Podcasts about FTC

As Andrew puts it, Chief Justice John Roberts is “cherry-picking.” He's flying solo in this short edition of Main Justice (more to come with Mary in the next episode). Andrew gives a quick briefing on several of the Supreme Court's most consequential end-of-term rulings, starting with the decision not to hear an appeal in the E. Jean Carroll case. Andrew also touches on the Court's decision to uphold a Mississippi law to allow mail-in ballots that are sent by Election Day to be counted but saves his deepest analysis for two similar cases with opposing decisions: the firings of Lisa Cook and Rebecca Slaughter. While the Court ruled that the Trump administration must have cause to dismiss Cook from the Federal Reserve, it allowed the government to fire Slaughter from the Federal Trade Commission, a decision which Andrew calls deeply flawed showing the conservative majority's support for a “unitary executive.”  And finally, Andrew breaks down the Court's narrow decision to uphold birthright citizenship, and why the tight 5-4 split is the story. Sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts to listen to this show and other MS podcasts without ads. You'll also get exclusive bonus content from this and other shows. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The biggest political stories of the week are all in one episode. We break down the latest Supreme Court rulings, including the E. Jean Carroll appeal, mail-in ballots, and presidential firing authority, before diving into Trump's reactions and the fallout.Then we look at New York City's socialist movement, Zohran Mamdani, AOC, Dave Portnoy's surprising comments, and viral street interviews that have everyone talking.We also expose some of the week's most outrageous climate change claims—from Paris officials blaming America for Europe's heatwave to the latest social media posts attacking air conditioning and promoting climate "justice." Plus, we examine data, failed climate predictions, and why critics say the narrative continues to fall apart.Finally, we cover the latest effort to pin the world's problems on Elon Musk, Nick Kristof's viral claims, media reactions, and why the debate over USAID and government spending isn't going away anytime soon.Along the way, we also discuss DOJ investigations, Biden's latest comments, Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, Ryan McBeth's Iran fact check, Tyler Robinson, Caleb Hammer, and the biggest viral moments from the internet this week.SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS TO SUPPORT OUR SHOW!Give $26 today to Human Coalition. Be her lifeline. Create a Life Saving Moment. Give today at https://humancoalition.org/chicksReady to give MASA a try? Get 25% off your first order by going to https://MasaChips.com/CHICKS and using code CHICKS.Schedule your FREE risk review from Bulwark Capital at https://KnowYourRiskPodcast.com Subscribe and stay tuned for new episodes every weekday!Follow us here for more daily clips, updates, and commentary:YoutubeFacebookInstagramTikTokXLocalsMore InfoWebsite

Today's Headlines: Clarence Thomas showed up to Congress yesterday and was all sus about why, though Politico reported Republicans say he was there for the special members-only doctor's office. The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that mail ballots postmarked by election day can be counted even if they arrive up to five days later — not what Trump wanted, who went off on the justices despite his own voters benefiting equally — and separately declined to hear his appeal of the E. Jean Carroll verdict, meaning he has to pay her $5 million. The Court also overturned the 91-year-old Humphrey's Executor precedent, allowing Trump to fire FTC commissioners without cause and setting a standard that applies to basically every federal regulator except the Federal Reserve Board, meaning he still can't fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook like he wanted. More major rulings are expected this week on transgender athletes in sports, campaign finance, and birthright citizenship, which the administration is determined to end. In other news, Airbnb cofounder Joe Gebbia, now running Trump's "National Design Studio" alongside DOGE veterans, has reportedly been quietly rebuilding government websites — including passport applications, TrumpRX, and a White House-controlled mirror of vote.gov — with tracking code that records and replays every click, scroll, and keystroke and sends the data somewhere off the public internet, so that's normal. Meanwhile, a Wall Street Journal investigation found that over 1,000 viral Polymarket betting videos showing people winning big were entirely staged — Polymarket paid influencers to post fake wins using a password-protected dupe website that mimicked real trades, then paid clippers to spread the videos, racking up 140 million views of completely fabricated winnings. And finally, Comcast announced it's spinning off NBCUniversal — including Bravo, SNL, Law & Order, the theme parks, and Peacock — to focus on broadband, and investors loved it, sending shares up over 4% after a rough year. Resources/Articles mentioned:  The Daily Beast: Clarence Thomas, 78, Busted on Mystery Medical Visit SCOTUS Blog: Justices uphold state law allowing for late-arriving mail-in ballots The Hill: Supreme Court won't hear Trump's bid to overturn Carroll sexual abuse verdict  SCOTUS Blog: Supreme Court allows Trump to fire FTC commissioner and overturns major restraint on presidential power | SCOTUSblog SCRIPPS News: Eight cases await Supreme Court ruling as major opinion day arrives Monday The Guardian: ‘It's dangerous and it's going to erode trust': redesign of US government websites stokes surveillance fears | Trump administration WSJ: They Looked Like They Were Getting Rich on Polymarket—but None of It Was Real WSJ: Comcast Plans Company Split as Competition Escalates Subscribe to the Betches News Room and join the Morning Announcements group chat. Go to: betchesnews.substack.com Morning Announcements is produced by Sami Sage and edited by Grace Hernandez-Johnson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Trump v. Slaughter, the ballot-counting ruling, Chatrie v. United States, and Paris's heat wave blame game headline today's A.M. Update. The Supreme Court rules 5-4 that Trump can fire FTC commissioners at will, overturning 90 years of precedent protecting independent agencies, and Aaron says law professor Barb McQuade's outraged summary is basically his favorite part of the ruling. In the same session, the Court rules 5-4 that states can count mail-in ballots after election day if procedures are in place, Trump immediately calls it a tremendous loss and redoubles his push for the SAVE America Act, and Aaron says Senate Republicans need to feel more pressure than they currently do. The geofence warrant case Chatrie v. United States results in a 6-3 ruling that location data from Google counts as a Fourth Amendment search, Colorado's Supreme Court unanimously blocks a Democrat redistricting map that would have flipped three House seats, and inmates briefly seize control of a North Carolina jail before law enforcement retakes it. A JetBlue flight reports a drone strike at 3,000 feet over JFK, Aaron does the math on whether any consumer drone can actually reach that altitude, and Paris Deputy Mayor Audrey Pulvar blames American air conditioners for Europe's deadly heat wave — Aaron calls all of Europe losers for letting their politicians get away with it and tells them to demand better. Aaron closes with the Iraq anti-corruption arrests, the US-Israel-Lebanon trilateral framework, and a theory on whether Iranian proxies are quietly being dismantled, before making a full endorsement of an unnamed man in black who shot BB guns at nude cyclists in Los Angeles.    

It's time for a new series on The Vergecast! (It still needs a name. Please help.) We're going to give Verge staffers a challenge, and regroup a few weeks later to see who did it best. We're starting with some vibe coding. The Verge's Jake Kastrenakes and Hayden Field share what they've made with AI that has actually stuck in their lives, before David gives the challenge: build a website to solve a problem in your life. The more ambitious and impressive the better. We'll be back with the results soon, and in the meantime, send us ideas for more challenges! (Also, names for the series. PLEASE.) Further reading: ⁠Anthropic's Mythos 5 is back | The Verge⁠ ⁠Supreme Court allows firing of FTC commissioners, ends agency independence⁠ ⁠Comcast is splitting in two | The Verge⁠ ⁠WhatsApp is launching usernames: here's how to reserve yours | The Verge⁠ ⁠Welcome to the personal software revolution⁠ ⁠I used Claude to vibe-code my wildly overcomplicated smart home⁠ Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Preview for Later Today: Richard Epstein. Richard Epstein critiques a Supreme Court ruling regarding the President's authority to fire the FTC chairman. He argues against merging prosecutorial and judicial functions, calling such arrangements a "monstrous" threat to due process.1976 

My co-host Ken Suzan and I are welcoming you the episode 176 of the IP Fridays Podcast. Today's interview guest is returning guest Franklin Graves, who is a senior counsel at Linkedin and teaching IP law at Emerson College. With my co-host Ken Suzan he is discussing how the law for creators has dramatically changed in the past years. Franklin Graves is expressing his personal views and not the views of Linkedin or Microsoft. He is talking about the paper “Upload Complete” before he joined Linkedin. Bio: https://www.linkedin.com/in/franklingraves/ Paper: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5271442 Website: https://creatoreconomylaw.com/ But before we jump into this interview, I have news for you! Richard Meade, a judge on the UK High Court and one of the most prominent figures in European patent law, was appointed Lord Justice of Appeal at the British Court of Appeal on June 12, 2026. Meade played a key role in numerous landmark British patent decisions, particularly in the area of standard-essential patents (SEPs) and FRAND licenses. In Insulet Corp. v. EOFlow Co., No. 2025-1807, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit completely overturned the original $452 million judgment (which had already been reduced by the District Court to $59.4 million) in favor of Insulet. In its decision of June 2, 2026, in the case of Fujifilm v. Kodak, the UPC Board of Appeal provided comprehensive clarifications regarding so-called “long-arm jurisdiction”—that is, the question of whether the UPC can also rule on national patent claims outside the UPC territory (such as in the United Kingdom). In 14 guiding principles, the judges established specific procedural rules for various categories of cases. There is no automatic UPC jurisdiction over national patent claims outside the UPC territory. The Munich Regional Court has issued an arrest warrant against the managing director of Polytech Health & Aesthetics GmbH because he is alleged to have continued to exploit the Brazilian company Silimed's patent for breast implants despite a preliminary injunction. A number of IT and automotive industry associations—which are among the most frequent users of Inter Partes Reviews (IPR) at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office—have filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court, urging the Court to grant Google's certiorari petition. An attorney for a Las Vegas performer has asked a California federal judge to temporarily prohibit Taylor Swift from using “The Life of a Showgirl” as a trademark while the trademark lawsuit is pending. Swift's attorney called the lawsuit baseless. And now let's hear Ken discuss creator law with Franklin! AI, Platform Law, and the Creator Economy: What Businesses Need to Know Now Franklin Graves has spent his entire career watching digital content move through systems that most people never see. He started in marketing at a major music label right out of law school, then represented individual creators on YouTube in a pro bono capacity, then moved to the platform side at Eventbrite, and today works as Senior Product Counsel at LinkedIn, where he focuses on AI, data, and the regulatory questions that come with both. His recently published law review article, Upload Complete: An Introduction to Creator Economy Law, is the first academic paper to address the creator economy as a distinct legal field. In a recent episode of the IP Fridays podcast, he spoke with host Kenneth Suzan about responsible AI development, platform regulation, and what it actually means to own your audience in a world where the rules keep changing overnight. From Content Creator to Platform Lawyer The through-line in Graves’ career is a genuine understanding of how content moves from an idea in someone’s head to an audience on a screen. That experience, he argues, is precisely what in-house counsel needs right now. Lawyers working on AI and product development cannot afford to sit at a distance from the technology they are advising on. They need to use the tools, experience them as a creator or end user would, and understand the nuances of how a product actually operates before it reaches the public. Understanding the product first is the precondition for everything else. That philosophy translates directly into how he approaches responsible AI implementation. The landscape of AI standards is crowded: NIST frameworks, the EU AI Act, sector-specific guidance, and a growing body of industry-adopted best practices. The challenge for in-house counsel is not knowing that these standards exist. It is making them actionable for the engineering and product teams they support. Abstract principles need to become concrete controls and workflows. Graves offers one practical shortcut: most companies already have open source software review processes that involve the right stakeholders, the right sign-off levels, and the right security checks. Layering the specifics of generative AI or large language models onto those existing processes is far more efficient than building something new from scratch. A Fragmented Regulatory World The geopolitical dimension of AI regulation is something Graves thinks about constantly in his role at LinkedIn. The EU AI Act, shifting US executive orders, and country-specific approaches to data privacy have created a regulatory environment that can change the rules of the game without warning. His analogy is instructive: creators have long understood what it means to build a community on a platform they do not own. An algorithm change, a policy update, or a government ban can wipe out years of audience-building overnight. Businesses deploying AI tools globally now face a structurally similar problem. The response, for creators and for platforms alike, is to build resilience rather than rely on stability that may not last. TikTok is the clearest recent example. When the platform faced the prospect of being shut down in the United States on national security grounds, it triggered a broader conversation about platform dependence that had been building for years. Creators who had invested their entire business in one platform suddenly confronted the possibility that their audience could simply disappear. The lesson is not that platforms are bad. It is that concentration of any kind, whether it is your audience, your data pipeline, or your regulatory compliance strategy, creates fragility. What Is a Creator, Legally Speaking? One of the central contributions of Graves’ law review article is definitional. The terminology matters more than it might seem. When courts and regulators talk about creators without a shared understanding of what that word means, the resulting legal analysis tends to miss the mark. Graves draws a distinction between users who post content, creators who post with the intent to build an audience and eventually monetize it, and influencers, a subset of creators who are actively running a small business through their content. The difference is intent. A parent posting family photos on Facebook is a user. Someone building a subscription community around their professional expertise is running a business, and the legal framework that applies to them should reflect that. That distinction matters practically when it comes to liability. As more creators build their own platforms, whether through custom membership sites, open source tools like Ghost, or federated social networks, they take on obligations that previously fell to large platforms: content moderation policies, privacy notices, terms of service, and compliance with data regulations across multiple jurisdictions. A creator in Tennessee running a membership platform with subscribers in Germany is operating a global business, whether they think of themselves that way or not. Protecting Children Online: A Question Without a Clean Answer The tension between age verification and privacy is one of the more difficult problems in platform law right now. Australia, several European countries, and a growing number of US states have introduced or passed minimum age requirements for social media accounts. The technical challenge is real: verifying age online requires collecting identifying information, and collecting identifying information creates privacy risk, particularly for the young people the laws are designed to protect. Who should bear the responsibility for that verification is also unresolved. Is it the platform? The app store? The mobile operating system? Graves does not pretend there is a clean answer, but he points to the mobile layer as an underexplored option. The Apple App Store and Google Play Store already have significant leverage over which apps reach users on their devices. Whether that leverage should extend to age verification is a question that deserves more attention than it currently receives. The Right of Publicity in the Age of AI Voice cloning, digital replicas, and AI-generated synthetic media have pushed the right of publicity into territory that traditional IP law was not designed to cover. Trademark law, copyright law, and existing publicity rights each capture part of the problem but none of them covers it completely. The result, as Graves describes it, is a period of experimentation: lawyers filing trademarks on vocal sounds and phrases, states updating their publicity statutes to explicitly mention artificial intelligence, and entertainment unions negotiating over who controls a performance and any AI-generated iterations of it. Tennessee’s Elvis Act is a concrete example of the legislative response: the state updated its right of publicity law to include voice and to reference AI directly. Similar efforts are underway elsewhere. The underlying challenge is calibrating protection so that it gives creators and performers meaningful control over their likeness and voice without foreclosing the development of generative AI systems that depend on broad rights to process and learn from content. Somewhere between those two interests, a workable legal framework needs to emerge. The brand deal context may be where the issue becomes most immediately practical. When a brand partners with an influencer and the campaign involves generative AI in any form, the contract needs to address control explicitly. Who has final approval over how the influencer’s likeness or voice is used in AI-generated deliverables? What happens to those assets after the campaign ends? These are not hypothetical questions. They are contract drafting problems that any brand counsel or creator attorney should be addressing today. What Comes Next Graves is cautious about predictions, but his sense of direction is clear. The regulatory environment will continue to fragment before it converges. The right of publicity will be updated, imperfectly, in more jurisdictions. Creators will continue to move toward owning more of their infrastructure. And the lawyers who do this work best will be the ones who understand the technology well enough to translate it into practical, defensible decisions for the people they advise. Full Transcript: Ken Suzan: Thank you, Rolf. Our returning guest today is Franklin Graves. Franklin is the founder and editor of Creator Economy Law, a website and newsletter that educates creator economy professionals on the intersection of law and policy with the world of creators, brands, and platforms. Franklin also published the first law review article focused on the creator economy, Upload Complete, an introduction to creator economy law. He regularly appears across news and media outlets as a commentator and contributor with a focus on educating creators and raising awareness of all legal aspects of the creator economy. Franklin is based in Nashville, Tennessee. Ken Suzan: Franklin was invited to participate as one of the creators and creator economy professionals in the first ever White House creator economy conference. Franklin works full time as a product counsel at LinkedIn Corporation. As a member of the product and data team, he focuses on emerging issues in AI and data. Franklin previously held roles on the technology law group at HCA Healthcare, the commercial legal team at Eventbrite, and the business and legal affairs team at Naxos Music Group. Welcome back Franklin to the IP Fridays podcast. Franklin Graves: Thank you so much for having me. It is exciting to be back and reflecting over the last decade since I last joined and also the paper that I wrote that dives into this in more detail. So I really appreciate it. And yes, full disclosure, I currently work for LinkedIn, which is a subsidiary of Microsoft. I’m here in my personal capacity to talk about this, the paper I wrote before joining LinkedIn and all of that. So thank you so much for having me back. Ken Suzan: Excellent. So Franklin, since your last appearance on IP Fridays in 2017, your career has evolved significantly. You are now senior product counsel at LinkedIn focusing on AI and data. How has working inside a major tech platform changed your perspective on the legal frameworks governing digital content compared to when you were viewing it purely from the creator side? Franklin Graves: I appreciate that question because when I wrote the article, I did not work for LinkedIn. And I had been coming from a history in my career where I, right out of law school, worked for a record label like we talked about almost 10 years ago. And I was on the content creation side. I’ve represented a major distributor of classical music digitally at the time. And that was my first exposure to understanding how content was taken from the initial inception stage from creators and routed through all the various digital platforms that were at the time still evolving and even arguably still today continue to evolve. The early days of YouTube Music launching and then Apple Music launching, and then going through all the phases of high-res audio and everything that came after that. So that was an interesting perspective to start my career with. And then I went to Eventbrite, which is a ticketing platform, but was also focused on elevating event creators. They kind of took on that moniker of “Hey, we are event creators that we support.” And that was arguably my first exposure to the platform side, the tech platform side of it, because Eventbrite is a platform. And so then I evolved from there in my personal capacity, in a pro bono capacity representing individual creators across the YouTube space. And that’s what we talked about a little bit back when I first came on the podcast. Franklin Graves: Over the last decade, it’s been a chance to grow my own understanding of the creator economy. The terminology “creator economy” came around. And then now on the other side of it, having written the article and all that, and now being fully in-house at LinkedIn, I truly am experiencing a social media platform. LinkedIn is of course arguably way more than just the platform itself. There are so many different avenues to it, but it is a chance for me to understand what it is like working for a company that is operating the platform that people are distributing content on. There’s a user journey to content and all of that. So it’s definitely enhanced and given me a different perspective from a major tech platform side. And part of my role at LinkedIn is really heavily focused on understanding regulation and how that from an AI and data perspective impacts the company. And so I’ve been really leveling up my game over the last year and a half that I’ve been here, understanding mostly EU regulations, but also US regulations that are still in their infancy when it comes to AI. But really when it comes to privacy and data, those are pretty well established across the board. It’s been kind of a combination of what I learned at Eventbrite, because I went to Eventbrite when GDPR was going into effect. And so that was an eyes-wide-open moment of getting in the weeds with negotiating data processing agreements, understanding data transfers and cross-border data transfers and the like. So it’s been kind of an evolution as the laws and regulations have evolved. So has my career, so has my own understanding, so have the platforms’ responses to those laws and regulations. And I’m sure that probably resonates with a lot of your listeners who have also been growing their practice and their understanding as the laws and regulations in this realm have been evolving too. Ken Suzan: Yes, indeed. Now let’s switch gears and talk about AI. You advise on AI and data daily. As platforms integrate generative AI tools into their tech stacks, what are the most critical best practices in-house counsel should be adopting right now to embed responsible AI principles into product development? Franklin Graves: So as an attorney, one of my key roles is to understand the technology. Even representing creators and working for creator platforms, that’s something I’m constantly trying to do: put myself in the shoes of being a creator. And I think I talked about this last time I was on, but I come from a background where I was working for a major label doing marketing, video editing, social media work. And I was creating content. I understood the whole life cycle from the inception point of an idea to execution and then to the final delivery and distribution of that content to an audience within a major music label. And so part of that is the same thing that I think attorneys, especially in-house, should be doing: using the tools that the product and engineering teams are either developing in-house or partnering with third parties to develop, or a combination of the two. Using them, understanding them, using them as a creator would, using them as an end user or a client or customer would. And making sure that if you understand the product and understand the nuances of how it operates, and being a part of the iterations of that internally before it fully ramps, that really gives you a chance to understand: okay, we have a lot of responsible AI principles and standards and protocols that are in existence right now, whether it’s NIST, whether it’s based on the EU AI Act or anything and everything in between. It’s understanding how to apply those and bring those into a product and an engineering environment in a way that is practical and actionable for the people that you’re supporting, the stakeholders you’re supporting. So I think one of the critical best practices is, number one, understand the product or features that you’re supporting. Franklin Graves: And then understand how you as an attorney can use your expertise and understanding of responsible AI practices, whether it’s a regulatory standard or an industry-adopted standard or a hybrid of the two, to leverage those and implement those, break those down and make them into actionable controls and processes and flows that work within your existing infrastructure. That’s a lot of high-level talk, but that’s the general idea. One concrete example we talk about frequently is with open source AI. If you’re working with a product team or an engineering team that is taking an off-the-shelf open source model and bringing that in-house, a lot of times companies have pre-existing open source processes that cover the use of open source software or code. Piggyback on that. That’s the easiest quick win for attorneys: leveraging your existing open source processes to just build on top of that the AI flavor and layering. It’s not very much that you have to do, but the underlying process of the key stakeholders that need to be involved in the review, whether it’s security, whether it’s executive sign-off if it gets to that point, even export control considerations should already be part of your existing open source software process. So layering in on those existing processes the specifics of generative AI or large language models that you’re trying to bring in is a great way to put this into practice. Ken Suzan: Now looking at the geopolitical landscape that we currently have, we have the EU AI Act setting strict standards and shifting US executive orders. How should platforms and brands prepare for this fragmented regulatory environment when deploying AI tools to a global user base? Franklin Graves: It’s a great question. It’s something that is still evolving, I think is fair to say. I would equate it, as I do in the paper that I wrote, to how creators and arguably brands don’t own the platforms that they’re building their communities on. That spawned this concept of de-platforming or going into building your own platform, a decentralized platform of sorts, and owning your community. That gives you that control and takes away the level of instability that can come for creators trying to build a business on a platform they don’t own, they don’t control when certain updates happen, when algorithms change, when tools and functionalities either become available or go away completely. So it’s very similar to what we’ve been experiencing in a regulatory environment where we have geopolitical complexities, for lack of a better term, that can overnight seemingly disrupt the way in which a platform or even a multinational brand is able to connect and reach an audience or continue to leverage the user base that they’ve built. I think TikTok is a great example of that, where it became a national security concern and suddenly it was facing an executive order that required it to be effectively disabled in the US or completely owned and operated by a US entity. All the mechanics and technicalities of whether it’s actually possible and still have a global platform with a global user base is a whole different discussion. But that’s an example of very similar considerations that are now not just a discussion point at the creator level or the individual brand level, but also in a much broader context at a platform level as well. Ken Suzan: Franklin, let’s now shift gears and talk about your article. In your recently published journal article, Upload Complete, which we will have linked in our show notes, you advocate for a shift in terminology from internet creator law, a term used during our first podcast almost a decade ago, to creator economy law. Why is this distinction important and how does it change the way legal practitioners should view the ecosystem of creators, brands, and platforms? Franklin Graves: Oh yes, this is part of the reason why I wanted to write the article: to lay this foundation of understanding. Because at the time I’d written the article, the term creator economy and creator had really not appeared but for maybe once in an actual court decision. And it was kind of focused on influencers and this concept, and it was just not getting it right. And so it was also, as you mentioned, when we first spoke I was even using the term internet creators. And I think that was something that was common at the time. The “internet” portion as a qualifier has since dropped off. And now for purposes of the creator economy, the term creators refers to individuals, it can be small businesses, which is what we’ve seen from a regulatory standpoint, how these small businesses are being impacted by regulations. But essentially creators in the article I pin in the context of intent. What is the intent behind the person or the small business that is posting content, trying to build a community and form a community in a virtual environment? And then that can even spill over into real physical world environments. And so the intent is kind of what I look at. Franklin Graves: And I have a chart in the article that has a diagram showcasing the overlap of what I refer to as “users generating content.” It’s a play on the concept of user-generated content, UGC. Users generating content is that large bucket of anyone posting on a platform of some kind. And within that large bucket, that large circle, are smaller subsets. You have creators, you have brands. Those are really the two buckets you can put people into. Otherwise it’s like your grandmother or your parents posting content on Facebook or Instagram, and those are everyday users of a platform. The distinction to get into that subcategory of being a creator more so has been analyzing the intent behind the posting. Are you posting content to build an audience, to build a community, to eventually have a chance to monetize the following that you’re bringing in or sell services or something like that? Brands are posting for that reason. Creators are maybe posting for that same reason. But even within the creator category, there’s a subcategory of influencers that are trying to sell something, that are trying to build more than just an awareness of who they are, their influence. They are trying to do brand deals, partnership deals, upsells and all that, and start an actual small business aside from just the content itself that they’re creating. So that’s kind of the distinctions that I make in the paper. And that’s why it’s important to understand and lay that foundation, that anyone can post content online, but the intent, the why behind their posting that content, really does ultimately matter, especially when you’re looking at it from a court case or from a regulatory standpoint. Ken Suzan: Now, Franklin, we’re seeing unprecedented geopolitical activity around platform ownership. For example, the US legislation targeting TikTok and Brazil’s recent temporary ban of X. How do these macro-level battles impact the day-to-day livelihood of creators? And how can they legally and operationally protect themselves? Franklin Graves: So the shift that we’re seeing, and I alluded to this earlier in our conversation, is this concept of Web 3. And that term may or may not be really popular anymore, but that’s essentially what we’re looking at: a shift into a federated, decentralized operation of a platform. So instead of one owner, one company, one entity owning and operating the platform, it’s decentralized. Anyone can start up a server, and it’s interoperable, meaning anyone can plug and play and connect to that larger network. And it creates this unified social network experience. Within each operating node of that network, there can be your own decisions around content moderation, your own decisions around the hosting providers you use, where you’re operating out of, the terms and conditions that apply to that. But the flip side is that instead of creators posting and sharing in a closed environment run and controlled by a singular entity, you’re now experiencing a peer-to-peer type operation where your experience can change based on which server, which node, which user you’re engaging with. You might have content that’s acceptable in one area but not acceptable in another, and maybe it just doesn’t even show up in that other area. Franklin Graves: But from a liability standpoint, as creators start to build their own networks and communities, even outside of a concept like the fediverse, it’s even down to creators building their own communities through online courses, subscription membership-based platforms that they run on their own website. There’s open source software out there, even something called Ghost, where you have memberships. And that is a creator or a small business in the creator economy that is now taking on the obligations that would typically fall upon a platform. They need to take into consideration terms and conditions, privacy policies, legal aspects, and regulatory considerations for running a platform, especially in a global world. So it’s a lot of liability that then shifts over to those small businesses and even brands sometimes that are doing the same thing. Whether it is something as simple or complex as content moderation or all the way up to monetizing an audience, this new world where creators can spin up and run a platform all dovetails back to the concept of creators not feeling like they have control in reaching the audience and the community that they’re building on an individual platform. And so this really became more mainstream conversation with TikTok and the issues around it potentially being shut down in the US. That was kind of the mindset shift and eyes opening for many creators, especially within the influencer subset, of realizing: we need to make sure that we have a way to reach the audience we’ve built if the individual platform that we’ve committed to over the last year or three years or so is no longer available. We need a way to continue that relationship outside of that one platform controlling it. Ken Suzan: Franklin, we have a few minutes left and a number of topics. So I’m going to switch gears and talk about a few issues. First, a major emerging topic in your paper is the evolution of protecting kids online. With state-level age-gating laws like the CAADCA and the recent FTC updates to COPPA, how should platforms navigate the significant tension between strict age verification mandates and the privacy and First Amendment rights of their users? Franklin Graves: Man, that is a whole discussion to unravel. It is a consideration that we’re seeing happen again, going back to the geopolitical nature of everything. Countries like Australia and certain countries in Europe and now even individual states in the US are trying to look at ways, and some of them have already put into place minimum age requirements before you can even sign up for an account with a social media platform. One of the things I’d just highlight quickly here is that one of the tensions is around how you verify someone’s age online and still maintain the ability to be at least pseudonymous. How do you still have a level of privacy, autonomy, and protection when it comes to having to provide something like a driver’s license or have parental consent tied and connected to an account managed by a parent in a situation where maybe it’s not appropriate or not beneficial to the child in that manner? But then maybe there are counterbalancing factors that outweigh that. All of that comes down to the technicalities of how it’s actually implemented and maintaining the sense of openness and freedom that we’ve had on the internet to date. And then the other element there is, since a lot of the internet that we think of today is more so through mobile applications, is it something that the mobile operating system providers and app store providers should be thinking about? So whether that’s the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store, where does that initial age verification need to fall? Is it at the platform level? Is it the app store or mobile device management level or something else? Yeah, there’s a lot to discuss there. And a lot of the issues we’re seeing with how the internet is changing in terms of being able to browse a website without disclosing personal information that might not have been required before is largely stemming from a focus on protecting children online. Ken Suzan: It sounds like, Franklin, we could have another episode covering lots of issues connected with that one topic alone. Franklin Graves: I would absolutely agree with that. There’s a lot going on there. And again, it’s different across the world. And so I know you all have a global listener base. And so there’s a lot of nuances to that whole discussion too, that are worth exploring. Ken Suzan: Last question for today’s episode is regarding the right of publicity. With the explosion of AI-generated synthetic media, digital replicas, and voice cloning, the right of publicity is taking center stage. What are the biggest legal risks for brands partnering with influencers right now? And how can creators protect their most valuable asset, their likeness? Franklin Graves: That’s a great question. I think we’re seeing kind of a throwing-spaghetti-against-the-wall-to-see-what-sticks approach right now by a lot of different parties, whether it’s trademark attorneys, whether it’s general entertainment attorneys or whoever. For example, we’ve seen Taylor Swift filing trademarks to protect certain sounds of her voice and phrasing that she uses. It’s a difficult area because in the realm of generative AI with deep fakes and virtual avatars, that is where it gets tricky, because traditional IP laws are just not able to fully cover that spectrum. It’s a piecemeal approach, but even then it doesn’t fully cover it. So for example, I’m based in Tennessee and a couple of years ago we had the Elvis Act that updated our right of publicity law to add voice and to explicitly reference artificial intelligence. And so that’s the kind of effort we’re probably going to continue to see: efforts to develop some framework around protecting what is essentially a privacy right, in a manner that doesn’t restrict generative AI systems from continuing to develop and operate the way they’re operating now, while layering in those protections so that in the US at least a First Amendment right doesn’t necessarily get squashed, and those traditional well-recognized efforts to not overregulate a technology in its early stages are respected. Franklin Graves: And so I think a lot of what we’re seeing is just a need to update laws. The SAG-AFTRA debate and the strikes that happened around maintaining control of your performance and any iterations of that, or building upon that by a media company that might come later, it’s all on the table right now and still being discussed, still being worked out. I think in the short run, a lot of times if it’s in a brand deal, the key question is: if you are using generative AI to enhance in some way the final deliverable for the campaign, who has control over that? Who has final say and sign-off on how that likeness or that digital replica or that person’s voice is represented? And even outside of the brand space, we’ve seen actors like James Earl Jones signing over certain aspects like their voice and allowing it to continue to be used in these manners powered by generative AI as Darth Vader. And I think I saw something that Boy George was even starting up an AI company that allows musicians, the original recording artist, to rerecord new versions of their masters so that they don’t miss out on that revenue. It’s powered by generative AI, by taking their voice now, which is significantly different than it was back in the 80s, and using generative AI to make it sound closer to the original, but all based on their current performance. So I think it’s still an evolving area. And what’s interesting too is on the platform side, we’re seeing the early stages of platforms like Google starting to acknowledge and rely on the license grant contained in their terms of service for YouTube, which grants them broad rights to use the content to run their platform. So all that to be said, it’s still early stages. I’m very interested to see where we go from here in the future, especially from a global perspective as well. Ken Suzan: Franklin, I could spend hours talking to you about this. You’re such a knowledgeable person on these topics. Maybe in a few years, will we connect again and talk further on AI and all the things that are yet to be developed? Franklin Graves: Thank you. Yeah, it doesn’t have to be another decade. Maybe we can cut it to half a decade, given the pace at which technology is going now. Ken Suzan: Sounds good, Franklin. Thanks again for being on the IP Fridays podcast.

Section 230 takes center stage as Olivier Sylvain argues it's time to confront Big Tech's legal shield, sparking a fierce debate on whether Internet giants should be liable for platform harms or if reform risks choking small innovators. Trump says he no longer views Anthropic as a national security threat after G7 meeting with CEO The White House Is Making Up Its Rules for AI in Real Time N.S.A. Lost Access to Powerful A.I. Model Amid Anthropic Dispute Early Users of Anthropic Mythos Still Have Access After US Order Dangerous AI models are coming no matter what Nobel laureate John Jumper is leaving Google DeepMind for Anthropic after nearly nine years Google's Gemini co-lead Noam Shazeer is leaving for OpenAI Identity verification on Claude Anthropic rolls out Claude Tag, your new agentic AI coworker in Slack Google preps Pixel 'Audio Memory' that ambiently tracks your 'important conversations,' like AI notetaker pins Norway imposes broad restrictions on AI for elementary school kids YouTube settles upcoming bellwether trial over social media's psychological harms to kids OpenAI and Broadcom unveil LLM-optimized inference chip Luca Guadagnino's Nearly Finished Sam Altman Movie 'Artificial' Dropped by Amazon After OpenAI Partnership OpenAI Burned $3.7 Billion in First Three Months of 2026 OpenAI Launches Full-Scale Effort to Patch Open-Source Bugs as It Takes on Anthropic's Mythos Getty Images Soars 200% in Early Trading After OpenAI Deal Meta launches cheaper smart glasses without Ray-Ban We're Partnering With EssilorLuxottica to Launch Meta Glasses Evan Spiegel says Snap can't fulfill its mission without its new AR glasses AI data centers just got a government-mandated fast lane to the grid China tightens indium phosphide checks as AI demand climbs AI Engineer Claims to Have Cracked Linear A Midjourney goes from generating cat images to full-body ultrasound scans A Princeton grad built a $30 million AI detection business. Now he's selling it to Superhuman. Estonia intends to recognize AI agents with digital IDs Big Tech Is a Thief and a Liar, Says New York Times Publisher AI Economics for Dummies We Have to Stop Freaking Out About A.I. In the Weights is your new AI-centric vanity search | TechCrunch UK TV to be turned off Computer History Museum's AI Archive Airport Dad Hosts: Leo Laporte and Jeff Jarvis Guest: Olivier Sylvain Download or subscribe to Intelligent Machines at https://twit.tv/shows/intelligent-machines. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: gusto.com/machines XBOW.com webroot.com/twit

Section 230 takes center stage as Olivier Sylvain argues it's time to confront Big Tech's legal shield, sparking a fierce debate on whether Internet giants should be liable for platform harms or if reform risks choking small innovators. Trump says he no longer views Anthropic as a national security threat after G7 meeting with CEO The White House Is Making Up Its Rules for AI in Real Time N.S.A. Lost Access to Powerful A.I. Model Amid Anthropic Dispute Early Users of Anthropic Mythos Still Have Access After US Order Dangerous AI models are coming no matter what Nobel laureate John Jumper is leaving Google DeepMind for Anthropic after nearly nine years Google's Gemini co-lead Noam Shazeer is leaving for OpenAI Identity verification on Claude Anthropic rolls out Claude Tag, your new agentic AI coworker in Slack Google preps Pixel 'Audio Memory' that ambiently tracks your 'important conversations,' like AI notetaker pins Norway imposes broad restrictions on AI for elementary school kids YouTube settles upcoming bellwether trial over social media's psychological harms to kids OpenAI and Broadcom unveil LLM-optimized inference chip Luca Guadagnino's Nearly Finished Sam Altman Movie 'Artificial' Dropped by Amazon After OpenAI Partnership OpenAI Burned $3.7 Billion in First Three Months of 2026 OpenAI Launches Full-Scale Effort to Patch Open-Source Bugs as It Takes on Anthropic's Mythos Getty Images Soars 200% in Early Trading After OpenAI Deal Meta launches cheaper smart glasses without Ray-Ban We're Partnering With EssilorLuxottica to Launch Meta Glasses Evan Spiegel says Snap can't fulfill its mission without its new AR glasses AI data centers just got a government-mandated fast lane to the grid China tightens indium phosphide checks as AI demand climbs AI Engineer Claims to Have Cracked Linear A Midjourney goes from generating cat images to full-body ultrasound scans A Princeton grad built a $30 million AI detection business. Now he's selling it to Superhuman. Estonia intends to recognize AI agents with digital IDs Big Tech Is a Thief and a Liar, Says New York Times Publisher AI Economics for Dummies We Have to Stop Freaking Out About A.I. In the Weights is your new AI-centric vanity search | TechCrunch UK TV to be turned off Computer History Museum's AI Archive Airport Dad Hosts: Leo Laporte and Jeff Jarvis Guest: Olivier Sylvain Download or subscribe to Intelligent Machines at https://twit.tv/shows/intelligent-machines. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: gusto.com/machines XBOW.com webroot.com/twit

Section 230 takes center stage as Olivier Sylvain argues it's time to confront Big Tech's legal shield, sparking a fierce debate on whether Internet giants should be liable for platform harms or if reform risks choking small innovators. Trump says he no longer views Anthropic as a national security threat after G7 meeting with CEO The White House Is Making Up Its Rules for AI in Real Time N.S.A. Lost Access to Powerful A.I. Model Amid Anthropic Dispute Early Users of Anthropic Mythos Still Have Access After US Order Dangerous AI models are coming no matter what Nobel laureate John Jumper is leaving Google DeepMind for Anthropic after nearly nine years Google's Gemini co-lead Noam Shazeer is leaving for OpenAI Identity verification on Claude Anthropic rolls out Claude Tag, your new agentic AI coworker in Slack Google preps Pixel 'Audio Memory' that ambiently tracks your 'important conversations,' like AI notetaker pins Norway imposes broad restrictions on AI for elementary school kids YouTube settles upcoming bellwether trial over social media's psychological harms to kids OpenAI and Broadcom unveil LLM-optimized inference chip Luca Guadagnino's Nearly Finished Sam Altman Movie 'Artificial' Dropped by Amazon After OpenAI Partnership OpenAI Burned $3.7 Billion in First Three Months of 2026 OpenAI Launches Full-Scale Effort to Patch Open-Source Bugs as It Takes on Anthropic's Mythos Getty Images Soars 200% in Early Trading After OpenAI Deal Meta launches cheaper smart glasses without Ray-Ban We're Partnering With EssilorLuxottica to Launch Meta Glasses Evan Spiegel says Snap can't fulfill its mission without its new AR glasses AI data centers just got a government-mandated fast lane to the grid China tightens indium phosphide checks as AI demand climbs AI Engineer Claims to Have Cracked Linear A Midjourney goes from generating cat images to full-body ultrasound scans A Princeton grad built a $30 million AI detection business. Now he's selling it to Superhuman. Estonia intends to recognize AI agents with digital IDs Big Tech Is a Thief and a Liar, Says New York Times Publisher AI Economics for Dummies We Have to Stop Freaking Out About A.I. In the Weights is your new AI-centric vanity search | TechCrunch UK TV to be turned off Computer History Museum's AI Archive Airport Dad Hosts: Leo Laporte and Jeff Jarvis Guest: Olivier Sylvain Download or subscribe to Intelligent Machines at https://twit.tv/shows/intelligent-machines. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: gusto.com/machines XBOW.com webroot.com/twit

Section 230 takes center stage as Olivier Sylvain argues it's time to confront Big Tech's legal shield, sparking a fierce debate on whether Internet giants should be liable for platform harms or if reform risks choking small innovators. Trump says he no longer views Anthropic as a national security threat after G7 meeting with CEO The White House Is Making Up Its Rules for AI in Real Time N.S.A. Lost Access to Powerful A.I. Model Amid Anthropic Dispute Early Users of Anthropic Mythos Still Have Access After US Order Dangerous AI models are coming no matter what Nobel laureate John Jumper is leaving Google DeepMind for Anthropic after nearly nine years Google's Gemini co-lead Noam Shazeer is leaving for OpenAI Identity verification on Claude Anthropic rolls out Claude Tag, your new agentic AI coworker in Slack Google preps Pixel 'Audio Memory' that ambiently tracks your 'important conversations,' like AI notetaker pins Norway imposes broad restrictions on AI for elementary school kids YouTube settles upcoming bellwether trial over social media's psychological harms to kids OpenAI and Broadcom unveil LLM-optimized inference chip Luca Guadagnino's Nearly Finished Sam Altman Movie 'Artificial' Dropped by Amazon After OpenAI Partnership OpenAI Burned $3.7 Billion in First Three Months of 2026 OpenAI Launches Full-Scale Effort to Patch Open-Source Bugs as It Takes on Anthropic's Mythos Getty Images Soars 200% in Early Trading After OpenAI Deal Meta launches cheaper smart glasses without Ray-Ban We're Partnering With EssilorLuxottica to Launch Meta Glasses Evan Spiegel says Snap can't fulfill its mission without its new AR glasses AI data centers just got a government-mandated fast lane to the grid China tightens indium phosphide checks as AI demand climbs AI Engineer Claims to Have Cracked Linear A Midjourney goes from generating cat images to full-body ultrasound scans A Princeton grad built a $30 million AI detection business. Now he's selling it to Superhuman. Estonia intends to recognize AI agents with digital IDs Big Tech Is a Thief and a Liar, Says New York Times Publisher AI Economics for Dummies We Have to Stop Freaking Out About A.I. In the Weights is your new AI-centric vanity search | TechCrunch UK TV to be turned off Computer History Museum's AI Archive Airport Dad Hosts: Leo Laporte and Jeff Jarvis Guest: Olivier Sylvain Download or subscribe to Intelligent Machines at https://twit.tv/shows/intelligent-machines. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: gusto.com/machines XBOW.com webroot.com/twit

On Tuesday's Mark Levin Show, Ben Ferguson fills in for Mark. Democratic Texas Senate candidate James Talarico presents himself as a moderate, faith-based Christian pastor who rejects Christian nationalism. Talarico is actually a radical progressive activist who weaponizes Christianity for left-wing politics.  Talarico's radical positions - God is non-binary, there are more than two biological sexes, the Bible affirms abortion access, and poverty/pollution/prison equal violence. This man is not fit for the Senate. Later, President Trump selected Kash Patel to combat waste, fraud, and abuse, is proving to be an excellent choice as evidenced by a record-setting $6.5 billion healthcare fraud crackdown charging around 450 defendants, primarily in Medicaid and hospice schemes. Officials emphasized unprecedented state-federal cooperation across 45 states and attorneys general, building complete case files for swift law enforcement action—the first such unified effort in modern history. Afterward ,a Biden-appointed federal judge issued a 75-page opinion shutting down the Trump administration's modified SAVE system database, created via executive order to verify citizenship or immigration status of registered voters through DHS and SSA records. This activist decision promotes lawlessness and voter fraud by blocking checks on non-citizens, dead people, and illegal immigrants, especially ahead of midterms. The same judge also blocked an FTC antitrust probe into Media Matters and barred deportation of unaccompanied migrant minors for family reunification abroad. Meanwhile, Senator Mike Lee advances the SAVE America Act, requiring government-issued ID to vote—supported by over 80% of Americans across parties to make voting easy but cheating hard—though four anti-Trump Republicans hinder it in the Senate, where Trump is pushing for passage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Who would have thunk it, an Amare case update already? Apparently Amare and their cronies don't think those pesky old FTC orders from the past mean they should be held in contempt for this most recent case, and I'd argue that's exactly what that means. Last episode we learned Dr. Shawn Talbott and Amare MegaHun Pat Hintze have previous FTC cases against them for doing exactly the same thing they did with Amare, and this new order is just a delicious cherry on top.Show NotesFTC v Amare CaseComplaint for Permanent InjunctionFTC Press ReleaseFTC's Notice of Motion (Contempt)FTC Press Release (Contempt)The Influence ContinuumOut of MLM⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The BITE Model⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LAMLM Book Club⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠MLM Dupes⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠How can you help?⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠MLM Change⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Report Fraud⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Truth in Advertising⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Report to your state Attorney General's office!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Not in the U.S.? No Problem!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Support the Podcast!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Buy Me a Taco⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Merch!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Life After MLM is produced by Roberta Blevins. Audio editing is done by the lovely⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Kayla Craven⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, video editing by the indescribable⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ RK Gold⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Michelle Carpenter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ is our Triple Emerald Princess of Robots. Life After MLM is owned by Roberta Blevins 2026.Music : Abstract World by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Alexi Action⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠*Some links may be affiliate links. When you purchase things from these links, I get a small commission that I use to buy us tacos.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Nathan Jones, founder and CEO of Xlear, Inc., reveals xylitol's role in supporting oral and nasal “gateway” microbiomes by selectively starving acid-producing Strep mutans rather than indiscriminately killing bacteria, and warns that harsh mouthwashes can disrupt beneficial oral bacteria linked to nitric oxide production and possibly blood pressure. Jones outlines Spry and Xlear products (gum, mints, toothpaste, mouthwash, dry-mouth “Rain,” and upcoming gummy candies, a new dental probiotic with added nutrients, and a direct-to-consumer oral bacteria test kit with pre/post tracking). He discusses diet, emphasizing sugar as a key driver of cavities and criticizing limited focus on sugar in a Surgeon General oral health report. In part two, Jones describes ongoing and planned legal actions against the FTC over shifting evidentiary standards and reputational damage, then reviews Xlear's allergy and respiratory approach via nasal hygiene, product tiers (regular, Max with quercetin, Rescue botanicals, and a decongestant), and a forthcoming ectoine-based spray to support mucus barrier integrity.

The FTC just notched its second win against the biggest roll-up in anesthesia history. Welsh Carson settled first. Now USAP. So who actually won, and who pays next? Joe Rodriguez sits down with Randy Moore and Gary Keeling for the kind of conversation that usually happens at the bar after the conference, not on the record. No "where did you go to school" warm-ups. Just three operators reading the headlines everyone else is misreading. Gary drops the frame that defines the episode: this is two Goliaths at war. Private equity built 70 percent market share with borrowed money. Insurers answered with the No Surprises Act and rate cuts. Now IDR is swinging back, hospitals are eating the shortfall through subsidies, and the FTC just stepped into the ring. Anesthesia providers are standing in the middle of all of it. Then the gloves come off on the anesthesiologist assistant fight. Sixty bills in thirty years. Gary says there's enough work for everybody and braces for the hate mail. Randy makes the case that should worry every workforce planner in the country: this shortage isn't a cycle anymore, it's structural, and it's not normalizing for five to seven years. Joe closes with the contrarian bet he's making with his own money. If you book the cases, staff the rooms, or sign the subsidy checks, this episode is your briefing. Takeaways The FTC win is a settlement, not a verdict. USAP admitted no fault and the terms are still being executed. The real signal is that the roll-up playbook now carries regulatory risk that didn't exist a decade ago. The Goliath framework: insurers wanted fragmented anesthesia markets they could play against each other. PE consolidated to fight back. The NSA flipped leverage to insurers, IDR is flipping it back, and hospitals absorb every swing through subsidies. PE's debt structure is the tell. Buy with borrowed money, load the debt onto the asset, run admin on a skeleton crew, jettison through bankruptcy when it breaks. Margin expectations beyond 6 to 15 percent in a service business are the warning sign. AA legislation has a 30-year losing record. Roughly 60 attempts, 47 straight failures from 2010 to 2019, and only 5 of 40 passed in 2025 during a historic shortage. If it was going to break through, that was the year. Randy's call: the workforce shortage is structural, not cyclical. Every CRNA program is expanding cohorts and demand still outruns supply. No meaningful normalization for five to seven years. The pipeline counterweight: 147 nurse anesthesia programs with 17 more coming. Joe's on the record preparing for demand growth to slow. Cycles always turn. Gary's operator test: the 2 percent of groups with excess staff aren't lucky, they built culture and systems. Everyone else is churning providers and renting locums at whatever price locums name. Want more Dr. Joe Rodriguez? Tik Tok: @jrodcrna21 Instagram: @jrod.crna & @abouttherestpod YouTube: @AboutTheRest Thanks for my co-hosts: Randall Mooore, DNP, MBA CRNA are Executive VP of Strategy and Chief Anesthetist Officer, former AANA CEO. Gary's is VP of Anesthesia Services, Revenue Cycle Management To Learn More about Human Content Visit: ⁠⁠⁠http://www.human-content.com⁠⁠⁠ To Learn More about About The Rest Visit: www.abouttherest.com Got a Question? hello@abouttherest.com Part of the Human Content Podcast Network Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are you wondering what's new in osteoporosis research for 2026? In this episode, I'm joined by my husband, Dr. Craig Bissinger, as we review the most exciting osteoporosis updates from 2026. We share insights from the Interdisciplinary Symposium on Osteoporosis in Washington, DC, covering everything from new medications and bone-building drugs to the latest research on estrogen therapy and early screening strategies. We discuss the FDA's new endpoint for drug approval, which could speed up the availability of new medications like the oral version of Forteo. We also review the removal of the estrogen black box warning, showing that for many women, the benefits outweigh the risks, especially for those under 60 or within 10 years of menopause. We also dive into bone turnover markers that track bone building and breakdown in real time, helping you see progress in months rather than years. Finally, we discuss new screening guidelines, early detection for women, and the importance of interdisciplinary care. Tune in to learn how you can be proactive in protecting and strengthening your bones.   "By changing the criteria for assessing the quality of the drug, they've chosen a different parameter, which is the Bone Mineral Density [BMD]...You're going to have a much more rapid evaluation, and henceforth new drugs will be able to come to the market earlier." ~ Dr. Craig Bissinger    In this episode: - [01:23] - FDA approves total hip BMD as endpoint for drug trials - [01:57] - Oral Forteo: First pill version of anabolic drug - [04:29] - Removal of estrogen black box warning and implications - [10:16] - Estrogen for bone health, heart, and colon protection - [11:36] - Short-course anabolic therapy vs. maintenance therapy - [16:35] - Importance of medication sequencing - [24:30] - Bone turnover markers for monitoring progress - [32:04] - New screening guidelines for women - [37:55] - Bone medication and cardiovascular risk - [40:07] - The use of AI in diagnostics - [43:18] - Interdisciplinary care and referrals to physical therapy   Resources - Get quality supplements from Margie's Fullscript Dispensary - https://tinyurl.com/paylesssupplements - Osteoporosis Exercises to Strengthen Your Bones and Prevent Fractures (video series) - https://tinyurl.com/strongerbonesexercises   More about Margie - Website - https://margiebissinger.com/  - Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/p/Margie-Bissinger-MS-PT-CHC-100063542905332/  - Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/margiebissinger/?hl=en    DISCLAIMER – The information presented on this podcast should not be construed as medical advice. It is not intended to replace consultation with your physician or healthcare provider. The ideas shared on this podcast are the expressed opinions of the guests and do not always reflect those of Margie Bissinger and Happy Bones, Happy Life Podcast.   *In compliance with the FTC guidelines, please assume the following about links on this site: Some of the links going to products are affiliate links of which I receive a small commission from sales of certain items, but the price is the same for you (sometimes, I even get to share a unique discount with you). If I post an affiliate link to a product, it is something that I personally use, support, and would recommend. I personally vet each and every product. My first priority is providing valuable information and resources to help you create positive changes in your health and bring more happiness into your life. I will only ever link to products or resources (affiliate or otherwise) that fit within this purpose.

Which fraudsters would you have dinner with? Most people would answer Bernie Madoff or Charles Ponzi. But how many of you would pick a famous fraud investigator? Our guest in this episode does!Michelle Tavares recently launched Standard and Proof Investigations, a litigation support focused on financial fraud, OSINT searches, corporate governance, and assessing the integrity of AI-produced data. Michelle discusses her career through consumer protection roles at the CFPB and the FTC, plus her long-standing focus on forensic accounting and following the flow of funds. In a speed round, she names Kate Ward, Pinkerton's first female private investigator. Connect with Michelle: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-t-59751427/

Alvaro Bedoya, senior advisor at the American Economic Liberties Project and former FTC commissioner, offers his opinion on how the Paramount - Warner Brothers Discovery mega merger will affect every day people and their jobs, and more on what he calls the pervasiveness of monopolies and their effects in the US today. Photo: The Paramount Pictures logo is displayed on the water tower in Los Angeles, California, on February 17, 2026. Paramount Skydance attempts a hostile takeover bid of Warner Bros. (Photo by Michael Yanow/NurPhoto via Getty Images)   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

One of the key economic levers the government can manipulate are in pursuit of anti-trust policy. On Today's Show:Alvaro Bedoya, senior advisor at the American Economic Liberties Project and former FTC commissioner, offers his opinion on how the Paramount - Warner Brothers Discovery mega merger will affect everyday people and their jobs, and more on what he calls the pervasiveness of monopolies and their effects in the US today. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

DOCKET ALERTS:   Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville is facing a residency challenge to his gubernatorial campaign.   The Justice Department dismissed a case seeking to enforce a moratorium on offshore and onshore windfarm permits. Instead they're buying back leases for windfarms, so that energy companies can develop natural gas plants in the midwest. Murica!   The DOJ is trying to take advantage of a half-assed plot to attack Trump's UFC to get the court to let him build his ballroom.    Doofus of the Day: Covid denier Alex Berenson, who got a $150,000 payout from the Trump administration because he got booted from Twitter in 2021.   MAIN SHOW:   It was an opinion day at SCOTUS, and every decision was authored by a bizarre coalition of justices. Of most interest was US v. Hemani, in which the Court held that regular marijuana use cannot be a reason to deny Americans the right to own a gun.   The US Attorneys Office in Minnesota announced conspiracy charges against protesters of the immigration surge into Minneapolis earlier this year. Like the Broadview 6 case, it's a transparent attempt to criminalize activities protected by the First Amendment and impose collective punishment on opponents of the administration's policies.   The Federal Trade Commission sued the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) in Texas, alleging that its Standards of Care document (SOC-8) violates Section 5 of the FTC Act.   SUBSCRIBERS: No FISA for you! Trump just blew up the deal to get FISA reauthorized and his new Director of National Intelligence confirmed.   Tuberville Residency Challenge [via ALReporter] https://www.alreporter.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Tuberville-Filings.pdf   US v. Hemani [Supreme Court] https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/24-1234_g2bh.pdf   Hunter v. US [Supreme Court] https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/24-1063_5ifl.pdf   T.M. v. Univ. of Maryland Medical System [Supreme Court] https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/25-197_bp7c.pdf   US v. Sant [MN protesters] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73489496/united-states-v-sant   FTC v. WPATH [docket via CourtListener] https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.txnd.421590/   WPATH SOC-8 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/26895269.2022.2100644   HHS's "Treatment for Pediatric Gender Dysphoria: Review of Evidence and Best Practices." https://opa.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/2025-11/gender-dysphoria-report.pdf Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod  

Healthcare marketing is leaving the glossy, corporate-ad era behind. What patients actually respond to now is real faces, real stories, and real expertise — and that's reshaping who gets a microphone in your marketing strategy.This week, we're breaking down a framework for healthcare influencer marketing built around three distinct buckets, each serving a different purpose: reach, trust, and content fuel.1. External Social Media Influencers (Buying the Audience): This is about borrowing an existing audience. You partner with established creators (lifestyle, parenting, wellness, or condition-specific) to break into demographics you haven't reached yet. The healthcare wrinkle: the FTC and FDA don't play around with disclosure, so #Ad labeling is mandatory, and you'll want to vet a creator's history to make sure nothing in their past content conflicts with your brand. CreatorIQ or Sprout Social both help with exactly this kind of audience and brand-safety vetting before you sign anything.2. Internal Brand Experts (The "OG Medfluencers"): Your own doctors, nurses, researchers, and therapists who are already building an audience bring something no outside partnership can buy: built-in clinical credibility and hyper-local trust. Because they're still employees, they need clear boundaries between personal opinion and your organization's official position, along with genuine support like studio time and compliance help. Tools like EveryoneSocial or DSMN8 make it easy to push pre-approved, legally cleared content straight to your internal team so they can share with confidence.3. User-Generated Content (UGC): Rather than paying for someone's following, UGC means sourcing the raw, unscripted content patients are already creating (recovery journeys, clinic walkthroughs, unboxings) and putting it to work across your owned and paid channels. The one rule you can't skip: a HIPAA-compliant release form before any patient face or story touches paid media. Archive.com automatically captures organic content your brand gets tagged in, while Bounty and Skeepers help you run micro-campaigns for content that's pre-licensed and ready for ads from the start.The takeaway: external influencers expand your reach, internal experts close the trust gap, and UGC delivers the content that actually performs!For more on this topic, check out episode 107: Influencer Marketing in Healthcare.Connect with Jenny:Email: jenny@hedyandhopp.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennybristow/If you enjoyed this episode, we'd love to hear your feedback! Please consider leaving us a review on your preferred listening platform and sharing it with others.

In this episode of The Consumer Finance Podcast, Chris Willis sits down with Jason Cover and Colin Wilson to discuss the evolving world of auto-renewal and subscription compliance, including the FTC's click-to-cancel rule, its Eighth Circuit setback, and the states racing to fill the gap. They also spotlight a first-of-its-kind municipal rule proposed by New York City and explain why, even in a deregulatory environment, UDAP authority and ROSCA mean the compliance pressure hasn't gone anywhere. If your business involves subscriptions, recurring billing, or point-of-sale financing, this is a conversation you can't afford to miss. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The ActBlue Scandal: What Are They Hiding?

Think hidden fees, fake discounts, rebate games, mandatory add-ons, and vehicles advertised at prices you can't actually get are just part of buying a car?The FTC doesn't think so.In this episode, The Car Chick® breaks down the six dealership advertising and pricing practices the FTC says may violate federal consumer protection laws. But before we get into the legal stuff, I share a real-life dealership fiasco that happened while shopping for a military family's Ford Transit van — a deal that took three days to put together before it completely blew up over a discount that apparently didn't apply.We'll cover:The six pricing and advertising practices the FTC is targetingHidden fees, fake discounts, rebate stacking, and financing gamesWhy dealer add-on packages may be the next battlegroundWhat the FTC Act actually saysWhy the CARS Rule was overturnedWhy the FTC isn't handing out $53,088 fines left and rightHow dealership pricing transparency is improving — and where the bullshittery has migratedWhat consumers should look for before signing on the dotted line5 Things to Watch for When Car Shopping Right NowGet an out-the-door quote in writing.Do your homework on rebates, financing requirements, and add-ons.Verify the vehicle is actually available.Don't assume "transparent pricing" means "best price."If a deal looks dramatically better than every other similar vehicle, get suspicious before you get excited.ResourcesFTC Consumer Complaint Center:https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/Stay ConnectedSign up for The Straight Shift newsletter and get consumer-focused automotive news, car buying tips, and industry updates delivered straight to your inbox:www.TheCarChick.comYou can view a full list of resources and episode transcripts here. Connect with LeeAnn:WebsiteInstagramFacebookYouTubeWork with LeeAnn:Course: The No BS Guide to Buying a CarCar Buying ServiceCopyright ©2024 Women's Automotive Solutions Inc., dba The Car Chick.  All rights reserved.

Cybersecurity Today host David Shipley reports that the FTC says Americans lost $3.5 billion to imposter scams in 2025—nearly triple 2020—with social media tied to $2.1 billion in losses and total fraud reaching about $16 billion, while the FBI estimates cyber-enabled losses nearer $21 billion and potentially far higher. Security researchers, including Katie Moussouris, argue the U.S. government's forced Anthropic model shutdown over an alleged guardrail bypass was hasty and largely about prompt phrasing, with Axios citing personality differences as a driver. The DOJ seized deepfake pornography sites cfake.com and sock.com under the Take It Down Act after a three-country operation involving Italy and France. Finally, Varonis details "SearchLeak" (CVE-2026-42824), a now-fixed critical Copilot attack chain enabling one-click data exfiltration via prompt injection, a sanitizer race condition, and CSP bypass through Bing. 00:00 Today's Cyber Headlines 00:29 Imposter Scams Surge 01:29 Fraud on Social Platforms 02:47 Anthropic Jailbreak Debate 04:15 Export Controls Fallout 05:05 DOJ Seizes Deepfake Sites 06:44 SearchLeak Copilot Attack 07:36 How SearchLeak Works 09:18 Why Old Bugs Return 10:08 Wrap Up and Sign Off

SUMMARY DEL SHOW Futuros mixtos este miércoles mientras el mercado espera la decisión de tasas de la Fed, la primera bajo Kevin Warsh, con el petróleo todavía presionado a la baja por el acuerdo entre EE.UU. e Irán. $ASTS sube 6% tras el lanzamiento exitoso de tres nuevos satélites BlueBird, los arreglos comerciales más grandes puestos en órbita baja hasta ahora. $AMZN enfrenta una posible demanda de la FTC por publicidad, mientras $UBER, $LCID y Nuro elevan la apuesta de los robotaxis llevando su segundo mercado a Houston.

On this episode of The Ty Brady Way, Ty sits down with Jeff Shafritz, a franchise consultant who has spent his entire career in franchising and has been helping people find the right business opportunity for over 20 years. Jeff started out selling season tickets for the Georgetown Hoyas, stumbled into franchise development at Athlete's Foot in Atlanta, worked his way up to Director of Franchise Development of the Americas, and then had the rug pulled out from under him on September 11th, 2001, thirteen days after his first son was born. He was in a new city with nothing lined up. That's when franchise consulting started, and he hasn't looked back since. What makes Jeff different from most people in his space is that he doesn't think of himself as a salesperson. He thinks of himself as a matchmaker, closer to a buyer's real estate agent than a traditional sales rep. His job is to figure out whether franchising is even the right path for someone, and if it is, to find the specific opportunity that fits their goals, their skillset, their investment range, and the kind of life they actually want to live. He gets paid by the franchisor, not the candidate, and because franchising is regulated by the FTC, the fee is the same no matter how someone finds their franchise. Working with Jeff costs nothing extra and gets you someone in your corner who has no incentive to push you toward the wrong fit. Ty and Jeff get into what actually separates elite performers from average ones in this business. Jeff's answer is simple: consistency and not chasing the deal. The people who burn out or wash out are the ones focused on closing something, anything, just to get paid. Jeff's whole model is built on doing right by the person in front of him, even when that means telling someone they shouldn't buy a business at all. He had that exact conversation recently with someone who had the money but not the motivation. He told them to walk away. That kind of honesty is what's built his referral base over two decades. One of the most honest moments in this conversation is when Jeff admits that even he was terrified when he finally bought his own fitness franchise. He had spent his entire career helping other people through that anxiety, and then when it was his turn to sign, he froze. His wife had to sit him down and remind him that this was literally his area of expertise. It's a good reminder that fear doesn't care how much you know. It shows up anyway, and the goal isn't to eliminate it. It's to do the work, make the informed decision, and move forward anyway. They also get into a conversation that a lot of parents need to hear: the real cost comparison between sending a kid to college who doesn't know what they want versus putting that same money into a low-overhead franchise. Jeff has worked with families spending $120,000 to $250,000 on a four-year degree for a kid who isn't sure what they want to study. For that same investment, someone could open a business, build real equity, and walk away four years later with something worth selling. He's not anti-college. He's pro-options, and he makes the case clearly. The story that sticks from this conversation is a client Jeff worked with during the 2008 recession. The guy had lost a significant amount of money in real estate, had very little left, and refused to go work for someone else. Jeff helped him find an in-home senior care franchise. Within a few years, that business was generating serious cash flow and eventually sold for multiple millions of dollars. Jeff calls it a resurrection story, and it's the kind of outcome that keeps him doing what he does. His message to anyone sitting on the fence about business ownership is straightforward: you don't have to figure this out alone, and you don't have to pay for the help. The conversation is free. The only question is whether you're ready to have it.  

Today on CarEdge Live, Ray and Zach discuss the latest on FTC air pricing compliance live from Washington DC. Tune in to learn more! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Could the electromagnetic fields (EMFs) in your environment be affecting your bone health? In this episode, I'm joined by Valerie Burke, also known as the "Shungite Queen," to explore the potential impact of EMFs on bone health and how shungite, a rare carbon-based rock from Russia, may help mitigate those effects. We discuss the science, history, and properties of shungite, including its molecular structure with fullerenes and its unique interaction with electromagnetic fields. Valerie explains the ways EMFs may adversely affect bone health, including voltage-gated calcium channels, bone marrow interference, thyroid disruption, and decreased melatonin production. She also walks us through different grades of shungite, how to recognize authentic pieces, and practical tips for using it in daily life, whether as jewelry, desktop pieces, or even infused in water. I also share my own curiosity and personal experiences with keeping shungite near my workspace to create a more grounding and protective environment.  This conversation will help you make informed choices about EMF exposure while exploring innovative ways to support bone health, wellness, and stress reduction. "Shungite water is another way you can use shungite for your health, for just the fullerenes, the carbon 60, and the detox properties. Elite Shungite sort of energizes the water in a way that nothing else can." ~ Valerie Burke, MSN   In this episode: - [02:55] - What is shungite? Origins and molecular properties - [05:34] - How EMFs affect bones: voltage-gated calcium channels - [08:29] - Bone marrow, thyroid, and melatonin disruption - [12:06] - Various grades of shungite and how to identify genuine shungite - [15:31] - Placement strategies: desk, jewelry, and energy fields - [21:21] - Valerie's backstory and how she discovered shungite  - [23:41] - Stories from shungite users  - [30:04] - Valerie's osteoporosis story  - [38:26] - Shungite water infusion and its detox benefits   Resources - Osteoporosis Exercises to Strengthen Your Bones and Prevent Fractures - tinyurl.com/osteoporosisexercises - Valerie's Shungite product collection (Use coupon code Happybones for 10% discount - one use per customer. This discount runs from 6/16/26 to 7/5/26) - https://shungitequeen.com/discount/Happybones?redirect=%2Fcollections%2Fevergreen  - Link to article with research on EMFs and bone health -  https://shungitequeen.com/blogs/shungify/4-ways-emfs-damage-bones-how-to-protect-your-health   More about Margie - Website - https://margiebissinger.com/  - Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/p/Margie-Bissinger-MS-PT-CHC-100063542905332/  - Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/margiebissinger/?hl=en    DISCLAIMER – The information presented on this podcast should not be construed as medical advice. It is not intended to replace consultation with your physician or healthcare provider. The ideas shared on this podcast are the expressed opinions of the guests and do not always reflect those of Margie Bissinger and Happy Bones, Happy Life Podcast. *In compliance with the FTC guidelines, please assume the following about links on this site: Some of the links going to products are affiliate links of which I receive a small commission from sales of certain items, but the price is the same for you (sometimes, I even get to share a unique discount with you). If I post an affiliate link to a product, it is something that I personally use, support, and would recommend. I personally vet each and every product. My first priority is providing valuable information and resources to help you create positive changes in your health and bring more happiness into your life. I will only ever link to products or resources (affiliate or otherwise) that fit within this purpose.

Episode #1372: Paul's in DC today for the CBT News Auto Leadership Summit on Fair Pricing and Compliance, and we're talking about how much the industry has (or hasn't) shifted since the FTC put 97 dealers on notice. Plus, when an AI chatbot overquotes ...

In this episode of Fraudology, Karisse Hendrick provides a comprehensive debrief following the Merchant Risk Council (MRC) Vegas conference. Karisse shares her highlights and lowlights from one of the industry's biggest events, cutting through the conference hype to provide practical insights for fraud and payments professionals.The conversation explores the evolving mechanics of Agentic AI in commerce, detailing how tools like Sardine are now identifying AI agents by monitoring "invisible" behaviors, such as fields being filled without mouse movement. Karisse provides an inside look at why OpenAI recently shelved its "instant checkout" feature, moving away from being a merchant of record to avoid the liability of chargebacks and complex transaction enablement.We also explore the "hot topics" dominating the fraud landscape today:The VAMP Threshold "Cliff": How Visa is drastically reducing high-risk merchant ratios from 220 basis points to 150 basis points this April, potentially catching many enterprise merchants off guard.The Complexity of Agentic Chargebacks: Real-world examples of "authorized" AI purchases where merchants are losing disputes because card brands like Visa do not yet have established "compelling evidence" protocols for AI agents.The Human Element vs. AI: Why senior fraud leadership cannot be replaced by LLMs, as the critical "domain expertise" required to manage sophisticated fraud is not found in open-source data.Additionally, Karisse dives into the latest FTC fraud statistics, revealing a staggering 430% increase in fraud since 2020. We break down the $375 million jury verdict against Meta in New Mexico, a historic win for child safety that challenges the long-standing "Section 230" liability shield. Finally, we examine a Reuters study uncovering how Meta's ability to block scam ads depends almost entirely on the financial liability they face in specific countries.

In this episode of the Used Car Dealer Podcast, Zach sits down with Jeff Martin, CEO of the National Independent Automobile Dealers Association (NIADA), to preview the upcoming NIADA Convention & Expo in Denver and discuss the biggest issues facing independent dealers today. Jeff shares what makes this year's Denver event unique, from NIADA's education-focused breakout sessions and networking opportunities to a closing general session covering the China wave, TikTok, and how dealers can connect with the next generation of buyers. He also explains why affordability, inventory, and FTC advertising-price expectations are among the most urgent topics dealers are asking NIADA to address. The conversation also covers wholesale trends, incoming EV supply from rental and lease channels, how dealers are adapting to high interest rates, and why liquidity matters more than ever. Jeff also shares his perspective on AI adoption, the misconception that AI is simply coming to take jobs, and why education is the biggest opportunity for independent dealers right now. Zach and Jeff also discuss NIADA's advocacy work around right to repair, universal title, compliance support, government relations, and the association's evolving role through boot camps, webinars, state association partnerships, and the return of the Certified Master Dealer Program. Jeff closes with why he remains optimistic about the resilience of independent dealers and how members can get more involved with NIADA.

If you've ever told yourself "I'm too small to worry about trademarks," this episode is the wake-up call. Kelly sits down with trademark and IP attorney Berkeley Sweetapple — the rare lawyer who makes legal genuinely fun — to break down why protecting your brand isn't a someday problem, it's a business growth investment you make early. Kelly opens up about the most expensive lesson of her career. when she figured she was too small and insignificant to bother with a trademark, and ended up needing a full rebrand across thousands of files, podcasts, and videos, millions of dollars lost, and years of focus pulled off growth. Berkeley shares how she went from "most likely to quit law and become a housewife" to building a law firm serving online entrepreneurs, and gets into where IP is heading in the age of AI. Celebrities like Taylor Swift and Matthew McConaughey are already trademarking phrases, faces, and likenesses to control how their persona shows up online, and Berkeley explains why the law is always playing catch-up while AI moves at full speed. Berkley shares why everything in your business probably needs a legal refresh after the changes of the last couple years, and where to start if you're mid-panic. The common denominator: if you stay in business long enough, these things will happen to you. The move is to get the right people in place early, stay in your CEO energy, delegate the legal, and build the systems so you can keep moving the company forward. In this episode: Kelly's Unstoppable Entrepreneur lawsuit and the cost of trademarking too late How Berkeley turned a legal lifestyle blog into a law firm for online founders Trademarking your likeness, face, and voice as AI reshapes IP Real trademark horror stories (and one big USPTO win) What a legal VIP day / audit actually covers Why your business is probably exposed after recent changes Kelly's partnership cautionary tale Staying in CEO energy: delegate legal, build systems, expect the hard stuff Timestamps 00:00 — Cold open: Kelly's Unstoppable Entrepreneur trademark story 00:44 — Welcome and introducing Berkeley, the "fun lawyer," and trademarking for Madison 01:56 — Berkeley's path: law school, a legal lifestyle blog, and finding her niche 04:06 — Trademarking your likeness, face, and voice in the age of AI 06:42 — Can you trademark your voice? Why the law is always behind 08:47 — Trademark horror stories (the conference and the 25K-follower takedown) 10:08 — Kelly's story: the Unstoppable Entrepreneur lawsuit with Entrepreneur Magazine 12:54 — The FTC scare, the company audit, and the Miracle Hour earnings disclaimer 15:30 — What a legal VIP day covers: audit, copyright, contracts, disclaimers 17:25 — Why everything in your business changed, and where you're now exposed 19:13 — Client win: getting Julie Solomon's Influencer Podcast trademarked after a refusal 20:22 — Where to start if you're having an "oh no" moment 21:03 — The Seven Figure CEO Bundle and code KELLY20 22:24 — Kelly's partnership cautionary tale 24:08 — "If these things aren't happening to you, you're not playing big enough" 25:58 — Staying in CEO energy: delegate legal, build the systems 26:51 — Closing: trademark before you need it, and licensing the Miracle Hour   RESOURCES:  Connect with Berkley on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/berkleysweetapple/  Check out Berkley's trademark packages HERE: https://berkleysweetapplelaw.com/trademarks/#start  Schedule a VIP day: https://berkleysweetapplelaw.com/vip-day/#start  Get Berkley's 7-figure CEO Bundle: https://www.thebusinessstudio.com/pages/7-figure-ceo-bundle  Schedule a free discovery call: https://berkleysweetapple.as.me/schedule/72c2f17c/appointment/41570219/calendar/13957087?calendarIds=13957087 

In this episode of the Audiobook Lovin Series, we're diving into one of the most important ways listeners can support authors, narrators, and publishers, reviews. Whether you're new to reviewing audiobooks or a seasoned ALC team member, we'll discuss what makes a review helpful, why it's important to credit narrators, what information listeners are actually looking for, and why simply repeating the book blurb doesn't help fellow readers. We'll also break down FTC disclosure requirements, explain why transparency matters, and discuss what reviewers need to know when sharing recommendations and promotional content. If you've ever wondered how a few sentences can make a big impact in the audiobook community, this episode is for you. Visit Viviana, Enchantress of Books: Support the podcast by becoming a patreon at www.patreon.com/AudiobookLovin or Buy Me A Coffee: www.buymeacoffee.com/enchantresspr We hope you have enjoyed this production of The Audiobook Lovin' Podcast. Topic: Audiobook Reviews Matter: How to Write Helpful Reviews & Understanding FTC Disclosure Requirements Host: Viviana Izzo Podcast Intro & Outro: Xavier Blade Editor: Viviana Izzo This has been an Audiobook Lovin' production part of the Audiobook Lovin Network. Copyright 2017 by Viviana Izzo, Enchantress of Books. Production Copyright 2017 by Audiobook Lovin'. Audiobook Lovin' Series, The Audiobook Lovin Podcast is a division of Viviana, Enchantress of Books. Please visit Viviana, Enchantress of Books to learn more about the Audiobook Lovin' Series. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, modified, copied, distributed, repackaged, shared, displayed, revealed, extracted, emailed, transmitted, sold or otherwise transferred, conveyed or used, in a manner inconsistent with the Agreement, or rights of the copyright owner. You shall not redistribute, repackage, transmit, assign, sell, broadcast, rent, share, lend, modify, extract, reveal, adapt, edit, sub-license or otherwise transfer the Content. You are not granted any synchronization, public performance, promotional use, commercial sale, resale, reproduction or distribution rights for the Content. For permission requests, please visit Viviana, Enchantress of Books for more information.

Just in time for Pride month, Marsha Blackburn and the Heritage Foundation's anti-LGBTQ censorship is back (now supported by OpenAI). SUPPORT MY WORK: Buy a paid subscription to my newsletter at usermag.co     Support my work on Patreon: http://patreon.com/taylorlorenz    The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) is back, and this time, the White House is reportedly negotiating a deal to pass it in exchange for federal preemption of state AI laws. In this episode of Free Speech Friday, I break down why KOSA is one of the most dangerous internet censorship bills in Congress, why tech billionaires like Sam Altman and Elon Musk actually SUPPORT it, and what the media is getting completely wrong about this so-called "trade-off."I'm joined by Ari Cohn, one of the top First Amendment lawyers in the country, to explain exactly how KOSA's "duty of care" provision will force platforms to mass-censor content, including LGBTQ voices, mental health support communities, reproductive health information, and more. We cover the junk science behind the social media moral panic, the age verification privacy nightmare, how the FTC could become the internet's censor-in-chief, and why we've seen this exact panic before with comic books, video games, and television.Click the link below to take action now!!! https://www.badinternetbills.com In this video, we cover:What the Kids Online Safety Act actually doesHow KOSA could impact social media platformsAge verification and online privacy issuesThe potential effects on LGBTQ communities, mental health resources, and online speechWhy Elon Musk and OpenAI support KOSA.The reality of age verification and the death of online privacy.How KOSA targets niche communities and support groups.

Rear-view cameras that go dark, airbags that don't behave the way you expect, and screens that blank out at the worst time, that's where we start. We run through a packed list of new vehicle recalls and talk about what they mean in plain English: what's affected, why it matters, and the simple step every owner should take right now (hint: check your VIN and get on the schedule before it becomes a roadside story).From there, we jump into the most addictive kind of car talk: real auction results. We use Hemmings online sales to play “guess the price,” bouncing from a head-turning 1957 Cadillac Eldorado to a 1967 Corvette convertible, a clean two-door 1999 Tahoe, a vintage Land Rover, a 1955 Buick Super, and even a Cobra-style build. Along the way, we break down the collector car market signals that actually move the numbers like condition, originality, drivetrains, and why some “everyman” vehicles are suddenly not so cheap.We wrap with automotive news you can use: U.S. auto sales holding steady under inflation pressure, new global SUV launches and rebadging rumors, Mitsubishi's plan for a Nissan-sourced mid-size pickup, and a jaw-dropping story about an $80,000 Camaro stolen twice in five days. We also talk Toyota's sales dip as buyers wait for redesigns, the surge in hybrids, and why FTC warnings plus customer reviews are a smart early warning system for bait-and-switch dealer behavior. If you like practical advice mixed with car culture and a few laughs, subscribe, share the show with a car friend, and leave us a review.Be sure to subscribe for more In Wheel Time Car Talk!The Lupe' Tortilla RestaurantsLupe Tortilla in Katy, Texas Gulf Coast Auto ShieldPaint protection, tint, and more!Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.----  ----- Want more In Wheel Time car talk any time?     In Wheel Time is now available on Audacy!  Just go to Audacy.com/InWheelTime where ever you are.-----   -----Be sure to subscribe on your favorite podcast provider for the next episode of In Wheel Time Podcast and check out our live multiplatform broadcast every Saturday, 10a - 12nCT simulcasting on Audacy, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Twitch and InWheelTime.com.In Wheel Time Podcast can be heard on you mobile device from providers such as:Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music Podcast, Spotify, SiriusXM Podcast, iHeartRadio podcast, TuneIn + Alexa, Podcast Addict, Castro, Castbox, YouTube Podcast and more on your mobile device.Follow InWheelTime.com for the latest updates!Twitter: https://twitter.com/InWheelTimeInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/inwheeltime/https://www.youtube.com/inwheeltimehttps://www.Facebook.com/InWheelTimeFor more information about In Wheel Time Podcast, email us at info@inwheeltime.com

Episode 109 - Ending Sexploitation Podcast Dani Pinter, Esq. (Chief Legal Officer and Director of the NCOSE Law Center) is joined by Khari James, Esq. (Senior Legal Counsel at the NCOSE Law Center) to discuss the recent FTC complaint that was filed by Fairplay and NCOSE over the harms that have happened – and continue to happen – on Roblox. They chat about the details of what Roblox is, what the concerns have been in the past, and what still needs to change for Roblox to be safe for kids and families today.     Read about the FTC Complaint: https://tinyurl.com/mpuz9kxp  PARENTS! Get more resources at our newly launched Parent Center: https://ParentCenter.org/  Join us in telling Big Tech: "Don't Mess With Our Kids!" - https://EndSexualExploitation.org/Donate/  

Every deal document tells a story, and in an antitrust merger review, overbroad and imprecise language can cost you months of investigation and millions of dollars in legal fees. In this Committed Capital Sidecar episode, Dechert antitrust attorneys Rani Habash, Brian Hanna and Greg Luib draw on their combined experience at the firm, the FTC and the DOJ to break down the "hot documents" that attract unwanted regulatory attention and explain how companies can better prepare for their next merger filing.

What can a $35 million settlement teach companies about subscription billing, auto-renewals, and cancellation practices? In this episode, we unpack the FTC's case against Shutterstock, which resulted in one of the agency's largest recent settlements over alleged negative option marketing violations. The complaint alleges that Shutterstock failed to clearly disclose automatic renewals and cancellation fees, did not obtain consumers' express informed consent for recurring charges, and made it unnecessarily difficult to cancel subscriptions. As regulators continue to focus on auto-renewal programs, recurring billing, and “click-to-cancel” principles, the case serves as a powerful reminder that businesses must ensure material terms are clear, consent is meaningful, and cancellation is as straightforward as enrollment. Hosted by Simone Roach. Based on a blog post by Gonzalo E. Mon.

Many women are not aware that the pelvic floor plays a key role in stabilization, posture, and overall bone health, whether you lift weights, practice balance exercises, or simply want to move confidently. In this episode, I'm joined by Isa Herrera, a licensed physical therapist and pelvic floor expert, to discuss why your pelvic floor is essential for strong bones. We explore common mistakes women make, such as ignoring the connection between the core, fascia, and the pelvic floor. Isa walks us through exercises like the transverse hold, baby Kegels, and reverse Kegels, demonstrating how to safely strengthen the pelvic floor and integrate it into your strength training program. By combining proper pelvic floor activation with targeted strength and stabilization exercises, you can reduce incontinence, improve posture, prevent injury, and enhance bone health. This conversation provides simple strategies you can start using today to strengthen your pelvic floor and support your bones for the long term.   "When women take ownership of their pelvic and bone health, their whole lives change. And all of a sudden, they're happier, they're more confident, and they're doing the things they love." ~ Isa Herrera, MSPT, CSCS   In this episode: - [03:17] - Why the pelvic floor is critical for bone health - [05:08] - Exercises to avoid: traditional crunches, heavy lifting, ballistic moves - [08:16] - Testing and correcting diastasis recti - [11:36] - The transverse hold: foundation exercise for the pelvic floor - [15:05] - Common pelvic floor issues and their impact on exercise and bones - [21:41] - Kegel exercises: technique and visualization - [26:49] - Full-body Kegel and pelvic brace: combining breath, fascia, and core - [33:31] - Adjusting exercises for symptoms: leaking, prolapse, pain   Resources - On-demand pelvic floor masterclass - https://www.lk10ppt.com/2T4B5B1/2PKWQ8/?uid=304 - Vaginal Dryness eBook - https://www.lk10ppt.com/2T4B5B1/2PKWQ8/?uid=305  - Margie's More Natural Approaches to Exercise and Bone Health Summit (free to watch for 8 days) - https://www.happyboneshappylife.com/osteoporosis-bone-health-summit.  - Get quality supplements at Margie's Fullscript dispensary - https://tinyurl.com/supplementsforless   More about Margie - Website - https://margiebissinger.com/  - Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/p/Margie-Bissinger-MS-PT-CHC-100063542905332/  - Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/margiebissinger/?hl=en    DISCLAIMER – The information presented on this podcast should not be construed as medical advice. It is not intended to replace consultation with your physician or healthcare provider. The ideas shared on this podcast are the expressed opinions of the guests and do not always reflect those of Margie Bissinger and Happy Bones, Happy Life Podcast. *In compliance with the FTC guidelines, please assume the following about links on this site: Some of the links going to products are affiliate links of which I receive a small commission from sales of certain items, but the price is the same for you (sometimes, I even get to share a unique discount with you). If I post an affiliate link to a product, it is something that I personally use, support, and would recommend. I personally vet each and every product. My first priority is providing valuable information and resources to help you create positive changes in your health and bring more happiness into your life. I will only ever link to products or resources (affiliate or otherwise) that fit within this purpose.

What actually constitutes a network marketing lifestyle claim? Most distributors think they understand compliance…but they really don't. In this episode, Todd Falcone breaks down one of the most misunderstood areas of compliance in network marketing and social media marketing. Inside this training, you'll learn: What the FTC considers a lifestyle claim Why implication matters just as much as direct statements Common social media posts that can create compliance issues Why fake lifestyle marketing damages the profession The difference between inspiration and implication How to market effectively WITHOUT crossing the line What leaders and companies need to understand moving forward If you're serious about building your business long term, protecting your credibility, and learning how to market professionally, this is a must-watch episode. Watch more and learn how to execute at a higher level here: Execution Lab #NetworkMarketing #LifestyleClaims #FTCCompliance #MLMCompliance #ToddFalcone #NetworkMarketingTraining #SocialMediaMarketing #ExecutionLab #NetworkMarketingLeadership Additional Resources for you: Know EXACTLY What to Say in EVERY Situation as a Network Marketer and Never, Ever Be at a Loss for Words Again https://ToddFalcone.com/guide Facebook: | https://facebook.com/thefearlessnetworker Instagram: | https://www.instagram.com/toddfalcone/ LinkedIn: | https://www.linkedin.com/in/toddfalcone/ ————————— ABOUT TODD FALCONE ————————— Todd Falcone is known for his raw, real, and highly actionable approach to teaching network marketers how to build long term success. With more than two decades in the field, he trains on prospecting, closing, leadership, and the mindset required to build a business that lasts. To book Todd for an event, webinar, or corporate training, visit: https://ToddFalcone.com/speaking

Another MLM is in hot water again with the FTC! This time it's Amare Global Holdings Inc. for alleged health and incomes claims! So Mr. F and I did what we do best when MLMs are accused of something we definitely know they did... we decided to prove it. All of the pieces of evidence presented in today's episode were found the day after this press release was dropped, leading me to believe that no one truly knows what's going over over at Amare on any given day.Show NotesSources used for evidence are being kept confidential due to the nature of legal proceedings and hun's who dirty delete. But I got SS/URLs if you need!FTC Sues to Stop Amare GlobalFTC sues AmareThe Influence ContinuumOut of MLM⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The BITE Model⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LAMLM Book Club⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠MLM Dupes⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠How can you help?⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠MLM Change⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Report Fraud⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Truth in Advertising⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Report to your state Attorney General's office!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Not in the U.S.? No Problem!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Support the Podcast!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Buy Me a Taco⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Merch!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Life After MLM is produced by Roberta Blevins. Audio editing is done by the lovely⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Kayla Craven⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, video editing by the indescribable⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ RK Gold⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Michelle Carpenter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ is our Triple Emerald Princess of Robots. Life After MLM is owned by Roberta Blevins 2026.Music : Abstract World by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Alexi Action⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠*Some links may be affiliate links. When you purchase things from these links, I get a small commission that I use to buy us tacos.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

From birthright citizenship to the independence of federal agencies, the Supreme Court is poised to decide a series of cases that could redefine the balance of power in Washington. Yale legal scholar and New York Times Magazine staff writer Emily Bazelon joins Ian Bremmer to assess what's at stake and whether the judiciary remains an effective check on presidential authority. Bazelon argues that Trump's effort to end birthright citizenship is unlikely to succeed, but says other pending cases involving the Federal Reserve and the Federal Trade Commission could significantly expand presidential control over agencies that Congress intentionally designed to operate independently. "I think it's very likely the court will rule in the president's favor," she says of the FTC case. The conversation also examines the Court's recent decisions on tariffs and voting rights, including a ruling that further weakened protections against partisan gerrymandering. Bazelon argues that the consequences extend beyond individual cases, contributing to a broader perception that the Court is becoming increasingly political. Yet despite declining public trust, Bazelon sees reasons for cautious optimism. While Congress has largely failed to constrain executive power, she argues that the judiciary, particularly the lower courts, has repeatedly pushed back against actions that exceed legal authority. The bigger question is whether those guardrails will continue to hold as the Court confronts some of the most consequential constitutional disputes still ahead. Subscribe to the GZERO World with Ian Bremmer Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred podcast platform, to receive new episodes as soon as they're published. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On today's show, we dive into the cost structure of audio speakers. We start with an article that asks whether 'audiophile' speaker brands are milking you for $20,000. We also read your emails and cover the week's news. News: Important update to your DIRECTV account SVS Auto EQ Room Correction for R|Evolution Subwoofers YouTube TV adds Fox One, Peacock to Primetime Channels store Other: Monoprice Alpha In-Wall Speaker There's never been a better time to grab a new Google TV launcher Are 'Audiophile' Speaker Brands Are Milking You for $20,000 The listeners keep delivering great ideas for show topics. This week Mike LaBorde sent in an article published at headphonesty.com entitled A Former FTC Economist Quit His Job to Prove 'Audiophile' Speaker Brands Are Milking You for $20,000.  The author talks about how a former FTC economist quit his job to design and build affordable high-performance speakers.  He argued that many premium audiophile brands are significantly overpriced because they use similar OEM drivers from the same factories while charging massive markups for branding, cabinets, and dealer margins. We'll break down this article into five points we felt were interesting. The full article is linked and you may want to read it for more details. Many premium audiophile speaker brands rely on the same small group of OEM driver manufacturers (like Sinar Baja/SB Acoustics, SEAS (Scandinavian Electro Acoustic Systems), Scan-Speak, etc.). The same factories and engineering talent supply drivers to both high-end and mainstream brands, even when the final speakers carry vastly different logos and price tags. "Custom" or "proprietary" drivers are often overstated. Most brands customize only the "soft parts" (cone, surround, voice coil) on top of standard off-the-shelf "hard parts" from OEM suppliers, rather than designing and building drivers entirely from scratch. Pricing of speakers — The actual cost of the drivers is a tiny fraction of the retail price. In the Wilson Audio Yvette example, the three drivers cost roughly $530–$580 total, representing only about 2% of the $25,000+ selling price. The vast majority of the cost comes from cabinetry, finish, dealer margins (40-50%), distribution, marketing, and brand prestige, with a typical 5x markup from manufacturing cost to retail. Only a few brands truly manufacture their own drivers in-house. Companies like Focal, KEF, Dynaudio, Paradigm, and Bowers & Wilkins are exceptions. Most premium brands outsource driver production due to the high cost and complexity of vertical integration. High performance doesn't require extreme prices. Former FTC economist Dennis Murphy's Philharmonic Audio proves this by offering well-engineered speakers (like the $850/pair Ceramic Mini using quality SB Acoustics drivers) with minimal overhead, direct sales, and no lavish dealer/showroom costs — challenging the idea that great sound must come with five-figure price tags. The article essentially argues that much of the ultra-premium speaker market is driven more by branding and distribution economics than by revolutionary driver technology. What is the Cost Breakdown of Thousand Dollar Speakers? After going through the previous article we wondered what the actual cost breakdown of Passive bookshelf speakers retailing at $1,000 per pair? ThinkKEF Q series, ELAC Debut Reference, or similar mid to high end consumer hi-fi brands. They balance good performance with accessible pricing.  What follows is our best estimation based on the data we uncovered. If you are in the industry and have better data, please let us know and we will update this analysis. Sources for this analysis include - Audio Science Review, AVS Forum, WhatHifi, headphonesty.com, hubhifi, and a few others.  1. Design & Development (R&D) – Upfront Investment Typical cost: $50,000–$250,000+ for a new model line. Includes acoustic modeling, driver selection/tuning, crossover design, enclosure simulation, multiple prototypes, listening tests, and anechoic chamber measurements. For this price tier, brands often use a mix of off-the-shelf and mildly customized drivers rather than fully bespoke high-end ones.   Amortization: Spread over production volume and for this exercise we used a production run of 5,000–20,000 pairs. This adds roughly $5–$25 per pair at a reasonable scale. 2. Prototyping & Tooling Prototypes: 5–15 iterations at $300–$1,200 each which include custom cabinets, driver samples, hand-assembled crossovers. Tooling: CNC molds/jigs for cabinets, baffle cutting, or vinyl wrap tooling: $8,000–$40,000 upfront. Amortized to $2–$10 per pair. 3. Bill of Materials (BOM) – The Biggest Per-Unit Cost For a typical 2-way passive bookshelf (6.5" woofer + 1" tweeter) at this price point: Drivers - $80–$180 - 6.5" coated paper woofer (~$30–$70 ea.), soft dome or aluminum tweeter (~$15–$50 ea.). Brands like SEAS, SB Acoustics, or custom OEM. Cabinet -  $60-$130, - Braced MDF (18–25mm), vinyl wrap or basic veneer, internal damping, port tube, terminals. Real wood veneer adds premium. Crossover - $30-$80 - 2nd/3rd order with air-core inductors, film capacitors, resistors. Higher quality parts (Mundorf-level) push toward the upper end. Other (grille, wiring, hardware, terminals) - $20-$50 - Magnetic grilles, internal wiring, binding posts. Total BOM per pair: $190–$440 at volume production (typically in China or Vietnam for most brands). Premium touches (better drivers, thicker bracing, nicer finishes) push BOM toward the higher end. 4. Manufacturing, Assembly & Overhead Labor & Assembly: $25–$60 per pair (cabinet gluing/bracing, driver mounting, crossover soldering, final wiring, testing). Quality Control & Testing: Burn-in, frequency sweeps, distortion checks: $10–$25. Factory Overhead/Utilities: $35 - $50. Total Manufacturing per pair: $70 - $135 5. Full Cost Structure to Retail ($1,000/pair) We will assume a large brand that sells 20,000 units and has already invested in tooling and requires minimal new tooling for each new speaker design.  Design and R&D Amortized - $5 Prototype and Tooling  - $2 Bill of Materials - $315 - We split the $190 - $440 down the middle Manufacturing -  $103 - We split the $40 - $135 down the middle Shipping, duties etc to distributor per pair on average - $50 Total to Manufacture $474. The rest of the thousand dollars covers the distribution chain, branding, and profit. And in reality, depending on the efficiency of the factory and ability to leverage design histories from years of experience, the soft costs can be about a third of $110 we came up with, bringing the total cost to about $400. Key Variables Affecting Cost Volume: Higher production = lower per-unit costs. Driver Quality: Exotic materials (beryllium tweeters, carbon fiber) can double driver costs. Cabinet Finish: Vinyl vs. real walnut veneer = big difference. Brand Positioning: Established names (KEF, ELAC) have higher R&D/marketing allocation than direct-to-consumer brands. For comparison DIY builders can replicate similar performance for $300–$600 per pair in parts using higher quality drivers and crossover components and flat-pack or self-built cabinets, eliminating most of the overhead and markups. And after building over 30 sets of speakers I can say without doubt that what you build will sound as good as speakers costing ten times the amount. Plus you can use material that works best for you as well as customizing the look to match your decor. Even my latest set built from stock off the shelf components bought from Part Express for about $200 sound simply amazing!  

This week's lineup is loaded. The FTC just opened its first real antitrust investigation into fertilizer pricing, a Wisconsin farmer took the USDA to court over discrimination and won, and cattle prices are sitting at record highs while the screwworm threat creeps toward the border. Plus AI moving into the field, a hard look at why everybody copying everybody is killing small ag, and our Made in America pick. In this episode we get into the FTC fertilizer antitrust investigation, including why prices jumped overnight with no supply change and how that seems dirty. We break down the USDA discrimination settlement and how dairy farmer Adam Faust ended race- and sex-based preferences in federal farm programs like EQIP, loan guarantees, and Dairy Margin Coverage. We talk record cattle prices and the New World screwworm, with beef at all-time highs, the herd at a 75-year low, and the parasite Texas declared a disaster over. We dig into AI in agriculture, from cutting herbicide use 70% in the field to the data center land grab eating up rural farmland, water, and power. We get into why an oversaturated market is a race to the bottom for small farm operations and how to actually stand out instead of copying the crowd. We run our Top 3 occupations besides farming, hand out our Made in America pick with Crocodile Cloth, and close it out with a few words on glyphosate, Shawn Ryan, and the conversation the loudest critics keep dodging. Real talk from real farmers, row crops, cattle, and everything in between. New episodes weekly. Follow on Spotify so you never miss one. Go check out Agzaga! It is the ultimate online farm store. American owned and operated. Go check out their site and get what you need. Be sure to use the code TalkDirt20 to get $20 off your order of $50 or more! Visit them at: https://agzaga.com 

Episode #1363: A fresh look at thousands of FTC dealership complaints reveals where consumers are still finding friction. Tesla expands its Austin robotaxi footprint as autonomous ride-hailing scales up. And Buc-ee's reminds us that in Texas, even the ...

WE ARE BACK!!! Use our code for 10% off your next SeatGeek order*: https://seatgeek.onelink.me/RrnK/PRET... Sponsored by SeatGeek. *Restrictions apply. Max $20 discount Rula patients typically pay $15 per session when using insurance. Connect with quality therapists and mental health experts who specialize in you at https://www.rula.com/pretty #rulapod Please make sure to hyperlink the URL in the YT/Social/Podcast descriptions Please review the “AD” disclosure requirements based on FTC legal regulations here: http://ftc.gov/influencers Our listeners can buy one prescription pair and get 20% off any additional pairs at WarbyParker.com/PRETTY — and using our link helps support the show. #WarbyParker #ad Get up to $200 off Square hardware when you sign up at square.com/go//pretty! #squarepod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

DOCKET ALERTS:   The lady who wore a penis costume to a No Kings protest in Fairhope, Alabama was acquitted of disturbing the peace.   DNI Tulsi Gabbard referred the Ukraine Whistleblower and former Intelligence Community Inspector General to the DOJ for criminal prosecution. Crime: TBD.   US Attorney for DC Jeanine Pirro continues to harass the Federal Reserve. This time she sent prosecutors to bang on the door demanding to inspect the ongoing renovations.   The Trump administration uses the threat of administrative sanctions to force changes it can't get from Congress or the courts. The Justice Department extorted $17 million from IBM — which just so happens to have billions of dollars in government contracts! — for committing DEI "fraud." And the FTC forced brand advisers to agree not to "discriminate" against conservative media outlets.   On a more positive note, a judge in Maryland continues to block the ICE facility being constructed in the state, and Judge Richard Leon put the kibosh on Trump's ballroom … again.   MAIN SHOW:   A jury slapped Live Nation and Ticket Master in the antitrust lawsuit filed in New York. The feds noped out two days into trial, but the states who picked up the baton and ran with it. The jurors found the company liable on all counts. We talk about the ins and outs of the decision and some pending legal questions still waiting for resolution.    We also break down a new lawsuit brought by a lawful resident of Maine with no criminal record who was seized by ICE during "Operation Catch of the Day" and brutalized. Can he sue under the Maine Civil Rights Act? And if so, is this a path forward for blue states to fill the gap left by inadequate federal laws?   Penis costume protester prevails in court https://www.courthousenews.com/penis-costume-protester-prevails-in-court/   Tulsi's "Criminal Referral" of the Ukraine Whistleblower and ICIG https://www.dni.gov/index.php/newsroom/press-releases/press-releases-2026/4154-pr-06-26   Prosecutors from Jeanine Pirro's office tried to access Federal Reserve headquarters, but were turned away https://www.cbsnews.com/news/prosecutors-jeanine-pirro-office-visit-federal-reserve-headquarters-jerome-powell/   Justice Department settles with IBM over alleged DEI practices https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/04/16/justice-department-settles-with-ibm-over-alleged-dei-practices/   Ad firms settle with Trump FTC over claims they boycotted conservative media https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/04/ad-firms-settle-with-trump-ftc-over-claims-they-boycotted-conservative-media   Maryland v. Mullin https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72313096/state-of-maryland-v-mullin   National Trust for Historic Preservation v. National Park Service https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72028010/national-trust-for-historic-preservation-in-the-united-states-v-national   US v. LiveNation [docket via CourtListener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/68557723/united-states-of-america-v-live-nation-entertainment-inc/?order_by=desc&page=1   Carvajal-Munoz v. Ravencamp [docket via CourtListener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73186770/carvajal-munoz-v-ravencamp/   Maine Civil Rights Act, 5 M.R.S. 4682 https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/5/title5sec4682.html   "State Law, the Westfall Act, and the Nature of the Bivens Question," [2013 U. Penn. L. Rev.] https://scholarship.law.georgetown.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1976&context=facpub   Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod

Why one former senior advisor of the FTC thinks a libertarian myth of the internet has given Big Tech too much power.Fact checking by Vito Emanuel.Your Next Listen — Why infinite scroll's inventor wants to kill his creationConnect with The Indicator — Sign up for The Indicator's brand new newsletter— Find our socials, YouTube and more!— For sponsor-free episodes, subscribe to NPR+ See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

How the Sutter Health Antitrust Case Opened the Door for Employers and Members to Recover Hospital Overcharge Damages What happens when a self-insured employer or health plan member finally says enough is enough and takes a consolidated hospital system to court over anticompetitive contracting practices? That's exactly what antitrust attorney Matthew Cantor did — and after 13 years of litigation, three trips to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and a first trial, he and his team secured a landmark $228.5 million settlement in Sidibe v. Sutter Health. In this episode, Stacey Richter speaks with Matthew Cantor, founding partner of Shinder Cantor Lerner LLP, about one of the most significant antitrust victories in healthcare history — and what it means for self-insured employers, plan sponsors, and everyday members who have been paying inflated premiums because of hospital market power. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN ✅ How all-or-nothing clauses and anti-steering/anti-tiering provisions allow dominant hospital systems to lock up local geographies and block members from accessing lower-cost, higher-quality care ✅ Why holding large, consolidated health systems legally accountable is so difficult — including the halo effect, the FTC's lack of jurisdiction over nonprofits, and the challenges of unsympathetic witnesses ✅ How Sidibe v. Sutter Health established a groundbreaking precedent allowing indirect purchasers — employers and plan members paying inflated premiums — to recover damages from hospital overcharges ✅ Why the DOJ is already pursuing similar anti-steering litigation against health systems like OhioHealth and NewYork-Presbyterian ✅ Four concrete options for employers ready to stop being passive price takers: federal legislation, state legislation, engaging the DOJ and state attorneys general, and direct litigation WHY THIS MATTERS Hospital charges make up roughly 50% of underlying medical costs, which in turn represent 80–85% of health insurance premiums. When consolidated systems operate in local markets with little competition, everyone — employers and members alike — pays more. Sidibe v. Sutter Health shows that accountability is possible. === LINKS ===