I read every single one of them personally! Thank You to This Episode’s Sponsor: SermonDone Hey friends, Sunday is coming… is your Sermon Done?Pastor, you don't need more pressure—you need support. That's why you need to check out SermonDone—the premium AI assistant built exclusivelyfor pastors. SermonDone helps you handle the heavy lifting: deep sermon research, series planning, and even a theologically aligned first draft—in your voice—because it actually trains on up to 15 of your past sermons. But it doesn't stop there. With just a click, you can instantly turn your message into small group guides, discussion questions, and even kids curriculum. It's like adding a research assistant, a writing partner, and a discipleship team—all in one. Try it free for 5 days. Head over to www.SermonDone.com and use promo code Rich20 for 20% off today! Episode Transcript Rich Birch — Hey friends, welcome to the unSeminary podcast. Really glad that you’ve decided to tune in. We’re doing a special series here this month where we’re looking at the results of a national survey that we did of executive pastors across the country. And we’ve pulled in some leading XPs from prevailing churches to help us think through these issues. Like we’re sitting across the table, if you talk about this problem, they want to help you with that. And today it’s our honor, our privilege really to have Paul Alexander with us. He is the executive pastor at Sun Valley Church for over 10 years. He has 25 years of experience. He’s a senior consultant with Unstuck, I think for 13 years. And he’s worked with all kinds of churches on health assessment, strategic planning. Sun Valley, if you don’t know this church, you’re living under a rock. fantastic church in Arizona, six physical locations, if I’m counting correctly, plus in prison, plus online. It’s repeatedly one of the fastest growing churches in the country. Paul, welcome to the show. So glad you’re here.Paul Alexander — Yeah, Rich, glad to be with you. Hopefully the conversation can help your listeners, man.Rich Birch — I really appreciate that. Why why don’t you fill in the picture about Sun Valley? I know we’ve had you on in the past. You should go back and listen, friends, but kind of give us the Sun Valley picture. Kind of tell us a little bit about that to set some context today.Paul Alexander — Yeah, man, been here now for almost 15 years. It’s wild to think back. When I first joined the team, it was one location, 10 acres, one exit, one entrance.Rich Birch — Wow.Paul Alexander — And, you know, there’s a lid to what you can do with that. And so we had originally went multi-site because we had to go multi-site. You know, the mission that Jesus gave the church to help more people meet him and grow up in their friendship with him. We had a lid to that with the space we were in. And so we had to go multi-site. It wasn’t cool. It wasn’t cute. It wasn’t fun. It wasn’t an experiment. It was like, if we’re going to obey Jesus, we don’t have an option.Rich Birch — Right. Yes.Paul Alexander — And so over the years, we’ve had the opportunity to add new locations. And, yeah, six physical locations, one in a prison. Our next prison campus opens up Q1. We grand open our Chandler location in March, and we break ground on San Tan in May. So, yeah, man, fun times, lots of people meeting Jesus.Rich Birch — So multi-sites not dead at Sun Valley.Paul Alexander — Man, multi-site’s not dead in America. Yeah.Rich Birch — I know. And it’s true, right? It’s one of those like, people are like, oh, I don’t know. That’s an old idea. I’m like, that’s not what I’m seeing. I’m like, gosh, there’s so many prevailing churches like Sun Valley that are just doubling down. That’s that’s fantastic. Rich Birch — Well, looking forward to today’s conversation. So friends, you’ve joined us actually for within, what did we ask, two questions that were about fears for next year and or for this year, 2026, you caught me. We recorded this late in 2025.Rich Birch — And we’re talking today about the biggest fear. 24.8% of all respondents identified staff health, organizational structure, morale, succession, leadership – the people issues as a primary fear heading into this year. In fact, and then a separate question we asked about data and insight. Where are you lacking some of that? Almost 9% of respondents answered that they’re looking for better data on staff pipeline and org chart and leadership development, these sort of things.Rich Birch — When you combine them together what does that mean? Nearly three in ten surface staff related tension as a defining pressure point for 2026. And when I was thinking about this issue, I thought of no one better than Paul to pull on and to have this conversation with. So Paul, when you look at the churches across the country, you interact with a lot of churches both just because you’re a great person and through Unstuck, and you’re and Sun Valley’s a leading church and people will ask you questions all the time. Where do you think staff health breaks down the most and why is that? Why is this such a tension for us as we lead from our seats?Paul Alexander — Yeah, well, to your point, Rich, it comes up repeatedly with my work with Unstuck with churches. It’s not uncommon to do a health assessment, strategic planning with the church, and you walk out of the room and they have great clarity on vision, on where they’re going next. They have great clarity on strategy, like how they’re actually going to pull this off and do it.Paul Alexander — And yet you walk out of the room and the lid to move towards that vision, actually obey Jesus and do what Jesus has commissioned and command commanded them to do, the lid is the culture of the team. And the team culture and the team structure is what’s holding them back from going where Jesus wants them to go. Paul Alexander — Which we shouldn’t be surprised by this, frankly. that’s That’s the organizational side of how that shows up. This shows up in our own life personally. So on a micro scale, what’s preventing you and I from actually following Jesus and what He’s calling us to do in 2026? Well, it’s not Jesus’s problem. The problem is not with him. The problem usually with us.Rich Birch — Yes.Paul Alexander — The problem is with how we structure our life, our family, our time, maybe something in our own heart and in the culture of our own heart and our families.Paul Alexander — And so on on a macro scalele scale in the church, it’s not a surprise that this shows up. Most most churches have a tendency to run on a pendulum, Rich, of either being a really high performing team or a very, very healthy team. And at Unstuck, we want we want staff teams to be both very healthy and very high performing.Paul Alexander — The the problem is most churches, their staff swing through that pendulum from one side to the other. And so, and you’ve seen this repeatedly, where it’s take ground and in just do the next thing. And they’re very project oriented and destination oriented, and they have a tendency to not really care about the soul of the team, the health of the team, and they’re caring much more about the the destination they’re chasing.Paul Alexander — Or they’re sitting around looking at each other, praying for one another, kumbaya-ing together, and they’re neglecting the actual call that God’s put on their life. It’s not just a personal holiness, but to invite others people other people to know Jesus as well.Paul Alexander — And while that’s an over-exaggeration, fundamentally, that’s very true of what happens with staff teams. And so, yeah, walking away from a strategic planning with the church, you’re thinking, oh, they’ve got everything they need.Rich Birch — Right.Paul Alexander — They just don’t have the culture to pull it off. their Their staff culture is going to prevent them from going where God wants them to go. Or they’ve hired ah a lot of doers on the team and they don’t actually have leaders. So they’ve hired people to do ministry instead of lead ministry. Or they don’t really have a development pipeline. You know, they don’t have a plan to coach up and build up people that the Lord’s already entrusted to them right underneath their nose, to invite them into leadership in the church. And so, yeah, there’s some overarching things that are common.Rich Birch — Yeah, so when I saw this came out, I wasn’t surprised by this result. We’ve seen similar results in past years. But whenever I look at this fear that leaders have, I’m reminded what our mutual friend Jenni Catrin says. She talks about senior leaders are, we think our staff culture is better than it actually is. Like from our perspective, sitting as an executive pastor, lead pastor, we look around and we’re like, man, this is a great place to work. But that’s not necessarily the case with our people. Rich Birch — Sticking with this idea of like high performing and healthy, when you think about Sun Valley or the churches you coach, what are some practical rhythms or structures that you’ve put in place or seen put in place that really help try to do both of those things. Cause I think that’s, I think that’s ultimately what honors the Lord is like, we do want to be high performing. We, the mission’s massive. Like, gosh, we got to get out and reach some people, but we, we don’t want to drive over our people to get there. Paul Alexander — Yeah.Rich Birch — Help us understand what does that practical, some of those practical rhythms look like.Paul Alexander — Well, I don’t I don’t think a lot of XPs are going like what I’m about to say… Rich Birch — Uh-oh. Paul Alexander — …but you you cannot legislate health. You can’t. You can’t build enough guidelines. You can’t build enough policies. You can’t make people be healthy. You also can’t lead a healthy organization unless you yourself are healthy. It’s that’s a just it’s just a fact. You can’t take your family somewhere you haven’t been.Paul Alexander — You disciple people, to use a Bible word for a second, you can’t disciple your own children and your own family and people close to you by intention or neglect. We do that all the time, and unless you have something to actually give them. And so this is why even in the Old Testament, you know God gives the law and we realize we can’t live up to the law. And so it honestly only shows our own imperfection. Right. And so God you know, Jesus says, “Well, hold on a second. The Sabbath was made for man. Man wasn’t made for the Sabbath.” Paul Alexander — And so um what does that mean? It means, I think, as executive staff, senior staff in the church, you actually have to lead with some moral authority in this area. And so people are going to watch if if they get an email from you at 11 o’clock at night, that tells them what’s expected of them. Rich Birch — Right.Paul Alexander — Without you ever even saying it, you’re telling them what’s expected. If you’re texting them after work hours, so to speak, and it’s not an emergency, it actually, you know, it could probably wait till tomorrow, but you’re having it right now because it’s important to you, and you don’t have the personal self-control to be able to not have that conversation with that staff member at that time.Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s good.Paul Alexander — You’re telling them how they’re supposed to behave. They’re watching you just again, leadership so much like parenting. And I don’t want to minimize this, but children watch their parents and they naturally adhere to and take on the behaviors of their parents and the family unit that they grow up in. Rich Birch — Yeah, it’s so true.Paul Alexander — And culture a lot like that. It’s way more caught than taught. And so the leaders of the executive staff and senior staff, they’ve got to lead with moral authority, not moral perfection. We’re not going to see that this side of seeing Jesus, right? Not moral superiority. We’re not better than anybody. But just to be able to say, hey, man, if if everybody at my church and on my staff. If they manage their time the way I manage my time, if they manage their finances the way I manage my finances, if they used alcohol the way I use alcohol, or if they use the internet or social media the way I do, if they traded their… would my church be more of what Jesus wants it to be or less?Rich Birch — That’s good. That’s so good.Paul Alexander — And so there’s a moral authority component to this. They got to model this. Okay.Paul Alexander — Now, practically, Rich, because you know, okay, what does it actually mean? Take your time off. Rich Birch — Right.Paul Alexander — Like that sounds so silly, but I mean, I remember as a young guy in ministry, my my wife was working Monday through Friday. Friday was supposed to be my day off. I’m not the kind of guy that’s going to sit around and like watch Oprah on Friday. Or like, you know, just snack and binge watch Netflix or something like that. That’s not how God wired me up. And so I would just go into the office.Rich Birch — Right.Paul Alexander — And I’m like, my my wife’s working. Well, we don’t have kids. um I’m going to go get some stuff done. I’m going to move the ball forward.Rich Birch — Yeah.Paul Alexander — And I remember the XP I was working with on the senior staff at the time came in to get something out of the office. And he saw me and he’s like, Paul, what are you what are you doing? And so I do the whole, my wife’s working and I’m not going to sit around and watch Netflix, blah, blah, blah. He’s like… he gave me a gift. He said, Paul, if you don’t take every day off between now and the end of the year, don’t bother coming in in January.Rich Birch — Oh my goodness.Paul Alexander — Yeah, yeah, yeah.Rich Birch — Wow.Paul Alexander — And looking back, that high challenge was a tremendous gift, to begin to teach a young man in ministry that had a propensity to drive hard to learn how to actually slow down and enjoy my life and receive from the Lord.Rich Birch — That’s interesting.Paul Alexander — And so, um yeah, take your day off. It sounds so silly.Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s so good. No, it’s good.Paul Alexander — I get a report on my desk once a year, Rich, of all of our staff, even multiple campuses, all that, who’s taking their time off and who hasn’t taken their time off. And it’s not uncommon for me to have a conversation in January to say, hey, dude, if you don’t take all your time off this year, we’re going to have a problem. Because you’re no good burning out. The Lord needs you in the game for the long run.Rich Birch — Yeah.Paul Alexander — And I need you in the game for the long run. Sun Valley needs you in the game for the long run. Rich Birch — Yeah. Right. Paul Alexander — Your family needs that, and you can’t self destruct. So.Rich Birch — Yeah, it’s so good. I had a similar interaction early on in ministry where I had a senior leader say to me, it with a similar kind of tone, don’t forget, take your day off is on the same list as don’t kill someone. Like, you know, which always stuck with me where I was like, you know, okay. And he said it in a funny kind of like, but but the message was was clear, right?Paul Alexander — Yeah.Rich Birch — Same kind of thing. Hey, we, and I don’t know that I’ve always lived by that. Paul Alexander — Yeah, sure.Rich Birch — Are there other behaviors that you, you know, in a similar way would lean in. I think the fact that you’re pushing on, okay, as us as senior leaders, are we setting the pace with the health of our organizations? Lean a little bit more in on that for us.Paul Alexander — Yeah, sure. So a couple of practical things that any leader can actually make their decision to start doing today. Establish a finish line. In some regards, you know, when is ministry ever really done? Rich Birch — Right.Paul Alexander — Well, when 7.5 billion people on the planet know Jesus, we’re done, right? So it’s one of those, the poor will have you with you you’ll have with you always. There’s never going to be a done moment. So you got to choose each day when you’re done. And if you don’t choose it, someone else will choose it for you. Paul Alexander — And so talk with your family, figure it out. And there may be a moving target from day to day and what the rhythm of your family is and the rhythm of your ministry is the Lord’s entrusted to you. But you have to personally establish when’s the finish line. I’m going to turn my phone off. I’m gonna turn my email off. I’m going to mute this or whatever. And unless something’s burning down, I’m not going to I’m not going to jump in. Simple things.Paul Alexander — Marriage retreats. We started experimenting some time ago with marriage retreats for our staff at Sun Valley. And so like everybody would say, it’s a good thing for people’s marriages to get better. And sometimes we’ll do that for our people in our churches. And we just thought, well, gosh, what if we did that for our staff? You know, if the marriages of our staff got better, would the ministries that the Lord’s entrusted to them get better? Of course they would.Rich Birch — Of course they would, yeah.Paul Alexander — So we just started doing a marriage retreat couple times a year for our staff.Rich Birch — Wow.Paul Alexander — We invite, you know, 10 to 15 couples. We have a professional counselor that we pay for that runs the thing. And we we just do that as a as a gift to our staff. Because we think, if our staff marriages get better, the ministry that the Lord’s entrusted to them will get better. Paul Alexander — We do sabbaticals every seven years for our full-time director level staff and up. And there’s a period of time that they get and a financial allowance they get. And they think about it in three in three different buckets, like professional development, personal development, and just family. And and ultimately we want them to rest so they can minister from a from a full cup, you know?Paul Alexander — And ah some time ago, we actually made the decision. It didn’t cost us anything, Rich, that even our full-time staff, no matter what their level in the organization was. So for example, a full-time administrative assistant. If they’re full-time, every seven years they get a sabbatical. We give them… Rich Birch — Oh, wow.Paul Alexander — …yeah, you’re full-time admin at Sun Valley. You get, now the scale of it’s a little different.Rich Birch — Sure.Paul Alexander — We just give them a month off with no financial allowance, but we give a month off every seven years to take at one lump sum… Rich Birch — Wow. Paul Alexander — …to get out and refresh their soul and enjoy their life a little bit. What’s that really cost us? Nothing, but time.Rich Birch — Right. Right.Paul Alexander — Nothing.Rich Birch — Right.Paul Alexander — And so, yeah, there’s some real tactical things that you can do to invest in your team. Again, you can’t make them be healthy people, but you can kind of roll the carpet out and pave the way for them to be healthy people.Rich Birch — I love that. That’s some real practical examples. I love what you’ve you’ve outlined there and been you know super practical. That’s, yeah, that’s fantastic. I get the sabbatical question actually quite a bit. I think churches wrestle with that and they you know they they think, oh, you know how should we do that? So you do, kind of like what we would typically think of as a sabbatical at director and above, but then everyone else does kind of this one one month off. That’s great. And they do they have to submit a plan for the sabbatical ahead of time? Some churches will do that where they have to kind of define, hey, this is how we’re going to do. Just give us a little more detail on that.Paul Alexander — Yeah. We’re not uber religious about it, Rich. Rich Birch — Sure. Paul Alexander — We, we, we, there is a plan and their supervisor talks through their plan with them… Rich Birch — Yeah. Paul Alexander — …because there’s a financial allowance that follows that. Rich Birch — Yep.Paul Alexander — So yeah, they have the conversation ahead of time. As a representative of the board, I actually sign off on all those sabbaticals just to make sure they’re thinking about and they’re thinking…Rich Birch — Right.Paul Alexander — …intelligently about how they want to spend their time. But functionally, to be honest, like you and your wife just went on vacation, right?Rich Birch — Yep.Paul Alexander — If our staff went on vacation for like an entire sabbatical and sat on the beach for a month or two, and they came back a little bit more rested, and they’d read a couple of books and spent time with the Lord… Rich Birch — Right. Paul Alexander — …and they walked and prayed and fasted and enjoyed their life a little bit, they’d probably come back a little healthier. Rich Birch — Right. Yeah, that’s great.Paul Alexander — So I don’t have strong feelings about it, man. Rest, enjoy your life.Rich Birch — Yeah. Yeah, that’s good.Paul Alexander — Yeah.Rich Birch — That’s so good. I love that. I want to loop back on one thing you talked about earlier. You talked about hiring or or are the way our staff position themselves as doers versus leaders. I think this is a critical Ephesians 4, how we’re supposed to be equipping our people. But I see way too many of our team members, I see us fall into this all the time where we just slip into doing. Coach us around that. What difference does that make around cultures in our organizations?Paul Alexander — Well, yeah. Wow. Now you’re starting to talk about where accountability comes into play in culture, right? And where culture gets violated.Paul Alexander — So it’s not uncommon. So I still, at the size we are, director level and up, I still at least have a phone conversation interview with every single director level hire and up about our culture as they’re joining the team here. And if they do join the team, we go through net new staff orientation. Once a quarter, Chad, the lead pastor and myself, spend a half a day with all of our new staff and talk through our culture and our philosophy of ministry and our strategy and all that stuff.Paul Alexander — And frankly, it’s just a time to hang out have a meal together and create some relational accessibility. Because most these people I’m not going to work with day to day. Rich Birch — Right.Paul Alexander — But I want them to know that we care about them, love them, and they’re they’re part of the family now. And so we we don’t hire people that aren’t absolutely fantastic, incredibly gifted people. Rich Birch — Right.Paul Alexander — And it’s easy to compliment everybody in the room. Rich Birch — Right. Paul Alexander — Hey man, glad you’re on the team. Whether I hired you or somebody else hired you, I know you’re awesome because we don’t hire people that aren’t awesome. And you were gifted, you’re gifted. Someone saw something in you. We invited you to the team. But here’s the deal. You’re no longer going to be evaluated on how awesome you are. Now that you’re on the team—congratulations—you’re going to be evaluated how awesome you can make everybody else. Rich Birch — So good.Paul Alexander — And so your job and how great you are and gifted you are and skilled you are, that’s what got you in the room. What’s going to keep you in the room is your ability to make everybody else just as incredible as you. And so we just say that from the very beginning. Paul Alexander — And, you know, a lot of churches, their ministry staff kind of think, OK, I have to get all these volunteers in place to help them accomplish my ministry. At Sun Valley, we flipped that upside down. And the hero of the ministry at Sun Valley is the volunteer. We’re helping the church actually be the church. The staff’s role is to be a servant, to help people find their gifting, their place, their calling. And real leaders who are getting paid real money that attend your churches, um they want to solve big problems. They don’t want to just push a broom. Now, occasionally you run into the CEO or the general or whatever, who’s like, I just want to push a broom to help me remain humble. Great. We can we have a lot of brooms you can push.Rich Birch — Yes.Paul Alexander — But most people are competent, skilled, gifted, educated people. And they want to be called into something that’s big, and where they feel like they’re making a real difference. And so, yeah, our job as a staff is to call them into that, tee them up for that, support them in that, and let them run. Not let them run within the boundaries of our strategy and our culture and our vision, but let them run. So, but we’ve got to paint the riverbanks for them.Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s really good. I love that. You know, kind of a related issue is how how is Sun Valley ensuring that you’ve got the right people in the right seats? What does that look like in your system? Like, how are you, like, what’s the what’s the cadence of, you know, regular reporting and like goal setting? Paul Alexander — Yeah.Rich Birch — And, you know, how are you holding people accountable? What does that what does that look like? I realize that could be like a whole episode in of itself… Paul Alexander — Sure. Rich Birch — …but give us kind of a thumbnail version of that.Paul Alexander — Yeah. Thumbnail. I mean, at the end of the day, I’ll give you the, how it happens, but, besides the hiring process and recruiting process, that stuff matters a lot. Right. So you’re inviting people to something that they’re actually gifted and called to. But at the end of the day, um it’s really results, Rich. The Bible way to say that is fruit. Rich Birch — Right.Paul Alexander — OK, for all of our listeners who are high on the theology side of things, I can sympathize with you. I went to Bible school, too. Really, it’s fruit. And when you are in a place, when your staff are in a place where they’re playing to their strengths and their gifting, and they’re in a place where they’re not overreaching and trying to attain a different role, and they’re not talking about career path, they’re just content to be the person and play the part in the body of the Lord’s gifted and call them to to play, they’re going to have more fun and they’re going to produce more fruit.Rich Birch — Yep.Paul Alexander — It’s just a fact. And so when when you see all this striving and, you know, this ambition to like, I want more, I want more, I want more. It’s a very American, Western idea, right? And the biblical way of doing that would be, hey, well why don’t you be faithful with what the Lord’s entrusted with you today? And when he sees fit to entrust more to you, guess what? He probably will.Rich Birch — He will.Paul Alexander — There’s probably going be some stray arrow out of the battle that was never even intended to hit that guy. It’s going to find just the right place in the chink in the armor. And you’re going to ascend to the throne at the right time when the Lord wants you to. So, you know, relax. Do what the Lord’s called you to do today.Rich Birch — Right.Paul Alexander — Be faithful in that.Rich Birch — Right.Paul Alexander — And he’ll entrust more to you when he’s ready.Rich Birch — Right.Paul Alexander — So that’s a big deal. that it may sound ah like a contrite, a little bit Bible answer to that. But when your staff are personally in a place where they’re doing what God’s called them to do, and they’re they’re very sober-minded about that, they’re going to have more fun. That’s really important. They’re go to have more fun in ministry. It’s going to be more fulfilling and they’re going to produce more fruit.Paul Alexander — Now, how’s that work its way out with what you’re talking about? We have an annual run of strategic planning that we do, both senior staff and then at the campus level. And that we refresh that every single year. Out of that come real clear objectives where the Lord’s calling us to go. Then goals, professional goals are set around that at the campus level. And then that kind of trickles down. That all gets into review systems. There’s monthly one-on-ones where they’re talking about the performance side of things.Paul Alexander — But it’s really normal, Rich, where if you and I were working with one another and I was reporting to you, you’d say, hey, Paul, what’s going on with you and Lisa? And you’d be asking about my daughters and you’d be asking about my sons. And we’d be talking about life and marriage and family. And and what’s the Lord doing in your life? What’s he saying to you these days? You know, and you know where’s he challenging you? Where’s he encouraging you? So they’re very natural, normal, that part of things there. You’d probably pray for me actually in that meeting that one-on-one. Paul Alexander — And then we talk about, okay, how are we doing with our goals? What what are the measurables? What are the setbacks? Because there’s always setbacks. Rich Birch — Right. Paul Alexander — And what are the things that went faster than you thought they would go? And you’re finding real real traction.Rich Birch — Right.Paul Alexander — And then my your job as a supervisor would be, how do you get roadblocks out of the way for me to be successful? Rich Birch — Right. Paul Alexander — How do you fuel things that I need fueled so I can be successful and and reach my goals? Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s good. Paul Alexander — So yeah, does that make sense? Rich Birch — That makes total sense. So I, you know, in other contexts, I’ve said results matter because the work that you do matters so much. Like and, and we, and we, we want to think about results. We want to think about fruit. What percentage of, or you know, in a round sense of the team at Sun Valley has like a number or a metric or a like they can measure, it’s not like qualitative, like, oh, things are better. It’s like, no, no, we know. I know whether this is working or not. What percentage of your people you think have a metric like that they they think about on a regular basis?Paul Alexander — All of them.Rich Birch — Love it. Tell us about that. I think this is going to be mind blowing for leaders of churches who do not think about these things. And I know, you know, there’s people out there who, who they they haven’t wrestled with this idea. Unpack that a little bit more.Paul Alexander — Yeah. So, I mean, okay. So if I say, I want my marriage to get better this year, we’ll go real personal for a second. Rich Birch — Sure.Paul Alexander — I want to get my marriage. That’s wonderful. Who doesn’t want their marriage to get better? How are you going to do that?Rich Birch — Right.Paul Alexander — That that just doesn’t magically happen. You don’t drift towards relational intimacy with your spouse.Rich Birch — Yes.Paul Alexander — What you do is you drift apart. That’s what happens.Rich Birch — Right.Paul Alexander — Absence doesn’t make the grow heart grow fonder. It makes it wander. Rich Birch — Yes. Paul Alexander — And so, you know, you’ve got to figure out, okay, how many date nights am I going to do? How much am I going to budget towards this? Are we going to do an annual retreat as a husband and a spouse together, maybe a marriage retreat? Are we going to go on vacation? What are the conversations we feel like we need to lean into? Do we need some do we need some coaching? Rich, if you’re a professional counselor, do I need to go to you and get some some input and some professional coaching? Because goodness gracious, you can see some things that I don’t see because I’m in the fray of it day in and day out. Paul Alexander — So yeah, we’ll get real tactical and say, what book are you going to read? How many of those books are you going to read? What podcast? Rich Birch — Right.Paul Alexander — Are you going listen to the unSeminary podcast? You know. What are you going to do to to grow and in your marriage this year or as a leader. And so, yeah, if you can’t measure it, then you can’t actually do it. Rich Birch — Right. Paul Alexander — And then it gets down to opinions and, you know, everybody’s got one of those. So.Rich Birch — Yeah. Alright. I imagine imagine I’m an executive pastor you meet at a conference or you’re somewhere and you’re at an airport lounge, and they’re church of a thousand people, maybe 1500 people. They’ve got 10 staff and they’re sensing that, man, there’s some misalignment, but it’s it’s at the level of like, I think there might be a problem here. I’m not entirely sure. I feel like there’s cracks starting to happen in the staff culture, but it’s not like a giant fizzer. It’s just like things just don’t feel right. What would be some of the first steps that you would suggest a leader take to try to get clarity on actually where things are at with their staff team… Paul Alexander — Yeah. Rich Birch — …you know, in the next 90 days kind of thing?Paul Alexander — Yeah, that’s a good question. Okay, so first of all, I’d say, and this may sound, I mean, play Captain Obvious for a second, don’t ignore that inclination.Rich Birch — That’s good.Paul Alexander — So the Holy Spirit is is is impressing upon you, something doesn’t smell right, then it probably doesn’t smell right.Rich Birch — That’s good.Paul Alexander — Don’t bury that. Don’t avoid that. Avoiding something you know you have to solve is never going to make that situation better, ever.Rich Birch — That’s so true.Paul Alexander — And so don’t avoid it. Go with that feeling. Lean into it a little bit and and begin. Why? Why do I feel this way? What is what am I sensing that needs to be solved? Because my hunch is they’re anticipating something. If they are a good intuitive leader, they’re probably anticipating something before it’s going to happen.Paul Alexander — And so structure is always a lid to growth in a church. Churches always need to restructure. This is really important. So once you get a structure, it’s not like, oh we’re going to be with this structure for the next 15 years. Rich Birch — Right. Paul Alexander — And if it’s a growing church, you’re always going to need to restructure. And that’s just normal. Get used to it.Rich Birch — Right.Paul Alexander — It’s just part of what it is. Rich Birch — Yes.Paul Alexander — And so I think you’ve got decipher, is it a structure issue or is it a culture issue? That that’s, you know, Wwhat am I sensing that needs to be actually needs to be solved? If it’s a culture issue, where is there a violation of your culture taking place, and how do you help it get better? Maybe you haven’t defined what your culture is. Rich Birch — Right.Paul Alexander — Maybe you can’t actually really articulate it. Maybe you haven’t written it down, trained it. Maybe you have not filmed 5 to 10 minute videos for every new staff member to to onboarding to actually understand your cultural distinctives. Maybe you’ve not embedded that into your annual reviews and actually, you know at review time, you’re actually reviewing me on how we’re doing, how I’m doing with our staff culture.Paul Alexander — So maybe that’s something you need to just kind of look in the mirror and say, you know what, as a leader, I have the power to change that. And I’m going to get that better this next year. We’re going really clear about what our staff culture is. Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s good.Paul Alexander — And then we’re going embed that and train it. If it’s a structural thing, is it truly a structural thing or do you have one or two players that just aren’t playing their part? You know, you’ve got ah this wonderful body the Lord’s put together. He talks about the church being the body of Christ, this wonderful body but where we’re limping because our ankle, we got a bum ankle. And the reality is we either need to rest it, you know, so we can get it healed up. We need to maybe get some repair done to it, or we need to like reconstruct that thing. We need a new ankle. Rich Birch — Yeah.Paul Alexander — All of those are fine answers. And I think just being honest about the team that we have and everybody playing in the right place. And then structurally, you start to get into span of care and you know do we have the right number of staff? Those are real answers you can really get. When we do staffing and structure with churches at the Unstuck Group, there are real healthy benchmarks. There are real healthy financial numbers that are good benchmarks, you know. If you’re spending more than 50 cents on the dollar on your staffing, you should ask yourself why.Paul Alexander — You know, if you have more than your staffing, you’re, you know, beyond one to 75 and you’re creeping into an area that’s really unhealthy. You know, I’ve seen churches that are staffed like one full time staff member for every 30 attenders at the church.Rich Birch — Right, right.Paul Alexander — And you’re just like. It’s sad, frankly, because the Lord’s called us to so much more. And um so those are those are like the basic science side of things that need to be changed. You know, if you’re not clear about who your senior staff is, if you got, if your senior staff, like your executive staff, are making decisions about like the color of the carpet, and they’re making decisions that that are low-level decisions, then you kind of got to look in the mirror and say, boy, are we training our staff that all big decisions have to come to us? Or are we pushing decisions down and actually teaching people how to lead and make decisions? So myriad of things.Rich Birch — That’s good. That’s so good. One of, in last year’s, kind of rundown of, you know, most listened to podcasts, Amy from the Unstuck Group, hers, I think was our second most listened to podcast. And she, she dove in deep on exactly what we were just talking about their, friends. You should go back in the archives, find that episode. It will, it’ll, you know, all that structure stuff. Rich Birch — And I would say on that, particularly on structure and some of those benchmarks, I think too many of us think our church is like this precious, it’s so different than every other church out there. And and and that’s true. It is a unique body. There’s a there’s one way that that is true. But in this way, there are actually a lot of commonalities you can learn from other churches and gain wisdom from folks like Paul who have done this before and talked with lots of churches. So don’t don’t be in isolation about this, Paul. This has been an incredibly helpful. I’ve got a page of notes and other questions I wanted to ask as we were going through. Oh, I want to talk about that. Oh, I want to talk about that.Rich Birch — But I know you’ve got other things to do than be on our podcast. But as you’re thinking about the 2026, the year coming up here, what’s a question or two that you’re wrestling with that you’re thinking through? It doesn’t have to be on what we just talked about there. But just as you think about the future of Sun Valley, what are some things that you’re thinking about going into this year?Paul Alexander — Yeah, that’s a good question. I mean, we pressure we’ve deal with pressure points just like every church does, right? Frankly, the pressure points we’re dealing with, we’re going through a season of a couple of years of pretty significant growth. A lot of people needing Jesus. last This is the first time in back-to-back years we baptized more than 1500 people, you know, in back-to-back years. And so there’s a huge responsibility that our growth, our front end growth is beginning to outpace our engagement. Things like people engaging in groups and building meaningful friendships that are around God’s word or, engaging and volunteering and being the church, not just coming to church, right? And a giving, learning to be generous, generous and steward with the Lord’s entrusted to them. Kind of these markers that we see of people who are actually beginning to look like Jesus. They’re not just, you know, you know, attending church and trying to figure Jesus out a little bit.Paul Alexander — And so in a lot of ways, we need a bigger boat. We’ve got multiple campuses that are doing two services on Saturday and three services on Sunday. And we’ve, we’ve got to get some bigger rooms. And you know, the other side of it is is growth sometimes can grow faster than our ability to grow leaders. I mean, you think about your own personal leadership, Rich. I mean, how long has it taken you to become the leader you are today?Rich Birch — Right. Right. Not overnight. Not in 18 months.Paul Alexander — Yeah, your whole life.Rich Birch — Yes, exactly.Paul Alexander — Yeah, the answer is your whole life. Rich Birch — Yes.Paul Alexander — And so there’s definitely been crucible moments. My hunch is if we unpack your leadership journey, there’s been crucible moments where the Lord has ah stretched and grown you in unique ways and unique seasons because of pressure points that you went through. And so um we’re figuring out how do we accelerate leadership in in our staff?Rich Birch — That’s good.Paul Alexander — And you you accelerate leadership not by by giving resources, but by constricting resources. Because leaders always figured out and grow through constriction moments. Rich Birch — That’s good.Paul Alexander — And so giving stretch assignments, all those kind of fun things. So yeah, we deal with pressure points just like everybody else does. I mean, everybody’s like, oh, I’d love to have that problem. I know you would. It’s a wonderful problem to have. It’s still a problem because we don’t want to become a lid to more people meeting Jesus in 2026. You know, by us not solving something that’s in our control to solve.Rich Birch — Yeah. In other contexts, I’ve talked about platinum problems. Those are are great problems, but they’re still problems with things we have to wrestle with. And and friends, if you’re not tracking with Sun Valley, you should be, or Paul or the Unstuck Group, these are all organizations you should be getting a chance to kind of follow along with. If people want to kind of connect with the church, get a better sense, follow along with your story, where do we want to send them online? Tell us about that. And then also Unstuck Group. I want to make sure we we send people there too.Paul Alexander — Yeah, Unstuck Group is super easy to find. Unstuckgroup.com. The listeners can email me at paul@theunstuckgroup.com. That’s the easiest way to get me, frankly. The easiest, cleanest way to get me if someone has a question or wants to follow up on something personally. I’m happy to do that, man.Rich Birch — Thanks so much, Paul. I appreciate you being here today and and really looking forward to seeing what happens in 2026 at Sun Valley. Take care, man.Paul Alexander — Yeah, glad to, man. Thanks for the invitation. Hope the conversation is helpful.

Establish the Pass Podcast Episode 358 - Blake Lovell and Dillon Reagan dive into their AFC and NFC Championship predictions ahead of Super Bowl 60. Can Jarrett Stidham defy the odds and help lead the Broncos past Drake Maye and the Patriots? Will New England's defense continue to dominate behind the franchise's resurgence with Mike Vrabel at the helm? Will the Rams' hire-wire act these last few weeks finally run out of gas against the well-rested Seahawks and their top-ranked defense? All of that and more is broken down, including an early discussion of the wild NFL coaching carousel ahead of next week's episode. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Mike Johnson, Beau Morgan, and Ali Mac react to a judge granting a temporary restraining order to Charles Bediako to return to the Alabama Crimson Tide and play college basketball immediately. Bediako entered the 2023 NBA draft and signed a two-way contract with the San Antonio Spurs that year. Ali, Mike, and Beau also talk about how college sports needs a government entity to establish ground rules.

The Utes legend on new Utah FB head coach Morgan Scalley, The culture he wants to establish, NFL Conference Championship Sunday + more

The Utes legend on new Utah FB head coach Morgan Scalley, The culture he wants to establish, NFL Conference Championship Sunday + more

How Your About Page Can Drive Real Business GrowthYour About page is one of the most powerful — and most underutilized — pieces of your website. In this episode, Jan Touchberry breaks down what a high-converting About page actually needs to do, why most of them miss the mark, and how to rewrite yours so it connects, builds trust, and leads your ideal client to take action.If your website isn't bringing in inquiries, your About page might be part of the problem. This episode gives you a clear framework to fix it. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:1. The Purpose Shift: From Bio → BridgeWhy the traditional “all about me” bio is outdated and ineffectiveHow to reposition your About page as a bridge between your story and your client's struggleWhy connection — not credentials — is what builds trustHow Jesus modeled presence and empathy (and what that means for your website)2. The Anatomy of an About Page That ConvertsA simple, high-performing structure you can use today:Lead with your reader, not yourselfOpen with empathy, not “Hi, I'm [Your Name].”Share your story — with restraintOnly include details that create trust and relevance.Highlight your values (and faith, if it's core to your brand)Let your convictions show up naturally, not preachy.Establish credibility with specificityReplace vague claims with concrete examples and results.End with a clear CTA (always)Make the next step obvious: book a call, view services, or download a resource.What to Cut from Your About Page (Immediately)Third-person writing (unless you're a corporate brand)Random fun facts that don't serve the clientGeneric phrases like “empowering women”Credential dumpingNo clear call-to-actionToo much backstory — focus on the turning point insteadQuick test: If you get bored reading it out loud, your reader will too.Your 30–60 Minute About Page Audit (Action Steps)Ask yourself:Does my first sentence speak directly to my ideal client?

Today's show focuses on the price tag principle and the necessity of burning the boats to achieve ultimate success. Eric utilizes historical examples, such as Hernán Cortés, to illustrate how removing the option of retreat forces individuals to commit fully to their objectives. By eliminating safety nets like backup plans or "parachutes," one can cultivate the discipline and diligence required to overcome discomfort and stagnation. The discussion emphasizes that public accountability and financial investment are critical tools for maintaining focus and preventing negotiation with one's own effort. Participants in the call further reinforce these themes by making public declarations regarding personal health and fitness goals. Ultimately, Triplett advocates for a no-turning-back mindset to unlock untapped capabilities and transform one's life. Key Takeaways: Remove all "parachutes" and backup plans to ensure that success is your only viable option. Commit to the process of discipline, depth, and diligence by continuing to work even when tasks are boring or uncomfortable. Share your specific goals and deadlines publicly with peers or an accountability partner to increase your likelihood of finishing what you start. Establish clear and measurable metrics for every objective to provide physical proof of your progress and commitment. Protect your reputation with yourself by consistently following through on the promises and contracts you make for your own growth.

Hosts Randy Fields and Jim Desmond explain what a leadership theme is, why it matters, and how a single word or phrase can focus decisions and boost team engagement (and with a theme song). They share examples like “Strong” and “Establish the Work,” and discuss how themes help prioritize, protect time, align teams, and prevent drift. Listeners are encouraged to choose and communicate a clear theme for the year to lead with consistency, care, and lasting impact.

This week on The Final Straw Radio, we're featuring a conversation with our guest, Ketino, to speak about Especifist anarchism and anarchist approaches at anti-Imperialism. Ketino is a member in Florida of the Black Rose / Rosa Negra Anarchist Federation and they grew up in Cuba. You can learn more about Black Rosa, or BRRN, at BlackRoseFed.Org Other links: Black Rose's introduction to Anarchism Denunciation of Venezuela Coup by CALA (member groups listed) and sibling, BRRN ICOA -- International Coordination of Organized Anarchism wikipedia page Anarkismo Network Solidarity with Sudanese Anarchists (including ICOA-related signatories) Zabalaza Anarchist Communist Front – South Africa CES (a project offering education in Especifismo): https://especifismostudies.org/ First up, here are a few prisoner struggle updates Announcements Prisoners For Palestine It was announced on January 14th that members fo the Prisoners For Palestine hunger strike, from the Palestine Action case in the so-called UK, ended their strike after 73 days without food after a key demand was met with Elbit Systems being denied an important government contract. You can read their statements at PrisonersForPalestine.org and check out our November 30, 2025 episode for some background on the cases. Xinachtli From Xinachtli's support crew (Instagram at @FreeXinachtliNow): On January 1, Xinachtli (state name Alvaro Luna Hernandez) was transferred to the Carol Young Medical Facility. In the moment, this was a major victory getting him moved from McConnell, and Xinachtli shared that he felt the power of the people! However this victory was short-lived. The transfer was carried out without any notice to his attorney, and made Xinachtli unable to communicate with them before his latest court hearing on January 6, effectively blocking his right to counsel. Within days of the transfer, we also learned that Xinachtli had been placed in a cell with no running water, and a broken sink and toilet. In Xinachtli's words: "They bring me a bowl of water. I first use it to drink, and then I use the rest for hygiene for the remainder of the day. I also have not been able to flush the toilet in days. Prison conditions in the U.S. are deeply dehumanizing. For Xinachtli, who is attempting to recover after months of medical neglect, these conditions risk further delaying his recovery and compounding the harm he has already endured. We know that applying pressure works. A director of TDCJ called organizers earlier this month begging for an end to the "hundreds of calls." Contrary to their request, we will not stop until Xinachtli is FREE. Xinachtli's current demands are: That he be moved to a cell with running water and functioning plumbing. That he receive his ID card so he can purchase needed items and receive his commissary order from January 2. That he receive all of his personal property from the McConnell Unit. Contacts: • Carol Young Medical Facility TDC): (409) 948-0001 ◦ WARDEN: (**129) • Region III Director Jerry Sanchez: (281) 369-3736 • TDC) Executive Director: (936) 437-2101 You can sign up for slots and find tips for making calls, including scripts, at https://bit.ly/xphoneblast Repression in Alabama Prisons In the last few days, according to supporters of the Free Alabama Movement as we approach the February 8th call for a statewide work stoppage Kinetic Justice, Hannibal Ra Sun and Raoul Poole have been transferred to another prison and prisoners across the ADOC have had food rations cut. To learn how to advocate for these three FAM leaders now at Kilby CI and read the press release announcing the upcoming strike actions, check our shownotes : following their announcement of an upcoming labor strike, Melvin Ray, Robert Earl Council (Kinetik Justice), and Raoul Poole — three prominent voices in the film "The Alabama Solution" — were taken to Kilby Prison. In anticipation of the strike, the AL Dept. of Corrections has also reduced access to food in its prisons. This is a dangerous violation of [prisoners] constitutional rights. Call Kilby: (534) 215-6600 Demand they keep these men — and all those in state custody — safe. The Press Release announcing the strike is here: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 2, 2025 FREE ALABAMA MOVEMENT (FAM) ANNOUNCES STATEWIDE SHUTDOWN ADOC 2026 Effective February 8, 2026 Alabama — The Free Alabama Movement (FAM) announces a coordinated, statewide shutdown of Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) facilities beginning February 8, 2026. This nonviolent action comes in response to decades of unconstitutional sentencing practices, forced prison labor, and the ongoing humanitarian crisis throughout Alabama's prison system. With the release of the documentary The Alabama Solution, state officials can no longer deny or ignore the overwhelming evidence that Alabama's prison system is in catastrophic failure and requires immediate, sweeping reform. The documentary exposes systemic corruption, violence, and deliberate neglect that incarcerated people have endured for generations. The truth is no longer hidden behind prison walls — it is publicly available, undeniable, and morally urgent. Despite federal investigations, DOJ findings, and repeated warnings, the State of Alabama has failed to enact meaningful change. Therefore, incarcerated people across the state are exercising their lawful right to peaceful protest through a statewide shutdown and work stoppage. LIST OF DEMANDS Repeal Alabama's Habitual Felony Offender Act (HFOA) Abolish the outdated and excessively punitive enhancement statute that has produced life and virtual-life sentences far beyond any rehabilitative purpose and out of step with modern standards of justice. Make the Presumptive Sentencing Guidelines Retroactive Apply current presumptive sentencing standards to all eligible prior convictions so that people sentenced under older, harsher laws can receive the same fair and consistent treatment as those sentenced today. Make HJR 575 Retroactive (Drive-By Shooting Statute Reform) Apply the legislative clarification of Alabama's drive-by shooting statute retroactively so that individuals who were improperly charged or enhanced under the statute can receive review and relief. First-Time Offender / Capital Murder Reform Bill Create revised sentencing options for first-time offenders and end Juvenile Life Without Parole by providing parole eligibility after 20 years, recognizing the capacity for growth, change, and rehabilitation. Parole Board Reform and Clear, Objective Criteria Mandate transparent written standards, meaningful hearings, and review procedures that ensure fair, non-arbitrary parole decisions for every eligible incarcerated person. Medical Furlough & Compassionate Release Expansion Expand and enforce mechanisms for the release of elderly, terminally ill, severely disabled, and medically fragile individuals so they can receive appropriate care in the community instead of dying in prison. Establish a Statewide Conviction Review Unit Create an independent conviction review body with the authority and resources to investigate wrongful convictions, excessive sentences, and cases involving prosecutorial or judicial misconduct. Abolish Forced Prison Labor End uncompensated and coerced prison labor by guaranteeing fair wages, voluntary participation, safe working conditions, and basic labor protections for incarcerated workers. Strengthening Families Act (Including Conjugal Visits) Implement policies that protect and strengthen family bonds, including conjugal and overnight family visits, expanded contact visitation, increased access to phone and video communication, and parenting and family-support programs. STATEMENT FROM FAM "For decades, incarcerated men and women in Alabama have lived in conditions that violate human rights, constitutional protections, and basic dignity. With the undeniable evidence now in the open, we are left with no alternative but to demand justice through collective, peaceful action. This shutdown is not an act of hostility — it is an act of survival, truth, and human rights." Bennu Hannibal Ra-Sun Kinetic Justice Amun CALL TO ACTION We call upon: Civil rights and justice organizations Faith-based institutions National human rights observers State and federal officials Families, supporters, and the public to stand in solidarity and demand immediate reform of Alabama's prison system. PRESS CONTACT Free Alabama Movement (FAM) Email: freealabamamovement@gmail.com #StatewideShutdownADOC2026 . ... . .. Featured Track: Al Nather by Ma3azef from Nisf Madeena TFSR 1 v2 by The Willows Whisper

DIPLOMATIC COUPS AND THE WEAK CONFEDERATION Colleague Joseph Ellis. John Jay secured a diplomatic triumph by defying instructions to consult the French, negotiating directly with Britain to establish the Mississippi River as the western border. Post-war, the government was a loose confederation of sovereign states rather than a unified nation, leaving it ill-equipped to handle slavery or indigenous rights. Robert Morris, the "Financier," personally funded the army's demobilization when Congress failed to pay the troops. NUMBER 71821

SOVIET UNION'S SECRET 1972 LUNAR BASE AMBITIONS AND THE N1 ROCKET FAILURE Colleague Anatoli Zak, Publisher of RussianSpaceWeb.com. Anatoli Zak explains that in 1972, the Soviet Union pursued the L3M project to establish a permanent lunar base, refusing to concede the moon race immediately. However, repeated failures of the N1 rocket and the financial strain of competing with the US Space Shuttle eventually forced the program's cancellation. NUMBER 13MARCH 1959

Canada's Strategic Pivot to China. Guest: CONRAD BLACK. Prime Minister Mark Carney is visiting China to establish a "new strategic partnership" and a "new world order." This mission serves as a "Plan B" to offset potential trade losses with the United States under President Trump, specifically regarding strategic minerals and the renewal of the USMCA agreement.JULY 1936 QUEBEC

Plus: U.K. regulators approve a higher dose of Wegovy. And FedEx secures financing ahead of the spin-off of its trucking division. Anthony Bansie hosts. Sign up for WSJ's free What's News newsletter. An artificial-intelligence tool assisted in the making of this episode by creating summaries that were based on Wall Street Journal reporting and reviewed and adapted by an editor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Establish the Pass Podcast Episode 357 - Blake Lovell, Dillon Reagan, and DJ Siddiqi discuss keys to watch and their predictions for the Divisional round of the 2025-26 NFL playoffs. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Send us a textEpisode # 151: Start the year with leadership that actually moves the needle. We walk through the strategic actions that make teams faster, clearer, and more resilient—without adding noise. We begin with the culture you model when pressure hits, because people copy what you do, not what you say. Calm, integrity, and active listening create psychological safety and higher standards at the same time. From there, we narrow in on priorities: how to publish a short, ranked list, tie it to forecasts and analysis, and adjust in real time so finance and accounting stop guessing. You'll hear practical ways to align tasks to business objectives using specified, implied, and essential work—an approach that reduces miscommunication and keeps execution honest.Governance becomes your engine for speed. We outline how to set clear escalation thresholds, run effective risk and operating reviews, and reward early warnings over last‑minute heroics. Then we tackle direct engagement and decision timeliness: structured operating rhythms, skip‑level listening, and defined decision rights that accelerate choices without micromanaging. The throughline is clarity—who decides, what matters now, and why trade‑offs are worth it—so people can move with confidence.By the end, you'll have a checklist for today: model one cultural behavior, publish your priorities, and set a simple escalation path. Whether you lead FP&A, accounting, or the broader enterprise, these moves build trust and momentum that last beyond January. Episode outline:Set a positive team culture,Establish clear priorities, transparency, and accountability,Encourage risk issue escalation with good governance, and Lead with more direct engagement and better decision timeliness. Please connect with me on:1. Instagram: stephen.mclain2. Twitter: smclainiii3. Facebook: stephenmclainconsultant4. LinkedIn: stephenjmclainiiiFor more resources, please visit Finance Leader Academy:  financeleaderacademy.com.Support the show

Key topics and discussions include: Introduction and show logistics (7:14–9:14): Mark Walters introduces the show, discusses the new software and camera setup, and mentions where listeners can watch and listen (YouTube, X, Facebook, armedamericanradio.org). Virginia Gun Control Bills (9:15–17:56): Cam Edwards joins the discussion to detail several pre-filed gun control bills in Virginia, highlighting their impact: House Bill 271 (10:39–10:57): Bans certain semi-automatic firearms and arbitrarily limits magazine capacities, redefining common firearms as “assault firearms.” House Bill 207 (10:58–11:11): Creates a $500 tax on firearm suppressors, viewed as a cash grab. Senate Bill 27 and House Bill 21 (11:12–11:47): Establish new standards for the firearm industry, allowing lawsuits against manufacturers, distributors, and retailers. Senate Bill 38 and House Bill 93 (11:48–12:05): Expand prohibited persons to include those living with someone who is prohibited and expand prohibited categories for misdemeanors. House Bill 24 (12:11–12:17): Jeopardizes concealed handgun recognition and reciprocity agreements, particularly impacting states without training requirements like Georgia. House Bill 40 (12:17–12:20): Ends the practice of building one’s own gun. House Bill 110 (12:20–13:38): Places further restrictions on keeping firearms in vehicles for self-defense, allowing for towing if a gun is visible in an unattended car. Redefinition of “Assault Firearm” (17:08–17:24, 23:31–25:52): The hosts discuss how the new definition of “assault firearm” would include handguns accepting detachable magazines with over 10 rounds, potentially criminalizing many current gun owners. Prediction on Bill Passage (20:20–20:30, 28:35–30:06): Mark Walters and Cam Edwards predict that almost all of these bills will pass due to the Democratic supermajority in Virginia. Call to Action (20:41–21:06, 22:37–23:21): The hosts urge listeners, regardless of their state, to join organizations like the National Rifle Association (NRA) and the Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL) to fight against gun control. Blackout Coffee Advertisement (35:20–37:25): Mark Walters promotes Blackout Coffee, highlighting its quality and its support for Second Amendment rights organizations. Interview with Sarah Weaver (37:30–49:57): Sarah Weaver, known from the Ruby Ridge incident, joins the show to discuss: Emotional Interview Experience (38:09–40:08): She reflects on a previous emotional live interview with Mark Walters at the Gun Rights Policy Conference. Impact of Current Events on Faith (40:46–42:00): Sarah shares her perspective on recent events and how they impact her faith, emphasizing the need to rely on God for answers and to distinguish between narratives and truth. Encouragement through Faith and Community (42:21–44:22): She expresses encouragement from seeing a growth in Christianity and conservative youth movements like Turning Point, despite the challenges. Her Book: “Ruby Ridge to Freedom, Sarah Weaver Story” (44:22–47:14): Mark Walters promotes Sarah’s book, encouraging listeners to read her story.

Key topics and discussions include: Introduction and show logistics (7:14–9:14): Mark Walters introduces the show, discusses the new software and camera setup, and mentions where listeners can watch and listen (YouTube, X, Facebook, armedamericanradio.org). Virginia Gun Control Bills (9:15–17:56): Cam Edwards joins the discussion to detail several pre-filed gun control bills in Virginia, highlighting their impact: House Bill 271 (10:39–10:57): Bans certain semi-automatic firearms and arbitrarily limits magazine capacities, redefining common firearms as “assault firearms.” House Bill 207 (10:58–11:11): Creates a $500 tax on firearm suppressors, viewed as a cash grab. Senate Bill 27 and House Bill 21 (11:12–11:47): Establish new standards for the firearm industry, allowing lawsuits against manufacturers, distributors, and retailers. Senate Bill 38 and House Bill 93 (11:48–12:05): Expand prohibited persons to include those living with someone who is prohibited and expand prohibited categories for misdemeanors. House Bill 24 (12:11–12:17): Jeopardizes concealed handgun recognition and reciprocity agreements, particularly impacting states without training requirements like Georgia. House Bill 40 (12:17–12:20): Ends the practice of building one’s own gun. House Bill 110 (12:20–13:38): Places further restrictions on keeping firearms in vehicles for self-defense, allowing for towing if a gun is visible in an unattended car. Redefinition of “Assault Firearm” (17:08–17:24, 23:31–25:52): The hosts discuss how the new definition of “assault firearm” would include handguns accepting detachable magazines with over 10 rounds, potentially criminalizing many current gun owners. Prediction on Bill Passage (20:20–20:30, 28:35–30:06): Mark Walters and Cam Edwards predict that almost all of these bills will pass due to the Democratic supermajority in Virginia. Call to Action (20:41–21:06, 22:37–23:21): The hosts urge listeners, regardless of their state, to join organizations like the National Rifle Association (NRA) and the Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL) to fight against gun control. Blackout Coffee Advertisement (35:20–37:25): Mark Walters promotes Blackout Coffee, highlighting its quality and its support for Second Amendment rights organizations. Interview with Sarah Weaver (37:30–49:57): Sarah Weaver, known from the Ruby Ridge incident, joins the show to discuss: Emotional Interview Experience (38:09–40:08): She reflects on a previous emotional live interview with Mark Walters at the Gun Rights Policy Conference. Impact of Current Events on Faith (40:46–42:00): Sarah shares her perspective on recent events and how they impact her faith, emphasizing the need to rely on God for answers and to distinguish between narratives and truth. Encouragement through Faith and Community (42:21–44:22): She expresses encouragement from seeing a growth in Christianity and conservative youth movements like Turning Point, despite the challenges. Her Book: “Ruby Ridge to Freedom, Sarah Weaver Story” (44:22–47:14): Mark Walters promotes Sarah’s book, encouraging listeners to read her story.

Key topics and discussions include: Introduction and show logistics (7:14–9:14): Mark Walters introduces the show, discusses the new software and camera setup, and mentions where listeners can watch and listen (YouTube, X, Facebook, armedamericanradio.org). Virginia Gun Control Bills (9:15–17:56): Cam Edwards joins the discussion to detail several pre-filed gun control bills in Virginia, highlighting their impact: House Bill 271 (10:39–10:57): Bans certain semi-automatic firearms and arbitrarily limits magazine capacities, redefining common firearms as “assault firearms.” House Bill 207 (10:58–11:11): Creates a $500 tax on firearm suppressors, viewed as a cash grab. Senate Bill 27 and House Bill 21 (11:12–11:47): Establish new standards for the firearm industry, allowing lawsuits against manufacturers, distributors, and retailers. Senate Bill 38 and House Bill 93 (11:48–12:05): Expand prohibited persons to include those living with someone who is prohibited and expand prohibited categories for misdemeanors. House Bill 24 (12:11–12:17): Jeopardizes concealed handgun recognition and reciprocity agreements, particularly impacting states without training requirements like Georgia. House Bill 40 (12:17–12:20): Ends the practice of building one’s own gun. House Bill 110 (12:20–13:38): Places further restrictions on keeping firearms in vehicles for self-defense, allowing for towing if a gun is visible in an unattended car. Redefinition of “Assault Firearm” (17:08–17:24, 23:31–25:52): The hosts discuss how the new definition of “assault firearm” would include handguns accepting detachable magazines with over 10 rounds, potentially criminalizing many current gun owners. Prediction on Bill Passage (20:20–20:30, 28:35–30:06): Mark Walters and Cam Edwards predict that almost all of these bills will pass due to the Democratic supermajority in Virginia. Call to Action (20:41–21:06, 22:37–23:21): The hosts urge listeners, regardless of their state, to join organizations like the National Rifle Association (NRA) and the Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL) to fight against gun control. Blackout Coffee Advertisement (35:20–37:25): Mark Walters promotes Blackout Coffee, highlighting its quality and its support for Second Amendment rights organizations. Interview with Sarah Weaver (37:30–49:57): Sarah Weaver, known from the Ruby Ridge incident, joins the show to discuss: Emotional Interview Experience (38:09–40:08): She reflects on a previous emotional live interview with Mark Walters at the Gun Rights Policy Conference. Impact of Current Events on Faith (40:46–42:00): Sarah shares her perspective on recent events and how they impact her faith, emphasizing the need to rely on God for answers and to distinguish between narratives and truth. Encouragement through Faith and Community (42:21–44:22): She expresses encouragement from seeing a growth in Christianity and conservative youth movements like Turning Point, despite the challenges. Her Book: “Ruby Ridge to Freedom, Sarah Weaver Story” (44:22–47:14): Mark Walters promotes Sarah’s book, encouraging listeners to read her story. Classic Roundtable with Ryan, Brad, and Justin

This week, communications go into overdrive as Mercury aspects Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus. Venus makes soothing aspects with Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, and enters independent, future-oriented Aquarius. The Sun embraces both the tried and true and innovation as it connects with Saturn and Uranus. The week ends with a zestier-than-usual Capricorn New Moon, and check out Big Sky Astrology's YouTube channel for this week's listener question. Read a full transcript of this episode. Have a question you'd like answered on the show? Email April or leave it here! Subscribe to April's mailing list and get a free lunar workbook at each New Moon! Love the show? Make a donation! Timestamps [1:28] Mercury opposes Jupiter (Jan. 14, 12:17 am PST) at 19°34' Capricorn-Cancer. This can be an excellent transit for expressing big ideas, ideals and plans for the year ahead. [3:27] Venus sextiles Saturn (Jan. 14, 10:19 pm PST) at 27°08' Capricorn-Pisces. Take the things of value and make them into something more permanent and lasting. [4:49] Venus trines Uranus (Jan. 15, 7:22 am PST) at 27°37' Capricorn-Taurus. May our hearts guide and surprise us. [7:10] Venus sextiles Neptune (Jan. 17, 12:33 am PST) at 29°46' Capricorn-Pisces. Here's an option to build an extra layer of honesty and empathy into a relationship, if we choose. [9:00] Sun sextiles Saturn (Jan. 17, 2:41 am PST) at 27°19' Capricorn-Pisces. This could be an opportunity to become more serious about something that we do or to take on some kind of opportunity or responsibility that may help us grow. [10:43] Sun trines Uranus (Jan. 17, 8:58 am PST) at 27°35' Capricorn-Taurus. An opportunity to join in the games and simple pleasures that we can share with other people. [12:31] Venus enters Aquarius (Jan. 17, 4:43 am PST). Venus will be in Aquarius until Feb. 10, 2026. Enjoy the people with whom you share interests and who you consider friends, but not necessarily friends of the heart. [14:16] Mercury conjoins Mars (Jan. 17, 11:40 pm PST) at 26°03' Capricorn. “The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off.” - Gloria Steinem. Watch your words and temper. [16:28] Moon Report! Capricorn New Moon (Jan. 18, 11:52 am PST) at 28°43' Capricorn, on the Sabian symbol 29 Capricorn, A woman reading tea leaves. Our practical, everyday lives are a way to experience otherworldliness, mysticism. [19:11] Lunar Phase Family Cycle (LPFC). This is the New Moon in a LPFC that will unfold over the coming three years. The First Quarter phase (first action point) is on Oct. 18, 2026, at 25°18' Capricorn. The Full Moon (awareness point) is on July 18, 2027, at 25°48' Capricorn. The Last Quarter (last action point) is on April 16, 2028, at 27°12' Capricorn. [21:57] Void-of-Course (VOC) Moon periods. The Moon in Scorpio trines Neptune in Pisces (Jan. 13, 2:59 pm PST). It's VOC for 35 minutes, then enters Sagittarius (3:34 pm PST). Make kindness and compassion towards others a habit. [23:22] The Moon in Sagittarius squares Neptune in Pisces (Jan. 16, 3:19 am PST). It's VOC for 28 minutes, then enters Capricorn (3:47 am PST). Establish a habit of dream journaling. You can gain insight and clarity on issues that may come up in your waking life. [24:24] The Moon in Capricorn sextiles Neptune in Pisces (Jan. 18, 1:57 pm PST). It's VOC for 21 then enters Aquarius (2:18 pm PST). Get into the habit of trying to take the practical tasks of each day and bring some beauty to them. [25:33] Mercury sextiles Saturn (Jan. 18, 8:09 pm PST) at 27°28' Capricorn-Pisces. Saturn is on the Sabian symbol 28 Pisces, A fertile garden under the full moon. Take your ideas, thoughts, and inspirations, and make something practical of them. At the very least, write them down. [27:17] Mercury trines Uranus (Jan. 18, 9:38 pm PST) at 27°34' Capricorn-Taurus. This combination of Mercury, Saturn and Uranus tells us that there is a place for both practicality and seriousness, while being open to new ideas and fresh ways of doing things. [28:11] Check out this week's Listener Question on Big Sky Astrology's YouTube channel! [28:34] To have a question answered on a future episode, leave a message of one minute or less at speakpipe.com/bigskyastrologypodcast or email april (at) bigskyastrology (dot) com; put “Podcast Question” in the subject line. Free ways to support the podcast: subscribe, like, review and share with a friend! [29:06] A tribute to this week's donors! If you would like to support the show and receive access to April's special donors-only videos, go to BigSkyAstropod.com and contribute $10 or more. You can make a one-time donation in any amount or become an ongoing monthly contributor.

Join Dr. Janet Pilcher, Founder and President of Studer Education, as she welcomes the new year with reflections on a longstanding commitment to worthwhile work that helps educational leaders make a meaningful, lasting difference. In this episode, Dr. Pilcher introduces the 9 Pillars of Leadership Excellence—a practical framework grounded in decades of field experience—to help leaders strengthen culture, align teams, and drive measurable results.Listen to hear how leaders can:Establish shared practices that build consistency and trust across their organizations.Apply leadership tactics to strengthen communication, recognition, and performance.Take purposeful, actionable steps that create lasting impact for students, staff, and communities.Whether you're leading a school, district, or team, this episode offers inspiration and practical guidance to move leadership from potential to performance—one step, one tactic, and one pillar at a time.Follow Host Dr. Janet Pilcher on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janetpilcher/

Decide to be different. Establish that there is no other option. You can become successful with finding a routine that works for you. In this episode, I share about starting with mini habits, being realistic, and scheduling everything. Stay focused, you got this!Connect with Me:Instagram: sarahtmwellnessIntegrative Health 1:1 Coaching: Schedule a free discovery call! Join my newsletter!!!!!Premium Grounding- the best natural health upgrade - grounding mats/bed sheets- code:sarahdavies Zebra- My favorite lip gloss & deodorant- code: sarahdavies Thesis- Nootropics to help with focus & stress- code: sarahtmwellness LiveHealthIllie - All low-toxic finds in one shop- code:sarahdavies Sun & Moo Tallow-Based Skincare - code: sarahdavies Prime Protein- 15% off Discount (my fave protein powder) Buoy Electrolytes (no sugar, 87+ trace minerals)- 20% off Namarie Activewear - code: sarahtmwellness10 (non-toxic)Find the Good Brand - code: sarahdavies10Royo Bread- High Protein, High Fiber Bread & Bagels- Code: sarahda10If you found this episode helpful, don't forget to share it with a friend or a family member and leave us a review on your favorite podcast platform! Sending you love, health, and all good vibes! xoxo, Sarah

This week we focus on the Trump Administration's seizure of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro as Ralph welcomes legendary former ambassador, Chas Freeman, who calls it nothing more than a “gas station stick-up.” Then our resident Constitutional scholar, Bruce Fein, lays out some of the legal ramifications of the whole affair.Ambassador Chas Freeman is a retired career diplomat who has negotiated on behalf of the United States with over 100 foreign governments in East and South Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and both Western and Eastern Europe. Ambassador Freeman was previously a Senior Fellow at Brown University's Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, and served as U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense, U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, acting Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, and Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d'Affaires in the American embassies at both Bangkok and Beijing. He was Director for Chinese Affairs at the U.S. Department of State from 1979-1981. He was the principal American interpreter during the late President Nixon's historic visit to China in 1972. In addition to Chinese, Ambassador Freeman speaks French and Spanish at the professional level and can converse in Arabic and several other languages.We have been engaged in murder on the high seas, people who are suspected on flimsy grounds of carrying narcotics. If they are carrying narcotics, it is not to the United States [but] between Venezuela and Trinidad, from which the drugs go to Western Europe and West Africa. We have been guilty of acts of piracy, seizing vessels on the high seas, on the basis of no authority. And (very dangerously) we have seized a Russian-flagged tanker…And we are risking a war with a nuclear-armed superpower over an issue that is peripheral to Venezuela.Ambassador Chas FreemanDomestically, we have a constitutional crisis. We are the most powerful country on the planet, and our domestic constitutional crisis has turned out to be contagious to the international system. And so we're seeing the disappearance of well-established norms of human behavior, interactions between states. It will not be easy to resurrect those. The precedents we've just set could come home to trouble us.Ambassador Chas FreemanI think we have scared everybody around the world. If there is no protection from international law, people will arm themselves as heavily as they can to defend themselves. So diplomacy is not prospering in this environment. And I would just conclude by saying that the Trump administration has more than decimated our diplomatic service. About one third of the diplomatic service has left or is in the process of leaving public service of the government. So they join scientists and engineers in trying to bail out from what they consider to be an increasingly intolerable situation. Not a happy picture.Ambassador Chas FreemanBruce Fein is a Constitutional scholar and an expert on international law. Mr. Fein was Associate Deputy Attorney General under Ronald Reagan and he is the author of Constitutional Peril: The Life and Death Struggle for Our Constitution and Democracy, and American Empire: Before the Fall.The fact is, if you read the NATO Charter Article 5—I think right now we've got 32 members of NATO, and 31 countries would be obliged to take up war and arms against the United States. [The United States' intervention in Venezuela] is an invasion. It's every bit as much of an invasion as Hitler going into the Sudetenland after Munich. Everybody knows this isn't going to be a voluntary secession. If it isn't by military conquest, it'll be by coercion, by threats. So we may be at war with all the other NATO members. That's why I liken this to the Napoleonic Era when France and Napoleon were against all of Europe. He had no allies anymore, and I think we will have no allies either. Bruce FeinNews 1/9/25* Our top story this week is, of course, the kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Maduro, who has served as president of the Bolivarian Republic since 2013, was abducted from his home, along with his wife, by the Fort Bragg-based Delta Force squadron. Maduro was then transported to New York and is now being held in detention pending trial. Before getting into the fallout of this operation, it is critical to note the complicity of the mainstream press. Semafor reports, “The New York Times and Washington Post learned of a secret US raid on Venezuela soon before it was scheduled to begin Friday night — but held off publishing what they knew.” The preeminent American newspapers justified their decision to withhold this critical information from the public by claiming that publishing what they knew could have endangered American soldiers. This decision however raises longstanding questions about what the role of the media should be in national security matters. Is it their responsibility to protect American forces as they carry out legally dubious missions? Or is it their responsibility to inform the public of their own government's shadowy operations if they might endanger all Americans?* Meanwhile, the future of Venezuela appears deeply uncertain. Despite pressure from the Venezuelan exile community to install one of their own to lead the country, such as Maria Corina Machado, Trump has shown little interest in this path, saying Machado “doesn't have the support within or the respect within the country,” per Reuters. Instead, he has so far supported the elevation of Vice President Delcy Rodríguez. Rodríguez, who has been “likened…to a sort of Venezuelan Deng Xiaoping,” according to NBC, has sought to court Trump in the past and it seems that for the time being at least, he is content to keep her in place so long as she is willing to accede to the demands of the American oil companies.* Whatever the long-term outlook for Venezuela in general, this incident is sure to have certain short-term consequences. At the administration level, this operation was seen as a rousing success and is likely to embolden them to attempt similar operations in other countries deemed adversarial. The Hill reports Trump said “Colombia…[is] Run by a sick man,” referring to Colombian President Gustavo Petro, but won't be for “very long.” Similarly, he remarked that “We're going to have to do something [about Mexico].” Cuba, he said, is “ready to fall.” South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, traveling with Trump, added that Cuba's days are “numbered.” It remains to be seen how far Trump will go with regime change operations in these sovereign nations, but the success of the Maduro abduction makes each one – and the inevitable blowback from these actions – that much more likely.* Beyond Latin America, Trump is again pressing for an American annexation of Greenland. According to the BBC, the administration is discussing “a range of options” including military force. Ironically, the White House is claiming that the acquisition of Greenland – a semi-autonomous region of Denmark – is a “national security priority,” despite Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen's warning that any attack would mean the end of NATO, rattling the foundations of U.S. international security architecture. Nevertheless, Trump has continuously returned to the idea of annexing Greenland, so do not count on this quietly fading away, consequences be damned.* Moving to domestic politics, the AP reports the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the private entity created in 1967 to shepherd public funding to PBS, NPR and hundreds of public television and radio stations across the country, has voted to dissolve itself. The CPB has been under heavy assault by the Trump administration, which pushed Congress to defund the entity last year. Patricia Harrison, the organization's president and CEO, is quoted saying “CPB's final act would be to protect the integrity of the public media system and the democratic values by dissolving, rather than allowing the organization to remain defunded and vulnerable to additional attacks.” With the shuttering of CPB, the future of public media hangs in the balance. It will be up to the next Congress to restore funding, or allow these cherished institutions to fall into the dustbin of history.* Alongside the federal assault on public media, the federal government continues its assaults on public health. The New York Times reports Jim O'Neill, acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has “announced dramatic revisions to the slate of vaccines recommended for American children,” drawing down the number from 17 to just 11. The six vaccines on the chopping block, those for hepatitis A, hepatitis B, meningococcal disease, rotavirus, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus – which, the Times notes, is the “leading cause of hospitalization in American infants,” – will only be recommended for some high-risk groups. Meanwhile, the New York Post reports Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, has unveiled new federal guidelines recommending alcohol use. Dr. Oz is quoted saying “Alcohol is a social lubricant that brings people together…it does allow people an excuse to bond and socialize, and there's probably nothing healthier than having a good time with friends in a safe way.” He added that the takeaway should be, “Don't have it for breakfast.” Given the well documented health risks of alcohol consumption, it is difficult to see this as anything besides a sop to the alcohol industry.* In more local news, the primary race between incumbent Congressman Dan Goldman and former Comptroller Brad Lander in New York's 10th congressional district is turning into nothing short of a proxy war between different factions within the Democratic Party. Goldman, who officially announced his reelection bid this week, was immediately endorsed by New York Governor Kathy Hochul and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, per the New York Daily News. Lander on the other hand, can boast the endorsement of Mayor Zohran Mamdani along with support from Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, among other local progressives, per ABC7. With so much political muscle on both sides, this primary is sure to have important ramifications for the future direction of the Democratic Party.* For his part, Mayor Zohran Mamdani has hit the ground running. On January 5th, Mamdani signed Executive Orders No. 9, on combatting hidden junk fees, and No. 10 on fighting subscription tricks and traps. Among other things, these executive orders will Establish a Citywide Junk Fee Task Force, to be cochaired by Deputy Mayor of Economic Justice and former Biden Administration Secretary of Labor Julie Su. This announcement ends with a message stating that Mayor Mamdani “takes the protection of New York consumers and tenants seriously,” citing his recent “executive order to hold ‘Rental Ripoff' hearings in every borough,” which will “provide an opportunity for working New Yorkers to speak about the challenges they face – from poor building conditions to hidden fees on rent payments,” to be followed by a report and policy recommendations. This all from NYC.gov.* A fascinating new poll has been released by “Speaking with American Men,” also known as the SAM Project, which seeks to understand young American men of various backgrounds. One startling number from this study is that 31% report having been homeless or near-homeless in the past five years. In more direct political findings though, only 27% say Trump is delivering for them, and slightly less, 25%, say Republicans are delivering. However, despite these abysmal numbers, just 18% say Democrats are delivering for them. Clearly, while young men are not joined at the hip to the Republican Party, the Democrats have a long way to go to win them back and won't get there without profoundly changing their approach to courting this key voting bloc.* Finally, the battle between Netflix and Paramount over corporate control of Warner Bros. Discovery continues to drag on. This week, WB announced they would formally reject Paramount's latest bid, their eighth so far, arguing that it is inferior to Netflix's proposal, citing the “extraordinary amount of incremental debt,” Paramount would have to incur in order to take over the larger company. This is estimated to be over $50 million. Although Paramount's hostile bid is higher per share than Netflix's offer, Paramount's bid includes WB's cable assets, such as CNN, which the company believes will be worth more if spun off from the rest of the company. This from CNN itself. Meanwhile, Paramount – led by the Ellison family – is calling in political favors on their behalf. In a letter to the House Judiciary antitrust subcommittee, Paramount Chief Legal Officer Makan Delrahim, who led the Antitrust Division of the DOJ under Trump 2017-2021, accused the proposed Netflix WB merger of being “presumptively unlawful,” because it would “further cement [Netflix's] dominance in streaming video on demand,” per Deadline. Congress cannot directly block a merger or acquisition, that power rests with the DOJ, but it does possess oversight power in that realm and can exert pressure to this end. Given the high stakes of this fight, expect all parties to call in their chits on Capitol Hill and in the administration in order to win the big prize.This has been Francesco DeSantis, with In Case You Haven't Heard. Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe

Today Eric talks with personal branding consultant Isaac Mashman regarding their professional evolutions for 2026. Triplett details his decision to rebrand his long-running podcast to The Deep End to broaden his appeal from a niche water feature audience to a wider market of general contractors and entrepreneurs. Mashman provides a strategic audit, encouraging Eric to leverage controversy with purpose by announcing the end of his current show to build anticipation for the new launch. In turn, Mashman outlines his ambitious "Inevitable Tour 365," a goal to complete an interview every day of the year to solidify his status as a leading authority in personal branding. The two discuss the importance of audio branding, professional edification through intro videos, and maintaining seamless brand identities across social media platforms.  Key Takeaways: Distinguish your personal identity from your professional business brand to ensure your influence remains flexible and adaptable across different career phases and industries. Apply "controversy with purpose" by announcing strategic transitions or endings for current projects to generate curiosity and engagement for your next major venture. Establish immediate rapport with others by combining a personal "hook" based on your unique life interests with a professional "punchline" that highlights your specific expertise. Develop a consistent introductory ritual or "audio brand" for your content to build subconscious emotional triggers and immediate recognition with your audience. Pursue extreme discipline by setting high-intensity, measurable challenges that push your endurance and force you to scale your influence beyond a narrow niche.

Establish the Pass Podcast Episode 356 - Blake Lovell, Dillon Reagan, and DJ Siddiqi discuss keys to watch and their predictions for the Wild Card round of the 2025-26 NFL playoffs. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode, Jay and Chris talk about getting a strong start to 2026. Listen in and see if you've thought of these ways to start strong.1. Pray for your group: spiritual maturity, life-giving meetings, and new people.2. Plan some catch-up time after the holiday break.3. Remind the group of the mission.     Love Jesus, Grow in Jesus, Make Disciples of Jesus     Group Purposes: Disciple-making, Community & Mission     Long-term: New groups and developing leadership.4. Establish better rhythms as a leader: Prep time, contacting absentees, sharing group prayer requests, personally praying for group members, etc.5. Identify areas of improvement for your group. Then, map out the route with specific plans. Seek input from group members, spouse, other leaders.6. Plan your welcome. Be ready for guests. Send us a textThanks for listening to the Great Groups Podcast. Please visit GreatGroups.org for a list of all our episodes.We'd love to hear from you! Click here for our contact form. Jay Gordon is the Small Groups Minister at The Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Alabama, USA. Chris Amaro is an IT professional and serves as a Small Group Leader and Elder at Brook Hills. Lifetime Show Notes Brook Hills Pages: The Church at Brook Hills, Birmingham, Alabama, USA Small Group Leader Resources Page Small Group Discipleship Resources Small Groups @ Brook Hills

Following the final funeral for a victim of the Bondi terror attack, the Coalition has ramped up pressure on the Government to launch a Royal Commission with a specific focus on government accountability and extremist ideology. While the Opposition has detailed a three-commissioner model, the Government remains cautious, with analysts suggesting concerns over how the inquiry's scope might affect social cohesion and the broader national agenda.

Watch The X22 Report On Video No videos found (function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:17532056201798502,size:[0, 0],id:"ld-9437-3289"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src="https://cdn2.decide.dev/_js/ajs.js";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,"script","ld-ajs");pt> Click On Picture To See Larger PictureThe [CB] system is being dismantled, Trump getting control of the oil will begin to bring prices down further, once Iran has regime change, it is game over for the [DS]/[CB] system. Gas prices will fall further when the US begins to drill. The [CB] debt is in violation of the constitution and most it will most likely be wiped out and the [CB] will cease to exist. The [DS] is panicking, from dictators, fake news and the D’s they are all panicking. The [DS] world is now coming to and end and it is being exposed and dismantled for the world to see. The [DS] is no longer in control, the patriots are. Trump and team sent a clear message, everything you are seeing is to return the power back to the people. Economy (function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:18510697282300316,size:[0, 0],id:"ld-8599-9832"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src="https://cdn2.decide.dev/_js/ajs.js";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,"script","ld-ajs"); https://twitter.com/KobeissiLetter/status/2007823029846372858?s=20 https://twitter.com/Geiger_Capital/status/2008196746653151644?s=20 https://twitter.com/echodatruth/status/2008056541627228502?s=20   to $1 TRILLION in Latin American precious metals, including Venezuelan supply. Let that sink in. An $8 BILLION state-of-the-art facility, jointly backed by Wall Street capital and the U.S. Department of Defense, now sits at the center of the supply chain. This isn't about invasion. This is about control, security, and price discovery. • Physical metals moving out of unstable regions • Refining brought back under U.S. oversight • Paper markets losing influence • Strategic metals secured for energy, defense, and AI When governments build first and explain later, it's not speculation, it's preparation. Silver isn't being hyped. It's being positioned. Know What You Hold.  https://twitter.com/profstonge/status/2008176575833948484?s=20  roads 4. Bankruptcy, counterfeiting, piracy laws 5. Patents and copyrights 6. Regulate commerce with foreign nations, between states, and with Native tribes 7. Declare war; maintain army, navy, and militia 8. Establish lower federal courts 9. Exercise authority over Washington, D.C. That means roughly 80% of federal spending is, in fact, illegal. Political/Rights https://twitter.com/FBIDirectorKash/status/2007937505296093357?s=20   (up 31%) enough to kill 130 million Americans -Nihilistic Violent Extremism arrests up 490% -Over 6,000 child victims located (up 22%) -Espionage arrests up 35% -Multiple successful surges including Summer Heat which had almost 9,000 arrests in just three months This FBI is saving lives, protecting innocent kids, and taking deadly drugs off our streets at levels not seen in decades. None of it would've been possible without Dan's leadership and support. And he paved the way for even better things to come. Thank you @dbongino .  https://twitter.com/PressSec/status/2008177002608779675?s=20 DOGE Geopolitical https://twitter.com/jsolomonReports/status/2007493457338605628?s=20 https://twitter.com/Leon4Congress/status/2007969020352647528?s=20  2020 indictments, $15 million bounty, and expanded sanctions In 2022, President Biden increased the then-$15 million bounty on Maduro to $25 million. 25million for anyone who can deliver Maduro to America. 2026 Trump executes the orders of Obama and Biden. Who is the joker, hero or villain? Obama , Biden or Trump https://twitter.com/amuse/status/2008198931985879499?s=20  to power. Why? https://twitter.com/robbystarbuck/status/2008061863565852729?s=20 https://twitter.com/mattvanswol/status/2007919000773353481?s=20   https://twitter.com/ElectionWiz/status/2008155905880453463?s=20 https://twitter.com/ColonelTowner/status/2007827528711590045?s=20  https://twitter.com/WallStreetMav/status/2008188125617569887?s=20   start taking back its deported gang members. https://twitter.com/ElectionWiz/status/2007988528677052517?s=20 https://twitter.com/DerrickEvans4WV/status/2008083325802696896?s=20 https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/2008032031876202758?s=20 https://twitter.com/ElectionWiz/status/2008176950427423164?s=20   Trump wants to make a deal with Mexico like he did with the Nigerian government. The cartels are going to be eradicate https://twitter.com/robbystarbuck/status/2007990748910682257?s=20   grandparents, etc. It's been a dream they prayed to witness. 3/4 of my grandparents didn't survive to see it. Attached are some photos of my Grandpa Julio “Papi” who's alive still and my deceased Grandma Martha in Cuba during better times as young love birds. Fidel Castro stole everything but their love and their lives. Same with my other grandparents Rafael and Ophelia and my Mom. They lost everything but their love and their lives. Now there's hope of a free Cuba for our long lost family there and hope of making past wrongs right once again. I'm with President Trump all the way. Cuba should be a rich, island paradise and it can be as a US territory. It's a strategic asset for our safety too as a base of operations to defend our homeland in the mainland US. There's no downside to toppling the communists who've only stayed in power by killing and jailing Cubans for decades. Now is the time. It can also serve as a helpful spot to run any US/Venezuela operations that benefits America instead of a narco pass through entity used by our enemies as a constant threat to American safety. Russia, China, Venezuela and many others have used Cuba to threaten us for long enough. It's time we take control and empower the Cuban people. No American blood needs to be spilled. This can be a massive win for the future of both Cuba and more importantly, for America. It's time for the evil of communism to die. https://twitter.com/AwakenedOutlaw/status/2007882386529542519?s=20 https://twitter.com/FaytuksNetwork/status/2008187454595969240?s=20   rials monthly ($7). https://twitter.com/AwakenedOutlaw/status/2007930486438682861?s=20 https://twitter.com/RyanSaavedra/status/2007978922458444265?s=20   longer had it. He did something and saw the consequences.” The message: Leave now. Ayatollah Khamenei plans to flee to Moscow if Iran unrest intensifies The republic's supreme leader has plotted an exit route out of Tehran should his forces fail to quell dissent, an intelligence report reveals https://twitter.com/disclosetv/status/2008206247808700734?s=20 War/Peace Medical/False Flags [DS] Agenda https://twitter.com/remarks/status/2007947270910841313?s=20 https://twitter.com/EndWokeness/status/2008031475057439076?s=20   Weaver outline how homeowners will need to modify their view on their property ownership to reflect a new municipal perspective that considers all individually owned property to be part of a new collective property viewpoint as controlled by city government. “For centuries we really treated property as an individualized good and not a collective good, in transitioning into treating it as a collective good and towards the model of shared equity … it will mean that families, especially White families … are going to have a different relationship to property than the one that we currently have.” It is likely that Mayor Mamdani and Director Weaver are going to run into some stiff legal opposition as they try to reimagine a world where individuals are not allowed to own property.   https://twitter.com/AAGDhillon/status/2008207308950782417?s=20 https://twitter.com/amuse/status/2007866604139225514?s=20   briefings. After 9/11, New York's mayors kept the NYPD commissioner in a direct, daily intelligence loop. That model is now ending. Mamdani has removed the Commissioner Jessica Tisch direct line to his office, relegating police leadership to the same access level as garbage collection. The shift weakens situational awareness at the top & reflects a belief that Islamic terror threats no longer require mayoral focus. https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/2008183851802337656?s=20 https://twitter.com/wcdispatch/status/2008018760746078438?s=20     done, in my opinion, an even more dishonest and incompetent job. NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW! Mugshot Emerges of Deranged Man Accused in Vance Home Attack, VP Blasts Media for Publishing Home Images Authorities have released the mugshot of 26-year-old William DeFoor following his arrest for allegedly attempting to break into Vice President JD Vance’s Cincinnati home with a hammer.   The booking photo, posted by the Hamilton County Justice Center, also lists the charges DeFoor is facing, including vandalism, criminal trespass, criminal damaging or endangering, and obstructing official business. Cincinnati police and Secret Service agents responded swiftly to reports of the vandalism, arriving at the scene to detain the man without further incident. No one was injured, as Vance and his family had already left for Washington, D.C. at that time. https://twitter.com/JDVance/status/2008188525162721647?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2008188525162721647%7Ctwgr%5Ec29f78485445e314b120eda36408e134f4f5245a%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fredstate.com%2Frusty-weiss%2F2026%2F01%2F05%2Fmugshot-emerges-of-deranged-man-accused-in-vance-home-attack-vp-blasts-media-for-publishing-home-images-n2197767   already to DC. One request to the media: we try to protect our kids as much as possible from the realities of this life of public service. In that light, I am skeptical of the news value of plastering images of our home with holes in the windows. Source: redstate.com President Trump's Plan https://twitter.com/SecWar/status/2008189258528665898?s=20   is still accountable to military justice. And the Department of War — and the American people — expect justice. Therefore, in response to Senator Mark Kelly's seditious statements — and his pattern of reckless misconduct — the Department of War is taking administrative action against Captain Mark E. Kelly, USN (Ret). The department has initiated retirement grade determination proceedings under 10 U.S.C. § 1370(f), with reduction in his retired grade resulting in a corresponding reduction in retired pay. To ensure this action, the Secretary of War has also issued a formal Letter of Censure, which outlines the totality of Captain (for now) Kelly's reckless misconduct. This Censure is a necessary process step, and will be placed in Captain Kelly's official and permanent military personnel file. Captain Kelly has been provided notice of the basis for this action and has thirty days to submit a response. The retirement grade determination process directed by Secretary Hegseth will be completed within forty five days. Captain Kelly's status as a sitting United States Senator does not exempt him from accountability, and further violations could result in further action. These actions are based on Captain Kelly’s public statements from June through December 2025 in which he characterized lawful military operations as illegal and counseled members of the Armed Forces to refuse lawful orders. This conduct was seditious in nature and violated Articles 133 and 134 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, to which Captain Kelly remains subject as a retired officer receiving pay. https://twitter.com/TonySeruga/status/2008201370458075286?s=20  energy, and corporatism, all are reliant on the narcos for dark funding. Just look at how they are treating Maduro? It’s like he is a rock star. Already with 5 ‘costume’ changes just today. Does Maduro look worried?  THE FIX IS IN? YOU CAN'T MAKE THIS UP: 92-Year-Old Clinton Judge Who Denied Trump's Hush-Money Removal to Federal Court and Blocked Venezuelan Gang Deportations Now Assigned to Preside Over Maduro Case in New York President Trump Shuts Down Fake News Reporter Trying to Pit Rubio and Vance Against Each Other (AUDIO)  Trump spoke to reporters aboard Air Force One as he headed back to the White House on Sunday evening after spending the Christmas holiday at Mar-a-Lago in South Florida. President Trump shut down a fake news reporter who was trying to create a wedge between Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.   A legacy media reporter tried to stir up a little trouble and President Trump promptly shut her down. “What you say that Marco Rubio has your ear more than the Vice President right now?” a reporter asked President Trump. Trump shut it down. “No! They both do. JD is very smart and doing a great job and so is Marco! I would say they're equal,” Trump said. The reporter continued, “It sounds like [Rubio] is the go to and you were just talking about Cuba and what could come next there.” AUDIO: Source: thegatewaypundit.com https://twitter.com/AwakenedOutlaw/status/2008092328867869069?s=20  a plea of some sort. In fact, that may well have been pre-negotiated thereby removing the judges ability to thwart the prosecution. These images support as much. https://twitter.com/Rasmussen_Poll/status/2007939030839701667?s=20   election systems currently in use here have been newly examined last year by Federal authorities and are apparently FULL of illegal CCP sourced items – While @DNIGabbard is still withholding her completed official report on this, her boss is now aggressively retweeting older descriptors of evidence against Dominion and our US Election Theft Syndicate in general. This is apparently the overture of what is to come – The Secret Dominion/Huawei Data Center in Belgrade, Serbia – that emphatically and officially did not exist – DID exist and was disabled by U.S. gov employees just days prior to the 2024 election. It has now been dismantled, which may disappoint former CIA Director John Brennan, who reportedly financed half of it from the CIA ‘Black Budget.’ The other half of the funding was from our dear friends in China. That’s right, the theft of The US Presidency and multiple other elections worldwide was co-financed by our own CIA – Top Venezuelan engineers who reportedly designed and executed multiple foreign based election frauds in America using Dominion and Smartmatic systems are in America under U.S. gov protection and have provided sworn testimony. They include an engineer who personally helped illegally install Joe Biden as President in 2020 – These engineers are also joined by General Hugo Carvjal, former Head of Venezuelan Intelligence, now in jail in New York (his cellmate is Diddy Combs) and he is cooperating with Fed authorities (see below) – Another Venezuelan General has now also joined General Carvjal in providing 1st person testimony – Official state and court adduced evidence of 2020 election fraud has been compiled for every one of the battleground states. Cowardice and corruption within the American judiciary has scuttled any real progress – Georgia corruption came into better focus last month as Fulton County admitted not following the law concerning over 300K ‘votes’ and then their most corrupt state judge agreed to unseal the 2020 ‘warehouse ballots,’ many of which are officially sworn to be likely counterfeit. What a sad crooked bunch – The DOJ is suing multiple states to require compliance with Federal election laws including HAVA – Georgia is among them – and @AAGDhillon is leading the charge – President Trump pardoned Tina Peters but corrupt Colorado officials refuse to release her from prison. Colorado wants to litigate her role as a Federal officer in their elections while her health declines due to their horrible conditions. Colorado officials are going to pay dearly – An American Armada, the likes of which hasn’t been assembled in this century, sits off the coast of U.S. Election Theft Central. They are resting up after the historic strike extraction of Maduro. They will not idle long. The President promises to clean out all the cartel del Soles thugs and return Venezuela to democratic self governance. A big job but essential to keeping America safe and its enemies out of our hemisphere and out of our elections.  https://twitter.com/WarClandestine/status/2007981628648206368?s=20   which gave hope to the low-morale Continental Army and boosted enlistment, and eventually led to victory. I think Trump and the US MIL were sending a message. Now is when we start winning the war against the Deep State. I think we have graduated into a new phase of the operation. https://twitter.com/WarClandestine/status/2007924998703366560?s=20   necessary for what comes later, when Trump invokes the Insurrection Act and sends US MIL to cities nationwide. If the US MIL are going to conduct mass arrests, the public will need to trust them and trust Trump. So for those asking why Trump is arresting Maduro before arresting treasonous actors in the US, I think there is method to the madness. The high-profile US arrests will likely be towards the end, after more of the public are fully bought in on the operation to dismantle the Deep State. Arresting people is the easy part. Convincing billions of people that high-profile individuals, including former heads of state, need to be arrested… that's the tricky part. https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/2008033626294792665?s=20 https://twitter.com/USDOL/status/2007933111729021305?s=20 (function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:13499335648425062,size:[0, 0],id:"ld-7164-1323"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src="//cdn2.customads.co/_js/ajs.js";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,"script","ld-ajs");

2026-01-04-0830 Pastor Loran Livingston is the speaker this morning, January 4, 2026, in the 8:30 am service.   Scripture: 1 John 2:15–17, Matthew 6:9–13   Notes: -There are methods Satan uses to hinder Christians, says Pastor Livingston. But scripture gives us direction for living to establish the way we should go. -The only way to be victorious is to learn and rely on the Word of God.

2026-01-04-1030 Pastor Loran Livingston is the speaker this morning, January 4, 2026, in the 10:30 am service.   Scripture: 1 John 2:15–17, Matthew 6:9–13   Notes: -There are methods Satan uses to hinder Christians, says Pastor Livingston. But scripture gives us direction for living to establish the way we should go. -The only way to be victorious is to learn and rely on the Word of God.

The first Saturday episode of each month this year, we will focus on a key component of a financial plan – including spending, investing, insurance, retirement planning, estate planning, and taxes. If you follow along with us throughout 2026, you will end this year in the best financial shape possible — perhaps in the best shape you've ever been.First up is a healthy helping of “financial truth serum.” Robert Brokamp speaks with Foolish colleague and Certified Financial Planner Amanda Kish about the five steps to documenting all you own, all you owe, and where your money is going: 1. Choose a when and how2. Complete your full financial inventory3. Track your spending for 30 days4. Calculate your personal net worth5. Establish your “Financial Baseline Summary”Have your own tips, tricks, tools, and recommendations for tracking your net worth, spending, and progress? Email them to podcasts@fool.com by Tues., Jan. 6, and we may read your suggestions the following episode. Host: Robert BrokampGuest: Amanda KishEngineer: Bart Shannon Advertisements are sponsored content and provided for informational purposes only. The Motley Fool and its affiliates (collectively, "TMF") do not endorse, recommend, or verify the accuracy or completeness of the statements made within advertisements. TMF is not involved in the offer, sale, or solicitation of any securities advertised herein and makes no representations regarding the suitability, or risks associated with any investment opportunity presented. Investors should conduct their own due diligence and consult with legal, tax, and financial advisors before making any investment decisions. TMF assumes no responsibility for any losses or damages arising from this advertisement. We're committed to transparency: All personal opinions in advertisements from Fools are their own. The product advertised in this episode was loaned to TMF and was returned after a test period or the product advertised in this episode was purchased by TMF. Advertiser has paid for the sponsorship of this episode Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many philosophers have contemplated the inevitability of death and taxes. But despite knowing both are coming, most people avoid planning for either until it's too late. What happens when you die without a proper estate plan? What's the difference between a will and a trust? And why does the government already have an estate plan for you—whether you like it or not?This episode tackles estate planning head-on. Hans walks through the foundational concepts from his CLU coursework while Brian shares the painful reality of navigating Pennsylvania's probate system after losing his mother. The contrast is striking: life insurance proceeds arrived within a week, tax-free and hassle-free. Everything else? A year-long nightmare involving shyster attorneys, arbitrary timelines, and a state government eager to collect its pound of flesh.The episode also addresses a critical oversight many families make: naming minor children as contingent beneficiaries on life insurance policies. Insurance companies cannot pay minors directly, which reintroduces the exact inefficiencies you were trying to avoid. One possible solution? Establish a trust and name it as your contingent beneficiary.Chapters:00:00 – Opening segment02:00 – Why estate planning matters for everyone03:30 – Brian's probate experience in Pennsylvania07:30 – The one-year waiting period and attorney fees11:45 – Life insurance: the easiest transfer by far15:00 – Definition of estate planning: accumulate, manage, conserve, transfer17:30 – Effective vs. efficient transfers explained19:45 – The three places your assets can go24:00 – Federal estate tax: 40% above the exemption29:00 – The five-year thought exercise37:00 – Minor children as beneficiaries: the hidden problem43:30 – What would change if you had five years left?54:00 – Heritage over inheritance: passing down more than money59:05 - Closing SegmentKey Takeaways:You Already Have an Estate Plan: If you haven't created one, the government has a default plan for you—and it prioritizes creditors and bureaucratic process over your family's needs.A Will Is Not Enough: Wills direct the probate court on asset distribution, but assets still go through a lengthy, costly, public legal process. Trusts bypass probate entirely.Life Insurance Skips the Mess: Death benefits transfer directly to beneficiaries, tax-free, within days—no court involvement, no waiting periods, no attorney fees.Don't Name Minors as Beneficiaries: Insurance companies cannot pay children directly. Name a trust as your contingent beneficiary to maintain efficiency and control.The Five-Year Exercise Changes Everything: If you knew your exact death date, your priorities would shift immediately. Use that clarity now—maximize protection, spend time with family, stop deferring what matters.Estate Planning Is for the Living: Half of estate planning—accumulation and management—happens while you're alive. This isn't just about death; it's about building and protecting wealth today.Visit https://remnantfinance.com for more informationFOLLOW REMNANT FINANCEYoutube: @RemnantFinance (https://www.youtube.com/@RemnantFinance )Facebook: @remnantfinance (https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61560694316588 )Twitter: @remnantfinance (https://x.com/remnantfinance )TikTok: @RemnantFinanceDon't forget to hit LIKE and SUBSCRIBEGot Questions? Reach out to us at info@remnantfinance.com or book a call at https://remnantfinance.com/calendar !

God has given us tools to win the war against sin and the devil. God uses the Bible as a mirror and counselors as a source of wisdom to help you find the truth.

Rob has impacted clients and audiences as far as Japan and Australia, across Europe, the USA, and throughout his home country of Canada.In 2023, he was handpicked to speak at TEDx in Kumamoto, Japan and was selected as the Top 100 Most Dynamic Leaders by Exeleon Magazine. Not limiting his impact to clients, Rob co-hosts the Leadership Launchpad Project podcast, ranked #3 leadership podcast in Canada by Feedspot. He has also appeared on over 400 podcasts heard by hundreds of thousands of people.Rob is not a coach for people who want to stay average. With a client roster including Fortune 500 executives, C-suite leaders, visionary entrepreneurs, and Olympic Gold Medalists, Rob only works with top performers who want to dig into the work so they can achieve huge results. He's the right coach for you if you're driven to hit your pinnacle goals.Rob has foundations of high-performance as he graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Management, was a 3-time Academic All-American in NCAA Water Polo, and played on the U18 Canadian National Water Polo team. Establish goals with this FREE tool: www.robkalwarowsky.com/reason Connect with Rob Kalwarowsky:Website: www.robkalwarowsky.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-kalwarowsky/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ExecutiveCoachRobK TurnKey Podcast Productions Important Links:Guest to Gold Video Series: www.TurnkeyPodcast.com/gold The Ultimate Podcast Launch Formula- www.TurnkeyPodcast.com/UPLFplusFREE workshop on how to "Be A Great Guest."Free E-Book 5 Ways to Make Money Podcasting at www.Turnkeypodcast.com/gift Ready to earn 6-figures with your podcast? See if you've got what it takes at TurnkeyPodcast.com/quizSales Training for Podcasters: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sales-training-for-podcasters/id1540644376Nice Guys on Business: http://www.niceguysonbusiness.com/subscribe/The Turnkey Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/turnkey-podcast/id1485077152