Podcasts about Flatiron

In this episode of The PDB Evening Edition:   We'll start things off with the latest update on the diplomatic talks between the U.S. and Iran, as the Trump administration says "very good progress" is being made, and Tehran says they are working on designing a new framework for a nuclear deal. Later in the show—U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is once again in hot water after fresh revelations that he used a second Signal chat group on his personal phone to discuss sensitive information about ongoing U.S. military actions in Yemen. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President's Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief StopBox: Get firearm security redesigned and save with BOGO the StopBox Pro AND 10% OFF @StopBoxUSA with code PDB at http://stopboxusa.com/PDB ! #stopboxpod Birch Gold: Text PDB to 989898 and get your free info kit on gold TriTails Premium Beef: Visit https://TryBeef.com/PDB for 2 free Flat Iron steaks with your first box over $250. Plus, for a limited time enjoy 5% off on almost everything site-wide excluding subscriptions and B-stock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief:   President Trump's tariff strategy appears to be yielding results, with Japan, Indonesia, and others signaling trade deals that could open up massive markets to American exports.   Russia's so-called Easter ceasefire proved hollow, as its military continued launching attacks across Ukraine despite Putin's pledge.   A suspected terrorist long wanted by India has been arrested on American soil—a big development in the growing counterterrorism partnership between Washington and New Delhi.   And in today's Back of the Brief: The Pentagon confirms a substantial drawdown of U.S. troops from Syria, following reports we first brought you last week.   To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President's Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. StopBox: Get firearm security redesigned and save with BOGO the StopBox Pro AND 10% OFF @StopBoxUSA with code PDB at http://stopboxusa.com/PDB ! #stopboxpod Birch Gold: Text PDB to 989898 and get your free info kit on gold TriTails Premium Beef: Visit https://TryBeef.com/PDB for 2 free Flat Iron steaks with your first box over $250. Plus, for a limited time enjoy 5% off on almost everything site-wide excluding subscriptions and B-stock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Few Americans have been as explicit in their warnings about Donald Trump than the St. Louis based writer Sarah Kendzior. Her latest book, The Last American Road Trip, is a memoir chronicling Kendzior's journey down Route 66 to show her children America before it is destroyed. Borrowing from her research of post Soviet Central Asia, Kendzior argues that Trump is establishing a kleptocratic “mafia state” designed to fleece the country of its valuables. This is the third time that Kendzior has been on the show and I have to admit I've always been slightly skeptical of her apocalyptic take on Trump. But given the damage that the new administration is inflicting on America, I have to admit that many of Kendzior's warnings now appear to be uncannily prescient. As she warns, it's Springtime in America. And things are about to get much much hotter. FIVE TAKEAWAYS* Kendzior views Trump's administration as a "mafia state" or kleptocracy focused on stripping America for parts rather than traditional fascism, comparing it to post-Soviet oligarchic systems she studied as an academic.* She believes American institutions have failed to prevent authoritarianism, criticizing both the Biden administration and other institutional leaders for not taking sufficient preventative action during Trump's first term.* Despite her bleak analysis, Kendzior finds hope in ordinary Americans and their capacity for mutual care and resistance, even as she sees formal leadership failing.* Kendzior's new book The Last American Road Trip follows her journey to show her children America before potential collapse, using Route 66 as a lens to examine American decay and resilience.* As an independent voice, she describes being targeted through both publishing obstacles and personal threats, yet remains committed to staying in her community and documenting what's happening. FULL TRANSCRIPTAndrew Keen: Hello everybody, it is April the 18th, 2025, a Friday. I'm thrilled today that we have one of my favorite guests back on the show. I call her the Cassandra of St. Louis, Sarah Kendzior. Many of you know her from her first book, which was a huge success. All her books have done very well. The View from Flyover Country. She was warning us about Trump and Trumpism and MAGA. She was first on our show in 2020. Talking about media in the age of Trump. She had another book out then, Hiding in Plain Sight, The Invention of Donald Trump and the Erosion of America. Then in 2022, she came back on the show to talk about how a culture of conspiracy is keeping America simultaneously complacent and paranoid that the book was called or is called, They Knew. Another big success. And now Sarah has a new book out. It's called The Last American Road Trip. It's a beautifully written book, a kind of memoir, but a political one, of course, which one would expect from Sarah Kendzior. And I'm thrilled, as I said, that the Cassandra of St. Louis is joining us from St. Louis. Sarah, congratulations on the new book.Sarah Kendzior: Oh, thank you. And thank you for having me back on.Andrew Keen: Well, it's an honor. So these four books, how does the last American road trip in terms of the narrative of your previous three hits, how does it fit in? Why did you write it?Sarah Kendzior: Well, this book kind of pivots off the epilog of hiding in plain sight. And that was a book about political corruption in the United States and the rise of Trump. But in the epilogue, I describe how I was trying as a mom to show my kids America in the case that it ended due to both political turmoil and corruption and also climate change. I wanted them to see things themselves. So I was driving them around the country to national parks, historic sites, et cetera. And so many people responded so passionately to that little section, especially parents really struggling on how to raise children in this America that I ended up writing a book that covers 2016 to 2024 and my attempts to show my children everything I could in the time that we had. And as this happens, my children went from relatively young kids to teenagers, my daughter's almost an adult. And so it kind of captures America during this time period. It's also just a travelog, a road trip book, a memoir. It's a lot of things at once.Andrew Keen: Yeah, got great review from Ms. magazine comparing you with the great road writers, Kerouac, of course, and Steinbeck, but Kerouak and Steinback, certainly Kerouack was very much of a solitary male. Is there a female quality to this book? As you say, it's a book as much about your kids and the promise of America as it is about yourself.Sarah Kendzior: Yeah, I think there is in that, you know, I have a section actually about the doomed female road trip where it's, you know, Thelma and Louise or Janet Bates and Psycho or even songs about, you know, being on the road and on the run that are written by women, you know, like Merle Haggard's I'm a Lonesome Fugitive, had to be sung by men to convey that quality. And there aren't a lot of, you know, mom on the Road with her husband and kids kind of books. That said, I think of it as a family book, a parenting book. I certainly think men would like it just as much as women would, and people without kids would like just as people with kids, although it does seem to strike a special resonance with families struggling with a lot of the same issues that I do.Andrew Keen: It's all about the allure of historic Route 66. I've been on that. Anyone who's driven across the country has you. You explain that it's a compilation of four long trips across Route 66 in 1998, 2007, 2017, and 2023. That's almost 40 years, Sarah. Sorry, 30. Getting away my age there, Andrew. My math isn't very good. I mean, how has Route 66 and of course, America changed in that period? I know that's a rather leading question.Sarah Kendzior: No, I mean, I devote quite a lot of the book to Route 66 in part because I live on it, you know, goes right through St. Louis. So, I see it just every day. I'll be casually grocery shopping and then be informed I'm on historic Route 66 all of a sudden. But you know it's a road that is, you once was the great kind of romanticized road of escape and travel. It was decommissioned notably by Ronald Reagan after the creation of the interstate. And now it's just a series of rural roads, frontage roads, roads that end abruptly, roads that have gone into ruin, roads that are in some really beautiful places in terms of the landscape. So it really is this conglomeration of all of America, you know of the decay and the destruction and the abandonment in particular, but also people's, their own memories, their own artistic works, you know roadside shrines and creations that are often, you know pretty off beat. That they've put to show this is what I think of our country. These are my values. This is what, I think, is important. So it's a very interesting journey to take. It's often one I'm kind of inadvertently on just because of where I live and the direction I go. We'll mirror it. So I kept passing these sites again and again. I didn't set out to write this book. Obviously, when I first drove it when I was 19, I didn't know that this was our future. But looking back, especially at technological change, at how we travel, at how trust each other, at all of these things that have happened to this country since this time, it's really something. And that road will bring back all of those memories of what was lost and what remains to be lost. And of course it's hitting its 100th anniversary next year, so I'm guessing there'll be a lot of reminiscing about Route 66.Andrew Keen: Book about memories, you write about that, eventually even your memory will just or this experience of this trip will just be a memory. What does that suggest about contextualizing the current moment in American history? It's too easy to overdramatize it or perhaps it's hard not to over dramatize it given what's happening. I want to talk about a little bit about that your take on America on April the 18th, 2025. But how does that make sense of a memorial when you know that even your memories will become memories?Sarah Kendzior: Yeah, I mean it's hard to talk frankly about what's happening in America now without it sounding over dramatic or hyperbolic, which I think is why so many people were reluctant to believe me over my last decade of warnings that the current crises and catastrophes that we're experiencing are coming, are possible, and need to be actively stopped. I don't think they were inevitable, but they needed to be stopped by people in charge who refused to do it. And so, my reaction to this as a writer, but just as a human being is to write everything down, is to keep an ongoing record, not only of what I witness now, but of what know of our history, of what my own values are, of what place in the world is. And back in 2016, I encouraged everyone to do this because I knew that over the next decade, people would be told to accept things that they would normally never accept, to believe things that they would normally, never believe. And if you write down where you stand, you always have that point of reference to look back towards. It doesn't have to be for publication. It doesn't have to for the outside world. It can just be for yourself. And so I think that that's important. But right now, I think everyone has a role to play in battling what is an authoritarian kleptocracy and preventing it from hurting people. And I think people should lean into what they do best. And what I do best is write and research and document. So that's what I meant. Continue to do, particularly as history itself is under assault by this government.Andrew Keen: One of the things that strikes me about you, Sarah, is that you have an unusual background. You got a PhD in Soviet studies, late Soviet studies.Sarah Kendzior: Anthropology, yeah, but that was nice.Andrew Keen: But your dissertation was on the Uzbek opposition in exile. I wonder whether that experience of studying the late Soviet Union and its disintegration equipped you in some ways better than a lot of domestic American political analysts and writers for what's happening in America today. We've done a number of shows with people like Pete Weiner, who I'm sure you know his work from the Atlantic of New York Times. About learning from East European resistance writers, brave people like Milan Kundra, of course, Vaclav Havel, Solzhenitsyn. Do you think your earlier history of studying the Soviet Union helped you prepare, at least mentally, intellectually, for what's happening in the United States?Sarah Kendzior: Oh, absolutely. I think it was essential, because there are all sorts of different types of authoritarianism. And the type that Trump and his backers have always pursued was that of a mafia state, you know, of a kleptocracy. And Uzbekistan is the country that I knew the most. And actually, you what I wrote my dissertation about, this is between 2006, and 2012, was the fact that after a massacre of civilians... A lot of Uzbekistan's journalists, activists, political figures, opposition figures, et cetera, went into exile and then they immediately started writing blogs. And so for the very first time, they had freedom of speech. They had never had it in Uzbekistan. And they start revealing the whole secret history of Uzbekistan and everything going on and trying to work with each other, try to sort of have some impact on the political process in Uzbekistan. And they lost. What happened was the dictator died, Islam Karimov died, in 2016, and was replaced by another dictator who's not quite as severe. But watching the losing side and also watching people persevere and hold on to themselves and continue working despite that loss, I think, was very influential. Because you could look at Václav Havel or Lech Walesa or, you know, other sort of. People who won, you know, from Eastern Europe, from the revolutions of 1989 and so forth. And it's inspiring that sometimes I think it's really important to look at the people who did not succeed, but kept going anyway. You know, they didn't surrender themselves. They didn't their morality and they didn't abandon their fellow man. And I think that that's important. And also just to sort of get at the heart of your question, yes, you the structure of it, oligarchs who shake down countries, strip them and sell them for parts. Mine them for resources. That model, especially of what happened to Russia, actually, in particular in the 1990s of these oligarch wars, is what I see as the future of the United States right now. That is what they're trying to emulate.Andrew Keen: That we did a show with Steve Hansen and Jeff Kopstein, both political scientists, on what they see. They co-wrote a book on patrimonialism. This is the model they see there. They're both Max Weber scholars, so they borrow from that historic sociological analysis. And Kopstein was on the show with John Rausch as well, talking about this patrimonials. And so you, do you share the Kopstein-Hansen-Rausch analysis. Roush wrote a piece in the Atlantic about this too, which did very well. But this isn't conventional fascism or communism. It's a kind of 21st century version of patrimonialism.Sarah Kendzior: It's definitely not traditional fascism and one of the main reasons for that is a fascist has loyalty to the state. They seek to embody the state, they seek to expand the state recently Trump has been doing this more traditional route somewhat things like wanting to buy Greenland. But I think a lot of what he's doing is in reaction to climate change and also by the way I don't think Trump is the mastermind or originator. Of any of these geopolitical designs. You know, he has a team, we know about some of them with the Heritage Foundation Project 2025. We know he has foreign advisors. And again, you know, Trump is a corporate raider. That is how he led his business life. He's a mafia associate who wants to strip things down and sell them for parts. And that's what they wanna do with the United States. And that, yes, there are fascist tactics. There are fascists rhetoric. You know there are a lot of things that this country will, unfortunately, and has. In common, you know, with, say, Nazi Germany, although it's also notable that of course Nazi Germany borrowed from a lot of the tactics of Jim Crow, slavery, genocide of Native Americans. You know, this has always been a back and forth and America always has had some form of selective autocracy. But yeah, I think the folks who try to make this direct line and make it seem like the 20th century is just simply being revived, I've always felt like they were off because. There's no interest for these plutocrats in the United States even existing as a sovereign body. Like it truly doesn't matter to them if all of our institutions, even something as benign as the Postal Service, collapse. That's actually beneficial for them because then they can privatize, they can mine resources, they can make money for themselves. And I really worry that their goal is partition, you know, is to take this country. And to split it into smaller pieces that are easier to control. And that's one of the reasons I wrote this book, that I wrote The Last American Road Trip because I don't want people to fall for traps about generalizations or stereotypes about different regions of this country. I want them to see it as a whole and that our struggles are interconnected and we have a better chance of winning if we stand by each other.Andrew Keen: Yeah, and your book, in particular, The View from Flyover Country was so important because it wasn't written from San Francisco or Los Angeles or D.C. Or New York. It was written from St. Louis. So in a way, Sarah, you're presenting Trump as the ultimate Hayekian b*****d. There's a new book out by Quinn Slobodian called Hayek's B******s, which connects. Trumpianism and mago with Neoliberalism you don't see a break. We've done a lot of shows on the rise and fall of neoliberalism. You don't say a break between Hayek and TrumpSarah Kendzior: I think that in terms of neoliberalism, I think it's a continuation of it. And people who think that our crises began with Trump becoming the president in 2017, entering office, are deluded because the pathway to Trump even being able to run for president given that he was first investigated by the Department of Justice in 1973 and then was linked to a number of criminal enterprises for decades after. You know, that he was able to get in that position, you know that already showed that we had collapsed in certain respects. And so I think that these are tied together. You know, this has a lot to do with greed, with a, you know a disregard for sovereignty, a disregard human rights. For all of this Trump has always served much better as a demagogue, a front man, a figurehead. I do think, you he's a lot smarter. Than many of his opponents give him credit for. He is very good at doing what he needs to do and knowing what he need to know and nothing more. The rest he gives to the bureaucrats, to the lawyers, et cetera. But he fills this persona, and I do wonder what will happen when he is gone because they've tried very hard to find a successor and it's always failed, like DeSantis or Nikki Haley or whoever. And I kind of wonder if one of the reasons things are moving so, so fast now is they're trying to get a lot of things in under the wire while he's still alive, because I don't think that there's any individual who people have the loyalty to. His cult is not that big. It's a relatively small segment of the country, but it is very intense and very loyal to him. I don't think that loyalty is transferable.Andrew Keen: Is there anything, you know, I presented you as the Cassandra from St. Louis, you've seen the future probably clearer than most other people. Certainly when I first came across your work, I wasn't particularly convinced. I'm much more convinced now. You were right. I was wrong. Is there, anything about Trump too, that surprised you? I mean, any of the, the cruelty? Open corruption, the anger, the hostility, the attempt to destroy anything of any value in America, the fact that they seem to take such great pleasure in destroying this country's most valuable thing.Sarah Kendzior: Yeah, it's extremely sad and no, he doesn't surprise me at all. He's been the same guy since I was a little kid. You know, he was a plot line on children's television shows in the 1980s where as a child, I was supposed to know that the name Trump was synonymous with corruption, with being a tax cheat, with being a liar, you know, these were just sort of cultural codes that I was expected to know. What surprised me more is that no one stopped him because this threat was incredibly obvious. And that so many people in power have joined in, and I'm assuming they're joining in because they would rather be on the side with all that power than be a target of that power, but that they feel apparently no sense of loss, no sense grief for things like the loss of national parks, public education, the postal service, things that most folks like, social security for your elderly parents. Most Americans... Want these things. And most Americans, regardless of political party, don't want to see our country torn apart in this fashion. And so I'm not surprised by Trump. I'm surprised at the extent of his enablers at the complicity of the press and of the FBI and other institutions. And, you know, it's also been very jarring to watch how open they are this time around, you know, things like Elon Musk and his operation taking out. Classified information. The thing is, is I'm pretty sure Trump did all that. I mean, we know Trump did this in his first term, you know, and they would emphasize things like this box of physical written documents in Mar-a-Lago illegally taken. But, you know my mind always just went to, well, what did they do digitally? Because that seems much easier and much more obvious. What did they with all of these state secrets that they had access to for four years? What kind of leverage would that give them? And I think now they're just kind of, they're not bothering to hide anything anymore. I think they set the stage and now, you know, we're in the midst of the most horrible play, the most terrible performance ever. And it's, you can be still crushing at times.Andrew Keen: And of course, the real question is whether we're in the last act. Your book, The Last American Road Trip, was written, mostly written, what, in 2024 from?Sarah Kendzior: 2023.Andrew Keen: 2023. So, I mean, here's, I don't know if you can answer this, Sarah, but you know as much about middle America and middle Americans as anyone. You're on the road, you talk to everyone, you have a huge following, both on the left and the right in some ways. Some of your books now, you told me before we went live, some of your previous books, like Hiding in Plain Sight, suddenly become a big hit amongst conservative Americans. What does Trump or the MAGA people around him, what do they have to do to lose the support of ordinary Americans? As you say, they're destroying the essential infrastructure, medical, educational, the roads, the railways, everything is being destroyed, carted off almost like Stalin carted of half of the Soviet Union back into Asia during the Second World War. What does he have to do to lose the support of Middle America?Sarah Kendzior: I mean, I don't think middle America, you know, by which like a giant swath of the country that's, that's just ideological, diverse, demographically diverse supports him. I mean some do certainly. He's got some hardcore acolytes. I think most people are disillusioned with the entire political system. They are deeply frustrated by Trump. They were deeply frustrated. By Biden, they're struggling to pay bills. They're struggling. To hold on to basic human rights. And they're mad that their leverage is gone. People voted in record numbers in 2020. They protested in record number throughout Trump's first term. They've made their concerns known for a very long time and there are just very few officials really listening or responding. And I think that initially when Trump reentered the picture, it caused folks to just check out mentally because it was too overwhelming. I think it's why voter turnout was lower because the Democrats, when they won, didn't make good on their promises. It's a very simple thing. If you follow through with your campaign platform that was popular, then you're going to retain those voters. If you don't, you may lose them, especially when you're up against a very effective demagogue who has a way with rhetoric. And so we're just in such a bad place, such a painful place. I don't think people will look to politicians to solve their problems and with very good reason. I'm hoping that there are more of a sense of community support, more of sense that we're all in this together, especially as financially things begin to fall apart. Trump said openly in 2014 that he intended to crash the American economy. He said this on a Fox News clip that I found in 2016. Because it was being reprinted all over Russian-language media. They loved this clip because it also praised Putin and so forth. And I was astounded by it. I was like, why in the world isn't this all over every TV station, every radio station? He's laying out the whole plan, and now he's following that plan. And so I'm very concerned about that. And I just hope people in times like this, traditionally, this opens the door to fascism. People become extremely afraid. And in their fear they want a scapegoat, they are full of rage, they take it out on each other. That is the worst possible move right now from both a moral or a strategic view. People need to protect each other, to respect each other as fully human, to recognize almost everyone here, except for a little tiny group of corrupt billionaires, is a victim in this scenario, and so I don't see a big difference between, you know, myself and... Wherever I go. I was in Tulsa yesterday, I was in San Francisco last week. We're all in this together and I see a lot of heartache wherever I go. And so if people can lend each other support, that is the best way to get through this.Andrew Keen: Are you suggesting then that he is the Manchurian candidate? Why did he say that in 2014?Sarah Kendzior: Well, it was interesting. He was on Fox during the Sochi Olympics, and he was talking about how he speaks with Putin every day, their pals, and that Putin is going to produce a really big win for us, and we're all going to be very happy about it. And then he went on to say that the crashing of the economy and riots throughout America is what will make America great again. And this is in February 2014. Fox has deleted the clip, You know, other people have copies. So it is, it's also in my book hiding in plain sight, the transcript of that. I'm not sure, like a Manchurian candidate almost feels, you know like the person would have to be blackmailed or coerced or brainwashed somehow to participate. I think Trump is a true volunteer and his loyalty isn't to Russia per se. You know, his loyalty is to his bank accounts, like his loyalty is to power. And one thing he's been after his whole life was immunity from prosecution because he has been involved or adjacent to such an enormous number of crimes. And then when the Supreme Court granted him that, he got what he wanted and he's not afraid of breaking the law in any way. He's doing what all autocrats do, which is rewrite the law so that he is no longer breaking it. And he has a team of lawyers who help him in that agenda. So I feel like on one sense, he's very. All-American. It's kind of a sad thing that as he destroys America, he's doing it in a very American way. He plays a lot of great American music at his rallies. He has a vernacular that I can relate to that and understand it while detesting everything he's doing and all of his horrific policies. But what they want to turn us into though, I think is something that all Americans just won't. Recognized. And we've had the slipping away of a kind of unified American culture for a while, I think because we've lost our pop culture, which is really where a lot of people would bond, you know, movies, music, all of it became split into streaming services, you know. All of it became bifurcated. People stopped seeing each other as much face to face, you know, during COVID and then that became kind of a permanent thing. We're very fragmented and that hurts us badly. And all we've kind of got left is I guess sports and then politics. So people take all the effort that they used to put into devouring American pop culture or American civic life and they put it into this kind of politics that the media presents as if it's a game, like initially a horse race during the election and now like, ooh, will the evil dictator win? It's like, this is our lives. Like we have a lot on the line. So I wish they would do, they would take their job more seriously too. Of course, they're up paywalled and on streaming sites, so who's watching anyway, but still it is a problem.Andrew Keen: Yeah, it's interesting you talk about this death wish, you mentioned Thelma and Louise earlier, one of the great movies, American road movies, maybe in an odd way, the final scene of the Trump movie will be similar to the, you seem to be suggesting to, I'm not gonna give away the end of Thelmer and Louise to anyone who's watching who hasn't seen it, you do need to see it, similar ending to that movie. What about, you've talked about resistance, Sarah, a one of. The most influential, I guess, resistors to Trump and Trumpism. You put up an X earlier this month about the duty of journalism to resist, the duty to thinkers to resist. Some people are leaving, guys like Tim Snyder, his wife, Marcy Shaw, Jason Stanley, another expert on fascism. You've made it clear that you're staying. What's your take on people like Snyder who are leaving this country?Sarah Kendzior: Well, from what I know, he made a statement saying he had decided to move to Canada before Trump was put in office. Jason Stanley, on the other hand, explicitly said he's moving there because Trump is in office, and my first thought when I heard about all of them was, well, what about their students? Like, what about all these students who are being targeted by ICE, who are being deported? What about their TAs? What about everyone who's in a more vulnerable position. You know, when you have a position of power and influence, you could potentially do a lot of good in helping people. You know I respect everyone's decision to live wherever they want. Like it's not my business. But I do think that if you have that kind of chance to do something powerful for the community around you, especially the most vulnerable people in it who at this time are green card holders, people here on visas, we're watching this horrific crackdown at all these universities. My natural inclination would be to stay and take a stand and not abandon them. And I guess, you know, people, they do things in different ways or they may have their own personal concerns and, you know that's fine. I just know, you know I'm not leaving, you know, like I've got elderly parents and in-laws. I've got relatives who need me. I have a lot of people who depend on me and they depend on me in St. Louis and in Missouri. Because there aren't that many journalists in St. Louis. I think there could be, there are a lot of great writers in St Louis, you know, who have given a chance, given a platform, you could really show you what it's actually like here instead of all these stereotypes. But we're always, always marginalized. Like even I'm marginalized and I think I'm, you know, probably the most well-known in terms of being a political commentator. And so I feel like it's important to stand my ground but also You know, I love this, this state in the city and I love my community and I can't fathom, you know, leaving people in the lurch at a time like this. When I'm doing better, I'm on more solid ground despite being a target of various, you know organizations and individuals. I'm at a more solid down than somebody who's a, you know a black American or an immigrant or impoverished. Like I feel like it is my job to stand up for you know, folks here and let everyone know, you know what's going on and be somebody who they can come to and feel like that's safe.Andrew Keen: You describe yourself, Sarah, as a target. Your books have done very well. Most of them have been bestsellers. I'm sure the last American road trip will do very well, you're just off.Sarah Kendzior: It is the bestseller as of yesterday. It is your bestseller, congratulations. Yeah, our USA Today bestsellers, so yeah.Andrew Keen: Excellent. So that's good news. You've been on the road, you've had hundreds of people show up. I know you wrote about signing 600 books at Left Bank Books, which is remarkable. Most writers would cut off both hands for that. How are you being targeted? You noted that some of your books are being taken off the shelves. Are they being banned or discouraged?Sarah Kendzior: I mean, basically, what's been happening is kind of akin to what you see with universities. I just think it's not as well publicized or publicized at all, where there's not some sort of, you know, like the places will give in to what they think this administration wants before they are outright told to do it. So yes, there is an attempt to remove hiding in plain sight from circulation in 2024 to, you know, make the paperback, which at the time was ranked on Amazon. At number 2,000. It was extremely popular because this is the week that the Supreme Court gave Trump immunity. I was on vacation when I found out it was being pulled out of circulation. And I was in rural New Mexico and I had to get to a place with Wi-Fi to try to fight back for my book, which was a bestseller, a recent publication. It was very strange to me and I won that fight. They put it back, but a lot of people had tried to order it at that time and didn't get it. And a lot of people try to get my other books and they just can't get them. You know, so the publisher always has a warehouse issue or a shipping problem and you know, this kind of comes up or you know people notice, they've noticed this since 2020, you know I don't get reviewed in the normal kind of place as a person that has best selling books one after another would get reviewed. You know, that kind of thing is more of a pain. I always was able to circumvent it before through social media. But since Musk took over Twitter and because of the way algorithms work, it's more and more difficult for me to manage all of the publicity and PR and whatnot on my own. And so, you know, I'm grateful that you're having me on your show. I'm also grateful that, you Know, Flatiron did give me a book tour. That's helped tremendously. But there's that. And then there's also just the constant. Death threats and threats of you know other things you know things happening to people I love and it's been scary and I get used to it and that I expect it but you know you never could really get used to people constantly telling you that they're gonna kill you you know.Andrew Keen: When you get death threats, do you go to the authorities, have they responded?Sarah Kendzior: No, there's no point. I mean, I have before and it was completely pointless. And, you know, I'll just mostly just go to people I know who I trust to see if they can check in on things. I have to be very vague here who are not in the government or in the police or anything like that. I don't think anyone would protect me. I really just don't think anyone could help. You know, one thing is, you know, yes, I'm a prominent critic of Trump and his administration, but I was also a prominent critic of. The DOJ and Merrick Garland for not doing anything about all of these threats and also a critic of Biden and the Democrats for not impeaching quickly, for not being more proactive, for not acting with greater urgency. So I'm targeted by kind of everyone except for people who don't have any power, which is a strange situation to be in because I love my readers and I think that they're wonderful and I'm incredibly grateful for them because my books largely spread through word of mouth. It is scary for me, just as like a mom in Missouri without a lot of resources to be targeted by all of these kind of high profile, wealthy, powerful people. But all I have is my voice and my writing. And so I just do what I can. And that's just the way the cards have been dealt for me and it is what it is, so.Andrew Keen: Later historians write about this period in 50 or 100 years time. How do you think you mentioned the Biden administration, you were critical of them. We haven't talked about Kamala Harris's failed presidential term, which I wasn't particularly impressed with. How much moral responsibility do you think that Biden and Harris should be accused of for Trump too?Sarah Kendzior: Yeah, I mean, well, first of all, I'd be delighted if we have historians in the future. Well, I will be, even if I don't.Andrew Keen: Well, there will be, even if, I don't know, in America, there'll be somewhere.Sarah Kendzior: I is where it'll be some sort of AI creation that just, you know, belches out, make America great again, like, you know, like in The Shining or something, just over and over and over again. But assuming we have real historians that actually assess the situation, I think they are going to be tremendously critical of the Biden administration. I think it may in fact go down as one of the worst of all time. And he will be seen as a Neville Chamberlain-like figure who had the opportunity to stop or slow A number of autocratic practices and either chose to look the other way or to enable them. Because the thing is, in 2016, people were very doubtful that America could become an autocratic state. They hadn't seen this before. A lot of this was new to them. From 2016 through 2021, we saw all that Trump was capable of, and he committed a large multitude of crimes,RetryClaude hit the max length for a message and has paused its response. You can write Continue to keep the chat going.AKplease continueEditHere's the continuation of the transcript:Sarah Kendzior: ...and those crimes, not just him, but his cohort were never held accountable. And what they did during the Biden years was plan all of their next moves. Like you don't suddenly have a gulag for Americans in El Salvador, like just off the top of your head. You know, all of this takes planning. We knew about a lot of the plans, you know, the Democrats campaigned about combating Project 2025. And my question to them was, well, what what if you lose? How are you going to combat it then? You know what, if he gets back, what are you gonna do? They would be so offended. They're like, how dare you, you question us. How dare you question, you know, our plans? They're, like, well, I don't, you don't have a plan. Like, that's my question is what is the plan? And they didn't. And they could have spent those four years creating a bulwark against a lot of the most horrific policies that we're seeing now. Instead, they're kind of reacting on the fly if they're even reacting at all. And meanwhile, people are being targeted, deported, detained. They're suffering tremendously. And they're very, very scared. I think it's very scary to have a total dearth of leadership from where the, not just the opposition, but just people with basic respect for the constitution, our civil rights, etc., are supposed to be.Andrew Keen: You mentioned Project 2025, we've got David Graham on the show next week, who's written a book about Project 2025. Is there anything positive to report, Sarah? I mean, some people are encouraged by the behavior, at least on Friday, the 18th of April, who knows what will happen over the weekend or next week. Behavior of Harvard, some law firms are aggressively defending their rights. Should we be encouraged by the universities, law firms, even some corporate leaders are beginning to mutter under their breath about Trump and Trumpism?Sarah Kendzior: And it depends whether they actually have that power in wielded or whether they're just sort of trying to tamper down public dissent. I'm skeptical of these universities and law firms because I think they should have had a plan long ago because I was very obvious that all of this was going to happen and I feel so terribly for all of the students there that were abandoned by these administrations, especially places like Columbia. That gave in right away. What does hearten me though, you know, and I, as you said, I'd been on this tour, like I was all over the West coast. I've been all over, the Midwest and the South is, Americans, Americans do understand what's happening. There's always this like this culture in media of like, how do we break it to Americans? Like, yeah, well, we know, we know out here in Missouri that this is very bad. And I think that people have genuine concern for each other. I think they still have compassion for each other. I think there's a culture of cruelty that's promoted online and it's incentivized. You know, you can make money that way. You could get clicks that that way, whatever, but in real life, I think people feel vulnerable. They feel afraid, but I've seen so much kindness. I've been so much concern and determination from people who don't have very much, and maybe that's, you know, why people don't know about it. These are just ordinary folks. And so I have great faith in American people to combat this. And what I don't have faith in is our institutions. And I hope that these sort of in between places, places like universities who do a lot of good on one hand, but also can kind of act as like hedge funds. On the other hand, I hope they move fully to the side of good and that they purge themselves of these corrupt elements that have been within them for a long time, the more greedy. Aspects of their existence. I hope they see themselves as places that uphold civic life and history and provide intellectual resistance and shelter for students in the storm. They could be a really powerful force if they choose to be. It's never too late to change. I guess that's the message I want to bring home. Even if I'm very critical of these places, it's never to late for them to change and to do the right thing.Andrew Keen: Well, finally, Sarah, a lot of people are going to be watching this on my Substack page. Your Substack Page, your newsletter, They Knew, I think has last count, 52,000 subscribers. Is this the new model for independent writers, journalist thinkers like yourself? I'm not sure of those 52,00, how many of them are paid. You noted that your book has disappeared co-isindecially sometimes. So maybe some publishers are being intimidated. Is the future for independent thinkers, platforms like Substack, where independent authors like yourself can establish direct intellectual and commercial relations with their readers and followers?Sarah Kendzior: It's certainly the present. I mean, this is the only place or other newsletter outlets, I suppose, that I could go. And I purposefully divorced myself from all institutions except for my publisher because I knew that this kind of corruption would inhibit me from being able to say the truth. This is why I dropped out of academia, I dropped out of regular journalism. I have isolated myself to some degree on purpose. And I also just like being in control of this and having direct access to my readers. However, what does concern me is, you know, Twitter used to also be a place where I had direct access to people I could get my message out. I could circumvent a lot of the traditional modes of communication. Now I'm essentially shadow banned on there, along with a lot of people. And you know Musk has basically banned substack links because of his feud with Matt Taibbi. You know, that led to, if you drop a substack link in there, it just gets kind of submerged and people don't see it. So, you know, I think about Twitter and how positive I was about that, maybe like 12, 13 years ago, and I wonder how I feel about Substack and what will happen to it going forward, because clearly, you Know, Trump's camp realizes the utility of these platforms, like they know that a lot of people who are prominent anti authoritarian voices are using them to get the word out when they are when they lose their own platform at, like, say, the Washington Post or MSNBC or... Whatever network is corrupted or bullied. And so eventually, I think they'll come for it. And, you know, so stack has problems on its own anyway. So I am worried. I make up backups of everything. I encourage people to consume analog content and to print things out if they like them in this time. So get my book on that note, brand new analog content for you. A nice digital.Andrew Keen: Yeah, don't buy it digitally. I assume it's available on Kindle, but you're probably not too keen or even on Amazon and Bezos. Finally, Sarah, this is Friday. Fridays are supposed to be cheerful days, the days before the weekend. Is there anything to be cheerful about on April The 18th 2025 in America?Sarah Kendzior: I mean, yeah, there's things to be cheerful about, you know, pre spring, nice weather. I'm worried about this weekend. I'll just get this out real quick. You know, this is basically militia Christmas. You know, This is the anniversary of Waco, the Oklahoma City bombings, Columbine. It's Hitler's birthday. This is a time when traditionally American militia groups become in other words,Andrew Keen: Springtime in America.Sarah Kendzior: Yeah, springtime for Hitler. You know, and so I'm worried about this weekend. I'm worry that if there are anti-Trump protests that they'll be infiltrated by people trying to stoke the very riots that Trump said he wanted in order to, quote, make America great again and have everything collapse. So everyone, please be very, very careful this weekend heading out and just be aware of the. Of these dates and the importance of these days far predates Trump to, you know, militia groups and other violent extremist groups.Andrew Keen: Well, on that cheerful note, I asked you for a positive note. You've ruined everyone's weekend, probably in a healthy way. You are the Cassandra from St. Louis. Appreciate your bravery and honesty in standing up to Trump and Trumpism, MAGA America. Congratulations on the new book. As you say, it's available in analog form. You can buy it. Take it home, protect it, dig a hole in your garden and protect it from the secret police. Congratulations on the new book. As I said to you before we went live, it's a beautifully written book. I mean, you're noted as a polemicist, but I thought this book is your best written book, the other books were well written, but this is particularly well written. Very personal. So congratulations on that. And Sarah will have to get you back on the show. I'm not sure how much worse things can get in America, but no doubt they will and no doubt you will write about it. So keep well, keep safe and keep doing your brave work. Thank you so much.Sarah Kendzior: Yeah, you too. Thank you so much for your kind words and for having me on again. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief:   China signals a possible retreat in the trade war, saying it's open to talks—but only if President Trump shows some “respect.”   Hamas rejects Israel's latest ceasefire proposal, which included a pause in fighting and negotiations to disarm Gaza militants.   The U.S. and Iran are set to resume nuclear talks in Rome, but Tehran says uranium enrichment is off the table.   And in today's Back of the Brief: A Pentagon shakeup—two senior Defense Department officials, including a top adviser to Pete Hegseth, have been placed on leave as part of a leak investigation.   To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President's Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief TriTails Premium Beef: Visit https://TryBeef.com/PDB for 2 free Flat Iron steaks with your first box over $250 Birch Gold: Text PDB to 989898 and get your free info kit on gold Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin:   President Trump has called off U.S. support for an Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear program.    Later in the show—Hamas isn't just losing ground on the battlefield. The group is reportedly in financial freefall, struggling to pay its fighters as war costs mount.   To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President's Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief TriTails Premium Beef: Visit https://TryBeef.com/PDB for 2 free Flat Iron steaks with your first box over $250 Birch Gold: Text PDB to 989898 and get your free info kit on gold Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief:   The United States and Iran are heading back to the negotiating table for another round of nuclear talks—but at the same time, top Iranian officials are now openly advocating for the development of a nuclear bomb.   Washington and Riyadh are on the verge of finalizing a nuclear cooperation deal, signaling a major milestone in Saudi Arabia's ambitions to develop atomic energy.   Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under growing pressure at home. Thousands of Israeli veterans, Mossad operatives, and elite paratroopers are calling for an end to the Gaza war—even if it means negotiating with Hamas.   And in today's Back of the Brief: New satellite imagery shows North Korea may be constructing its largest warship to date.   To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President's Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief Kikoff: Tax season is the perfect time to take control of your financial future. Get your first month FREE at https://getkikoff.com/mike TriTails Premium Beef: Visit https://TryBeef.com/PDB for 2 free Flat Iron steaks with your first box over $250 Birch Gold: Text PDB to 989898 and get your free info kit on gold Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin:   First, the U.S.-China tariff war is taking another alarming turn, as China stops shipments of essential rare earth metals and magnets, imperiling U.S. industries reliant on Beijing's minerals monopoly. Later in the show—we turn to the southern border, where according to new data from US Customs and Border Protection, illegal migrant crossings have plummeted to a record low under the Trump administration. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President's Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief Kikoff: Tax season is the perfect time to take control of your financial future. Get your first month FREE at https://getkikoff.com/mike TriTails Premium Beef: Visit https://TryBeef.com/PDB for 2 free Flat Iron steaks with your first box over $250 Birch Gold: Text PDB to 989898 and get your free info kit on gold Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin: Trouble is brewing at China's biggest ports. With factories slowing and exports backing up, the pressure from President Trump's new tariffs is starting to show. Russia marks Palm Sunday with a deadly missile strike on the Ukrainian city of Sumy. At least 30 civilians are reported dead, underscoring President Putin's continued defiance of peace efforts. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President's Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief TriTails Premium Beef: Visit https://TryBeef.com/PDB for 2 free Flat Iron steaks with your first box over $250 Birch Gold: Text PDB to 989898 and get your free info kit on gold Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief:   The White House is easing off the gas in the trade war with China—at least for now. Smartphones, hard drives, and other electronics are getting a last-minute exemption from steep new tariffs.   American and Iranian officials meet face-to-face in Oman for the first time in years. The White House calls the meeting “constructive,” raising hopes for a potential thaw in relations.   President Trump unveils his plan to buy Greenland. There's no invasion involved—but there might be a multi-billion-dollar offer.   And in today's Back of the Brief: President Trump gives the Pentagon expanded control over federal land along the Southern Border, aimed at strengthening immigration enforcement.   To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President's Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief TriTails Premium Beef: Visit https://TryBeef.com/PDB for 2 free Flat Iron steaks with your first box over $250 Birch Gold: Text PDB to 989898 and get your free info kit on gold Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin:   New details emerge about how Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg ended up in a Signal group chat where Trump officials discussed military strikes in Yemen—tracing back to a simple contact mix-up and a campaign-era email.   Several powerful Iranian-backed militias in Iraq signal a willingness to disarm for the first time, in a potential effort to avoid direct confrontation with the Trump administration.   To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President's Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief Birch Gold: Text PDB to 989898 and get your free info kit on gold TriTails Premium Beef: Visit https://TryBeef.com/PDB for 2 free Flat Iron steaks with your first box over $250 Jacked Up Fitness: Go to https://GetJackedUp.com and use code BAKER at checkout to save 10% off your entire purchase Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief:   A sharp escalation in the global trade war: China retaliates against President Trump's sweeping new tariffs with a 34 percent tariff on U.S. goods. But some experts say Beijing may suffer more than Washington. A chilling new report from the United Kingdom: Russian spy sensors have been discovered tracking Britain's nuclear submarines—raising serious national security concerns. Political upheaval in South Korea: The nation's highest court has removed President Yoon Suk Yeol from office, just four months after he imposed martial law. And in today's Back of the Brief: Houthi rebels in Yemen reportedly shoot down another U.S. Reaper drone—marking the third since March.   To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President's Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief TriTails Premium Beef: Visit https://TryBeef.com/PDB for 2 free Flat Iron steaks with your first box over $250 Birch Gold: Text PDB to 989898 and get your free info kit on gold Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Clean Lines: Sustainable Innovation and Retail Evolution with Rothy's VP Global Retail In this episode of RetailCraft, Ian Jindal speaks with Giovanni Lepori, Vice President of Global Retail at Rothy's, from the brand's flagship store in New York. Giovanni shares how Rothy's has revolutionized footwear manufacturing with 3D knitting technology, built a sustainable and scalable business model, and expanded into physical retail while staying true to its clean design ethos. The conversation explores themes of circularity, disciplined growth, and the challenges of scaling a direct-to-consumer brand globally. Episode Overview Rothy's Origins and Revolutionary Manufacturing Giovanni recounts how Rothy's founders developed their groundbreaking 3D knitting technology to create zero-waste shoes made from recycled materials. He highlights the challenges of scaling production and the importance of owning their factory in China to ensure quality and sustainability. Clean Lines and Circular Design The brand's aesthetic—distilled simplicity with clean lines—is paired with a commitment to circularity. Giovanni discusses Rothy's zero-waste factory, pilot programs for recycling worn shoes, and the durability that makes its products “last forever.” Transitioning from Online to Offline Giovanni explains how Rothy's began as a direct-to-consumer brand before experimenting with physical retail. The first store in Pacific Heights was an instant success, leading to a deliberate rollout of premium stores like the Flatiron flagship in New York. Challenges in Scaling Retail From inventory management to maintaining brand values in wholesale partnerships, Giovanni reflects on the complexities of omnichannel retail. He emphasizes disciplined growth and ensuring profitability in every location. Looking Ahead: Global Expansion Giovanni outlines plans for international growth, including standalone stores in London and beyond. He also highlights product innovation, new categories like menswear and kids' shoes, and the ongoing evolution of sustainable materials. Chapter Times and Titles [00:00:00] "Welcome to New York" Introduction to Giovanni Lepori and his role at Rothy's. [00:01:00] "A Revolutionary Idea" How Rothy's transformed footwear manufacturing with 3D knitting technology. [00:06:00] "We Make Every Shoe We Sell" The importance of owning the production process for quality and sustainability. [00:07:30] "Clean Lines" Rothy's signature aesthetic paired with circular design principles. [00:14:30] "The Holy Shit Moment" The move from online-only to retail and the power of in-store experiences. [00:18:30] "Expanding Globally" Plans for international growth, including London and beyond. [00:20:15] "Retail Challenges" Overcoming obstacles in omnichannel integration and scaling responsibly. [00:24:30] "Looking Ahead to 2025" Rothy's focus on disciplined growth, new categories, and global expansion.   --  Run time: 29 minutes INFORMATION: [

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief:     We'll start things off today with an update on the war in Ukraine, as Russian President Vladimir Putin orders the conscription of another 160,000 Russian citizens into the military, and leaders in Kyiv warn that Moscow is preparing for a massive new military offensive. Later in the show, Israel is preparing to dramatically expand its ground operations in Gaza to pressure Hamas into releasing more hostages. Officials say they aim to seize control of up to a quarter of the enclave in the coming weeks. Plus, France's right-wing leader Marine Le Pen gets sidelined by a bombshell court ruling banning her from seeking public office for the next five years. In our 'Back of the Brief—the war of words over the future of Greenland is heating up, as their leaders punch back at President Donald Trump's latest threats to annex the territory. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President's Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief.     YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief TriTails Premium Beef: Visit https://TryBeef.com/PDB for 2 free Flat Iron steaks with your first box over $250 Birch Gold: Text PDB to 989898 and get your free info kit on gold Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin:   First, as rare public protests against Hamas spread throughout Gaza, the terror group is resorting to executions, torture, and kidnappings to crush any dissent to their rule. Later in the show, an update on the White House's crackdown on illegal migration, as border crossings plummet to their lowest levels in decades, and Department of Homeland Security sources report more than 100,000 deportations since President Trump's second term began. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President's Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief TriTails Premium Beef: Visit https://TryBeef.com/PDB for 2 free Flat Iron steaks with your first box over $250 Birch Gold: Text PDB to 989898 and get your free info kit on gold Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief:   Iran unveils a sprawling underground missile base, dubbed “Missile City,” packed with long-range ballistic and cruise missiles. We'll break down the strategic message behind the video—and its surprising vulnerability.   Hamas signals readiness to release five hostages, including an American-Israeli, in exchange for a temporary ceasefire under a new Egyptian-brokered proposal.   Syria's new president forms a surprisingly diverse transitional government, signaling a break from decades of Assad-family rule.   In today's Back of the Brief: U.S. forces carry out a precision airstrike against ISIS operatives in Somalia in coordination with the Somali government.   To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President's Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief TriTails Premium Beef: Visit https://TryBeef.com/PDB for 2 free Flat Iron steaks with your first box over $250 Birch Gold: Text PDB to 989898 and get your free info kit on gold Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin:   First, as U.S.-brokered peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine drag on, President Donald Trump is turning his ire on Russian strongman Vladimir Putin, threatening a new wave of economic tariffs. Later in the show, China is pumping the brakes on a deal that would see U.S. asset firm BlackRock take ownership of two critical ports in the Panama Canal, jeopardizing President Trump's plans to wrestle away control of the strategic waterway from the CCP. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President's Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief TriTails Premium Beef: Visit https://TryBeef.com/PDB for 2 free Flat Iron steaks with your first box over $250 Birch Gold: Text PDB to 989898 and get your free info kit on gold Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Und für die Lösung des Rätsels.... podcast@brettspiel-news.deDas Spiel beginnt nicht mit Hoffnung, sondern mit Mangel.Wir kämpfen nicht gegen das Virus – wir kämpfen ums Überleben.Unsere Heimat ist nicht mehr das Land, sondern das Meer.Und doch trägt es denselben Namen wie das, was die Welt veränderte.Viel Erfolg...Ihr habt Feedback zu dem Podcast und Themen- oder Gastwünsche? Schreibt uns auf Facebook, Twitter oder Instagram. Außerdem könnt ihr auf unserem Discord Server vorbeischauen und den Podcast auch auf Youtube anhören.

Perché la guglia del Chrysler Building fu assemblata in segreto all'interno dell'edificio? Come mai l'Empire State fu soprannominato "Empty State Building" durante la Grande Depressione? Quale grattacielo fu costruito con un piano per l'attracco dei dirigibili che non funzionò mai?In questo episodio vi svelo i segreti dei colossi che hanno ridisegnato il cielo di New York, dall'eleganza Art Deco del Chrysler Building alla rivoluzionaria forma triangolare del Flatiron, dall'imponenza dell'Empire State fino agli arditi grattacieli contemporanei.Vi racconterò le storie dei visionari ossessionati dalla conquista del cielo, degli architetti geniali e delle rivalità che hanno prodotto alcuni degli edifici più iconici del mondo.Un viaggio verticale attraverso un secolo di innovazione architettonica, competizioni spietate e ambiziosi progetti che hanno trasformato New York nella città dei grattacieli. E scoprirete quali di questi magnifici edifici offrono osservatori panoramici (di cui ho parlato in dettaglio nell'episodio 15).Per saperne di più leggi le guide su viagginewyork.it: i grattacieli di New York - gli osservatori di New York

Dirty Birds, located in the Flatiron building at 17th and St. Mary's Avenue, is known for its fried chicken and cocktail menu. Matthew Moseley and Dan Whalen opened the restaurant in early 2021 with a goal of serving quality food in a community-oriented space. Business partner Mike West joined the team shortly after. Guy Fieri visited Dirty Birds in 2023 for an episode of “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.” In this episode, Michael Griffin is talking with Moseley and Whalen about their culinary history, their emphasis on giving back to the community, and how they took Dirty Birds from pop-up to brick-and-mortar.

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Join us for a 4K Melodic House DJ set by Victor, recorded at NCAR Trailhead near the Flat Iron mountains of Boulder, CO. Drone Cinema, provided by Alpine Aerial Drones, pilot cinematographer Alex. Don't forget to subscribe to our channel and hit the notification bell for more exclusive content. Follow SETS FROM Youtube: https://bit.ly/3vGqOhw Soundcloud: https://bit.ly/44zeBYi Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/43GhOUA Executive Producer: 10X Media Produced by: 10X Media & Metacogvzn Musical Content Copyright Disclaimer (Fair Use) under section 107 of Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use", Non-profit & educational. This video demonstrates mixing skills, and it is for entertainment purposes. Copyright belongs to its respective owners. I do not own the musical copyright for the songs in this mix. This is purely for entertainment & promotional purposes.

Dr. Jonathan Leary is on a mission to change how and where consumers socialize.  “We're the world's first social wellness club. What I mean by that is we're not a gym, we're not a spa, we don't do beauty, and we don't do aesthetics. All we do is self-care, but made social,” said Remedy Place founder and CEO Dr. Leary. “I'm really trying to change the narrative of how people socialize, but in a healthy way.” That means he encourages his clients to substitute happy hour for a group cryotherapy appointment or a work meeting for a group sauna session at one of Remedy Place's three locations in L.A. and New York City. “We call them social substitutions with self-care experiences,” he said.  This aligns with an overall sea change he's seen in the U.S. that includes more interest in preventative health and less interest in drinking or socializing in bars and clubs. According to a 2023 Gallup poll, young adults are drinking less than previous generations: 62% of adults under age 35 say they drink, down from 72% two decades ago. “We're the sickest we've ever been, and people are lonelier than they've ever been,” Dr. Leary said. “There are so many things that need to change, and I think social self-care has the potential to be the largest vertical in the health and wellness industry.”  Dr. Leary has a doctorate in chiropractic medicine from USC and got his start as a wellness- and sports medicine-focused concierge doctor in Los Angeles, traveling to the homes or offices of wealthy clients, many of which were professional athletes. This allowed him to test and perfect the offerings now available at Remedy Place. Many of his private patients became investors in Remedy Place, and Dr. Leary opened his first location in 2019.  Remedy Place offers acupuncture, chiropractic care, cryotherapy, infrared saunas, red light therapy, IV therapy, contrast therapy and many more wellness modalities, all of which can be booked for groups or individuals. The company is known for its 30-minute ice bath class which includes guided breathwork before a group-led ice bath plunge. Clients strive to join the “six-minute club” after lasting as long submerged in the 39-degree water. “You are getting a huge endorphin rush and dopamine spike, which is responsible for that mood change [people talk about],” he said.  Remedy Place is privately held. The company took on an undisclosed round of seed investments in 2021, according to Crunchbase, and a $5 million bridge round of investment in 2022. Investors in the latter include music producer Zedd, NFL player Marcedes Lewis and Australian music group Rüfus Du Sol. The latter investment was part of a company valuation of $60 million.  While memberships are offered for a small price break on services, Remedy Place operates like a traditional spa or fitness studio where appointments for classes, group rooms and individual appointments can be booked in advance. Costs start at around $40 per session. The ice bath class is around $50 a session, while other modalities such as the lymphatic massage, start at over $100 per session.  Remedy Place has three locations: one in L.A.'s West Hollywood neighborhood and two in NYC in Soho and Flatiron, with a fourth planned for Boston early this year.  To grow awareness, Remedy Place has a robust OOH events strategy that includes pop-ups at cultural events like the Cannes Film Festival and Art Basel. Back at home, Nike, Peacock and Saint Laurent have all rented out a Remedy Place location for private events. But perhaps the largest collaboration planned for 2025 is a luxurious ice bath created in partnership with Kohler. It retails for $15,000 and is available for pre-order now for home and commercial use.  Dr. Leary joins the Glossy Beauty Podcast to discuss all of this, as well as the evolving role of self-care for wellness consumers, in today's episode.

Today we're joined by Nicole Matusow, a psychoanalyst who's going to take us on a deep dive into the fascinating world of limerence - that overwhelming, obsessive state of romantic infatuation that can completely take over our lives. With her extensive background in psychoanalysis, Nicole will help us understand the unconscious mechanisms driving this intense experience, from the early attachment patterns that set the stage to the role of fantasy and emotional regulation. We'll explore why some of us are more prone to limerence than others, how early experiences shape our romantic patterns, and most importantly - what we can actually do about it. Whether you're currently experiencing limerence or supporting someone who is, I hope this conversation will be useful to you. ImiAbout Nicole: Nicole Matusow is a New York City psychotherapist practicing in the Flatiron area. She sees both individuals and couples/family members, taking a contemporary psychoanalytic and feelings-based approach. Her practice addresses limerence, judgmental self-talk, people-pleasing, difficulties in conveying thoughts and feelings, and familial ruptures.She offers both in-person and teletherapy services.https://www.nicolematusow.com Eggshell Therapy and Coaching: eggshelltherapy.com About Imi Lo: www.imiloimilo.comInstagram:https://www.instagram.com/eggshelltherapy_imilo/ Newsletters: https://eepurl.com/bykHRzDisclaimers: https://www.eggshelltherapy.com/disclaimers Trigger Warning: This episode may cover sensitive topics including but not limited to suicide, abuse, violence, severe mental illnesses, relationship challenges, sex, drugs, alcohol addiction, psychedelics, and the use of plant medicines. You are advised to refrain from watching or listening to the YouTube Channel or Podcast if you are likely to be offended or adversely impacted by any of these topics. Disclaimer: The content provided is for informational purposes only. Please do not consider any of the content clinical or professional advice. None of the content can substitute mental health intervention. Opinions and views expressed by the host and the guests are personal views and they reserve the right to change their opinions. We also cannot guarantee that everything mentioned is factual and completely accurate. Any action you take based on the information in this episode is taken at your own risk.

Learn about Flatiron Law Group.Check out my new show, the Law for Kids Podcast.Get Connected with SixFifty⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, a business and employment legal document automation tool.Sign up for ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Gavel⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ using the code LAWSUBSCRIBED to get 10% off an annual subscription.Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Law Subscribed⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to subscribe to the Substack newsletter to get notified about every episode, listen from your web browser, and for additional content.Follow ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@lawsubscribed⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠everywhere⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.Sign up for the Subscription Seminar waitlist at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠subscriptionseminar.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.Check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Mathew Kerbis'⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ law firm ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscription Attorney LLC⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Get full access to Law Subscribed at www.lawsubscribed.com/subscribe

Shelley and I check out three new titles once again for our Sunday podcast, trying out  Confusing Lands by Zak Eidsvoog from Envy Born Games Flatiron by Shei and Isra from Ludonova and Intarsia by Michael Kiesling from Deep Print Games, Pegasus Spiele, and Matagot Thanks as always to our sponsor Bezier Games Check out our YouTube Channel here: www.youtube.com/@garrettsgames Sponsor the podcast directly at www.patreon.com/garrettsgames OR check out the extensive list of games that no longer fit on our shelves, but belong on your table: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16ovRDNBqur0RiAzgFAfI0tYYnjlJ68hoHyHffU7ZDWk/edit?usp=sharing  

Conrad Everhard, founder of Flatiron Law Group discusses his career trajectory from Georgetown University to becoming a partner at Big Law firms Jones Day and Brian Cave. He explains why he left BigLaw to found Flatiron Law Group, to provide a more cost effective and efficient way to offer legal services to clients involved in mergers and acquisitions. To do so, the firm leverages a multi-pronged model: flat fees, low overhead, general contract labor to assist with the more labor intensive parts of an M&A deal, and advanced technology, including the firm's own custom build Deal Driver software that provides the clients with data and other insight about the deals they are working on. Conrad also talks about his work with Stanford's Codex project, where he is helping develop an AI based negotiation simulator to train young lawyers in M&A deals. He highlights the importance of capturing the decision-making process of senior lawyers to effectively guide the AI model. Key Discussion Points & Timestamps: Transition from Big Law to Entrepreneurship: [0:40 - 13:03] The Flatiron Model: [14:16 - 26:48] Work with Codex and AI in Legal Training: [26:48 - 33:00] Resources & Links: Flatiron Law website: flatiron.legal Episode Credits Production: Grant Blackstock Theme Music: Home Base (Instrumental Version) by TA2MI   Want to keep up to date about new episodes? Technically Legal Update List. Want to learn more about Percipient (percipient.co)? Follow Chad on Linkedin: Chad Main | LinkedIn Follow the podcast on LinkedIn: Technically Legal | LinkedIn Follow the podcast on Instagram: Technically Legal | Instagram Follow the podcast on X: Technically Legal | X  

Flavien râle sur Duel pour la Terre du Milieu, Drou construit le Flatiron et Cyrus vit sa meilleure vie dans La Quête du Bonheur.

In this episode of the Long Blue Leadership Podcast, Cadet First Class Andrew Cormier opens up about his inspiring journey from growing up in Massachusetts to becoming a squadron commander at the U.S. Air Force Academy. He reflects on the early influences that shaped his values, the value of community service and service before self, sharing the leadership lessons he's learned along the way.   SUMMARY Andrew also talks about launching his own podcast, designed to help fellow cadets explore their career paths and grow as leaders. Throughout the conversation, he highlights the importance of understanding diverse career opportunities, the personal growth that comes from podcasting, and the power of community engagement. With a focus on national pride and perspective, he emphasizes that true leadership is about serving others—putting the team first rather than seeking personal recognition.   5 QUOTES "It's not about you. It's not about you. It's about the team." "When you're a leader, it's your job. There shouldn't be any extra, you know, kudos given to you. Everyone has their own piece in the puzzle, and just because your face is more prominent than others does not mean that the mission is any less doable with like one piece missing or another piece missing." "I just really urge people to try to understand other people's perspectives and listen more than they talk, because those pieces for me, like I'm a Pretty staunch capitalist, but I recently bought the Communist Manifesto. I want to understand where these ideas stem from." "American ideals are amazing, and they need to be protected. And in order for me to have any say in that, I need to have skin in the game. And that's what I look at my service as is me gaining skin in the game." "It's not difficult, it's just super time consuming and kind of annoying. And so, I mean, it even like stays true to today, everything I have to do isn't necessarily difficult. I'm a management major. I don't know what the Astro or aero people are going through. I'm sure that's very difficult. But for me, it's more just like getting the reps in it, and it's very gradual." - C1C Andrew Cormier '25, October 2024   SHARE THIS EPISODE LINKEDIN  |  TWITTER  |  FACEBOOK   CHAPTERS 00:00:  Introduction to Cadet Andrew Cormier 02:52:  Andrew's Early Life and Background 05:52:  Discovering the Military Path 08:46:  Community Service and Humanitarian Efforts 12:10:  Transitioning to the Air Force Academy 15:07:  Experiences in Basic Training 17:57:  Leadership and Followership at the Academy 20:47:  Becoming a Squadron Commander 24:11:  The Role of a Squadron Commander 27:12:  Starting the Podcast Journey 34:54:  Understanding Career Paths in the Air Force 39:30:  The Impact of Podcasting on Personal Growth 44:45:  Engagement and Value in the Cadet Community 52:36:  Navigating Post-Graduation Decisions 01:00:05:  The Importance of National Pride and Perspective 01:04:53:  Leadership Lessons: It's Not About You   ANDREW'S 5 KEYS TO LEADERSHIP SUCCESS Leadership is not about you, it's about the team. As a leader, your job is to represent and protect your people, not focus on personal privileges. Seek to understand different perspectives and listen more than you talk. Don't take American ideals and freedoms for granted - they need to be actively defended. Balance future planning with living in the present. Don't become overly fixated on the future at the expense of enjoying the moment. Perseverance, critical thinking, and resourcefulness are key to success. Rely on these core strengths rather than trying to control everything. Diverse experiences and mentorship are invaluable. Seek out advice from those who have walked the path you want to follow, and be open to learning from a variety of backgrounds.   ABOUT ANDREW BIO C1C Andrew D. Cormier is a cadet at the U.S. Air Force Academy (USAFA) in Colorado Springs, CO. Cadet Cormier is the commander of squadron 15, the Mighty War Eagles. C1C Cormier is originally from Fitchburg, MA and entered the Air Force Academy in June of 2021 following his lifelong passion to “serve others.” Throughout his cadet career he has held the squadron position of Diversity & Inclusion NCO and Spark Innovator, but on an unofficial level has hosted the “For the Zoomies” podcast interviewing over 75 officers to better understand their experiences in the Air Force for the sake of helping cadets make career decisions, as well as been a widely trusted barber in the dormitories. C1C Cormier plans to complete his Bachelor of Science in Business Management in May 2025. Immediately following graduation he intends to commission as a Second Leiutenant in the U.S. Air Force and become an Acquisitions Officer. - Copy and Image Credit: Andrew Cormier    CONNECT WITH ANDREW LINKEDIN  |  INSTAGRAM  |  TWITTER   RECOMMENDED LISTENING:  FOR THE ZOOMIES PODCAST with C1C Andrew Cormier   LISTEN NOW!     ABOUT LONG BLUE LEADERSHIP Long Blue Leadership drops every two weeks on Tuesdays and is available on Apple Podcasts, TuneIn + Alexa, Spotify and all your favorite podcast platforms. Search @AirForceGrads on your favorite social channels for Long Blue Leadership news and updates!          FULL TRANSCRIPT SPEAKERS GUEST:  C1C Andrew Cormier  |  HOST:  Lt. Col. (Ret.) Naviere Walkewicz '99   Naviere Walkewicz 00:00 My guest today is Cadet 1st Class Andrew Cormier, USAFA Class of '25. Andrew stands out among the finest examples of those who have taken the service-before-self aspect of their work as developing leaders very seriously. In Andrew's case, he helps and supports his fellow cadets by guiding them to their optimal career paths through the guests and their experiences on his podcast. This is a new approach for Long Blue Leadership, and one we think you'll appreciate, because we're looking at leadership through the eyes of one who both follows and leads, thriving in both spaces. We'll talk with Andrew about his life before and during his time at the Academy. We'll ask where he's headed when he graduates. We'll discuss the role he's taken on as a podcaster, and we'll ask how he's successfully led and followed. We'll end with Andrew's takeaways and leadership tips. Andrew, welcome to Long Blue Leadership. We're so glad you're here.   Andrew Cormier Thanks for having me, Naviere.   Naviere Walkewicz Absolutely. So it's got to be a little bit different being on the other side of the podcast mic.   Andrew Cormier Yeah, no, it's definitely interesting to be here. I've done a few before, but they weren't in person, and this was like the highest quality, so I have a little bit of imposter syndrome, not gonna lie.   Naviere Walkewicz Oh goodness. Well, we'll learn from each other, right? I think that's the best. We can always be learning; we can always get better. So, I'm excited to take in some of the things that you do as well. Feel really good about that. Well, one of the things we like to do on Long Blue Leadership is we rewind the clock a little bit. Some clocks are further rewound back than others, and so I'm really excited to kind of get to know. Where were you before the Academy? Where'd you grow up? What was life like?   Andrew Cormier OK, I'm not as chronologically advanced, like, relative to maybe my experience in high school. I grew up in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, lot of pride coming from the East Coast. My parents, my dad, he worked as a general contractor, so I spent a lot of summers laying tile, you know, doing framing houses, all that sort of stuff, just like, you know, a general laborer. Honestly, just like sweeping up a lot of dust and mess, as he actually did all the hard work. And then I went to a tech school, Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical High School. That's a mouthful, but I went there mostly because my brother went there. I wasn't a huge decision maker back then, like I consider myself somewhat now. And I studied machine technology, and working on metal pieces like running lathes and mill machines and electronic discharge machines, just to — I didn't really know what preparing for the future was like, but that was the kind of path I was on. But then, I grew up playing hockey and lacrosse, and I realized that I had an opportunity with that somewhat, and I was traveling the East Coast playing lacrosse. Think it was after a tournament in Ashton, Pennsylvania, me and my dad got a phone call from Coach Wilson, the Air Force Academy lacrosse coach, saying, “Hey, we saw you play this weekend. We'd love to have you out.” And so that's like a really quick rundown of where I come from, but I guess moral of the story: I really appreciate the background, the kind of blue-collar experiences that I've had when it comes to growing up in Massachusetts.   Naviere Walkewicz No, that's awesome. And I think it's, it's great know that you're not afraid to get your hands dirty, to work hard and grit. I mean, that kind of is also synonymous with hockey. I feel like you work hard, you dig. So let's talk about that a little bit more. Older brother then. So you're one of two? Any other siblings?   Andrew Cormier Yeah, just me and my brother.   Naviere Walkewicz OK, and so what was it like growing up with an older brother? You know, were you always the one that he got to test things on? Or what did that look like?   Andrew Cormier No, my brother — he's about three and a half years older than me, so we never really were in school at the same time. He was always, four grades ahead. So we went to all the same schools, but he was leaving just as soon as I was arriving. But no, he was a great big brother. I was more of like the wild child, me and my mom will sometimes look at the family videos, and it's me kind of just being this goofball, like not appreciating things, like complaining, whining, all this stuff while Zach's over here, trying to help me. Like, I remember this video: We lived in this house where the driveway was very steep, and so we would just like drive our little like plastic carts down the driveway right, and my brother was over here, like, trying to push me up the hill, and I'm over here, like yelling at him—   Naviere Walkewicz Go faster!   Andrew Cormier No, I was like, “Stop, Zach, stop!” Like, looking back, I'm like, wow, I was just a goofball. He's over here trying to help me, right? But no, he was. He was a great big brother. And to be honest, growing up, I consider myself to have, like, a really spongy brain in terms of, I want to learn things through other people's experiences so that I don't make the same mistakes myself. And so when I would see my brother do all these things, he got into lacrosse. I got into lacrosse. He went to Monty Tech. I saw what cool opportunities there were with that. I went there. And so it was kind of like he tested the waters for me, and then I ended up, following suit. And it's, it's kind of changed since then, I've come to a little bit more of like an independent person. But, you know, growing up, you kind of always look up to your big brother.   Naviere Walkewicz Yes, I love that. And so, aside from being recognized through your lacrosse sport, how? How did the military come into play? Was that something always on the radar? Is it somewhere in your family, maybe not with your dad or your mom, but elsewhere?   Andrew Cormier Yeah, um, my family wasn't big on the military, not that — you know, we grew up pretty disciplined, but the on my mom's side, her parents are immigrants from Canada. There's not a whole bunch of military history there. But on my dad's side, my Pepe, his dad, was drafted for the Korean War, and so he did communications for four years, and then he got out. But beyond that, I mean, he passed when I was young, so I never really got to really — he never really had the opportunity to instill lessons into a sentient person, more or less. So, yeah, I felt more or less like I was doing this for the first time, like it wasn't a huge military thing. But in high school again, my brother, it was an open house. I was in seventh or eighth grade. I get brought to the Marine Corps Junior ROTC program at my high school. And I was really like, what's going on here?   Naviere Walkewicz In an excited way, or?   Andrew Cormier Kind of. It was more like, intrigued, not super— my first question after he gave his little pitch was, “So do I have to serve?” And he was like, “No, no, no.” And I was kind of relieved. So that's kind of my initial impression. I go to school, I'm not enrolled initially, and to be honest, I don't remember what urged me to enroll in the program, but I ended up enrolling. I loved it.   Naviere Walkewicz What year was that?   Andrew Cormier It was freshman year, so I did all three years, because I transferred to a different school my senior year, but I did it all three years, and I loved it, mostly because of the service aspect of it. We did a lot of — it wasn't like, I feel like ROTC, especially at the Academy, because, you know, if other cadets see this, they're probably gonna flame me for it. But this has, it has this perception of collecting badges and ribbons and, cadet general, all that sort of stuff. And that was so far from what my program was all about, we were doing a bunch of community service. Like, you know, in Fitchburg, we would go near the Boys & Girls Club and pick up trash in the area. Obviously, picking up the trash wasn't fun, but just like, going out and do something with your buddies on the weekend, that was fun. Countless Salvation Army collections, like we'd sit outside the grocery store—   Naviere Walkewicz Ring the bell?   Andrew Cormier Yeah, collect money. All those sorts of things were what really pushed me on. And then I think the culminating thing that really pushed me to want to pursue this was, my sophomore year, we did a humanitarian trip after Hurricane Harvey hit in Texas. So we went down to Wharton, raised a whole bunch of money, took 50 of the about 100 cadet corps, and we posted up in this Boys & Girls Club gymnasium, all on cots. We'd march to breakfast at Wharton Community College, and then we'd spend the day going back and forth in teams, in our vans, either bringing cabinetry to houses, flooring to houses, drywall to houses. And then we'd install it, because it was all flooded up to pretty much the knee from Hurricane Harvey. And so that week that we spent down there was super impactful to me, especially at the end. There was a bunch of little projects, but centrally, there was a big project, because this house was basically destroyed. And coming from a tech school, we have a bunch of plumbers, carpenters, cabinet makers, all the all these different trades coming together, and they ended up doing something really good for this one family. And so they left for a week, and then they were able to reintroduce them on that Friday, and it was super heartwarming. I don't know how I feel saying that word, because I emasculated myself, but, that sort of feeling. It was like, “Wow, we really, like, helped a family,” and it was impactful to me. And so, you know, now at the Academy, I'm like, I haven't had time to do community service, and I feel bad about it, but that's kind of what really got me interested in it.   Naviere Walkewicz Well, I think it's fascinating how, you know, your ability — you worked with your dad, so I think you brought some of those skills, and then again through school. But I think a heart of service is kind of the theme that we're hearing early on in this conversation. What I think we're going to even talk about more. So you were discovered through lacrosse, the little — you went on a, probably an intercollegiate, tour of the Academy. And were you like, “Yes, this is it,” or was it still like a “Well…”   Andrew Cormier Yeah, so backtrack a little bit. My senior year I ended up transferring to Northfield Mount Hermon. It's a college preparatory school, so I was boarding there. And I say that because when I came here, I was really interested in old schools that have a lot of heritage, a lot of tradition. My school, it was like, I — all my fellow “Hoggers” are going to be disappointed that I forget the year that it was founded by Dwight L. Moody, but it's a very old school. Lots of traditions, a lot of fun stuff to like, you know, students are looking forward to and seeing what a lot of the freshmen had to do in my trip here, despite it being a relatively younger school compared to West Point and Annapolis, I was like, “That's cool.” Like, I like the hierarchy structure of it. I really like seeing it. The chapel was out, so I got to see, ya know, it was one of those sort of situations where I was really looking for a school that had fit the criteria of getting able to, you know, serve tradition. And I really wanted to play college lacrosse and at that time it looked like it was gonna fit those descriptions.   Naviere Walkewicz Yeah, so the Academy it was, and what was day 1 like for you?   Andrew Cormier 12:41 A few disclaimers: I want to say that, one, I didn't end up making lacrosse team, so I don't want to be, you know, claiming I made it and I didn't. And two, so…   Naviere Walkewicz …so let's pause there a second. So you were initially recruited, but you got and you had to do the whole application and get in on your own, because you ended up not being a recruited athlete?   Andrew Cormier Yes, and I got denied my first time.   Naviere Walkewicz OK, let's talk about that.   Andrew Cormier Yeah, so I, I applied Well, trade school, education, trade one week, education, other week. So you can see I might be slightly deficient in in certain academic realms. And so that's why I transferred to college Preparatory School, because I wanted to, you know, go all in on my academics, hopefully, you know, get me in. It worked in terms of really opening my perspective, but didn't work in terms of getting me into the Academy the first try, which I was initially a little bummed about, but now looking back on it, I'm like, that was, you know, the Falcon Foundation, shout out to him, or shout out to them, and Gen. Lorenz, everyone. We actually had the dinner last week that was super fun. But I didn't get in. But I got offered Falcon Foundation Scholarship, and I ended up going to again, picking schools off of tradition, Marion Military Institute, which is the oldest one on the list of options. And yeah, I went there for a year during COVID, and that's where I guess the gap is because I'm a Class — I was Class of 2020 in high school, graduating Class of '25, there's that gap. I hope I answered your question.   Naviere Walkewicz That's fantastic, actually. And, and I think for those listeners who may not be aware of the Falcon Foundation. You know, we have a number of different college preparatory, military preparatory programs that are affiliated with our Academy. And I think it's a wonderful testament to — you apply for the Air Force Academy. You don't apply for a preparatory school, but the Academy recognizes when we have areas that are maybe just under the cut line, but someone we're really interested in, and how do we get them there? And so I think it's fantastic that you were able to get a Falcon Foundation Scholarship. And I don't call that a gap. I call that just an extra year of preparatory So, yeah, it's wonderful.   Andrew Cormier I was definitely prepared more.   Naviere Walkewicz Yes, OK, so you came in on day 1 feeling pretty good then, because, you know, where others might have been the whole basic training experience, just kind of, you know, knock their socks off. You're like, “All right, we know this military thing.” Is that true?   Andrew Cormier Yeah. And, I mean, I guess in terms of, I know how to make a bed, I know how to wear a uniform, that was less daunting. I'm a management major. I don't know what the Astro or Aero people are going through. I'm sure that's very—   Naviere Walkewicz I'm glad you put that caveat in there. OK.   Andrew Cormier Yes, I'm a management major. All the assignments are more or less easy, but it's more just like getting the reps in and it's very gradual. So I don't want this to make it sound like the Academy is easy by any means, because what's difficult about it is the task-saturation they have you doing. It's like stuffing 10 pounds of sand in a 5-pound bag, that sort of deal. That's where it's difficult, at least for me. And so coming into it with hearing those sort of perceptions, that's how I went into it feeling, and I was kind of right. I mean, basic training wasn't super rigorous.   Naviere Walkewicz You were fit.   Andrew Cormier I was, you know, I was able to memorize things.   Naviere Walkewicz Good, your mind is a sponge, so that was probably helpful.   Andrew Cormier Yeah, I had all my— my bed making skills were already down pat, so all the really tactical things were taken care of, and I understood that I was going to get yelled at no matter what. And coming into it with that, I was just like, OK, this is a game of attrition, and I just can't quit.   Naviere Walkewicz I love that. So how did you translate what you felt was maybe not as difficult and you saw others struggling? Have there been times where you've had to step up and take on a role of being more of a support or a leader amongst your peers?   Andrew Cormier Yes, of course. I mean, in my baby squad, we had — I wasn't the only, not only preppy, but also they call them prepsters. I was technically a prepster because I didn't go to the “P” but, you know, I was still did a prep year, and we had a prior enlisted person, and so the four or five of us had already seen all this stuff before. And when it came to studying the Contrails, showing people how to, you know, make their closet and all those sort of things. And also when it came to just being away from home, I had been away from home since I was about 17, and I got there when I was 19 or 20. And so acclimating to living away from home is kind of difficult challenge. And so just being there for the people that are like, “I miss home, I miss my mom, I miss my dad, I miss my home food” and all this sort of stuff. You know, there, there aren't a lot of opportunities for chit chat during basic training, at least towards the beginning, but towards the end, I'm like, you know, “You got this, let's power through.”   Naviere Walkewicz And yeah, I love that. So let's talk about, while you've been a cadet, maybe some of the ways that you've been a follower and some of the ways that you've been a leader, aside from the one you just kind of shared, what have been some ones that have stood out to you as you're continuing to develop your leadership skills?     Andrew Cormier 18:48 OK, following — very much freshman year you're following. Trying to think of some concrete examples. I think credibility, like understanding where you fall on the credibility hierarchy is somewhat a dictator, an indicator of where you should be in terms of leading and following, and I understood that relative to the rest of my baby squaddies, I might have been slightly above the average in terms of credibility, but in terms of the entire squadron, lowest of the low.   Naviere Walkewicz Tell me why. Let's talk about that. What do you mean?   Andrew Cormier Well, I mean, I remember freshman year when we were getting quizzed on our shoulder board rankings. It's a ground-cloud horizon, and freshmen just have the cloud because their heads in the clouds. They're, very unfamiliar with this place. And you know, it's true, not only do you not know what it's like to have a bunch of GRs in a week as a freshman, just coming out of basic training, but you also don't know what it's like to understand an organization. I didn't understand what a reporting structure like — you know, I didn't understand a lot of these intricacies, and I tried my best to have some humility and understanding that and just keeping my ears open for it. And with that credibility spectrum I was confident in the sense that I could be self-sufficient NS take care of what I needed to take care of on the academic front, the knowledge, the K-test front, athletic front. But when it came to, oh wow, I've never been in a 100-person organization before and at the bottom of it, this is a time to take some notes. I think that's definitely a theme's that's definitely followed through with the podcast especially. I kind of avoided giving a concrete example of the followership.   Naviere Walkewicz 25:00 You had mentioned you thought it was a whole bunch of KPP, so what is the role really like as a squadron commander?   Andrew Cormier 25:07 It's different than I thought it would be. You know, I think there's this perception of leadership at the Academy, amongst cadets, that leadership is land-naving through the athletic fields and like Jacks Valley. You know what I mean? Like, leadership is these super tactical things, like, how can you be as close to George Washington as possible? But, one, there's not many opportunities. And if you're doing that, opportunities for that sort of stuff, and if you're doing that stuff, you're probably not delegating as you should. And so I think the biggest takeaway that I've gotten from this position is like representation of your people and protection of them.   Naviere Walkewicz Talk about that.   Andrew Cormier 25:57 So even this past week — I don't want it to be tainted that he's a very good friend of mine, because I would have done this for anybody in my squadron. But he received some paperwork from somebody else, his supervisor. He works a group job, so the paperwork was coming from a wing person, and it was outlining how he had failed to do this and all this stuff, and then at the end, it had said something about his like, — I'm super cool. People mess up all the time. I mess up all the time. That's understandable. Mistakes are gonna happen. But the last paragraph rubbed me the wrong way, because it said something about his character, that, knowing him, well, I didn't really — it seemed very out of character. And so, you know, I've had cadet squadron commanders in the past that are just like, you know, hey, I'm going to trust everything that that the wing person said, issue all of the demerits, tours, paperwork that comes with the recommendation and leave it at that, but my attempt to really take this position seriously is to get the perspective of my friend, see what his opinion on it was like. Maybe let me gather a little bit more evidence. And upon doing that, the statement that was at the bottom of it was completely not apparent in the evidence. And this really raised an alarm for me, because if I weren't to do that, not only was it sent to me, but it was sent to permanent party. I'm like, this is, you know, kind of throwing some dirt on his reputation, and it's not true. And so what happened was I immediately texted the guy. It was cool. I worked with him over the summer on wing staff, and I went to his room, and I was like, “Hey, so, you know, just trying to get some understanding. I'm not here to press you about this, but I want to understand what's actually going on here. This is what is outlined in the Form 10. This is the evidence that I gathered from my friend, and they don't really seem to be congruent.” And then he starts giving his case, and I don't disagree with any of the things where he actually, you know, failed to do things. But then, when it came to the part about his character, he was like, “Yeah, so that's the issue. I did that out of anger of somebody else.” Because I remember seeing the group chat and the message was sent, and then my friend responded super politely, super respectfully, and then his co-worker was like, you know, kind of escalatory, aggressive. And then, as a result, both of them got negative paperwork. And I believe that only the negative character should have been put on his co-worker, not on my friend. And he admitted to that, and he was like, “I'm willing to walk that back, because it doesn't give an accurate representation of his character.” And so, you know, my friend was super appreciative, because, you know, we ended up having a permanent party conversation the next day, and we cleared everything up, and they were like, “Thank you for investigating this a little bit more. Because if you didn't, we probably would have just ran with the guy's recommendation and maybe thought a little bit less of him.” So, um, I guess when it comes to protecting my people, maybe that's now thinking back on it, maybe that's a first sergeant job to handle, like the discipline stuff, but maybe that it was my friend that took a little bit more ownership of it, and wanted to make sure it's correct. But that's more or less an example of protecting my people, or representing my people, I guess they kind of go hand in hand on. I guess, another note of protecting—   Naviere Walkewicz Or even what you've learned since being in the role of squadron.   Andrew Cormier 30:04 Yeah.   Naviere Walkewicz Peer leadership is hard, wouldn't you agree?   Andrew Cormier 30:04 It is very difficult. And I think maybe part of the reason why I was selected was because I have a relatively good reputation in squadron to be friendly. Last semester I was D&C. So, you know, I'm outside of the formation, making corrections –   Naviere Walkewicz What is D&C?   Andrew Cormier D&C: drilling and ceremonies. So I'm outside of the squadron making corrections as people are marching. And it's not an easy thing to do when it's somebody older than you as well. And I'm over here cracking jokes with them and making sure that I do it to everyone, not just certain people. I dig in a little bit more to my friends who I know can accept it, and then it might ease the tension of all the other people who might be not doing it right. And then I go talk to them, like, “Hey, chest up a little bit,” or, like, “'Fix your dress.” But yeah, I think that that was a big piece of me getting picked for it, because I have to uphold a standard, especially in today's Cadet Wing. I don't know if the listeners are privy to all the change going on in the Cadet Wing, but there's a much larger emphasis on standards. “Hey, I'm low key doing you a favor by correcting you so that you don't end up in a three-star's office.” And so as much as it's made cadet life as a whole, somewhat more difficult, it's made my job as a squadron commander, supposed to enforce these standards, a little bit easier, because they know that I'm not like the highest person that's like enforcing this. This isn't me power tripping. This is me trying to look out for people. That perception makes a big difference.   Naviere Walkewicz No, that's really helpful, and probably more than you thought we were going to be talking about, because you were probably thought we spending a lot of time talking about For the Zoomies, and I'd like to get there. So let's, let's talk about that right now. So, when did it start and why?   Andrew Cormier The reason changed over time, but I started it. I came out of CST, combat survival training, after my freshman-year summer. So it was approximately July timeframe. And I've always been an avid podcast listener. Loved hearing conversations, new ideas, learning, you know, while I just drive. I might think I'm a little bit more productive, like multitasking. And so I've always wanted to start one, but I wanted to be meaningful, not just me and my friends just yapping in some microphones. So what I did was, after freshman year, all of the fever dream of it was over. I could start projecting into the future, not just living in the present. I started projecting into the future, and I'm like, “Oh crap, I have an active-duty service commitment. I actually have to think about that decision for a little bit.” And I was scared because I didn't want to be a pilot. We had Career Night, which is one night every year, and then Ops, which was a whole year out. So I'm just like, I'm not the type to just sit back and let things happen to me. And so to address this issue, I went ahead and was like, you know, Col. Rutter. I went asked him, “Hey, is this feasible? What sort of problems you think I could run into? You know, like, PA, whatever?” And he was like, “Dude, go for it.” And so I started off just interviewing AOCs around base, getting — he was my first episode, talking about A-10s, even though I didn't want to be a pilot, you know, even though I don't want to do that, I'd like to learn more about it. Same thing, maintenance, acquisitions — being a management major was something I was very exposed to in the classroom, and then, you know, it just kind of like expanded. I covered a decent number of AFSCs, and then I started getting to the point where I had this better picture of not only what job I wanted, but also a holistic understanding of how these jobs and career fields intertwined, and it gave me a better picture of what the Air Force does as a whole. And so that was like a big learning piece for it, but it transitioned to, “OK, I don't want to just interview people and like, “Oh, this is what a maintenance officer does the entire time.” People get out after five years. And the reputation right now is that if you want to be a president, go to the Naval Academy. If you want to be a CEO, go to West Point. If you want to be a FedEx pilot, go to the Air Force Academy. And I heard that joke plenty of times, and as funny as it is, I'll admit it, I laughed at it, but like, I don't want that to be the perception of this place, because we produce much, much better leaders than just, pilots, not to poo-poo pilots, but like, CEO versus pilot, like it's, a different game. And so my idea was, how can I highlight that being an airline pilot, a cargo pilot, whatever it is, is not the only avenue to take after commissioning, what else can we do? And that's where I started picking up more perspectives, both on leadership, “What is it like to be a consultant?” I did, you know, definitely lean more towards things that I was interested in, but like equity research, private equity — all these different things, like podcasts, specifically about getting an MBA out of a service academy, all these sort of, like, super tangible things that, because I'm the target audience, I felt would, felt like it would resonate with the cadet wing, and so that was kind of like the motivation moving forward. And you know, it's had so many opportunities for me, like last week. Shout out Ted Robertson behind me, invited me to interview Dr. Ravi Chaudhary, and I'm getting all these super cool opportunities to expand my network and learn what it's like to do things at a more strategic level. And so it's been this really interesting, evolving project over the past two years, and I'll even share this little story. So this summer, I worked a cadet summer research program at Lockheed Martin in D.C. And one of the last days that we were there, they had this quarterly face to face, because it's a global, the corporate strategy arm is a global thing. So they have a like an in person thing every year — or every quarter. And how they started it was, we're gonna talk about just things that you've picked up, whether it's personal life, listen to a podcast, read a book that you wanna share with people. And so I was at the end of this big circle, and I was like, “What am I gonna say?” You know, like, all these people are spouting off this knowledge and wisdom, and I'm sitting here as this intern, trying to come up with something that would be useful to them, and then I actually started thinking. I was like, you know, this podcast changed my perspective on a lot of things, and I get a lot of praise for it, but as much as, like, you know, I acknowledge it was a good thing to help other people expand my own knowledge base of this, it had some downfalls and drawbacks as well. Namely, being I became super fixated on the future, and I was unable to really focus on the present, living in the moment like, get a little dark here, I was a little existential at certain points of time, because I was just constantly thinking future, and I'm like, What am I doing like right now? And it became like a frustrating thing for me, because not only was I interacting with a lot of older people, it was kind of making me feel unrelatable to my peers, and that was bothersome to me, because, you know, I never want to be perceived as this person who's a sycophant, like, just brown-noser and all that sort of stuff. And so it was definitely some drawbacks. And then I, like, brings me to the point of the reason why I started this was that fear. I started because I was scared of not knowing what the future was going to entail. It was this fear of uncertainty. And, you know, reflecting upon that I came into the Academy this, like this confident person and like, where'd that go? Am I not confident? Like the two things that I think if anybody can have will be successful in any realm of life, is perseverance and critical thinking. Those two things, in my opinion, will carry you anywhere. And I felt like I had those things, but I was just discounting them so heavily, to the point that I was like, I need to figure all this stuff out, or else I'm gonna be screwed, when in reality,why am I not just relying on these two things that I know, that I have, you know, maybe you can work in resourcefulness, but I have these two things. Why am I discounting those? And I think that was the big reflection point that I was able to share with the people in this room at this, you know — face to face. And I was like, you know, I had this really big pendulum swing to trying to control everything. And I really don't perceive myself to be a control freak. As, like, a micromanager. I think if you talk to anybody in the squad, they, they won't perceive me that way. But when it comes to my own future, like I want to — in the past — I'm trying to correct it. I'm still not perfect, but I was trying to correct for this. And I'm like, No, that's it's not right. That's not a long term, feasible thing I'm gonna end up burning out, never really living in the moment, never really enjoying things. And so, like that was a big learning lesson from this whole idea.   Naviere Walkewicz And you learned that when you're sitting in that circle, or did you learn that — was that when it kind of culminated into how you articulated it? Or had you already felt that way?   Andrew Cormier 41:40 The cadet experience, like I said, is very task-saturating, and so I never feel like I have a time to reflect during the semester. This was about July, like this past July, and so although I was working, it was like four day weeks, so I had a decent amount of time to reflect. I always treat my Christmas breaks and my summer breaks as points to reflect, and because that's the only time I have, like, the bandwidth to. And like that whole time period, like I was just so locked in on — like all this work I have my my notion planner and checking boxes, Life is checking boxes. And it took me, you know, shout out to Cylas Reilly, 100% because as much as we're different — like, he's much more, like, happy go lucky, like super high energy guy — being with him on the C-SERP at Lockheed, he, allowed me to put my hair down a little bit like, just take a little road trip, talk about stuff, not be so analytical about everything. And so I guess that's that point where — I had about month, because this was at the end of it. I was leaving the next day. And so we had about a month to talk about things. I had a month to reflect on it, and then this was something that was — like it had been the first time I'd ever put it to words, I'll say that. It wasn't the first time I was trying to process it, but it was the first time that I was putting it into words.   Naviere Walkewicz How did you feel after you said that?   Andrew Cormier Uh, slightly cathartic. I don't know it is. It's weird because as soon as you put something to words, then you can, like, I feel like understanding is like, if you can talk, if you can think about it, that's like, the lowest level of understanding. If you can talk about it, that's slightly higher. But then writing about it is the highest level. And so, like, I always keep a journal, and I've been trying to write about it, to put it into more concise words. But that was a big — it was kind of like a breakthrough of like, I'm having a higher understanding of this lesson that seems to be apparent in life.   Naviere Walkewicz Wow. And I think that's something that our listeners can — and those watching too — can really gravitate toward, because, you know, sometimes we get so caught up in the churn of the “what's next?” and the “do this” and “get here.” And I think an important lesson you just shared with us, and I love that you've learned it earlier on, is the key of reflection and really assessing “where am I?” and “how do I feel about that?” and “what's next?”. So For the Zoomies. Let's talk about that. First off, I mean, you've gotten a lot of praise for it, because they're fantastic, your episodes. What has the cadet wing — how have they embraced it?   Andrew Cormier 44:31 You know, I wish Spotify had a little bit better of the data. I can't attach an IP number to a listen. But to be honest, I was never looking for listens. But then as soon as I started growing, I'm, you know, a little bit more tied to it. It's kind of like seeing a lot of likes and stuff on Instagram or whatever.   Naviere Walkewicz Affirmations are wonderful.   Andrew Cormier 44:53 Yeah, but so I think it was received somewhat well. And I always try to add value to the cadet wing. Some of them I admit are a little bit selfish. They're mostly for me, like I really want to talk to this person. But then I had an episode with the Office of Labor and Economic Analysis about a change in how cadets were going to get matched their AFSCs, and I was thankful that — shout-out to Maj. Ian McDonald. He's the person who reached out for me. He is a representative from OLEA who was like, “Hey, I heard about your podcast. This might be a good episode idea.” And I'm like, “You're a genius. You're a genius.” And so we sat down — him and Col. Joffrion in the economic department. They were—.   Naviere Walkewicz Justin Joffrion?   Andrew Cormier Yes, classmate, my upper-classmate. He's '98.   Andrew Cormier OK, OK. And so we sat down and we walked through how cadets — because the initial, or I guess the legacy system, was OPA, your class, rank, your major, and then your preference. Those were the three things that would get put into this algorithm, this black box, and then you'd be spit out your AFSC. Now, and I think it's still in pilot. Maybe it's confirmed for a Class of '26 but at least for the '24/'25 those were, you know, where it was being tested, and it was much more like an open job market, where you actually able to submit a narrative about things that you projects that you've worked on, capstones, research that you've done, and it was super impactful. Because one, I really appreciate the new system, to be honest, because the military can be very — I've studied a lot of Austrian economics in my time, so I'm very of the mind, like, free markets, don't tell people what to do, like, they'll pick what's right for them. And so seeing this moving more towards a market structure, I was like, this is a good idea. But being able to share that with the Cadet Wing — that's the highest-listen episode, because I think it really, like, drives value. People don't want to, they want to know how the system works so that they can game the system. And one of my questions on the episode was like, “So, are you worried about people gaming the system? Because they know how it works?” And they're like, “Do it. We want you to get the right job.” And so, yeah, it's been super impactful to me that cadets valued the product that I put out there. And they would value it because it was useful to them. I wouldn't want it to be artificially inflated just for the sake of that affirmation, even though it feels good, but, yeah, it felt good to be able to contribute in that way.   Naviere Walkewicz I love that. So that's the most listened from the cadet perspective, what was been the most rewarding from the podcast seat, from your side of it?   Andrew Cormier Like, most rewarding in terms of—   Naviere Walkewicz Either a guest episode or just the experience of podcasts, okay, I'll let you take it where you'd like.   Andrew Cormier I have a lot of people pose this sort of question to me a lot about, like, who's your favorite episode? Like, who's your favorite guest? And, you know, they, like, kind of hint at, like, all, like, Gen. Clark, like, or anyone with stars was probably a really cool episode. And, you know, it is an honor and a privilege to be able to get an hour on their calendar because they're super busy. They're strategic thinkers. They don't usually have a whole bunch of time on their hands, but they were able to open up their calendar to me, and so it's an honor, and usually I do come away with a lot of practical knowledge from those things. I shouldn't say that those are always the most enjoyable. One of my favorites thus far has been with Julian Gluck, Cosmo. Because, you know, we sit down, same thing with Sam Eckholm, we sit down and we just — it is a little bit of yap-sesh, so maybe it's more for the people who are looking for entertainment than advice or information on the Air Force as a whole. But we just sit down and talk about cadet life. And I really enjoy the evolution of the Academy experience, year over year. And Sam Eckholm, being a relatively recent grad. Cosmo being — I think he's 2010, so it's like, you know, in these sort of 10-year chunks, and then even…   Naviere Walkewicz Is he ‘08 or ‘10?   Andrew Cormier He might be — in that timeframe. Yeah. And even Dr. Chaudhary, which was super fun, because for the first half of the episode, we were just talking about spirit missions. And so usually, with these senior leaders, it's more of “What's the strategic landscape?” “What can cadets take away from this?” But with him, it was like, you know, talking about chickens on the freaking football field and like, going up on Flat Iron. And so I always enjoy those episodes from a personal perspective of really having institutional pride, is seeing the evolution of this place and seeing the ebbs and flows of it. And it's like telling that — it makes me understand that the difficulty of this place and like the perception that the cadet wing is getting softer. It's not something that's been this ever since '59 it's been this gradual decline, persistently. It's a thing that comes and goes and honestly, we're more-or-less on an uptrend than not, relative to the adversaries that we're facing. So I guess that's a big piece of it is, as much as I really enjoy learning and getting different people's perspectives on, “Oh, what base should I choose given these goals?” Or, you know, “What does a maintenance officer do at Red Flag?”   Naviere Walkewicz Yes, oh, my goodness. Well, I think one of the things that you've highlighted in and this journey of yours is, yes, it's about impact. Yes, it's about, you know, taking care of one another. But there's also this intrinsic piece which is really about relationships, and that's what I hear when you talked about the ones that you really enjoyed most. I think it was that human connection. That's that thread that connects us.   Andrew Cormier Yeah, I think you hit the hammer on that thing. You know what I'm trying to say.   Naviere Walkewicz Yes, no, I'm with you. So, Andrew, what's next for you? Upon graduation, we know you're not going to be a pilot. What are you going to be doing?   Andrew Cormier 52:29 I dropped 63 Alpha Acquisition Manager.   Naviere Walkewicz And that's what you wanted?   Andrew Cormier Yes, first pick.   Naviere Walkewicz So you gamed the system properly?   Andrew Cormier Yes. I gamed it properly, yes. And I think the narrative piece of it, I included how I went to Lockheed, and they're very — the project I was working on, was very acquisition-oriented, so I think I really put a lot of emphasis on, “Give me this.”   Naviere Walkewicz “I really, really want this.” I'm so happy for you.   Andrew Cormier Thank you. Thank you. But so we just put in base preferences. That was a pretty long conversation with a lot of people that I had to have.   Naviere Walkewicz Including Chloe. Is she…?   Andrew Cormier Yeah, no, she was the main stakeholder outside of me. We probably had three different conversations about it. I'd talk to her first, go get some other input from grads. Talk to her again, more input. Talk to her, and then finally, input. And so, you know, I talked to my sponsor, Maj. Bryce Luken. And the reason I talked to a lot of people that I wanted to be somewhat like, like, I envision myself as them somewhat in the future. You know, they're reservists, entrepreneurial, very like — not sit back 9 to 5, but how are we gonna, you know, improve national security and have our own spin on things, have autonomy over, you know, what we do and our time and so, like, those are the criteria over, like, who I was talking to, so I had a conversation with him. He's like, “You should go to L.A.” I'm like, “Air Force people aren't going to L.A. That's Space Force…” Like, Boston. And so he's like, “Dude, you should go to Boston, MIT, Lincoln Lab.”   Naviere Walkewicz Hopefully you talked to Cosmo as well.   Andrew Cormier I actually haven't, but yeah, I should let him know I ended up putting in Hanscom. But you know Col. Misha, I saw him at the Falcon Foundation dinner, Forrest Underwood. Yes, they were giving me the same like urging me go to Boston. You're a young professional who wants to get his hands dirty. Don't go to, you know, Langley, where — you know you can still be industrious down there, but you'll be under-resourced compared to if you went to Boston.   Naviere Walkewicz See, and that's great feedback that you know maybe others aren't thinking about in their decisions. So I think that's a really great process in the way you approached it. People that are in the ways of where you want to go. And also the important people in your life that you want to make sure stay important.   Andrew Cormier Yeah. I mean, at the end of every single episode on the podcast, I always ask for advice for cadets looking to pursue a similar path. Emphasis on “pursue a similar path.” I get a lot of advice, and not that I think anyone is, you know, basing their advice off of maybe an incomplete conclusion. But when you're getting advice, you really have to understand, what are what is their envisioning or like, how are they envisioning your outcome, and is their envision outcome the same as like, what you want? And so I think getting to your point, I really look — I got the advice. Same thing. This past Sunday, I called up Chase Lane, who went to Langley first. And I think that's why he really stuck out to me. But he urged me to go to Boston. And also, kind of like, walked me through. He's like, you know, Chloe works at Space Foundation. She really wants to be in the space world. And so, she's like, “Let's go to Patrick. Right near Cape Canaveral, Cocoa Beach.” Super cool location, you know. I mean, prayers out to the people in Florida right now. I hope that they're all right. But like, you know, that'd be a good spot. Uh, relative, you know, Boston, wet snow every single day. But you know, he kind of like, Chase, walked me through how I should approach a conversation like this. And so, you know, the other night when I sat down with Chloe, as much as you know, I want to value her perspective and wanting to value all inputs, understand where those inputs come from, and find a middle point, a middle ground for everybody, because the team won't last if we're only valuing certain inputs. And you know, it does take a little bit of convincing, but also more of like, open your eyes to what the opportunity really is. Are you making assumptions about this? Am I making assumptions about this? Let's clear those up. And so that's a sort of conversation that we ended up having. And, you know, she's on board with Boston now and so.   Naviere Walkewicz I think that's wonderful. I think communication is key. Luckily for you, you're big on communication, And no, I think that's wonderful for our listeners, even. You know, yes, there's probably times when you have to make a decision, there's a lead decision maker, maybe in in a partnership or in a relationship, but when you take in all of those perspectives, like you said, I think the end of the day, when you're coming to that decision, you're in a place of transparency and, yeah, you kind of go for it together. So I think that's great lessons for all of our listeners. Andrew, we're going to get to some of the key thoughts that you have, and I also would love for you to share, and you have a limited to think about this, but something that is, you know, unique to you, that you would love our listeners to kind of hear or learn about you. I think that's one of the things that we've been able to pick up in Long Blue Leadership, is it's kind of neat when people just know what's relatable or what they think is really cool. So, give you a second on that. But before we do, I'd like to take a moment and thank you for listening to Long Blue Leadership. This podcast publishes Tuesdays in both video and audio, and is available on all your favorite podcast platforms. Watch or listen to episodes of Long Blue Leadership at long blue leadership.org   Naviere Walkewicz 58:38 So Andrew, here we are, and we can go in either order. I think, you know, we always like to make sure our listeners kind of have a way to encapsulate the leadership lessons you want to leave them with that's close to you. But also just kind of, what's the thing you want to leave them with that's all about, Andrew?   Andrew Cormier It's weird talking about myself, to be honest, because I bet I'm always on the other side of the microphone.   Naviere Walkewicz Yes. It's much easier asking the questions.   Andrew Cormier Yes. I think one thing that I really wanted to talk about that I guess wasn't outlined in this, was the regular question of “Why'd you come?” versus “Why'd you stay?” And like I mentioned before, the service piece was why I came, but seeing how I haven't done community service really since high school, the reason why I've been staying is because American ideals are amazing, and they need to be protected. And in order for me to have any say in that, I need to have skin in the game. And that's what I look at my service as, is me gaining skin in the game. And, you know, I just, I am by no means a scholar of American history. Massachusetts Public Education did not teach me about the Alamo, unfortunately, so when I went to San Antonio for the first time, I was learning it. But what they did teach me was about our founding fathers. And, you know, being from Massachusetts, Plymouth Rock, it's where the Pilgrims landed, and what it really took for people to come across an entire ocean, fight tyranny. Like ask me, “How do you think I like my tea?”   Naviere Walkewicz How do you like your tea?   Andrew Cormier In the harbor. You know what I mean? Yeah, like, there's this sort of state and then largely national pride as — it's audacious what has transpired over the past 250 years, and I just want Americans not to take that for granted. I recently watched Civil War. Have you seen that movie? It's like, kind of a journalist's take on what would happen if, you know, states seceded. And it's like a, it's like a reminder of, “Oh, this actually happened. There was a civil war,” but like, you know, we were able to remand it, and like those reminders, tell me that this, this should not be taken for granted. And so, you know, with the kind of, like national landscape, the whole climate, I just really urge people to try to understand other people's perspectives and listen more than they talk, because those pieces for me, like I'm a pretty staunch capitalist, but I recently bought TheCommunist Manifesto. This is probably gonna get clipped or something, but I bought it, and I still haven't started reading it yet, because this semester's been crazy. But I want to understand where these people are coming from.   Naviere Walkewicz Critical thinking.   Andrew Cormier I want to understand where these ideas stem from. And I want to listen, and I want other people to listen as well. I want a more general understanding of the ideas that are guiding all of this change. What are they actually rooted in? And I think that understanding will make it much more clear as to like, a direction that we should all head in rather than, you know, all this public descent over very more or less menial things that are petty and not worth having the uproar that is ensuing. So I don't know, I guess. I don't know exactly where I was going with that, but my national and state pride gives me this urge to go, in some way, shape or form, defend these ideals and to encourage other people to look at — you know, I didn't mention a whole bunch about Northfield, Mount Herman, but I went to four schools in four years, Monty, Tech, NMH, Marion Military Institute and then here, all four different years, Massachusetts, Alabama, Colorado — in, you know, Massachusetts, my hometown, it's blue collar, NMH, super liberal. I was very international. I was in class with a Malaysian prince. I was exposed to very different perspectives there than I was when I was in Alabama. Here, there's people from all corners of the United States, and so there's this expanding perspective that allows me to be like, what we have here really shouldn't be taken for granted. I think I'm just beating a dead horse at this point, but I just really want Americans to think a little bit more and, like, listen a little bit more and understand a little bit more. I'm off my soapbox.   Naviere Walkewicz 1:04:27 I'm really glad you shared that perspective. I mean, I think it's an insight into you know, your deeper calling, and, like you said, why you stay but the threads of everything you've shared have played into that part of that of who you are at the fabric of Andrew. So, any additional leadership nuggets you want to leave with our listeners?   Andrew Cormier 1:04:53 I don't want to defer to other things that I said earlier in the conversation, but it's not about you. It's not about you. I have a couch in my room. It's like,   Naviere Walkewicz Tell me more about that.   Andrew Cormier It's a squadron commander privilege. I have my own room. I have all these like privileges. I have up top parking. It's very like ivory tower-centric. And that's like the perception of this. But it's not about me at all. It is about going and defending my friend. It is about when permanent party is directing frustration towards me, how do I not pass that frustration onto them? How do I make sure that the voices below me are heard. How do we reopen Hap's? Those are the jobs that are mine, and that involves no, like — it's my job, that I think that's the main thing. When you're a leader, it's your job. There shouldn't be any extra, you know, kudos given to you. Everyone has their own piece in the puzzle, and just because your face is more prominent than others does not mean that the mission is any less doable with one piece missing or another piece missing. So I guess it's not about you, it's about the team.   Naviere Walkewicz 1:06:23 So, For the Zoomies, just to kind of recap, where is it headed, and how can they find it, our listeners?   Andrew Cormier 1:06:33 Spotify podcasts, or Apple podcasts, I guess that's where you can find it. I'm not gonna lie; it's been on a little bit of a hiatus. I've been returning to posting, but had to give myself a break at the beginning of the semester. To be honest, I'm looking to just get to 100 episodes upon graduation and calling it a repository. I'm looking forward to some of the upcoming guests. I reached out to Gen. Mike Minihan the other day on LinkedIn, and he got back to me, and I was like, wow, so maybe he might be on the show by the time this is released. But yeah, I kind of want cadets to understand more. There's a lot of things that are advertised about pilots, but there's more out there. And I want this also be a testament of you don't need to do something in your extracurricular time that is an Academy club. Cadets can do their own thing. Yeah, I hope that answers the question.   Naviere Walkewicz That's outstanding. Is there anything that I didn't ask you that you want to share before we close out this amazing episode?   Andrew Cormier No, I think, I think I'm good. I've been talking way too long.   Naviere Walkewicz Well, it's that, well, we want you to talk because you've been our guest. But Andrew, it's been a pleasure.   Andrew Cormier It's been a really — I didn't say this in the beginning, but really, thank you for having me on. It means a lot to me that, you know, I'm the first cadet here, and I don't know what the plan is moving forward, but it means a lot to me that you saw enough in me to put me in company with all the other guests that you have on the show so far, and so I just hope you know it's pressure for me not to do anything to let you guys down.   Naviere Walkewicz Well, I think you being who you are, you've already not let us down. You're amazing. Thank you so much.     KEYWORDS Air Force Academy, leadership, cadet experience, community service, podcasting, military career, personal growth, mentorship, squadron commander, humanitarian efforts, Air Force Academy, leadership, career paths, podcasting, personal growth, cadet community, national pride, decision making, leadership lessons       The Long Blue Line Podcast Network is presented by the U.S. Air Force Academy Association and Foundation    

On episode #189, we might have gotten carried away with our conspiracy theories, and we talked some smack about one of Hong Kong's newest restaurants, the Flat Iron Group. Well, the founder of Flat Iron restaurants did listen to the episode, and he had some comments for us. This episode, we chat with Flat Iron and Steak King Founder Johnny Glover about his booming business, his origin story, and the real conspiracy happening on Elgin Road.   Cheak out Flat Iron Hong Kong: https://www.flatironhk.com/ Check out Steak King website: https://steak-king.com/ Steak King viral video: https://t.ly/Ftbi_ Get tickets for Backstage Comedy shows: https://linktr.ee/backstagecomedy Subscribe to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hohopod Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/ Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

Leaders are increasingly challenged to understand how to respond to a polarized world. They are grappling with addressing division while embracing otherness. But to create welcoming environments in which each member feels recognized and comfortable being their whole selves at work, we must face our own need for belonging -- one that is often unmet. In REUNION: Leadership and the Longing to Belong (HarperBusiness; Nov. 14, 2023), executive coach Jerry Colonna urges leaders to consider the ways they have been complicit in, and benefitted from, conditions they say they'd like to change, and shows them how to create new systems of inclusion for everyone. In today's complex and divisive world, it is only through radical self-inquiry, a concept explored in Colonna's first book Reboot, that leaders can forge systemic belonging for everyone. Jerry Colonna is a leading executive coach who uses the skills he learned as a venture capitalist to help entrepreneurs. He is a co-founder and CEO of Reboot, the executive coaching and leadership development company, host of the Reboot Podcast, and author of REUNION: Leadership and the Longing to Belong (HarperBusiness; Nov. 14, 2023) and Reboot: Leadership and the Art of Growing Up (HarperBusiness, 2019). He draws on his wide variety of experiences to help clients design a more conscious life and make needed changes to their careers to improve their performance and satisfaction. Previously he was a partner with JPMorgan Partners (JPMP), the private equity arm of JP Morgan Chase. He joined JPMP from Flatiron Partners, which he launched in 1996 with partner, Fred Wilson. Flatiron became one of the most successful, early-stage investment programs in the New York City area. He lives on a farm in Longmont, Colorado.

Caught up with world famous hair stylists and Sacha & Olivier Salon owners, Sacha Cohen & Olivier Mikhailoff, here in NYC, to get some healthy hair tips and advice for runners, triathletes, swimmers, chat about going blonde-naturally, and not so naturally, the athletics and fitness fueling Sacha for success, and of course, we chat about thier business and how they have an iconic spot in Flatiron where they have been for 30 years.

10/9/24: Movers and shakers from Co-op Power, the Old Creamery Co-op, Real Pickles, River Valley Co-op, & UMass Five College Credit Union, Valley Alliance of Worker Cooperatives. Movers and shakers from Downtown Sounds, Flat Iron coffee house, Neighboring Food Co-op Ass'n, Our Family Farms, & PV Squared,

10/9/24: Movers and shakers from Co-op Power, the Old Creamery Co-op, Real Pickles, River Valley Co-op, & UMass Five College Credit Union, Valley Alliance of Worker Cooperatives. Movers and shakers from Downtown Sounds, Flat Iron coffee house, Neighboring Food Co-op Ass'n, Our Family Farms, & PV Squared,

#81. In this episode of the meez Podcast, Josh Sharkey sits down with PJ Calapa, Executive Chef of Marea in NY and Beverly Hills. Chef PJ Calapa's exposure to a broad range of cuisines and flavors began at an early age, having grown up in the Mexican border town of Brownsville, Texas. As a child, he joined his grandmother in the kitchen and later worked for his grandfather's wholesale fish business. Calapa continued to nurture his culinary passion during undergraduate studies at Texas A&M University, when he worked on the hot line at Christopher's World Grille. Calapa then moved to New York and enrolled at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park. As a CIA graduate, Calapa worked with Josh at Bouley in Tribeca, Eleven Madison Park, and Nobu 57, where he started as a line cook and quickly rose through the ranks to become executive sous chef.In 2010, Calapa joined the Altamarea Group to launch Ai Fiori, which earned threestars from The New York Times, a Michelin star, and a 2013 Star Chefs Rising Star Chef Award. Calapa then opened as executive chef at Campagna at the Bedford Post Inn. In the summer of 2016, Calapa left the Altamarea Group to open two new projects of his own. In 2017, Calapa debuted his interpretation of an iconic New York tavern in Manhattan's West Village, The Spaniard. Calapa then brought a taste of southern Italy to Manhattan's Flatiron district with Scampi in the fall of 2020. His thoughtful menu showcased the culinary bounty of land and sea with dishes that highlighted the uninhibited vibrance of the region – delicately composed crudos, hand-made pastas, seasonal vegetables procured from the greenmarket and masterfully prepared items on the grill. Rejoining Altamarea Group, Calapa continues his culinary journey as the Executive Chef of highly acclaimed Marea, helming the kitchen and menu development. In this episode, Josh and PJ reminisce about memories from working at Bouley together as well as experience and lessons PJ gained throughout his career path. We also discuss PJ's health journey, his experience with fatherhood, and his current accomplishments at Marea. Where to find Chef PJ Calapa:InstagramLinkedInWhere to find host Josh Sharkey:InstagramLinkedInTikTokTwitterIn this episode, we cover:(03:18): Bouley memories(06:10): PJ's Texas Roots (12:35): What makes great pasta(14:47): Bouley's career path(34:16): The effects of COVID on PJ(39:22): The story of The Spaniard(44:25): PJ's health journey(50:35): Marea(1:02:15): What is next for PJ(1:04:19): Message to young chefs

It's our Essen Preview show for 2024! This time, we look at the various games we're most excited to check out at Spiel in Essen. And when we're done with that, we dash through our Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops. 00:49 - Asking to Bring Something Back 02:16 - Tabletop Together and BGG's Preview List 03:16 - Priorities 08:58 - Where Will We Be? 12:09 - 7 Empires 12:50 - 365 Adventures 14:01 - Ada's Library 14:50 - Apiary: Expanding the Hive 15:26 - Backstories: Alone Under the Ice 16:23 - Bone Wars 18:16 - Cat Horror Costume 19:11 - Chants for the Old Ones 20:00 - Civolution 21:03 - Conservas 22:32 - Dead Cells 23:38 - Flatiron 25:22 - Galileo Galilei 26:20 - Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle Earth 27:26 - Minos 28:04 - Paella Park 29:58 - Power Grid: Outpost 31:19 - SETI 32:52 - Similo: Jurrassic World, 10th Anniversary, and Games Decks 34:18 - Temple of Horrors 35:50 - Unconscious Mind 37:00 - Vampire Nights 38:01 - Witchcraft: Midnights Expansion 39:19 - Dice Tower Essentials: Floresta, Vegetable Stock, Video Game Champion, Ito 41:58 - Food in Essen 45:25 - Pixies 47:56 - Robo Rally Transformers 51:01 - Mind MGMT 55:37 - Cat and the Tower 59:22 - Dadada 1:01:51 - Stickers -- Tabletop Together: tabletoptogether.com/tool/ BGG's Essen Preview: boardgamegeek.com/geekpreview/68/spiel-essen-24-preview

Opener: Noli Closer: Just a few games that caught my eye or attention in other ways coming at Essen. Galileo Galilei, In the Footsteps of Marie Curie, Port Arthur, Amazonia Park, and Flatiron      My call for feedback earlier this year sparked both halves of this podcast. First, there was a request for me to explain my history with the best, most famous, and original CCG, Magic The Gathering. Though I dabble a tiny bit even now, there were a few years in the beginning when I dove in with both feet. It was, as we now say, a lifestyle game. I still think it's incredible, clearly one of my all-time favorites, but it's not easy to keep up with Magic and other games. Therefore it's mostly part of my gaming past, but I have such fond memories and will definitely play a game here or there in the future. Such as on M:tG Arena, the fantastic free-to-play digital version of the game. When Settlers of Catan (and Air Baron! another of my early favorites) showed up, eurogames essentially displaced Magic for me. Though we called them German Games at the time. I was hooked, and now it's been nearly thirty years. That sounds like a a long time--and it is!--but I have a hobby gaming history before Catan and Magic. I've told parts of that history on this podcast before, but when someone who listens to the show was surprised to hear I'd once worked for Steve Jackson Games, I realized it's been about 18 years since I told that story! So you'll forgive the repetition, if by some chance you remember my tale the first time. After talking about Magic, I go back to the beginning of my hobby gaming with a variety of stops along the way. There were years of wargames (both science fiction and some historical) and lots of roleplaying games. Like Magic, my RPG days are something I'll always remember fondly, but I'm not sure if I'll ever play those again.        -Mark

Did a Flat Iron Steak/Burger joint take over your favorite neighbourhood joint? Are you wondering where all came from? How they popped up in Soho out of nowhere? You're not alone! It a typcial Ho Ho Hong Kong fashion, we chose to do zero research, and instead, we dove the deep end of the conspiracy pool! We're joined this week by a a special guest, the hilarious and gorgeous comedian, Annie Louey!   Get tickets for Backstage Comedy shows: https://linktr.ee/backstagecomedy Follow Annie Louey on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annielouey/ Subscribe to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hohopod Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/ Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

Eclipse season is coming to a grand finale on Wednesday, October 2, with the solar eclipse and new moon in Libra. In the wake of the September 17 Pisces lunar (full moon) eclipse, we are dealing with shocking secrets from the music industry and ongoing war. This week's balancing new moon could bring a call for justice and some unexpected relationship rebalancing. Should you hit the gas or the brakes with your actions? With Mars trine Saturn on Monday, get ready to work both gears simultaneously. BOOK LAUNCH PARTY!

In the latest episode of the Vital Health podcast, we delve into the future of healthcare with Blythe Adamson from Flatiron Health. Learn how Flatiron is at the forefront of transforming drug discovery through real-world data—using insights from everyday clinical practices to drive innovation and improve patient outcomes.Blythe shares fascinating insights on the role of AI in healthcare, stating, "The integration of AI into our data processes isn't just about speed; it's about uncovering patterns and insights that were previously invisible." She also discusses the unique challenges of navigating health data regulations across different countries and how Flatiron is overcoming these hurdles to make a global impact. This episode is packed with valuable perspectives for anyone interested in biotech, data science, or the evolving landscape of healthcare.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why not buy a board game from our sponsors Kienda: kienda.co.uk/polyhedroncollider Warning: This podcast contains strong language and adult content In this episode of the Polyhedron Collider Podcast, Steve, Andy, and Rory break the mould and discuss a game on the bleeding edge of the tabletop gaming zeitgeist: Arcs, from Leder Games.  Andy shares his highlights from Airecon North West boardgame convention, and Steve and Rory go on tour with the band in Draft & Write Records (from Inside Up Games) before building rival romanticised county villages in Dorfromantik: The Duel, from Pegasus Spiele. They round off the episode with some questions from the mailbag, including: what game mechanic are you rubbish at but utterly love?  Games Mentioned 00:02:46 Set A Watch: Forsaken Isles 00:18:55 An Age Contrived 00:33:58 Nucleum Essen Preview 00:46:20 Revenant 00:49:02 Tir na NOg 00:52:57  Polaris 00:55:52 The bit where Andy said “Rory's right” 00:56:35 Flatiron 00:59:32 Nucleum: Court of Progress 01:01:18 Get Salty 01:03:32 Rock Hard 1977 01:04:58 Bantam West 01:08:10 Chandrigah 01:10:30 Civolution 01:12:44 Escape from New York. Andromeda's Edge, and Undaunted 2200: Callisto 01:14:58 Pampero 01:18:15 Baghdad: The City of Peace ⭐Show Sponsor: Kienda When you sign up to an account with Kienda use this link to bag yourself a wee discount and help support the show.  Let's face it, you were going to buy a board game anyway

Subscriber-only episode*Commercial-free Version*The BanterThe Guys talk about a New York Times article by Michael Pollan which illuminates the challenges of defining food terms and agribusiness as a whole and where we go from here. Then, they reach for a cocktail. The ConversationThe Restaurant Guys chat with renowned mixologist Julie Reiner about her experience in the New York City cocktail scene from Pegu Club to Flat Iron Lounge and to her new bar, which she is about to open in Brooklyn, Clover Club. She asserts that great ingredients, skill and patience are necessary to create the high-level drinks she serves at her establishments. Listen to what has changed and what has stayed the same in the years since. The Inside TrackThe Guys and Julie were mentored by Dale DeGroff and all preach the gospel of classic cocktails with fine ingredients. They Guys frequently visited Julie at Pegu Club and her own Flat Iron Lounge. “Cocktails are hip and cool and, and everybody likes something sophisticated in a glass,” Julie Reiner on The Restaurant Guys Podcast 2008BioA cutting-edge mixologist and club owner, Julie Reiner opened Flatiron Lounge, Clover Club, and Milady's among others. She was a judge on Netflix's Drink Masters and runs a bar training and consulting company. She was named “Mixologist of the Year” from Wine Enthusiast and accepted several honors from Tales of the Cocktail. InfoClover Clubhttps://www.cloverclubny.com/NYT Article by Michael Pollan https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/12/magazine/12policy-t.htmlJulie on Instagram@mixtressnycOur SponsorsThe Heldrich Hotel & Conference Centerhttps://www.theheldrich.com/Magyar Bankhttps://www.magbank.com/Withum Accountinghttps://www.withum.com/Our PlacesStage Left Steakhttps://www.stageleft.com/Catherine Lombardi Restauranthttps://www.catherinelombardi.com/Stage Left Wineshophttps://www.stageleftwineshop.com/Reach out to The Restaurant GuysNo commercials...except for this oneTo hear more about food, wine and the finer things in life:https://www.instagram.com/restaurantguyspodcast/https://www.facebook.com/restaurantguyshttps://www.restaurantguyspodcast.com/

To keep it simple, here are 7 categories of things to do that will help make your decisions easier. Here are our local recommendations for the best things to do for your weekend trip to NYC. We recommend doing at least one thing from each main category or more. If there's a category you're stoked on, do more in that category.  1- Go to a Broadway Show Get cheap Broadway tickets through a ticketing app (TodayTix or Ticketmaster) or TKTS Booth The TKTS Booth can take 30-120 minutes in line. Go to the Lincoln Center location for shorter wait times. If you can avoid weekends, do it. If you want to see two shows, you can skip the line by showing your ticket from the previous day at the booth 2- Go to an Observation Deck The Edge is probably our favorite One World Trade (see Downtown) Top of the Rock 3- Go to Chelsea Little Island Chelsea Market Pier 57 Highline 4- Go to a Museum Museum of Modern Art American Museum of Natural History The Metropolitan Museum of Art aka MET 9/11 Museum (see Downtown) 5- Go Shopping 5th Ave Soho Rockefeller Center Hudson Yards Columbus Circle 6- Go Downtown See the One World Trade Center (and/or do the Observation Deck) See the Statue of Liberty from a distance (here) or go to the Statue & Ellis Island, but it takes a LONG time, about 4-6 hours. Don't get scammed on tickets going to the Statue; buy them beforehand. Or, take the Staten Island Ferry for a closer view. It's free and takes anywhere from 60-90 minutes round trip. Charging Bull/Wall Street 9/11 Museum, be prepared for a very somber yet well-presented experience. 7- Explore Central Park Heckscher Playground Balto Statue Central Park Carousel Literary Walk Alice in Wonderland Statue Conservatory Water Loeb Boathouse Bethesda Terrace & Fountain The Mall This video/route shows you how to do all the best spots in Central Park in roughly 2-3 hours. This Episode's You'll Have to Check It Out Segment – Eataly NYC Eataly has three locations in New York, Flatiron, Downtown, and Soho and 20 across the globe. They have locations in places like Dallas and Las Vegas, and even as far as Istanbul and Japan. From the Eataly website: “The idea was simple: to gather high-quality food at sustainable and reasonable prices, to celebrate Italian biodiversity, and to create an informal, natural, and simple place to EAT, SHOP, and LEARN — all under one roof.” On top of a robust collection of authentic Italian groceries, bites, and drinks, most Eataly locations have restaurants and bars inside the store. It's the perfect spot to grab some food for a picnic at one of NYC's amazing parks! The Flatiron location has a rooftop restaurant, the Downtown location has a beautiful wine and cocktail bar, and the Soho location has a pizza and pasta focused restaurant. Be sure to check out their events for when you're in town! Eataly often has unlimited wine and food fests, cooking classes, and more. Check out the NYC locations here (links open Google Maps in new tab): Downtown Flatiron Soho

This week, we sit down with Conrad Everhard, founding partner of Flatiron LLP, a pioneering law firm that has revolutionized M&A services with their innovative flat fee model. Conrad shares the fascinating origin story of Flatiron, its unique approach to legal services, and the challenges and successes they've encountered along the way. Everhard recounts the inception of Flatiron LLP, co-founded with Mark Haddad and Lenny Nuara, former big law partners, who sought to modernize legal services post-financial crisis. Despite their elite backgrounds, reentering the private law firm space proved challenging due to their detachment from Big Law for a few years. Driven by their frustrations with Big Law's resistance to change and the convergence of factors such as acceptance of virtual models and access to senior labor, they took the bold step of founding Flatiron. This new model law firm leverages technology and client-focused solutions to disrupt traditional legal services. When it comes to Flatiron's groundbreaking flat fee M&A services, Conrad explains that the motivation behind this disruptive approach was to bring more transparency, predictability, and cost-efficiency to the fee structure. Over several years, Flatiron has honed a model that relies on low overhead, innovative labor deployment, and technological advancements. They operate on a general contractor model, utilizing a network of expert contractors on a project basis, which allows them to offer high-quality services at a lower and more predictable cost compared to Big Law. Conrad highlights Flatiron's development of "Deal Driver," a workstream efficiency platform that streamlines the M&A process. Initially created as an internal tool, Deal Driver organizes and manages data through each phase of a deal, incorporating AI and human intelligence to enhance efficiency. This platform has not only improved their internal processes but has also gained popularity among clients, leading to its spin-off as a proprietary platform. The success of Deal Driver underscores Flatiron's commitment to innovation and client satisfaction. Flatiron's unique labor pool taps into senior associates and counsel with elite firm backgrounds who, for various reasons, seek alternative work environments. Flatiron offers better pay and a more flexible, engaging work culture, attracting highly skilled professionals. Conrad emphasizes the importance of their "coolness factor" in recruitment and client acquisition, noting their collaborations with Stanford Codex and the positive reception from private equity clients who appreciate their efficiency and data management capabilities. In the crystal ball segment, Conrad speculates on the future of the legal industry. He predicts that traditional Big Law firms may eventually adopt more innovative models, possibly through spin-offs or off-brand ventures, to stay competitive. Additionally, he foresees alternative legal service providers and sandbox experiments in places like Utah and Arizona challenging the traditional legal market. Despite the potential for disruption, Conrad remains confident in Flatiron's model, emphasizing the green field of opportunities ahead and their readiness to adapt and innovate continuously. Listen on mobile platforms:  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ |  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Contact Us:  X: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@gebauerm⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@glambert⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Email: geekinreviewpodcast@gmail.comMusic: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jerry David DeCicca⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Flatiron LLP: flatiron.legal Conrad Everhard on LinkedIn: Conrad Everhard Email: ceverhard@flatiron.legal

As CMO of San Francisco-based Rothy's, Jamie Gersch is fueling sustainability-focused innovation in fashion. With a rich background in retail, including roles at Old Navy and Gap, Gersch brought a wealth of experience and a fresh perspective to Rothy's when she joined in 2022. Following its inception in 2012, Rothy's made its mark by turning plastic waste into stylish, comfortable shoes. And, in recent years, the brand has expanded its product assortment to include bags and other accessories, while maintaining its commitment to sustainability. Rothy's has 3 million customers through 20 retail stores and e-commerce in 19 countries, plus the vertically integrated company operates its own factory in China. In fiscal year 2022, the last year before it went private, Rothy's net revenue was $183 million, with annual revenues consistently over $150 million. Gersch has been instrumental in the brand's growth by focusing on innovative marketing strategies, enhancing the brand's digital presence and expanding its physical retail footprint. Under Gersch's leadership, Rothy's has relaunched its website to better tell its sustainability story. Plus, her approach to tapping into authentic communities and leveraging experiential marketing has driven significant engagement and brand loyalty.  Rothy's commitment to sustainability is evident in its production processes. The brand uses a unique 3D knitting technology to create its shoes, minimizing waste and maximizing efficiency. This method allows Rothy's to produce shoes that are not only environmentally friendly but also durable and comfortable. The company has recycled millions of plastic bottles to create its signature thread, transforming waste into high-quality, stylish products. The brand's retail strategy includes opening new stores in key markets — it recently opened a location on New York City's Flatiron neighborhood. By providing consumers with the opportunity to experience Rothy's products in person, the brand strengthens its connection with its audience and showcases the tangible benefits of its sustainable practices. It has plans for further expansion.  On the latest episode of the Glossy Podcast, Gersch discusses Rothy's current initiatives and future direction, including the launch of its new summer footwear lines, its international expansion, its experiential marketing and its relaunch of rothys.com.

Fred Smith is Head of Beef at Flat Iron. Having trained at several of London's top restaurants, he later became Head of Food at Byron. He then joined the Flat Iron series of restaurants in 2017.  On the podcast, he tells Lara and Liv about how his love of steak developed, how he got into cooking, and what his comfort food is. His passion for the world-famous Angus breed is evident, but why is British steak so good?  Also, on the podcast Lara let's slip her son's first sentence - safe to say, it's food related...  Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Patrick Gibbons.

This week, the Glossy Beauty Podcast welcomed three very special guests: Ali, 10, of New York City; Riley, 11, of Merrick, New York; and Leora, 12, of Bay Shore, New York. The three girls joined us in a Flatiron, NYC recording studio, where we sat down to talk all things beauty. Glossy Pop has fastidiously reported on the tween obsession with skin care for months, examining the rise of brands that cater to the demographic, younger and younger girls' beauty obsession vis-a-vis social media, the rise of Gen Alpha influencer-queen Katie Fang, and the Sephora tween brouhaha. On this week's episode of The Glossy Beauty Podcast, we talk through all of it, including how these girls first became interested in beauty, what brands are resonating with them now, what products they're allowed to buy and use, and what social media they consume and create.

This is a Library Selection from 2008 The Banter The Guys talk about a New York Times article by Michael Pollan which illuminates challenges of defining food terms and agribusiness as a whole and where we go from here. Then they reach for a cocktail.  The Conversation The Restaurant Guys chat with renowned mixologist Julie Reiner about her experience in the New York City cocktail scene from Pegu Club to Flat Iron Lounge and to her new bar, which she is about to open in Brooklyn, Clover Club. She asserts that great ingredients, skill and patience are necessary to create the high-level drinks she serves at her establishments. Listen to what has changed and what has stayed the same in the years since.  The Inside Track The Guys and Julie were mentored by Dale DeGroff and all preach the gospel of classic cocktails with fine ingredients. They Guys frequently visited Julie at Pegu Club and her own Flat Iron Lounge.  “Cocktails are hip and cool and, and everybody likes something sophisticated in a glass,” Julie Reiner on The Restaurant Guys Podcast 2008 Bio A cutting-edge mixologist and club owner, Julie Reiner opened Flatiron Lounge, Clover Club, and Milady's among others. She was a judge on Netflix's Drink Masters and runs a bar training and consulting company. She was named “Mixologist of the Year” from Wine Enthusiast and accepted several honors from Tales of the Cocktail.  Info Clover Club https://www.cloverclubny.com/ NYT Article by Michael Pollan https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/12/magazine/12policy-t.html Julie on Instagram@mixtressnyc Our Sponsors: The Heldrich Hotel & Conference Center https://www.theheldrich.com/ Magyar Bank https://www.magbank.com/ Withum Accounting https://www.withum.com/ Our Places: Stage Left Steak https://www.stageleft.com/ Catherine Lombardi https://www.catherinelombardi.com/Stage Left Wine Shop https://www.stageleftwineshop.com/

Welcome to the What's Next! Podcast with Tiffani Bova.  This week, I have the honor of welcoming back for the second time, Jerry Colonna to the show. He is a leading executive coach who uses the skills he learned as a venture capitalist to help entrepreneurs. He is co-founder and CEO of Reboot.io, the executive coaching and leadership development company, host of the Reboot podcast, and author of a new book called Reunion, which came out at the end of 2023 and also Reboot: Leadership and the Art of Growing Up. Previously, he was a partner with JPMorgan Partners (JPMP), the private equity arm of JP Morgan Chase. He joined JP Morgan from Flat Iron Partners, which he launched in 1996 with his partner Fred Wilson, and Flat Iron became one of the most successful early-stage investment programs in the New York City area.  THIS EPISODE IS PERFECT FOR… aspiring leaders seeking meaningful growth.   TODAY'S MAIN MESSAGE… leadership is a lifelong practice. There is no playbook, but with self-inquiry and continuous personal growth, leaders can tap into their fullest potential over and over again. Jerry shares insights from his latest book on how leaders can look within to drive change beyond themselves.    Key takeaways: Successful leaders balance high performance with cultivating a supportive and inclusive culture. Leaders must learn to handle challenges and failures gracefully, using them as opportunities for growth and team development. Even without direct authority, individuals can lead and influence.   WHAT I LOVE MOST… the self-awareness of tuning into yourself while keeping an eye on the world at large. Jerry says this looks like asking yourself: how am I reacting? What am I doing? What am I bringing into this conversation?   Running Time: 27:06   Subscribe on iTunes   Find Tiffani Online: Facebook Twitter LinkedIn   Find Jerry Online: Website  LinkedIn    Jerry's Book:  Reunion  

The Soviet war machine is taking serious loses in the battle with Ukraine. Mark interviews FOX legal analyst Gregg Jarrett interview: Mark and Gregg talked about the joke the Trump hush money trial is. Trump will be allowed to attend Barron's graduation. Everyone and their cousins have an NDA's. The judge in the Trump hush money trial has no idea what's legal and what's illegal.

The Flat Iron district is slowly dying. Boomer and Phil out at the NFL Today broadcast. Michael Moore predicted Biden will lose in 2024