Podcasts about Excel

ITB analytics expert Sam Finkel joins Geoff Mosher to for Part 2 of this week's Inside The Data in which Sam explains what the metrics say about the Eagles' first half of the season, and what they means for the second half. #eagles #philadelphiaeagles #flyeaglesfly #jalenhurts #ajbrown #saquonbarkley #jalyxhunt #jaelanphillips #jairealexander SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PATREON CHANNEL FOR EXCLUSIVE, BONUS CONTENT: https://www.patreon.com/insidethebirds► Sign up for our newsletter! • Visit http://eepurl.com/hZU4_nSupport Our Sponsors:► My Bookie Promo Code link!: https://bit.ly/joinwithTHEBIRDS► Simpli Safe Home Alert System: https://simplisafe.com/BIRDS for 60% OFF!► Camden Apothecary: https://camdenapothecary.com/► Soul Out of Office Gummies: https://getsoul.com. Use Promo Code: BIRDS for 30% off► Sky Motor Cars: https://www.skymotorcars.com/Follow the Hosts!► Follow our Podcast on Twitter: https://twitter.com/InsideBirds► Follow Geoff Mosher on Twitter: https://twitter.com/geoffpmosher► Follow Adam Caplan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/caplannfl► Follow Sam Finkel on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sam_finkelHow to access our FULL Podcast:APPLE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/...SPREAKER: https://www.spreaker.com/user/...NFL insider veterans take an in-depth look that no other show can offer! Be sure to subscribe to stay up to date with the latest news, rumors, and discussions.For more, be sure to check out our official website: https://www.insidethebirds.com.

Have you ever looked at a spreadsheet and thought: “Absolutely not today, Satan”?

Earmark Media Presents a bonus episode of Earmark Podcast:Most accounting firms are dramatically underpricing their services, but the fear of losing clients keeps them stuck. Marie Greene and Ryan Embry join Blake for a live conversation in LA about spotting underpricing, having the repricing conversation, and why your worst clients are often the most price-insensitive. Plus, a live role-play demonstration of how to navigate a difficult pricing conversation.Meet Our GuestsRyan EmbreeLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-embree-9463b286/Learn more about Ignitionhttp://ignitionapp.comMarie Greene, CPALinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariegreene/Learn more about Connected Accountinghttp://connectedaccounting.coNeed CPE?Get CPE for this episode: https://earmark.app/c/2866Get CPE for listening to podcasts with Earmark: https://earmarkcpe.comSubscribe to the Earmark Podcast: https://podcast.earmarkcpe.comGet in TouchThanks for listening and the great reviews! We appreciate you! Follow and tweet @BlakeTOliver and @DavidLeary. Find us on Facebook and Instagram. If you like what you hear, please do us a favor and write a review on Apple Podcasts or Podchaser. Call us and leave a voicemail; maybe we'll play it on the show. DIAL (202) 695-1040.SponsorshipsAre you interested in sponsoring The Accounting Podcast? For details, read the prospectus.Need Accounting Conference Info? Check out our new website - accountingconferences.comLimited edition shirts, stickers, and other necessitiesTeePublic Store: http://cloudacctpod.link/merchSubscribeApple Podcasts: http://cloudacctpod.link/ApplePodcastsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheAccountingPodcastSpotify: http://cloudacctpod.link/SpotifyPodchaser: http://cloudacctpod.link/podchaserStitcher: http://cloudacctpod.link/StitcherOvercast: http://cloudacctpod.link/OvercastClassifiedsWant to get the word out about your newsletter, webinar, party, Facebook group, podcast, e-book, job posting, or that fancy Excel macro you just created? Let the listeners of The Accounting Podcast know by running a classified ad. Go here to create your classified ad: https://cloudacctpod.link/RunClassifiedAdTranscriptsThe full transcript for this episode is available by clicking on the Transcript tab at the top of this page

In this episode of FP&A Unlocked, Paul is joined by strategic advisor and podcast host Moataz Mukhaimer to explore the intersection of finance and strategy, where true business impact is made. With over 20 years of experience guiding SMEs, family-owned businesses, and startups across the Middle East, Moataz explains why finance professionals must step beyond Excel and deeply understand the business to add real value. From diagnosing problems through numbers to designing KPIs that reflect a company's vision, this episode is a masterclass in how FP&A can lead, not just support.Moataz Mukhaimer is a strategic and financial advisor with over 20 years of experience supporting SMEs across the MENA region. A graduate of McGill University (MBA) and Boston University (BA in Accounting & Finance), he specializes in helping businesses identify challenges and align strategy with execution. His client portfolio spans sectors including retail, med-tech, e-commerce, ed-tech, manufacturing, and software.Expect to Learn:Why cash from operations is the true measure of business valueHow to design KPIs that align with both strategy and financial outcomesWhy most pricing problems are rooted in poor positioning, not high costsHow to diagnose problems through both numbers and conversationsThe two most important habits for connecting finance with strategyHere are a few quotes from the episode:“Most companies aren't overpricing, they're underpricing and positioning poorly.” - Moataz Mukhaimer“Cash from operations is the truest form of value creation.” - Moataz MukhaimerMoataz Mukhaimer reminds us that the power of FP&A lies in understanding the whole business, not just the numbers. By aligning strategy with financial planning, simplifying KPIs, and focusing on communication, finance professionals can become essential partners in growth. If you're ready to elevate your impact, this episode is for you.Campfire: AI-First ERP:Campfire is the AI-first ERP that powers next-gen finance and accounting teams. With integrated solutions for the general ledger, revenue automation, close management, and more, all in one unified platform.Explore Campfire today: https://campfire.ai/?utm_source=fpaguy_podcast&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=100225_fpaguyFollow Moataz:LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/moataz-mukhaimer/Website - https://moatazmukhaimeradvisory.com/Earn Your CPE Credit For CPE credit, please go to earmarkcpe.com, listen to the episode, download the app, answer a few questions, and earn your CPE certification. To earn education credits for the FP&A Certificate, take the quiz on Earmark and contact Paul Barnhurst for further details.In Today's Episode[04:05] - What Defines Great FP&A?[05:56] - Great Planning in Action[08:40] - Cash Flow is Queen[14:15] - Why Budgeting Often Fails[26:45] - Pricing: The Hidden Problem[30:04] - Moataz's Four-Part Strategy Framework[33:07] - Diagnosing Problems Through People and Numbers[36:27] - Advice for Connecting Finance to Strategy[40:09] - Hosting Business Talk and Giving Back[43:36] - FP&A Fast Five[48:31] - Final Advice:...

The challenge all organisations, big and small, face is answering and implementing solutions to solve this key question: How can finance and accounting teams work faster, smarter and more accurately?In the recent episode of the Don't Panic It's Just Data podcast, host Scott Taylor, The Data Whisperer and Principal Consultant at MetaMeta Consulting, speaks with Kevin Gibson, CPA and Principal Solutions Engineer at insightsoftware. They talk about the constantly changing nature of financial reporting. Additionally, they discuss the pros and cons of modern financial reporting and the importance of connecting financial data with familiar tools like Excel. The conversation also touches on the future of financial reporting technology and the need for organisations to adapt to changing data access needs.Uncertainty in a Data-Driven World“With all this uncertainty, companies are being asked to look at their data in different ways. They want to pivot it, slice it, and dice it,” Gibson tells Taylor, encapsulating the theme of this episode. “They're being told to do more with the data — what does it mean, how do we read it, how do we understand it, how do we analyse it?”The issue is that, as enterprises invest in digital transformation, finance teams struggle most with limited access to the data they need to support their analysis.“The ideal state,” Gibson adds, “would be: I can get what I want, when I want, and how I want it — without asking questions. But let's be honest — that doesn't exist today.”However, the good news is the data exists, Gibson says. The ugly part is that organisations can't get to it. Many of the data accessibility issues have been attributed to cloud migration. “When you move your data to the cloud, you think: it's cheaper, it's more secure, it's easier to maintain. But here's the problem: you don't control it anymore. Some cloud providers make access difficult or costly. So finance teams feel stuck,” he explains.Also Watch: Stop Fighting Excel: How to Turn Your Spreadsheets into a Real-Time Reporting Powerhouse?Real-Time Access on ExcelFor decades, finance professionals have relied on Excel, which Gibson refers to as the “largest data warehouse in the world.” “There are 1.1 billion users of Excel today,” he says. “And let's be honest, I haven't met an accountant yet who says they hate it.” Finance prospers in Excel, but IT often views it as a risk. This leads to a constant back-and-forth between usability and control. Gibson believes that the solution is to equip both sides- finance and IT with real-time, governed data inside Excel. That's where insightsoftware comes in. “We can connect directly to these systems and give finance teams back their real-time access — not just to pieces of data, but all of it,” says Gibson. “Literally every piece of data can be accessed.” With tools like Spreadsheet Server, finance professionals can work in Excel — their “comfort food,” as Gibson calls it — while drawing directly from live ERP data in the cloud. “We give them insight — that's what our software does. It gives them visibility into their data. Excel isn't going away, and our job is to make it work even better.”To learn more, watch or listen to the podcast...

Accounting firm founders Emily Vass of Nourished and Dean Shepherd of Eat, Sleep, Excel, Repeat join AccountingWEB technology editor Tom Herbert to discuss their practice tech setups, the tools that have saved them time, and the false starts along the way. For full show notes, visit: https://www.accountingweb.co.uk/tech/accounting-software/new-firms-lean-stacks-how-startup-practices-can-dodge-accounting-techs

If you want to build a consistent, freedom-led business but feel stuck juggling admin, chasing clients, and working long hours, this episode shows you how to fix it. Dean Vaughan shares how he went from working under someone else's brand to building a scalable business as an AR with consistent £15k–£18k months, without burning out. Book Your FREE 15-minute Growth Audit Watch This Conversation On YouTube What We Covered: The toughest challenges in Dean's first year (and how he overcame them) Why relying on Excel nearly stalled his growth, and the CRM system that changed everything How consistent social media built trust and brought in high-quality leads What changed after hiring support and automating the client journey The real impact of joining a like-minded adviser community Hosted by Gary Das: business growth consultant helping financial services entrepreneurs systemise, scale and create a freedom-led business and life they love. Be sure to like, comment, and subscribe for more insights on personal and professional growth. Interested in taking yourself and your business to the next level? Book Your FREE 15-minute Growth Audit I hope you enjoyed today's episode; please subscribe, rate and review the show on your favourite platform. Follow me on Social media: Instagram | LinkedIn | Facebook | Website | YouTube

Alicia Katz Pollock joins the show fresh from Intuit Connect with detailed notes on everything announced for QuickBooks Online and the accounting profession. The discussion covers Intuit's consolidation strategy to reduce reliance on third-party apps, the new tiered pricing structure for the Intuit Accountant Suite launching in 2026, and how AI agents are currently performing in bank feeds and transaction categorization. They also examine QuickBooks' move into CRM and marketing tools, the role of QuickBooks Live in Intuit's strategy, and what alternatives small businesses and accountants might consider.SponsorsCloud Accountant Staffing - http://accountingpodcast.promo/cas Rippling - http://accountingpodcast.promo/ripplingBILL - http://accountingpodcast.promo/billChapters(00:00) - Introduction and Guest Welcome (00:56) - Intuit Connect Conference Overview (01:32) - Changes in QuickBooks and Intuit's Strategy (02:03) - AI Integration in QuickBooks (05:26) - The New Customer Hub and MailChimp Integration (06:54) - Concerns About AI and QuickBooks Ecosystem (12:10) - ProAdvisors' Role in the AI Era (19:44) - Addressing Reporting and Automation Issues (27:43) - The Future of QuickBooks Online Accountant (28:21) - New Features and Paid Tiers (29:24) - Intuit Accountant Suite Overview (30:40) - Core and Accelerate Versions (30:54) - Client Management and Dashboards (33:22) - Practice Management Tools (34:01) - Intuit's Market Strategy (38:04) - ProAdvisor and QuickBooks Live (40:31) - Quicken's Comeback (43:34) - AI and Automation in Accounting (53:52) - Intuit's Future Plans and Innovations (56:44) - Conclusion and CPE Information  Show NotesComing soon!Listen and Subscirbe to The Unofficial QuickBooks Accountants Podcast!https://uqb.show/subscribeConnect with Alicia Katz Pollock!https://www.linkedin.com/in/aliciakatzpollock/https://royalwise.com/ Need CPE?Get CPE for listening to podcasts with Earmark: https://earmarkcpe.comSubscribe to the Earmark Podcast: https://podcast.earmarkcpe.comGet in TouchThanks for listening and the great reviews! We appreciate you! Follow and tweet @BlakeTOliver and @DavidLeary. Find us on Facebook and Instagram. If you like what you hear, please do us a favor and write a review on Apple Podcasts or Podchaser. Call us and leave a voicemail; maybe we'll play it on the show. DIAL (202) 695-1040.SponsorshipsAre you interested in sponsoring The Accounting Podcast? For details, read the prospectus.Need Accounting Conference Info? Check out our new website - accountingconferences.comLimited edition shirts, stickers, and other necessitiesTeePublic Store: http://cloudacctpod.link/merchSubscribeApple Podcasts: http://cloudacctpod.link/ApplePodcastsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheAccountingPodcastSpotify: http://cloudacctpod.link/SpotifyPodchaser: http://cloudacctpod.link/podchaserStitcher: http://cloudacctpod.link/StitcherOvercast: http://cloudacctpod.link/OvercastClassifiedsCollective by DBA - https://collective.cpa/ Want to get the word out about your newsletter, webinar, party, Facebook group, podcast, e-book, job posting, or that fancy Excel macro you just created? Let the listeners of The Accounting Podcast know by running a classified ad. Go here to create your classified ad: https://cloudacctpod.link/RunClassifiedAdTranscriptsThe full transcript for this episode is available by clicking on the Transcript tab at the top of this page

Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM Amanda Sterner shares practical insights on how Microsoft Loop and Copilot are reshaping collaboration, productivity, and digital adoption. From overcoming tool resistance to driving change through Champions programs, this episode offers actionable strategies for tech professionals navigating modern workplace transformation.

Here is the link to the Excel spreadsheet used in this video: https://1drv.ms/x/c/0a138b8cc052419a/EaEZjtAstLpIuRGNfxEASvEBTntS2y1NwRSk_lHQqN1EfQWe would love for you to check out this video, and all of the other videos on our channel, including our weekly live show, Dodgers Dawgs. We would also love it if you followed us on all the Social Media platforms. .✔ www.dodgersdaily.net✔ Twitter @dodger_daily ✔ Instagram dodger.daily✔ Facebook at dodger daily,✔ TikTok at dodgers_daily. Also, please consider donating to Dodgers Daily. This site will always remain free to the viewers, but it takes money and time to operate, so if you would like to show your appreciation by donation, any amount would be greatly appreciated. To do so follow the link below. Link to Donate:https://gofund.me/db54a295#dodgersprospects #dodgersDaily #dodgers #losangeles #lafans #doyers #baseball #mlb #beisbol #MiLB #rcquakes #okcdodgers #tulsadrillers #greatlakesloons #ShoheiOhtani #YoshinobuYamamoto #RokiSasaki #MookieBettsAll Minor League video is courtesy of MiLB. Visit https://www.milb.com/ and consider becoming a subscriber. It's very cheap and is now streaming on all major streaming platforms straight from the MLB app. An MiLB subscription gives you access to every Minor League game, almost all having video feeds.

#LosDioses224, ¡revelamos todos los secretos para vender a marketplaces! Salomón Mervich nos cuenta la estrategia en Amazon y TikTok Shop desde adentro, como comprador. ¿A quién le conviene vender ahi? ¡Conéctese ahora mismo!¿Qué hace un comprador? Veamos cuál es su rol y alcance, y qué nos piden para venderles. La figura desconocida del Restock: quién te vuelve a comprar. Primero, Amazon: ¿cómo funciona? Las ofertas relámpago. ¿Quién decide qué se compra? El mundo del Excel. Luego, TikTok y el nuevo paradigma: no es un marketplace; vende el creador de contenido que sabe vender. ¿Le conviene a las marcas TikTok Shop? ¡Entérese de todo!#LosDiosesDelMarketing es una producción de la agencia que inventó a los dioses: Básico.FM

Lorenz Strasser ist ein Unternehmer, wie man ihn selten trifft: Informatik-Studium abgebrochen, Kneipenträume aus einem De-Niro-Film, Aufbau einer Systemgastronomie-Kette mit 500 Mitarbeitenden - und heute Gründer eines Software-Startups. "Ich konnte mir einfach keinen Lebensentwurf vorstellen, der am Rechner stattfand", sagt er über seine Studienzeit. Stattdessen gründete er mit seinem Bruder "Joe Peña's" - inspiriert von der schmissigen Barästhetik eines Mafiafilms.Dass Gastronomie nicht nur Leidenschaft, sondern auch Struktur braucht, war ihm früh klar. "Mathematik hat sehr viel mit Struktur zu tun. Und Systemgastronomie folgt Gesetzen der Logik", erklärt er. Schon in den 1990ern digitalisierte er seine Betriebe weitgehend - mit einem Kühlschrank-großen Server, für den Strasser das Fenster offenhalten musste, weil dieser so heiß wurde.Heute baut Strasser mit Pentacode eine cloudbasierte Software für Personalmanagement - mit Fokus auf die Gastronomie und andere Branchen mit komplexen Schichtsystemen. "Das ist ein sehr eigenes Umfeld. Wer in der Gastronomie arbeitet, gestaltet die Freizeit anderer", sagt er. Transparenz und Verlässlichkeit seien heute entscheidend - auch für Saisonkräfte oder Aushilfen. "Mitarbeiter wollen wissen: Wie viele Stunden habe ich gearbeitet? Was werde ich verdienen?"Schwarzarbeit? Für Strasser ein Relikt vergangener Tage: "Natürlich haben wir Schwarzgeld gemacht - so wie viele", sagt er offen über seine frühere Gastrozeit. "Aber wer sowas heute noch macht, der ist mit dem Klammerbeutel gepudert worden." Mit modernen Algorithmen, etwa Benford-Tests, lasse sich Steuerbetrug längst datenbasiert aufdecken - und die Gefahr, erwischt zu werden, steige stetig.Auch zur Rolle von KI ist Strasser pragmatisch. Vieles, was als künstliche Intelligenz verkauft werde, sei schlicht gute Logik. Dennoch arbeitet Pentacode bereits an automatisierten Dienstplänen: "Das ist eine sehr komplexe Anwendung - von Qualifikationen bis zu gesetzlichen Vorgaben, aber wir sind dran."Und was Deutschland betrifft? Strasser glaubt nicht an technische Rückständigkeit, sondern an ein Mindset-Problem. "Ich würde mir oft wünschen, dass hier eine größere Bereitschaft vorhanden wäre, einfach mal etwas Neues auszuprobieren. Weil das Neue im Regelfall besser ist als das Alte."Wer das ganze Gespräch hören will - inklusive Schwarzgeld-Beichten, Digitalisierungshistorie und warum Excel für Strasser das Erste ist, was ihm bei "Digitalisierung" einfällt - kann es jetzt überall streamen.Sie haben Fragen für Frauke Holzmeier und Andreas Laukat? Dann schreiben Sie eine E-Mail an sotechtdeutschland@ntv.de +++ Hinweis zur Werbeplatzierung von Meta: https://backend.ad-alliance.de/fileadmin/Transparency_Notice/Meta_DMAJ_TTPA_Transparency_Notice_-_A… +++Unsere allgemeinen Datenschutzrichtlinien finden Sie unter https://datenschutz.ad-alliance.de/podcast.html Wir verarbeiten im Zusammenhang mit dem Angebot unserer Podcasts Daten. Wenn Sie der automatischen Übermittlung der Daten widersprechen wollen, klicken Sie hier: https://datenschutz.ad-alliance.de/podcast.htmlAlle Rabattcodes und Infos zu unseren Werbepartnern finden Sie hier: https://linktr.ee/sotechtdeutschlandUnsere allgemeinen Datenschutzrichtlinien finden Sie unter https://art19.com/privacy. Die Datenschutzrichtlinien für Kalifornien sind unter https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info abrufbar.

Eu sou Ludimeri Picelli, coordenadora da Casa Espírita Luiz Picelli, em Maringá-Paraná-Brasil e estou fazendo a leitura do livro FILOSOFIA ESPÍRITA, VOLUME 3,  ditado pelo espírito Miramez, ao médium João Nunes Maia, cujo livro traz reflexões elaboradas sobre a obra O livro dos Espíritos, de Allan Kardec.Este livro é de estudos e reflexões e por isto iremos lendo pergunta a pergunta de O Livro dos Espíritos, da Doutrina Espírita, codificada por Allan Kardec, para que possamos assimilar bem o seu conteúdo e estabelecermos a tal reforma de pensamento e comportamento, que Jesus espera de nós.Este é o segundo de uma série de vinte livros, em que Miramez comenta as perguntas de O Livro dos Espíritos, objetivando orientar-nos no estudo dessa obra ímpar, sem qualquer pretensão, a não ser fornecer subsídios para melhor entendê-la e trilhar com segurança o caminho da Luz.O que Miramez pretende não é decodificar O Livro dos Espíritos para nós leitores, mas apresentar-nos alguns pontos para nossa meditação, a respeito de cada pergunta, para que possamos entrar em sintonia com a bondade e a paz que são emitidas pelo Amor Maior.Nossos podcasts são leituras de livros e mensagens da doutrina espírita, que foram ditados pelos nobres espíritos de eskol e codificadas por Allan Kardec, bem como outras obras psicografadas por médiuns de renome, trazendo-nos uma doutrina reveladora e libertadora, para, assim, entender o Cristianismo Redivivo.- para nos ajudar, doe-nos um café, faça um pix caridadeamoreluz@gmail.com, ou pelo cnpj pix 37.965.614/0001-18, pois suas doações nos manterão no ar, e ajudarão nossas ações sociais, cursos, podcasts, com bastante elevação aos sentimentos daqueles que se aproximam de nós.- visite nosso site celp.org.br  - visite nossas redes sociais facebook e instagram, com o nome celppicelli e youtube celp-picelli- venha estudar em nossa escola: MAGNA - Centro de Excelência em Magnetismo e Apometria- venha somar conosco? Venha ser um caminheiro CELP-PICELLI

No novo episódio do Juridcast, nosso host Leandro Ramos recebe Rafael Guimarães, sócio do Medina Guimarães Advogados e professor universitário, para discutir o que realmente está por trás da tão mencionada “excelência técnica” no Direito.Afinal, o que diferencia escritórios que apenas falam sobre excelência daqueles que constroem uma reputação intelectual sólida, capaz de atrair talentos, inspirar o mercado e gerar valor real?Rafael compartilha sua visão sobre o papel do conhecimento como vantagem competitiva, o equilíbrio entre profundidade jurídica e pragmatismo comercial, e como transformar autoridade acadêmica em posicionamento institucional.Onde encontrar o host e convidado:https://www.linkedin.com/in/leandrohramos/https://www.linkedin.com/in/rafael-guimar%C3%A3es-ba430839/

Earmark Media Presents a bonus episode of Earmark Podcast: Recorded live in Seattle at the first stop of the Advisory Amplified tour, Blake sits down with Madeline Reeves (Fearless Foundry) and Lynette O'Connell (Burnout Bestie) to discuss the hard truths about burnout in accounting. Madeline shares how losing half her agency's revenue in 30 days forced her to stop trying to be likable and start building the business she actually wanted, while Lynette explains why nobody was coming to save her after scheduling overnight work shifts to keep up. They break down the three categories of burnout symptoms most accountants miss, why this profession attracts people whose love language is acts of service, and how to stop being the glue holding everything together.Connect with the Guests:Madeline ReevesLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/madelinefearless/Learn more about Fearless FoundryOfficial website: http://www.fearlessfoundry.comLynette Oss ConnellLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lynnette-oss-connell-cpa/Learn more about Burnout BestieOfficial website: https://www.burnoutbestie.com/Need CPE?Get CPE for this episode: https://earmark.app/c/2858Get CPE for listening to podcasts with Earmark: https://earmarkcpe.comSubscribe to the Earmark Podcast: https://podcast.earmarkcpe.comGet in TouchThanks for listening and the great reviews! We appreciate you! Follow and tweet @BlakeTOliver and @DavidLeary. Find us on Facebook and Instagram. If you like what you hear, please do us a favor and write a review on Apple Podcasts or Podchaser. Call us and leave a voicemail; maybe we'll play it on the show. DIAL (202) 695-1040.SponsorshipsAre you interested in sponsoring The Accounting Podcast? For details, read the prospectus.Need Accounting Conference Info? Check out our new website - accountingconferences.comLimited edition shirts, stickers, and other necessitiesTeePublic Store: http://cloudacctpod.link/merchSubscribeApple Podcasts: http://cloudacctpod.link/ApplePodcastsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheAccountingPodcastSpotify: http://cloudacctpod.link/SpotifyPodchaser: http://cloudacctpod.link/podchaserStitcher: http://cloudacctpod.link/StitcherOvercast: http://cloudacctpod.link/OvercastClassifiedsWant to get the word out about your newsletter, webinar, party, Facebook group, podcast, e-book, job posting, or that fancy Excel macro you just created? Let the listeners of The Accounting Podcast know by running a classified ad. Go here to create your classified ad: https://cloudacctpod.link/RunClassifiedAdTranscriptsThe full transcript for this episode is available by clicking on the Transcript tab at the top of this page

What if you could turn something as simple as Excel into an eight-figure business?In this episode, we're joined by Kat Norton, aka Miss Excel, the viral sensation who transformed spreadsheet tutorials into a global digital empire. From posting her first TikTok in her childhood bedroom to being featured in Forbes, Business Insider, and partnering with Microsoft, Kat's journey is the ultimate masterclass in creativity, mindset, and momentum.Kat opens up about how she went from $80K in student debt to running a multimillion-dollar brand, all by combining authenticity, fun, and inner work.Whether you're an Etsy seller, digital creator, or aspiring entrepreneur, Kat's story will remind you that the biggest business breakthroughs happen when you stop playing small and start owning your unique magic.

Flávio Augusto revela por que o sistema educacional brasileiro o enganou aos 13 anos, a fila de aposentadoria que mudou sua vida para sempre, como construiu um império de $500 milhões vendendo educação, e por que "estabilidade não existe" é a verdade que ninguém quer ouvir.Flávio Augusto saiu da periferia do Rio de Janeiro e fundou a Wise Up, a maior rede de escolas de inglês do Brasil, chegando a 400 unidades e 7.000 funcionários. Vendeu o negócio por US$ 500 milhões e hoje vive nos Estados Unidos, onde compartilha suas lições de empreendedorismo e liberdade com milhões de seguidores nas redes sociais.Ele explica:◼️ O dia aos 13 anos que descobriu estar sendo enganado pelo sistema educacional◼️ Por que olhou para a fila da aposentadoria e jurou nunca entrar ali◼️ Como o sistema se fantasia de amigo mas te escraviza (educação, CLT, previdência)◼️ A verdade sobre o FGTS que ninguém te conta◼️ Por que construiu tudo no Excel antes de executar e chegou aos $500 milhões◼️ O dilema que você vai enfrentar: liberdade ou segurança - não dá para ter as duasSiga Jota Jota Podcast:◼️ Se inscreva no canal - https://youtube.com/@joeljota◼️ Siga no Instagram - https://instagram.com/jotajotapodcast◼️ Siga no TikTok - https://tiktok.com/@jotajotapodcastPatrocinadores:Cheirin Bão - https://bit.ly/cheirinbao-jj#FlavioAugusto #Empreendedorismo #Sistema #Liberdade

In this episode of HR Famous, Tim Sackett sits down with Tom McCarty, CEO of OrgChart, to talk about something every HR and talent leader is wrestling with right now: how to design the org of the future in an AI-powered world—without losing your mind in spreadsheets. Tim and Tom kick things off by unpacking what OrgChart really is (spoiler: it's way more than boxes and lines). Tom explains how modern org charting gives HR three critical advantages: visibility into what your org actually looks like today, insights that layer in performance, skills, pay and potential, and vision to model what your organization should look like in 1–5 years. Whether you're at 100 employees growing 20% a year or a global enterprise, Tom shares why staying in Excel is quietly killing your workforce planning. They dive into the uncomfortable truth that technology and data remain two of HR's weakest muscles, and why that's not entirely HR's fault. Tom argues that HR tech vendors haven't always made it easy or intuitive—then walks through what “better” looks like when org design, data and decision-making actually work together. You'll hear them tackle big questions that every HR leader is feeling in Q4 2025: How will AI agents fit into your org chart and headcount strategy? Why you can't plan the future state of your organization if you don't clearly understand the current state. Why CEOs are freaking out about succession and what real org visibility can do about it. How the best leaders in an AI world won't be the ones with all the answers—but the ones who ask the best questions. Tom also shares a simple, no-software-required starting point: how HR can begin making better org and talent decisions just by aligning on the five or six things that should always be considered in pay planning, growth planning, or restructuring conversations. If you're an HR leader, TA leader, or C-suite exec planning for 2026 and beyond—and you're tired of pretending your “org design” is a tab in Excel—this conversation will give you a clearer vision of what's possible and what to do next.

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On this episode of CFI Member Spotlight on FinPod, we are thrilled to host Alexandra McLaren, a Manager at EY Parthenon specializing in M&A transaction diligence and business valuations. Alex's background is truly unique, combining a rare dual qualification as a Chartered Accountant (CA) and a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from the University of Stellenbosch, alongside her CFI FMVA® and FPWM™ certifications.Alex shares her journey from academic trainee and outsourced CFO to advising on complex transactions at a top global firm.This episode covers:The Dual Degree Advantage: Alex explains why combining Accounting and Law (LLB) gives her a unique perspective on finance, training her to question assumptions and build sound arguments—skills vital for due diligence.Life as an Outsourced CFO: Insights into the rewards and challenges of working with early-stage startups, helping entrepreneurs build financial rigor and accounting processes from the ground up.From Startup to Strategy: How her hands-on experience with fast-moving small clients prepared her for the high-stakes, highly structured world of EY Parthenon and made her comfortable joining client meetings with high-level executives.The Dream Job: Alex details her unexpected move into Transaction Diligence and Valuation, describing the day-to-day life of analyzing income statements, balance sheets, and building the assumptions that inform final valuations.The Value of Continuous Learning: Why Alex pursues additional education like the FMVA® and FPWM™, finding they are essential not just for technical knowledge, but for presenting analysis in a clear, understandable, and efficient way (Excel shortcuts included!).Alex's story is a compelling example of how a varied educational background and a commitment to professional development can pave the way to a dream career in high finance.

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I've been getting a lot of messages lately from people asking the same thing: “How do I get a job or a better job?"So far in the podcast, I've tended to focus on campaigns people are running, but I also want to do some episodes featuring interviews with agencies and recruiters around the world to find out what they're looking for.My first guest is Brooke Kruger, Partner at KC Partners in San Francisco (USA). In this quick episode, we cover a lot of stuff about what is really happening in hiring right now and why so many good people are still struggling to get noticed.Here are three insights that stood out to me, but there are a lot more in the episode:

Margaux Pluska est cheffe de projet communication depuis 10 ans au Centre Hospitalier d'Annecy et ancienne apprenante de la formation Design Thinking en Santé.Dans cet épisode, elle nous raconte comment elle a résolu un problème qui touche de nombreuses équipes : comment valoriser le travail accompli quand les projets disparaissent une fois terminés ?En effet, jusqu'à présent, son service de communication ne gardait aucune trace des projets finalisés, il était donc impossible d'apprendre de ses réussites ou de ses erreurs, et encore moins de valoriser le travail effectué auprès de la direction.En suivant la formation DTS, elle a été marquée par la simplicité de la méthode. Plutôt que de chercher une solution complexe, Margaux est allée interroger directement ses collègues pour comprendre leurs besoins réels. Résultat : un fichier Excel partagé, simple, que toute l'équipe s'est approprié.Mais l'impact va bien au-delà de cet outil. Cette démarche a renforcé la dynamique d'équipe, créé plus de confiance et de sérénité, et surtout, ouvert les yeux de Margaux sur une évidence : on ne trouve pas les meilleures solutions tout seul.Aujourd'hui elle est convaincue que pour mener des projets transformateurs, il faut mettre plusieurs profils autour de la table, ne pas hésiter à embarquer des métiers auxquels on n'aurait pas pensé, et surtout ne pas se mettre de barrières.Vous aussi, vous souhaitez construire vos projets avec plus de confiance et d'impact ?Rejoignez la prochaine promotion de la formation Design Thinking en Santé en janvier 2026Informations et inscriptions : https://lowpital.care/formations/design-thinking-santeCrédits de l'épisodeInterview : Aude NyadanuMusique : Aude Nyadanu & Pierre RoquinMontage : Charline Yao

"Universities Are 15 Years Behind, We Don't Need More Degrees"In today's episode of Bricks and Bytes, we had Gary Cowan, the head of digital construction at Kane Group and we got to learn about how MEP contractors are becoming technology companies, why the traditional education system is failing construction workers, and the real challenges behind construction automation that nobody talks about.Tune in to find out about:✅ Why breaking down buildings into modular components and prefabricating in factories is changing project delivery across the UK and Ireland✅ The massive shift from siloed Excel files to cloud-based real-time data systems and what it takes to make that transformation work✅ Why universities teaching 15-year-old methods are creating a skills gap and why we need more tradespeople who understand technology✅ The hidden problems with construction robots that sound great in theory but struggle with real-world challenges like consistent finishes and quality controlWatch now to hear Gary break down how traditional contractors are evolving into digital-first service providers.Our Sponsor: Archdesk - “The #1 Construction Management Software for Growing Companies - Manage your projects from Tender to Handover” check archdesk.comBuildVision - streamlining the construction supply chain with a unified platform - www.buildvision.ioAphex is the multiplayer planning platform where construction teams plan together, stay aligned, and deliver projects faster – check out aphex.coChapters 00:00 Intro & Sponsors04:26 Introduction to Digital Construction 07:21 Understanding the Role of Head of Digital Construction 10:12 Challenges in Existing Structures and Digital Verification 13:19 The Importance of Collaboration in Construction 16:13 The Evolution of Technology in Construction 19:25 Prefabrication and Its Integration in Design 22:20 The Digital Tool Tech Stack 25:05 Virtual Reality in Construction 28:19 Augmented Reality and Reality Capture Solutions 33:55 The Rise of XR Technology 34:11 AI: Hype vs. Reality 35:54 Navigating AI Adoption 38:15 The Challenge of Authenticity in Tech 39:44 The Importance of Expertise 43:08 Evaluating Tech Solutions 45:17 Frustrations with Vendor Solutions 47:19 Rolling Out New Technologies 50:07 Aligning Data Across the Business 52:26 Pain Points in Real-Time Data 56:12 Robotics in MEP 1:00:07 Expanding Digital Construction Services 1:02:05 The Future of Digital Construction

We are joined by "Mr. Excel" himself, Bill Jelen.  There are very few on the planet who know more about Microsoft Excel then Bill Jelen.  Bill started the "Mr. Excel" website in 1998 and since then, has authored over 70 books and runs seminars all over the world on the use of Excel.  He also has several other "special talents", including winning the Grand Prize in a local "Stupid Human Tricks" competition by stopping an electric fan with his tongue!   We talk to Bill about: - How did he get started in becoming an "Excel Expert"?   - What are some of the best tips for beginners and advanced users on Excel?  What is Bill's favorite function in Excel? - What are the MS Excel World Championships and is it true that Bill was once a commentator? Bill is a fascinating guy and I hope everyone enjoys the conversation!  

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Sean Morgan's path from disillusioned churchgoer to ministry leader unfolds as a powerful testimony of God's patient pursuit. Growing up in a Christian environment but becoming lukewarm in his faith, Sean details three pivotal incidents that pushed him away from organized religion—a church staff member abandoned during divorce, an elder involved in a murder, and a youth leader refusing to support a troubled young person. For years, he maintained belief in God while rejecting His church.The turning point came during an unforgettable spiritual encounter at 3 a.m. on a Pacifica beach, where Sean finally surrendered to God's call. What he imagined would be a brief year or two helping his local church blossomed into nearly a decade of full-time ministry before God redirected his path to serving multiple churches.Now leading the Ascent Leader, Sean creates transformative cohort experiences where pastors find authentic community away from boardroom politics. His longest-running group has met faithfully for over nine years, demonstrating the power of peer ministry relationships. "The living room environment is always more relational and connectional and honest and pure," Sean explains, contrasting it with the pretentiousness that often characterizes organizational leadership spaces.Send us a textWe want to help you find your next steps in ministry.Connect here with EXCEL. Ministry Partner: Christian Community Credit Union

 In this episode of the Practical 365 Podcast, Steve Goodman and Paul Robichaux discuss major Exchange updates – including the fallout from a recent AWS outage, Microsoft's new tools to finally remove your last on-premises Exchange server, the final patches for Exchange 2016/2019, and a new auto-archiving feature for Exchange Online. They also dive into the latest Microsoft 365 Copilot news: Copilot's upcoming memory & personalization upgrade, an experimental =COPILOT function in Excel, an AI-powered “Retry with AI” feature in Power Automate, and the concept of “Agentic Users” – AI agents that might soon work alongside humans in Teams. Want to stay up to date on all things Practical 365? Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin to stay up to date on all things Microsoft!

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Dá pra transformar uma página de memes num negócio de verdade? E pagar boleto com piada e seguir sendo autêntico enquanto fala com marcas, rola? Neste episódio, eu conversei com Yuri Zero, CEO da Melted Videos — uma das principais páginas de memes do Brasil — sobre o que acontece quando humor (muitas vezes autodepreciativo) vira empresa.A gente falou sobre a profissionalização da creator economy, o momento em que se percebe que precisa de alguém pra cuidar do Excel enquanto você cuida das ideias, e o desafio de continuar sendo “a Melted” mesmo com briefing, cliente e KPI na jogada.Tem também papo sobre comunidade, cultura de internet, e essa eterna dança entre criatividade e negócio — quando dizer “não” vira a coisa mais importante pra não perder o que te trouxe até aqui. E, claro, como sempre, sobre o impacto da IA no nosso trabalho.Um episódio pra quem vive de conteúdo, quer viver disso ou só quer entender o que acontece quando o meme encontra o CNPJ.Essa semana tem nova rodada do Clube de Cultura do Boa Noite Internet começando! Entre para o clube e ajude o Boa Noite Internet a continuar contando histórias. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit boanoiteinternet.com.br/subscribe

Summary In this conversation, Amas, Luke and Bob explore the evolving complexity of contact centers, challenging the notion that they are becoming simpler. They emphasizes that while the intention may be to simplify processes, the reality is that sophistication often leads to increased complexity. They also highlights the reliance on outdated metrics, such as those managed in Excel, which can contribute to agent burnout and friction with customers. They advocate for a shift towards more effective lead metrics to enhance the overall efficiency and satisfaction in contact centers. Takeaways Contact centers are perceived as becoming simpler, but they are actually becoming more complex. Sophistication in processes can lead to increased complexity. There is a challenge in addressing the complexity of contact centers. Many organizations are still reliant on outdated tools like Excel. Using lead metrics can help prevent agent burnout. Improving metrics can reduce friction with customers. The conversation highlights the need for modernization in contact center operations. Understanding complexity is crucial for effective management. Agent burnout is a significant issue in the industry. A shift in metrics is necessary for better outcomes. Sound Bites "Sophistication also brings complexity." "We are still for the most part stuck in Excel." "Lead metrics could stop agent burnout." Live from Orlando at ICMI Expo 

欢迎收听雪球出品的财经有深度，雪球，国内领先的集投资交流交易一体的综合财富管理平台，聪明的投资者都在这里。今天分享的内容叫从单药博弈到系统制胜：创新药投资的“能力锚”与“全球局”，来自超级泥头车。创新药投资的本质是“高风险、高回报”的概率游戏，核心围绕“潜在重磅药”的价值兑现周期展开——这是我一直以来的核心观点。但近期对药企发展史的关注，让我跳出了“单药临床到获批再到商业化”的阶段性价值框架，看到了另一重更底层的逻辑，对终局型大药企与跨国药企而言，单药的成败只是“概率事件”，而企业构建的“系统能力”才是穿越周期、放大胜率的核心。同时，他认为市场上存在一种普遍误区：非医药背景的投资者会将医药公司的在研药物管线，管线就是研发中的药物项目组合，拆解成详细数据，用 Excel 表格进行极致精细化的财务测算，把峰值销售额算到小数点后两位，却忽略了“管线不等于未来现金流”的行业常识，管线再好能不能卖得好是未知。脱离能力谈管线，就是耍流氓。我一直认为普通公司开到重磅药彩票就可以使自己在该药专利期内躺赢，因为核心观点是重磅药的稀缺性以及国内的低成本使得其会商务拓展出去，就不需要自己进行运营，但这核心不是否认运营能力，而是肯定跨国药企的运营能力。不过这也使得我的旧思路局限在中小型创新药企，对于大型创新药企以及跨国药企难以解读，最近信达的商务拓展，我虽然在药物方面很早就预测了其成功性，但信达商务拓展中借外力实现商业化落地'的条款设计，其灵活性超出我的预期”这属于大创新药药企的精彩是我过度看重重磅药大单品，将平台和管理只认为是提高概率的因素的思维所看不到的，非常可惜。那作为非医药背景的投资者该如何投资国内创新药呢，首先要反“管线崇拜”，管线的价值，最终由企业能力定义。第一，管线估值的“虚假精确性”毫无意义，一款药物从临床到获批的成功率仅约10%，即使获批，全球多数药物也无法回收研发成本。IPO招股书里的“千亿市场”预测，往往忽略了临床失败、竞品冲击、医保压价等多重风险。对大药企而言，单药的“精确销售额测算”远不如“管线协同性和落地能力”重要。第二，企业及平台能力是管线的“风险对冲工具”，价值不只是提高重磅药物的挖掘概率：中小药企的管线失败可能是灭顶之灾，但大药企的系统能力能分摊风险。如恒瑞的“低成本研发”本质是中国产业红利的极致转化，病人资源集中降低临床招募成本，工程师红利压缩研发人力成本，全产业链支撑让外包成本显著低于海外。再叠加“强销售网络”对国内医院渠道的深度渗透，使其管线从“临床数据”到“现金流入”的转化效率远高于同行。第三，我们要知道管线的核心是“可持续性”，而非“数量”：海外跨国公司这一“资本及商业化平台公司”的成长史印证了这一点。辉瑞、罗氏等巨头虽靠重磅药撑起营收，但持续的商务拓展引进与并购整合，让管线始终保持“新旧交替”，避免了“专利悬崖”的毁灭性冲击。其次，我们要明白中国药企的特色能力：“低成本和强销售”。我们讨论中提到的“低成本研发+强销售”模式，是中国创新药产业阶段的特有产物，但其逻辑算不上是“制度套利”，而是“产业红利与企业能力的共振”，且这种模式有明确的适用边界。一方面，能力的底层支撑是中国产业天赋：低成本不是“偷工减料”，而是建立在“病人资源集中、工程师红利、产业成熟”三大基础上。国内临床入组速度是欧美的2-3倍，研发人员成本仅为海外的1/3，原料药产能占全球 28%，这些产业红利是海外难以复制的。另一方面，我们模式的边界海外市场完全不适用：海外跨国药企的核心优势是“突破性创新+全球销售平台”，欧美市场更看重药物的临床价值，而非“价格低、渠道强”。中国药企出海的核心，“中国研发到全球多中心再到海外商业化”闭环，本质是“用中国低成本研发做出全球认可的临床数据，再借助海外跨国药企的销售能力兑现价值”，这才是中国能力的“全球适配路径”。“低成本+强销售”是中国大药企的 “生存根基”，但不是“终极形态”。随着工程师红利消退、竞争加剧，单纯的成本优势会逐渐收窄；同时国内的支付能力与强监管是不可忽视的制约因素，真正广阔的市场在海外，这一点贯穿我的研究。未来的核心竞争力，必然是“成本优势+创新能力+整合能力”的叠加。对比中外跨国药企，我们能更清晰地看到“单药博弈”与“系统制胜”的边界。海外的核心逻辑是“资本+销售平台+创新生态”，而中国大药企的逻辑是“产业红利+本土化能力+全球化突破”，两者虽路径不同，但本质都是“用系统能力替代单药依赖”。这种差异决定了投资逻辑的不同：对海外跨国药企，我们关注“重磅药的临床进展+ 并购动作”，核心是“创新产出与生态稳定性”；对中国大药企，我们既要关注“管线的临床价值”，更要跟踪“低成本优势的可持续性+海外突破的可能性”， 这正是从“单药战术”到“企业战略”的视角升级。而且我们要知道，中小药企与大药企的不同逻辑，创新药投资的完整框架应是“阶段适配+能力聚焦”，既肯定单药博弈的价值，也不迷信管线崇拜，而是根据企业规模与发展阶段，锚定核心价值驱动因素。中小创新药企应该坚守“单药价值拐点”：核心仍围绕“潜在重磅药”的临床推进与商业化验证，催化剂明确，风险与回报匹配度高。此时无需过度纠结 “企业能力”，只需判断管线的临床价值与成功概率。而大药企应该聚焦“能力拐点”：核心跟踪三大能力信号，一是研发效率，二是商业化能力；三是整合能力。这些“能力拐点”比单一管线的进展更能决定长期价值。无论是中小药企还是大药企，以下三大点能显著提升投资弹性，支付端改善、出海价值兑现、并购整合。这些是可通过数据跟踪验证的增量，如国内百亿级并购基金的落地、中国药企海外授权案例的增加，都是明确的信号。但是我们也要规避两类陷阱：一是“纯管线讲故事”的大药企；二是“能力边界模糊”的出海标的。对这类标的，再诱人的管线估值也需谨慎。作为投资者，既要懂得在中小药企的“单药博弈”中捕捉阶段性机会，也要学会在大药企的“系统能力”中寻找长期价值，这既是对创新药产业发展规律的尊重，也是“阶段性价值投资”逻辑的延伸与完善。

Every product a company ships depends on thousands of tiny decisions happening deep inside the supply chain. But most organizations are still making those decisions using stale spreadsheets, fragmented systems, and guesswork. In this episode, we explore how AI-driven procurement intelligence is changing the game – moving teams from reactive firefighting to proactive supply chain planning. Our guest today is Shardul Shah, cofounder of Veritos.AI. He breaks down the hidden risks inside modern supply networks, why so many companies still lack real-time component and supplier visibility, and how better data can prevent shortages, backorders, and costly redesigns before they happen. We discuss:Why most organizations still rely on Excel for procurement decisionsThe real reason supply chain disruptions keep catching teams off guardHow AI and real-time data can alert teams to risks ahead of timeThe growing need for operational visibility across engineering, finance, and sourcingHow procurement becomes a strategic advantage, not just a cost center If you're responsible for building products, managing vendors, scaling hardware, or supporting manufacturing operations, this conversation will change how you think about supply chain intelligence and the future of procurement. Watch Next: https://youtu.be/OI0zRk7Mau4?si=7k0htLXyYJIWolpY Key Moments:0:00 Who Shardul Is & Why This Matters2:10 The Problem That Sparked Veritos.AI6:06 Why Procurement Visibility Is Broken15:55 How Veritos.AI Works (High-Level Overview)19:40 Why Supply Chain Is So Hard to Manage22:30 Identifying Alternative Parts & Replacements26:43 Real Example: The Power of Component Visibility29:00 The Role of AI in Modern Procurement35:15 The Current State of Procurement (And Its Challenges)38:50 The Biggest Skill Gap in Procurement: Understanding Cost46:00 The Disconnect Between Engineering & Procurement50:40 The Future: AI-Powered Procurement Command Centers -- This episode of IT Visionaries is brought to you by Meter - the company building better networks. Businesses today are frustrated with outdated providers, rigid pricing, and fragmented tools. Meter changes that with a single integrated solution that covers everything wired, wireless, and even cellular networking. They design the hardware, write the firmware, build the software, and manage it all so your team doesn't have to.That means you get fast, secure, and scalable connectivity without the complexity of juggling multiple providers. Thanks to meter for sponsoring. Go to meter.com/itv to book a demo.---IT Visionaries is made by the team at Mission.org. Learn more about our media studio and network of podcasts at mission.org. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week, we discuss Claude's new Excel skills, whether AI is augmenting or automating humans, and the latest developer surveys. Plus, AI making the command line cool again! Watch the YouTube Live Recording of Episode (https://www.youtube.com/live/yj3NU6PEmnw?si=b1NI1QjI0PVNwkyy) 544 (https://www.youtube.com/live/yj3NU6PEmnw?si=b1NI1QjI0PVNwkyy) Runner-up Titles Cote' shock jock mode Art with squids Command-Line Life Style AI isn't for experts. The triumph of the command line The command line lifestyle is now available I don't even know what sed is The Human Line Rundown Anthropic's Claude is learning Excel so you don't have to (https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/28/anthropic_claude_excel/) Amazon targets as many as 30,000 corporate job cuts: Reuters, citing sources (https://www.cnbc.com/2025/10/27/amazon-targets-as-many-as-30000-corporate-job-cuts.html) The State of Developer Ecosystem in 2025 (https://devecosystem-2025.jetbrains.com/) “The Pragmatic Engineer 2025 Survey: What's in your tech stack? Part 3.” (https://newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/the-pragmatic-engineer-2025-survey-part-3) Relevant to your Interests ChatGPT's Atlas: The Browser That's Anti-Web - Anil Dash (https://www.anildash.com/2025/10/22/atlas-anti-web-browser/) OpenAI acquires Software Applications Incorporated, maker of Sky (https://www.cnbc.com/2025/10/27/amazon-targets-as-many-as-30000-corporate-job-cuts.html) PayPal shares surge 13% after OpenAI deal to become the first payments wallet in ChatGPT (https://www.cnbc.com/2025/10/28/paypal-openai-chatgpt-payments-deal.html) Internet Pioneer AOL to Be Acquired by Italian Tech Company Bending Spoons (https://www.wsj.com/business/media/internet-pioneer-aol-to-be-acquired-by-tech-company-bending-spoons-8b0200ba?mod=mhp) What is Configuration as Data? (https://itnext.io/what-is-configuration-as-data-210b0c4be324) RDEL #115: What are the 2025 benchmarks for the DORA 4 metrics? (https://rdel.substack.com/p/rdel-115-what-are-the-2025-benchmarks) a16z Is Funding a 'Speedrun' to AI-Generated Hell on Earth (https://www.404media.co/a16z-is-funding-a-speedrun-to-ai-generated-hell-on-earth/) An ex-Intel CEO's mission to build a Christian AI: ‘hasten the coming of Christ's return' (https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/oct/28/patrick-gelsinger-christian-ai-gloo-silicon-valley) Removing Jeff Bezos From My Bed ◆ Truffle Security Co. (https://trufflesecurity.com/blog/removing-jeff-bezos-from-my-bed) Grammarly rebrands to 'Superhuman,' launches a new AI assistant (https://techcrunch.com/2025/10/29/grammarly-rebrands-to-superhuman-launches-a-new-ai-assistant/) Why the “Free” Chef Version Could Be Your Most Expensive Mistake (https://www.chef.io/blog/chef-open-source-software-advice) The Wayback Machine's snapshots of news homepages plummet after a “breakdown” in archiving projects (https://www.niemanlab.org/2025/10/the-wayback-machines-snapshots-of-news-homepages-plummet-after-a-breakdown-in-archiving-projects/) Nonsense How Hacked Card Shufflers Allegedly Enabled a Mob-Fueled Poker Scam That Rocked the NBA (https://www.wired.com/story/how-hacked-card-shufflers-allegedly-enabled-a-mob-fueled-poker-scam-that-rocked-the-nba/) Conferences Wiz Wizdom Conferences (https://www.wiz.io/wizdom), NYC November 3-5, London November 17-19 SREDay Amsterdam (https://sreday.com/2025-amsterdam-q4/), November 7th, Coté speaking DevOpsDayLA at SCALE23x (https://www.socallinuxexpo.org/scale/23x), March 6th, Pasadena, CA Uxse code: DEVOP for 50% off. 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SDT News & Community Join our Slack community (https://softwaredefinedtalk.slack.com/join/shared_invite/zt-1hn55iv5d-UTfN7mVX1D9D5ExRt3ZJYQ#/shared-invite/email) Email the show: questions@softwaredefinedtalk.com (mailto:questions@softwaredefinedtalk.com) Free stickers: Email your address to stickers@softwaredefinedtalk.com (mailto:stickers@softwaredefinedtalk.com) Follow us on social media: Twitter (https://twitter.com/softwaredeftalk), Threads (https://www.threads.net/@softwaredefinedtalk), Mastodon (https://hachyderm.io/@softwaredefinedtalk), LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/software-defined-talk/), BlueSky (https://bsky.app/profile/softwaredefinedtalk.com) Watch us on: Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/sdtpodcast), YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi3OJPV6h9tp-hbsGBLGsDQ/featured), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/softwaredefinedtalk/), TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@softwaredefinedtalk) Book offer: Use code SDT for $20 off "Digital WTF" by Coté (https://leanpub.com/digitalwtf/c/sdt) Sponsor the show (https://www.softwaredefinedtalk.com/ads): ads@softwaredefinedtalk.com (mailto:ads@softwaredefinedtalk.com) Recommendations Brandon: Who Is Michael Lombardi? 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Blake and David cover BDO's legal threat against Going Concern over independence questions, Crowe hiring an investment bank to explore private equity options, and Trump pardoning Binance founder after the crypto venture made his family richer than their entire property portfolio. Plus, tariffs create a paperwork nightmare for small businesses, accounting ranked 90th out of 100 best jobs, a film production accountant who embezzled $2 million for Vegas stays and sugar daddy payments, and the Supreme Court hearing arguments on whether Trump's tariffs amount to an illegal $3 trillion tax.SponsorsCloud Accountant Staffing - http://accountingpodcast.promo/cas Rippling - http://accountingpodcast.promo/ripplingChapters(00:00) - Welcome to the Accounting Podcast Live from Intuit Connect (01:16) - Top Story: BDO vs. Going Concern (05:02) - The Fraud Triangle and Independence in Accounting (08:21) - BDO's Response to Allegations (18:02) - Accountants Rank 90th Best Job in the US (19:38) - Stablecoins and Treasury Management (20:28) - Trump Pardons Binance Founder (24:29) - Positive Hiring Outlook in Accounting (25:41) - Impact of Trump's Tariffs (28:44) - Challenges for Small Businesses Due to Tariffs (32:46) - Workplace Friendships and Pay Cuts (34:35) - App News: Keeper Rebrands to Double (37:53) - AI Adoption in Accounting (45:25) - Fraud in Film Production Accounting (48:15) - Private Equity in Accounting Firms (50:49) - Conclusion and Upcoming Events  Show NotesA Message from CEO Wayne Berson to BDO USA Professionals https://www.bdo.com/insights/press-releases/a-message-from-ceo-wayne-berson-to-bdo-usa-professionalsAuditor BDO Cuts Jobs With Focus on Managing Apollo Debt https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-10-11/auditor-bdo-cuts-jobs-with-focus-on-managing-apollo-debtAccountants Hold the 90th Best Job in U.S. News & World Report's 2025 Rankinghttps://www.cpapracticeadvisor.com/2025/10/27/accountants-hold-the-90th-best-job-in-u-s-news-world-reports-2025-ranking/171733/Accountant - Career Rankings, Salary, Reviews and Advice https://money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/accountantTrump pardons Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, aka "CZ" https://www.cnbc.com/2025/10/23/trump-pardons-binance-founder-cz-zhao.htmlThe Accounting Firm Weighing Private-Equity Ownership After Years of Ignoring Calls https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-accounting-firm-weighing-private-equity-ownership-after-years-of-ignoring-calls-8b7377fcCrowe Ponders PE Investment Amid Middle Market Firm Shake-Up https://news.bloombergtax.com/financial-accounting/crowe-ponders-pe-investment-amid-middle-market-firm-shake-upThe Disproportionate Effects of Declining Interest Within Different Accounting Fields: An Uneven Pipeline (CPA Journal)https://www.cpajournal.com/2025/10/22/the-disproportionate-effects-of-declining-interest-within-different-accounting-fieldsMovie Accountant Charged with Embezzling Nearly $2M From Indie Films https://www.cpapracticeadvisor.com/2025/08/12/movie-accountant-charged-with-embezzling-nearly-2m-from-indie-films/167240/Need CPE?Get CPE for listening to podcasts with Earmark: https://earmarkcpe.comSubscribe to the Earmark Podcast: https://podcast.earmarkcpe.comGet in TouchThanks for listening and the great reviews! We appreciate you! Follow and tweet @BlakeTOliver and @DavidLeary. Find us on Facebook and Instagram. If you like what you hear, please do us a favor and write a review on Apple Podcasts or Podchaser. Call us and leave a voicemail; maybe we'll play it on the show. DIAL (202) 695-1040.SponsorshipsAre you interested in sponsoring The Accounting Podcast? For details, read the prospectus.Need Accounting Conference Info? Check out our new website - accountingconferences.comLimited edition shirts, stickers, and other necessitiesTeePublic Store: http://cloudacctpod.link/merchSubscribeApple Podcasts: http://cloudacctpod.link/ApplePodcastsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheAccountingPodcastSpotify: http://cloudacctpod.link/SpotifyPodchaser: http://cloudacctpod.link/podchaserStitcher: http://cloudacctpod.link/StitcherOvercast: http://cloudacctpod.link/OvercastClassifiedsCollective by DBA - https://collective.cpa/ Want to get the word out about your newsletter, webinar, party, Facebook group, podcast, e-book, job posting, or that fancy Excel macro you just created? Let the listeners of The Accounting Podcast know by running a classified ad. Go here to create your classified ad: https://cloudacctpod.link/RunClassifiedAdTranscriptsThe full transcript for this episode is available by clicking on the Transcript tab at the top of this page

Des goûts et des couleurs, on ne discute pas… Des prénoms non plus, en général. Au sein même d'un couple, les discussions pour choisir celui d'un bébé peuvent tourner en heures de pourparlers et même aller jusqu'à la création de fichiers Excel avec des classements. Mais comment est-ce possible ? Et donc, quels sont les prénoms les plus beaux ? Écoutez la suite de cet épisode de "Maintenant vous savez". Un podcast Bababam Originals, écrit et réalisé par Antonella Francini.  Première diffusion : octobre 2023 À écouter aussi : Notre prénom influence-t-il vraiment notre apparence physique ? Quels prénoms ont été refusés par l'état civil ces dernières années ? D'où viennent les noms de famille ? Retrouvez tous les épisodes de ⁠"Maintenant vous savez".⁠ Suivez Bababam sur ⁠Instagram⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Turn raw Excel data into actionable insights, visual dashboards, and KPIs in minutes. With Agent Mode, automate complex analysis, create pivot tables, and build interactive dashboards without manual setup. Streamline text analysis, formula generation, and complex calculations right inside Excel. Use the Copilot function to categorize feedback, score sentiment, or automate repetitive tasks, and leverage Formula AI to generate accurate formulas from plain language prompts. Jeremy Chapman, Microsoft 365 Director, shares how to work smarter and make faster, data-driven decisions in Microsoft Excel. ► QUICK LINKS:  00:00 - Excel and Microsoft 365 Copilot updates 01:24 - Agent Mode 03:55 - Copilot function 06:02 - Formula completion 07:13 - Formula AI 08:41 - Wrap up ► Unfamiliar with Microsoft Mechanics? As Microsoft's official video series for IT, you can watch and share valuable content and demos of current and upcoming tech from the people who build it at Microsoft. • Subscribe to our YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/MicrosoftMechanicsSeries • Talk with other IT Pros, join us on the Microsoft Tech Community: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-mechanics-blog/bg-p/MicrosoftMechanicsBlog • Watch or listen from anywhere, subscribe to our podcast: https://microsoftmechanics.libsyn.com/podcast ► Keep getting this insider knowledge, join us on social: • Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MSFTMechanics • Share knowledge on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/microsoft-mechanics/ • Enjoy us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/msftmechanics/ • Loosen up with us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@msftmechanics  

While most companies are still trying to measure the impact of their AI deployments, a growing number are already seeing returns. In today's AI Daily Brief, NLW looks at new data showing where GenAI is ROI-positive — from marketing and media generation to enterprise productivity gains. Plus, updates on Amazon's latest layoffs, Anthropic's new Claude for Excel agent, and Qualcomm's push into AI inference chips.Brought to you by:KPMG – Discover how AI is transforming possibility into reality. Tune into the new KPMG 'You Can with AI' podcast and unlock insights that will inform smarter decisions inside your enterprise. Listen now and start shaping your future with every episode. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.kpmg.us/AIpodcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠AssemblyAI - The best way to build Voice AI apps - ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.assemblyai.com/brief⁠⁠⁠⁠Blitzy.com - Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://blitzy.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to build enterprise software in days, not months Robots & Pencils - Cloud-native AI solutions that power results ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://robotsandpencils.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Agent Readiness Audit from Superintelligent - Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://besuper.ai/ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠to request your company's agent readiness score.The AI Daily Brief helps you understand the most important news and discussions in AI. Subscribe to the podcast version of The AI Daily Brief wherever you listen: https://pod.link/1680633614Interested in sponsoring the show? sponsors@aidailybrief.ai

Soham Mazumdar, CEO and Co-Founder of WisdomAI, discusses how organizations can break free from the "drowning in data but starving for insights" paradox that plagues modern enterprises. We explore his journey from Google's TeraGoogle project to co-founding and scaling Rubrik through its $5.6 billion IPO, and why he left that success to build an agentic AI approach to Business Intelligence (BI) that transforms how businesses extract value from their data investments.SHOW: 971SHOW TRANSCRIPT: The Cloudcast #963 TranscriptSHOW VIDEO: https://youtube.com/@TheCloudcastNET NEW TO CLOUD? CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCAST - "CLOUDCAST BASICS" SPONSORS:[Interconnected] Interconnected is a new series from Equinix diving into the infrastructure that keeps our digital world running. With expert guests and real-world insights, we explore the systems driving AI, automation, quantum, and more. Just search “Interconnected by Equinix”.[TestKube] TestKube is Kubernetes-native testing platform, orchestrating all your test tools, environments, and pipelines into scalable workflows empowering Continuous Testing. Check it out at TestKube.io/cloudcastSHOW NOTES:WisdomAI websiteTopic 1 - Welcome to the show, Soham. We overlapped briefly at Rubrik. Give everyone a quick introduction and tell everyone a bit about your time at Google prior to RubrikTopic 2 - You helped scale Rubrik from inception to a $5.6 billion IPO in 2024. What was the "aha moment" that made you leave that success to tackle the enterprise data analytics problem with WisdomAI?Topic 3 - Let's define the core problem. Organizations invest heavily in modern data platforms - Snowflake, Databricks, etc. - but there is the term "drowning in data but starving for insights." What's broken in the traditional BI stack that prevents business users from getting answers?Topic 4 - How do agentic AI and BI fit together? WisdomAI introduces the concept of "Knowledge Fabric" and agentic data insights. Break this down for us - how does this fundamentally differ from traditional dashboards and BI tools?Topic 5 - One of the biggest challenges with GenAI in enterprise settings is hallucination. You've emphasized that WisdomAI separates GenAI from answer generation. How does your approach tackle this critical trust issue?Topic 6 - Let's talk about data integration complexity. Your platform works with both structured and unstructured data - Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift, but also Excel, PDFs, PowerPoints. How do you handle this "dirty" data reality that most enterprises face?Topic 6a - With so much data, how do most organizations get started? What's a typical use case for adoption?Topic 7 - If anyone is interested, what's the best way to get started?FEEDBACK?Email: show at the cloudcast dot netBluesky: @cloudcastpod.bsky.socialTwitter/X: @cloudcastpodInstagram: @cloudcastpodTikTok: @cloudcastpod

What explains the outsized success of Iranian Americans—and can that same resolve help tilt the future of Iran? We bring together two sharp voices to unpack a story that spans kitchen-table sacrifice, elite migration, and a culture where A's are expected and grit is non-negotiable. From early professional cohorts in medicine and engineering to founders in Silicon Valley, we trace the “immigrant trifecta” of aspiration, constraint, and discipline that turned upheaval into momentum.The conversation takes a turn as we examine a new surge of identity among Gen Z. Campus Persian classes fill up, clubs form overnight, and students study Iranian rap as political speech—all sparked by the Woman Life Freedom movement. That awakening reframes the assimilation question: instead of fading ties over generations, political courage in Tehran is restoring pride in Boston, Irvine, and beyond.We then wrestle with the hardest part: how change might actually happen. One guest makes the case for a single unifying figure—often pointing to Reza Pahlavi—to synchronize a divided diaspora and guide a path toward the ballot box. The other argues for system-first thinking, a coalition over charisma, and legitimacy grown from within Iran. Both agree on two truths: the regime is weaker than it looks, and enduring transformation must be led by Iranians inside the country. History offers context and hope—more than a century of Iranian constitutionalism and secular aspirations provides a deep native tradition to build upon.You'll leave with a clear map of the forces at play: the economics of a strained state, the psychology of exile politics, the power of youth networks, and the quieter heroism of families who traded comfort for possibility. If this conversation challenged you or sparked a new angle, share it with a friend, subscribe for future episodes, and tell us: does Iran's path forward need one voice—or many?Support Our WorkThe Center for Demographics and Policy focuses on research and analysis of global, national, and regional demographic trends and explores policies that might produce favorable demographic results over time. It involves Chapman students in demographic research under the supervision of the Center's senior staff.Students work with the Center's director and engage in research that will serve them well as they look to develop their careers in business, the social sciences, and the arts. Students also have access to our advisory board, which includes distinguished Chapman faculty and major demographic scholars from across the country and the world.For additional information, please contact Mahnaz Asghari, Associate Director for the Center for Demographics and Policy, at (714) 744-7635 or asghari@chapman.edu.Follow us on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-feudal-future-podcast/Tweet thoughts: @joelkotkin, @mtoplansky, #FeudalFuture #BeyondFeudalismLearn more about Joel's book 'The Coming of Neo-Feudalism': https://amzn.to/3a1VV87Sign Up For News & Alerts: http://joelkotkin.com/#subscribeThis show is presented by the Chapman Center for Demographics and Policy, which focuses on research and analysis of global, national and regional demographic trends and explores policies that might produce favorable demographic results over time.

I speak about how I'm automating my indie founder workflow using N8N. I share my favorite automations: press release creation and translations, social media scheduling, and newsletter writing, all powered by AI and connected through tools like Excel and GPT. I talk about handling integrations, using Flarecut for YouTube Shorts, and the challenges with Reddit. I discuss my plans to automate B2B outreach and customer success. My focus is on maximizing distribution, saving time, and scaling my projects with automation.Twitter: https://x.com/wbetiagoTimestamps by PodSqueezeIntroduction and Podcast Setup (00:00:01)  Discovering and Setting Up N8N (00:01:21)  Overview of N8N Features (00:02:35)  Need for Automation in Workflow (00:04:46)  Automating Press Releases (00:05:54)  Technical Setup: MCP Server Integration (00:07:04)  Automated Social Media Posting (00:09:19)  Challenges with Social Media Integrations (00:12:28)  Automating Newsletters (00:13:31)  Reddit Automation Attempts and Issues (00:15:20)  Future Automation Plans (00:17:34)  Reflections and Closing Thoughts (00:18:33)  Outro and Call to Action (00:19:36)

Amazon plant Abbau von 30.000 Corporate-Jobs unter Verweis auf KI-Effizienzgewinne. Anthropic überholt OpenAI im B2B-Markt mit 32% API-Marktanteil und erreicht $7 Milliarden ARR. OpenAI fordert 100 Gigawatt neue Energiekapazität jährlich in USA, um gegen China zu bestehen. Wissenschaftler erschaffen rein aus Bots bestehendes Social Network. Elon Musks Grokipedia launched mit subtiler rechter Bias-Politik. Simon Desue in Dubai verhaftet wegen Drogenbesitz. Unterstütze unseren Podcast und entdecke die Angebote unserer Werbepartner auf ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠doppelgaenger.io/werbung⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Vielen Dank!  Philipp Glöckler und Philipp Klöckner sprechen heute über: (00:00:00) Eurowings KI-Agent Charlie (00:04:48) Meta: Erfolglosigkeit trotz $85 Mrd KI-Investitionen (00:11:06) Amazon: Corporate-Layoffs angekündigt (00:14:13) Amazon Warehouse-Automation (00:18:39) Rivian streicht Jobs wegen wegfallender Tax Credits (00:20:44) Anthropic launched Excel-Integration und Financial Tools (00:25:03) Anthropic führt im B2B-Markt (00:30:15) OpenAI: USA braucht 100 Gigawatt neue Energie (00:36:22) OpenAI Mental Health Report (00:40:26) Soziales Netzwerk nur aus Bots: Ungleichheit unvermeidbar (00:42:35) Grokipedia launched mit rechtsgerichtetem Bias (00:55:23) Earnings Week Preview: Amazon und Google favorisiert Shownotes Zuckerberg ernennt ehemaligen Metaverse-Manager zur Förderung von KI-Initiativen – ft.com Amazon plant bis zu 30.000 Stellenstreichungen – reuters.com Claude kann jetzt in Excel integriert werden - 7 neue Konnektoren – zdnet.com OpenAI: USA braucht mehr Energie, um in KI vor China zu bleiben – cnbc.com Verbesserung von ChatGPTs Antworten in sensiblen Gesprächen – openai.com Wissenschaftler erschufen ein soziales Netzwerk nur mit Bots – futurism.com Anthropic: Besseres Geschäft als OpenAI? – wsj.com Elon Musks Grokipedia enthält kopierte Wikipedia-Seiten – theverge.com Todesstrafe für Simon Desue in Dubai? – taz.de

Bobby and Steve broke down the Saints' 23-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in their NFC South opener. Bobby criticized New Orleans' mental mistakes on offense. Bobby and Steve reported on LSU's decision to fire head football coach Brian Kelly. The guys spoke to WWL listeners about the Saints' loss to the Bucs. Bobby slammed the Saints' running back room, calling it "one of the weakest in the NFL." They spoke to WWL's Jeff Palermo about Coach Kelly's departure from LSU. Bobby and Steve also heard postgame press conference audio from Saints quarterbacks Spencer Rattler and Tyler Shough.

Gross margins, GPUs, and the future of finance — this one's for the metrics nerds. CJ sits down with Sarah Wang, General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, to talk about what happens when the traditional SaaS playbook collides with AI. Sarah shares how legacy benchmarks like payback period and burn multiple start to break down in a world where compute, not headcount, drives costs. She explains why sky-high gross margins can actually be an orange flag, how finance leaders can think about resource allocation between engineers and GPUs, and why the most valuable finance teams today are deeply operational. They also unpack what it's like partnering with AI-native founders, the evolution of pricing models as LLM costs drop, and whether we'll see a private trillion-dollar company anytime soon.—LINKS:on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-wang-59b96a7/Company: https://a16z.com/CJ on X (@cjgustafson222): https://x.com/cjgustafson222Mostly metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com—RELATED EPISODES:996 Culture, Exploding AI Bills & SaaS ChaosFrom Credit Karma to Notion: CFO Rama Katkar on Leading Finance Through Every Growth Stage5,762 Job Applications. Zero Offers.Thinking About Adding Payments to Your Software Product? Listen to This First!—TIMESTAMPS:(00:00:00) Preview and Intro(00:02:40) Sponsors – Fidelity Private Shares, Mercury, RightRev(00:05:50) Sarah Joins the Show(00:06:06) The Future of Excel in the Age of AI(00:08:24) Why Gross Margins Don't Tell the Whole Story(00:10:42) When Sky-High Margins Are an Orange Flag(00:12:57) Finance as a Strategic Lever in AI Companies(00:15:04) Sponsors – Tipalti, Aleph, Rillet(00:17:22) Partnering with AI-Native Founders(00:20:35) When Traditional SaaS Benchmarks Break Down(00:23:58) Forecasting and Financial Planning for Compute Costs(00:27:16) The Engineers-Versus-GPUs Trade-Off(00:30:29) Resource Allocation and Infrastructure Efficiency(00:33:47) How Pricing Models Evolve as LLM Costs Drop(00:37:15) Circular Finance: When Big Tech Funds Its Own Vendors(00:40:39) Metrics That Still Matter in AI-Driven Businesses(00:44:12) The Evolving Role of Finance Leaders(00:47:26) What “Operational Finance” Really Means(00:50:58) Building Sustainable Efficiency in AI Companies(00:54:03) Will We See a Private Trillion-Dollar Company?(00:55:33) Outro—SPONSORS:Fidelity Private Shares is the all-in-one equity management platform that keeps your cap table clean, your data room organized, and your equity story clear—so you never risk losing a fundraising round over messy records. Schedule a demo at https://www.fidelityprivateshares.com and mention Mostly Metrics to get 20% off.Mercury is business banking built for builders, giving founders and finance pros a financial stack that actually works together. From sending wires to tracking balances and approving payments, Mercury makes it simple to scale without friction. Join the 200,000+ entrepreneurs who trust Mercury and apply online in minutes at https://www.mercury.comRightRev automates the revenue recognition process from end to end, gives you real-time insights, and ensures ASC 606 / IFRS 15 compliance—all while closing books faster. For RevRec that auditors actually trust, visit https://www.rightrev.com and schedule a demo.Tipalti automates the entire payables process—from onboarding suppliers to executing global payouts—helping finance teams save time, eliminate costly errors, and scale confidently across 200+ countries and 120 currencies. More than 5,000 businesses already trust Tipalti to manage payments with built-in security and tax compliance. Visit https://www.tipalti.com/runthenumbers to learn more.Aleph automates 90% of manual, error-prone busywork, so you can focus on the strategic work you were hired to do. Minimize busywork and maximize impact with the power of a web app, the flexibility of spreadsheets, and the magic of AI. Get a personalised demo at https://www.getaleph.com/runRillet is the AI-native ERP modern finance teams are switching to because it's faster, simpler, and 100% built for how teams operate today. See how fast your team can move. Book a demo at https://www.rillet.com/metrics#RunTheNumbersPodcast #FinanceLeadership #AIinBusiness #VentureCapital #SaaSMetrics This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cjgustafson.substack.com

Bobby and Steve broke down the Saints' 23-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in their NFC South opener. Bobby criticized New Orleans' mental mistakes on offense. Bobby and Steve reported on LSU's decision to fire head football coach Brian Kelly. The guys spoke to WWL listeners about the Saints' loss to the Bucs. Bobby slammed the Saints' running back room, calling it "one of the weakest in the NFL." They spoke to WWL's Jeff Palermo about Coach Kelly's departure from LSU. Bobby and Steve also heard postgame press conference audio from Saints quarterbacks Spencer Rattler and Tyler Shough.

Join us for the latest edition of Fantha Tracks Radio's Collecting Tracks as guest host Richard Mitchell heads to the ExCeL in London's Docklands for MCM London Comic Con where he caught up with Hasbro Star Wars Design Manager Chris Reiff after the Hasbro Panel to discuss the reveals and put YOUR listeners questions to him on this Limited Edition episode of Collecting Tracks. Remember to tune in to Good Morning Tatooine, LIVE Sunday evenings at 9.00pm UK, 4.00pm Eastern and 1.00pm Pacific on Facebook, YouTube, X, Instagram and Twitch and check out our Fantha Tracks Radio Friday Night Rotation every Friday at 7.00pm UK for new episodes of The Fantha From Down Under, Planet Leia, Desert Planet Discs, Start Your Engines, Collecting Tracks, Canon Fodder and special episodes of Making Tracks, and every Tuesday at 7.00pm UK time for your weekly episode of Making Tracks. Thanks to James Semple for the Fantha Tracks intro and Mark Daniel and Vanessa Marshall for our voiceovers. Subscribe and tune in to all of our shows at https://radio.fanthatracks.com And of course for all your Lucasfilm and Star Wars news 24/7, 365 days a year head on over to https://www.fanthatracks.com You can contact our shows and send in your listeners questions by emailing radio@fanthatracks.com or by leaving a comment on our social media feeds: https://www.instagram.com/fanthatracks https://www.facebook.com/FanthaTracks https://www.x.com/FanthaTracks https://www.threads.net/@FanthaTracks https://www.reddit.com/r/fanthatracks/ https://mastodon.social/@fanthatracks https://bsky.app/profile/fanthatracks.com https://www.pinterest.co.uk/fanthatracks/ https://fanthatracks.tumblr.com/ And be sure to check out our live streams and video content at: https://www.youtube.com/@FanthaTracksTV/ https://www.tiktok.com/@fanthatracks https://www.twitch.com/fanthatrackstv All of our links can be found at https://links.fanthatracks.com/

In this profound episode of the Reformed Brotherhood, Tony Arsenal and Jesse Schwamb delve deeply into the Parable of the Tares (Matthew 13:24-30), exploring its implications for Christian assurance. Building on their previous discussion, they examine how this parable speaks to the mixed nature of the visible church, the sovereignty of Christ over His kingdom, and most significantly, the doctrine of assurance. Through careful theological reflection, the hosts unpack how true believers can find solid ground for assurance not in their own works or fruit-checking, but in the promises of Christ and the testimony of the Holy Spirit. This episode offers both encouragement for those struggling with doubts and a sobering challenge to those resting in false assurance. Key Takeaways The Parable of the Tares teaches that the visible church will be mixed until the final judgment, containing both true believers (wheat) and false professors (tares) who may appear outwardly similar. True assurance is not based primarily on good works but on the promises of Christ, the inward testimony of the Holy Spirit, and the evidences of grace in our lives. False assurance is a real danger, as many who think they belong to Christ will discover at the final judgment that they never truly knew Him. The Westminster Confession of Faith (Chapter 18) provides a helpful framework for understanding biblical assurance as the proper possession of every Christian. Christ's role as the divine Master of the house (the world) and Lord of the angels is subtly yet powerfully affirmed in this parable, grounding our assurance in His sovereignty. Good works are the fruit of assurance, not its cause—when we are secure in our salvation, we are freed to serve Christ joyfully rather than anxiously trying to earn assurance. The final judgment will bring perfect clarity, revealing what was hidden and separating the wheat from the tares with divine precision that humans cannot achieve now. The Doctrine of Assurance: Reformed Understanding The Reformed tradition has always emphasized that believers can and should have assurance of their salvation—a conviction recovered during the Reformation in contrast to Rome's teaching. As Tony noted when reading from the Westminster Confession of Faith (Chapter 18), this assurance is "not a bare conjectural and probable persuasion grounded upon a fallible hope, but an infallible assurance of faith founded upon the divine truth of the promises of salvation." This assurance rests on three pillars: the promises of God in Scripture, the inward evidence of grace, and the testimony of the Holy Spirit witnessing with our spirit. What makes this understanding particularly comforting is that it shifts the foundation of assurance away from our performance to God's faithfulness. While self-examination has its place, the Reformed understanding recognizes that looking too intensely at our own hearts and works can lead either to despair or to false confidence. Instead, we're directed to look primarily to Christ and His finished work, finding in Him the anchor for our souls. The Problem of False Assurance One of the most sobering aspects of the Parable of the Tares is its implicit warning about false assurance. Just as the tares resemble wheat until maturity reveals their true nature, many professing Christians may outwardly appear to belong to Christ while inwardly remaining unregenerate. As Jesse observed, "The tares typically live under false assurance. They may attend church, confess belief, appear righteous, yet their hearts are unregenerate. Their faith is maybe historical, it's not saving, it could be intellectual, but it's not spiritual." This echoes Jesus' warning in Matthew 7 that many will say to Him, "Lord, Lord," but will hear the devastating response, "I never knew you." The parable teaches us that this self-deception is not always conscious hypocrisy but often the result of spiritual blindness. As Jesse noted, referencing Romans 1, Ephesians 4, and 1 Corinthians 2, the unregenerate are "not merely ignorant, they're blinded... to the spiritual truth by nature and by Satan." This understanding should prompt humble self-examination while simultaneously driving us to depend not on our own discernment but on Christ's perfect knowledge and saving work. Memorable Quotes "Assurance is the believer's arc where he sits Noah alike quiets and still in the midst of all distractions and destructions, commotions and confusions." - Thomas Brooks, quoted by Jesse Schwamb "When we are confessing, repenting, seeking like our status in Christ because of Christ, then we have confidence that we are in fact part of the children of God. When everything is stripped away from us and all we're crying out is only and completely and solely and unequivocally Jesus Christ, then I think we have great reason to understand that we should be confident in our assurance." - Jesse Schwamb "The sacrifice and the service that a husband performs for his wife, whom he loves and trusts and is committed to and knows that she's faithful and committed to him, that is not causing that faithfulness. It's not causing that trust and that love. It is the outcome and the outflow of it." - Tony Arsenal on how good works flow from assurance rather than cause it Resources Mentioned Scripture: Matthew 13:24-30, Matthew 7:21-23, Romans 1, Ephesians 4, 1 Corinthians 2, 2 Timothy 3:5 Westminster Confession of Faith: Chapter 18 "Of Assurance of Grace and Salvation" Thomas Brooks: "Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices" YouTube Channel: My Wild Backyard Khan Academy: Educational resource recommended during "Affirmations and Denials" segment Full Transcript Jesse Schwamb: Welcome to episode 466 of the Reform the Brotherhood. I'm Jesse. Tony Arsenal: And I'm Tony. And this is the podcast with ears to hear. Hey brother. Jesse Schwamb: Hey brother. We're going back to the farm again. Can't stop. Won't stop. Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. I'm stoked. [00:01:02] Discussion on the Parable of the Tears Tony Arsenal: The last week's discussion was interesting and I think, um, it's gonna be nice to sort of round it out and talk about some things you might not think about, uh, when you first read this parable. So I'm, I'm pretty excited. Jesse Schwamb: Oh, what a tease that is. So if you're wondering what Tony's talking about, we're hanging out. In Matthew 13, we are just really enjoying these teachings of Jesus. And they are shocking and they're challenging, and they're encouraging, and they're awesome, of course. And so we're gonna be finishing out the Parable of the Tears and you need to go back and listen to the previous conversation. This, this is all set up because we have some unfinished business. We didn't talk about the eschatological implications. We have this really big this, this matza ball hanging over us. So to speak, which was the, do the TAs in this parable even know that they are tarry, that they are the TAs? And so in this parable, the disciples learn that the kingdom itself, God's kingdom, the kingdom that Jesus is enumerating and explaining and bringing into being, they are learning that it's gonna be mixed in character. So that's correcting this expectation that the kingdom would be perfectly pure and would have, would evolve righteous rule over all of the unrighteous world. And so it's a little bit shocking that Jesus says, listen, they're gonna be. Tears within the wheats that is in the world, the seed that God himself, the sun has planted and that they're gonna exist side by side for a long time. And so we, they have to wait patiently and give ourselves to building up the wheats as the sons of the kingdom and be careful in their judgment, not to harm those who are believers. We covered a lot of that last week, but left so much unsaid we couldn't even fit it in. This is gonna be jam packed, so I'm gonna stop giving the tees instead start moving us into affirmations and denials. [00:02:45] Affirmations and Denials Jesse Schwamb: It's of course that time in our conversation where we either affirm with something really like or we think is undervalued or we deny against something that we don't really like or is a little overvalued. So as I usually say to you, Tony, what have you got for us? [00:03:00] YouTube Channel Recommendation: My Wild Backyard Tony Arsenal: I am affirming a YouTube channel. Um, I, I think the algorithm goes through these cycles where it wants me to learn about bugs and things because I get Okay, like videos about bugs. And so I'm, I'm interested. There's been this, uh, channel that's been coming up on my algorithm lately called My Wild Backyard, and it, it's a guy, he's like an entomologist. He seems like a, a like a legit academic, but what he does is he basically goes through and he talks about different bugs, creepy crawlies, looks at like snakes, all that kinds of stuff. It seems like his wheelhouse is the stuff that can kill you or hurt you pretty bad. Nice. But, um, it's interesting and it's. It's good educational content. It's, you know, it's not sensationalized, it's not, uh, it's not dramatized. Um, it's very real. There's occasionally an instance where he, he's not, sometimes he will intentionally get bit or stung by an, uh, by an animal to show you what it does. So he can experience and explain what he's experiencing. And sometimes he just accidentally gets bit or stung. And so those are some of the most interesting ones. So like, for example, just looking at his, his channel, his most recent, um, his most recent video is called The most venomous Desert Creatures in the US ranked the one previous was. The world's most terrifying arachni isn't a spider. And then previous to that was what happens if a giant centipede bites you? So it's interesting stuff. If you are one of those people that likes bugs and likes creepy crawlies and things, um, this is definitely the channel for you if you're not one of those people. I actually think this probably is the channel for you too. 'cause it kind of demystifies a lot of this stuff. Um. You know, for example, he, he will commonly point out that, um, spiders don't wanna bite you and they just wanna leave you alone. And, and as long as you leave them alone, even, even something like a black widow, which people are terrified of, and I think, right, rightfully so. I mean, they can be scary. Those can be scary bites. He'll, he'll handle those, no problem. And as long as he's not like putting downward pressure on them, uh, they have no interest in biting, they really just want to get away. So even seeing that kind of stuff, I think can help demystify and, and sort of, uh, make it a little bit easier. So my Wild Backyard, he can find it on YouTube. Um, he's safe for kids. He's not, he's not cussing even. I mean, I think occasionally when he gets bit on accident, you might, you know, you might have a beep here or there, but, um, he's not, he's not regularly swearing or things like that. And he does a pretty good job of adding that stuff out. Jesse Schwamb: What a great title for that, isn't it? This, yeah. Confluence of your backyard. That space that seems domesticated is also stealing its own. Right. Wild. And there's a be Yeah. Both those things coming together. Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. It, it's interesting stuff and it's really good. I mean, it's really compelling videography. He does a good job of taking good photos. You'll see insects that you usually won't see, or spiders you usually won't see. Um, so yeah, it's cool. Check it out. [00:05:51] Discussion on Spiders and Creepy Crawlies Jesse Schwamb: What are you, uh, yeah, I myself would like to become more comfortable with the arachni variety. If only be, I mean, I don't know. It's, it's a weird creature, so my instinct is to be like, kill them all. And then if I can't find them and I know they're around, then we just burn everything that we own. Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Jesse Schwamb: They just can't sink into the ground fast enough. Tony Arsenal: Yeah. There's something about the way they move, like their, their bodies don't move the way you would anticipate them to. Right. And it freaks, it just weirds out human sensibilities, so. Right. Jesse Schwamb: They're also like, I find them to be very surprising. Often. It's not kind of a, a very like, kind of measured welcome into your life. It's like you just go to get in the shower and there's a giant spider. Yeah. Oh yeah. Although I guess that spider, he's, he or she's probably like, whoa, where'd you come from? You know, like, yeah. He's like, I was just taking a Tony Arsenal: shower. You know what's interesting? Um, I saw another video was on a different channel, um, like common jumping spiders. Yeah. Which there are like hundreds of species of common jumping spiders. Jesse Schwamb: True. Tony Arsenal: Um, but spiders and jumping spiders specifically, actually you can form almost like a pet bond with, so like the, that jumping spider that like lives in your house and sees you every day. He, he probably knows who you are and is like, comfortable with you. And they've done studies that like you can actually domesticate jumping spiders, so they're not as foreign and alien as you might think. Although they certainly do look a little bit strange and weird. And the way their bodies move is almost designed to weird out people like it just the skinness, like the way their legs skitter and move it, it just is, it's, it triggers something very primal in us to That's wild. Be weirded out by it. Yeah. Jesse Schwamb: It's wild. I love it. That's a good, a affirmation. I'm definitely gonna check that out. I, any, anything? I really want to know what the, what like the terrifying arachni is. That's not a spider. Tony Arsenal: It's a, well, it's called a camel spider, but it's not really a spider. Oh, Jesse Schwamb: I know what you're talking about. That is kind of terrifying. Tony Arsenal: Yeah. They, they actually don't have any venom. Um, yeah. Check out the video. I mean, it, it was a good video. Um, but yeah, they're freaky looking and, um, but even that, like he was handling it No problem. Yeah. Like it wasn't, it wasn't aggressive with him once Wow. Once it figured out it wasn't, he wasn't trying to hurt him and, and that it couldn't eat him. Um, it, it just sort of like hung out until he let it go. So Jesse Schwamb: yeah, just be careful if you watch it one before bed or while in bed. Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Probably not right before bed. Yeah. You'll, you'll get the creepy crawlies all night. Jesse Schwamb: I love it. But there's something somewhat. Like invigorating about that isn't there? Like it's, it's kind of a natural, just like kind of holy respect for the world that God has created, that they're these features that are so different, so wild, so interesting and a little bit frightening, but in the sense that we just draw off from them because they're so different than what we are. Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Jesse Schwamb: And you know, again, there's places you would be happy to see them, but maybe your bathtub or like shooting out, like, you know, like where you live, the jumping spiders are legit and they will just pop out on you, you know? Yeah. You're just doing your own thing and then all of a sudden they're popping out. I think part of that is just that what, what gets me is like them just, you know, like I remember in my basement here, once one popped out from a rafter and then I was holding, happened to be holding up broom. My instinct just naturally was to hit it. I hit it with the broom and it went across the room and fell on an empty box and sounded like a silver dollar had hit the box. Like it was just a massive, I mean, again, like, it's like fish stories, like it's a massive spider. It was a big spider. Yeah. But you just don't expect to, to see that kind of thing. Or maybe, maybe I should, but anything that moves in that way, and again, like centipedes, man, forget it. We have those too, like in our basement. Like the long ones. Oh yeah. Yeah. That thing will come like squiggling down the wall at you, like eye level and you just wanna run up the stairs screaming like a little girl. Tony Arsenal: Yeah, you do run up the stairs screaming like a little girl. It's not that you want to, it's that usually you do. I don't mean like you specifically, although probably you specifically. Yeah. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. There's, yeah, you just react. Well, j Jesse enough freaking out. I mean, we're getting close to Halloween, so I suppose it's appropriate, but, uh, enough of that. What are you affirming or denying today? Jesse Schwamb: Once again, without like any coordination, mine is not unlike yours. I know you and I, we talk about the world in which we live, which God has created, and this lovely command, this ammunition to take dominion over that. And one of the things I appreciate about our conversations is I think you and I often have maybe not like a novel. Kinda perspective on that, but one that I don't hear talked about often and that is this idea of taking dominion over what it is possible to know and to appropriate, and then to apply onto wisdom. [00:10:27] Affirmation: Khan Academy Jesse Schwamb: And so my information is in that realm. It's another form of taking ownership of what's in the wild of knowledge that you can possess. And again, equal parts. What an amazing time to be alive. So I'm affirming with the website, Khan Academy, which I'm sure many are familiar with. And this website offers like. Thousands of hours. Uh, and materials of free instructional videos, practice exercises, quizzes, all these like really bespoke, personalized learning modules you can create for topics like math, science, computing, economics, history, art. I think it goes like even starting at like. Elementary age all the way up into like early college can help you study for things like the SAT, the LSAT AP courses, and I was revisiting it. I have an open account with them that I keep in love and I go back to it from time to time. And I was working on some stuff where I wanted to rehearse some knowledge in like the calculus space, do some things by hand, which I haven't done. And I was just like, I'm blown away at how good this stuff is. And it's all for free. I mean, you should donate if you. You get something from this because it's a nonprofit, but the fact that there are these amazing instructional videos out there that can help us get a better understanding of either things we already know and we can rehearse the knowledge or to learn something brand new essentially for free. But somebody's done all the hard work to curate a pedagogy for you. Honestly, this is incredible. So if you haven't looked at that website in a long time or maybe ever, and you might be thinking, what, what do I really wanna learn? Lemme tell you. There's a lot of interesting stuff there and it's so approachable and it's such a good website for teaching. And if you have children in particular, even if you're looking for help, either helping them with their own coursework or maybe to have like kind of a tutor on the side, this is so good. So I can't say enough good things recently about Khan Academy 'cause it's been so helpful to me and super fun to like just sit and have your own paced study and in the private and comfort of your own home or your desk at work or wherever it is that you need to learn it. To be able to have somebody teach you some things, to do a little practice exercises, and then to go on to the world and to apply the things you've learned. Ah, it's so good. Tony Arsenal: Nice. Yeah, I've, I've never done anything with Khan Academy. I'll have to check it out. There's, um, there's some skills of needing to brush up on, uh, at work that I am probably not gonna be able to find in my normal channels, so I'll have to see if there is anything going on there. Um, but yeah, that's, that's good stuff. And it's free. Love freestyle. It's, and of course, like Jesse Schwamb: things like this are legion. So whatever it is, whatever your discipline or your field of study or work is, there's probably something out there and, uh, might, I humbly maybe encourage you to, if you use something like that and it's funded by donations, it's worth giving, I think, because again, it's just an amazing opportunity to take dominion over the knowledge that God has placed into the world and then to use it for something. I mean, I suppose even if all it is is you just wanna learn more about, like for me, I, I find like the subjects of, of math and science, like just endlessly fascinating and like the computing section I was looking at, I, I don't know much about like programming per se, but there is such a beauty. Like these underlying principles, like the, the organization of the world and the first level principles of like physics for instance, are just like baffling in the most glorious kind of way. How they all come together. So having somebody like teach you at a very like simplistic level, but allow you to grasp those concepts makes you just appreciate it leads me to doxology a lot when I see these things. So in a weird way, it ends up becoming maybe not a weird way and the right way. It becomes worship as often as I'm sitting at my desk and working through like a practice problem on like, you know, partial differential equation or, or derivatives is what I was working on today. And ah, it's just so good. I don't know, maybe I'm the only one. I, it's not be super nerdy, but you, are you ever like at your desk studying something? And it might not be like theological per se, but you just have a moment where you're overcome with some kind of worship. Do you know what I'm talking about? Tony Arsenal: Yeah, I, um, this we're the nerdiest people on the planet, but let's Jesse Schwamb: do it. Um, Tony Arsenal: when I find a really fun, interesting. Uh, Excel formula and I can get it to work right. Uh, and it, and then it just like everything unlocks. Like, I feel like I've unlocked all the knowledge in the universe. Um, but yeah, I hear you like the, the Excel thing is, is interesting to me because, like, math is just the description. Like it's just the fabric of reality is just the way we describe reality. But the fact that we can do basically just take math and do all these amazing things with it, uh, in a spreadsheet is really, uh, drives me to praise. Like I said, that's super nerdy, but it is. Oh, you're speaking my language. Jesse Schwamb: I, we have never understood each other better than just this moment right now. We, we had some real talk and, uh, a real moment. Tony Arsenal: Yes. Welcome to the Reformed math cast. Jesse Schwamb: We're so glad that you're here. Tony Arsenal: Yes. We're not gonna do any one plus one plus one equals one kinds of heretical math in, up in here. Jesse Schwamb: No. Tony Arsenal: Well, Jesse, I have a feeling that, excuse me. Wow. Jesse Schwamb: We don't edit anything out. Listen, I'm choked up too. It's it, listen, love ones just so emotional. The moment Tony and I are having it. We're gonna try our best right now to pivot to go into this text, but it's, it's tough because we were just really having something, something special. You got, you got to see there. But thank you for trying to Tony Arsenal: cover for me for that big cough. Jesse Schwamb: This is like presuppositional editing. You know, we don't actually do anything in post. It's not ex anti editing. It's, it's literally presuppositional. [00:15:52] Theological Discussion on Assurance Jesse Schwamb: But to that end, we are in Matthew 13. This is the main course. This is the reason why we're here. There's lots of reasons to worship, and one of them is to come before and admire and love our God who has given us his specific revelation and this incredible teaching of his son. And that's why we're hanging out in Matthew 13. So let me read, because we have just a couple of really sentences here, this really short parable and that way it'll catch us up and then we can just launch right back into we're, we're basically like, we're already in the rocket. Like we're in the stratosphere. We're, we're taking it all the way now. So this is Matthew chapter 13. Come hang out here. It's in the 24th verse. And this is what we find written for us. This is the word of the Lord. He put another parable before them saying. The Kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the weeds and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also, and the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds? He said to them, an enemy has done this. So the servant said to him, then, do you want us to go and gather them? But he said, no less than gathering the weeds, you root up the weed along with them. Let both grow until the harvest. And at harvest time, I will tell the reapers, gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but to gather the wheat into my barn. Tony Arsenal: That's good stuff. That's good stuff. Um, you know, we, we covered most of. I don't know, what do you wanna call it? The first order reading of the parable last week. Jesse Schwamb: Right. Tony Arsenal: On one level, the parable, uh, as Christ explains it, uh, a little bit down further in the chapter is extremely straightforward. It's almost out, it's almost an allegory. Each, each element of the parable has a, a, a figure that it's representing. And the main purpose of the story is that the world and specifically the church, um, is going to be a mixed body until the last days, until the end of time. And so there's, there's the Sons of God or the Sons of the Kingdom, uh, and then there's the sons of the evil one. And we talked a lot about how. These two figures in the parable, the, the, the weeds or the tears? Um, tears is a better word because it's a specific kind of, uh, specific kind of weed that looks very much like wheat at its immature stages. Right. And you can't actually discern the difference readily, uh, until the weed and the wheat has grown up next to each other. Um, and so, so part of the parable is that. The, the sons of the kingdom and the sons of the enemy, or the sons of the evil one, they don't look all that different in their early stages. And it's not until the sort of end culmination of their lives and the end culmination of things that they're able to be discerned and then therefore, um, the, the sons of the devil are, are reaped and they go off to their eternal judgment and the sons of the kingdom are, uh, are harvested and they go off to their eternal reward. What we wanted to talk about, and part of the reason that we split this into two episodes. Is that we sort of found ourselves spiraling or spiraling around a question about, uh, sort of about assurance, right? And false assurance, true assurance. And there is an eschatological element to this parable that I, I think we probably should at least touch on as we we go through it. Um, but I wanted to just read, um, it's been a little while since we've read the Westminster Confession on the show. So I wanted to read a little bit from the Westminster Confession. Um, this is from chapter 18, which is called of assurance of grace and salvation. This is sort of the answer to Jesse's question. Do the, do the tears know their tears or, or could they possibly think that their wheat? So this is, uh, section one of chapter eight. It says, although hypocrites and other unregenerate men may vainly deceive themselves with false hopes and carnal presuppositions or presumptions of being in favor with God in the state of salvation. Which hope of their shall perish yet such as truly believe in the Lord Jesus and love him in sincerity, endeavoring to walk in all good conscience before him may in this life be certainly assured that they are in a state of grace and may rejoice in the hope of the glory of God, which hope shall never make them ashamed. And so we, in the reform tradition at least, which is where we find ourselves in the reform tradition, um, we would affirm that people can. Deceive themselves into believing that they're in proper relation with God. Jesse Schwamb: Right? Tony Arsenal: And so it's not the case that, uh, that the weeds always know they're weeds or think they're weeds. It's not even the case. And this was part of the parable. It's not even the case that the weeds can be easily distinguished even by themselves from, uh, from the weeds. So there is this call, uh, and this is a biblical call. There's a call to seek out assurance and to lay claim to it. That I think is, is worth talking about. But it's not as straightforward as simple proposition as like, yeah, I'm confident. Like it's not just like, right, it's not just mustering up confidence. There's more to it than that. So that's what I wanted to start with, with this parable is just maybe talking through that assurance. 'cause I, I would hate for us to go through this parable. And sort of leave people with maybe you're a weed and you don't know it. 'cause that's not right. That's not the biblical picture of assurance. Um, that's the, that's the Roman Catholic picture of assurance that like, yeah, there's no such thing as assurance and people might not realize, but assurance of salvation is actually one of the, one of the primary things that was recovered particularly by the Reformed in the Reformation. Um, and so I think we, we often sort of overlook it as maybe a secondary thing. Um, but it really is a significant doctrine, a significant feature of reformed theology. Jesse Schwamb: Yeah. I'm glad you said that because it is a, is a clear reminder. It's a clearing call as the performers put forth that it is. Under like the purview of the Christian to be able to claim the assurance by the blood of Christ in the application of the Holy Spirit in a way that's like fully orbed and fully stopped. So you can contrast that with, and really what was coming outta Catholicism or Rome at the time. And I was just speaking with a dear brother this past week who. Grew up in the Catholic church and he was recounting how his entire religious experience, even his entire relationship, if we can call it that in a kind of colloquial sense with God, was built around this sense of deep-seated guilt and lack of true performance, such that like assurance always seemed like this really vague concept that was never really fully manifested in anything that he did. Even while the church was saying, if you do these things, if you perform this way, if you ensure that you're taking care of your immortal sins and that you're seeking confession for all the venial stuff as well, that somehow you'll be made right, or sufficiently right. But if not, don't worry about it. There's always purgatory, but there'd be some earning that you'd have to accomplish there. Everywhere along the way. He just felt beaten down. So contrasting that with what we have here. I don't believe, as you're saying, Tony, that's Jesus' intention here to somehow beat up the sheep. I, I think it is, to correct something of what's being said about the world in which we live, but it's at the same time to say that there are some that are the TAs is to say there are some that are the children of God, right? That there are some that are fully crisply, clearly identified and securely resting in that identity without any kind of nervous or anxious energy that it might fall out of that state with God that, that in fact their identity is secure. And as I've been thinking about this this week, I, I'm totally with you because I think part of this just falls, the warning here is there's a little bit of the adventures in Romans one here that's waiting for us, that I like what you said about this idea of, of self deception and maybe like a. Subpart to this question would be, are the, are the terrors always nefarious in their lack of understanding? So we might say there's some that are purposely disruptive, that the enemy himself is, is promulgating or trying to bring forward his destruction, his chaos by way of these tears. But are, are there even a subgroup or another group, uh, co-terminus group or, you know, one in the same hierarchy where there's just a lot of self deception? I, I think that's probably where I fall in terms of just trying to explain that. Yes, I think it was present here is a real quantity, a real identity where they're self-deceived. Imagining themselves to be part of God's people, yet lacking that true saving faith. And this just, I'm gonna go in a couple places where I think everybody would expect in the scriptures, if we go to like Ephesians four, they're darkened and they're understanding alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them. And one Corinthians, when Paul writes, the natural person does not accept the things of the spirit of God, and he's not able to understand them because they're spiritually discerned. And then the book that follows the God of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers. And of course then like everything in Romans one, so I bring all that up because E, even at the end, we're gonna get there, the Es, this eschatological reality when you know God is separating out the sheep and the goats. Still, we find this kind of same trope happening there. But the unregenerate, what I'm reading from this. Importantly is that the unregenerate, they're not merely ignorant, they're blinded, as we all were on point to the spiritual truth. Yeah. By nature and by Satan. That that is also his jam. He loves to blind, to lie, to kill, steal, and destroy. So thus, even if they're outwardly belonging to the church, they're outwardly belonging to the world. They're outwardly belonging to some kind of profession. They cannot perceive the reality of their lost condition apart from divine illumination. Who can, that might be stating the obvious, but I think that's like what we're getting after here. I I, I don't know if there's like any kind of like conspiracy here. It's simply that that is the natural state of affairs. So why wouldn't we expect that to be reflected again in the world and that side by side, we're gonna find that shoulder to shoulder. We are, there are the children of God, and there are those that remain blind and ignorant to the truth. Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. And, and you know, it, again, I, I, um, I don't know why I'm surprised. Uh, I certainly shouldn't be surprised. Um. But Matthew is like a masterful storyteller Yeah. Here, right. He's a masterful, um, editor and narrator. Um, and he's, he's put together here, of course, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Um, and, and there's some good reason to think in the text we're not gonna get too, in the nitty gritty here, there's some good reason to think in the text that Christ actually delivered these parables as a set as well. So it's not just, it's not just Matthew coating these, although it could be. Um, but it, it seems like these were all delivered probably as like a common set of parables. And the reason I say that is because when we start to look at this parable and the one we previously went through, the parable of the soils, um, or the parable of the sower. Um, what we see is the answer to your question of why do some people, you know, why are some people deceived? Well, yes, there is secondary causation. The devil deceives them. They blind themselves. They, you know, suppress the, the, the truth and right unrighteousness. But on a, on a primary causation level, um, God is the one who is identi, is, is identifying who will be the sons of the, you know, devil and the sons of the kingdom. Mm-hmm. This is another, and yet another example of election is that the, the good sower sowed good seed, and the good seed was the elect and the enemy. Although in God's sovereignty, God is the one who determines this. The enemy is the one who sows the reprobate. Right? So all, all men. Star, and this is, I, I guess I didn't really intend to go here, but this is good evidence in my mind for, um, infra laps, Arianism versus super laps. Arianism, right infra laps, arianism or sub lapse. Arianism would say that God decrees, uh, to permit the fall and then he decrees to redeem some out of the fall, right? Logically speaking, not temporally speaking. Super laps. Arianism, which is the minority. It's the smaller portion of, of the historic tradition, although modern times, I think it's a little bit louder and a little bit more vocal, but super relapses. Arianism would argue that God, um, decrees. Sort of the, the decree of election and reprobation is logically prior to the decree of the fall. And so in, in that former or in the super laps area model, the fall becomes a means by which the reprobate are justly condemned. Not, um, not the cause of their condemnation, but a way to sort of justify the fact that they will be separated from God, right? Because of their reprobate. [00:28:36] Exploring the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares Tony Arsenal: I know that there's, there's probably some super lab streams that would nuance that differently and some that are probably just screaming straw man, uh, in a coffee shop somewhere and, and people are thinking you're crazy. Um, but by and large, that's actually a rel, a relatively accepted, um, explanation of it. There are certainly potential problems with, uh, sub, sub lapse agonism as well. But in this, in this parable, what we see is the people who are, um, who are elect, are sowed into the field and the people who are reprobate are also sowed into the field. And so God saves the people who are sewed into the field that are, they elect, he saves them out of this now mixed world by waiting and allowing them to grow up next to the reprobate, um, in sort of this mixed world setting. And then he redeems them out of that. Um, and, and, and so we have to sort of remember. Although it is a pretty strict, sort of allegorical type of parable, it's still a parable. So we shouldn't, we shouldn't always draw like direct one-to-one comparisons here. It's making a theological point, but, um, but it's important for us to re remember that, that it is ultimately, it is God who determines who is the elected and who is not. But it's, it's our sin. It's the devil deceiving us. It's the secondary causes that are responsible for the sons of the devil, right? It, the, the men come to the, to the sower and say, who is done this? He says it was an enemy. Jesse Schwamb: Right? Right. Tony Arsenal: He doesn't say like, well, actually I put the seed there and so, you know, I'm, I, it's not an equal distribution. He's not sowing good seed and bad seed. He sows the good seed and the devil sows the bad seed. [00:30:24] Theological Implications and Assurance Tony Arsenal: Um, and, and that's a, I think that's an important theological point to make. And as far as assurance goes. We, we can't depend on our ability to perceive or sort of like discern election in a raw sense, right? We have to observe certain kinds of realities around us. Um, and, and primarily we have to depend on the mercy and, and saving faith that God gives us. That's right. Um, you know, our, our assurance of faith does not primarily come from fruit checking. Um, we have to do that. It's important, we're commanded to do it, and it serves as an important secondary evidence. But a, a, a person who wants to find assurance. Of salvation should first and foremost look to the promises of Christ and then depend on them. Um, and, and so that's, I think all of that's kind of wrapped up into this parable. It's, it's, it's amazing to me that we're only like two parables in, and we're already, you know, we're already talking about super lapse arianism and sub lapse arianism, and it's, it's amazing. I, I love this. I'm loving this series so far, and we're barely scratching the surface. Jesse Schwamb: Yeah, it's all there. I think you're right to call that out. It strikes me, like, as you were speaking, it really just hit me higher that I think you're right. Really the foundation on this, like the hidden foundation is assurance and it's that assurance which splits the groups, or at least divides them, or it gives us, again, like the distinct, kind, discrete compartments or components of each of them. So. Again, I think it's help saying, 'cause we wanna be encouraging. That's, that's our whole point here is when the Apostle Peter says, be all the more diligent to make certain about his calling and choosing of you. That herein we have the scripture saying to us, time and time again, be sure of what God has done in your life. Be confident in that very thing. And so if assurance is, as we're saying, that's the argument hypothesis we're making. That's the critical thing here. [00:32:11] False Assurance and True Faith Jesse Schwamb: Then the division between the children of God and the children of the devil is false versus true assurance. So the tears, I think what we're saying here, basically they typically live under false asserts. They may attend church, confess, belief, appear righteous, yet their hearts are unregenerate. Their faith is maybe historical. It's not saving, it could be intellectual, but it's not spiritual. And of course, like just a few chapters before this, we hope those famous verses where Jesus himself drops the bomb and says, listen, many of you, he's talking to the people, the, the disciples around him, the crowds that we're gathering and thronging all about. He says, many of you're gonna say to me, Lord, Lord, do we not prophesy your name? Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Jesse Schwamb: And then I will declare to them, I never knew you depart from me. These are not people who knew they were false, they thought they belonged to Christ. Their shock on judgment day is gonna reveal this profound self-deception. And that self-deception is wrapped up in a false type of assurance, a false righteousness. So I think one of the things that we can really come to terms with and grab a hold of is the fact that when we are. Confessing, repenting seeking like our status in Christ because of Christ. Then we have confidence that we are in fact part of the children of God. When everything is stripped away from us and all we're crying out is only and completely and solely and unequivocally, Jesus Christ, then I think we have great reason to understand that we should be confident in our assurance. [00:33:38] Historical Perspectives on Assurance Jesse Schwamb: You know, I was reading this week from Thomas Brooks and did incidentally come across this, a quote, an assurance and reminded me of this passage, and here's what he writes. You know, of course he's writing in like 16 hundreds, like mid 16 hundreds. It's wild, of course, but we shouldn't be surprised that what you're about to hear sounds like it could have been written today for us. In this conversation, but, uh, he writes, assurance is the believer's arc where he sits Noah alike quiets and still in the midst of all distractions and destructions, commotions and confusions. However, most Christians live between fears and hopes and hang, as it were, between heaven and hell. Sometimes they hope that their state is good. At other times they fear that their state is bad. Now they hope that all is well and that it shall go well. Well with them forever. Then they fear that they shall perish by the hand of such corruption or by the prevalency of such and such temptation. They're like a ship and a storm tossed here and there, and. I think that he's right about that. And I think the challenge there is to get away from that. I love where it starts, where he says, what wonderful turn of phrase assurance is the believer's arc or Noah, like, you know, we're sitting and the commotion, the destructions, the commotion, the confusions of all the world. That's why to get this right, to be encouraged by this passage, to be challenged by it is so critical because we're all looking for that arc. We all want to know that God has in fact arrested us so completely that no matter what befalls us, that everything, as we talked about before, all of our, all of the world, in fact is subservient to our salvation. But that's a real thing that cannot be snatched away from us because God has ordained it and intended it, built it, created it, and brought it to pass. And so I think that's all like in this passage, it's all the thing that's being called us to. So. I, I don't want us to get like too hung up. It's a good question, I think to ask and answer like we were trying to talk about here, but you're right. If we focus too much just on the like, let's gaff for these tears. Who are they? Like let's people's, like Readers Digest in People's magazine these tears. Like who are they? Do we have a list of them? Who do we think they are? How could it be me? Is it really me? Am I, am I anxious about that? Really what we should be saying is following what Peter calls us to do that is to be all the more diligent to make certain about his calling and his choosing. So even there like our emphasis and focus, isn't it like you're saying Tony about like, let me do some fruit inventory. I got like a lot of good bananas. I got a lot of ripe pears. Like, look at the tree. This, this is good. Even there, the emphasis is to turn our eyes on Jesus, as it were, and to make certain about his work, his calling and his choosing of us. And I think when we do that, we're falling down in worship and in yielding and submission to him, rightfully acknowledging that the righteousness of Christ is the one that is always in every way alien to us and imputed. And that is what makes us sons and daughters of God, that good seed sown by Jesus himself. Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. I just wanna read, I wanna um, round out a few more paragraphs here out of the Westminster confession because I do think, you know, when we even talk about assurance, we're not even always all saying the exact same thing. And I think that's important because when we talk about assurance of faith, we need to be understanding that this is the rightful, not only the rightful possession of all Christians, but it's the rightful responsibility of all Christians to seek it. So here's, here's section two of that same chapter. It says, this certainty referring to assurance. This certainty is not a bare conjectural and probable persuasion grounded upon a, a fallible hope, but an infallible assurance of faith founded upon the divine truth of the promises of salvation, the inward evidence of those graces unto which these promises are made, the testimony of the spirit of adoption, witnessing with our hearts that we are the children of God, which spirit is the earnest of our inheritance, whereby we are sealed to the day of redemption. So. One of the, the things that I think is, is important here is people read this and say the inward evidences of those graces unto which these promises are made. They read that and they think that it's referring to like good work and like spiritual renewal, but it's, it's not, it's the inward evidence of those graces unto which of the promises are made. So it's this inner, inner renewal. It's the spirit testifying to our spirit. And then, um, chapter, uh, section three here, it says. This infallible assurance doth not so belong to the essence of faith, but that a true believer may wait long and conflict with many difficulties before he be partaker of it, yet being enabled by the Spirit to know the things which are freely given of God. He may without extraordinary revelation there, right there is response to Roman Catholicism in the right use of ordinary means at attain there unto. And therefore, it is the duty of everyone to give all diligence, to make his calling and election. Sure. And thereby his heart may be enlarged in peace and in joy in the Holy Ghost, in love and thankfulness to God and in strength and cheerfulness in the duties of obedience. The proper fruits of this assurance so far is it from inclining men to looseness? Right. [00:38:53] The Role of Good Works in Assurance Tony Arsenal: So we often hear and and I, I think there are good, um, there are good reformed Christians that put. The emphasis of assurance on, or they, they put an overemphasis, in my opinion, on how good works function within our assurance. Right. They, they often will ask us to look to our good fruit as sort of, not the grounding, but as a strong evidence. But at least in terms of the confession here, the cheerfulness in the duties of obedience is the fruit of assurance. Jesse Schwamb: That's right. Not Tony Arsenal: the cause or grounding of assurance. So rather than, this is what this last line says. It says so far, is it from inclining? Mental looseness assurance should drive us to obedience and fruitfulness in Christ. And so yes, it is in a certain sense an evidence because if that fruitfulness and obedience is absent from our lives, there's a good reason for us to question whether this infallible assurance is present in our lives. But the assurance is what drives us to this obedience. Um. You know, like, I think you could use the analogy of like a married couple. A married couple who is very secure in their relationship and in their, uh, love for one another and their faithfulness to each other is more likely to cheerfully serve and submit to each other and to respect each other and to sacrifice for each other than a couple that's maybe not so sure that the other person has their best interest in mind. That's or maybe isn't so sure that this thing is gonna work out. I think that's the same thing, like the sacrifice and the service that a husband, uh, performs for his wife, whom he loves and trusts and is committed to and knows that she's faithful and committed to him. That is not causing that faithfulness. It's not causing that trust and that love. It is the outcome and the outflow of it. It's good evidence that that love exists, but it's not caused by it. And assurance here is the same kind of dynamic assurance is not. We can't assure ourselves of our salvation by doing good works. No matter how many good works you do, there are lots and lots of people who are not saved and who will not be saved, who do perfectly good works in appearance. Right. They have the, the outward appearance of godliness, but lack its power. Right, right. Out of right outta Paul, writing to Timothy there. Yes. So that's, that's important for us as we continue to parse all this out, is yes, the fruit is present. Yes. The wheat is to, is discernible from the tears by its final, fruitful status. Right? It grows up to be grain, which is fruitful rather than weeds and tears, which are only good to be burned, but it is not the fruit that causes it to be wheat. It's wheat that causes the fruit to grow. If, if it wasn't wheat, it wouldn't grow fruit, not because the fruit makes it grain, but because it is in fact wheat to start with. Jesse Schwamb: Right. Yeah, that's right on. So I think like by summation we're kind of saying. At least the answer to this question. You know, do the tears know that they're tears? Yes and no. Some do, some don't. I think, yes, there are some that are gonna be consciously hypocritical, willfully rejecting Christ while pretending for worldly gain. I think that's, that's certainly plain to see. And at the same time, do the tears know the tears? Sometimes? No. There's self deceived under spiritual blindness and they have some kind of false assurance. And this idea of, again, coming in repentance before God and seeking humbly to submit to him is I think one of those signs of that kind of true assurance, not a false assurance. And you already stole where I was thinking of Tony by going to Second Timothy again. Thomas Brooks in precious remedies against Saint's device is one of like the best. Books ever. I know that he's really outspoken. He loves to harp on the fact that one of Satan's most effective snares is to make men and women content with a form of godliness without its power. Yeah. And that's often what we're talking about here, I think, is that Satan loves to fish in the shallow waters a profession. And really that can happen in any kind of church or religious culture, that there is this shallowness where that loves religious appearance, prayer, knowledge fellowship, but not the Christ behind them. And so whether we're looking to somebody like Brooks or Jonathan Edwards and we're trying to parse out what are our true affections, not in a way again, that somehow leans well, I feel enough, then somehow that justifies, not inwardly, but again, definitely trying to understand our conviction for conversion tears. For repentance that. Really what we're after is not like just the blessings of Christ, but Christ himself, which I think really leads us to this eschatological perspective then to round all everything out because you know, we talked about before, there's an old phrase, it's like everywhere. A lot of people talk in heaven. Not everybody's going there. And so this idea of like, people will talk about be so great to be there and it's sometimes this, the heaven that they speak of is like absent Christ, you know, as if like, if Christ wasn't there, at least in their perspective, it still wouldn't be half bad. And so I think that does lead us to understand what is this in gathering? What is this? You know, bringing everything into the barn and burning everything else up. And like you just said, if at the beginning you cannot tell the injurious weed aside from that beautiful kernel of wheat that's coming up, but if in the end you can see what's happening in the end, then that brings us all to consummation. What does it mean in this parable? Tony Arsenal: Yeah. [00:44:19] Eschatological Judgment and Assurance Tony Arsenal: And, and I think this actually sort of forces us to grapple a little bit with, with another sort of persnickety feature of this parable that, that I think, I think personally sometimes gets overlooked is we are very quick to talk about this parable to be about the church. And it is. Right. And, and there's reasons to talk like that. But when Christ explains the parable, he doesn't say the field is the church. He says the field is the world. Right. And so we have to, we have to, we have to do a little bit of, um. We have to do a little bit of hermeneutics to understand that this is also speaking of the church, right? It's not as though the church is some hermetically sealed off body that the dynamics of the world and the, the weed and the tears like that, that doesn't happen in the church. But when we talk about the end of the age here, he says the son of man will send his angels and they will gather out of his kingdom. All causes of sin in all lawbreakers. Right? So, so the, the final eschatological judgment, it's all encompassing. And I dunno, maybe I'm, maybe I'm becoming a little bit post mill with this, um, the, the world is already the Kingdom of Christ. Right? Right. That's right. It, it's not, it's not just the church on earth that is the kingdom of Christ. And so when we talk about this eschatological reaping, um, what we see is, is very straightforward. There are those who are, uh, who belong to Christ, who were sown by him into the world, who were, uh, were tended by him, who were protected by him, who he intended to harvest from the very beginning, right? The good sower sows good seed into the field, and that good seed is and necessarily will be wheat. It's not as though, um, it's not as though, and again, this is one of those ways where like the parables sometimes, uh, are telling a little bit of a different story. Even though they're sharing some themes in the first parable, in the parable of the sower, he sows the same seed into the world. But the seed in that first parable is not the, is not the person receiving the seed. The seed is the one is the word of God. Yes. And so the word of God is sewn promiscuously, even to those who will be hard soil and who will be rocky soil and have thorns. The word of God is, is sewn to all of those people. Across the whole world in this parable. The seed that is the good seed that is sown is and always was going to be weed that was, or wheat, which was going to grow into fruitfulness and be gathered into the barn. Right? That was a foregone conclusion. The, the, when the sower decided to sow seed, all of that said he is the one who did that. He's the one that chose that. He's the one that will bring us to completion, right? And then also the ones that are not of his kingdom, the sons of the devil, they will also be reaped at the end. Actually we'll be reaped before the, you know, they'll be reaped and gathered and, and tossed into the furnace before the sons of the kingdom are gathered together. Jesse Schwamb: Right. Tony Arsenal: So it, again, this is a parable and even though this is Christ's explanation of the parable, I don't think that Christ was intending to give us like a strict timeline. Right. I don't think he was encouraging us to draw a chart and try to map out where this all happens in order. Um, I do think it's relevant that, that, at least in the explanation of this parable, I mentioned it last week, that, that the rap, the rapture is actually the wicked being raptured. They're the ones that are gathered and taken out of the world and cast into the fiery furnace before the, before the righteous are gathered together and, and brought into Christ Barn. Jesse Schwamb: Yeah, there's a great unmasking that's happening here in this final stage. I mean, that's critically the point. I think there's a lot of stuff we could talk about open handedly and kind of hypothesize or theorize what it means. But what is plain, I think, is that there's this unmasking, this unveiling of the reality of the light of Christ's perfect judgment. But that judgment is for both parties Here it is coming and what was hidden beneath outward religion or more, a facade is gonna be revealed with eternal clarity. That's just the reality. It is coming. So in some ways it pairs. I think at least well in this, well purposely of course in this teaching because Jesus is saying, hold on, like we talked about last time. Do this is not for you to judge. You are ill-equipped. You are not skilled enough to discern this. And therefore though, you wanna go in hot and get spicy and try to throw out all the weeds. Wait for the right time. Wait for the one like you're saying, Tony has from all of eternity past intended for it to be this way. Super intending his will over all things in the casting of the seed. And as we say, Philippians, of course, finishing that good work, which was started, he will finish. It is God's two finish again. And so he says, listen, that day is coming. There's gonna be a great unmasking. Uh, get ready for it. And the scriptures bear witness to that in so many other ways. So. There's such a journey in these like handful of verses, isn't there? I mean, it's really wild. The things that not like we come up with or we read into the text, but as we sit in it a little bit, as we just spend even a cursory amount of time letting it pour over us, that we find there's like a conviction in a weight in these things that are beyond just the story and beyond just even like the illustrations themselves. What we find is, again, it's as if Jesus himself in his brilliance, of course, through the power of the Holy Spirit, is illuminating the mind in the spirit to open up our conception, understanding of the kingdom of God by bringing it to us through his perspective in our own terms, of course, which is both our language and like the context of the world in which we live, and that simple example of farming and seed. And again, even just that there are these interest weeds that look like wheat. I went on this like rabbit hole this week and did a lot of research on like tears and Yeah, like especially people in like the Midwest United States who like know a lot more about agriculture than I do have a lot to say about this. It's not just like we shouldn't be surprised like. Isn't it incredible that like there are actually weeds out there that look like, yeah, it's a brilliance of just knowing that this teaching is so finely tuned. Like we can even just talk about that. Like the world is finely tuned. This teaching is so finely tuned to these grant theological principles that we can at one point be children and appropriate them enough and assume them into our own intellectual capacity so that we can trust in them. And yet even as like adults with like, let's say like the greatest gift of intellectual capacity, still find that we cannot get to the bottom of them because they're so deep. They draw us into these really, really grand vistas or really like extremely deep cold theological waters. And I just find. That I am in awe then of what Jesus is saying here because there's a truth for us in assurance that we ought to clinging to. And there's also like stuff that we should come back to. We shouldn't just stop it here and put it out of our minds until the next time we, we want to just be stimulated by something that's interesting or that we want to just grab somebody and shake them cage style, cage two style and say like, look at this great thing that I just learned about this, this particular parable. But instead, there's so much here for us to meditate on. And in that, I think rather than the Christian finding fear in this parable, what they should find is great comfort. We should be Noah alike sitting in the ark saying, it is well with my soul. And our reason for that is because we know God has cast a seed through his son Jesus Christ. And to be a child, a child of God is the greatest thing in all the universe. Tony Arsenal: Yeah. And I, I think that, um, transitions nicely to, uh, I'll make this point quick because we're coming up on time here. Um. [00:52:04] Christ's Divinity and Sovereignty Tony Arsenal: The other little subtle thing that Christ does here in this parable is he, he absolutely asserts his divinity and sovereignty overall creation. Jesse Schwamb: That's right. Yep. Tony Arsenal: Right. It, it's almost like a throw. There's a couple little like lines that are almost throwaway lines, right in the, the first, the beginning of the parable here. Um, the parable itself, uh, he says, um, the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed into a field. And then he says, um, the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, right? And then when he interprets the parable, he says, well, the, the servants are, the field is the world, right? So he's the master of the world, and the servants are the angels. So he's the master of the angels. And then if, if there was any doubt left in your mind. Says in verse 41, the son of man will send his angels. That's right. And they will gather out of his kingdom, which is the world, all the causes of sin and all lawbreakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. Right? So we have this, this robust picture that there is election. The the good sower sows good seed into the world, and the good seed will necessarily grow into wheat and will be preserved and protected and ultimately harvest Well, why can we have assurance that that will be the case? Well, because the master of the house is the son of man who is the Lord of the universe and the creator of all things. And his angels do his will. That's right. So, so the whole thing is all wrapped up. Why can we have assurance? Because God is a good God and Christ is a good savior, and the savior of the world is the creator of the universe, right? If any of those facts were not true. Then we couldn't have assurance. If God wasn't good, then maybe he's lying. If Christ wasn't the savior of the world or the God of the universe, the creator of the universe, then he wasn't worthy to be the one who saves. All of this is wrapped up in the parables, and this is what's so exciting about the parables. In most of the instances that we look up, especially of the sort of longer parables, these kinds of dynamics are there where it's not just a simple story making a simple point, it is making one primary point. Usually there's one primary point that a, that a parable is making. But in order to make that primary point, there's all these supporting points and supporting things that have to be the case. If the, if the good sower was not the master of the house and a, a competent, uh, a competent landowner who knew the difference between wheat and weeds, even at the early stage, right? His, his servants go and go, what happened? What's with all of these weeds? They can tell the difference somehow, Jesse Schwamb: right? Tony Arsenal: He's immediately able to go, well, this was an enemy. Jesse Schwamb: That's right. Tony Arsenal: And while they're bumbling around going, should we go rip it all up and start over? He is like, no, no, no, no. Just wait until, wait until it all grows up together. And when that happens, the Reapers will come and they'll take care of it and they'll do it in my direction, right? Because he's competent, he's the savior, he's the creator, he's the good master, he is the good sower. Um, we can be confi

In this episode, Brandon Birkmeyer interviews Kat Norton, popularly known as Miss Excel on TikTok and Instagram, where she has garnered over a million followers by teaching Microsoft Excel in a fun and engaging manner.   Kat shares her inspirational journey from a 9-to-5 consulting job to becoming a successful entrepreneur, complete with viral content, a popular Excel course, and multiple coaching and training programs. She discusses the importance of authenticity, leveraging creativity, and overcoming personal barriers to build a profitable creator business.   Kat also reveals her process for creating content, scaling her business, and maintaining work-life balance through self-care and meditation. Tune in to learn how to combine passion, creativity, and knowledge into a flourishing online business. Connect with Kat on her website at miss-excel.com or on TikTok & Instagram: @miss.excel. 00:00 Introduction to Kat Norton and Miss Excel 02:00 The Journey to TikTok Fame 03:25 Authenticity and Content Creation 06:42 Combining Passions: Excel and Dancing 13:12 From Corporate Job to Content Creator 16:47 Going Viral and Building a Following 27:37 Course Creation Process: From Idea to Launch 31:15 Tools and Platforms for Course Creation 38:52 Personal Growth and Handling Overwhelm 40:41 Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs 44:59 Conclusion and Final Thoughts   This is the Brands On Brands Podcast with Brandon Birkmeyer www.brandsonbrands.com Don't forget to get your own personal branding scorecard at: https://www.brandsonbrands.com/scorecard CONNECT WITH ME Connect with me on social media: https://www.brandsonbrands.com/mylinks READ MY BOOK - FRONT & CENTER LEADERSHIP I launched a new book and author website. Check it out here. https://www.brandonbirkmeyer.com/fcl CHECK OUT MY COURSES Get tactical trainings and access to one-on-one coaching! https://www.brandsonbrands.com/courses SUBSCRIBE TO THE NEWSLETTER Get the latest news and trends on all things personal branding and the creator economy. https://www.brandsonbrands.com/newsletter