Podcasts about For Dummies

What if bonds aren't dead at all—and we've just spent the last decade misunderstanding what job they were hired to do? Bill welcomes back Frank Vasquez, the hotdog-named engineer-lawyer-DIY investor behind Risk Parity Radio, for part one of a lively fixed-income deep dive. Starting with the basics, Frank explains what a bond actually is, why owning one makes you the lender rather than the shareholder, and how bonds can provide income, stability, or diversification depending on the type and duration. They work through the very real risks hiding behind the phrase "safe investment." Along the way, they visit the Witch of Wall Street, Frank's crystal balls, and the illusion that individual bonds never lose value just because nobody checks the price every day.  This is Part 1 of a 2-part Episode. Be sure to catch Part 2 next week (August 9th). This episode covers What bonds are and how they differ fundamentally from stocks The three main roles bonds can play: income, stability, and diversification The differences between Treasuries, corporate bonds, municipal bonds, and TIPS Why higher yields usually come with higher credit or default risk Maturity, par value, duration, yield to maturity, and the yield curve Why individual bonds fluctuate in value even when investors do not see the daily price How interest-rate changes affect short-, intermediate-, and long-duration bonds The major risks of bond investing, including inflation, liquidity, credit, and call risk Why diversification depends on correlation, not simply owning investments with different names What 2022 taught investors about stocks, bonds, inflation, and unusual market environments   === SUPPORT  THE  SHOW ===

A bestselling computer book and a mayor's office may seem worlds apart, but Dan Gookin's path connects them through curiosity, clear communication, and public service. I talk with the DOS for Dummies author and Coeur d'Alene mayor about making technical writing useful, challenging industries that resist new ideas, and finding success by improving work others do poorly. Dan also shares why he entered local politics, how transparency and community engagement built public trust, and why responsible leadership often means asking the questions others overlook. We close by exploring political division, religious freedom, social media algorithms, and the need to reduce online anger without losing the internet's benefits. Highlights: 00:06:48 - Why leaving your comfort zone creates growth. 00:11:07 - How doing something better can become a business. 00:12:39 - Why writing for beginners changed computer publishing. 00:27:06 - How transparency concerns led Dan into politics. 00:37:30 - Why responsiveness helped Dan earn public trust. 00:54:49 - How social media fuels anger and division. About the Guest: Dan Gookin is the mayor-elect of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, having won election in November 2025 after serving on the City Council since 2011. Known as a fiscal conservative, outspoken advocate for government transparency, and a committed budget hawk who asks tough questions, he is often described as “the lone voice of reason” on the council, consistently championing the public and the “little guy” against bureaucracy. Gookin views his public service as protecting individual rights. He prides himself on listening to all perspectives, welcoming alternative viewpoints, remaining open to new information, and never being a rubber-stamp vote. Professionally, Gookin is known as a writer and online trainer. He has been writing about technology since the early days of personal computing, combining his humor with a passion for gadgets to create informative and entertaining books. He authored the groundbreaking DOS For Dummies in 1991—the world's fastest-selling computer book at the time and the title that launched the iconic For Dummies series, now a publishing phenomenon. With more than 170 titles to his credit, over 12 million copies in print, and translations into more than 30 languages, his popular works include PCs and Laptops For Dummies, Android For Dummies, Word For Dummies, and C For Dummies. He maintains two helpful websites, wambooli.com and c-for-dummies.com. He creates online courses for LinkedIn Learning on diverse topics, and in 2020 published Running for Local Office For Dummies. Gookin graduated from the University of California, San Diego with a BA in Communications/Visual Arts and minors in cognitive psychology and theatrical design. He put his creative talents to work as artistic director of the Lake City Playhouse, where he designed sets, lighting, and directed many productions between 1997 and 2002. First and foremost, Dan considers himself a father who raised four boys in Idaho. Gookin resides in Coeur d'Alene with his wife, Brie, along with various children and pets. In his leisure time, he enjoys woodworking, playing the piano, riding his bike, cooking, gardening, and making lists of things he enjoys doing along with occasionally annoying those who think that they're important. Ways to connect with Dan**:** LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-gookin-46995713/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/dangookin About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog. Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards. https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/ Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below! Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset . Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts. Transcription Notes: Michael Hingson  00:04 What if the biggest thing holding you back isn't what's in front of you, but rather what you believe? Welcome to Unstoppable Mindset, where inclusion, diversity, and the unexpected meet. I'm your host, Michael Hingston, speaker, author, and advocate for inclusion and possibilities. This podcast explores how the beliefs we carry shape the way we live, lead, and connect with others. Each week, I talk with people who challenge assumptions, face adversity head-on, and show what's possible when we choose curiosity over fear. Together, we focus on mindset, resilience, and the small shifts that lead to meaningful change. Let's get started. Hello there, everyone. Welcome to another episode of Unstoppable Mindset. I am your host, Michael Hingston, and today we get to chat with Dan Gookin. Do you know who Dan Gookin is? Probably not, but you will by the time we're done. But I will tell you one thing about Dan. He was elected mayor of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, in November of 2025. I think Dan, you're the first political person as such that we have had on, which is kind of cool. I'm really honored to to have you here, and and we can spend the the whole time picking on on other politicians, but there's no need to do that. I mean, what good does it do? It's a waste of time. But I want to welcome you to Unstoppable Mindset, and Dan, thanks very much for being here. Dan Gookin  01:44 Thank you, Michael. Thank you for having me on. Michael Hingson  01:46 Well, this will, I think, really be a lot of fun. I'm sorry that you guys aren't getting a lot of snow up there. My brother-in-law has been keeping me posted on the lack of snow, so today here we're expecting a temperature at about 70 degrees. Last week it got up to 39. So I don't know. There's something going on with the climate. Dan Gookin  02:10 Something. Michael Hingson  02:11 Yeah, whatever it is. Speaker 1  02:13 Well, there was a name for that. Michael Hingson  02:15 Yeah, yeah. If if there were enough people, would only believe it. But that's another story. You are right. Well, thanks very much for being here. Why don't we start? Tell me about the early Dan growing up and all that. Speaker 1  02:31 So I grew up in San Diego, California. Good place. I still say San Michael Hingson  02:35 Diego has the best weather in the country. Speaker 1  02:38 They do. It's changed a little bit as everything has, but I escaped from there back in 1991. Went up to Washington State because I was doing some work with Microsoft, and then decided that that was Seattle was another big city. So we kept looking east and finally landed in Idaho in Coeur d'Alene because it's pretty. Michael Hingson  03:01 It's a nice area. So you you did your schooling and all that down in San Diego. Speaker 1  03:06 Yeah, I graduated from the University of California, San Diego with a degree in communication visual arts. That was in 1983. Michael Hingson  03:13 Cool, wow. I've spent many a a day down in San Diego. I lived in Vista for six years, so I'm familiar with the area. Yeah, I liked Vista. Vista was a nice place to be. You Speaker 1  03:24 did a radio show out of Vista. Did you for a while? Yeah, computer call-in show. So that was way back. Michael Hingson  03:32 What did you discuss, or just anything dealing with computers? I Speaker 1  03:36 was editing a magazine, a local computer magazine at the time, and we purchased an hour, and so I would drive from my home in Tierra Santa all the way up to Vista to be in this little tiny radio station, where we would do call-ins. And sometimes people would call in, and I would help them solve their computer problems. And sometimes I had to talk to myself for Michael Hingson  03:57 an hour. And and and did you get answers when you talk to yourself. Speaker 1  04:02 No, but I got really hoarse. Ah, okay. Michael Hingson  04:04 Well, you know, just just checking. Well, that's cool. Well, I guess we could tell everyone that, among other things, Dan is also the author of a number of books, including DOS for Dummies. I still like DOS. Thank you. I I like DOS. I've just always enjoyed it. Although, I have to admit, Windows has progressed a whole lot more. But I always liked DOS. Speaker 1  04:27 Yes, it was good, and and it was its complexity or its a rudeness, I shall say. Yeah, that's a good. Sold the book because you had to type. You had to know the commands in Windows. You can kind of look and point and do all this stuff, but in DOS, you had to know the commands and type the commands, and people wouldn't-they couldn't remember. There were all these options, and so we sold a lot of books doing that. It's still, like I said, I I like it too. I like the command line because it's faster if you know what you have to type. Yeah, it takes less time to type. Than it does to look around, point and shoot with the mouse. Michael Hingson  05:04 Yeah, there are a number of blind people on some list serves that I am part of that every so often something regarding DOS comes up, which is I think kind of cool. Speaker 1  05:15 Yep, hasn't gone away. It's it's still lurking in there somewhere. Michael Hingson  05:19 It is still a kind of the basic underpinning foundation of a lot of Windows, isn't it? Speaker 1  05:25 Well, Windows actually does run on top of it still. If you if you when you start a program in Windows, you're actually issuing a text command. So inside there is a long text command that is issued that gets everything running. It's just that you're configuring that from a graphical perspective, Michael Hingson  05:44 right? Yeah, but but it is still running. DOS essentially runs under Windows, which is which is something that is is relevant. So I guess we could blame that on Bill Gates, Speaker 1  05:57 or credit him. I don't know. Michael Hingson  05:58 Or yeah, yeah, one of the other. Well, so you you graduated, you moved to Seattle. As you said, it is a big city, although you know it's kind of hard to fight Pike's fish market. Speaker 1  06:11 Well, there's there's the fun and charming parts of of Seattle that I really enjoyed. So I mean, I can't say that you know it was a horrible city. The thing I admired about Seattle the most was that Seattle would occasionally not take itself seriously, and I liked that it had a sense of humor and that people there were generally good natured. San Diego was a little bit more uptight, you know, fair weather fans, that kind of stuff, where Seattle was more of a community, and I admired that greatly. Michael Hingson  06:43 And there used to be a lot of rain up there. Speaker 1  06:45 Not as much as people say. That's kind of their reputation. The Pacific Northwest we do have. So I moved from Southern California where you have 360 days of sun a year to Pacific Northwest where you have 180, so it was kind of a shock from that point of view. It's mostly like today; it's overcast. It's just there's no sun, so that's the big difference. Michael Hingson  07:10 And then you moved up to Idaho, and and how many days of sun or not sun are there a year? Speaker 1  07:16 Oh, still about 180. 180. Uh huh. But it's you know so you get used to it after a while, and when the sun comes out, you're all happy, and it's like, look, the sun's out, everything's pretty. Michael Hingson  07:27 Yeah, fair. Yeah. So when you were in San Diego and so on, what did you want to do or be when you grew up? Speaker 1  07:36 So originally, I wanted to be a doctor, and then I had the misfortune of being in a hospital, and I said I don't ever want to be back here, and changed my mind and figured I would be a writer. So for years I started writing and submitting things to magazines, trying to work on books and stuff. I mean I wrote a few books, and they say that you have to get about a million words of junk out before you actually are a good writer. So I I worked on that for a long time, and got to the point where I I actually had a reputation with some of the editors in the magazines who would write me back personal notes instead of the generic you know dismissal, and so that was working really well. But then what happened in 1984 was I wrote something for the local computer flyer, and they liked that, and it got published, and that was what really started the career for tech because tech wanted people who knew how to write, so that was good timing. Michael Hingson  08:35 Yeah, so many technical manuals are just so boring. I really wish people would learn how to write more interesting books. Of course, I say that about textbooks as well. I am of the opinion that having a master's degree in physics and having read many a physics book, the and there are so few of them. The best books are the ones where the authors have put some actual personal stories in to draw people in with human interest parts of the science, and I wish more people would do that. Speaker 1  09:03 And that was my point too. It was like these books are dull and boring. And the problem I had because I was writing computer books at the time, I had a computer book literary agent. There is such a thing, and it's it's backwards in that industry though, because the publisher says what they want a book on, and then they have you write the book on the topic, and so I was doing that for many years. But I did not like the fact that they would edit my books to make them dry, and the editors would actually complain to me and say, "There's too much personality in here. You can't have this. It was like it was like they thought that was a built-in feature of the book, and my protest was, "Well, no. Let's make them interesting. Let's use real life examples. Let's have some personality in there. Let's have some interaction with the with the reader. And they didn't like that until DOS for Dummies came around, and the publisher was willing to change the paradigm. Michael Hingson  09:55 Jeez, yeah, it's so unfortunate. They they think they know. Everything there is to know, and the reality is they don't. Speaker 1  10:04 That's the way it is with just about any industry. You know that I think the corporate mentality is kind of to resist innovation, even in the most innovative industries, until something crazy comes along. And I think that's why in Silicon Valley you had all these startups. You know, if you look, if you trace the lineage of a lot of the big companies, they started at other big companies that were unwilling to do the crazy ideas these guys had, and so they went off. I mean, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak left Hewlett Packard and started up Apple Computer, and I'm pretty sure there's probably been some engineers from Apple Computer who've left and started up their own company and becoming Michael Hingson  10:43 well. And Bill Gates is essentially the same way. It's it's he started out doing something, but he attracted people's attention by some of the other things that he did. Speaker 1  10:53 Yep. Michael Hingson  10:54 And that was was very relevant. But I I hear what you're saying. It makes perfect sense because people just don't like to be innovative and don't like change, and and that's unfortunate that we have so many people that just, as much as they talk about the fact that change is everywhere, they don't like it. Speaker 1  11:10 No, it's well, I think yeah, we we get in our comfort zone, and you don't grow out in the comfort zone. So I like to challenge myself and do interesting things like become mayor, and you know you leave your comfort zone. And what what can I do here, or how can I do this better? Michael Hingson  11:26 Yeah, well, and that makes makes perfect sense. Well, what got you started writing about technology? Just because you were writing that that one article there, or those articles that got interest on the part of a publisher, or what? Speaker 1  11:41 What got me started was that I got paid. Ah, Michael Hingson  11:44 good point. Speaker 1  11:45 You know, they they paid me, and then you know, as as someone who was you know using a computer at the time, and they were called microcomputers, and they were really primitive compared to what we have today. Oh yeah, I I used it to write. So, and the the problem with that was that the the documents, the manuals that we talk about, were so dry and boring, and eventually, all of a sudden, it would dawn on me: it's like, well, this is what it's trying to say. So why don't they just come out and say it this way, or why don't they use an analogy and try to explain it in that manner instead of coming at it from this hardcore technical? And that was what really turned off a lot of people, so it motivated me to want to do it better, and that's kind of what I tell the kids, like my kids. I say you should start up a business. That's really the best way to get successful is start up your own business and become famous like that. And they're well, what business should I start up? I said that the easiest way is to find something that you like, something that's being done poorly, and just do it better. Yeah, and that's really a lot of the the creative, insanely genius stuff that's happened throughout the world is just someone who does something routine but does it better. Michael Hingson  12:52 And that's really the operative part about it, and and the real key. I think you're you're absolutely right. Find something that people aren't doing well, and by the time you get creative enough to figure that out, you're well on your way. Speaker 1  13:05 Yep. So that's that's what I did. Michael Hingson  13:08 Yeah. And so you started going off and and writing a variety of things. What what actually got you to write Dos for Dummies? What specifically? That's first of all, I love the the title of all the Four Dummies books. I think it makes sense. But what got you started in writing DOS for Dummies directly? Speaker 1  13:27 Well, I I knew that there was an appetite out there for beginner computer books, but the publishing industry would not publish beginning computer books because they said beginners don't buy computer books. And I explained to them, well, your problem is you don't write beginner computer books. You write something and you call it, you know, the easy guide to whatever, but the content of it is not written for a beginner. Maybe the first chapter is very condescending and patronizing, and then the rest of it is just technical garbage. So I said you have to keep that tone throughout the entire text. You have to identify who it is you're writing to, as who's a smart person who may just not get it, and explain it to them, and just keep going. And that was the problem. So I I did originally called it the Idiots Guide for DOS, which was based after the Idiots Guide to Volkswagen Repair. My dad had a copy of that, and I thought, well, what a brilliant idea. Michael Hingson  14:20 Yeah. Speaker 1  14:21 And so the publisher saw me speak at a conference, and where I was bemoaning the fact that the books were so boring, and they kept editing out my personality. And then went to to him, and and he's like, "This is great. Your outline that you have for this book is perfect. Except we want to call it DOS for Dummies. I thought, like a lot of other people, that was condescending and patronizing, but that it's an alliteration, so that's what they go with. And then he said to make it a reference. Don't make it a tutorial because, and this is brilliant, these people don't want to learn anything; they just want to do their job. Yeah, that makes sense. So that was and that was it, and we put a lot of humor in it. You know, people would tell me that they'd read the book on the subway, and you know, you'd see someone laughing reading a computer book. That's weird, but there would just be enough humor, and I'd use Mad Magazine as my inspiration. So it was kind of like us versus the nerds, and and that was what really founded the whole thing, and I tell you what, it caught on. I did not think it would. There was no way we were planning on writing a book that would sell, you know, 8 million copies. We were just thinking, well, this is going to be fun. Let's just do this, get it out of our system, and then go back to writing boring books. Michael Hingson  15:36 Made the publisher very happy. Speaker 1  15:39 Oh yeah, they were printing Gold bricks, yeah. Michael Hingson  15:43 That, of course, was the real key. Well, that started a brand, didn't it? Speaker 1  15:47 Oh yeah, they did. There was no intention to do that, but then they they followed that up with Max for Dummies and a bunch of other titles that were just very popular at the time. AOL for Dummies, you know, Windows for Dummies eventually came out, and that was the King for Dummies book. But yeah, they have and they have it on all topics. I've even so as someone who is you know starting in government, I got Robert's Rules for Dummies, which you know you've been to a meeting, you know they follow Robert's Rules, which is very dry and boring, but it's it's important. And Robert's Rules for Dummies is a good example of a For Dummies book because it explains everything carefully. Lots of humor in there, and so there's a lot of them. Wine for Dummies was another one that I really liked. I thought they did a good job. Golf for Dummies. There's a there's on every topic. There's a For Dummies book. Michael Hingson  16:37 How many of them did you write? Speaker 1  16:40 Only wrote the ones with my names on them, but probably about 40 separate titles. So over the years, most of them have been rewrites. So technology changes. So there have been 16 editions of Word for Dummies, and 13 editions of PCs for Dummies. There were four editions of DOS for Dummies. So you're you're always writing new editions, so all totaled 180 separate titles. But individual titles, without not counting multiple editions, right? About 60. Michael Hingson  17:09 Wow. Speaker 1  17:10 Yeah. Yeah, Michael Hingson  17:10 and I can appreciate that that books like Word for Dummies or even iPhones for Dummies has to change over time. Speaker 1  17:19 Yeah. Well, some of them. I mean, I've been doing a kind of a review on on YouTube. I've been doing short videos highlighting some of the goofy images that I put in the books over the years. And way back about 20 years ago, I think I was updating these titles once a year. They would say, "We need a new version of this. We need a new version of this. And at the time, technology was just. I mean, they were cranking out new stuff all the time. Michael Hingson  17:44 So, who's written AI for Dummies? Speaker 1  17:47 I don't know, but that is a title, so I wouldn't be Michael Hingson  17:50 surprised. Speaker 1  17:51 It should write itself, though. You think about Michael Hingson  17:53 it. Yeah, you you know, they they really should do that. It should write itself. Speaker 1  17:56 Someone told me once that they they they wanted to do a manual in my style, so they directed AI to write something in the style of Dan Gukan, and apparently AI can do that. So, am I going to get paid? I don't know. Michael Hingson  18:10 Well, that's another story, of course. Yeah, but still, it it is a it's a it's a great franchise. It's a great brand all the way around, and I know different people have written different different kinds of books like that, but still, the the fact is we need that in the world, and and I agree with you, especially that it's good to put humor and personality into it. And I really wish more people would do that. I really wish that would go into the the textbook world, but it hasn't yet. Speaker 1  18:37 No, that's that, and that's a different planet. I tried to break into that world, and that academia is is it's different. It is weird. Michael Hingson  18:44 Yeah, there are just not that many people who can get away with it like Richard Feynman did with some of the things that he did in physics, and even there, his his books were a little boring at times. But still, Speaker 1  18:56 he was awesome. His of course, his his autobiography is a lot of fun. Michael Hingson  19:00 Yeah, surely you're joking, mr. Fineman. Speaker 1  19:03 Exactly. Michael Hingson  19:04 Adventures of yeah, it is. I I keep it around. I've got an audio copy of it, and every so often I will go back and read parts of it. It's a it's a great book. Speaker 1  19:14 He's kind of an inspiration to me, especially in the area of government. And one of the parts of his book where he was on the panel that was reviewing textbooks for, I think, the state of California, and he noticed that one of the books was blank; it was empty, and he was the only one on the panel who did it. And I kind of echo that often in government because I'm occasionally the only person who actually reads some of the material they provide. Yeah, and and those kind of moments are classic. I love those. You know, when you can say, "Well, as everyone notices, you know, page 14 is blank, and they all madly flip to page 14, like, "Oh my gosh, how did you find this? Well, I, I did my job. I read the thing. Michael Hingson  19:54 I had a roommate in college, and we at that time we were using the Berkeley Physics series. I don't know. Whether that even still exists anymore, but different professors from Berkeley wrote various books, and the guy who wrote the book on waves, I had a roommate who was reading that book, and he searched vigorously to try to find a single misspelling of a word in the whole book. Wow! He finally found one. He said there really was one in the book. Kind of makes you wonder if that was deliberate, but but he actually found one. But it took him most of the quarter we had the book to find it. But but he did. Speaker 1  20:33 Excellent. Yeah, I got to say that's that's an art form. I used to work in a publishing house, and we would pore over books looking for spelling errors and mistakes and punctuation and all this stuff and of course you don't find them until the book's actually printed. Michael Hingson  20:46 Of course not. Yeah, yeah. Now it's it should be easier, but it's not, and they still don't come out until the book is already published and it's out there, and then you find out what isn't right. Speaker 1  20:58 Right. Michael Hingson  21:00 I suppose that gives the publisher an excuse to republish the book and make more money. Speaker 1  21:05 Well, yeah, it depends. It's if it is selling. If it doesn't sell, then obviously the the mistake's going to linger out there. Of course, with digital copies, they can update it right away, but not with a print book. Michael Hingson  21:17 Yeah, nowadays there's so many print books that are done pretty much on demand, so that if you want a copy, unless it's just something where they're selling literally millions a month, the book is available on demand. Although there's a little bit of a lag time to get it, my book Thunderdog, which is the story of Roselle and me in the World Trade Center, is is still selling pretty well, but it is more printed on demand by Thomas Nelson than now Harper Collins. Speaker 1  21:46 Yeah, Michael Hingson  21:47 and I understand that as long as it's available, I'm not going to complain. Speaker 1  21:51 And they and they they prefer to sell it that way as opposed to printing out 5000 copies they have to store somewhere. So Michael Hingson  21:56 right, yeah, they don't have to pay for storage and they just print it, and so it takes an extra week to get somewhere. That's fine. We can cope with that as long as it's available, and then that's all that really matters. Speaker 1  22:08 Yeah. Michael Hingson  22:09 But you've written a lot of books. How come so many? Because they're not all for dummies. Ah, okay. Speaker 1  22:16 Well, it just you know that was my profession, and that's what I did. And so, and I had a good agent who would find me a lot of work, so yeah, they would come up and they would want me to write a book on this or that, and a lot of it was because at the time in that industry I had a name and a reputation. I'm also very fast, so and that that kind of surprises people. In fact, there's some someone who accuses me of having a ghostwriter, which I do not. It's just I've been doing it so long, and you know, when I started, my agent said that he said the more you do this, the faster you'll get, the better you'll get. So, whereas in the original book, the first book I wrote took about six months to to write. I've written books in less than a month. It really depends. It depends on the topic, how well I know the topic, but also I do a lot of organizing with an outline, and so I will will work with an outline almost until it's down to the paragraph level, and then that makes it really easy to write the book, especially a technology book where there's a lot of cross references, and this sequence, you know, assuming someone's reading it front to back is really important, so you got to make sure that you touch upon things and do it in the right order. And then that's so yeah. I just got really good at it, which annoyed a lot of my fellow authors because as I was writing and I would get faster and faster, the contracts would start demanding the books in a more expedient manner, so other authors would complain to me and say, "You know, I have to write this book, and they're only giving me three months to do it. They're blaming me because I can do it in three months, and they figure everyone can do it in three months. So that was fun. Michael Hingson  23:54 Have you had books that someone asked you to write where you really didn't know much of anything about the subject, and you had to spend more time researching it, or you just spend time researching it, but you still did that very quickly. Speaker 1  24:06 Yeah, when I first started, that was pretty much the case. In fact, I talked with a guy who he had written the like the best-selling DBase three book. So DBase was a database way back in DOS, and it was the most popular database program, and he wrote the number one best-selling DBase three book that everyone who used that that program would buy, and he told me that he knew nothing about it when he signed the contract. So the the process of writing the book involved this intense deep dive into finding out what it is the program does, and then working on that. Of course, in those days, the books, the software came with a manual, so it was possible to go through the manual and see what the thing was capable of, and maybe get a few hints about that. But the books were not just a rephrase. The manual; they were a little bit better, the project oriented, whatever. So there was one one book that I did on a program called Super Card for the Macintosh, and it was the it was the there was no documentation, and I could call up the developer and I could ask him. So that was that was a tool I could use if I had access to the developer. I could call them up and I could say, "Okay, so I'm I'm doing this. What can you tell me that's like a secret or that is not obvious? And they love to share that stuff. Sure, I just write it all down, and then that that'll make the book better. If you could get through the the gatekeepers and get into where the nerds were, then you could get a lot of good information, and they were happy to share it. I did a few books on OS two that were like that, where I finally was able to escape into the lab and ask them. And the the guy they were so friendly, and they're like, "Oh, you got to tell him this, this, this, this. You know, we we couldn't put this in the manual. You have to tell him this, and so you write a great book. But of course, OS two, no one used it, so no one bought the book. Michael Hingson  26:05 Yeah, yeah, OS two was not one of those things that everybody loved. If Speaker 2  26:13 you enjoy Unstoppable Mindset and would like to help us continue bringing these conversations to you each week, we've created a way for you to support the show. Your contribution helps us cover production costs and continue sharing stories, insights, and ideas that inspire people to live with purpose and possibility. If supporting the podcast feels right for you, you'll find the link in the show notes. Thank you for being part of the unstoppable mindset community. Michael Hingson  26:46 I remember when I was a student at UC Irvine. I wasn't an information computer science major. I was physics major, but several people took ICS one, two, and three, which was a three quarter course, or well, it was a year course, and the the book they used was Introduction to Computer Programming by Ken Ingram. And what was fun about that was that on the first day of class, the professor would come in and he'd say, "Okay, I want you to read chapter one of information of introduction to computer programming by Ken Ingram. It's the textbook we're going to use. I want you to read that before our next class. And of course, most everyone had not touched the book prior to that. And what he didn't say was that that first chapter took up half the book. Speaker 1  27:40 I like it. Michael Hingson  27:43 Yeah, I know. Wasn't that? And I, I, I heard about it. I, I never did get the book, and I didn't get it transcribed into Braille. But I thought that was cute. Chapter one was half the book. Speaker 1  27:53 No one would have suspected chapter one's an easy chapter. It's four pages. Right, supposed to be right. I think it was like Michael Hingson  28:00 180 pages. It was amazing. Michael Hingson  28:03 I'm not sure whether Ingram had a sense of humor or what, but anyway, there you go. But yeah, that that was kind of kind of amazing. So you you wrote all these books and you continue to do that, but somewhere along the line, you got interested in doing things in politics. What was that all about? Speaker 1  28:25 Well, that was frustrating. Not Michael Hingson  28:28 bad, Speaker 1  28:29 because I. So I think a lot of people are kind of interested. They follow politics. If I call up my mom in San Diego, she has to complain to me about you know the mayor of San Diego and what the city council is doing and and it's it's common it's just I think I think the most most people who are active in in their community know a little bit about politics or whatever and in my case I had just moved from the county here near Courtland and then I'd moved into the city, and I had heard that there was someone was buying up properties in my neighborhood, and I thought that was curious, and I wanted to see if this was something that you know are they going to tear down houses? What are they going to do? So I started researching using the the county website to see who was own who owned these properties, and it was a place called the Lake City Development Corporation, and I thought, well, I need to find out what that is, and it turned out that was an urban renewal agency that was formed by the city of Cortland, and I started reading the statutes and I started reading their minutes and finding out what it is they do, and while on the surface it sounded really fun, there were a lot of curious things that I didn't like. A lot of non-transparent things, a lot of things where you know they're spending public money on what I thought were frivolous things, and so I started asking questions. I started coming to meetings, and they're missing. Was that they pushed back, and so I just something triggered me, and I had a red flag, and I just started going after it. We started, we formed a group of people who were all interested in this, and we would meet regularly and go over what was going on with the government. We'd find issues regarding transparency and spending, and lots of interesting stuff. Never really anything nefarious. Never anything that would. But just a lot of stuff that, as we let the public know about what was going on, they would become outraged and they would say, "Wait a second! They're spending millions of dollars on this, and you know, with property taxes so high, and what is this, and why is it affecting me? And and so I went to the city council meetings here in Portland, and I was frustrated because no one else seemed to get it. And I would look at them, and they would have some issue that would come up, and everyone on the council-there were six members on the council-they would all vote in unison, and no one had asked a question. And I would say, "Well, wait a second, why aren't they asking a question about this, or why aren't they concerned about this, or what about the side effects of this? And so I started writing articles for the paper. I eventually did videos and to speak to various groups and such because I was like, we got to hold government accountable. So I ran for office in ran for the city council in 2007, and I lost. And then I ran in 2009, and I lost, but only by like 29 votes. And then I was done at that point. I really didn't want to do it again because running for office is a pain. Michael Hingson  31:33 Yeah. And Speaker 1  31:34 then they had this huge thing where all of a sudden they were going to redo a park without a public vote, and I wanted a public vote. Lots of people wanted to vote on it, but no, they were going to do it, and they didn't care what the public thought. So they made me run. They made me run a third time, and I won. And I've been on the city council ever since. And then, of course, well, since last November when I got kicked up to the mayor seat, which is where I'm sitting Right now, strange journey. Michael Hingson  32:04 Well, yeah, but on the other hand, there is something to be said for transparency, and there's somebody something to be said for somebody who really wants to look out for what what people want and what people are doing. I I got involved. Well, I've not run for public office, but I've been very much involved in political kinds of things because I've been involved in the blindness world since early 1970s, and the National Federation of the Blind has had for well now, gosh, more than 50 years or around 50 years, what used to be called the March on Washington. Now it's called the Washington Seminar, which is a an event that takes place every year, where several 100 blind people descend on Washington and go off and visit legislators. And the idea is to really get them to understand what the needs of blind people are and try to get them to vote on issues that directly relate to issues concerning us, and sometimes they do. Although it's gotten a lot harder to get things passed, especially in the last eight or nine years. But still, that it it has to be done. But I remember, among other things, I was living in Massachusetts when I first started going, and among other things, we we went and saw the Speaker of the House, who was Tip O'Neill at the time, which was kind of fun. And what an interesting, what a charismatic guy! Didn't matter what party he was with; it was a charismatic guy. And we also visited people like Senator at the time Paul Songis, and what was interesting about him was we we talked about our issues, and it was the end of the day, and then suddenly he said, you know, I'm not going anywhere for the next few minutes. Do you guys have time? And we ended up just talking for about an hour and a half about his view of of and our views of what Massachusetts needed to do, not only for blind people but just in general, it was just fascinating. There weren't very many politicians who would do that. Speaker 1  34:08 That's awesome. Yeah, I liked him. I liked Tungus a lot. Michael Hingson  34:12 Yeah, I wish he'd been able to run for president, but he got cancer, and that's that's unfortunate. Yeah, but because I think that he's one of those people who would do what really needed to be done and do it the right way. Speaker 1  34:26 In other words, the people who never win. Yeah, that's unfortunately Michael Hingson  34:31 really the case, isn't it? Speaker 2  34:33 Yeah, Speaker 1  34:33 yeah. Michael Hingson  34:34 But but you got to do that. Speaker 1  34:36 Yeah. Michael Hingson  34:38 So you you know, but you you hopefully you'll make a big difference, and maybe you'll be able to get people to believe in climate change. Oh, did I say that Speaker 1  34:48 this year? Nah, Michael Hingson  34:53 not unless you predict snow when it actually comes. Speaker 1  34:56 That and that and that's the key. Yeah, Michael Hingson  34:59 yeah. No, I understand, but it but it is fascinating. I you know I I enjoy the concept of politics. I enjoy people who really have a vested interest in making government go well, but it is so unfortunate that we don't see that much of it, which is just too bad. Speaker 1  35:18 There are a lot of good dedicated people out there. I think so. Of course, the the problem is is you know, like they say, politics is sports for the uncoordinated, and it's drama for the ugly. But the the thing is, the people who really do a good job, who are out there doing what you want them to do, they don't get the headlines. It's the noisemakers. It's the extremists. It's the people who are going to have some obnoxious opinion because that that gets everyone's attention. You know, the the guy out there who's doing the job, who's putting in the time, representing the citizens, and making his community a better place. You know, you're never going to read that guy in the paper, unfortunately. Michael Hingson  35:59 Yeah, and that's also part of the problem: is that the media looks for all the drama rather than really looking to to represent the the average citizen and what they truly want and need. Speaker 1  36:10 So those don't the actual the things don't make headlines. In fact, it was a it was really funny. There was a guy who was elected to the state house from this county, and one of his campaign platforms, he was going to repeal all the useless laws, all the things that are still on the books. That you know, just we don't need those laws anymore. They're old. They're outdated, and he did that for about a week, and it doesn't make headlines. So here he is, you know, doing this, doing the job that you think they they would want to do and making government more effective, no one cared. I remember there was one year where we actually we cut property taxes here in the city, and I thought, wow, everyone's going to come up and say thank you. No, no one did. So it's like, what's the motivation? If you go, they say, I want you to be I want you to be my mayor and I want you to work to cut that budget and so you cut the budget and then no one says thank you. Michael Hingson  37:08 We got Tom Steyer here in California who wants to become governor and he's talking about all these things that he's going to do. He's going to get electric utility rates lowered by a significant amount. He's going to encourage and bring competition to the electric grid industry, and he talks about lowering housing costs by building a million homes and doing so many things. And every time I hear his campaign commercials, the thing that I keep asking myself is, haven't we learned anything? And no offense to Donald Trump, but Donald Trump made a lot of promises that we're not seeing. Steyer is making a lot of promises that he has yet to say how he's going to pull any of them off. Speaker 1  37:56 Oh yeah, and that's and that's the thing is you got to. There's so much. There's only so much you can do. But you can you when you campaign, they can say anything. Of course, I know they might as well just say free ice cream and ponies for everyone. Michael Hingson  38:07 Yeah, and and that's almost essentially what's happening. And I'm not saying that he'd be a bad governor. I I haven't researched him enough, but the commercials just don't do anything to make me thrilled because he's not saying how he's going to do any of it, and and that's what I really want to know. Speaker 1  38:25 Yeah, I didn't when I when I ran this campaign, I didn't really promise anything that was sexy at all. I said, you know, I'm going to work on a policy manual. I'm going to increase the amount of information and transparency, and it was like nothing that you want to put on a bumper sticker, but I still won. I mean, there were people who were in the race who were promising this and that, and they were going to do this and all this stuff, and somehow I eked it out. Michael Hingson  38:51 Why do you think you won? Speaker 1  38:52 Name recognition, Michael Hingson  38:54 okay, Speaker 1  38:55 and that's and that's pretty much that's a lot of what politics is is is just the the name recognition. You can win on that. I also do have a reputation. I mean, being on council for 14 years and being often called the lone voice of reason, like I said earlier, I'm the one who asked that obvious question. Yeah, and people are in the audience are going, "Well, thank you. Someone's finally asking what what they wanted to ask, and so there was there was that, and and I also, you know, I I do return my emails. I answer the phone calls. I make sure that I'm I'm available. So you know, and I think that that reputation kind of spread itself around that that I would be responsive. It didn't mean that I actually did anything because the you know the powers are really limited. So if someone wanted you know they want to put in a stop sign somewhere, I'll go visit them, and we'll look at the thing, and we'll look at the traffic data, and all this stuff. But there may not be a stop sign there. Still, I showed enough time that I paid attention to them, and I responded to them, and you know, we'll see what we can do. That's the best you can say. Michael Hingson  39:55 And if it didn't happen that there was a stop sign, but there was a good reason for it. I would suspect that you would be the kind of person who would say, "Here's why it didn't happen. Speaker 1  40:03 Right, exactly, and and to explain that for and a lot of people don't understand things like that because it's easy to get defensive with government because sometimes it can be so colossally stupid. Yeah, but but it's just as long as you have that explanation, and sometimes it's it's really it's refreshing because then they hear the answer and they're good with it, so we have a problem here with there's noise on the freeway because they're expanding the freeway, and a lot of people are upset, so they call city hall, but it's not our project; it's the state highway district. So you know, it's like I can do only what I can do, but it's still you know, if you're the only elected official who bothered to reply to them and told them, you know, I hear what you're saying. I'm going to do whatever we can. Sometimes that makes people happy. They may not be happy in the big picture, but at least they got a response. Michael Hingson  40:48 And when you discover something that's relevant, I'll bet you are the kind of person who would then initiate another letter saying, "Here's why it didn't work, or "Here's why it will work. Speaker 1  40:59 Right, and I do follow up. So I did. In that case, I wrote a letter to the governor and said, "You know, is there anything you can do? And then I forwarded the letter on to the person who had contacted me and said, "Okay, this is the best I can do. Let's let's see what he can do. So yeah, Speaker 1  41:14 yeah. Michael Hingson  41:15 I'm I'm curious. You mentioned that property taxes did get lowered once in Cordellane, but nothing. No one ever did anything with that. How come? Speaker 1  41:23 Well, no. It's just we we did. We we kept them. You got you got them lowered. Michael Hingson  41:27 But but why didn't anybody pay attention to that? Speaker 1  41:30 No. Well, see, I'm sure they paid attention to it. We are only one entity on your property tax bill, so there's there's a few. Ah, good Michael Hingson  41:39 point. Speaker 1  41:39 We might have been the the one who kept it down, but the other ones may have kept it up. And then there's all the the formula is really complex, and so it could be that you know their assess property assessment went up, a lot of other things that would have happened that would have affected it. But like I said, I mean we made a big to do about it, saying hey look we worked, we cut the budget. We kept it flat for all you guys, and then no one said anything. But you know that that's it's discouraging, but it doesn't discourage me from continuing to try because I'll always try. Michael Hingson  42:12 You can only do what you can do, but at least at least you're doing it. Yeah. Now, if you want to live in a state where the taxes are very interesting, move to New Jersey, yeah, where we lived, the the taxes every town, every city had its own property taxes. You could live on a street, yeah, you could live on a street where you had a property tax of some amount, and if you walked across to the other side of the street, the property tax would be twice what yours was because the border runs right down the middle of the street. Speaker 1  42:45 That's crazy. Michael Hingson  42:47 We thought it was. Yeah, we thought it was kind of interesting, but we fortunately never had too horrible of property taxes in Westfield. But still, we heard about some other places that had some some horrible property taxes, but you know it's it's what what you have. Speaker 1  43:07 Yep. Michael Hingson  43:08 So you were in the city council for 14 years. What made you decide that you were going to run for mayor? Because you had to do that. You had to make that decision. Speaker 1  43:17 Yeah, didn't want to. You know, wasn't on my on my dance card to like, oh, next step up is going to be mayor. It was more of there was frustration that I had because the the past couple of mayors, good men, good people, but I always wanted to do more. I mean, being on the council, it was frustrating because I wanted a little more leadership out of the center seat wasn't seeing that, and then I worked earlier last year. I called up a bunch of people to see if they'd be willing to do the job. You know, good strong community members who would be provide the leadership and had the name recognition required to do the job, and no one wanted to do it. So I was like, okay, well, I'll I'll see if I can do it. I still have two years left on my council term, so if I lost, I'd still be part of the process. But there ended up being four people in that race, so it was pretty crowded. Which to me, you know, if if you're running if you run unopposed, it's pretty much a sign that people kind of like the way things are going. They're not they're not upset with you. Generally, if you have one opponent, you're considered that you know oh well good you know I get to compete for for the job or someone else is unhappy. But if you have a lot of opponents, it generally means that the public isn't happy with what's going on and they want to see some change. So there were four people in the race. I won with like 38% of the vote, so that's wow, Michael Hingson  44:45 yeah. Well, but clearly you're different than a lot of people. For example, you're a member of the Kootenay County Republican Central Committee, and yeah, and they sued you for defamation. What was all that about? Speaker 1  44:59 Well. So we had an episode here where the first of all the local Republican Party decided that running partisan races wasn't enough; that they wanted to get involved with nonpartisan races. And in Idaho, a lot of the local offices are nonpartisan. So city council is nonpartisan, school districts are nonpartisan. You know, water district, highway district, all these smaller local offices, and we have a community college here called North Idaho College. And the Senate committee decided that they would start to what they call rating and vetting candidates to determine who was the most conservative. And while a lot of Republicans appreciate that and they want to know who the real conservative is. The central committee realized that it was a way for them to exercise political power, because when people would get their recommendations, that would be the person who would win. And so they got power mad, and in my opinion, they hijacked the trustees of our local community college, and pretty much almost ran the thing into a ground. It was the it's the only college a community college in the history of the country that's ever been put on probation for disaccreditation due to board governance. Normally, when you disaccredit a college, you're disaccrediting it because of financial reasons, or something else, but or academics. Never, never has it happened that the board has been so crazy that the the ACL ACCU whatever it is the accreditation agency for community colleges has said, "What we're gonna we're gonna pull away your credentials, and all your students will not be receiving college credit. So, I mean, what what this board did that was endorsed by the local Republican Party, the extremists on the party, they they fired the president for no reason. They they started running up the bills, increasing the athletics budget. The board meetings were just pure chaos. Employees would leave. The local high schools stopped their their co education programs. It was just crazy. Wow! And and a lot of people didn't really understand what was going on. So I did a YouTube channel called Kootenay Rants, and Kootenay is the name of our county. Michael Hingson  47:20 Kootenay, yeah. I said Kootenay. Sorry about that. Speaker 1  47:22 It's no, it's okay. It's it could be either way. Who knows? Up north, they do say Kootenai, so we don't know. But anyway, this really got under the skin of the central committee because I pinned the blame on what was going on at the college on them, which is was justified, and I would not make anything up. Instead, I would just put in highlights from the meetings and say, "Here's what's happening, and here's the crazy stuff. You know, trustees yelling at members of the audience, making fun of them. You know, interrupting people, saying just weird, strange things. I mean, it just-it was odd. It was so bizarre, and so it was easy for me to make these videos. My background is in communications, and I know video production, so I was able to put together these videos on a YouTube channel, and you know, hundreds of people in the county would start watching them, including the central committee that did not like that I was exposing what I consider to be their corruption and their the the fact that I think they were responsible for this and they didn't like that so they accused me of defamation basically mean tweets because I would tweet about them and their nonsense and it was like they they made a big to do out of it because I was running for re-election for city council, so they came to a city council meeting to serve me, and you know recorded it and put it up on the internet and all this other stuff that that was just crazy. But my insurance company fortunately decided to represent me, and they just they thought the the suit was without merit. They don't say frivolous. They say without merit. Without Michael Hingson  49:04 merit. No, yeah. Speaker 1  49:05 And so yeah. And so eventually, now the suit is over, and I figured I would either win in court or it would be dismissed. But the insurance company settled, and I it was against my wishes. I said no. I said don't settle with these people. But the insurance company did settle, and I made sure that, as part of the settlement, that they would not say that I agreed to it, or that I said I was wrong, or I apologized, or anything. No, the insurance company just didn't want to waste any more money, so they decided to settle. They wrote a check. I don't know what it cost the central committee. As a member of the central committee, it has never been reported to the committee how much money they spent on that? Because it's it's pretty much the the Republican Central Committee of Kootenay County is pretty much a tyranny run by one guy and a personality cult, and there are members of the committee. There are some good Republicans such as myself on the committee who do believe in transparency and limited government and all those Ronald Reagan things. But there are these extremists on there who are just nutballs, and so there's a group of us here called North Idaho Republicans who are working to counter their insanity. And we've done a good job, but we need to do more work, and that's the story of the KCRCC. And they sued me for defamation. Michael Hingson  50:21 That's kind of crazy, though. Nevertheless, Speaker 3  50:23 of course. Michael Hingson  50:24 And it's only kind Speaker 1  50:26 of that. I wasn't laying awake. I mean, occasionally someone would call me up and they would say, "So what's the case? What's the what's happening with a lawsuit? And I'd say, "Well, a lawsuit. I said, "Oh yeah, that's right. They're suing me. I mean, it was never really. I was never obligated for it. Michael Hingson  50:39 Yeah. Well, so just out of curiosity, since the Republicans were doing this, where were the Democrats in all of that? Speaker 1  50:47 Well, we don't really have a lot of Democrats. That's Michael Hingson  50:49 what I was wondering. Yeah, Speaker 1  50:51 and so and and I always used to joke. I would say that the the Democrats, the Kootenai County Democrats, are looking for a new meeting location, and if anyone has a spare closet, got it. You let them know. No, they're they're all they're all very nice people. Michael Hingson  51:05 Yeah, Speaker 1  51:05 but they're they are in an extreme minority, and unfortunately, they they do try. So last time they had a body for every seat up for election, but they don't really come close. And it's a lot of it comes down to name recognition, but you also have a lot of red blue state refugees who come here. You have a lot of COVID refugees who came here, and so Idaho is very red. Kootenay County is very red, and it would take a tremendous amount of effort to to have a Democrat win here. We do have Democrats in the legislature, not a lot, but we do have them, and the the National Democratic Party is unwilling to spend a lot of money here because they know they're going to lose. So that's what I hear from them. But they are they are generally nice people. I mean, like you said, you if you wanted to vote for me here and you're a Democrat, I'd happily accept the vote. It's a nonpartisan position. We don't deal with those big divisive issues that you know that you you see on the news. Yeah, we're pretty much community-minded people, and I appreciate anyone who is. I do fight the KCRCC because I don't see them as community-minded, and that's one of the issues. Michael Hingson  52:18 Yeah. Well, it's it's unfortunate that that people are that way, but I I see it all too often in so many different ways. I mean, we face it with even in the blindness world with so many things where there ought to be major improvements and there ought to be defenses of the civil rights of blind people. For example, some of the rideshare programs don't do a lot to train their drivers about the fact that in reality they're obligated to take blind people with guide dogs, and oh, there's there is a fair amount of that, and it's and and the companies aren't willing to do anything about it, and we have to keep fighting it, which is just too bad. But there's just so many stuff, and there are so many people who just have these hidden agendas, or they just what it really comes down to is we don't want anybody telling us what to do, Speaker 1  53:09 right? Michael Hingson  53:11 And that's what it really comes down to. So, do you find that that religion gets into any of it at all, like with the conservative Christian movement or any of that, Speaker 1  53:24 there well, there's I do not like the politicization of the church. Michael Hingson  53:29 Yeah, Speaker 1  53:30 my favorite quote on that is that politics poisons the purity of the church. So I think we should keep the separation of church and state as much as possible, but there are you know politically motivated, politically active pastors, and I just I I think that's that's not the proper role of religion. I know that that there's kind of a battle going on in the far right about you know how much religion or how much that should should should be involved in politics in the public arena. In fact, there's a little across from the Costco up here. There is a little yard sign in front of some business that says "Vote Bible, and I always think that's kind of. I mean, I understand what the sentiment is, and I would always want to think that the people who we elect are good moral people. You know, Adam said that our Constitution is best suited for a moral people. I don't believe that means that there's morality in the Constitution. I believe there's morality in people, Michael Hingson  54:32 right? Speaker 1  54:33 And we do want people who have good ethics and good morals in public office, and it's very obvious when that doesn't happen. But I do not think. I think the purpose of our Constitution and the First Amendment is to ensure that we all have the the right to enjoy whatever religion we want, and we don't want to pick favorites. And so, what I see with a lot of these people is that they want to pick a favorite. Michael Hingson  54:55 Yeah, Speaker 1  54:56 they they not only want to pick the first religion, but they want. Everyone to go to the same church and the same service and sit in the same pew. Yeah, and that's not going to happen in any church. It's not going to happen in any denomination of any church. And then, and see, that's the other question: is if you know if you're going to insist that this is a Christian nation, it's like okay, but which denomination is it? Catholic? Is it Protestant? Is it Mormon? I mean, I you know you tell me because it's just going to be this incredible knot of worms, which is why I think the genius of the founders was that you know the the clause about religion is is two things: it gives you the freedom to exercise your own religion, and it also restricts the government from declaring that there's a religion. Yeah, and I think the far right kind of misses that when they when they take the message of we like moral people in office, but to dictate the morals to someone else is wrong. Michael Hingson  55:52 You know, I and it was Tolstoy who once said the biggest problem with Christianity is that people don't practice it, and I I see that so often. It's it is so unfortunate, but it is Speaker 1  56:03 there. Yeah. So that is a tough one. Michael Hingson  56:07 So if you could change one thing in the world, what would it be? I'd Speaker 1  56:12 get rid of the internet in a heartbeat. Specifically, social media. I think the the problem with social media is it amplifies our immaturities, and that is a huge issue. the The solution to that is to make the the publishers responsible for the content. So, in other words, Facebook could be sued for anything that someone puts on Facebook, and that would terrify Facebook, but it would terrify them to the point that they would actually regulate themselves and and start dialing back. I mean, I can say 20 years ago or so, when I whenever I was first on Facebook, I would go on there and I would see my kids, and they'd be playing a ball game or they'd be over at a friend's house. You'd see birthdays, vacations. It was just kind of like it was a social thing. You go on there now, and it's politics, and it's like this person deserved to be shot, and it's just-it's so-it's so extreme, and it's so rude. And you know, some of the stuff they said about me is not very nice, but I think that if we're going to solve one problem in the world, we really need to dial back all the animosity that's on the inter

What if crushing your money goals has less to do with finding the perfect formula—and more to do with getting lovingly bullied into taking action today? Bill and Jackie sit down with Bernadette Joy, a first-generation Filipino American who paid off $300,000 of debt in three years, reached her first million, and eventually built a multimillion-dollar portfolio. Bernadette also explains why she believes traditional financial literacy is dead, walks through her C-R-U-S-H framework, and reveals why the final "H" evolved from hustle to healing your money wounds. This episode covers How Bernadette paid off $300,000 of debt and reached her first million The $100-a-day strategy that made an intimidating goal feel actionable Why generating more income only works when you keep and invest the difference How she resisted lifestyle creep while building a seven-figure business Why her paid-off home mattered more emotionally than optimizing every return Her argument that financial literacy should become financial fluency and freedom The five-part C-R-U-SH framework for organizing money and designing an independent life The $1-per-use rule for spending intentionally without guilt How unsubscribing, reducing drama, and creating a peace plan support financial freedom . === SUPPORT  THE  SHOW ===

The hardest part of investing isn't choosing funds — it's building a set of beliefs strong enough to keep you disciplined when the market, the news, and your own emotions all conspire to pull you off course.In this episode, Paul sets aside the usual fine-tuning tables and turns to one of his favorite books, Ben Carlson's Risk and Reward. Table by table, Ben makes the same point in a dozen different ways: the bad stuff is normal, it's happened before, and it will happen again. The goal isn't to avoid it — it's to expect it, so you can stay the course.Along the way, Paul walks through:• The 10 worst days, months, and years in market history — and how the market behaved 1, 5, and 10 years later• Why bonds turn a 43% stock loss into something far gentler, and why a simple 60/40 has never had a losing 20-year period• How stocks actually perform before, during, and after a recession (the average is a gain)• The "dead cat bounces" of 2000–2002 and why three years of false hope wear investors down• What a century of international returns says about putting all your eggs in one basket• The most quietly important number in investing: the market's average daily return of 0.03% — a lifetime of baby stepsThe theme underneath it all: future returns will likely look a lot like the past. We simply have no way to know the sequence — and that's exactly why realistic expectations, low costs, and broad diversification matter more than any forecast.The biggest enemy of the investor, as the data keeps showing, isn't the market. It's the investor.BRINGING FINANCIAL FREEDOM TO NEW AUDIENCESLast week I spent more than three hours with 89 graduating nurses at Texas A&M University, exploring one life-changing idea: how a handful of smart financial decisions can add millions of dollars to your lifetime financial security. Many of you asked to see what these presentations look like, so we're making this one available to watch (link below).LINKS• Ben Carlson, Risk and Reward (Foundation earns when you use this link)• Texas A&M nursing school presentation (3+ hour video)• Texas A&M student feedback• Mike Piper, Social Security Made Simple / other titles• Personal Finance in Your 20s & 30s For Dummies• Free books from Paul Merriman• Boot Camp series & tables

What if the biggest risk in your portfolio isn't a crash, a recession, or even inflation, but the very human urge to believe that whatever just worked will work forever? Bill and Jackie sit down with Ben Carlson of A Wealth of Common Sense and Animal Spirits for a market-history masterclass that somehow manages to be equal parts calming, nerdy, and deeply practical. This one is for anyone who's ever stared at their portfolio, read one scary headline too many, and wondered whether simplicity still works. Ben's answer is basically yes—but only if you understand the risks, respect your own behavior, and build a portfolio you can actually stick with. This episode covers: Ben Carlson's "Bob" thought experiment and why even terrible market timing can still work out over the long run Why dollar cost averaging often beats waiting for the perfect entry point The psychology of lump-sum investing versus spreading money out over time What inflation looked like before World War II versus in the modern era How to think about inflation through a personal-finance lens, not just an investing lens Why housing, transportation, income growth, and stocks are major inflation defenses What Japan's lost decades teach us about home-country bias and international diversification Why diversification matters even more in retirement because of sequence-of-returns risk How to think about bonds, cash, duration, and risk tolerance in a more nuanced way . === SUPPORT  THE  SHOW ===

What if "legacy" looks completely different when there are no kids in the picture and that difference actually unlocks a freer, more intentional version of FI? In this thoughtful crossover between Childfree Life by Design and Catching Up to FI, Dr. Jay and Bill sit down for the kind of conversation most money media skips: what happens after you hit the number and realize the bigger question is no longer "Can I retire?" but "What am I retiring to?" It's philosophical, personal, a little messy in the best way, and exactly the kind of episode that reminds listeners that FI is not the finish line. It's the moment when the real design work begins. This episode covers: The "fog of FI" and the identity shift that can come after reaching financial independence The childfree midlife crisis and why "now what?" hits harder than many expect Legacy beyond lineage and how childfree people often redefine impact Why it is more important to know what you are retiring to than what you are retiring from The tension between purpose, freedom, and drifting after hitting major goals Health span, lifespan, and why time becomes more valuable once money pressure drops How giving, service, and creativity can become the next chapter after FI Why books, podcasts, and numbers alone cannot answer life-design questions The difference between being rich on paper and living a truly wealthy life Why underspending and over-optimizing can become their own retirement risks . === SUPPORT  THE  SHOW ===

Bill jumps into a last-minute solo conversation with Rebecca Herbst of Yield and Spread for a surprisingly energizing deep dive into generosity, guilt, and what happens after the finish line of financial independence. Rebecca shares how hitting FI at 32 did not lead to endless victory-lap bliss so much as an identity jolt: if money is a tool, then what is it actually for? This episode covers:  Why Rebecca felt guilt, not just freedom, after reaching FI at 32 How giving can be framed as money, time, or skills—not just writing checks Why generosity is a habit and a muscle, especially for lifelong savers The surprisingly small impact that a 1% giving rate can have on your FI timeline How "effective giving" applies investing-style thinking to charitable impact The difference between reactive emotional giving and proactive intentional giving Tax-smart giving tools like appreciated securities, donor-advised funds, and QCDs Why the FI community may be uniquely positioned to normalize bold generosity How giving can become part of a "life portfolio," not just a side project References & Resources Mentioned . === SUPPORT  THE  SHOW ===

What if the person inspiring the room didn't come from a polished finance background at all, but from payday loans, being unbanked, a credit score in the 500s, and the kind of rock bottom most FI stories rarely admit out loud? In this on-location episode from Madison, WI, Jackie sits down with Afra Smith, founder of The Melanin Project and creator of the Wealth Empowerment Conference, for a conversation that is as honest as it gets. She's a late-starter and shares how depression, financial chaos, and a painful career setback forced her to finally confront what wasn't working. She shares how one financial coach, one budget, and one decision to stop waiting for someone else to rescue her changed the direction of her life. From there, she built something much bigger than a comeback story. It's now a growing movement centered on financial wellness, lived experience, and giving people the tools to rebuild from where they actually are. Her raw truth is proof that your hardest chapter does not have to be your final one. This episode covers:  Afra's journey from payday loans, ChexSystems, and depression to financial stability The career disappointment that became her wake-up call How one financial coach and a basic budget started her turnaround Why financial struggles in underserved communities are often deeper than "just spend less" The origin of The Melanin Project and the Wealth Empowerment Conference  Why lived experience and emotional honesty matter in financial education  The link between mental health, physical health, and wealth-building How Afra built a meaningful community event while still working a full-time job Why consumption habits and appearances can distort how we judge wealth and value  What it looks like to turn pain into service and purpose . === SUPPORT  THE  SHOW ===

What if the smartest legacy move isn't leaving your kids a pile of money someday, but using your wealth right now to help them buy time, build habits, and change their future while you're still here to watch it happen? We sit down with Allen Mueller of 7 Saturdays Financial for a practical, deeply useful conversation about gifting to family with intention. The thread running through all of it is simple: money is not just for accumulating. It's for strengthening the people and values you care about most. This episode covers: Why gifting during your lifetime can be more impactful than leaving a larger inheritance later The difference between a tax threshold and a paperwork threshold for gifts How the annual gift exclusion really works Why many retirees underspend and unintentionally miss chances to help family now Smart ways to fund kids' and grandkids' futures through 529s, custodial Roths, and brokerage accounts How to think about gifting for college, healthcare, and home down payments Why "skin in the game" still matters when helping younger family members How appreciated shares can be gifted downstream or upstream for tax advantages Why wisdom and stewardship matter more than simply transferring money How FI can turn parents and grandparents into real-time wealth builders for the next generation . === SUPPORT  THE  SHOW ===

What if the smartest move on your road to FI isn't buying a bigger house, but shrinking the footprint, clearing the clutter, and finally designing a life that actually fits? In this episode, we sit down with Sarah Susanka, the architect behind the bestselling "Not So Big House" movement. We talk about what happens when you stop building for appearances and start building for how you really live. Sarah shares how growing up in England, then landing in car-centric suburban Los Angeles made her question why Americans kept buying "hamburger bun but no hamburger" houses full of unused rooms.   This episode covers: Sarah Susanka's origin story and how suburbia pushed her toward architecture  The difference between building bigger and building better  Why unused rooms are the housing version of lifestyle bloat - How right-sizing a home parallels right-sizing a life  The design power of light, ceiling height, flow, and multi-use space  How small architectural moves can create huge changes in mood and function  Why old thought patterns can clutter a life just like unused rooms clutter a house  The connection between beauty, sustainability, and building things that last  How Bill used Sarah's ideas in his own home design and life redesign  Why intentional design matters even more for late starters making a reset spaces. . === SUPPORT  THE  SHOW ===

What if the fastest way to understand women's financial power isn't another lecture, but a trivia game that quietly reveals how recent, fragile, and still unfinished so much of women's economic progress really is? In this special "Sheconomy" quiz-show episode, Jackie and Bill join Janine Firpo and financial planner Sarah-Catherine Gutierrez for a lively game show. They move from Equal Pay Day and credit-card rights to why women often outperform men as investors, why female-led companies and firms still get shut out, and what could happen if women intentionally shifted even a slice of their wealth toward their values. The tone is playful, but the message is serious: money is power, and women stepping into that power changes families, businesses, markets, and maybe the whole economy. This episode covers: The surprising timeline of women's financial rights in the US What Equal Pay Day reveals about how far women still have to go Why women often outperform men as investors  How overconfidence and overtrading hurt returns Why women-led businesses still receive a tiny share of venture capital The rise of advice-only and flat-fee financial planning models What values-aligned and ESG investing actually mean Why women's money choices can reshape markets and communities How much wealth women are expected to control in the coming years The collective impact women could have by shifting capital intentionally . === SUPPORT  THE  SHOW ===

What happens when women in the financial independence community finally get a room of their own and use it not just to talk numbers, but to unpack the invisible stuff they've been carrying for years? In this on-location episode, Jackie takes us inside the Women of FI annual weekend in Maryland. This was a rare women-centered FI retreat that blends case studies, life design, laughter, and vulnerability. She catches up with two familiar voices from past episodes, Kim Hunter-Borst and Lisa B. to hear what retirement, sabbaticals, and post-FI life actually look like in motion, not just on paper. Other attendees also share why a women-only space hits differently: less posturing, more honesty, more room to talk about emotional labor, caregiving, identity, and the inner work that often gets skipped in mixed-money spaces. This episode covers:  What happened at the Women of FI annual women's weekend in Maryland  Why women-centered FI spaces create a different kind of openness and trust  Kim Hunter-Borst's vision for building a smaller, more vulnerable, more intentional retreat  The 2026 theme of "release" and what women said they were ready to put down  A retirement update from Kim after leaving full-time work  A follow-up from Lisa B. on quitting her job, taking a summer break, and what happened next  Why women said they needed space for both the "outer" and "inner" work of FI  How attendees are thinking about Coast FI, sabbaticals, community, and post-FI life . === SUPPORT  THE  SHOW ===

In Part 2, we pick up right where we left off in Part 1, with Gina's first official address in San Francisco. In talking about finding a place to live in The City, Gina mentions that all her friends either live in rent-control apartments they've been in forever, or they're able to live in a place that someone in their family bought and has kept in the family. When she tells me where that first apartment in SF was, I let her know that my first place here, back in 2000, was less than a block away. As we're name-dropping hotspots on the block, I have a brain fart and can't remember the name of Cordon Bleu, the rad greasy-spoon Vietnamese joint still there on California near Polk. From that first apartment, Gina would take Muni to her job over in Potrero Hill. Back then, in the days before smartphones, she'd read on her long, chill Muni rides. She'd come home, make dinner with her roommate, and maybe head out to Polk Street or for karaoke in the hood. That AmeriCorp VISTA gig lead to a job doing literacy work. At that part-time job, Gina also started doing events. She also ran a non-profit dance company, and was trying her best to make both things work out for her. We step back to talk about Funkanometry SF, Gina's dance company. It started in LA, moved north, and the founders handed Gina the keys, so to speak. That happened in Gina's senior year at Berkeley. Because the dancers she was directing were older and more experienced, and because she had literally no experience running a non-profit or a business, she went to Barnes and Noble to buy a copy of a book from the "For Dummies" series. In Gina's time running it, Funkanometry took off. They received invitations to perform internationally, to places like the Philippines, the UK, and Colombia. On the back end, Gina figured out a way to pay herself $600 a month. She felt like she'd made it. Despite all those successes, though, the company didn't make money. The low-paying, part-time job and non-profit dance company was fun, but it wasn't meant to last. She got hit up on LinkedIn by a recruiter for Google and got an interview. Gina had reservations and talked with her mom about them. Lillian told her to daughter to go and listen to what they have to say, and so that's what Gina did. After the interview, she still didn't know if it was a good fit, but she accepted the offer regardless. She was now a software engineering recruiting coordinator at Google. To get to work, Gina took the infamous Google bus. As someone from The Bay who already had immense pride in her city, she felt ashamed. The money was good, but standing in line to wait for the hated busses felt bad. When cars or pedestrians passed by while she waited, she wanted to let them know that she wasn't "one of those people," that she's from here and runs a non-profit dance company. It didn't matter. Her internalized shame remained, but she says the job was fun enough to make up for it. That Google contract job turned into full-time work, and Gina stayed at the company for seven years. During this time, Gina met and started dating a San Franciscan who grew up in the Inner Richmond. They got engaged and Gina moved to that hood. She still worked at Google and now waited for their corporate bus in a chiller area with fewer protests. Then Gina's family suffered a tragic loss. One of her first cousins died by suicide. She says the experience "broke [her] family open," meaning it obviously hurt them all, but it also brought them closer. It made waiting for the Google bus that much more impossible for Gina, too. She'd moved into a new role at the company and was doing events for them. She decided it was time to branch out on her own and do what she loves. She was able to go part-time while launching her own events company. She'd tried to quit, but Google asked her to stay on. It ended up serving her well, as it provided some needed income while she undertook all the stuff it takes to start a company from scratch. The first event she produced under her new moniker, Make It Mariko, was Undiscovered SF, which began in 2017 as the first Filipino night market in SOMA. The first Undiscovered SF was such a success that it inspired Gina to transition Make It Mariko to her full-time work. The stories goes like this: A friend let her know about the nonprofit SOMA Pilipinas. She met with those folks and pitched a launch event. They applied for and received a $5K grant to do the event. A friend was able to wrangle $150K on top of that. That one launch event turned into six events, spaced out one per month. In 2020, Undiscovered SF went virtual. Gina had her tech background, and they had plenty of time to transition. This allowed them to connect Filipinos across the diaspora, sitting on panels and interacting with one another. And of course, there were DJs from all over. Prior to the pandemic, in addition to many other kinds of events, Make It Mariko had quite a lot of corporate event-planning business. Since COVID, though, a lot of that went away. Gina decided she wasn't gonna sit around and wait for big events to hire her company. She wanted to build on the success of self-produced events like Undiscovered. The seeds of what became POC Food and Wine were planted. Gina loves wine. During the pandemic, she got a scholarship to join a wine program where she was able to dive into that world. One of the topics was pairing, and so she was able to take that knowledge and apply it to the POC Food and Wine Festival, pairing POC chefs with specific wines and other beverages. Attendees were encouraged, but not required, to navigate the space and its makers along the lines laid out for them by Gina and her staff. I'll just say: It was one of the best, most unique experiences I've had in my 26 years here in the Bay Area. We end the episode with me letting Gina know how much I also enjoyed this year's Love Thy City event, which took place in February. It was to celebrate Make It Mariko's 10th anniversary and to establish a relationship with The Foundary space in South of Market. The love (right there in the name) that night was palpable—love of San Francisco, of community, of one another. All of these events—Undiscovered, POC Food and Wine Festival, Love Thy City—for me show how dedicated Gina and her people are to uplifting real people doing extraordinary things. Find Gina all over the place, really: Brave New Spaces, whose goal is to help creatives eventually own their spaces Make It Mariko, her events company Photography Mason J.

What happens when a Microsoft Marketer takes TikTok-style humor to LinkedIn?  Viral growth, 35K+ followers, and a whole new playbook for B2B content. Daniel sits down with Heike Young, former content leader at Microsoft, Salesforce veteran, and one of LinkedIn's most recognizable creators. Heike has built an engaged audience by proving that professional content doesn't have to be boring. Heike opens up about her journey: from editing For Dummies books and running social at Salesforce, to reinventing herself as a LinkedIn video creator who blends humor, relatability, and practical insights. You'll hear: - Why low-fidelity, authentic content often outperforms polished, high-budget productions. - How to bring humor and personality into B2B without losing credibility.  The step-by-step playbook for individuals who want to build their personal brand on LinkedIn. If you're planning on scaling your B2B brand through social content, this is the episode for you.  Wrike brings structure, visibility, and accountability to work, so companies can make better business decisions, improve efficiency, and reduce risk. Learn more at⁠ wrike.com/tmm Follow Heike: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heikeyoung/ Follow Daniel: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@themarketingmillennials/featured Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/Dmurr68 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-murray-marketing Sign up for The Marketing Millennials newsletter: www.workweek.com/brand/the-marketing-millennials Daniel is a Workweek friend, working to produce amazing podcasts. To find out more, visit: www.workweek.com

There are questions most of us carry in silence—questions we've never felt safe enough to ask out loud, things we didn't learn in any classroom, and experiences we've quietly wondered about in the dark. Myisha Battle has spent her career in those silences, helping people finally say the words they've swallowed for years. As a clinical sexologist and dating coach, she's the person her clients call when they won't even Google what they're thinking. Now, with her new book Sexual Pleasure for Dummies (part of the iconic For Dummies series), Myisha has written the guide she always wished existed—a warm, smart, judgment-free companion for anyone who ever felt like they missed the class everyone else seemed to have taken.Sexual Pleasure for Dummies isn't about shock or spectacle. It's about wholeness. Myisha walks readers through the landscape of their own bodies and desires—from pleasure anatomy (a chapter she considers essential and revolutionary) to navigating pain, hormonal shifts, toys, communication, and the orgasm gap that quietly shapes so many women's experiences. The book is especially resonant for anyone in the middle of a life transition: the woman emerging from a long marriage and realizing she never truly explored her own desires; the person reclaiming themselves after a relationship that slowly dimmed their sense of self; or anyone stepping into a new chapter and thinking—maybe for the first time—what do I actually want? Myisha coined it perfectly in conversation: this season of life is not reverse puberty. It's cougar puberty. And it is full of possibility.What makes this episode—and this book—so powerful is the way Myisha dismantles shame by naming it clearly and then setting it aside. She reminds us that most of us are dummies when it comes to sexual pleasure, and that's not a personal failure. It's a systemic one. Sex ed gave us baby-making and fear. It didn't give us ourselves. Sexual Pleasure for Dummies finally does. Whether you're newly single, newly curious, or simply ready to stop putting yourself last, Myisha's voice is the one you've been waiting for—clear-eyed, compassionate, and completely unafraid to go there.

062 - Nourishing Our Brain with Dr Sarah McKay  Dr. Sarah McKay is a neuroscientist and science communicator, adept at making brain science accessible for enhancing health, wellbeing and performance. An Oxford University graduate, Sarah earned her MSc and PhD in neuroscience before moving to Australia, where she conducted postdoctoral research on spinal cord injury for five years. She then founded Think Brain, a science communications and education company devoted to applied neuroscience and brain health. She is the author of three books on brain health. The Women's Brain Book: The Neuroscience of Health, Hormones, and Happiness was published in 2018, with a second edition published in mid-2025. Baby Brain: The Surprising Neuroscience of How Pregnancy and Motherhood Sculpt Our Brains and Change Our Minds (for the Better) explores the transformative effects of pregnancy and motherhood. Her third book on brain health, written for the iconic For Dummies brand, was released in early 2025. Sarah lives on Sydney's Northern Beaches with her Irish husband, and together they are (so far, successfully) raising two teenage sons and one springer spaniel. They can all be found sailing, surfing and ocean swimming.   Website: www.drsarahmckay.com Insta: https://www.instagram.com/drsarahmckay/     ABOUT THE HOST - Fiona Staunton Fiona Staunton is a Ballymaloe-trained Chef and has a Degree in Education from Trinity. Fiona's Food For Life' launched in 2017 with the slogan 'Cook, Eat, Nourish'. Fiona launched a series of in-person and virtual demonstrations, she makes cooking good food uncomplicated. More details on the website https://www.fionasfoodforlife.ie/ WORK WITH FIONA For cookery demos in real-time, virtual or in person, or for speaking opportunities contact Fiona https://www.fionasfoodforlife.ie/contact KEEP UPDATED For recipes and tips, sign up for Fiona's fortnightly newsletter https://fionasfoodforlife.us12.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=9e955bef00cdcb369709cc123&id=4a83a7441e CONNECT WITH FIONA https://linktr.ee/fionasfoodforlife DISCLAIMER The views, thoughts and opinions expressed in this podcast belong solely to the host and guest speakers. Please conduct your own due diligence

What does it take to become an excellent truck driver—not just pass the test?In this episode of Terminal Exchange, Cory Adams, Senior Instructional Administrator at Nussbaum Transportation, shares the story behind writing CDL Exam for Dummies and his passion for developing skilled, safety focused drivers.Cory explains how he was approached by Wiley Publishing to author the book and spent 8–9 months creating a comprehensive 360-page guide designed to do far more than help readers pass the CDL exam. Drawing from a lifetime around trucks, tractors, and farm equipment—as well as his experience as an over the road driver, trainer, pastor, and basketball coach—Cory brings a practical, people first approach to driver education.Cory also discusses the challenges of working within the For Dummies publishing framework, collaborating with technical editor Jeff King, and why he believes strong education is essential as fewer people enter trucking with hands on equipment experience.Ultimately, this conversation highlights the importance of intentional training, safety, and raising the standard for the next generation of drivers. Press play to learn how education can shape better, safer drivers on the road!FROM TODAY'S PODCAST• Guest: Cory Adams, Senior Instructional Administrator at NussbaumLET'S CONNECT• Visit us online at terminalexchange.org • Follow The Terminal Exchange on social media! • Facebook• Instagram • XABOUT NUSSBAUM Employee-Owned, Purpose Driven | Nussbaum is an industry-leader in over-the-road freight transportation. For more information on our award-winning services and top-paying driver careers, visit nussbaum.com or nussbaumjobs.com.

Are you tired of the hustle-harder approach to book marketing? What if a quieter, more creative strategy could work just as well — and feel a whole lot better? How can special editions, physical letters, and library outreach bring readers to your books without the daily grind of ads and social media? Sara Rosett shares her low-key approach to marketing, direct sales, and the creative business of being an indie author. In the intro, dealing with uncertainty, and Becca Syme's Quit books; The Successful Author Mindset; Building resilience and the creative lies that writers tell themselves [Wish I'd Known Then]; On Writing – Stephen King; Big Magic – Elizabeth Gilbert; This podcast is sponsored by Kobo Writing Life, which helps authors self-publish and reach readers in global markets through the Kobo eco-system. You can also subscribe to the Kobo Writing Life podcast for interviews with successful indie authors. This show is also supported by my Patrons. Join my Community at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn Sara Rosett is the USA Today bestselling author of over 30 books across 1920s mysteries, cosy mysteries, and travel mysteries, as well as nonfiction for authors. She's also the co-host of the fantastic Wish I'd Known Then podcast. In this episode: Why low-key, personality-driven marketing can be more sustainable than aggressive advertising How to pitch your books to libraries using a simple email strategy The pros and cons of special editions, physical letters, and Kickstarter campaigns Shifting from retailer-first releases to direct sales through a Shopify store Co-writing nonfiction and the power of series bundles for reader discovery Drawing creative inspiration from other industries and international storytelling trends You can find Sara at SaraRosett.com and at WishIdKnownForWriters.com Transcript of the interview Jo: Sara Rosett is the USA Today bestselling author of over 30 books across 1920s mysteries, cosy mysteries, and travel mysteries, as well as nonfiction for authors. She's also the co-host of the fantastic Wish I'd Known Then podcast. Welcome back to the show, Sara. Sara: Hi, Jo. Thanks for having me. It's great to be back. Jo: It is great to have you back. You were last on the show five years ago, around February 2021, and we talked about writing a series — and you have a great book on that. But first up, give us an update. What does your author business look like right now, and what are you up to with your writing? How Sara's author business has evolved Sara: Well, it's changed a lot. I sat down to think about this and I thought, yes, I have got into direct sales. I've done Kickstarters. I have a Shopify store now. I've really shifted from releasing first on the retailers. I don't really do that anymore. I've done some special editions, some physical things — I'm sure we'll talk about those later. Still doing the podcast with Jamie, the Wish I'd Known Then podcast, we're still doing that. I also have a Mystery Books podcast, which is an episodic podcast that comes out in seasons. I do a short season, about one a year, so I keep doing that. Writing some nonfiction. I did the trope book with Jennifer Hilt for mystery and thriller. And writing-wise, I've created a spinoff, a short spinoff in the 1920s series. I'm still loving the 1920s timeline. But I've slowed down a little bit on the releases. Busy, but good. Jo: Busy, but good. All right, we're going to get into all of those things. Although I must say I had forgotten about your Mystery Books podcast and going to seasonal. I also had my second podcast, Books and Travel, which is now on a kind of hiatus, but going to a seasonal approach is actually really interesting. Do you find that listeners come back to that podcast? The power of a seasonal podcast Sara: Yes, and it surprises me because I've always thought you have to be weekly with a podcast to gain any traction at all, which I think is the best way to do it. You can build an audience quickly then, but I just knew I couldn't sustain that. So when I set out, I started with maybe seven to ten episodes and I did them each year — each year has had a season — and I do five to ten episodes. Readers find it, and I have highlighted specific books. I think maybe they're searching for a podcast about the Thursday Murder Club or something like that. They find it that way, and I get downloads, just steady downloads throughout the year, and I don't do much. I do some Pinterest pins for that, and that's about all I do. This is one of those things — it's the kind of low-key marketing that's low threshold, but it does work. I think if your readers are looking for stuff to listen to about the topic you write about, it could be a good way to do some low-cost, long-tail marketing. I love it. I keep doing it because I love it. Jo: That's great. Low-key marketing that fits your personality Jo: As you mentioned, I really wanted to talk to you about this low-key, non-hype marketing. We've met in person a number of times, and I think we're quite similar — we're quiet, reserved. We are quite low key. I just put content out, and yes, I do some paid ads or whatever, but I just don't find the hype marketing something I want to do. I like the attraction marketing, and I feel like I do intuitive marketing. So how does your low-key marketing fit with your personality? Sara: Well, I did try some of the more promotional marketing. I tried to have a street team back when I heard authors talking about that. I thought, oh, I'll do a Street Team, and that doesn't really match with my readers. My genre — that's just not a thing that happens a lot there. So I backed off of that, and I've tried ads. Not really interested in those. I'm not really good at them, and I don't really want to get good at them. So I've searched for ways that I can find readers that don't rely on ads. I've really focused on my newsletter, and I have two of those. I have a main one that goes out to my readers who sign up in the back of the book. And then I have a New Release in Historical Mysteries newsletter that goes out about twice a month most of the time. That's just curation. I'm saying, hey, these are the new books that are out. I feel like those are easy to do. They fit with my personality, which is like, here, let me give you some information about what's going on in this genre. I do newsletters, the promo sites, the smaller promotional paid ads — I do those occasionally. I have a rotation that I go through, and I try to get a BookBub. If I can, that's great. I've just done things that are leaning into what I feel comfortable doing. Pitching books to libraries Sara: A lot of it is finding small sites where I haven't run an ad. Let me see if there's anybody who wants to sign up or get a free book through me here. I've done some BookFunnel marketing, where you can join the group promos. I like those. And I've reached out to libraries because I feel like my books appeal to libraries. They like the 1920s historicals. It's an easy way to reach people — it's attractive to libraries. So I had a list of libraries in my state, and I have an assistant who helps me out. She emailed down the list. She picked a few every week and messaged them and said, hey, this is a local author. She lives in this state. Here are some books you might enjoy from her. And I have, because of you, large print — I got into that when you started talking about large print a couple of years ago. So I have large print case laminate books that libraries like. I just do things like that, things that are not the norm. Hardly anybody is talking about marketing to libraries. But I try to do that. Sometimes I'll just think of something. I was at the library and I thought, wow, look at all these hardcover case laminate books they have in this large print section. Maybe I should try that. And then I search out and try to figure out if I can do it. Jo: And just for people who don't know, case laminate is a hardback. Sara: Yes. Jo: That's really interesting. You mentioned the libraries and the list. Was that a list you were able to buy? I remember years ago I had someone on the show who was doing that kind of thing. Or was it that your assistant had to go through and find all the libraries, find an email address, that kind of thing? Sara: I think I found it through Sisters in Crime, which is a mystery writers' organisation, and I think they had a contact list — you could get libraries and bookstores in your area. I think I started with that and then just research. And I'm sure now with AI, you could put in where you are and say, in a radius of 250 miles, what is near me? And you could probably get a great list. Jo: Absolutely. And when the assistant is emailing, is it just information about you and then saying, would you like to buy? Because you have a big backlist, and we don't want to be sending loads of expensive hardbacks to libraries unless they're actually going to buy. What's the process to actually sell to them? The library email approach Sara: I wrote up an email and introduced myself. I leaned into the “I'm local — I live in the same city or state that you're in.” Then I described my most popular series and said the first book is this. I put a link to a PDF that they can go look at. I think it's on my website, and they can go see the books. They can print that out, of course, and it has the ISBNs. I make sure they know they can order them from Ingram, and that's all I do. Then when I had a new release, we switched it up and put that at the top. But I have all the books in the series so they know it's a series. Jo: That's fantastic. I love that. Set-and-forget promotional marketing Jo: A lot of what you were talking about was newsletter, email marketing, some ads, but nothing aggressive — as in you're not monitoring it every single day. The email pushes, like a BookBub or free books, bargain books — you can book it and then it's almost set and forget, isn't it? You don't have to log in every day to check the results. Is that what you mean? Sara: Yes. And I like those because they are set and forget. You just have to remember to drop the price and then reset it on Amazon, and then they send it out to their list and hopefully you get some traffic from that. I like that much better than Facebook ads, because with ads I feel like you have to go in and monitor the comments and check on how they're doing. It's a more full-time type job. If you're doing a lot of ads, it's a couple of hours — for me anyway, because I'm not very savvy with it and I'm not as experienced. So it would take a long time to increase my knowledge there. Jo: To be fair, both of us have had many years when we could have become experts, but the fact is it doesn't suit our personalities. I am now working with Claude Code a bit more to do Amazon ads, but even then we go in once a week and Claude does a few things and then we log out again. I'm not doing this daily stuff, and I may eventually get back into doing it for Meta. But in terms of what I mean by low-key marketing — it's lower stress when you don't have to do stuff every day. And I guess what you're doing with the Mystery Books podcast, with the library pitches, with the batching — is that what you're doing? Putting aside time for marketing occasionally? Sara: Yes. And that's what I do. I'll think, oh, I haven't checked Kobo promos, so let me go check that, because I do use those too. I'm wide, so I'm trying to find things that bring my books to readers everywhere. I use the Kobo promos, I use Kobo Plus, I use Draft2Digital to get digital books into libraries. I'm always running — if they have a library sale anywhere, I sign up for it and I just do these occasional things. It's not every day, and I like doing things in phases. I like doing a special edition and working on that and then being done with that and putting that away and going back to writing or whatever. I don't mind doing promo for a little bit, but then I don't want to do it every day. A project-based approach to the author business Jo: We are similar in so many ways. I also have this project approach to life and business. If I'm writing a first draft of a new book, pretty much everything else goes out the window. Sara: Yes. Jo: Exactly. I just don't have the bandwidth. I'm not in that head space. And then, as we record this, I've got a Kickstarter coming up for Bones of the Deep and yesterday I did the book trailer, and I'll do the push for the Kickstarter and then I'm just going to stop. Sara: Well, the positive way to look at that is it's focus, right? We can focus for two weeks or a month or whatever — two months doing a Kickstarter or whatever — and then we're done with it, and then we move on. Jo: That just seems more sustainable to me. I didn't like doing everything every day or every single week. Sara: Me either. I like switching it up, and I do enjoy the different phases of writing. I like the research and then I like doing the — well, I don't like the drafting that much, but once I get a draft done, I like the editing. And then when it comes time to promote it or do a special edition or whatever, I enjoy that part. Finding whatever I'm going to use for the interior photos and stuff — just things like that. I enjoy each phase and I like switching it out. Jo: I think that's really good. Some people think this writer's life is you write new words every single day and you manage your ads every single day. That seems to be what some people do, but that's certainly not us, is it? Sara: No. And that's great if you want to do that. I just don't want to. And I think we've come to the point now where each person can do this as they want. Hopefully people don't feel the pressure to meet these self-imposed deadlines or parameters that don't exist. There's no rules for writing or publishing. You can do whatever you want. Social media — or not Jo: Let's just mention social media then. What are you doing for that? Sara: Not much! Jo: Nor me! Sara: I'm dabbling in Pinterest because I think that could have the longer tail. I do a little Instagram, but that is about it. And I really considered just leaving it altogether. I'm never on Facebook. We were talking earlier about saying no, and I don't want to join any more Facebook groups. I don't care what information they have. I figure I'll hear about it on a podcast if it's great. I think social media has changed so much. In the beginning, it was great — you could find readers. Now it's just much harder to connect with readers there. I want to have a presence so that if people go look for me, they'll find my books and hopefully find a link to download a free book and read it or an audiobook and listen to it. Then they can get on my newsletter and connect with me there. That's my philosophy. Jo: I think so too. I am on Instagram @jfpennauthor in that I do post pictures there, and even very recently I've discovered how to do a reel, which is just hilarious — I'm only about seven years late. But I don't check my DMs, so if anyone messaged me on Instagram or Facebook, I'm just not getting them. Sara: I know. And I feel like there's so many places people can connect with you. I put up a post on Facebook and said, I'm not going to be here much anymore. If you're looking for me, you can find me on Instagram maybe, or sign up for my newsletter to really stay in touch. Jo: I think that's what we have to do. But our idea of this project-based approach to the author life and the author business doesn't suit social media, because the people who are really good on social media are on it multiple times a day, creating content multiple times a day. It just suits some people and not others. Sara: I do things and I take pictures and think, oh, I'll put this on Instagram. And then I don't ever do it. One time we went on a road trip and I took a bunch of paperbacks and dropped them off in the free little libraries. I took a picture at each one and I never posted those ever. I ran across them years later and thought, oh yeah, I did it but I didn't post it on social media. That's just not my thing. Special editions and physical design Jo: Although you did just say that you like doing the art and the photos, and you've done some beautiful special editions. You've done letters, you do a lot of physical design for your books. So talk about that — why you're doing that, why it's fun, and the pros and cons, because it can be a time suck and a money suck. Sara: Yeah. I think you have to figure out where your gauge is for that, because you can go all in and do everything for the special editions. I've come to the conclusion I'm going to survey my readers before I do another one and say, what do you really like about them? Because I do mine and release them on my Shopify store first — is it just that you're getting it first, or do you like all the bells and whistles? I enjoy doing the endpages and the ribbon, and I've done character art for them. But since my books are set in the 1920s, there's a lot of photos from that time period that are available. In Deposit Photos, you can go in and search for those. The last two books I did, I used photos that I thought captured what the characters would look like. That was a lot of fun to find and just include photos instead of character art. And it was a lot faster than waiting for character art too. The pros are that it's fun and you get to do things you don't normally get to do — finding beautiful illustrations for the endpages, doing the sprayed edges, just making it really special. Storytelling through letters Sara: I enjoy doing things that you can't do on Amazon. You just can't do letters on Amazon. With both Kickstarters, you could get three physical letters in the mail. They were a story told through letters, and they had art. The first one was black and white, and then the second set was colour. Since then, I've done colour, and it's a challenge to write those because it's a totally different type of writing. It's a 1,000 to 1,500 word little snippet, and where you end is important so that readers will be looking for the next one. Including art — whether it was a map, illustrations of what the view looks like, what the house looks like. Not that I illustrated it — I had somebody else help me do that. It's fun to think about how stories can be told in different ways. I love novels, but 70,000 words is a lot of words. That's a big project. Sometimes it's nicer to have a shorter project. The letters were shorter and a shorter time investment. I enjoyed them for that. For the cons — it's just a longer ramp up to get it going. If you want to do a special edition or letters or book boxes or anything like that, just estimate how much time you think you need and then multiply by three or five, because it's going to take so much longer than you think. Would you agree with that, with your special editions? Jo: Yeah. Although I think now I've got a process for it. Although, I did my book trailer for Bones of the Deep yesterday, and it reminded me — the book trailer is 30 seconds, and it took me nearly ten hours! Sara: I do believe that though. I completely believe it. Jo: Because I'm a bit of a control freak. I love working with Midjourney. I say I think I'm a control freak — of course I am. We all are as indie authors. But I'm a very visual author, and you sound like you are as well. I see the book, and if I'm generating pictures of the characters or the ship or what happens in the storm or whatever, then it needs to look like what's in my head. So I end up generating and generating, and then I did music and then — yeah, it's very creative, but it takes a heck of a long time. From Kickstarter to Shopify store Jo: Coming back to your letters and your Kickstarters — I did go check. It's been a while since you've done those. Have you changed to using your Shopify store, and will you do another Kickstarter? Sara: I may do another Kickstarter. I do feel like I found new readers on Kickstarter. That's a pro definitely — people will see your work that maybe would never see it on Amazon. It's a much smaller pool to stand out in. Whereas on Amazon there are thousands and millions of books, on Kickstarter there might be five historical mysteries or two at that moment. So it's easier to stand out. I'll probably do another Kickstarter, but to me it was difficult with the prep that went into it. Then the launch, and the launch kind of stressed me out. I know we talked to you on our podcast before your first Kickstarter and you were a little stressed, so I'm not as stressed as I would be with the first one. But it is a lot to prepare, and I do feel some pressure that I want this one to do well. And then the fulfilment — I like to do things in phases, so I felt like it was hard for me to move on to anything else while I was waiting for the books to arrive, because I didn't feel done with that until I had sent out the books. It just seemed like it took quite a bit of time. So with my next release, I thought, I'm going to launch this on my Shopify store and see how it does. I still did the special edition and I still did a lot of the things I learned to do with Kickstarter, like emailing my list a little more often and highlighting these special things. And coordinating with a couple of other authors in my genre to say, hey, I have a book out and it's a special edition — you might be interested. And then share their stuff when their book comes out. The first one I did, I had the book sent to me. I signed them, packed them, and sent them out. But the second one, I said, to save time and money, we were just going to do a digital signature. I had them shipped directly from Book Vault to the reader, and that just helped simplify things so much. Launching on my store, I didn't see quite as many sales or bring in quite as much money as I did on Kickstarter, but it took a lot less time. I feel that was a good trade-off. It simplified the time it took to do it, so I was able to get back to writing more quickly. The second one I launched on my store as well. I've done the spinoff series on my store — it's a three-book series — and I'll probably do the third book on my store too. Then maybe when I go back to my original 1920s series, which is the one that does the best and is my most popular, I may go back to Kickstarter with that one. I think it's nice to have the choice to launch on my store or Kickstarter. I can choose — do I have enough time to do it the way I want to on Kickstarter? Scarcity, direct sales, and training readers Jo: I feel like launching on my store, there's less of a time pressure. We don't really have scarcity in our business, and the only way to make it scarce is to have a limited-time offer. Which to me, Kickstarter by its very nature is a limited-time offer. Obviously it's easier for me because I'm near BookVault, so I go up there and physically sign the books, and I like doing that occasionally. But I hear you with the direct store, and I also presume it trains people to buy from your store. So how has your revenue shifted from the big stores like Amazon, Kobo, to Shopify, Kickstarter, direct sales? Sara: It's shifted a lot. I do the Shopify store just like I do everything else — in phases. I'm like, hey, I have a new release. Go buy it at my store. And I have a lot of sales. I also launched a third set of letters last year around October, leading into November. I said, you can get this series of letters — two a month all year in 2026. Go to my store, sign up for it, buy it there. They'll be launching in December. I push it, I talk about it. I do a podcast about the letters or the special edition on Mystery Books podcast. I ran a couple of ads, got the word out, saw some sales, got everything done, and then it just kind of tapers off. What I need to do is continue to market it, especially to my list — hey, did you know I've got these bundles? Did you know you can get bundles of paperbacks or audiobooks over here from me at a discount? I need to work that into my newsletter strategy. It's kind of like I use it in phases. I still have books on all the retailers and still promote those and link to them. But that's not my focus now. If I'm going to send traffic anywhere, I'm going to send it to my store. My mindset is more on direct sales and the special things I can do — the special editions, the unique things they can only get from me. I'll still do a BookBub if I can get one, and push that to the retailers. The smaller newsletter sites — I use those to reach readers there. But my focus is definitely on the special editions and doing things on my store that you can't get anywhere else. Beyond ebook, audiobook, and paperback Jo: A lot of people, new authors particularly, are thinking about ebook, audiobook, paperback. And all of those you can get anywhere — for both our books, you can get them in those formats anywhere. And large print as well. I have large print paperback, and I actually remember, it was probably five years ago when you were here and you mentioned large print hardback. And I was like, oh yeah, I should do that. Of course, I never did. You can't do everything. Sara: You can't do everything. Jo: You can't. But I think you probably can do a large print hardback on Amazon now with KDP Print — you can do hardback — but none of them are as good quality as the printing we get elsewhere. Also, as you say, all those special things — you actually can't sell them on Amazon. People can sell them secondhand or whatever, but you just can't do that. So I think that's the creative fun of having your own store or doing Kickstarters or selling direct — just all the other fun things that satisfy us creatively too. Because it's not all about the readers, is it? Sara: Right, because we want to be enjoying what we're doing. We don't want it to be a slog. Jo: What's the fun in that?! How long Sara has been an indie author Jo: Just remind us how long you've been doing this now. Sara: My first book came out in 2006. It was traditionally published, and I had a series of ten books with a traditional publisher. Then as that one was getting near the end, I was experimenting with indie — was a hybrid for a while. Then I went all indie pretty much. Jo: In what year? Sara: That was probably — I think my first indie book came out in 2012. So for a while I was trying to do indie and a traditionally published book, and that was very — I felt like I was torn in all kinds of different directions. I thought it was going to be so much simpler just to do this all myself. Maybe not, but — Jo: Pros and cons, as we said. Co-writing the Mystery and Thriller Trope Thesaurus Jo: One of the things you've done recently is co-written a Mystery and Thriller Trope Thesaurus with Jennifer Hilt, who's been on this show as well as your show. Tell us about co-writing, because I don't think you've done much co-writing. Sara: No, I hadn't. That was the first co-written book I'd ever done. And it was a great experience. Jennifer Hilt made it so easy. She has several books in this Trope Thesaurus series, so she had a format and we just used her format. We took the tropes and divided them up. She took half and I took half, and we went off and wrote on our own and came back together and then we would trade. It was really easy. I don't know that this is the way co-writing usually goes, but we did have a contract and we started out with all the normal things — a plan and a contract. We had to decide who was going to coordinate everything for the cover and the copy editing and all that. When we got done, we used Draft2Digital and did the payment splitting, which made that part easy. It's been a great experience, and I think it's just because Jennifer has done this before and she's really easy to work with. I highly recommend co-writing if you can find somebody like Jennifer who's already done it and can take you through the system. Jo: I think that's the point — if you have someone like Jennifer who has a layout, it's a bit like the For Dummies series. I had an opportunity to do something with them at one point, and it's so formulaic in terms of doing it, and then you're filling it in. Clearly Jennifer's managing that really well. The co-writing I've done with various people has been pros and cons, but it's not been in an established series. I love that you say that, but just to warn people — that might not be your experience. Sara: Yes. And I think it's so much about personality and how you work together, how you each write, and your deadlines. If you try to set a really close deadline — we pushed our deadline out. We had planned to do a Kickstarter with the launch of the trope book, and then she ended up moving and I had a bunch of stuff going on. We were like, you know what, that's fine. We won't do a Kickstarter. And it was okay. You just have to figure out how it's going to go. And if you have someone that's flexible when you need to be flexible, that's so important. Jo: Adjusting is the reality of life, isn't it? And I feel like the Trope Thesaurus — it's not going to necessarily have a spike sale and then disappear. It is an evergreen book, right? Sara: Yes. People will find it when they find the series. It's not something that has to be pushed during a certain time period and then we're done. It's a long-term, evergreen type book. The role of series and bundles Jo: Talking of series, you've obviously got multiple series. People should definitely go look — you've got great branding and your series are so clear. What part do series and bundles play in marketing in general, and in your direct sales? Sara: I like to bundle them for my direct store because I figure I need something special about my store — a reason for people to go there. They can get the books on Amazon and Audible and Spotify and all these places, so why would they go to my store? I've really leaned into bundles for the store, so they can get a three-book audiobook bundle or the whole series in pretty much all my series. They can do the paperback bundling. I've done a paperback starter series bundle where they can get each book one in my first three series bundled together through Book Vault. I thought I really need to do that with the audiobooks. That's on my list — to create a starter audiobook bundle. Bundles do well on Kobo. They draw readers in over there. And for the rare times I can get a BookBub, I think bundles seem to appeal to BookBub. If I'm going to pitch something, it seems like they like bundles. Readers like them too. Part of it is the convenience. You've got the whole series together and you can just read one after another. You don't have to go find it and figure out what order they're in. Jo: They do. And I love offering bundles in the Kickstarter as add-ons and on my Shopify stores as well. Because I'm always surprised — somebody's just found me and then they order the 13 ARKANE thriller paperback bundle, and I'm like, okay, wow. That just feels like a win. Sara: Yes. I love to see those come in and you think, oh, I wonder how they found me. Why they would dive in with the seven-book series. That's fantastic. Jo: It is interesting. With the paperbacks and the shipping, you drop some money for a complete print series. And then obviously it's usually a bit less on things like audio and ebook bundles, but it's still a real commitment. So yeah, everybody, we love bundles. Sara: We do. What Sara is excited about next Jo: I wanted to come back to the podcast, Wish I'd Known Then, which is brilliant. I often refer to it on this show. Hopefully we share quite a few listeners, and you and Jamie talk about industry changes, personal things. Given all the stuff that's going on, what are you excited about? What are you experimenting with? What changes are you seeing that you're enjoying? Sara: We appreciate the shout-out. Every time you give us a shout-out — and I do think we share a readership. I think you are our most frequently mentioned other podcast. We are always referring to you on Wish I'd Known Then. What I'm looking forward to is — I like seeing what other businesses or industries are doing and seeing if I can apply that to writing and books. That's how I came up with the letter idea. I saw some people doing that. I found out later there were some mystery-related mystery letter subscriptions, but I didn't know about them and they weren't well known. I thought, oh, I could try that. So I'm looking forward to doing more creative things that we haven't had the opportunity to do, but now we are going to have the tech and the fulfilment to do. Merch could be fun. I haven't ever delved into that. Translations — I didn't even mention translations earlier. I've done a couple of languages in my historical series, and I think it's really interesting the options we have now in translation. The books could go into so many more languages, so much easier. So I'm looking into that. Just reaching out and trying some of these new things that are on the horizon. You're much more futurist than I am. I'm much more about looking back at the past and going, oh, that was cool. Maybe we can do something similar, but different now. Finding creative inspiration from other industries Jo: That's interesting. How are you finding out that information about what other industries are doing? Because the curation of the information stream is hard for all of us. Sara: I don't know. I seem to run across things. I'm always reading and browsing online and seeing what people are talking about. I did see a post years ago about a company that was doing special edges — limited-edition special edges. When I saw that, I thought, oh, I wonder if I could do that. And I hand-stamped snowflakes on a Christmas book. Jo: Oh, I remember that. I actually bought a stamp. I got a (skull) stamp made. Sara: Oh, awesome. Jo: I never used it! Sara: Well, it's a lot of work. It takes time. But they're very special. Each one is unique, just like a snowflake. Each book has all these different types of snowflakes and ink colours on it. I'll see something and think, oh, I wonder if I could do that. And then I'm always consuming really quirky media. I'm into Asian dramas — Korean dramas, Japanese dramas — and I'm seeing trends over there for storytelling. The vertical dramas they're putting out, super short. I just wonder what that's going to turn into in the future. I'm not a video person, but in the future I think there could be short little videos that we could make of our books. That would be just crazy. I don't know that I would have the skills to do that, but we might be able to hire somebody to do that for us. Korean dramas and new storytelling trends Jo: There are lots of AI apps that are already helping with that. I do love making book trailers. And I have also thought about my short stories particularly — turning them into short videos. I've written a few screenplays, so I'm also thinking about that kind of visual-sized content. I also watch a lot of Korean shows. Sara: Oh, do you? Jo: I love Korean shows. Sara: Oh, we have to talk later. Jo: They're very good. I also like the Korean sports stuff and the cooking stuff, and they're just so good at hooking you in. Sara: Yes, they are. Jo: They are so good. Sara: They're really good at blending genres. And I've noticed with their storytelling, they're doing a lot of these stories they call isekai stories, where the main character falls into a story. I heard somebody talking about it, saying they think that's popular because we're so familiar with media entertainment — we kind of know where the story's going. So that's a new way. If your character falls into a fictional mystery and knows who the bad guy is and is trying to prevent a death or something, that's a completely different story than just a straight mystery. Jo: That's interesting. In a way, the LitRPG genre where the character goes into a game, or the character is in a game — I suppose it's got some relationship to that. But I think K-Pop Demon Hunters is like the most successful film and music and all of this kind of thing. It's clearly coming to more Western audiences. Sara: Yes. It's becoming much more mainstream than it used to be, I think. Jo: That's really interesting given that you're mainly a historical author. Are we going to get 1920s Korea? Sara: Oh, maybe. That's an interesting time period. Maybe my character needs to travel there. Jo: You have a travel series, don't you? Sara: Yes. I have a modern, cosy kind of travel series, and then in my 1920s series, it takes place mostly in England, but I have a spinoff with a character who's gone to Egypt, and I have three books set in Egypt. Jo: Well, you never know. Sara: I know. Maybe they need to travel. Jo: I love it. Okay, where can people find you and your books and your podcasts online? Sara: Thanks for having me. This has been so much fun. You can find me at SaraRosett.com. My store is SaraRosettBooks.com. You can find the podcast with Jamie and me, Wish I'd Known Then — it's everywhere, Apple, Spotify. We're even on Substack now. Yeah, that's where everything is. Jo: Brilliant. Well, thanks so much for your time, Sara. That was great. Sara: Thank you.The post Special Editions, Seasonal Podcasts, and the Art of Low-Key Book Marketing with Sara Rosett first appeared on The Creative Penn.

David Pogue discusses his new book, Apple: The First 50 Years, covering the inspiration behind it, the unusual format, and the research required to assemble its stories and images. The discussion explores Apple's greatest turning points, quirky Steve Jobs anecdotes, unseen prototypes, and the company's enduring mission. The conversation also looks at why Apple inspires such loyalty, scrutiny, and fascination across generations.  This edition of MacVoices is brought to you by the MacVoices Dispatch, our weekly newsletter that keeps you up-to-date on any and all MacVoices-related information. Subscribe today and don't miss a thing. Show Notes: Chapters: [0:00] Introduction to David Pogue and the new Apple history book [1:18] How the idea for the 50-year Apple book began [2:29] The book's unusual format and non-linear design [4:01] Apple as the greatest turnaround story in business [5:57] The story behind the iMac name [7:00] Rare photos, prototypes, and early iPod concepts [9:26] The challenge of gathering and licensing images [11:10] Printing decisions, color production, and book pricing [12:29] Steve Jobs' quirky side and the Mr. Macintosh story [14:41] Wozniak, pranks, and Jobs' lesser-seen personality [16:23] Lessons from Apple's history and enduring mission [18:45] Apple's obsession with excellence and product accuracy [19:34] Why Apple draws so much scrutiny and devotion [21:38] Final thoughts on the book's value and impact Guests: David Pogue is a seven-time Emmy-winning correspondent for CBS Sunday Morning. He's also a New York Times bestselling author, a five-time TED speaker, and host of 20 NOVA science specials on PBS. From 2000 to 2013, he was The New York Times weekly tech columnist. He's written or cowritten more than 120 books, including dozens in the Missing Manual tech series, which he created in 1999; six books in the For Dummies line (including Macs, Magic, Opera, and Classical Music); two novels; his three bestselling Pogue's Basics books of tips and shortcuts (on Tech, Money, and Life); his practical guide to the climate crisis, How to Prepare for Climate Change; and his 2026 magnum opus, Apple: The First 50 Years. After graduating summa cum laude from Yale in 1985 with distinction in music, Pogue spent ten years conducting and arranging Broadway musicals in New York. He has won a Loeb Award for journalism, two Webby awards, and an honorary doctorate in music. He lives with his wife Nicki near New York City. Links: Apple: The First 50 Years by David Poguehttps://amzn.to/4m04rJL David Pogue.comhttps://davidpogue.com   Become a MacVoices Patron on Patreon: http://patreon.com/macvoices Enjoy this episode? Make a one-time donation with PayPal Connect:      Web:     http://macvoices.com      Twitter:     http://www.twitter.com/chuckjoiner     http://www.twitter.com/macvoices      Mastodon:     https://mastodon.cloud/@chuckjoiner      Facebook:     http://www.facebook.com/chuck.joiner      MacVoices Page on Facebook:     http://www.facebook.com/macvoices/      MacVoices Group on Facebook:     http://www.facebook.com/groups/macvoice      LinkedIn:     https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckjoiner/      Instagram:     https://www.instagram.com/chuckjoiner/ Subscribe:      Audio in iTunes     Video in iTunes      Subscribe manually via iTunes or any podcatcher:      Audio: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesrss      Video: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesvideorss

David Pogue discusses his new book, Apple: The First 50 Years, covering the inspiration behind it, the unusual format, and the research required to assemble its stories and images. The discussion explores Apple's greatest turning points, quirky Steve Jobs anecdotes, unseen prototypes, and the company's enduring mission. The conversation also looks at why Apple inspires such loyalty, scrutiny, and fascination across generations.  This edition of MacVoices is brought to you by the MacVoices Dispatch, our weekly newsletter that keeps you up-to-date on any and all MacVoices-related information. Subscribe today and don't miss a thing. Show Notes: Chapters: [0:00] Introduction to David Pogue and the new Apple history book [1:18] How the idea for the 50-year Apple book began [2:29] The book's unusual format and non-linear design [4:01] Apple as the greatest turnaround story in business [5:57] The story behind the iMac name [7:00] Rare photos, prototypes, and early iPod concepts [9:26] The challenge of gathering and licensing images [11:10] Printing decisions, color production, and book pricing [12:29] Steve Jobs' quirky side and the Mr. Macintosh story [14:41] Wozniak, pranks, and Jobs' lesser-seen personality [16:23] Lessons from Apple's history and enduring mission [18:45] Apple's obsession with excellence and product accuracy [19:34] Why Apple draws so much scrutiny and devotion [21:38] Final thoughts on the book's value and impact Guests: David Pogue is a seven-time Emmy-winning correspondent for CBS Sunday Morning. He's also a New York Times bestselling author, a five-time TED speaker, and host of 20 NOVA science specials on PBS. From 2000 to 2013, he was The New York Times weekly tech columnist. He's written or cowritten more than 120 books, including dozens in the Missing Manual tech series, which he created in 1999; six books in the For Dummies line (including Macs, Magic, Opera, and Classical Music); two novels; his three bestselling Pogue's Basics books of tips and shortcuts (on Tech, Money, and Life); his practical guide to the climate crisis, How to Prepare for Climate Change; and his 2026 magnum opus, Apple: The First 50 Years. After graduating summa cum laude from Yale in 1985 with distinction in music, Pogue spent ten years conducting and arranging Broadway musicals in New York. He has won a Loeb Award for journalism, two Webby awards, and an honorary doctorate in music. He lives with his wife Nicki near New York City. Links: Apple: The First 50 Years by David Pogue https://amzn.to/4m04rJL David Pogue.com https://davidpogue.com   Become a MacVoices Patron on Patreon: http://patreon.com/macvoices Enjoy this episode? Make a one-time donation with PayPal Connect:      Web:      http://macvoices.com      Twitter:      http://www.twitter.com/chuckjoiner      http://www.twitter.com/macvoices      Mastodon:      https://mastodon.cloud/@chuckjoiner      Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/chuck.joiner      MacVoices Page on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/macvoices/      MacVoices Group on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/groups/macvoice      LinkedIn:      https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckjoiner/      Instagram:      https://www.instagram.com/chuckjoiner/ Subscribe:      Audio in iTunes      Video in iTunes      Subscribe manually via iTunes or any podcatcher:      Audio: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesrss      Video: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesvideorss

If you know tech, you know David Pogue. His resume includes 13 years as the top personal technology columnist for THE New York Times, and prior to that, 13 years as a columnist for Macworld magazine. Today he's a full-time correspondent for the venerable weekly news program CBS Sunday Morning. His work there has earned him seven… SEVEN… Emmy Awards. He's also a five-time TED speaker, and he's hosted 20 NOVA science specials on PBS. David is also a prolific author. He's written or cowritten more than 120 books, including dozens in the Missing Manual tech series, which he created in 1999; six books in the For Dummies line; two novels; his three bestselling Pogue's Basics books of tips and shortcuts; his practical guide to the climate crisis, How to Prepare for Climate Change; and his newly released magnum opus, Apple: The First 50 Years. This is a man who doesn't sit still. But before he summited the tech world, David climbed to the top of the mountain on Broadway. He spent ten years conducting and arranging Broadway musicals. During that time he earned a reputation as the kid who could help people with tech. That reputation led him to the apartments of the Broadway elite, where he gave private lessons to the likes of Cy Coleman, Mia Farrow, Stephen Sondheim, and a host of others whose names you definitely know. In this episode David shares what prompted his love of technology, how it gave way to success on Broadway, and the unusual way it all came together to reveal the path that led directly to the pages of The New York Times and the airwaves of CBS News. How did the magic happen (pun intended; he's also an accomplished magician and has written a book on magic)? It's the advice he gives to everyone: "Say yes to everything." He didn't have a plan for his career, but he reached the peak in more than one industry. One of the most interesting things, however, is how his career in tech journalism started. Believe it or not, it had nothing to do with wanting to write. In this episode, David shares his journey from Shaker Heights, Ohio to the "Great White Way," to the pages of The New York Times, and beyond. He also dives deep on two of his legendary CBS Sunday Morning segments: his interview with Elon Musk that created worldwide headlines, and his experience as a passenger in the ill-fated OceanGate Titan submersible. Learn more about David by Googling his name or visiting his website. Buy David's new book, Apple: The First 50 Years anywhere books are sold. ******* If you enjoy Second Act Stories, please leave us a review here. We may read your review on a future episode! Subscribe to the Second Act stories Substack. Check out the Second Act Stories YouTube channel. Follow Second Act Stories on social media: Facebook LinkedIn Instagram Second Act Stories theme music: "Between 1 and 3 am" by Echoes.

Ochelli Effect 2 13 2026 SNAFU NEWS THIS WEEKThe trick for Morons is being a victim and a perp at the same time.Pre-Malone and all the pre-recorded Not Live From Atlanta, IT WAS SUNDAY NIGHT! Weird But TrueHospital evacuated after 8-inch WWI artillery shell discovered in patient's buttBy Ben Cost    https://nypost.com/2026/02/02/lifestyle/hospital-evacuated-after-8-inch-wwi-artillery-shell-discovered-in-patients-butt/Ever get the feeling an unseen hand in the universe decided that since you won't volunteer to walk into walls they'll just beat you with them anyway?Owns the Libs and Runs The Cons. and RFK says you got the numbers wrong but the SHOTS are right according to the newest Brain Worm math.Did you know they are REAL HOUSEWIVES Shows still being made? Peacock also has BRAVE NEW WORLD into A SERIES! Alongside a stupid PC poisoned series with DEI cast for the movie the Burbs, Believe it or Not. Here I was thinking ONLY absurd modern media corporation STREAMERS GUILD mutilation of entertainment finally completely ruined Star Trek with the latest Movie then shit bag series was  contained and restricted to PARAMOUNT / CBS / Whatever other platforms combined in Crypto Con Job conglomerate Friends of Trump group that created his newly minted fake Money Crypto Billions for his special needs offspring and some new Goverment Department funding, but I was wrong...Streaming piss on a toilet bowl that was art in MAGASTAN. Somebody go get PISS-CHRIST out of shame storage, Ahead of it's time damnit!This week An Elected official declared that Lindsey Graham is more gay than a closet full of Liberals and among millions of viewers no one made any noise about it?What Trump Aides Whisper About Crazed Racist Post | Inside Trump's Headhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFUCi_mmRCYFormer inmate in Epstein cell says there's 'no way' he committed suicideA man who was once held in the same jail cell as Jeffrey Epstein once said he did not believe that the sex offender had died by suicide in 2019https://www.the-express.com/news/us-news/198384/former-inmate-epstein-cell-suicideFriday The Thirteenth! FBI concluded Jeffrey Epstein wasn't running a sex trafficking ring for powerful men, files showInternal Justice Department records indicate investigators found proof of the financier's sexual abuse of girls, but not enough evidence to charge others.https://www.inquirer.com/news/nation-world/epstein-fbi-files-investigation-giuffre-maxwell-andrew-client-list-20260208.htmlEpstein files: Ghislaine Maxwell refuses to testify, pleads fifthhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anKJVDwmHLUFCC launching probe into ABC's 'The View' amid crackdown on equal time for candidates'Fake News is not getting a free pass anymore,' an FCC source told Fox News Digitalhttps://www.foxnews.com/media/fcc-launching-probe-abcs-the-view-amid-crackdown-equal-time-candidates1984 is only half the playbook = What That Idiot Ochelli has said for decadesBrave New World: Summary & Analysishttps://youtu.be/_4VlHP997uc?si=PHe5jMB_MsLBRzstAKA Superbowl 60NEVERMIND (Sorry Nirvana) Because FOOTBALL (and not foreign Shit-hole soccer unless white people play it)Super Bowl 2026 highlights: Seahawks capture second Lombardi with 29-13 win over Patriotsplay    SANTA CLARA -- For the second time in franchise history, the Seattle Seahawks are Super Bowl champions.https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/47822193/2026-super-bowl-lx-patriots-seahawks-live-highlights-resultsTrump Defends Racist Obama Meme & MAGA Rages Over Bad Bunny's Spanish Halftime Show | The Daily Showhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfpQbv7CmeE---An example of many signals sent to me that my work and contributions are absolutely unwanted in JFK Assassination research CliquesJefferson Morley has always looked down his nose at me even when appearing on my podcast 4 or 5 times and pulling a no-show over his Deep State battling Trump posts some years ago.He has his credits, A Clique of supporters, and a personally dedicated Psuedo-Cult of Yes Men and Women Buffs and gets accommodated for at least some events I am aware of (Not All) and fails to keep verbal agreements with people on numerous occasions appearing in my opinion to behave as though he is entitled to special status among others who have not held corporate media employment and dare to write or speak on the limited segment of American Political History WW2 to Current Events. Please Note that somewhere in my releases many years ago a 4 hour piece of audio was generated by Carmine Savastano & The Ochelli Effect show distributed through a variety of networks and released on 22 AM/FM broadcasts Independently along with actual NEWS and INFORMATION Networks (I think 3 aside from my mini-network. Titled The Assassination Guide for Dummies. It was titled as a parody of the book series labeled Something (Insert Topic or point of Interest Here), For Dummies but was designed to make some very complex documents that functionally were a real version of the ironic parody built into the title at least a handful of years before this substack post. ASSASSINATION GUIDE LINKhttps://archive.org/details/CIAAStudyOfAssassination1953Ochelli References and Corbet Displays Assassination Guide 2017 Link to Videohttps://corbettreport.com/interview-1323-chuck-ochelli-sorts-through-the-jfk-dump/State of the JFK Case in 2026To understand what we have learned from the new JFK files in the past year, start with the CIA's bible for fooling the American peoplehttps://jfkfacts.substack.com/p/inside-the-cias-manual-of-trickery?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=315632&post_id=181072218&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=68fjc&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=emailI am still willing to send the JFK MP3 Folder of over 100 shows on The JFK Case From the Ochelli Archives for new donations now as there was little interest in trading the 100_+ shows and more than 250+ Hours of JFK material for 50 bucks, or less than a rate of 2 episodes for a dollarto help me along the disaster that was LANCER 2025. Also willing to Create new topic archive Zip Folders on Topics I have covered over the years with minimum 100 MP3s per donation. In April 2026 we may finally package complete Archive packages in Bunches for the over 4,000 podcasts originating with The Ochelli Network where only 2,500 are The Ochelli Effect and 1,500 are from the many other projects we produced. Menu coming SOON.I am finding out who my friends are, and If you feel you are owed the special JFK ZIP FOLDER, or should get the first SET of what will be the final archive release for Ochelli.COM with every RELEASE of the FINAL ARCHIVE will contain secret Bonus audio in a digital Google Drive Download LINK that will give the recipient over 2 GB for each realease and if we make it to Chuck's Birthday in 2027 that will end the offer and access to a complete Unique archive of thousands of Pods, music, Raw Recordings, special Shows, and never released , and never broadcast interviews, original audio and text files, Photos and screen shots of elements previously unleased evidence etc.---BE THE EFFECThelp for Ochelli and The NetworkMrs.OLUNA ROSA CANDLEShttp://www.paypal.me/Kimberlysonn1https://www.youtube.com/user/UCYTV/search?query=OchelliBE THE EFFECTListen/Chat on the Sitehttps://ochelli.com/listen-live/TuneInhttp://tun.in/sfxkxAPPLEhttps://music.apple.com/us/station/ochelli-com/ra.1461174708Ochelli Link Treehttps://linktr.ee/chuckochelliAnything is a blessing if you have the meansWithout YOUR support we go silent

Kiana Danial is a social media finance educator, personal finance expert, and the author of Triple Compounding For Dummies, as well as previous “For Dummies” books on forex and cryptocurrency. She went from accidentally making $10,000 trading forex during the 2008 crash to working on Wall Street, losing everything on one bad trade, and ultimately building a multi‑income‑stream business teaching people how to invest wisely without treating the markets like a casino. In this episode, she breaks down her “triple compounding” framework and why most traders and would‑be investors are skipping the most important step: investing in themselves first. On this episode we talk about: How Kiana accidentally made $10,000 during the 2008 market crash while studying electrical engineering in Japan Why she left forex trading after one over‑leveraged trade wiped out years of profits The truth about retail forex, “copy trading,” and why most people lose money What “triple compounding” really means: you, your business/income, then external assets Why investing in skills, identity, and income comes before stocks, crypto, or any market How entrepreneurs making seven figures can still end up broke if they don't compound correctly The trap of hoarding small nest eggs vs. using them to upgrade your earning potential Why saving $0.06 per gallon on gas matters less than learning a skill that adds $100k+ to your income Top 3 Takeaways The first and most important investment is you—your identity, skills, mindset, and financial literacy—because without that, you will misuse any strategy or asset class you touch. Triple compounding stacks three layers: invest in yourself, then in a controllable income engine (job or business), and only then in external assets you cannot control (stocks, crypto, real estate, etc.). If it took you years to save $10k, your problem is income, not portfolio allocation; focus on increasing your earning power before obsessing over whether to get 8% vs. 10% in the market. Notable Quotes “If this were truly an automatic 10–15% per month, why isn't Warren Buffett doing it?” “You can't make money you don't have work for you—you have to raise your income first.” “It took eight years of compounding skills to become an ‘overnight success.'” ✖️✖️✖️✖️

Catching Up to FI co-host, Jackie Cummings Koski crosses over to Andy Panko's 'Retirement Planning Education' podcast for a funny, deeply practical masterclass on what FIRE really is (and what it isn't). Jackie is single-mom late-starter, FIRE for Dummies author, and "I retired but I'm still busy" money nerd. She rewinds her journey of retiring before 50 and walks Andy (and listeners) through: How she hit a ~$1M FI number with ~$40K annual spending Managing healthcare premiums by understanding how ACA subsidies really work Tapping her pre-tax IRA before 59.5 using 72(t) without blowing herself up Qualifying for ex-spouse Social Security benefits Medical tourism in Bali funded by her HSA Why most 401(k) menus are quietly sabotaging regular people They finish with Jackie's second act: two books, a CFP, a master's in financial planning & financial therapy, and co-hosting Catching Up to FI to help late starters realize it's not too late.     DEALS & DISCOUNTS FROM OUR TRUSTED PARTNERS:   Monarch Money The modern way to manage money! Monarch will change the way you organize your financial life. Track, budget, plan, and do more with your money – together. Get 50% off the first year using this link and entering code: CATCHINGUP50   Alloy The Alloy Market offers a seamless and efficient way to sell your gold, silver, and platinum jewelry, regardless of its condition. They are committed to transparency and fairness, ensuring you get the best possible value for your items. Use this special Link and enter code CUTOFI15 to get a $15 bonus when you sell items over $199 (limited time offer).    For a full list of current deals and discounts from our partners, sponsors and affiliates, click here: catchinguptofi.com/our-partners   

Mark Kellner and I discuss his October 24, 2025, article in The Epoch Times where he states that more "Americans now say religion is gaining influence in national life than at any point in the past 15 years," which comes from a Pew Research Center report on October 20, 2025. Mark and I have been friends for 30 years and have discussed many topics related to faith and the Churches of God.  He is a well-known author and a great person to talk to.  This is our third podcast.   Career highlights Kellner began writing about issues of faith and freedom in 1983.   From March 11, 1991, to January 18, 2014, he wrote some 1,200 weekly—and for about 18 months, semi-weekly—technology columns for The Washington Times.   He authored a religion-news column for The Washington Times titled “Higher Ground,” which debuted January 25, 2013.   From February 2014 to September 2015, he served as national reporter for the Deseret News in Salt Lake City.   From 2021-2024, Kellner was a national “Faith & Family” reporter for The Washington Times.   He is now based in Mesquite, Nevada.  Areas of focus & contributions Kellner has covered technology topics (especially earlier in his career) and later moved strongly into religion, faith institutions, family issues, religious liberty, and cultural trends.   He has also contributed to other outlets such as Religion News Service, Christianity Today, and various magazines/newspapers.  1 Kellner is a philatelist (stamp collector) and is a member of philatelic societies including the Royal Philatelic Society London, the Collectors Club of New York, and a life member of the American Philatelic Society.   Notable publications He is the author of God on the Internet.   He also wrote a book in the “For Dummies®” series (about WordPerfect or other software) during his technology-writing era.  Significance in journalism Kellner's career reflects a breadth of reporting: from technology journalism to deep engagement with faith and family issues in the public square. His long tenure at The Washington Times (both in tech and faith reporting) gives him significant institutional memory in those realms. Because of his religion and family-focus work, his writing often intersects with cultural, social and values-based dimensions of journalism. Current status As of his website update (2024–25), Kellner remains a freelance journalist available for assignments and has experience covering swing-state elections (for the New York Post in Nevada).  He continues to maintain his portfolio of stories on faith, family, culture and technology.  

Welcome to part two of embracing our dummy-ness! In this episode, Greg continues the conversation with Dr. Elizabeth Thiele, a neurologist and epileptologist, and Lauren Aguirre, an author, journalist, epilepsy patient and caregiver to her children that also have epilepsy. They authored the next installment of the incredibly popular "For Dummies" series of books from Wiley, and their book "Epilepsy for Dummies" will be everywhere books are sold at the end of the month, but you can pre-order or download it in digital formats NOW! In this part two, they discuss looking at epilepsy from the perspective of both the patient and the medical professional which really helped them take a wholistic look at the condition for the book, the ketogenic diet, all of the valuable information that can be found within the book, new research in TSC, and stick around for the end because they take rapid fire questions from Greg about epilepsy and caregiving. There is so much valuable information in this episode, which is just a taste of what you will find within the pages of their new book. Seriously, folks, whether you are a patient with epilepsy, a caregiver, an educator, or just a good citizen, you NEED to get your copy!  Talk About It with Greg Grunberg is excited to be sponsored by Neurelis and by Jazz Pharmaceuticals.

What happens when a Microsoft marketer takes TikTok-style humor to LinkedIn?  Viral growth, 35K+ followers, and a whole new playbook for B2B content. Daniel sits down with Heike Young, content leader at Microsoft, former Salesforce veteran, and one of LinkedIn's most recognizable creators. Heike has built an engaged audience by proving that professional content doesn't have to be boring. Heike opens up about her journey: from editing For Dummies books and running social at Salesforce, to reinventing herself as a LinkedIn video creator who blends humor, relatability, and practical insights. You'll hear: > Why low-fidelity, authentic content often outperforms polished, high-budget productions. > How to bring humor and personality into B2B without losing credibility. > The step-by-step playbook for individuals who want to build their personal brand on LinkedIn. If you're planning on scaling your B2B brand through social content, this is the episode for you.  Acquired by Atlassian in 2023, Loom is an AI-powered video communication tool for work that lets users record and share videos quickly and easily. Trusted by millions of users across 400,000 companies, Loom is improving how teams communicate. Visit Loom.com and get started.  Follow Heike: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heikeyoung/ Follow Daniel: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@themarketingmillennials/featured Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/Dmurr68 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-murray-marketing Sign up for The Marketing Millennials newsletter: www.workweek.com/brand/the-marketing-millennials Daniel is a Workweek friend, working to produce amazing podcasts. To find out more, visit: www.workweek.com

Do you feel like a dummy sometimes? Are you someone living with epilepsy, caregiving for someone with epilepsy, or want to know what to do in case you have to administer aid to someone having a seizure? Are you a teacher, coach, family member or friend of somebody who has epilepsy and you feel uninformed about epilepsy and wish there was a comprehensive guide for... well.. dummies? FINALLY, the book that everybody needs has arrived! From Wiley, the makers of the "For Dummies" series of books, comes a new installment:  Epilepsy for Dummies! Your complete guide to understanding all aspects of the epilepsy journey. Greg sits down with the authors of this book - Dr. Elizabeth Thiel, a neurologist and epileptologist, and Lauren Aguirre, an author, journalist, epilepsy patient and caregiver to her children that also have epilepsy - for a very special TWO PART series that dives into the book and the process of writing it. In part one, they discuss the inspiration for writing it, the rapidly-expanding knowledge of epilepsy and potential genetic causes of seizures, wearable technology and the future of epilepsy treatment, qualities of a doctor that patients value, and so much more! There is so much expertise between these two authors, you NEED this book and this podcast! Pre-order Epilepsy for Dummies now, or own it immediately in digital format! Talk About It with Greg Grunberg is excited to be sponsored by Neurelis and by Jazz Pharmaceuticals.

Dr. Natasha Burgert, a pediatrician at Pediatric Associates in south Overland Park, has authored a new book as a part of the iconic "For Dummies" book series titled "Managing Childhood Anxiety For Dummies."

You asked and we answered! In this episode we tackle listener questions with more than just a one-sentence response… we go deeper and give you answers with our thoughtful insights, ideas and considerations important to late starters. These are the questions we cover on today's show:   ✅ Bill's costly mistake with whole-life insurance; what should you do instead? ✅ How does the $19,000 annual gift tax exclusion work? ✅ Do I have too much in cash as I'm approaching retirement? ✅ I'm new to investing and pay someone to manage my 401(k). I also want to start a Roth IRA, is now a good time? ✅ What if you're low income and can barely save, how do you move the needle? ✅ What is the middle class trap?  

Jackie Cummings Koski is co-host of the 'Catching Up to FI' podcast and author of the book 'F.I.R.E. For Dummies'. In case you're new here, FIRE stands for Financial Independence, Retire Early. In this episode, Jackie comes clean and publicly shares her non-FIRE confessions. Recorded at a CampFI near San Diego, she reveals surprising financial decisions that didn't exactly follow the 'rules' of FI, and some are downright shocking… such as taking a 401(k) loan (don't judge too soon

In this episode: Career breaks, Self-awareness, Overcoming fears, Mindfulness, and Personal fulfillment with Katrina McGhee.Episode SummaryIn this episode of the Mindful Fire podcast, Adam Coelho speaks with Katrina McGhee, a life coach and author of "Taking a Career Break for Dummies." They discuss the importance of taking career breaks, how to overcome fears related to stepping away from work, and the benefits of self-awareness in crafting a fulfilling life. Katrina shares her personal journey, insights into helping clients navigate their own breaks, and practical steps for planning a successful sabbatical.Guest BioKatrina McGhee is a certified life coach who specializes in helping individuals take career breaks and sabbaticals. With a background in market research and an MBA, Katrina transitioned from a corporate career to coaching after realizing the importance of personal fulfillment and mental health. She has supported nearly a hundred clients in their journeys and authored a book with the "For Dummies" publisher to guide others in taking meaningful breaks.Guest Contact InformationKatrina's website: https://www.kmcgheecoaching.com/“45 Epic Things To Do on a Career Break” Download: https://www.kmcgheecoaching.com/45things"Taking a Career Break for Dummies" book: https://www.kmcgheecoaching.com/bookKey TakeawaysTaking a career break is an investment in your well-being and can significantly enhance your fulfillment in life.Overcoming the fear of judgment and financial insecurity is crucial for those considering a break.Mindfulness and self-awareness are key to understanding what truly brings you happiness and fulfillment.Clients often need to give themselves permission to rest and disconnect from work-related pressures during their breaks.Setting a purpose statement and defining themes for your break can create clarity and motivation.Breaking societal norms and expectations can lead to greater personal growth and fulfillment.PS: Introducing the…

John Kilcullen, the creator of the For Dummies brand and former chairman and CEO of IDG Books, shares his journey in building one of the world's most iconic publishing series. In this episode, John delves into the rise of For Dummies, his experience leading other renowned brands like Frommer's Travel and Cliff's Notes, and his time as president and publisher of Billboard Magazine and The Hollywood Reporter.A sought-after lecturer on entrepreneurship and innovation at institutions like Stanford, NYU, and Babson, John's wisdom has been profiled in Forbes, The New York Times, and USA Today.PART 1: The story behind For Dummies and how to build a lasting brand.PART 2: Insights on the evolving future of publishing (starting at 43 minutes).Closing: John's invaluable advice for aspiring entrepreneurs, life wisdom, and actionable takeaways.Subscribe on Apple Podcast , Spotify or other major streaming platforms.Let's connect!Subscribe to my newsletter: Time To Live: Thriving in Business and BeyondWebsite: https://www.annemcginty.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annemcgintyInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/annemcgintyhost

I don't know about you but I have a lot of questions about my brain at midlife. Questions like… Why does behavior change feel so hard? Why do so many midlife women rumble with anxiety and depression? How can I better manage my mental stress? What can I do now to help make my brain more resilient as I age? So I reached out to Dr. Sarah McKay to help answer some of these questions, and she graciously agreed to join me for an interview. You can listen here: https://graceandgrit.com/podcast-367 Dr. Sarah McKay is a neuroscientist and science communicator who simplifies brain science for health and well-being, performance, and creativity. Sarah completed her MSc and PhD in neuroscience at Oxford University. After relocating to Australia and completing five years of postdoctoral research on spinal cord injury, Sarah hung up her lab coat to establish Think Brain, which offers online professional development training in applied neuroscience and brain health. In 2019, Sarah hosted an episode of ABC Catalyst exploring brain health, biohacking, and longevity. Sarah's first book, The Women's Brain Book: The neuroscience of health, hormones, and happiness was published in 2018 (with a second edition due 2025). Her second book Baby Brain: The surprising neuroscience of how pregnancy and motherhood sculpt our brains and change our minds (for the better), was published in 2023. She's currently writing a third book on brain health for the iconic ‘For Dummies' brand. If you enjoy this episode please consider sharing it:) *** ⬇️ Tools to rock your second act. ✅ Start Here: https://graceandgrit.com/start-here/ ✅ Listen to the Podcast: https://graceandgrit.com/podcast ✅ Weekly Bit of Grace & Grit: https://graceandgrit.com/rumbleandrise ✅ ️Leave a Podcast Review: https://graceandgrit.com/podcastreview ✅ Rumble & Rise with Courtney: https://graceandgrit.com/readytorumble ✅ Subscribe on YouTube: https://graceandgrit.com/youtube-subscribe ✅ Visit us online: https://graceandgrit.com  

It's time for the Comic Talk Headlines with Generally Nerdy!Linkin Park takes up WAY too much of this episode.Donald Trump is being sued by The White Stripes.Amazon teams with Anthropic AIJunji Ito's EPIC horror manga is turning into an Anime.Minecraft trailer drops.And so much more...Plus, don't forget to subscribe for more fresh content. MusicFollow-ups/CorrectionsLinkin Park - With the issues last week's episode had i probably could have added an addendum to it. The band not only announced a new vocalist, Emily Armstrong, but also new drummer, Colin Brittan, PLUS a new record, From Zero, and a new tour.New Music/VideoSpiritbox - Soft Spine https://youtu.be/tiIjetn31VA Another heavy banger!!Filter - Burn Out The Sun https://youtu.be/3vbDbTqiJoM Filter's version of Radio Rock works. Really good songwriting.Shallow Rising - Remorse Code https://youtu.be/8Shy17_Shto Chris Adler's NEW band. DEFINITELY different from LoG. But better?Opeth - Paragraph 3 https://youtu.be/7Ph5o3xpJ_8 This record is going to be great.Vígundr - Grógaldr   https://youtu.be/BX5jRQAYfq4 another Heilung clone… this one seems much better.Entheos - A Thousand Days https://youtu.be/rttDAatSAIc much more blasty than their last outing… it will grow on you.Linkin Park - The Emptiness Machine https://youtu.be/SRXH9AbT280 Feels very Meteora. Those lyrics just CUT though.Memphis May Fire - Infection https://youtu.be/W87MonbrKnU Mostly bland with an ok breakdown that falls short.Jinjer - Rogue https://youtu.be/9Uaecbh8ta0?si=WBdQbMC-d7RBWafr definitely still one of the best in metal right now.Billy Morrison, Corey Taylor, Steve Vai - Incite The Watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AjEYcYsiyo Not terrible, but not super noteworthy either.Tours/FestivalsHeart - Royal Flush 2025. These are the rescheduled dates that had been previously postponed for Ann Wilson's cancer treatments. Previous tickets will be honored. Feb 28 in Las Vegas through Apr 5 in Quebec. https://www.heart-music.com Linkin Park - 6 dates, tickets are all sold out. Sept 11, 16, 22, 24, 28, Nov 11.Unto Others - DROPPED from the WASP tour. The reason given by WASP being that Unto Others never provided a marketing plan. Which the band disputes.Childish Gambino - Speaking of postponed tours. Donald Glover's music project is postponing the remaining dates on his current tour so he can focus on his physical health “for a few weeks.” All tickets will be honored once the remaining dates are rescheduled.https://variety.com/2024/music/news/donald-glover-postpones-childish-gambino-farewell-tour-physical-health-1236138459/ Reg ‘ol NewsJack White V Trump - Jack and Meg White are suing Donald Trump's campaign over the usage of their song Seven Nation Army. The suit seemingly stemming from a threat from White in late August over the usage of the song in a video on X. The threat involved long debunked story about Trump calling veterans names at Arlington cemetery. White resorting to calling Trump “DonOLD” even.https://variety.com/2024/music/news/jack-white-sues-donald-trump-unauthorized-use-of-music-1236138745/ Superbowl - Football season just started and we already know who is going to perform at the halftime show. Kendrick Lamar.https://variety.com/2024/music/news/super-bowl-2025-halftime-performer-1236136777/ SuggestsThe Crow Soundtrack - The soundtrack to the superhero film The Crow was released in 1994.Gaming/TechTrailersMortal Kombat 1 - Noob Saibot trailer… or just teaser?Reg ‘ol NewsAmazon's Alexa - New voice assistant will use Claude AI from Anthropic, not Amazon's Titan models.YouTube AI developments - Developing AI detection tools for music and faces. Working on creator controls for AI trainingDestiny 2 - Bungie's new roadmap for Destiny 2 outlines major changes, including two expansions annually instead of one. These expansions will feature more non-linear campaign formats and gameplay styles, like roguelikes and survival shooters. Alongside expansions, four free major updates per year will introduce activities, events, and rewards. The first expansion, codenamed Apollo, launches in Summer 2025 and will follow a non-linear story approach. The current expansion, The Final Shape, was delayed due to recent studio layoffs.https://www.engadget.com/gaming/heres-bungies-roadmap-for-destiny-2-163138384.html SuggestsMK1 - one last chance before everything changes in Khaos Reigns.Comic Books/BooksFollow-ups/CorrectionsElseworlds - with the return of the imprint for DC with new stories, the classics are getting fresh printings. https://comicbook.com/comics/news/dc-elseworlds-superman-batman-comics-volumes-trade-paperbacks/#1 TrailersIron Man - https://youtu.be/ccBQ9WfR2kU on shelves in October. Written by Spencer Ackerman. Art from Julius Ohta. That SWORD tho!!Exceptional X-Men - https://youtu.be/ws6aj2muRmo W- Eve L Ewing, A- Carmen Carnero. On sale now.Reg ‘ol NewsComics For Dummies - The “For Dummies” series of books is now attempting to tackle comic books. Written by  Troy Brownfield. The series will feature books on The Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, a general Marvel related book, and Captain America. The latter 2 to start things off.https://www.gamesradar.com/comics/marvel-comics/marvel-for-dummies-book-announcement/ SuggestsThe Crow - a haunting tale of love, loss, and revenge. Eric Draven, brutally murdered alongside his fiancée, is resurrected by a supernatural crow to avenge their deaths. James O'Barr's gothic comic blends dark, visceral artwork with a deeply emotional story, perfect for fans of tragic antiheroes and supernatural horror. With its moody atmosphere and powerful themes, The Crow is a must-read for anyone craving a chilling, emotional ride this spooky season. 1989, Caliber Comics.TV ShowsFollow-ups/CorrectionsGood Omens - Neil Gaiman series suspends production on the final season due to the allegations against its creator. https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/good-omens-halts-production-neil-gaiman-allegations-1236138923/ Creature Commandos - Dec 5.TrailersHigh Potential - Sept 17 https://youtu.be/2ml5VsUElEM Kaitlin Olsen finally playing a different character other than Sweet D? Could be cool.Arcane - Season 2 Nov https://youtu.be/hsffPST-x1k Uzamaki - https://youtu.be/2ivmweJQaco Sept 28 on Adult Swim, next day on MAXReg ‘ol NewsTonight Show - NBC to pull back on their staple late-night show. Fridays will now be reruns. Just the most recent move in a line of similar cuts. Seth Meyers band got cut, and the other networks late night shows have all already made this move in recent years. And the media thinks it is simply due to streaming competition.https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/tonight-show-jimmy-fallon-four-nights-per-week-nbc-1236135343/ South Park - Set to return in 2025. Purposefully skipping the election. Also waiting for Paramount to figure their future.https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/south-park-2025-return-skipping-presidential-election-1236131691/ SuggestsFrom - Done it a few times before, but to kick off spooky season AND to catch up before season 3 starts, do it THIS WEEK!MoviesFollow-ups/CorrectionsHorizon - Second movie's theatrical release get scrapped after the first movie loses almost $90M. Costner still dedicated to releasing all 4 parts. https://variety.com/2024/film/festivals/kevin-costner-horizon-2-scrapped-theatrical-release-reaction-to-box-office-not-overwhelming-success-1236133084/ TrailersWolf Man - https://youtu.be/ZZ2xPwXJpLM Leigh Whannell directed Invisible Man. Starring Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner. January 2025The Apprentice - https://youtu.be/0tXEN0WNJUg Oct 11Minecraft - https://youtu.be/PE2YZhcC4NY good lord what is this?Megalopolis https://youtu.be/pq6mvHZU0fc?si=ngRYWS5jMHVzMAgK The REAL trailer for Francis Ford Copolla's star-studded epic.Reg ‘ol NewsJames Earl Jones - Passed at 93. SuggestsBeetlejuice Beetlejuice - a 2024 American dark fantasy comedy horror film directed by Tim Burton from a screenplay by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar. A sequel to Beetlejuice (1988) and the second film of the Beetlejuice franchise, the film stars Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, and Catherine O'Hara reprising their roles alongside new cast members Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, Jenna Ortega, and Willem Dafoe.Rumor MillNew SourcesSilver Surfer - Special presentation on Disney+.Wolverine - Henry Cavill is ONCE AGAIN being rumored for the Wolverine moving forward. “Cooking” posts on his socials.New RumorsWakanda - Live-action series supposedly in pre-development.Man-Thing - Special Presentation on Disney+Blade - Director found? Chad Stahleski (John Wick)?Green Lantern - Matthew McConaughey and Ewan McGregor now rumored to have been cast. McGregor said to be up for John Stewart, McConaughey too. So obviously not along side Brolin.Final Fantasy - The OTHER games said to be coming to Xbox (aside from MMO XIV) are VII remake, XVI, and the Pixel Remasters.Venom: Last Dance - Knull to make an appearance. Secret Wars appearance for Tom Hardy.You can support this show by visiting our merch store, or by leaving us an Apple Podcasts review.

It's time for the Comic Talk Headlines with Generally Nerdy!Linkin Park takes up WAY too much of this episode.Donald Trump is being sued by The White Stripes.Amazon teams with Anthropic AIJunji Ito's EPIC horror manga is turning into an Anime.Minecraft trailer drops.And so much more...Plus, don't forget to subscribe for more fresh content. MusicFollow-ups/CorrectionsLinkin Park - With the issues last week's episode had i probably could have added an addendum to it. The band not only announced a new vocalist, Emily Armstrong, but also new drummer, Colin Brittan, PLUS a new record, From Zero, and a new tour.New Music/VideoSpiritbox - Soft Spine https://youtu.be/tiIjetn31VA Another heavy banger!!Filter - Burn Out The Sun https://youtu.be/3vbDbTqiJoM Filter's version of Radio Rock works. Really good songwriting.Shallow Rising - Remorse Code https://youtu.be/8Shy17_Shto Chris Adler's NEW band. DEFINITELY different from LoG. But better?Opeth - Paragraph 3 https://youtu.be/7Ph5o3xpJ_8 This record is going to be great.Vígundr - Grógaldr   https://youtu.be/BX5jRQAYfq4 another Heilung clone… this one seems much better.Entheos - A Thousand Days https://youtu.be/rttDAatSAIc much more blasty than their last outing… it will grow on you.Linkin Park - The Emptiness Machine https://youtu.be/SRXH9AbT280 Feels very Meteora. Those lyrics just CUT though.Memphis May Fire - Infection https://youtu.be/W87MonbrKnU Mostly bland with an ok breakdown that falls short.Jinjer - Rogue https://youtu.be/9Uaecbh8ta0?si=WBdQbMC-d7RBWafr definitely still one of the best in metal right now.Billy Morrison, Corey Taylor, Steve Vai - Incite The Watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AjEYcYsiyo Not terrible, but not super noteworthy either.Tours/FestivalsHeart - Royal Flush 2025. These are the rescheduled dates that had been previously postponed for Ann Wilson's cancer treatments. Previous tickets will be honored. Feb 28 in Las Vegas through Apr 5 in Quebec. https://www.heart-music.com Linkin Park - 6 dates, tickets are all sold out. Sept 11, 16, 22, 24, 28, Nov 11.Unto Others - DROPPED from the WASP tour. The reason given by WASP being that Unto Others never provided a marketing plan. Which the band disputes.Childish Gambino - Speaking of postponed tours. Donald Glover's music project is postponing the remaining dates on his current tour so he can focus on his physical health “for a few weeks.” All tickets will be honored once the remaining dates are rescheduled.https://variety.com/2024/music/news/donald-glover-postpones-childish-gambino-farewell-tour-physical-health-1236138459/ Reg ‘ol NewsJack White V Trump - Jack and Meg White are suing Donald Trump's campaign over the usage of their song Seven Nation Army. The suit seemingly stemming from a threat from White in late August over the usage of the song in a video on X. The threat involved long debunked story about Trump calling veterans names at Arlington cemetery. White resorting to calling Trump “DonOLD” even.https://variety.com/2024/music/news/jack-white-sues-donald-trump-unauthorized-use-of-music-1236138745/ Superbowl - Football season just started and we already know who is going to perform at the halftime show. Kendrick Lamar.https://variety.com/2024/music/news/super-bowl-2025-halftime-performer-1236136777/ SuggestsThe Crow Soundtrack - The soundtrack to the superhero film The Crow was released in 1994.Gaming/TechTrailersMortal Kombat 1 - Noob Saibot trailer… or just teaser?Reg ‘ol NewsAmazon's Alexa - New voice assistant will use Claude AI from Anthropic, not Amazon's Titan models.YouTube AI developments - Developing AI detection tools for music and faces. Working on creator controls for AI trainingDestiny 2 - Bungie's new roadmap for Destiny 2 outlines major changes, including two expansions annually instead of one. These expansions will feature more non-linear campaign formats and gameplay styles, like roguelikes and survival shooters. Alongside expansions, four free major updates per year will introduce activities, events, and rewards. The first expansion, codenamed Apollo, launches in Summer 2025 and will follow a non-linear story approach. The current expansion, The Final Shape, was delayed due to recent studio layoffs.https://www.engadget.com/gaming/heres-bungies-roadmap-for-destiny-2-163138384.html SuggestsMK1 - one last chance before everything changes in Khaos Reigns.Comic Books/BooksFollow-ups/CorrectionsElseworlds - with the return of the imprint for DC with new stories, the classics are getting fresh printings. https://comicbook.com/comics/news/dc-elseworlds-superman-batman-comics-volumes-trade-paperbacks/#1 TrailersIron Man - https://youtu.be/ccBQ9WfR2kU on shelves in October. Written by Spencer Ackerman. Art from Julius Ohta. That SWORD tho!!Exceptional X-Men - https://youtu.be/ws6aj2muRmo W- Eve L Ewing, A- Carmen Carnero. On sale now.Reg ‘ol NewsComics For Dummies - The “For Dummies” series of books is now attempting to tackle comic books. Written by  Troy Brownfield. The series will feature books on The Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, a general Marvel related book, and Captain America. The latter 2 to start things off.https://www.gamesradar.com/comics/marvel-comics/marvel-for-dummies-book-announcement/ SuggestsThe Crow - a haunting tale of love, loss, and revenge. Eric Draven, brutally murdered alongside his fiancée, is resurrected by a supernatural crow to avenge their deaths. James O'Barr's gothic comic blends dark, visceral artwork with a deeply emotional story, perfect for fans of tragic antiheroes and supernatural horror. With its moody atmosphere and powerful themes, The Crow is a must-read for anyone craving a chilling, emotional ride this spooky season. 1989, Caliber Comics.TV ShowsFollow-ups/CorrectionsGood Omens - Neil Gaiman series suspends production on the final season due to the allegations against its creator. https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/good-omens-halts-production-neil-gaiman-allegations-1236138923/ Creature Commandos - Dec 5.TrailersHigh Potential - Sept 17 https://youtu.be/2ml5VsUElEM Kaitlin Olsen finally playing a different character other than Sweet D? Could be cool.Arcane - Season 2 Nov https://youtu.be/hsffPST-x1k Uzamaki - https://youtu.be/2ivmweJQaco Sept 28 on Adult Swim, next day on MAXReg ‘ol NewsTonight Show - NBC to pull back on their staple late-night show. Fridays will now be reruns. Just the most recent move in a line of similar cuts. Seth Meyers band got cut, and the other networks late night shows have all already made this move in recent years. And the media thinks it is simply due to streaming competition.https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/tonight-show-jimmy-fallon-four-nights-per-week-nbc-1236135343/ South Park - Set to return in 2025. Purposefully skipping the election. Also waiting for Paramount to figure their future.https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/south-park-2025-return-skipping-presidential-election-1236131691/ SuggestsFrom - Done it a few times before, but to kick off spooky season AND to catch up before season 3 starts, do it THIS WEEK!MoviesFollow-ups/CorrectionsHorizon - Second movie's theatrical release get scrapped after the first movie loses almost $90M. Costner still dedicated to releasing all 4 parts. https://variety.com/2024/film/festivals/kevin-costner-horizon-2-scrapped-theatrical-release-reaction-to-box-office-not-overwhelming-success-1236133084/ TrailersWolf Man - https://youtu.be/ZZ2xPwXJpLM Leigh Whannell directed Invisible Man. Starring Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner. January 2025The Apprentice - https://youtu.be/0tXEN0WNJUg Oct 11Minecraft - https://youtu.be/PE2YZhcC4NY good lord what is this?Megalopolis https://youtu.be/pq6mvHZU0fc?si=ngRYWS5jMHVzMAgK The REAL trailer for Francis Ford Copolla's star-studded epic.Reg ‘ol NewsJames Earl Jones - Passed at 93. SuggestsBeetlejuice Beetlejuice - a 2024 American dark fantasy comedy horror film directed by Tim Burton from a screenplay by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar. A sequel to Beetlejuice (1988) and the second film of the Beetlejuice franchise, the film stars Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, and Catherine O'Hara reprising their roles alongside new cast members Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, Jenna Ortega, and Willem Dafoe.Rumor MillNew SourcesSilver Surfer - Special presentation on Disney+.Wolverine - Henry Cavill is ONCE AGAIN being rumored for the Wolverine moving forward. “Cooking” posts on his socials.New RumorsWakanda - Live-action series supposedly in pre-development.Man-Thing - Special Presentation on Disney+Blade - Director found? Chad Stahleski (John Wick)?Green Lantern - Matthew McConaughey and Ewan McGregor now rumored to have been cast. McGregor said to be up for John Stewart, McConaughey too. So obviously not along side Brolin.Final Fantasy - The OTHER games said to be coming to Xbox (aside from MMO XIV) are VII remake, XVI, and the Pixel Remasters.Venom: Last Dance - Knull to make an appearance. Secret Wars appearance for Tom Hardy.You can support this show by visiting our merch store, or by leaving us an Apple Podcasts review.

This week, Jackie Cummings Koski, author of "F.I.R.E. For Dummies," sits down with us to share her personal experience and offer some wisdom for anyone, no matter how late they are in the game, to begin building their financial future. This episode isn't your typical FIRE fantasy. As a Black, divorced, single mom who retired with $1.3 million at age 49, Jackie's got the receipts and the real talk about what it looks like to navigate personal finances when your story is a little more complicated than the usual "quit your job, sail the world" narrative. Jackie's story is one of resilience, of taking on the challenge of reaching back to help your family when you're the first one to make it, and even more importantly, it's a story of recognizing that you have time on your side, even when you are a late starter.We discuss: The Great Un-Representation: Why the financial world needs more diverse voices, and especially more Black women, in the conversation.From "F.I.R.E. For Dummies" to Family Dinners: How the psychological aspects of money shape our choices, and why helping those closest to you often means reaching back instead of up.The Truth About Social Security: Jackie breaks down the reality of Social Security for early retirees (spoiler alert: it's a powerful backup, but don't expect it to be a cash cow).Beyond the Numbers: Living a life of purpose and leaving a meaningful legacy can be more important than just the final dollar figure.Is the 4% Rule a Myth?: Jackie shares her experiences with the 4% rule and how it can be adapted to your own circumstances and goals.Links:Get Jackie's book F.I.R.E. For Dummies hereListen to Catching Up to FI podcast with Jackie and Bill Yount Visit her website, Instagram, and LinkedIn  Connect with Julien and Kiersten on our website, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.Join our email list to get updates from us, opportunities for discounts, freebies and a quick rundown on the relevant financial and career news impacting your life. Get our book Cashing Out: Win the Wealth Game by Walking Away, named 2023 best overall book about investing by Business Insider and one of the best personal finance books by ForbesIf you would like to learn more about investing, check out our newest class, Making Money Grow

Our guest on the podcast today is Jackie Cummings Koski. She is a certified financial planner, and she is the author of a new book, F.I.R.E. For Dummies. FIRE stands for financial independence, retire early. Jackie is also the co-host of a podcast, Catching Up to FI, geared toward people getting a late start on financial independence. She is founder and CEO of Money Letters, LLC, which is geared toward providing financial education. She received her undergraduate degree in communications and journalism from Augusta University and her master's degree in personal financial planning and financial therapy from Kansas State University.BackgroundBioF.I.R.E. for DummiesCatching Up to FI podcastFInominal WomenHow It Began/Resources“Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE) Explained: How It Works,” by Alexandra Kerr, Investopedia.com, Aug. 16, 2024.“This Women Grew Her Wealth and Retired by Age 49—Here Are 5 Major Steps She Took to Do It,” by Jasmin Suknanan, cnbc.com, Jan. 2, 2024.Choose FI1500 Days to FreedomRoot of GoodMad FientistJamila SouffrantHealth Savings Accounts“Health Savings Account (HSA): How HSAs Work, Contribution Rules,” by Julia Kagan, Ivestopedia.com, July 22, 2024.“How an HSA Is Helping One Woman Achieve FI/RE Toward Early Retirement,” hsastore.com.Other“Most US States Will Soon Require Personal Finance Courses in School,” by Justin Boggs, scrippsnews.com, July 1, 2024.Better InvestingAffordable Care Act (ACA)“Jamila Souffrant: ‘What Type of Life Do You Actually Want to Live?'” The Long View podcast, Morningstar.com, May 28, 2024.

Looking to elevate STEAM learning in your classroom? Discover TinkRworks — the evidence-based STEAM learning system designed for K-8 educators. TinkRworks engages students in unprecedented ways through innovative, STEAM Project-based Learning. The easy-to-implement program focuses on the hands-on application of STEM concepts and deepens cross-curricular connections to computer science, language arts, engineering, math, science, and the arts. Developed by a team of educators and engineers, TinkRworks provides comprehensive resources that enhance lesson plans, support project implementation, and ensure alignment with educational standards. Join the growing community of TinkRworks educators. Visit TinkRworks.com/podcast for special pricing. In this episode, I sit down with Laurie Deithelm and Randi Economou. Laurie is the Senior VP of Product at Capstone and Randi is the CEO of Capstone. We discuss the latest updates that are coming to the PebbleGo platform. There are some great additions to immerse our K-2 students into the research world without them being bogged down by incorrect data or even going to the wrong site to get bogus information. But what happens when they enter the upper elementary grades and miss PebbleGo? Well, they're updating with PebbleGo Next, a research solution for 3rd-5th graders. This is a great episode with great guests. If you're ready to see where PebbleGo is heading Next, give it a listen. Buen provecho! Connect With Gabriel Carrillo EdTech Bites Website: https://edtechbites.com EdTech Bites Twitter: https://twitter.com/edtechbites EdTech Bites Instagram: https://instagram.com/edtechbites EdTech Bites Threads: https://www.threads.net/@edtechbites EdTech Bites Facebook Page: https://facebook.com/edtechbites EdTech Bites YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@edtechbites About Randi Economou Randi originally joined Capstone in 2010 as the Vice President of the West where she was instrumental in building our Go To Market strategy for seven years. In July 2022, Randi returned to Capstone as Chief Executive Officer. She is a seasoned executive with over 2 decades of leading and contributing to the vision and strategy within EdTech organizations within the US and internationally. Beginning her career as an educator and staying true to her passion for teaching and learning, Randi believes that education is key and has dedicated her career to advocating for life-long learning opportunities for all children. She has held a variety of leadership positions within TeachMaster Technologies, PLATO Learning, myON, and most recently, Renaissance. Randi has been successful in positioning organizations as market leaders through driving the business strategy, operations, and innovation, while focusing on growth and building and maintaining a positive culture. Randi holds an undergraduate degree in English and she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Master of Education from Grand Canyon University. About Laurie Diethelm Laurie Diethelm has 20+ years of experience creating educational products ranging from software-as-a-service (SaaS) learning and development platforms to content-rich, multimedia learning experiences. Prior to joining the Capstone team, she worked with brands including For Dummies, Everything DiSC, Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team, The Leadership Challenge, PXT Select, CrossKnowledge, and RMC Learning Solutions. She is a firm believer that the team is the most critical ingredient in the product development process—people from different perspectives and skill sets working together in creative tension will craft something much greater than any individual can create alone. Laurie is a graduate from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities campus. Connect With Capstone and PebbleGo Capstone Website: https://www.capstonepub.com Capstone On Twitter: https://x.com/CapstonePub Capstone On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/capstonepub/ Capstone On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CapstonePub/ Capstone On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/capstone-publishers/mycompany/ PebbleGo Website: https://www.pebblego.com/ The Book Is Officially Out! My first book “Cooking Up Experiences In The Classroom: Focus On Experiences, Not Just Lessons” is officially out! A HUGE shout out to Lumio for helping sponsor this book. I'm super excited about this project. It's filled with ideas on how to make memorable experiences for your students. In addition, each chapter also lays out a specific recipe mentioned in that chapter along with a video tutorial on how to prepare that dish. Make sure you get your copy and cook up some experiences for your students and loved ones! Click Here To Purchase Your Copy On Amazon

Chris Mamula, a former physical therapist who achieved early retirement at 41, shares his journey from financial mistakes to becoming a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and a prominent voice in the FIRE movement. Discover practical tips on budgeting, saving during peak earning years, and utilizing retirement calculators. Chris, Bill, and Jackie chat about the advantages of starting late, advice-only financial planning, and strategies for aligning spending with personal values.   

In today's episode, we delve into the FIRE movement—Financial Independence Retire Early. Whether you're new to FIRE or looking to refine your approach, this episode covers what you need to know about applying the FIRE approach to your life. We explore the evolution of FIRE, break down its various types (Lean FIRE, Fat FIRE, Barista FIRE, and Coast FIRE), and discuss who can benefit most from this financial strategy. As fiduciaries—a financial advisor and a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™—we provide an unbiased analysis of the pros and cons of the FIRE movement. You'll gain valuable tips on how to implement FIRE principles into your own financial life, even if you don't fully commit to the movement. Tune in to discover how FIRE can help you achieve financial freedom and rethink your retirement strategy. For any questions, comments, and to suggest topics for the podcast, you can email us at askcreatingwealth@taberasset.com. More Resources: F.I.R.E. For Dummies by Jackie Cummings Koski   Follow Your Bliss   Choose FI - communities for Financial Independence, Retire Early

033. Sonic Boom Wellness | Danna Korn-Van Noy is CEO of Sonic Boom Wellness, a software company specializing in corporate wellness.  Danna began her work in the wellness industry in 1991, with a focus on nutrition and medical conditions that benefit from a gluten-free diet. She is a best-selling author of six books on nutrition, including three in the prestigious “For Dummies” series. Renowned as the country's “Gluten-Free Guru,” Danna is respected as one of the leading authorities on the gluten-free diet and medical conditions that benefit from it. *** For Show Notes, Key Points, Contact Info, Resources Mentioned, & the Fabulous 4 Questions on this episode visit here: Danna Korn-Van Noy Interview. ***   Looking to sell your land in Arkansas? Connect with Bubba Land Company and experience the straightforward way to get top dollar for your property!  

If you're a listener of my original boundaries podcast, Beyond Bitchy, first I want to thank you for being a listener and second, I want to give you the backstory about Boundaries Queen. In the summer of 2023, I received an unsolicited email from the publisher of the “For Dummies” series asking me if I'd like to write a Dummies® book about personal boundaries. The opportunity to share what I've learned about boundaries with an even wider audience was irresistible, and my new book, Personal Boundaries For Dummies, will be released on May 7, 2024! Contrary to popular opinion, healthy, effective boundaries aren't “mean” or “harsh.” Instead, they create space and freedom—in the same way that building a fence allows you to experience your backyard in peace and privacy. If you're skeptical about the need for good boundaries, ask yourself this: what would a world without boundaries look like? How would you function without walls, schedules, deadlines, arrival or departure times, standards, or laws? Tune in to this first episode of the new show to learn how to create peace, protection, and connection by identifying, creating, and maintaining healthy, effective boundaries. I'm thrilled that you're here, and I look forward to continuing this journey together into an even deeper appreciation and understanding of boundaries. Biggest Takeaways From Episode #1: You probably fall into one of three categories: you've recently realized that boundaries are “a thing,” or you have a pretty good grasp of boundaries but know you have more to learn, or you're a counselor or coach working with clients who need solid information about boundaries but have struggled to find a good resource. Boundaries are a skill just like learning to ride a bicycle. You can learn the principles here, then take them out into the world to practice and experiment with what you've learned. I hope you'll go out there and make a lot of mistakes! That's the way you learn. As you start or improve your boundary work, you'll encounter pushback and resistance. This is completely normal, so know that it's actually a good thing—a sign that you're doing something different. Highlights from Episode #1: Welcome to the very first episode of the Boundaries Queen Podcast! This episode will orient you to the new show and help you get started with boundaries. [00:31] Victoria talks about how orienting calms the nervous system, using the example of finding the perfect spot to sit in a restaurant. [01:18] We hear about Victoria's thoughts on ending the Beyond Bitchy podcast, and what's happened since then that led to the launching of Boundaries Quuen. [03:03] Victoria talks about her new book and shares her love for helping people understand how boundaries work. She also explains the backstory for the name of this podcast. [06:43] Let's talk about you and your boundaries! [09:47] Victoria shares some important facts about boundaries. [11:48] Boundaries give you space, freedom, and peace. [14:11] What exactly are boundaries? To illustrate the answer, Victoria explores the most fundamental ways that boundaries operate in your life. [15:51] We hear a short list of the benefits of boundaries (a topic Victoria will address in detail in future episodes). [18:29] Are you listening to this episode before May 7, 2024? If so, you can still take advantage of the preorder bonuses Victoria is offering for Personal Boundaries For Dummies. [19:53] Links and Resources: Preorder bonuses for Personal Boundaries For Dummies Personal Boundaries For Dummies on Amazon  Victoria Priya Beyond Bitchy Podcast

Comedian Jane Stanton returns to talk the For Dummies books, Feist's high school, and Evening at the Improv.

What does your Linkedin profile say about you and your organization? Using Linkedin to project your personal brand Episode 193 (Donna is based in Pennsylvania) In this conversation with Donna Serdula we explore: What can executive leader gain from enhancing their Linkedin Profile Why Linkedin is more than a job board Why leaders should help their employees enhance their profiles How to clarify the purpose of your Linkedin presence Is your profile current or ancient history? Who are you and what do you stand for? Why your profile must not look like a resume even if you are searching Why the company might help their staff look better on Linkedin About our guest Donna Serdula: Donna wrote a "For Dummies" book on the topic of Linkedin profiles. She started her business in 2009 and has since branded over 8,000 executives, entrepreneurs and professionals on Linkedin and beyond. Review and upgrade your Linkedin profile by visiting https://www.linkedin-makeover.com/order-today/ ----- Excerpts from this conversation with Donna Serdula: The LinkedIn profile, it's not the resume. It's a digital introduction. It's a first impression, it is your manifesto. ----- If you want to be a thought leader, if you really want to dominate the platform, you want to post more than less, but at the same time, you can truly engage with your network and get seen by posting once a week. It's not so much the quantity as much as it's the quality. ----- LinkedIn wants fresh profiles showing up active people, people who have something to say. So by making sure that your profile is up to date, it would be more apt to show up in the search results, versus one that hasn't been touched in six months, right. When you think of it like that, it makes sense. Keep your profile fresh, you're going to do better in search results. ----- How do you decide when you connect versus simply let them follow? Oh, that's a great question because there is a difference right? connection versus a Follow Follow is one one way street. It's you saying, hey, I want to subscribe to that person's updates. Whereas when you connect, it's saying, Hey, I know this person, I like I trust this person. And not only am I subscribing to them, but they're going to subscribe to me, and they're going to be in my network, they're grew to become first degree connections, and all of their connections are going to become second degree connections, and all of those connections, connections are going to become third degree connections. So it really does extend your reach when you connect, when that's a good thing. ----- ----more---- Your Intended Message is the podcast about how you can boost your career and business success by honing your communication skills. We'll examine the aspects of how we communicate one-to-one, one to few and one to many – plus that important conversation, one to self. In these interviews we will explore presentation skills, public speaking, conversation, persuasion, negotiation, sales conversations, marketing, team meetings, social media, branding, self talk and more.   Your host is George Torok George is a specialist in communication skills. Especially presentation. He's fascinated by the links between communication and influencing behaviors. He delivers training and coaching programs to help leaders and promising professionals deliver the intended message for greater success.   Connect with George www.SpeechCoachforExecutives.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgetorokpresentations/ https://www.youtube.com/user/presentationskills https://www.instagram.com/georgetorok/          

Have you ever wondered if you could write a book one day? Or maybe it's even been your dream to leave a legacy for the generations to come? Tune in to my conversation with Barbara Boyd: How writing a book can help you in your career What could be common issue people encounter when writing a book How to overcome the rising issues The difference between a memoir and an autobiography How to include stories in your book and choose the right one What we need to be aware when sharing someone else's story. Barbara is an Author Accelerator certified book coach who works with people writing narrative and prescriptive nonfiction and memoirs.  Barbara has helped more than 200 writers bring their books to the world. She's written a dozen how-to books in the For Dummies and Complete Idiot's Guide series and ghostwritten 15 books on various topics. Barbara is also one of three book coaches who hosts Mainely Memoir, a retreat held in September for women writing memoir. Connect with Barbara: To learn about her services: www.barbarajboyd.comTo learn about the retreat: www.mainelymemoir.comFor people interested in becoming book coaches: https://authoraccelerator.teachable.com/?affcode=27214_vubw7qtw  

In this episode of "The Traveling Therapist" podcast, Kym interviews Katrina McGee, a career break and sabbatical coach. Katrina shares her unique journey of becoming a published author with the "For Dummies" series. She talks about her new book, "Taking a Career Break for Dummies," and explains how it guides individuals through the process of taking a break from their careers.    The discussion covers the unexpected opportunity of being approached by a publisher, the challenges of writing the book, and the importance of an authentic online presence. Katrina also emphasizes the value of taking people along on your journey through regular updates and sharing both the highs and lows of the process. The conversation highlights the impact and importance of taking breaks for personal growth and how it can lead to unexpected opportunities and self-discovery.   Key Points: Unexpected Opportunities: Katrina McGee's story of how she was approached to write a book for the "For Dummies" series, highlighting the power of being present online and authentic engagement. The Writing Process: The challenges and structure involved in writing her book, including the necessity of planning, drafting, and emotional investment. Taking Career Breaks: The book's focus on helping readers understand and successfully navigate career breaks, emphasizing their value for personal growth and rejuvenation. About Katrina McGhee:   Katrina McGhee is a career break and sabbatical expert, author, speaker and certified master coach with an MBA. With her wealth of knowledge and experience, Katrina helps mid-career professionals design transformative life breaks that lead to happiness, personal growth and lasting change.   As an authority in her field, Katrina developed the Break Blueprint, a guiding framework she's used to help over 70 clients rejuvenate their lives by taking a break to travel the world, launch a business, change careers and more.   Katrina's work was inspired by her own 20-month career break where she saved $40,000 in just 18 months to quit her corporate job to travel the world. As an avid world traveler and digital nomad, her expertise on career breaks and travel has been featured in prestigious outlets such as Forbes, Smarter Travel, Thrive Global, and Yahoo.   Book: https://www.kmcgheecoaching.com/book Free Gift: https://www.kmcgheecoaching.com/45things LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katrinamcghee222/ Alma is on a mission to simplify access to high-quality, affordable mental health care by giving providers the tools they need to build thriving in-network private parties. When providers join Alma, they gain access to insurance support, teletherapy software, client referrals, automated billing and scheduling tools, and a vibrant community of clinicians that come together for education, training, and events. Learn more about Alma.   Connect with me: Instagram: @thetravelingtherapist_kym   The Traveling Therapist Membership: https://kymtolson.kartra.com/page/travelingtherapistmembership   Revolutionize Your Private Practice with AI Course: https://kymtolson.kartra.com/page/ai   Signup to learn more about life as Traveling Therapist: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/l2v7c3   The Traveling Therapist Facebook Group:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/onlineandtraveling/   Bill Like A Boss Insurance Billing Community: https://kymtolson.kartra.com/page/blab   Subscribe to the Podcast: Apple iTunes | Spotify | Google Podcast | Stitcher | Amazon |  Castbox

Nobody should have to navigate the maze of perimenopause without a roadmap! That's why we invited Dr. Rebecca Levy-Gantt, OBGYN, author of the new Perimenopause for Dummies book and DB's mom, to break down this stage of life that's often overlooked. Dr. Levy-Gantt tells us what perimenopause is all about, shares important signs and red flags to watch out for, emphasizes the importance of seeking specialized doctors, and provides tips on preparing for and managing perimenopause. (05:54 - 07:21) The Importance of Perimenopause Education  (10:56 - 11:48) Dr. Levy-Gantt's Writing Style (12:56 - 14:16) Effective Communication in Healthcare  (18:42 - 21:13) Understanding Perimenopause and Menopause  (26:22 - 27:56) Evaluation and Care in Perimenopause  (31:58 - 32:48) Maintaining a Healthy Body  Follow Sex Ed with DB on: Instagram: @sexedwithdbpodcast TikTok: @sexedwithdbTwitter : @sexedwithdbThreads: @sexedwithdbpodcast YouTube: Sex Ed with DB Rep your favorite sex ed podcast with our brand new merch! Sign up for our newsletter with BTS content and exclusive giveaways here. Are you a sexual health professional? Check out DB's workshop: Building A Profitable Online Sexual Health Brand. Want to get in touch with Sex Ed with DB? Email us at sexedwithdb@gmail.com. —— Sex Ed with DB, Season 9 is Sponsored by: Lion's Den, Uberlube, Magic Wand, and Plan C. Get discounts on all of DB's favorite things here! —— About Sex Ed with DB: Sex Ed with DB is a feminist podcast bringing you all the sex ed you never got through unique and entertaining storytelling, centering LGBTQ+ and BIPOC experts. We discuss topics such as birth control, pleasure, LGBTQ+ health and rights, abortion, consent, BDSM, sex and disability, HIV, sex in the media, and more. —— Sex Ed with DB, Season 9 Team: Creator, Host, Executive Producer: Danielle Bezalel (DB) Producer and Communications Lead: Cathren Cohen Producer and Communications Coordinator: Sadie Lidji Marketing Coordinator: Kate Fiala

Every industry has a guru, spokesperson, or GO-TO resource. For digital nomads, that's Kristin Wilson. Kristin, also known as Traveling with Kristin on YouTube and Instagram, is the host of Badass Digital Nomads podcast, the author of Digital Nomads For Dummies, and the Go Overseas Mentor at International Living. Who better to walk us through the digital nomad experience than a contributor to the “For Dummies” series?! Kristin is also a DJ on the side - we love a multi-passionate nomad who shows us what it looks like to travel and actively pursue your hobbies. But how do you ACTUALLY pursue hobbies, run a business, and travel? Sounds like a fast path to burnout, right? Today, we'll get into how to avoid soul-sucking burnout, and get real about why Americans have certain stereotypes that follow them from country to country. If you're hoping to travel more in the coming months, you're going to love this episode. Listen to my episode with Kristin of her podcast, Badass Digital Nomads, HERE! In this episode, we chat about: Finding your travel style and embracing slow travel How to make friends while traveling Why it's so important to establish financial stability before embarking on a digital nomad journey How you can actually save more money by being a digital nomad (yes, we're serious) American stereotypes - why can't we shake them off? How influencers can create an influx of travel in certain destinations Want to launch a podcast? Grab my FREE cheat sheet right ⁠HERE⁠. Connect with Kirstin: Instagram Listen to Badass Digital Nomads on Spotify Listen to Badass Digital Nomads on Apple Check out Traveling with Kristin on Youtube Website Buy Digital Nomads for Dummies Connect with me: Website 1:1 Coaching Mic Drop Instagram Want to send a voice note to the podcast and have Chelsea answer you on air? Do so ⁠HERE⁠. Full transcript HERE Don't forget to rate, review, and share in the group text. This podcast is free and ratings/reviews and shares are our currency. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/in-my-non-expert-opinion/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/in-my-non-expert-opinion/support

Today I'm joined by Amy Porterfield...author of "Two Weeks Notice" and the host of the Online Marketing Made Easy podcast. Wow, what an interview! We talk about:-The core principles of the Two Weeks Notice and how they apply to authors who want to start a business-The difference between co-authoring a “For Dummies” book and launching your own book-The strategies Amy used to hit the New York Times bestseller list-The question all authors need to ask to maximize the launch of their bookWe also talked about using a book to generate $1M+ in sales for your business during launch week, including:-How Amy used digital courses to sell copies of the book-The 4 Phases of Amy's book launch...what are they and how did they work? (this was mind blowing)-How Amy sold 2,000+ books the day before her launch with a free masterclass-How Amy got 350+ reviews in less than 2 months and 100+ reviews right away-What you have to look forward to with Amy's talk at Author Advantage LiveThis was an incredible episode! Don't miss it. P.S. Want to see Amy speak at Author Advantage Live? Grab your ticket before prices go up: AuthorAdvantageLive.comHere are some links that might come in handy: Apply for a free book consultation Register for our free on-demand training Join us at our live virtual event - Author Advantage Live 2023 Must-watch episodes: SPS 044: Using A Free + Shipping Book Funnel with Anik Singal SPS 115: Using Atomic Habits To Write & Publish A Book with James Clear SPS 127: Traditional vs. Self Publishing: Which You Should Choose with Ruth Soukup SPS 095: The Five Love Languages: Selling 15 Million Copies with Gary Chapman SPS 056: How I Sold ...