Podcasts about fundamentally

Episode 149: Using Data to Create a Better Employee ExperienceHow can organizations use data to enhance the employee experience and drive positive cultural change within their workplace?On this episode of Practice Disrupted, Dr. Serena Huang, a data analytics executive in Fintech, joins us to discuss how organizations can optimize the employee experience by leveraging data and communication strategies in the workplace. As a data analytics executive, Dr. Huang is passionate about leading change, building high-performance teams, and helping business leaders see data as an asset in large organizations. First, Dr. Huang defines the employee experience as various aspects of work, from physical environments to manager interactions and digital work capabilities. She emphasizes the importance of measuring employee experience beyond physical space and attendance and suggests surveys and feedback tools to gauge workplace culture and gather recommendations. Then, we explore the challenges and apprehensions that can arise when introducing survey data to the workplace, including concerns about legal action and the fear of uncovering uncomfortable truths. For architects, we address the common fear about not being able to afford an immediate solution for desires such as taking time off. Dr. Huang shares advice for effectively communicating with architecture leaders who are reluctant to engage in surveys due to these fears, yet recognize their need for growth. She believes leadership needs timely action, collaborative problem-solving, and transparency to drive change.It comes down to communication. Fundamentally, as humans, we all need to be heard, whether at home, in a relationship, or at work. For employees to feel heard, instead of ignoring the elephant in the room, why don't we ask about it and then come up with some solutions? It may not be the perfect solution, but I think the leadership team should come from a place of genuine care, communicate that back to the employees and say, "We heard you." - Dr. Serena HuangTo wrap up the conversation, Dr. Huang shares her perspective on employees and leaders navigating their career alongside their mental health management. She advocates for leadership therapy and coaching sessions to enhance self-awareness and emotional well-being.Tune in next week for an episode about women defining AI for architects.Guest:Dr. Serena HuangDr. Serena Huang is an accomplished thought leader and professional keynote speaker with 150+ speaking engagements covering topics including people analytics, AI, future of work, personal branding, and data storytelling. She regularly guest-lectures at top MBA programs including Kellogg, Wharton, and Haas. Dr. Huang's unique ability to speak to audiences of different cultures and backgrounds, along with her experience in both F100 and startups make her an in-demand speaker. Her 2024 focus is helping organizations realize the full potential of AI through creating a new workforce strategy and improving internal talent mobility.Prior to founding Data With Serena, Dr. Huang led sizable analytics teams at prominent organizations including PayPal, Kraft Heinz, GE, and Koch Industries. She pioneered the applications of machine learning algorithms to predict absenteeism and turnover and led corporate councils for Ethical AI in these global organizations. Dr. Huang holds a Ph.D. in Economics with specializations in Econometrics and Labor Economics.

‘I'm boring', ‘I'm not intelligent', I'm unattractive. I'm too this or that……'; these are words heard frequently in the therapy room. And lying underneath these derogatory statements, is a fundamental belief of ‘I'm not good enough'. This inner feeling of unworthiness then permeates every area of life, through choice of relationships, work progress and social engagements. It's like having a millstone around your neck, as you carry this heavy psychological baggage into every situation. Fundamentally, it causes lingering pain, which you then seek to avoid through eating or not eating, through alcohol, drugs, shopping or workaholism to name a few. The coping strategies bring temporary relief from the turmoil bubbling inside your head.  In this episode, I talk about my own inner feelings of not feeling good enough, which were a root cause of my bulimia. I share tips on how to change this and boost your self-esteem sustainably. Learning to feel enough can be a life-changer in recovery. I hope that you enjoy this episode. This week's sponsors: Conquering Bulimia https://www.conqueringbulimia.com/ WeShape https://www.weshape.com/freedom     Harriet Frew's current offers: - Online 10 Steps to Intuitive Eating Course https://www.theeatingdisordertherapist.co.uk/online-courses.html Online Breaking Free from Bulimia – 20% off with code FREEDOM at checkout https://www.theeatingdisordertherapist.co.uk/online-courses.html  Eating Disorders Training for Professionals https://www.theeatingdisordertherapist.co.uk/eating-disorders-training-with-harriet-frew.html Body Image Training for Professionals https://www.theeatingdisordertherapist.co.uk/body-image-training-with-harriet-frew.html

Top Climate-Smart Stocks includes one article with 26 global picks. Another article refers to ESG companies in ‘unassailable' market positions.   By Ron Robins, MBA Transcript & Links, Episode 127, April 5, 2024 Hello, Ron Robins here. So, welcome to this podcast episode 127 titled “Top Climate-Smart Stocks.” It's presented by Investing for the Soul. Investingforthesoul.com is your site for vital global ethical and sustainable investing mentoring, news, commentary, information, and resources. Now, remember that you can find a full transcript, and links to content – including stock symbols and bonus material – on this episode's podcast page located at investingforthesoul.com/podcasts. Also, a reminder. I do not evaluate any of the stocks or funds mentioned in these podcasts, nor do I receive any compensation from anyone covered in these podcasts. Furthermore, I will reveal to you any personal investments I have in the investments mentioned herein. Additionally, quotes about individual companies are brief. Please go to this podcast's webpage for links to the actual articles for more company and stock information. Also, some companies might be covered more than once and there are also 2 article links below that time didn't allow me to review here. ------------------------------------------------------------- 26 climate-smart stocks shine in new BMO screen I'm beginning with this article from Canada, but its recommended stocks are pertinent to investors globally. It's titled 26 climate-smart stocks shine in new BMO screen. It's by Freschia Gonzales and found on wealthprofessional.ca. Here are some quotes from the article. “BMO Nesbitt Burns analyst Doug Morrow has launched a new ‘climate opportunities screen' targeting stocks positioned to thrive in the fight against climate change, as reported by The Globe and Mail… The selection process started with 432 stocks rated as outperform at BMO, evaluating them against criteria such as net-zero emissions policies, transparency in carbon emissions, and board oversight of climate targets…” Here are the first 5 of the final 26 stocks on the list. Adobe Systems (ADBE) AstraZeneca (AZN) Avery Dennison (AVY) Baker Hughes Co. (BKR) BHP (BHP).” End quotes. For the rest of the companies go to this podcast edition's web page at investingforthesoul.com/podcasts and click the link to this article. ------------------------------------------------------------- 5 Cheap Sustainable Stocks With Moats The next article appeared on the renowned morningstar.com site. It's titled 5 Cheap Sustainable Stocks With Moats and it's by Muskaan Hemrajani and Leslie P. Norton. Now some quotes from the authors. “These companies not only have low ESG risk scores, indicating that the companies are exposed to fewer environmental, social, and governance risks, but they are also trading at a price 50% lower than their fair values, according to Morningstar. In addition, all five have been assigned a Morningstar Economic Moat Rating of wide or narrow by the analyst covering the stock… Note: quoted stock prices are as of March 22, 2024. 1) Etsy ETSY Fair Value: $140 Morningstar Rating: 4 stars Price: $67.82 Etsy is trading at a 51% discount. Etsy is a top-10 e-commerce marketplace operator in the US and the UK, with sizable operations in Germany, France, Australia, and Canada. The firm dominates an interesting niche, connecting buyers and sellers through its online market to exchange vintage and craft goods. 2) BorgWarner BWA Fair Value: $72 Morningstar Rating: 5 stars Price: $33.20 BorgWarner is trading at a 54% discount. BorgWarner is a Tier I auto-parts supplier with three operating segments: An air management group, a drivetrain and battery systems group, and an e-propulsion segment. 3) Sirius XM Holdings SIRI Fair Value: $7.50 Morningstar Rating: 5 stars Price: $3.88 This stock is trading at a 48% discount. Sirius XM Holdings consists of two businesses: SiriusXM and Pandora. SiriusXM transmits music, talk shows, sports, and news via its satellite radio network, primarily to consumers who pay a subscription fee, often tied to a vehicle. Pandora, acquired in February 2019, is a streaming music platform that offers an ad-supported radio option and a paid on-demand service. 4) Aptiv PLC APTV Fair Value: $148 Morningstar Rating: 5 stars Price: $78.72 This stock is trading at a 46% discount. Aptiv is an automotive supplier. Its signal and power solutions segment supplies components and systems that make up a vehicle's electrical system, including wiring assemblies and harnesses, connectors, electrical centers, and hybrid electrical systems. 5. Charter Communications CHTR Fair Value: $550 Morningstar Rating: 5 stars Price: $290 This stock is trading at a 46% discount. Charter owns cable TV networks. It is the product of the 2016 merger of three cable companies: Legacy Charter, Time Warner Cable, and Bright House Networks. The firm now holds networks capable of providing television, internet access, and phone services to roughly 56 million US homes and businesses, around 40% of the country. End quotes. ------------------------------------------------------------- The Ethical Investor's Dream: 7 Socially Responsible Stocks With Skyrocketing Potential Now Investor Place has produced some interesting research articles with many ESG and sustainably oriented stock picks. Their latest article is this one titled The Ethical Investor's Dream: 7 Socially Responsible Stocks With Skyrocketing Potential. It's by Josh Enomoto. “1) Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) While Microsoft ranks among one of the biggest technology companies in the world… it ranked as number one on Investor's Business Daily's (IDB) 100 Best ESG Companies for 2023 list. Judging from its nearly 16% upside performance since the beginning of January, it's ethical and viable… Experts rate Microsoft a strong buy with a $470.30 average price target. That implies about 10% upside potential. 2) Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Another world-renowned tech giant, Alphabet came in at number 25 on IDB's list for top ESG companies last year. Fundamentally, the company should benefit from its ownership of the Google ecosystem. Commanding an overwhelming market share of the search engine space, Alphabet probably isn't going anywhere but up… Alphabet carries a strong buy consensus view with a $165.37 price target, implying about 10% upside. 3) TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) TJX Companies is a discount retailer… it specializes in off-price apparel, shoes and accessories. It made number 22 on IDB's list of top ESG businesses in 2023. On a fundamental note, the gradual return to normalization could see increased demand for cheap business casual attire… Analysts rate TJX a strong buy with a $110.84 average price target, implying over 11% growth potential. 4) Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) provides atmospheric gases, process and specialty gases, equipment, and related services throughout the world. On IDB's ESG list last year, Air Products came in at number 18. To be fair, it's one of the riskier ideas on this list, with shares losing 13% year-to-date… Air Products and Chemicals also carries a moderate buy view with a $272 price target, implying 15% upside potential. If you want a potentially discounted opportunity among socially responsible stocks, this might be it. 5) Mondelez (NASDAQ:MDLZ) A multinational confectionary, food, beverage and snack company, offers everyday relevance for investors and consumers. And if the economy gets a bit wobbly, Mondelez should rise as a beneficiary of the trade-down effect. Notably, Mondelez ranked as number 15 on IDB's top ESG list… Experts rate Mondelez a strong buy with an $83.47 price target. 6) Bunge (NYSE:BG) A critically important name among socially responsible stocks, Bunge operates as an agribusiness and food company worldwide. It conducts operations through four segments: Agribusiness, Refined and Specialty Oils, Milling and Sugar and Bioenergy. On IDB's ESG list, Bunge came in at number 11… Analysts are optimistic with Bunge's chart performance, rating it a moderate buy with a $115.30 target. That implies more than 16% growth potential. 7) Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) Another top-tier technology enterprise, Adobe is a software giant. It's perhaps best known for its Photoshop program and other products aimed at the creatives community. Because of the rise of the gig economy, Adobe could be more important than many people realize. As for its inclusion as one of the socially responsible stocks, Adobe ranked as number 14 in IBD's top ESG list… Analysts rate Adobe a moderate buy with a $620.63 target, implying over 24% upside potential.” End quotes. ------------------------------------------------------------- Benefits of Sustainable Investing and 3 Companies Paving the Way! This next article comes from a site I haven't seen before – techbullion.com. Its author, Adriaan Brits, offers some good insights backing his stock picks. It's titled Benefits of Sustainable Investing and 3 Companies Paving the Way! Here's some of what Mr. Brits says about his picks. “1) AGCO: Advancing Agricultural Sustainability  AGCO, an American agricultural machinery manufacturer, has emerged as a compelling option for sustainable investing. AGCO integrates sustainability into its core business strategy, emphasizing innovation and technology to make agriculture more efficient, productive, and environmentally friendly.  2) ICL Group: Promoting Sustainable Agriculture and Nutrition  ICL Group, a leading global specialty minerals company, and one of the largest fertilizer manufacturers in the world, offers another attractive opportunity for sustainable investment. ICL's operations center around producing a sustainable food supply, focusing on soil health, plant nutrition, and food quality.  3) John Deere: Pioneering Precision Agriculture  John Deere, a familiar name in agricultural machinery, has been pushing boundaries to make farming sustainable and efficient. The company's focus on innovations to improve machinery efficiency and promote agriculture makes it a promising prospect for sustainable investors.” End quotes. ------------------------------------------------------------- Why I Keep Loading Up on These High-Yielding, Renewable-Energy Dividend Stocks Lastly, is another article by an analyst who is frequently covered in these podcasts: Matt DiLallo at The Motley Fool. This article is titled Why I Keep Loading Up on These High-Yielding, Renewable-Energy Dividend Stocks and it's seen on finance.yahoo.com. Quotes… “The transition to renewable energy is one of the biggest investment megatrends of our lifetime. Over the coming decades, the world needs to invest trillions of dollars to decarbonize the economy. That should power above-average growth for companies focused on those sectors in years to come. I want to cash in on this megatrend. That's why I've been loading up on renewable-energy stocks. I recently bought a few more shares of NextEra Energy Partners and Brookfield Renewable. Here's why I believe they could generate powerful total returns over the long term. 1) NextEra Energy Partners (NYSE: NEP)  NextEra Energy Partners has hit a speed bump in recent years. Surging interest rates have driven up its cost of capital. Not only have borrowing costs risen, but its stock price has lost nearly 70% of its value from the peak in early 2022, driving its dividend yield up to 13%. That has made it more difficult to secure new funding at an attractive rate to refinance existing financing as it matures and obtain new capital for acquisitions. Because of that, the company has had to alter its strategy… If NextEra Energy can execute its plan, it could produce powerful total returns. It would pay a very lucrative and growing dividend. On top of that, it has significant stock-price appreciation potential as its share price recovers. While there's a high risk of a dividend cut due to its high payout ratio, a reduction could accelerate its recovery by enabling it to retain more cash to fund growth and strengthen its balance sheet. This high upside potential is why I continue loading up on its stock. 2) Brookfield Renewable (NYSE: BEPC)(NYSE: BEP) Brookfield Renewable has gotten caught up in the growth concerns weighing on NextEra Energy Partners. Its shares are more than 55% below their high in 2022. That pushed its dividend yield up over 6%. However, its issues were more a matter of timing than problems with financing. The company grew its funds from operations by 7% per share last year despite rising rates and supply chain issues. That was slightly below its target of 10%, largely due to later-than-expected transaction closings in the fourth quarter. It also had one that didn't close because shareholders voted against the deal… Brookfield's dividend income and earnings growth alone could power total annual returns in the mid-teens from here. Add in a recovery in its stock price, and the upside potential is even more significant.” End quotes. ------------------------------------------------------------- One Other Honorable Mention 1) Title: Strong Buy Renewable Energy Stocks to Add to Your Q2 Must-Watch List on investorplace.com. ByVandita Jadeja.   One Article from Australia 1) Title: 10 ASX Cleantech Stocks (Updated 2024) on nasdaq.com. By Melissa Pistilli. ------------------------------------------------------------- Ending Comment Well, these are my top news stories with their stock and fund tips -- for this podcast titled: “Top Climate-Smart Stocks.” Now, please be sure to click the like and subscribe buttons on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or wherever you download or listen to this podcast. That helps bring these podcasts to others like you. And please click the share buttons to share this podcast with your friends and family. Let's promote ethical and sustainable investing as a force for hope and prosperity in these deeply troubled times! Contact me if you have any questions. Thank you for listening. I'll talk to you next on April 19th. Bye for now.   © 2024 Ron Robins, Investing for the Soul

On this weeks The Other 3 Amigos Podcast, your 100% unofficial Cork City FC Podcast Wayne's in Wexford, so Eileen is in TOTAP Towers Club have gone crestless It's a tough Email to send, Lads. We look back at Athlone & Wexford Look ahead to Cobh The mailbag is Full & Much Much More

The model of policing in Ireland also needs updating according to the former General Secretary of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors, Antoninette Cunningham. To discuss this former assistant Garda Commissioner Pat Leahy, Fine Gael Senator Barry Ward and Independent TD Verona Murphy.

Wednesday, April 3, 2024 Subscribe: Get the Daily Update in your inbox for free 1/ Special Counsel Jack Smith warned the judge overseeing Trump's classified documents case that she is pursuing a legal premise that “is wrong” and would “distort” the trial. In an unusual order last month, Judge Aileen Cannon directed Trump and ... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.

Show Links: 1. Winning is all that matters 2. Mike Tomlin Speaks Out on Kenny Pickett's Trade 3. Will Justin Fields Get the 5th Year Option? Media Links:

Discover the delicate dance of trust that defines the ever-evolving parent-teen relationship with thoughtful insights from Jenny Debevec, adult guest expert Dr. Eric Solomon and teens themselves. Together, we peel back the layers of truth, lies, and the quest for adolescent independence, offering you a treasure trove of understanding and strategies to fortify these crucial bonds. Hear heartfelt stories and expert research that illuminate the reasons behind teenage secrecy and its reverberating effects on everything from school success to self-esteem. We confront the tough issues head-on, advising on how to handle the moment a child entrusts you with their hidden truths and exploring ways to rebuild trust when it's been shaken.Venture further into the intricate fabric of family dynamics, as we navigate the challenges authenticity faces in an era where opinion is often mistaken for fact, not just in the public arena but also within the close-knit circle of family life. The conversation introduces innovative tools like the 'trust barometer' and the 'line of humility', aimed at nurturing curiosity and open dialogue over defensiveness and stubbornness.  Fundamentally, we emphasize the value of adopting a learning stance over the need to always be correct, with the ultimate goal of cultivating deeper, more transparent family connections amid our complex social landscape. Don't miss this essential exchange filled with actionable insights for parents and teens alike.

What can we learn looking back on the paths of influential thinkers like Popper and Kuhn today? How are the motivations and passions of scientists left behind in the pursuit of scientific progress??Micheal Strevens is a professor in the Philosophy department of New York University and the author of several books. His latest work is titled, The Knowledge Machine: How Irrationality Created Modern Science.Michael and Greg discuss the unspoken motivations and aesthetic judgments fueling the progress of science. They explore the delicate balance between rigorous empirical data and the broader intellectual landscape in which it resides, offering insights into the irrational but inherently human elements of scientific inquiry. Michael shares his own experiences and the profound joy found in understanding causal models in a field where explanation often trumps prediction. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*Episode Quotes:The rule of science10:11: I think science has its problems at any point, but it's in reasonably good shape in the sense that there's a sort of an agreed set of rules for playing the game, the iron rule, as I call them. I mean, even something like p-value null hypothesis testing, that has its downside, of course, but it is a rule for doing science. And if you just think of it as a kind of a set of boxes you have to check to have research that you can stick into a journal, then I think it mostly actually does what it's supposed to do. It's possible to game it and for things to go south in certain kinds of situations. But as long as you don't take it too seriously, it's actually telling you something about the intrinsic quality of the data. Basically, really just formal threshold the data has to pass. It's like a legitimate move in chess. Okay, a move can be legitimate and also a really crummy move, and likewise, data can satisfy these rules and still be terrible data.Michael's motivation to tackle motivation in the world of science03:46: Perhaps the most important things about modern science were more connected to the psychological or the sociological, to the institutional framework of science, rather than to the kind of thing that, more traditionally, stood out for philosophers of science—stuff to do with the method in a kind of logical, intellectual sense, a reasoning sense. And so it was a kind of switch in my thinking from arguing and logic to questions more subtle and background questions about motivation.Diverse attitudes in science11:34: I think there's a huge range of attitudes in science. There are a lot of scientists who it's just their daily job almost, and so they go and do the job and don't spend a lot of time worrying about it otherwise. And then there's some scientists who really feel like they want to make some breakthrough and come up with some revolutionary discovery. All of them have to, as it were, play the same game. And the game works ultimately independently of their personal motivations, simply by generating enough facts with enough systematicity and attention to detail that if there is some problem with the big framework, science will ultimately find it.How do we optimize research efforts for maximum ROI on the frontier?41:10: In a world where doing science costs millions and millions of dollars, it's not so easy to just leave it up to the judgment of scientists as a whole. It's a tough problem, but on the whole, I think it's good not to try to pick out just a few projects and funnel everything towards those few projects. I'm afraid I don't have too many good ideas about the alternative, apart from that, except to allow diversity to flourish in one way or another. Show Links:Recommended Resources:Karl PopperThomas KuhnNewtonian DynamicsQuantum MechanicsArthur EddingtonAlbert EinsteinIsaac NewtonRené DescartesRobert BoyleBruno LatourPhilosophy of ScienceP-ValueCase MethodGuest Profile:Faculty Profile at New York UniversityStrevens.orgPhilPeople.org ProfileProfile on the Guggenheim Memorial FoundationHis Work:Amazon Author PageThe Knowledge Machine: How Irrationality Created Modern ScienceDepth: An Account of Scientific ExplanationBigger than Chaos: Understanding Complexity through ProbabilityTychomancy: Inferring Probability from Causal StructureGoogle Scholar Page

Discover the delicate dance of trust that defines the ever-evolving parent-teen relationship with thoughtful insights from Jenny Debevec, adult guest expert Dr. Eric Solomon and teens themselves. Together, we peel back the layers of truth, lies, and the quest for adolescent independence, offering you a treasure trove of understanding and strategies to fortify these crucial bonds. Hear heartfelt stories and expert research that illuminate the reasons behind teenage secrecy and its reverberating effects on everything from school success to self-esteem. We confront the tough issues head-on, advising on how to handle the moment a child entrusts you with their hidden truths and exploring ways to rebuild trust when it's been shaken.Venture further into the intricate fabric of family dynamics, as we navigate the challenges authenticity faces in an era where opinion is often mistaken for fact, not just in the public arena but also within the close-knit circle of family life. The conversation introduces innovative tools like the 'trust barometer' and the 'line of humility', aimed at nurturing curiosity and open dialogue over defensiveness and stubbornness.  Fundamentally, we emphasize the value of adopting a learning stance over the need to always be correct, with the ultimate goal of cultivating deeper, more transparent family connections amid our complex social landscape. Don't miss this essential exchange filled with actionable insights for parents and teens alike.

There is nothing fundamentally wrong with us by Ordinary Mind Zen School

ATP Media -Awakening Consciousness with KAren Swain Welcomes Jeff Selver YTC: https://www.youtube.com/@KarenSwainBlissfulBeings Host: Karen Swain https://karenswain.com Date: March 24th, 2024 Episode: 4 The Rising; the Alien Plan to Build an Enlightened City on Earth. About our Guest: Jeff Selver has a passion for management and leadership with an MBA. Jeff worked in banks, corporate training as a motivational speaker, and teaching mindful leadership. He has been under the tutelage of a Vedic teacher for over twenty years where he learned Vedic philosophy and meditation. When his memories of alien contact came out Jeff began presenting on his contact events in UFO groups, sharing his story in detail, and providing research and corroboration with other experiencers. He currently resides in Vancouver, B.C. with his spouse. Fundamentally, he was shown that what humans understand about spirituality, life after death, dimensions, God, the soul, and psychic powers, are just the beginning of what these beings are all about. And that their capacity, understanding, and utilisation of these is much greater than humans can imagine. See more here:

ATP Media -Awakening Consciousness with KAren Swain Welcomes Jeff Selver YTC: https://www.youtube.com/@KarenSwainBlissfulBeings Host: Karen Swain https://karenswain.com Date: March 24th, 2024 Episode: 4 The Rising; the Alien Plan to Build an Enlightened City on Earth. About our Guest: Jeff Selver has a passion for management and leadership with an MBA. Jeff worked in banks, corporate training as a motivational speaker, and teaching mindful leadership. He has been under the tutelage of a Vedic teacher for over twenty years where he learned Vedic philosophy and meditation. When his memories of alien contact came out Jeff began presenting on his contact events in UFO groups, sharing his story in detail, and providing research and corroboration with other experiencers. He currently resides in Vancouver, B.C. with his spouse. Fundamentally, he was shown that what humans understand about spirituality, life after death, dimensions, God, the soul, and psychic powers, are just the beginning of what these beings are all about. And that their capacity, understanding, and utilisation of these is much greater than humans can imagine. See more here:

See more here: https://wp.me/p58EtD-77I The Rising; the Alien Plan to Build an Enlightened City on Earth. At 41 Jeff Selver had screen memories and broken memories return of unbelievable alien contact. Jeff would learn the details of traumatic events, which happened when he was a teenager and young adult, matched what can only be understood as, a “genetic activation.” Fundamentally, Jeff was shown that what humans understand about spirituality, life after death, dimensions, God, the soul, and psychic powers, are just the beginning of what these beings are all about. And that their capacity, understanding, and utilisation of these is much greater than humans can imagine. Appreciate KAren's work Awakening Consciousness? THANK YOU for your Support for the content. Share your appreciation on this link https://www.paypal.me/KArenASwain THANK YOU for SHARING these conversations, we present them to you completely FREE with no ads! Please spread the LOVE and Wisdom. BIG LOVE ks. Visit KAren's website here https://karenswain.com/ Follow us on all our platforms https://linktr.ee/KArenSwain Join our Awakening Empowerment Network Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/AwakeningEmpowermentNetwork

Giving Love to HS Coaches / Fundamentally Wrong Hitting Fundamentals The boys are back in town © Thin Lizzy! Deven and Jeremy are reunited, talking about the love that HS baseball coaches have for teaching the game, HS tryouts, the start of the LL and HS seasons and then a fun segment tearing apart the "fundamental" hitting advice given by a guy who should probably pay as much attention to the competition level of children as he does his keeping his spray tan dialed. You can find the Youth Power Bat on our website here for just $99! https://www.drivelinebaseball.com/product/youth-power-trainer/ Skills That Scale: The Complete Youth Baseball Training Manual is shipping now! https://www.drivelinebaseball.com/product/skills-that-scale-training-manual/ Youth Underload Smash Bats are available now - just $79! https://www.drivelinebaseball.com/product/youth-underload-smash-bat/ ⬇️ Hosts ⬇️ Deven Morgan https://twitter.com/devenmorgan Jeremy Tecktiel https://twitter.com/jeremytecktiel

Description:One week after Frank Hestor's attack on Diane Abbott, we explore the persistent challenges of racism and misogyny within the British political landscape. Our distinguished panel, featuring MP Claudia Webb, Leah Brown from Broadstairs Consulting, and political analyst Corey Bernard, look at the troubling experiences faced by black women in positions of power, particularly highlighting the distressing experiences of Diane Abbott. As we dissect the implications of leadership in combatting racial prejudice and examine the dichotomy of progress and persistent bigotry, this conversation sheds light on the intricate dynamics of race, identity, and politics in the UK.Show Notes:Claudia Webb MP shares her experiences of anti-black racism and misogyny as a black woman in Parliament, offering insights into the broader context of institutional racism and its impact on political figures.Discussion on the lack of leadership in addressing racism, with specific reference to recent comments by Tory donor Frank Hester and the response (or lack thereof) from political leaders.Leah Brown analyses the failure in political leadership and its connection to systemic issues, including conflicts of interest and the need for integrity and accountability.Corey Bernard reflects on the role of identity politics in the political spectrum and how expectations differ across party lines, offering a unique perspective on diversity within political leadership.Claudia Webb provides a closing statement, emphasising the need for genuine leadership to confront and eradicate racism and misogyny within the political arena.Final thoughts from host Roifield Brown and the importance of continued vigilance against racism and sexism in all sectors of society.QuotesClaudia Webb MP: "The level of anti-Black racism and misogyny that I experienced as a Black Member of Parliament on the left is probably unprecedented... Black women, particularly those in positions of power, are targeted for the most vile levels of hate, targeted not just for being black, but also for being female and having the audacity to be in a position of power and then having the audacity to be on the left as well."Leah Brown: "Lack of leadership is my favourite topic... The key area in which there has been lack of leadership shown here by the Prime Minister is in relation to conflicts of interest... Fundamentally if you can't address the conflicts of interest that arise in a way that doesn't give rise to toxic leadership, you also can't expect those same individuals to show leadership."Corey Bernard: "Identity politics in this context, leading with race or ethnicity, is definitely something perhaps more expected on the left, right? As opposed to on the right... People are not very comfortable, basically, when you show who you are in terms of your identity."Claudia Webb MP: "Black people in positions of leadership does not mean that we're going to see change. We are talking about a lack of political leadership, there are opportunists that are using this for political gain... Black people in positions of leadership does not necessarily mean that we're going to see change, we're talking about a minority, but we're talking about a lack of political leadership." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of the Scouting For Growth podcast, Sabine VdL talks to Simon Guest, CCO at The CareVoice, who has been instrumental in pioneering a differentiated approach to growth in the healthcare sector. Under his guidance, The CareVoice will focus on creating multifaceted platforms that benefit from the network effect, where each new user or partner amplifies the cumulative value and utility of the ecosystem. Join us as we dive into the intricacies of orchestrating growth ecosystems for market differentiation, the power of behavioural science in healthcare, and the innovative strategies that have positioned The CareVoice as a leader in personalized health engagement. Simon's insights promise to be invaluable for anyone looking to understand the future of healthcare and the role of digital ecosystems in driving sustainable value creation. KEY TAKEAWAYS I've spent more than 20 years working in life & health insurance in various roles & countries. On one hand you become a bit frustrated that some of the problems are still the same, but the advancement of technology & the macroclimate of the focus on health & wellness brings opportunities to bear for life & health insurers. They need to look fundamentally at changing their proposition into digital health and wellness not only for brand & marketing purposes but to change the relationship with their clients & have an impact on their results. What's important, in our experience is that you find someone that has an open ecosystem approach, that has the best services that you can find inn the market & will constantly evolve that. We think that we're playing that role between build & buy but in the end the end consumer gets the best & most critical experience. BEST MOMENTS ‘Life & health insurance companies have to move to a situation where they are offing end-to-end prevention & digital health cure services in one orchestrated way & then provide the insurance behind that if their client needs it.' ‘There are not that many products where you ask people to pay a lot of money for 20 years in the hope that they never use that product. Fundamentally we have to change the value proposition for customers in this industry.' ‘When it comes to health you can't make any mistakes.' ABOUT THE GUEST Simon Guest is CCO at The CareVoice which provides Digital Health & Wellness Solutions for Insurers. Simon's journey in the insurance industry is marked by significant achievements & a deep understanding of Life and Health Insurance. His tenure at global giants like Generali & AXA has endowed him with unparalleled expertise in leading Global Protection & Health Business lines. This experience has not only honed his skills in driving strategy & commercial results but also provided him with a comprehensive view of insurance markets worldwide. Between 2014-2022, Simon helmed Generali Engagement Solutions as its CEO, where he was instrumental in forging and leading a groundbreaking partnership with Discovery. This collaboration brought the Vitality shared value wellness proposition to seven European markets, showcasing Simon's ability to leverage innovation, partnerships, & ecosystems. His 'start-up' mentality has been key in delivering exceptional customer propositions, setting new benchmarks in the industry. LinkedIn ABOUT THE HOST Sabine is a corporate strategist turned entrepreneur. She is the CEO and Managing Partner of Alchemy Crew, a venture lab that accelerates the curation, validation, & commercialization of new tech business models. Sabine is renowned within the insurance sector for building some of the most renowned tech startup accelerators around the world working with over 30 corporate insurers & accelerating over 100 startup ventures. Sabine is the co-editor of the bestseller The INSURTECH Book, a top 50 Women in Tech, a FinTech and InsurTech Influencer, an investor & multi-award winner.  Twitter LinkedIn Instagram Facebook  TikTok Email Website

A senior member of the House of Representatives recently warned that one of the most important threats our country faces is particularly ominous because so few Members of Congress are even aware it's a present danger. Ditto still fewer of their constituents.  The issue, buried in the voluminous appropriations legislation scheduled for adoption on March 22nd involves continued funding for the World Health Organization. Should the House concur, the stage will be set for the adoption in just sixty-six days of what amount to two treaties that will give the WHO's Director-General the power to dictate our public health policy, crushing national sovereignty and medical freedom.   If you want continued, limited, constitutional government – not the tyranny of unaccountable “global governance” now in prospect, instruct your representative today to say “No” to further funding of the World Health Organization at SovereigntyCoalition.org. This is Frank Gaffney.

What is frailty? Kate Callahan relates a clear metaphor on today's podcast.  A frail person is like an origami boat: fine in still water, but can't withstand a breeze, or waves.  Fundamentally, frailty is about vulnerability to stress. In 2021 we talked with Linda Fried about phenotypic frailty.  Today we talk with Kate Callahan, Ariela Orkaby, & Dae Kim about deficit accumulation frailty.  What is the difference, you ask?  George Kushel probably explained it best in graphical terms (in JAGS), using the iconic golden gate bridge as a metaphor (Eric and I get to see the bridge daily driving or biking in to work). Phoenotypic frailty is like the main orange towers and thick orange support cables that run between towers.  Damage to those critical functions and the bridge can collapse.  Deficit accumulation frailty is like the hundreds of smaller vertical cables that connect the thick orange support cables to the bridge itself. Miss a few and you might be OK.  But miss a bunch and things fall apart.  Resilience is the ability of the bridge to withstand stress, like bridge traffic,  wind, waves, and the occasional earthquake (hey it's California!). Frailty research has come a long way.  We're now at a point where frailty can be measured automatically, or electronically, as we put in the title.  Kate created an eFrailty tool that measures frailty based on the electronic health record (EHR) data.  Ariela created a VA frailty index based on the EHR of veterans.  And Dae created an index using Medicare Claims.  Today we're beginning to discuss not just how to measure, but how to use these electronic frailty indexes to improve care of patients. We should not get too hung up on battles over frailty.  As Kate writes in her JAGS editorial, “If geriatricians wage internecine battles over how to measure frailty, we risk squandering the opportunity to elevate frailty to the level of a vital sign. Learning from the past, a lack of consensus on metrics impeded the mainstream adoption of valuable functional assessments, including gait speed.” To that end, modeled after ePrognosis, Dae and Ariela have launched a new tool for clinicians that includes multiple frailty measures, with guidance on how to use them and in what settings.  It's called eFrailty, check it out now! Did I cheat and play the guitar part for Sting's Fragile at ⅔ speed then speed it up?  Maybe…but hey, I still only have 2 usable fingers on my left hand, give me a break! -@AlexSmithMD    Additional Links: eFrailty website is: efrailty.hsl.harvard.edu (efrailty.org is fine). Dae's Frailty indexesCGA-based frailty index web calculator for clinical use: https://www.bidmc.org/research/research-by-department/medicine/gerontology/calculator The Medicare claims-based frailty index program for research: https://dataverse.harvard.edu/dataverse/cfi/ Ariela's VA-FI:Original VA frailty index: https://academic.oup.com/biomedgerontology/article/74/8/1257/5126804 ICD-10 version https://academic.oup.com/biomedgerontology/article/76/7/1318/6164923 Link to the code for investigators (included in the appendix): https://github.com/bostoninformatics/va_frailty_index  As an FYI for those in VA the code is readily available through the Centralized Interactive Phenomics Resource (CIPHER) Recent validation against clinical measures of frailty: https://agsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jgs.18540 Kate's eFrailty Index https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/glz017 our original eFI paper https://doi.org/10.1111/jgs.17027 &  https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.41915 on eFI and surgery https://doi.org/10.1111/jgs.17510 editorial in JAGS  

Embark on a profound journey with Dr. Kate Truitt, the voice of lived experience and scientific wisdom, as she unveils the raw intricacies of her latest work, "Keep Breathing.”  Dr Truitt is an award-winning clinical psychologist and applied neuroscientist. She's internationally recognized for her expertise in trauma, stress, and resilience. She calls “Keep Breathing” part autobiography and part scientific exploration. Together, we unwrap the layers of life's adversities, from the anguish of loss to the resilience required to face another day. As Dr. Kate shares her personal journey into the darkness, we intertwine the stronghold of community with the advancing tides of therapy, emphasizing the paramount importance of human connection and trust in the odyssey of healing and light.⁣ ⁣ ⁣ FULL EPISODE TRANSCRIPTS AVAILABLE ⁣ https://www.hilaryrusso.com/podcast⁣ ⁣⁣ CHAPTERS⁣ 00:00  Dr. Kate Truitt Opening Soundbite⁣ 00:36  Hilary Russo Episode Intro Keep Breathing⁣ 7:49   Navigating Mental Health and Wellness⁣ 12:25 Chronic Illness and the Opioid Epidemic⁣ 14:57  Changing the Narrative on Loss to Resilience⁣ 19:19 Flash Bulb Memories and Vulnerability  ⁣ 32:24 Navigating Grief and New Love⁣ 47:09  Rapid Fire Interview With Dr Kate⁣ 51:00 Dr. Kate's Final thoughts⁣ 52:30 Hilary's Close and Information⁣ 53:25 Havening for Healing Journey Support⁣ ⁣ ⁣Connect with Dr. Kate on all social media platforms at @DrKateTruitt Get her free Keep Breathing Healing Companion Toolkit:  https://www.drkatetruitt.com/freeresources ⁣ Tune in to Dr. Kate's other conversation on the HIListically Speaking Podcast  (Ep 109) and learn about Healing in Your Hands https://www.hilaryrusso.com/podcast/episode/20c0e132/ep109-dr-kate-truitt-the-healing-power-of-touch⁣ ⁣ ⁣ Interested in giving Havening a try? Schedule your session and mention you heard about it on the podcast.⁣ https://hilaryrusso.as.me/hugitout⁣ ⁣ Join the next Free Havening Happy Hour. March 27th at 7pm ET. Registration is required https://www.hilaryrusso.com/events⁣   CONNECT WITH HILARY⁣ https://www.instagram.com/hilaryrusso⁣ ⁣https://www.youtube.com/hilaryrusso⁣ https://www.facebook.com/hilisticallyspeaking⁣ https://twitter.com/HilaryRusso⁣ https://www.tiktok.com/@hilisticallyspeaking⁣ https://www.hilaryrusso.com/podcast⁣ ⁣ ⁣Music by Lipbone Redding https://lipbone.com/⁣ ⁣ ⁣ EPISODE TRANSCRIPT ⁣ https://www.hilaryrusso.com/podcast⁣⁣ 00:00 - Dr. Kate Truitt (Guest)⁣ Those behavioral responses, those flash-bowl memories. They're there through an evolutionary construct and that's, I think, such useful information when our brain is grappling with depression and anxiety or suicidal considerations, or just trying to find a way to keep breathing. Fundamentally, Because our brain's good at keeping us alive. It's its number one job. It's not so good at reading the instruction manuals that the 21st century has handed to us for a thriving life. ⁣ ⁣ 00:36 - Hilary Russo (Host)⁣ There are people in your life that you will meet that will either be there for a moment, a season or a lifetime You've heard this before and somehow someway no matter how much time they are in your life, because it's just a measurement of time you need to decide the role that they're going to play, especially as life is going forward, and I'm not only talking about those positive moments either, because life is truly about contrast. ⁣ ⁣ 01:04⁣ It's about growth, it's about finding balance, personal development right, and Dr Kate Truitt knows that all too well. If the name sounds familiar, it's because she has been here on the HIListically  Speaking podcast before, and she was here talking about her first book, healing in your Hands, which was the story of really how we can put self-healing and self-havening into our lives. But now she's back with something much more personal, and I am so elated to have you Kate. Kate the Great, as I call you, someone I consider a friend, a mentor, especially in the world of havening, and you're an award-winning clinical psychologist, neuroscientist, internationally recognized for your work in trauma and stress and resiliency. But more so, you are just a human being going through this life like anybody else, with your own story, and that is really what your newest book is about Keep Breathing and I'm just so glad I get time to share space with you again. It's always a gift. ⁣ ⁣ 02:07 - Dr. Kate Truitt (Guest)⁣ Yeah, well, right back at you, Hilary. Thank you so much for inviting me on and I just. You are a friend and a dear colleague and I admire you so much, and so I'm really excited to share about Keep Breathing and to dig in? Yeah, because at the end of the day, we are all just humans doing our best. ⁣ ⁣ 02:27 - Hilary Russo (Host)⁣ Yeah, Like there's one quote that I love, Kate, and it's we're all just walking each other home right, and that's kind of something that you and I have talked about before, especially with this journey that you're sharing in Keep Breathing. That we're going to get into. But the whole idea that the old school, the old way of therapy and psychology, and sitting across the from your therapist, feeling like you're being judged in a way like tell me all your feelings. It has really changed, because now it's we're seeing more of the traditional therapy, including parts of ourselves, so that you can share with your clients and your patients to let them know I'm human too, and that's. That's so much about what we're we're reading in this newest book, isn't it? ⁣ ⁣ 03:17 - Dr. Kate Truitt (Guest)⁣ Yeah, and it well, it's about connection fundamentally. And the purpose of this book in so many respects was to highlight what you just said. When we're a psychotherapist, when we're trained and we've we've got the license, we've got the things, we're put into this expert role and sure there's a lot of information that we have. And, on the other hand, the number one thing that supports the healing journey is connection and report. And when we're invited to divorce our humanity from the healing process, sure there are some reasons for that, clinically, why we do that. And, on the other hand, in a world where disconnection is the rule of thumb, as our job now as empaths, as healers, is to be a connecting space, it really is about that. ⁣ ⁣ 04:12 - Hilary Russo (Host)⁣ So the hope for the book was. ⁣ ⁣ 04:13 - Dr. Kate Truitt (Guest)⁣ yeah is to highlight hey, you can know a lot of things and, at the end of the day, just a human brain doing human things. ⁣ ⁣ 04:21 - Hilary Russo (Host)⁣ I think it also goes back to not just connection but a trust in knowing that as we're walking through this life, we're going to be impacted, we are going to be touch, moved and inspired by different things that come into our lives. And how do we process, how do we go through these things? And I think that's what makes your book a little different than just a traditional memoir. You're sharing this really deep part of yourself through years and this book just isn't about grief. This is so much further. You actually said this is part autobiography and part scientific exploration. Can you elaborate on that? ⁣ ⁣ 05:04 - Dr. Kate Truitt (Guest)⁣ Yeah, it's raw. ⁣ ⁣ 05:07⁣ I think the tagline that keeps coming back and being reflected to me is it took me five years to write this book and, for context, my first book I wrote in eight months and I love my first book, but this book took five years and it took 10 years to be able to write it, because it does dig into not only the sudden traumatic loss of my fiancee a week before our wedding and that's actually the opening chapter, is me going to give the eulogy and then it uses my story as the case study. ⁣ ⁣ 05:43⁣ The Case Study, told in real, deep, first-person, intimate terms, of understanding the impacts of childhood trauma, of chronic illness and pain, of suicidal considerations, and grappling with that very real human darkness that can seep into our souls and hold us captive for so long. And fundamentally also, it's a love story about coming home to self and learning how to partner with our mind and our body and our soul so that we can show up in the world around us no matter what's happening. And then, of course, because I'm a science geek and this is why it took five years really gently integrating the nuances of science into all of that, why is the brain doing these things? Why are our behaviors showing up in these ways that are deeply painful and negatively impactful on our lives, and I talk a lot about that Because really my goal for both of my books was to turn around to my young 16-17 year old self, if I could, and say, if only you'd had this data, dear one. And perhaps somebody else now will have the data and it will help them. ⁣ ⁣ 07:00 - Hilary Russo (Host)⁣ Yeah, what would you say to your 16 year old self now? ⁣ ⁣ 07:05 - Dr. Kate Truitt (Guest)⁣ It's okay, hang in there, baby girl. ⁣ ⁣ 07:07 - Hilary Russo (Host)⁣ Yeah, hang in there. Isn't that something we constantly need to say to ourselves? We're not separate from the parts of ourselves that are younger. I mean, all parts matter, as we've heard. That's big in the community, but being able to hold space for that younger part of yourself that's feeling scared or insecure or undecided, showing up for that part of ourselves, is really important. ⁣ ⁣ 07:40 - Dr. Kate Truitt (Guest)⁣ Extremely important and even the parts of ourselves that are looking at exiting stage, left out of life. One of the final stories I added into the book was and this was a big leap that my editor supported me in making and Chelsea Thompson, thank you. You're amazing, I love. You was really looking at my young, 10 year old self who was struggling with suicidal ideation, and using that as another story to highlight the pain of childhood, the lack of awareness that our young selves can struggle with. And one thing Chelsea said to me as I wrote the story was I'm a mom. I don't really think about the fact that my little kiddo could be going to that level of deep despair. I think about anxiety and stress and depression, but I don't think about that for them. And when I told her how young it started for me, that's her brain. She's like you. Please, if you feel like you can safely tell the story, please do. ⁣ ⁣ 08:51 - Hilary Russo (Host)⁣ What's even scarier about that is that you and I grew up in an age where there was no social media, and you know my work as a health journalist. I've covered a lot of stories that tap into that area of how social media can have a real negative impact on your emotional well-being. ⁣ ⁣ 09:12⁣ In fact, there have been some statistics and I've shared them before on the age group that it's really impacting. You know that younger age group, the teens, into the early 20s even, and you know, with us not having that and how heavy it was for us then not having this global village to be able to tap into at the touch of a fingertip. How much more is it now and how much more important is this type of book to have so that kids know that they are supported, or the adult in us that's looking back at the child knows they're supported. ⁣ ⁣ 09:51 - Dr. Kate Truitt (Guest)⁣ Right. ⁣ ⁣ 09:51 - Hilary Russo (Host)⁣ You know. ⁣ ⁣ 09:53 - Dr. Kate Truitt (Guest)⁣ Well, yeah, and looking at the idea of the village and how fundamental that is to our deep, deep, beautiful, dear friend. ⁣ ⁣ 10:03 - Hilary Russo (Host)⁣ Amy, make it work. We love Amy. ⁣ ⁣ 10:05 - Dr. Kate Truitt (Guest)⁣ Yeah, and those core values of safety and belonging and loveability and success, being able to get those core needs met, which is something that I've been developing as part of my model for 25 years. ⁣ ⁣ 10:20⁣ But I came up with the idea of Amy when I was a young 20 something working in a rat lab, because I couldn't figure out where. My brain just wanted me dead. And you know, and I had an amazing human who shown so much healing and care on me, which was John, and then 10 years later he died. And that grappling with myself within all of that and really knowing that, as you're sharing, there's our village, and then when we put it into that social media sphere, it escalates exponentially the pressure and the expectation of these fundamental values that our brains are evolutionarily hardwired to lean into. And so if we feel like what rejection feels like in a home environment and then we take that to a global populace, is what and that's what it can feel like in social media, especially for adolescents and teens, and that's why suicide is the number one killer of our young humans these days. It's devastating. ⁣ ⁣ 11:20 - Hilary Russo (Host)⁣ It's beyond devastating. Having to dig into those, those statistics, is both a doctor, a neuroscientist and also a journalist. The other side of things, to sit and to come from a compassionate place, because you and I are both empaths, as many people who are of service in this work are it. It's devastating to sit there and think how can I help? And in your writing of Keep Breathing, was that something you thought about? Because it is your own healing journey, that writing this. I'm sure it's cathartic, therapeutic, but were you thinking? In writing this, I really want to share some kind of in a way it's guidance, a guide that lets people know they're okay just how they are and they're supported. ⁣ ⁣ 12:13 - Dr. Kate Truitt (Guest)⁣ Yeah, I never would have done it otherwise. It's one thing to pen a story. It's another thing to go through the journey of publishing a book. As I know you're working on your own books and I know you know so well. The vision for this was so much bigger than me. ⁣ ⁣ 12:35⁣ Yeah, yeah, my story and it's interesting, Hilary, because my story used to be a unicorn story of being widowed so young, of grappling with chronic illness and layering through that the difficulties of a complicated childhood and a complicated mind, body system, with health and pain and everything. And then, when the pandemic hit, my unicorn story became a normal, devastating story of millions of humans facing unexpected loss and death, of chronic illness seeping into the very fibers of our society. And that was a huge part of what kept me moving forward when many times I wanted to set the book aside. And then the other piece is my fiance, john, who's a victim of the opioid epidemic and looking at chronic illness and pain and so much that has happened in terms of opioid use at a national level. And now you know Netflix has done a great job putting out a lot of really important stories around it and there's a lot of conversation now, more so than ever and at the same time. I was a psychologist, I was trained, I was working with individuals who are navigating addiction. ⁣ ⁣ 13:58 - Hilary Russo (Host)⁣ And here my own partner died of an accidental overdose from opioids and I remember what hit me with your book was very early on and I don't want to give this away, but we know that this story is so impactful. But when you went to the blame game and I saw in the quotes I should have been there, I was like ugh, and I think that is one of those things that we go through with. Grief is how the anger, the avoidance and then the blame of what could I have done differently? But you were actually in that space and to be also working in the space, it's kind of there's a level up there. ⁣ ⁣ 14:43 - Dr. Kate Truitt (Guest)⁣ You know I felt like I, leveled up on the guilt and the shame and the judgment and just how I flogged myself emotionally for it and carried that. ⁣ ⁣ 14:56 - Hilary Russo (Host)⁣ I felt like I failed. What do you feel was the shift? And I feel like it's more than just a shift. But where did you really start seeing a change in how you wanted to change the narrative on this story of losing the love of your life a week before your wedding, really coming to terms with what you've been through in your own life as a child, with your own illness and your own suicidal ideations? Where was it where Kate said I got to do something with this? ⁣ ⁣ 15:33 - Dr. Kate Truitt (Guest)⁣ There was an incident at my offices where a past patient of mine came to the offices with the intention of harming me and it was a very scary event and luckily everybody was fine and the situation was contained and the person who needed support got support. And that was one of those moments for me of reconciliation and recognizing that there's so much pain in the world and the slight sidestep here. But this really deep connection to mental health and wellness or human rights and therapy is a privilege. And saying that as somebody who runs a group clinic and also has a training institute and a nonprofit like how do we do everything we can? And then being a part of the havening community, of course, is one of the co-developers to create the butterfly effect of larger change. And in the havening world it's been really powerful and beautiful to witness how those tools and that's where I'm the creator of the Healing in your Hands programs can be disseminated into the communities and, on the other hand, the education around what's happening in our brains isn't readily available and one of the things after that incident in my office is that my team continually reflected and the patients who were in the offices when the event happened and we had full swat on site to helicopters Like this was no joke. ⁣ ⁣ 17:12⁣ One of the things that everybody kept continually reflecting back to me was thank God I understood my brain and what happened next in terms of their own journey. And I told everybody go get therapy, go get whatever support you need, go do acupuncture, go get whatever you need. Build me, including all the patients who were there. So my entire team and all the patients like, just know, we've got this, you just send us the invoices, no questions asked, whatever you need. Nobody took me up on it, and for two critical reasons. One, everybody went to the offices and applied havening with their clinicians and literally one of my clinicians was on the roof with her patient of a three-story building. ⁣ ⁣ 17:57 - Hilary Russo (Host)⁣ Hey, there's no area that's off limits with this work. ⁣ ⁣ 18:00 - Dr. Kate Truitt (Guest)⁣ He's there, no limits, just megawork. And that they understood their brain. And that was where the request really for me started to bubble up and say I've been a specialist in neuroscience and trauma and resilience for going on 20 years now because I needed to make sense of my brain and I've got a pretty wackadoodle story. ⁣ ⁣ 18:25 - Hilary Russo (Host)⁣ You're using that word. We love that word. Yeah, I do. ⁣ ⁣ 18:31 - Dr. Kate Truitt (Guest)⁣ And to the point of the expert being Because people as experts were like, oh, they don't really experience this. And then we're on the pedestal and it's like no, no, no, no, no. I've had panic attacks in shows. I've done the continual freak out texting with people and just next thing I know it's pages after pages of text messages and nobody's responding. And there's a narrative why our brain engages in those behaviors and they can be so pathologized rather, and instead it's like no, you're just human. ⁣ ⁣ 19:04 - Hilary Russo (Host)⁣ That. I'm so glad you say that, because I've been there too and the first thing we want to do is shame ourselves for being human and think I should have known better. Much like I should have been there. ⁣ ⁣ 19:19⁣ We think, because we have this higher level of education LNOPs after our name we're on the top of what we do in the world, that we don't feel, and what makes us so beautiful is being vulnerable and courageous to say, oh no, I go through it too. And I'm glad you said that, because I think hearing it from somebody who isn't a place in a platform multiple and I'm not just talking social media, I mean in general where people look up to you we're not untouchable, or you're not untouchable, we're just human beings first right. So you go back to mentioning something you mentioned, something early in the book too, about flash bulb memories and to those who might not understand what that is in the scientific community, can you talk about that a little bit? ⁣ ⁣ 20:26 - Dr. Kate Truitt (Guest)⁣ It's a reliving of an experience that has already happened and it's different from deja vu. Sometimes we have those experiences of deja vu of oh, I've been here before, this has happened before In a flash bulb memory. The experience is literally taking over our brain and we're reliving it in the moment, from everything we're hearing, seeing, smelling, tasting, touching, all the way down to our somatosensory or body response, the body memories of the encoding and the thoughts, the feelings of all of it. And when it happens, it's extremely disorienting because our brain has lost sight of the present moment or back in the past, and it's really, really painful and for so many people who don't know what they are but experience them, because that happens in trauma it's extremely crazy. ⁣ ⁣ 21:19 - Hilary Russo (Host)⁣ Making yeah, and really that's when we have to show up for Amy and say all is well, this is not happening, it happened right. And really having the tools, of which there are many out there, it doesn't have to just be havening. Obviously, it's what you want to put in your little brain candy jar, as I call it. Pull out what you need in that moment. And just a side note that those listening, there is a wonderful toolkit that Dr Kate is offering. It's Keep Breathing Healing Companion Toolkit. That is a free resource. It's a wonderful download. ⁣ ⁣ 21:58⁣ I highly recommend you grab this in addition to Keep Breathing the Book which is coming out in April, and it's a Keep Breathing, a psychologist's intimate journey through lost trauma and rediscovering life, and I'll have that book, as well as Healing, in your Hands available. These are both two wonderful books to put in your library when you need them. Read them more than once. I know this book just from starting to read it. It'll be one of those books I want to read again because it's such an intimate journey and I think this is the kind of book that every time you read it you find something new right. ⁣ ⁣ 22:36 - Dr. Kate Truitt (Guest)⁣ Yeah, well, the hope in integrating the science is really helping people partner with their brains and have a theoretical construct for all of those wackadoodle things that happen, and being able to say, oh OK, amy, the Amy, della, amy's having a really hard day, this is happening, that is happening. And being able to reconstruct not just the past but also find through lines on how to create the present. And that's where the Healing in your Hands book is a lovely companion as well. ⁣ ⁣ 23:13 - Hilary Russo (Host)⁣ Yeah, we will share both those, definitely, yeah, yeah, what is it that you're hoping to see happen with Keep Breathing? That might be different from Healing in your Hands, with us being authors and sharing our journeys and sharing what we know and wanting to put it out there in the world. We just want to help people, right? What's the difference between your first book, healing in your Hands, and where you're hoping to keep breathing? ⁣ ⁣ 23:42 - Dr. Kate Truitt (Guest)⁣ Yeah, Healing in your Hands is a healing journey, and it utilizes the self-havening touch as a mechanism of action to empower an entire suite of neurobiological healing tools, and so that is really about partnering and guiding one's own healing journey. ⁣ ⁣ 24:06⁣ Through the lens of a lot of the client's case studies that I've worked with and it's so much fun writing it. ⁣ ⁣ 24:13⁣ Keep breathing, on the other hand, my vision really was to do a trauma-informed version of the Body Keeps the Score by Vistle VanderKohl, because that is a phenomenal book, but it was originally intended for clinicians and it's become the Bible of understanding trauma, for very good reason. ⁣ ⁣ 24:32⁣ It's beautifully written and extremely well-informed and yet it can be a really tough read for people who have trauma. And to take the Brené Brown framework and integrate it into the science, which then basically became kind of me belting out my own story every step of the way, which Brené does so beautifully, in order to reduce shame and enhance self-connection. So really the vision for Keep Breathing is to have a trauma-informed, safe way for people to learn about what's happening in their mind-body system and multiple different levels, not just traumatic loss and grief, because grief is weird. There's so many weird things about grief and loss that feel crazy-making and I use the word crazy with a deep love and care, because that's a term I've given to myself for going on 40 years now, and so I've partnered with that term because I can feel pretty chaotic, which is what crazy is Like ah, what's happening but to also help people see that they're not alone, yeah, and we need that more than ever. ⁣ ⁣ 25:43 - Hilary Russo (Host)⁣ And there's humor in the healing anyway, right. So, whether it's crazy wackadoodle, what's the other term. You say, oh, crazy pants McGee. Crazy pants McGee. I think that's the title of another book. Yeah, that's exactly what I mean Crazy pants McGee. But when we find the humor in the healing, we're kind of taking ourselves out of it in the moment, right, almost like what you said about the flash bulb. The landscape of where our brain is taking us in that moment, making us think like the fender bender that we're going through, the intersection of where we had a fender bender once, is actually happening right now, right, and being able to see oh OK, I'm OK, I'm safe, I'm good. I might be crazy pants McGee at the moment, but just holding space for ourselves in that area I think is really important. ⁣ ⁣ 26:36 - Dr. Kate Truitt (Guest)⁣ Yeah, yeah, absolutely yeah, and beautifully stated. Because those behavioral responses, those flash bulb memories, they're there through an evolutionary construct. Yeah, and that's, I think, such useful information when our brain is grappling with depression and anxiety or suicidal considerations or just trying to find a way to keep breathing. Fundamentally Because our brain's good at keeping us alive. It's its number one job. It's not so good at reading the instruction manuals that the 21st century has handed to us for a thriving life. ⁣ ⁣ 27:20 - Hilary Russo (Host)⁣ And making things more conversational. Like you said, the body keeps a score is a great book. It is a lot to read, right? And then you think about the books that Brene Brown has put out there which have a little bit more lightheartedness. It's like you're sitting down having a conversation with her, yeah, but you're blending the two in a way that makes this a much more conversational. Yet scientific exploration into a personal psychologist journey, you know, oh, that's pretty good. Actually, I like how I just said that. Oh yeah, that was beautiful. ⁣ ⁣ 27:53 - Dr. Kate Truitt (Guest)⁣ But it's, I'm just going to pause on that. You can have it. ⁣ ⁣ 27:59 - Hilary Russo (Host)⁣ You have for the longest time, in every email, many times in some of your posts even have used the term phoenix rising. You know the phoenix rising. Where did you come up with that? And I know that's a real thing, but why is it so closely attached to Kate? ⁣ ⁣ 28:20 - Dr. Kate Truitt (Guest)⁣ Way back in my sweet young teenage years I adopted the spirit animal, the cockroach, and context of that is cockroaches can withstand anything. You cut their head off, they will live for two more weeks. I got to go in a deep dive researching cockroaches when I decided to put this in the book because otherwise, like you need to give context for that and of course it hit the cutting room floor. It's not the context of the human background. We'll keep it in here for you. ⁣ ⁣ 28:52⁣ It's here. Thank you, use the data. They're gritty, intense features and by the time I was 18, I think I'd almost died around nine times and I don't go into depth around all of it, but there's just been a lot. And when I met John, he kind of took a stand against me around the whole concept of the cockroach and said you know, that's not exactly the best framework because they're survivors and I'd always been a huge fan of Greek mythology and mythical creatures and leaning into narrative and story. ⁣ ⁣ 29:37⁣ And then one day, when I was in the throes of a really, really deep panic attack, I remember feeling that I felt like my body was on fire, which is how panic can often feel and I had severe, debilitating social anxiety. That's how I started in the rat labs, because rats are friendly and they're kind, they don't judge humans are terrifying. And it just started to shift for me the space of I keep going into the flames, I keep feeling like I'm burning up, but I keep coming out of the phoenix, and so that was a totem. I started to try on. And then when I met my now partner, nauz, who I know you've met and hung out with and Irish danced with, we did. ⁣ ⁣ 30:22 - Hilary Russo (Host)⁣ Who are you kidding? You were the one that was killing it in the Irish dancing. ⁣ ⁣ 30:28 - Dr. Kate Truitt (Guest)⁣ No, no, that was Kim, that was Kim. ⁣ ⁣ 30:30 - Hilary Russo (Host)⁣ I don't know, no, anyway, yes, knowing Nauz he's great. ⁣ ⁣ 30:35 - Dr. Kate Truitt (Guest)⁣ Yeah, on our very first date we were chatting and he shared with me that he had a totem of the phoenix and he survived and been through a lot and growing up in India and religious wars and just being exposed to a lot of really painful, complex things. And it was this bonding moment that we had of you know what? There will be ashes, there will be fires and pain into power, wounds, into wisdom. And then, because I'm just going to keep talking, hilary, do you know what a group of phoenixes is called? I'm not even gonna guess. ⁣ ⁣ 31:15 - Hilary Russo (Host)⁣ An odyssey. ⁣ ⁣ 31:17 - Dr. Kate Truitt (Guest)⁣ Oh, oh, I like that you mentioned that in the book I do, I do, I do, and so, as I mean, this was something I'd known for a little while and then, when I met ran, it started doing, havening and moving into this new way of being in the world, and I had phoenixes along the way of my journey, I started noticing this collective community of an odyssey, and from there it's just expanded beyond the haven in community, which is phenomenal and amazing, and to this larger global collective that I walk alongside, and these are all humans who have been in the flames. ⁣ ⁣ 32:01⁣ I don't know a single human who has done their work that hasn't burned up, and the reason I call it done their work is being a phoenix means you are aware that you burned. Oh yes, and the scars are things you're proud of. ⁣ ⁣ 32:19 - Hilary Russo (Host)⁣ Yeah, the first step to any change is the awareness right. ⁣ ⁣ 32:23 - Dr. Kate Truitt (Guest)⁣ Yeah. ⁣ ⁣ 32:24 - Hilary Russo (Host)⁣ Yeah, love that. ⁣ ⁣ 32:24 - Dr. Kate Truitt (Guest)⁣ And rather than being, and the transition to the phoenixes. Wait, I'm not going to be ashamed, I'm not going to judge myself, I'm not going to be stuck in self-living, and if I do get stuck there because we do as humans, I'm also going to lean into my village, my odyssey, you. It's the story of the phoenix. ⁣ ⁣ 32:50 - Hilary Russo (Host)⁣ Love that and you mentioned that in the beginning of the book when I was first reading your acknowledgements you had. It was somewhat of a dedication to your odyssey, right? Yeah, it is literally. ⁣ ⁣ 33:03 - Dr. Kate Truitt (Guest)⁣ I think it's the actual dedication. It is a dedication. ⁣ ⁣ 33:06 - Hilary Russo (Host)⁣ I just didn't want to leave anyone out, if but I remember reading that going oh. I love this. ⁣ ⁣ 33:11 - Dr. Kate Truitt (Guest)⁣ Yeah, to my village, my odyssey, and we continue to always phoenix up. ⁣ ⁣ 33:16 - Hilary Russo (Host)⁣ I love that, kate. The other thing I love that you do mention Nas, because I was going to bring him into this anyway and in that way that you're writing this book. It's really while it's not just about the grief and loss of a partner that you had. There's so much more to the book. But how has it been to be in another relationship, referencing back to an older relationship, and feel vulnerable enough to share it without feeling that you're possibly impacting the relationship you're in now? ⁣ ⁣ 33:57 - Dr. Kate Truitt (Guest)⁣ Yeah, and it's interesting you highlight that because that's something my mom has consistently brought up ever since I met Nas, which is like don't talk about John, don't. And from the most loving Karen's face, and Nas is very specifically, uniquely him, human. I have no better way to say it. ⁣ ⁣ 34:18 - Hilary Russo (Host)⁣ He's pretty cool. ⁣ ⁣ 34:20 - Dr. Kate Truitt (Guest)⁣ He's pretty cool. Yeah, he's pretty cool and from the very you know it's interesting. I told him on her second date that I knew I would never be able to biologically have children. I didn't tell him about John until our 10th date because that, on her second date, was information that he needed to have so he could make a specific choice about whether or not he wanted to continue the relationship. As my body had considerations With John, I was so mindful that I didn't want to be that person that, whatever my brain said that person was. ⁣ ⁣ 35:06⁣ And when I started telling him about what had happened, he consistently showed up in a space that was just it's a part of your story. I want to know as much as you feel comfortable sharing. And that's been his through line from day one and writing this book. I kept checking with him because he did. Let me write about him in the book and he's deeply, deeply, deeply private. He's one of the most private people I've ever met in my life, and so I kept reading him excerpts that he's in and, in his own cheeky way, sometimes now he'll quote them back to me and be like, don't forget. ⁣ ⁣ 35:50⁣ Page 300 or 200, you said Sometimes I see more than you think, because literally he said that to me last night. ⁣ ⁣ 36:03 - Hilary Russo (Host)⁣ I love it. That's a good connection. It'll be fun this time Was that Write a book in what It'll be fun, right. ⁣ ⁣ 36:13 - Dr. Kate Truitt (Guest)⁣ But I think the best way to describe it is he's seen all of these weird universal idiosyncrasies and just been there for all of them, and even this diamond that I wear. Nas gifted me last year, for he gave me two necklaces, one for anniversary, one for Valentine's Day, and this is the engagement ring that John gave me. This is the diamond. And then he gifted me another necklace that has the diamonds that were would have been on my wedding band with John and he was just saying John's always with you, he's your angel, he's always with you, and that's Nas. ⁣ ⁣ 36:57 - Hilary Russo (Host)⁣ That's more than just a confident human being. That's someone that gets it. It's someone who realizes that that's part of your story and you're here and you two are together now because it's exactly where you're supposed to be now. Right, it's like that quote, that, what is it? I was just sharing this today with a client. Life will give you whatever experiences are most helpful for the evolution of your consciousness. ⁣ ⁣ 37:27 - Dr. Kate Truitt (Guest)⁣ How do you know it's the right? ⁣ ⁣ 37:29 - Hilary Russo (Host)⁣ experience, because you're having it, that's. Eckhart right and that's a good one, because you sit there and you're like why is this happening? And then you think, oh, it's happening, because it's happening. Right, nas came into your life when he did, because he was meant to be there when he's there. So the reference back to something that was is still part of the is, but it's not the. ⁣ ⁣ 37:54 - Dr. Kate Truitt (Guest)⁣ Now you know what I'm saying, I do, I do. And John, the week before he died and this is a story that was one of the hardest stories to write in the book he had said I've always known I was going to die young and I was so mad and literally, driving on the freeway, pulled off onto the shoulder of the freeway, was so mad. He wasn't suicidal or anything, he just he's just this dead pan. And John had a certitude when he spoke about certain things. He was a joyful I mean, he's an April Fool's baby and he embodied everything you could imagine about an April Fool's baby, which is why the book coming out in April 2nd is so precious. And he said this and he looked at me and he said and you will find great love and I'll let you know you have to and my inner 13 year olds going, you're going to die alone and I'll die first. And he's just like you will know. ⁣ ⁣ 38:53 - Hilary Russo (Host)⁣ When you look back on that now, how does that impact you? Yeah, oh, he, let me know. Yeah, the greater awareness sometimes people have, we don't even realize it, you know. ⁣ ⁣ 39:04 - Dr. Kate Truitt (Guest)⁣ Yeah, it's a larger universal connection. And the chapter two opens up with a quote from John and do you mind if I read it? Oh please do, it's so poignant. ⁣ ⁣ 39:20 - Hilary Russo (Host)⁣ And while Kate's finding that, just a reminder that keep breathing healing companion toolkit, she's giving that away. That's a free resource that is available to you. It will go beautifully with the book. What a beautiful companion to the book. So we'll have that in the podcast notes as well as links to the book, which this book keep breathing, drops on the 2nd of April. And then there's also the other book, healing in your Hands, that we'll share as well, because it's why not have both right Right, kate the great in your pocket whenever you need her. But that's the goal. ⁣ ⁣ 39:52 - Dr. Kate Truitt (Guest)⁣ That is the goal. If only we could have Kate the great all the time, and on the Dr Ketra dot com, we're cultivating a library of free resources. ⁣ ⁣ 40:01 - Hilary Russo (Host)⁣ Love that. We'll share all of that the tool quotes there. ⁣ ⁣ 40:04 - Dr. Kate Truitt (Guest)⁣ Yeah, we have a bunch of neuroplasticity exercises because, you know, healing and the life journey is not just about healing the past Beautiful we also have the opportunity to build the future. So John yes, so the chapter called Tomorrow Begins, and this is starting the morning after I found him and I couldn't save his life. And the quote is and the transformation from flesh to earth. We see this symbolic form of transcendence, suggesting its inevitability, whether we see it as fit. ⁣ ⁣ 40:41 - Hilary Russo (Host)⁣ He said that and you remember that he said this when he was like 23. ⁣ ⁣ 40:47 - Dr. Kate Truitt (Guest)⁣ And you, remember that I have a trunk. He and I were. He was also a prolific writer and so we would, he said. For context, I was in the hospital when I was in my early twenties and he sent me a three-ring binder. That was this thick of our remember AOL and Stitmus. Oh yes, of our aim conversations, because texting didn't exist yet. ⁣ ⁣ 41:12 - Hilary Russo (Host)⁣ You're dating us and yeah and it was all of our conversations. ⁣ ⁣ 41:17 - Dr. Kate Truitt (Guest)⁣ I still have that, and so when I started writing the book, I went back through, which was a real journey into just my soul, and that was one of the quotes that I found from a poem that he'd written when he was in his early twenties. ⁣ ⁣ 41:32 - Hilary Russo (Host)⁣ It's quite extraordinary to think that the internet could be well contrasting, right, positive and negative, because it allows us to really go into the digital library and Rolodex of things that we might normally have to find in a huge library, and it could take hours and hours, in fact. Suddenly I just went back to. I had a flashball moment, but a good one. ⁣ ⁣ 42:05 - Dr. Kate Truitt (Guest)⁣ And then it was a good one. ⁣ ⁣ 42:06 - Hilary Russo (Host)⁣ Yeah, so when we were at the when we were at the library on the campus of Trinity University in Dublin and that library I remember looking around while we were there. ⁣ ⁣ 42:15⁣ We went on that tour and thinking how in the world do you find what you need in this place? Back in the day we're talking hundreds of years ago and you know we're of the dewey decibel system age, right, but now everything is just so at our fingertips with the digital age. It really makes us. It gives us, rather, the opportunity to transport ourselves to a place that maybe we have not been to in a very long time. ⁣ ⁣ 42:51 - Dr. Kate Truitt (Guest)⁣ Yeah, you know, and reviewing the stories and conversations that we had and I brought a couple into the book Because they're just such in hindsight, going back to your question and how, when I think about what he said, now there's so many flickers to Eckhart Tolle's beautiful point of what was to come and the that quantum physics, human consciousness, integration. ⁣ ⁣ 43:33 - Hilary Russo (Host)⁣ With this book being so personal and understanding. Somewhat well, understanding authoring a book, was this one you did completely yourself, or did you find it helpful to have someone? Oh good, no. ⁣ ⁣ 43:50 - Dr. Kate Truitt (Guest)⁣ No, no, no, I had. I was on the phone till 4am sometimes with friends as I was writing it. Rebecca who many people who've been to our trainings and knows Rebecca very well. She's on my lead trainers, also just a chosen sister and family member, a fellow Phoenix. She really incredibly helped me tune some of the harder parts of my family's narrative. I, every step of the way, was in conversation with my parents because we do unpack the family story and the narrative and it was critical to me that I be very respectful of every human's journey. Nobody has intended harm, despite the experiences that occurred. And how do we honor and hold space for that and the ancestral journey of all of that transgenerational trauma? So my parents were a huge voice within all of it. Rebecca really played a critical role in identifying some key ways to present some information that would sponsor the story and honor everybody's unique stories. I'm accusing the word story, but that's what it is. ⁣ ⁣ 45:04 - Hilary Russo (Host)⁣ And also I've found that there are. Well, we all have a story right. Every single one of us Not everyone's going to pen a book. Not anyone, not everyone's going to talk about it, and part of the difficulty might be for fear of saying or hurting somebody, because you are sharing your truth, right. ⁣ ⁣ 45:29 - Dr. Kate Truitt (Guest)⁣ And and with John's family. It was so important to me to be respectful Because I could I could tell the story that I lived with him and they were my family for 10 years and during many of those years they were more my family than my own family and to share the information I was sharing. How do I do that in a respectful, kind, loving manner and also not unpack any information that wasn't mine to share? I'm walking that very fine line and I was very grateful that when I was going through that huge binder, one of the things that John repeatedly circled back to was a permission that I didn't know would happen 10, 15 years later of you have to tell your story, and whatever version of my story is a part of that tell it. And that refrain shows up over and over and over again, going all the way back to when I was 20, 21 years old. ⁣ ⁣ 46:39 - Hilary Russo (Host)⁣ Kate, this is such a gift. It's going to help many and I imagine it continues to help you. Yeah, you know it does. This helps me. Oh well it helps me too. I think we learn from each other. You know, and that's so much of what community connection the Odyssey is Right, so I'm so glad that you brought that brought that up, because that was that was definitely an important piece Before we go. ⁣ ⁣ 47:09⁣ You know I do this, you know it's coming. I hope you haven't been writing down words too, because I want to do our little rapid fire. As you know, for those who are new to the HIListically Speaking podcast, I do a game called rapid fire at the end, where I write down words that were said by our lovely guests and want to think about the first word that comes to their beautiful brains. So not always positive, not always negative, just is doesn't matter, it's just a word, right? ⁣ ⁣ 47:43⁣ So here we go. You ready, yes, okay, some of them might be two words, but right, because you've been on before, so I got to change it up for you, all, right? Well, why don't we start with Odyssey? ⁣ ⁣ 47:58 - Dr. Kate Truitt (Guest)⁣ Village. ⁣ ⁣ 48:00 - Hilary Russo (Host)⁣ Breathing. ⁣ ⁣ 48:02 - Dr. Kate Truitt (Guest)⁣ Life. ⁣ ⁣ 48:03 - Hilary Russo (Host)⁣ Whackadoodle Laugh, because that's our favorite word, amy Superhero. ⁣ ⁣ 48:13 - Dr. Kate Truitt (Guest)⁣ Belonging Hard one. ⁣ ⁣ 48:19 - Hilary Russo (Host)⁣ Safety Hard one. ⁣ ⁣ 48:22 - Dr. Kate Truitt (Guest)⁣ Success Complicated. ⁣ ⁣ 48:27 - Hilary Russo (Host)⁣ Oh, you didn't. Okay, you changed it up a little bit. All right, she's throwing me for a loop. Okay, community Odyssey Self love Hard one. Can I keep using the same one you? ⁣ ⁣ 48:42 - Dr. Kate Truitt (Guest)⁣ can do whatever you want. There are no rules, all right, all right you make the rules, just play the game. ⁣ ⁣ 48:47 - Hilary Russo (Host)⁣ That's the rule. Okay, okay, grief. ⁣ ⁣ 48:54 - Dr. Kate Truitt (Guest)⁣ Oh, that's a hard one, especially because I'm running this huge workshop and I've been knee deep in all of the science of grief. Grief, it's just, it's a part of life. It needs to be a part of the conversation. Yeah, two words. ⁣ ⁣ 49:11 - Hilary Russo (Host)⁣ Childhood trauma, heartbreaking. ⁣ ⁣ 49:15 - Dr. Kate Truitt (Guest)⁣ Suicidal, the escape hatch. Phoenix Wounds into wisdom baby. ⁣ ⁣ 49:31 - Hilary Russo (Host)⁣ Yeah, we're closing on that, yeah. ⁣ ⁣ 49:34 - Dr. Kate Truitt (Guest)⁣ We're closing on that. Yeah, wounds into wisdom, baby. ⁣ ⁣ 49:40 - Hilary Russo (Host)⁣ Yeah, we're closing on that Love, that Beautiful. I adore you. ⁣ ⁣ 49:45 - Dr. Kate Truitt (Guest)⁣ I really do. ⁣ ⁣ 49:49 - Hilary Russo (Host)⁣ I have not ever had a guest come on more than once, so congratulations, I did not know that. ⁣ ⁣ 49:54⁣ So thank you. Yes, I mean, I look, you know that this show is my baby. It is my heart's work and I do get a lot of people that want to be in this space and I'm so grateful for that. But to be able to have you back on and share this other part of Dr Kate Truitt to me felt just so natural. Thanks, Right. So I adore you, I admire you. You are such a mentor and such a spark of wisdom and just there's just so many ways I could describe you, Kate, Kate the Great. But thank you for being here, Thank you for everything you were putting out there in the world. ⁣ ⁣ 50:40⁣ And just a reminder we will share everything in the podcast notes, including Dr Kate Truitt's free resources, the book Keep Breathing, even Healing in your Hands, if you haven't heard about it. But go back and listen to that podcast episode, which was, I think, 101. But I can't be certain of that, but we'll put that in there. Good memory. I know it was in the hundreds, early hundreds. Now we're at 149. So look where we are. Of course you are, and I just want to give you a moment to share some final words with those tuning in. ⁣ ⁣ 51:17 - Dr. Kate Truitt (Guest)⁣ It's not going to be too different from what I think I wrapped up our last conversation with, which is, Hilary, just be gentle. If we're all a little more gentle with ourselves, it's a skill. It's not frequently something we're taught and it's the game changer. Being human and living in a human world is complicated. When we're soft and we're gentle with ourselves, it opens up entirely new opportunities for connection, for growth and for inspiration. Life really. ⁣ ⁣ 51:55 - Hilary Russo (Host)⁣ Gentle is such a beautiful word. As you were saying that and just speaking the word. It really. You know how words have feelings, like colors. Just hearing you say the word gentle, it just seemed nurturing and loving. ⁣ ⁣ 52:12 - Dr. Kate Truitt (Guest)⁣ Yeah. ⁣ ⁣ 52:13 - Hilary Russo (Host)⁣ That's a really beautiful word and leaving with that, I like that. That's where we're going. Good deal, yeah, thank you, kate. ⁣ ⁣ 52:25 - Dr. Kate Truitt (Guest)⁣ Thank you, joy and an honor. ⁣ ⁣ 52:27 - Hilary Russo (Host)⁣ Always All right, my sunshine. It's time to be a part of that odyssey that Dr Kate Truitt talks about. Grab a copy of her latest book Keep Breathing a Psychologist's Intimate Journey Through Loss, trauma and Rediscovering Life. This book actually releases on April 2, but there is a link in the podcast notes of this episode to pre-order the book now. You can also download a free companion toolkit, the Keep Breathing Healing Companion Toolkit. It's a free download that Dr Kate is offering a beautiful compliment to her book Keep Breathing. ⁣ ⁣ 53:02⁣ That is also in the podcast notes as well, in addition to Dr Kate's first book, which is Healing in your Hands a beautiful way to learn more about self-havening and how you can self-regulate to self-heal. We talked about that on episode 109 of the HIListically Speaking Podcast. So I'm not only going to add the book, I'm going to add the podcast episode so you can find that as well. And if you're curious about Havening, if you want to learn more about how Havening can support you on your healing journey, let's hug it out. All you have to do is set up a little time with me and we'll see if that modality aligns with you. ⁣ ⁣ 53:38⁣ HIListically Speaking is edited by Two Market Media with music by Lipbone Redding and supported by you. So thank you for trusting me with your time and with your mind and, as Dr Kate shared so beautifully, be gentle with yourself and when you need help, the odyssey, the community, they're awaiting you. So know that you are supported, that you are beautiful just the way you are and that I love you, I believe in you and I will see you next week. Be well.

An Assessment of The Key MWC24 Takeaways in Open RAN Highlighted by Ericsson Cloud RAN, Nokia anyRAN, Energy Efficiency Moves, and Mavenir/Intel Innovations  In this episode of The 5G Factor, our series that focuses on all things 5G, the IoT, and the 5G ecosystem as a whole, I look at the top Open RAN takeaways from my conversations and sessions at Mobile World Congress 2024. The major takeaways consist of Ericsson Cloud RAN portfolio advances, Nokia's anyRAN market readiness including anyRAN for enterprise partnerships with Cisco, HPE, and Microsoft, as well as Mavenir's latest collaboration with Intel to assure Open vRAN innovation and progress.  Our analytical review focused on: Ericsson Cloud RAN Meeting Topmost CSP Priorities. Ericsson's Cloud RAN portfolio is aiding communications service providers (CSPs) in fulfilling their need for increased capacity and exponential increases in data traffic with solutions that make the best use of the available resources – essentially continuing to do more with less. Ericsson has long been focused on energy efficiency and it is a core element of the company's strategy exemplified by its strategic objective is to be Net Zero across its value chain by 2040. I delve into how Ericsson's portfolio development focus enables its radios to be optimized for performance, energy usage and embodied carbon emissions, regardless of whether they are deployed in an integrated or Cloud RAN setting. Ericsson's newest radios are its most energy-efficient yet, offering 39 percent energy savings compared to previous hardware generations as per the company's Sustainability & Corporate Responsibility Report for 2022 This includes how Ericsson is working closely within the Cloud RAN ecosystem and a variety of software and hardware partners such as Intel and AMD (CPU providers) Red Hat (containers-as-a-service, or CaaS), HPE and Dell (servers), to ultimately bring new Cloud RAN innovations, especially for energy efficiency, to market. Nokia anyRAN Ready for Most Any 5G Demand. Nokia unveiled its Cloud RAN solution will be available commercially in 2024 following the successful completion of multiple trials worldwide with hardware vendors, webscale companies, and chipset manufacturers. Nokia's anyRAN approach can enable a fast transition to hybrid environments of Cloud RAN and purpose-built RAN, ensuring consistent performance and interoperability with common software and In-Line acceleration architecture. Nokia also announced the launch of anyRAN for enterprise in partnership with Cisco, HPE and Microsoft that will see the companies offer private wireless solutions to enterprise customers. Nokia's anyRAN for enterprise offers more choice and flexibility for enterprises through collaboration with system integrators and cloud core solution providers alongside providing Nokia's AirScale radio access portfolio to suit their specific requirements. By pre-packaging these solutions together, CSPs and enterprises can benefit from a faster deployment due to extensive interoperability testing with core suppliers. I evaluate why these collaborations enable Nokia to support core vendors' networks and their ecosystems as well as provide access to new segments and markets, accelerating the adoption of 5G in the enterprise sector and boosting industries in their digital transformation. Cloud RAN Must Align with Ecosystem-wide Sustainability Goals. The energy efficiency progress in Cloud RAN needs to align with the energy consumption of overall wireless systems and the digital ecosystem. Fundamentally, the more wireless electronic devices are put in use, the more energy will be consumed. In sum, 5G will exponentially increase energy usage. For instance, The  Small Cell Forum predicts the installed base of small cells to reach 70.2 million in 2025 and the total installed base of 5G or multimode small cells in 2025 to be 13.1 million. Plus, a 2023 study on energy use from 5G networks in China indicates that a carbon efficiency trap of 5G mobile networks is leading to additional carbon emissions of 23.82 ± 1.07 metric tons in China, caused by the spatiotemporal misalignment between cellular traffic and energy consumption in mobile networks. I assess why Ericsson's Breaking the Energy Curve report further reinforces that the power consumption costs of the world's cellular networks will be more than the previously estimated at $25 billion and CSPs should brace for higher costs. As a result, 5G on its own will not provide enough to substantially reduce energy consumption for entire mobile networks, likely requiring outside the box innovations. Mavenir Teams with Intel to Give vRAN a Boost. At MWC24, Mavenir announced the availability of its Open vRAN solution powered by 4th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors with Intel vRAN Boost – designed to deliver a cloud-native, high-performance, and energy-efficient solution for latency-sensitive and compute-intensive mobile network applications. The move to Intel's recent processors for vRAN marks the latest solution optimization for Mavenir, which I see has been helping to drive Open RAN momentum through three generations of Intel Xeon Scalable processors. I examine why Mavenir's suite of performance, functionality, and integrated AI and ML applications for the next generation 4G and 5G networks alongside building a close and long-standing technology collaboration with Intel - underpinned by Intel's processors – is enabling the development of more efficient and cost-effective RANs.  

This is The 10x Weekly in Under 60 Seconds presented by The Monica Talks Cyber Show. Ever wondered how AI is changing the world? One of the major fundamental shift that's happening is that AI is creating news. It's creating ideas, it's creating culture, it's creating history. It's creating things that we don't even know if they existed or happened in reality or not. Learn more about the social impact of AI. Looking to become an influential and effective security leader? Don't know where to start or how to go about it? Follow Monica Verma (LinkedIn) and Monica Talks Cyber (Youtube) for more content on cybersecurity, technology, leadership and innovation, and 10x your career. Subscribe to The 10x Circle newsletter at https://www.monicatalkscyber.com.

Season 4, Episode 9: Welcome back to Keeping it Real with Dr. Kuehl. This week Dr. Kuehl responded to a membership question regarding mortgage rates.ASA Chief Economist Dr. Chris Kuehl is back with his weekly economic update podcast. In Season 4, Episode 9 (8:47 in length), Dr. Kuehl answers a question regarding mortgage rates and if we will see them ever come down or at least level out. Will we ever see 1-2% mortgage rates? Will rates even go back to where they were a few years back? What will be the upper end and what will be the drop down?Fundamentally, the Fed rate decisions are made how?? All other rates are based on what? Is it automatic?The Feds conversation thus far on rate reduction has been what?What two things would sway the Fed away from rate reduction? Where does inflation still exist? Why is it hard to bring down? What is the BIS? Do they have an influence on rates?When will we see a rate reduction? Are we seeing any consensus?Is it realistic to see mortgage rates in the low 6%?Ask Dr. Kuehl a Question Have a question or topic for Chris Kuehl that you would like answered on this podcast? Email it to Bri Baresel at bbaresel@asa.net.

#KungFuPanda4 #Dreamworks  What happens when you get a film that just exists and ultimately you end up feeling like it didn't justify itself being made? Thats Kung-Fu Panda 4 in a nutshell. Fundamentally it does its job telling a story from start to finish but you end up feeling like its lacking overall.

How can a sinner have peace with God? Fundamentally, Catholics and Protestants will give different answers to this question. In this episode, Jake is joined by a friend and devout Roman Catholic, Trey Brock, to define and discuss the Catholic and Protestant understandings of justification. We hope you will be challenged and encouraged.

Dan looks at another argument in Thomas Jay Oord's new book: The Death of Omnipotence and Birth of Amipotence. Oord takes the premises: • Power is fundamentally social (it must be exercised on something). • Power does not exist in absolute isolation and he infers: • If God once existed without creation, that God had no power. • If that God had no power, that God could not have created anything. Does this argument work? Dan shares his initial doubts.  YOU can join future Surprising God conversations at SurprisingGod.com! Episode 20 YouTube Channel: Surprising God Dan's books: Confident Humility The Training of KX12 Send Questions To: Surprising God on X: @SurprisingGodFacebook: SurprisingGod Dan on X: @thatdankent

Speaker CFPs and Sponsor Guides are now available for AIE World's Fair — join us on June 25-27 for the biggest AI Engineer conference of 2024!Soumith Chintala needs no introduction in the ML world — his insights are incredibly accessible across Twitter, LinkedIn, podcasts, and conference talks (in this pod we'll assume you'll have caught up on the History of PyTorch pod from last year and cover different topics). He's well known as the creator of PyTorch, but he's more broadly the Engineering Lead on AI Infra, PyTorch, and Generative AI at Meta.Soumith was one of the earliest supporters of Latent Space (and more recently AI News), and we were overjoyed to catch up with him on his latest SF visit for a braindump of the latest AI topics, reactions to some of our past guests, and why Open Source AI is personally so important to him.Life in the GPU-Rich LaneBack in January, Zuck went on Instagram to announce their GPU wealth: by the end of 2024, Meta will have 350k H100s. By adding all their GPU clusters, you'd get to 600k H100-equivalents of compute. At FP16 precision, that's ~1,200,000 PFLOPS. If we used George Hotz's (previous guest!) "Person of Compute" measure, Meta now has 60k humans of compute in their clusters. Occasionally we get glimpses into the GPU-rich life; on a recent ThursdAI chat, swyx prompted PaLM tech lead Yi Tay to write down what he missed most from Google, and he commented that UL2 20B was trained by accidentally leaving the training job running for a month, because hardware failures are so rare in Google.Meta AI's Epic LLM RunBefore Llama broke the internet, Meta released an open source LLM in May 2022, OPT-175B, which was notable for how “open” it was - right down to the logbook! They used only 16 NVIDIA V100 GPUs and Soumith agrees that, with hindsight, it was likely under-trained for its parameter size.In Feb 2023 (pre Latent Space pod), Llama was released, with a 7B version trained on 1T tokens alongside 65B and 33B versions trained on 1.4T tokens. The Llama authors included Guillaume Lample and Timothée Lacroix, who went on to start Mistral.July 2023 was Llama2 time (which we covered!): 3 model sizes, 7B, 13B, and 70B, all trained on 2T tokens. The three models accounted for a grand total of 3,311,616 GPU hours for all pre-training work. CodeLlama followed shortly after, a fine-tune of Llama2 specifically focused on code generation use cases. The family had models in the 7B, 13B, 34B, and 70B size, all trained with 500B extra tokens of code and code-related data, except for 70B which is trained on 1T.All of this on top of other open sourced models like Segment Anything (one of our early hits!), Detectron, Detectron 2, DensePose, and Seamless, and in one year, Meta transformed from a company people made fun of for its “metaverse” investments to one of the key players in the AI landscape and its stock has almost tripled since (about $830B in market value created in the past year).Why Open Source AIThe obvious question is why Meta would spend hundreds of millions on its AI efforts and then release them for free. Zuck has addressed this in public statements:But for Soumith, the motivation is even more personal:“I'm irrationally interested in open source. I think open source has that fundamental way to distribute opportunity in a way that is very powerful. Like, I grew up in India… And knowledge was very centralized, but I saw that evolution of knowledge slowly getting decentralized. And that ended up helping me learn quicker and faster for like zero dollars. And I think that was a strong reason why I ended up where I am. So like that, like the open source side of things, I always push regardless of like what I get paid for, like I think I would do that as a passion project on the side……I think at a fundamental level, the most beneficial value of open source is that you make the distribution to be very wide. It's just available with no friction and people can do transformative things in a way that's very accessible. Maybe it's open source, but it has a commercial license and I'm a student in India. I don't care about the license. I just don't even understand the license. But like the fact that I can use it and do something with it is very transformative to me……Like, okay, I again always go back to like I'm a student in India with no money. What is my accessibility to any of these closed source models? At some scale I have to pay money. That makes it a non-starter and stuff. And there's also the control issue: I strongly believe if you want human aligned AI, you want all humans to give feedback. And you want all humans to have access to that technology in the first place. And I actually have seen, living in New York, whenever I come to Silicon Valley, I see a different cultural bubble.We like the way Soumith put it last year: Closed AI “rate-limits against people's imaginations and needs”!What It Takes For Open Source AI to WinHowever Soumith doesn't think Open Source will simply win by popular demand. There is a tremendous coordination problem with the decentralized nature of the open source AI development right now: nobody is collecting the valuable human feedback in the way that OpenAI or Midjourney are doing.“Open source in general always has a coordination problem. If there's a vertically integrated provider with more resources, they will just be better coordinated than open source. And so now open source has to figure out how to have coordinated benefits. And the reason you want coordinated benefits is because these models are getting better based on human feedback. And if you see with open source models, like if you go to the /r/localllama subreddit, like there's so many variations of models that are being produced from, say, Nous research. I mean, like there's like so many variations built by so many people. And one common theme is they're all using these fine-tuning or human preferences datasets that are very limited and they're not sufficiently diverse. And you look at the other side, say front-ends like Oobabooga or like Hugging Chat or Ollama, they don't really have feedback buttons. All the people using all these front-ends, they probably want to give feedback, but there's no way for them to give feedback… So we're just losing all of this feedback. Maybe open source models are being as used as GPT is at this point in like all kinds of, in a very fragmented way, like in aggregate all the open source models together are probably being used as much as GPT is, maybe close to that. But the amount of feedback that is driving back into the open source ecosystem is like negligible, maybe less than 1% of like the usage. So I think like some, like the blueprint here I think is you'd want someone to create a sinkhole for the feedback… I think if we do that, if that actually happens, I think that probably has a real chance of the open source models having a runaway effect against OpenAI, I think like there's a clear chance we can take at truly winning open source.”If you're working on solving open source coordination, please get in touch!Show Notes* Soumith Chintala Twitter* History of PyTorch episode on Gradient Podcast* The Llama Ecosystem* Apple's MLX* Neural ODEs (Ordinary Differential Equations)* AlphaGo* LMSys arena* Dan Pink's "Drive"* Robotics projects:* Dobb-E* OK Robot* Yann LeCun* Yangqing Jia of Lepton AI* Ed Catmull* George Hotz on Latent Space* Chris Lattner on Latent Space* Guillaume Lample* Yannic Kilcher of OpenAssistant* LMSys* Alex Atallah of OpenRouter* Carlo Sferrazza's 3D tactile research* Alex Wiltschko of Osmo* Tangent by Alex Wiltschko* Lerrel Pinto - RoboticsTimestamps* [00:00:00] Introductions* [00:00:51] Extrinsic vs Intrinsic Success* [00:02:40] Importance of Open Source and Its Impact* [00:03:46] PyTorch vs TinyGrad* [00:08:33] Why PyTorch is the Switzerland of frameworks* [00:10:27] Modular's Mojo + PyTorch?* [00:13:32] PyTorch vs Apple's MLX* [00:16:27] FAIR / PyTorch Alumni* [00:18:50] How can AI inference providers differentiate?* [00:21:41] How to build good benchmarks and learnings from AnyScale's* [00:25:28] Most interesting unexplored ideas* [00:28:18] What people get wrong about synthetic data* [00:35:57] Meta AI's evolution* [00:38:42] How do you allocate 600,000 GPUs?* [00:42:05] Even the GPU Rich are GPU Poor* [00:47:31] Meta's MTIA silicon* [00:50:09] Why we need open source* [00:59:00] Open source's coordination problem for feedback gathering* [01:08:59] Beyond text generation* [01:15:37] Osmo and the Future of Smell Recognition TechnologyTranscriptAlessio [00:00:00]: Hey everyone, welcome to the Latent Space podcast. This is Alessio, partner and CTO in residence at Decibel Partners, and I'm joined by my co-host Swyx, founder of Smol AI.Swyx [00:00:15]: Hey, and today we have in the studio Soumith Chintala, welcome.Soumith [00:00:17]: Thanks for having me.Swyx [00:00:18]: On one of your rare visits from New York where you live. You got your start in computer vision at NYU with Yann LeCun. That was a very fortuitous start. I was actually listening to your interview on the Gradient podcast. So if people want to know more about the history of Soumith, history of PyTorch, they can go to that podcast. We won't spend that much time there, but I just was marveling at your luck, or I don't know if it's your luck or your drive to find AI early and then find the right quality mentor because I guess Yan really sort of introduced you to that world.Soumith [00:00:51]: Yeah, I think you're talking about extrinsic success, right? A lot of people just have drive to do things that they think is fun, and a lot of those things might or might not be extrinsically perceived as good and successful. I think I just happened to like something that is now one of the coolest things in the world or whatever. But if I happen, the first thing I tried to become was a 3D VFX artist, and I was really interested in doing that, but I turned out to be very bad at it. So I ended up not doing that further. But even if I was good at that, whatever, and I ended up going down that path, I probably would have been equally happy. It's just like maybe like the perception of, oh, is this person successful or not might be different. I think like after a baseline, like your happiness is probably more correlated with your intrinsic stuff.Swyx [00:01:44]: Yes. I think Dan Pink has this book on drive that I often refer to about the power of intrinsic motivation versus extrinsic and how long extrinsic lasts. It's not very long at all. But anyway, now you are an investor in Runway, so in a way you're working on VFX. Yes.Soumith [00:02:01]: I mean, in a very convoluted way.Swyx [00:02:03]: It reminds me of Ed Catmull. I don't know if you guys know, but he actually tried to become an animator in his early years and failed or didn't get accepted by Disney and then went and created Pixar and then got bought by Disney and created Toy Story. So you joined Facebook in 2014 and eventually became a creator and maintainer of PyTorch. And there's this long story there you can refer to on the gradient. I think maybe people don't know that you also involved in more sort of hardware and cluster decision affair. And we can dive into more details there because we're all about hardware this month. Yeah. And then finally, I don't know what else, like what else should people know about you on a personal side or professional side?Soumith [00:02:40]: I think open source is definitely a big passion of mine and probably forms a little bit of my identity at this point. I'm irrationally interested in open source. I think open source has that fundamental way to distribute opportunity in a way that is very powerful. Like, I grew up in India. I didn't have internet for a while. In college, actually, I didn't have internet except for GPRS or whatever. And knowledge was very centralized, but I saw that evolution of knowledge slowly getting decentralized. And that ended up helping me learn quicker and faster for zero dollars. And I think that was a strong reason why I ended up where I am. So the open source side of things, I always push regardless of what I get paid for, like I think I would do that as a passion project on the side.Swyx [00:03:35]: Yeah, that's wonderful. Well, we'll talk about the challenges as well that open source has, open models versus closed models. Maybe you want to touch a little bit on PyTorch before we move on to the sort of Meta AI in general.PyTorch vs Tinygrad tradeoffsAlessio [00:03:46]: Yeah, we kind of touched on PyTorch in a lot of episodes. So we had George Hotz from TinyGrad. He called PyTorch a CISC and TinyGrad a RISC. I would love to get your thoughts on PyTorch design direction as far as, I know you talk a lot about kind of having a happy path to start with and then making complexity hidden away but then available to the end user. One of the things that George mentioned is I think you have like 250 primitive operators in PyTorch, I think TinyGrad is four. So how do you think about some of the learnings that maybe he's going to run into that you already had in the past seven, eight years almost of running PyTorch?Soumith [00:04:24]: Yeah, I think there's different models here, but I think it's two different models that people generally start with. Either they go like, I have a grand vision and I'm going to build a giant system that achieves this grand vision and maybe one is super feature complete or whatever. Or other people say they will get incrementally ambitious, right? And they say, oh, we'll start with something simple and then we'll slowly layer out complexity in a way that optimally applies Huffman coding or whatever. Like where the density of users are and what they're using, I would want to keep it in the easy, happy path and where the more niche advanced use cases, I'll still want people to try them, but they need to take additional frictional steps. George, I think just like we started with PyTorch, George started with the incrementally ambitious thing. I remember TinyGrad used to be, like we would be limited to a thousand lines of code and I think now it's at 5,000. So I think there is no real magic to which why PyTorch has the kind of complexity. I think it's probably partly necessitated and partly because we built with the technology available under us at that time, PyTorch is like 190,000 lines of code or something at this point. I think if you had to rewrite it, we would probably think about ways to rewrite it in a vastly simplified way for sure. But a lot of that complexity comes from the fact that in a very simple, explainable way, you have memory hierarchies. You have CPU has three levels of caches and then you have DRAM and SSD and then you have network. Similarly, GPU has several levels of memory and then you have different levels of network hierarchies, NVLink plus InfiniBand or Rocky or something like that, right? And the way the flops are available on your hardware, they are available in a certain way and your computation is in a certain way and you have to retrofit your computation onto both the memory hierarchy and like the flops available. When you're doing this, it is actually a fairly hard mathematical problem to do this setup, like you find the optimal thing. And finding the optimal thing is, what is optimal depends on the input variables themselves. So like, okay, what is the shape of your input tensors and what is the operation you're trying to do and various things like that. Finding that optimal configuration and writing it down in code is not the same for every input configuration you have. Like for example, just as the shape of the tensors change, let's say you have three input tensors into a Sparstar product or something like that. The shape of each of these input tensors will vastly change how you do this optimally placing this operation onto the hardware in a way that will get you maximal throughput. So a lot of our complexity comes from writing out hundreds of configurations for each single PyTorch operator and templatizing these things and symbolically generating the final CUDA code or CPU code. There's no way to avoid it because mathematically we haven't found symbolic ways to do this that also keep compile time near zero. You can write a very simple framework, but then you also should be willing to eat the long compile time. So if searching for that optimal performance at runtime, but that's the trade off. There's no, like, I don't think unless we have great breakthroughs George's vision is achievable, he should be thinking about a narrower problem such as I'm only going to make this for work for self-driving car connets or I'm only going to make this work for LLM transformers of the llama style. Like if you start narrowing the problem down, you can make a vastly simpler framework. But if you don't, if you need the generality to power all of the AI research that is happening and keep zero compile time and in all these other factors, I think it's not easy to avoid the complexity.Pytorch vs MojoAlessio [00:08:33]: That's interesting. And we kind of touched on this with Chris Lattner when he was on the podcast. If you think about frameworks, they have the model target. They have the hardware target. They have different things to think about. He mentioned when he was at Google, TensorFlow trying to be optimized to make TPUs go brr, you know, and go as fast. I think George is trying to make especially AMD stack be better than ROCm. How come PyTorch has been such as Switzerland versus just making Meta hardware go brr?Soumith [00:09:00]: First, Meta is not in the business of selling hardware. Meta is not in the business of cloud compute. The way Meta thinks about funding PyTorch is we're funding it because it's net good for Meta to fund PyTorch because PyTorch has become a standard and a big open source project. And generally it gives us a timeline edge. It gives us leverage and all that within our own work. So why is PyTorch more of a Switzerland rather than being opinionated? I think the way we think about it is not in terms of Switzerland or not. We actually the way we articulate it to all hardware vendors and software vendors and all who come to us being we want to build a backend in core for PyTorch and ship it by default is we just only look at our user side of things. Like if users are using a particular piece of hardware, then we want to support it. We very much don't want to king make the hardware side of things. So as the MacBooks have GPUs and as that stuff started getting increasingly interesting, we pushed Apple to push some engineers and work on the NPS support and we spend significant time from Meta funded engineers on that as well because a lot of people are using the Apple GPUs and there's demand. So we kind of mostly look at it from the demand side. We never look at it from like oh which hardware should we start taking opinions on.Swyx [00:10:27]: Is there a future in which, because Mojo or Modular Mojo is kind of a superset of Python, is there a future in which PyTorch might use Mojo features optionally?Soumith [00:10:36]: I think it depends on how well integrated it is into the Python ecosystem. So if Mojo is like a pip install and it's readily available and users feel like they can use Mojo so smoothly within their workflows in a way that just is low friction, we would definitely look into that. Like in the same way PyTorch now depends on Triton, OpenAI Triton, and we never had a conversation that was like huh, that's like a dependency. Should we just build a Triton of our own or should we use Triton? It almost doesn't, like those conversations don't really come up for us. The conversations are more well does Triton have 10,000 dependencies and is it hard to install? We almost don't look at these things from a strategic leverage point of view. We look at these things from a user experience point of view, like is it easy to install? Is it smoothly integrated and does it give enough benefits for us to start depending on it? If so, yeah, we should consider it. That's how we think about it.Swyx [00:11:37]: You're inclusive by default as long as it meets the minimum bar of, yeah, but like maybe I phrased it wrongly. Maybe it's more like what problems would you look to solve that you have right now?Soumith [00:11:48]: I think it depends on what problems Mojo will be useful at.Swyx [00:11:52]: Mainly a performance pitch, some amount of cross compiling pitch.Soumith [00:11:56]: Yeah, I think the performance pitch for Mojo was like, we're going to be performant even if you have a lot of custom stuff, you're going to write arbitrary custom things and we will be performant. And that value proposition is not clear to us from the PyTorch side to consider it for PyTorch. So PyTorch, it's actually not 250 operators, it's like a thousand operators. PyTorch exposes about a thousand operators and people kind of write their ideas in the thousand operators of PyTorch. Mojo is like, well, maybe it's okay to completely sidestep those thousand operators of PyTorch and just write it in a more natural form. Just write raw Python, write for loops or whatever, right? So from the consideration of how do we intersect PyTorch with Mojo, I can see one use case where you have custom stuff for some parts of your program, but mostly it's PyTorch. And so we can probably figure out how to make it easier for say Torch.compile to smoothly also consume Mojo subgraphs and like, you know, the interoperability being actually usable, that I think is valuable. But Mojo as a fundamental front end would be replacing PyTorch, not augmenting PyTorch. So in that sense, I don't see a synergy in more deeply integrating Mojo.Pytorch vs MLXSwyx [00:13:21]: So call out to Mojo whenever they have written something in Mojo and there's some performance related thing going on. And then since you mentioned Apple, what should people think of PyTorch versus MLX?Soumith [00:13:32]: I mean, MLX is early and I know the folks well, Ani used to work at FAIR and I used to chat with him all the time. He used to be based out of New York as well. The way I think about MLX is that MLX is specialized for Apple right now. It has a happy path because it's defined its product in a narrow way. At some point MLX either says we will only be supporting Apple and we will just focus on enabling, you know, there's a framework if you use your MacBook, but once you like go server side or whatever, that's not my problem and I don't care. For MLS, it enters like the server side set of things as well. Like one of these two things will happen, right? If the first thing will happen, like MLX's overall addressable market will be small, but it probably do well within that addressable market. If it enters the second phase, they're going to run into all the same complexities that we have to deal with. They will not have any magic wand and they will have more complex work to do. They probably wouldn't be able to move as fast.Swyx [00:14:44]: Like having to deal with distributed compute?Soumith [00:14:48]: Distributed, NVIDIA and AMD GPUs, like just like having a generalization of the concept of a backend, how they treat compilation with plus overheads. Right now they're deeply assumed like the whole NPS graph thing. So they need to think about all these additional things if they end up expanding onto the server side and they'll probably build something like PyTorch as well, right? Like eventually that's where it will land. And I think there they will kind of fail on the lack of differentiation. Like it wouldn't be obvious to people why they would want to use it.Swyx [00:15:24]: I mean, there are some cloud companies offering M1 and M2 chips on servers. I feel like it might be interesting for Apple to pursue that market, but it's not their core strength.Soumith [00:15:33]: Yeah. If Apple can figure out their interconnect story, maybe, like then it can become a thing.Swyx [00:15:40]: Honestly, that's more interesting than the cars. Yes.Soumith [00:15:43]: I think the moat that NVIDIA has right now, I feel is that they have the interconnect that no one else has, like AMD GPUs are pretty good. I'm sure there's various silicon that is not bad at all, but the interconnect, like NVLink is uniquely awesome. I'm sure the other hardware providers are working on it, but-Swyx [00:16:04]: I feel like when you say it's uniquely awesome, you have some appreciation of it that the rest of us don't. I mean, the rest of us just like, you know, we hear marketing lines, but what do you mean when you say NVIDIA is very good at networking? Obviously they made the acquisition maybe like 15 years ago.Soumith [00:16:15]: Just the bandwidth it offers and the latency it offers. I mean, TPUs also have a good interconnect, but you can't buy them. So you have to go to Google to use it.PyTorch MafiaAlessio [00:16:27]: Who are some of the other FAIR PyTorch alumni that are building cool companies? I know you have Fireworks AI, Lightning AI, Lepton, and Yangqing, you knew since college when he was building Coffee?Soumith [00:16:40]: Yeah, so Yangqing and I used to be framework rivals, PyTorch, I mean, we were all a very small close-knit community back then. Caffe, Torch, Theano, Chainer, Keras, various frameworks. I mean, it used to be more like 20 frameworks. I can't remember all the names. CCV by Liu Liu, who is also based out of SF. And I would actually like, you know, one of the ways it was interesting is you went into the framework guts and saw if someone wrote their own convolution kernel or they were just copying someone else's. There were four or five convolution kernels that were unique and interesting. There was one from this guy out of Russia, I forgot the name, but I remembered who was awesome enough to have written their own kernel. And at some point there, I built out these benchmarks called ConNet benchmarks. They're just benchmarking all the convolution kernels that are available at that time. It hilariously became big enough that at that time AI was getting important, but not important enough that industrial strength players came in to do these kinds of benchmarking and standardization. Like we have MLPerf today. So a lot of the startups were using ConNet benchmarks in their pitch decks as like, oh, you know, on ConNet benchmarks, this is how we fare, so you should fund us. I remember Nirvana actually was at the top of the pack because Scott Gray wrote amazingly fast convolution kernels at that time. Very interesting, but separate times. But to answer your question, Alessio, I think mainly Lepton, Fireworks are the two most obvious ones, but I'm sure the fingerprints are a lot wider. They're just people who worked within the PyTorch Cafe2 cohort of things and now end up at various other places.Swyx [00:18:50]: I think as a, both as an investor and a people looking to build on top of their services, it's a uncomfortable slash like, I don't know what I don't know pitch. Because I've met Yang Tsing and I've met Lin Chao. Yeah, I've met these folks and they're like, you know, we are deep in the PyTorch ecosystem and we serve billions of inferences a day or whatever at Facebook and now we can do it for you. And I'm like, okay, that's great. Like, what should I be wary of or cautious of when these things happen? Because I'm like, obviously this experience is extremely powerful and valuable. I just don't know what I don't know. Like, what should people know about like these sort of new inference as a service companies?Soumith [00:19:32]: I think at that point you would be investing in them for their expertise of one kind. So if they've been at a large company, but they've been doing amazing work, you would be thinking about it as what these people bring to the table is that they're really good at like GPU programming or understanding the complexity of serving models once it hits a certain scale. You know, various expertise like from the infra and AI and GPUs point of view. What you would obviously want to figure out is whether their understanding of the external markets is clear, whether they know and understand how to think about running a business, understanding how to be disciplined about making money or, you know, various things like that.Swyx [00:20:23]: Maybe I'll put it like, actually I will de-emphasize the investing bit and just more as a potential customer. Oh, okay. Like, it's more okay, you know, you have PyTorch gods, of course. Like, what else should I know?Soumith [00:20:37]: I mean, I would not care about who's building something. If I'm trying to be a customer, I would care about whether...Swyx [00:20:44]: Benchmarks.Soumith [00:20:44]: Yeah, I use it and it's usability and reliability and speed, right?Swyx [00:20:51]: Quality as well.Soumith [00:20:51]: Yeah, if someone from some random unknown place came to me and say, user stuff is great. Like, and I have the bandwidth, I probably will give it a shot. And if it turns out to be great, like I'll just use it.Benchmark dramaSwyx [00:21:07]: Okay, great. And then maybe one more thing about benchmarks, since we already brought it up and you brought up Confident Benchmarks. There was some recent drama around AnyScale. AnyScale released their own benchmarks and obviously they look great on their own benchmarks, but maybe didn't give the other... I feel there are two lines of criticism. One, which is they didn't test some apples for apples on the kind of endpoints that the other providers, that they are competitors with, on their benchmarks and that is due diligence baseline. And then the second would be more just optimizing for the right thing. You had some commentary on it. I'll just kind of let you riff.Soumith [00:21:41]: Yeah, I mean, in summary, basically my criticism of that was AnyScale built these benchmarks for end users to just understand what they should pick, right? And that's a very good thing to do. I think what they didn't do a good job of is give that end user a full understanding of what they should pick. Like they just gave them a very narrow slice of understanding. I think they just gave them latency numbers and that's not sufficient, right? You need to understand your total cost of ownership at some reasonable scale. Not oh, one API call is one cent, but a thousand API calls are 10 cents. Like people can misprice to cheat on those benchmarks. So you want to understand, okay, like how much is it going to cost me if I actually subscribe to you and do like a million API calls a month or something? And then you want to understand the latency and reliability, not just from one call you made, but an aggregate of calls you've made over several various times of the day and times of the week. And the nature of the workloads, is it just some generic single paragraph that you're sending that is cashable? Or is it like testing of real world workload? I think that kind of rigor, like in presenting that benchmark wasn't there. It was a much more narrow sliver of what should have been a good benchmark. That was my main criticism. And I'm pretty sure if before they released it, they showed it to their other stakeholders who would be caring about this benchmark because they are present in it, they would have easily just pointed out these gaps. And I think they didn't do that and they just released it. So I think those were the two main criticisms. I think they were fair and Robert took it well.Swyx [00:23:40]: And he took it very well. And we'll have him on at some point and we'll discuss it. But I think it's important for, I think the market being maturing enough that people start caring and competing on these kinds of things means that we need to establish what best practice is because otherwise everyone's going to play dirty.Soumith [00:23:55]: Yeah, absolutely. My view of the LLM inference market in general is that it's the laundromat model. Like the margins are going to drive down towards the bare minimum. It's going to be all kinds of arbitrage between how much you can get the hardware for and then how much you sell the API and how much latency your customers are willing to let go. You need to figure out how to squeeze your margins. Like what is your unique thing here? Like I think Together and Fireworks and all these people are trying to build some faster CUDA kernels and faster, you know, hardware kernels in general. But those modes only last for a month or two. These ideas quickly propagate.Swyx [00:24:38]: Even if they're not published?Soumith [00:24:39]: Even if they're not published, the idea space is small. So even if they're not published, the discovery rate is going to be pretty high. It's not like we're talking about a combinatorial thing that is really large. You're talking about Llama style LLM models. And we're going to beat those to death on a few different hardware SKUs, right? Like it's not even we have a huge diversity of hardware you're going to aim to run it on. Now when you have such a narrow problem and you have a lot of people working on it, the rate at which these ideas are going to get figured out is going to be pretty rapid.Swyx [00:25:15]: Is it a standard bag of tricks? Like the standard one that I know of is, you know, fusing operators and-Soumith [00:25:22]: Yeah, it's the standard bag of tricks on figuring out how to improve your memory bandwidth and all that, yeah.Alessio [00:25:28]: Any ideas instead of things that are not being beaten to death that people should be paying more attention to?Novel PyTorch ApplicationsSwyx [00:25:34]: One thing I was like, you know, you have a thousand operators, right? Like what's the most interesting usage of PyTorch that you're seeing maybe outside of this little bubble?Soumith [00:25:41]: So PyTorch, it's very interesting and scary at the same time, but basically it's used in a lot of exotic ways, like from the ML angle, what kind of models are being built? And you get all the way from state-based models and all of these things to stuff nth order differentiable models, like neural ODEs and stuff like that. I think there's one set of interestingness factor from the ML side of things. And then there's the other set of interesting factor from the applications point of view. It's used in Mars Rover simulations, to drug discovery, to Tesla cars. And there's a huge diversity of applications in which it is used. So in terms of the most interesting application side of things, I think I'm scared at how many interesting things that are also very critical and really important it is used in. I think the scariest was when I went to visit CERN at some point and they said they were using PyTorch and they were using GANs at the same time for particle physics research. And I was scared more about the fact that they were using GANs than they were using PyTorch, because at that time I was a researcher focusing on GANs. But the diversity is probably the most interesting. How many different things it is being used in. I think that's the most interesting to me from the applications perspective. From the models perspective, I think I've seen a lot of them. Like the really interesting ones to me are where we're starting to combine search and symbolic stuff with differentiable models, like the whole AlphaGo style models is one example. And then I think we're attempting to do it for LLMs as well, with various reward models and search. I mean, I don't think PyTorch is being used in this, but the whole alpha geometry thing was interesting because again, it's an example of combining the symbolic models with the gradient based ones. But there are stuff like alpha geometry that PyTorch is used at, especially when you intersect biology and chemistry with ML. In those areas, you want stronger guarantees on the output. So yeah, maybe from the ML side, those things to me are very interesting right now.Swyx [00:28:03]: Yeah. People are very excited about the alpha geometry thing. And it's kind of like, for me, it's theoretical. It's great. You can solve some Olympia questions. I'm not sure how to make that bridge over into the real world applications, but I'm sure people smarter than me will figure it out.Synthetic Data vs Symbolic ModelsSoumith [00:28:18]: Let me give you an example of it. You know how the whole thing about synthetic data will be the next rage in LLMs is a thing?Swyx [00:28:27]: Already is a rage.Soumith [00:28:28]: Which I think is fairly misplaced in how people perceive it. People think synthetic data is some kind of magic wand that you wave and it's going to be amazing. Synthetic data is useful in neural networks right now because we as humans have figured out a bunch of symbolic models of the world or made up certain symbolic models because of human innate biases. So we've figured out how to ground particle physics in a 30 parameter model. And it's just very hard to compute as in it takes a lot of flops to compute, but it only has 30 parameters or so. I mean, I'm not a physics expert, but it's a very low rank model. We built mathematics as a field that basically is very low rank. Language, a deep understanding of language, like the whole syntactic parse trees and just understanding how language can be broken down and into a formal symbolism is something that we figured out. So we basically as humans have accumulated all this knowledge on these subjects, either synthetic, we created those subjects in our heads, or we grounded some real world phenomenon into a set of symbols. But we haven't figured out how to teach neural networks symbolic world models directly. The only way we have to teach them is generating a bunch of inputs and outputs and gradient dissenting over them. So in areas where we have the symbolic models and we need to teach all the knowledge we have that is better encoded in the symbolic models, what we're doing is we're generating a bunch of synthetic data, a bunch of input output pairs, and then giving that to the neural network and asking it to learn the same thing that we already have a better low rank model of in gradient descent in a much more over-parameterized way. Outside of this, like where we don't have good symbolic models, like synthetic data obviously doesn't make any sense. So synthetic data is not a magic wand where it'll work in all cases in every case or whatever. It's just where we as humans already have good symbolic models off. We need to impart that knowledge to neural networks and we figured out the synthetic data is a vehicle to impart this knowledge to. So, but people, because maybe they don't know enough about synthetic data as a notion, but they hear, you know, the next wave of data revolution is synthetic data. They think it's some kind of magic where we just create a bunch of random data somehow. They don't think about how, and then they think that's just a revolution. And I think that's maybe a gap in understanding most people have in this hype cycle.Swyx [00:31:23]: Yeah, well, it's a relatively new concept, so. Oh, there's two more that I'll put in front of you and then you can see what you respond. One is, you know, I have this joke that it's, you know, it's only synthetic data if it's from the Mistral region of France, otherwise it's just a sparkling distillation, which is what news research is doing. Like they're distilling GPT-4 by creating synthetic data from GPT-4, creating mock textbooks inspired by Phi 2 and then fine tuning open source models like Llama. And so I don't know, I mean, I think that's, should we call that synthetic data? Should we call it something else? I don't know.Soumith [00:31:57]: Yeah, I mean, the outputs of LLMs, are they synthetic data? They probably are, but I think it depends on the goal you have. If your goal is you're creating synthetic data with the goal of trying to distill GPT-4's superiority into another model, I guess you can call it synthetic data, but it also feels like disingenuous because your goal is I need to copy the behavior of GPT-4 and-Swyx [00:32:25]: It's also not just behavior, but data set. So I've often thought of this as data set washing. Like you need one model at the top of the chain, you know, unnamed French company that has that, you know, makes a model that has all the data in it that we don't know where it's from, but it's open source, hey, and then we distill from that and it's great. To be fair, they also use larger models as judges for preference ranking, right? So that is, I think, a very, very accepted use of synthetic.Soumith [00:32:53]: Correct. I think it's a very interesting time where we don't really have good social models of what is acceptable depending on how many bits of information you use from someone else, right? It's like, okay, you use one bit. Is that okay? Yeah, let's accept it to be okay. Okay, what about if you use 20 bits? Is that okay? I don't know. What if you use 200 bits? I don't think we as society have ever been in this conundrum where we have to be like, where is the boundary of copyright or where is the boundary of socially accepted understanding of copying someone else? We haven't been tested this mathematically before,Swyx [00:33:38]: in my opinion. Whether it's transformative use. Yes. So yeah, I think this New York Times opening eye case is gonna go to the Supreme Court and we'll have to decide it because I think we never had to deal with it before. And then finally, for synthetic data, the thing that I'm personally exploring is solving this great stark paradigm difference between rag and fine tuning, where you can kind of create synthetic data off of your retrieved documents and then fine tune on that. That's kind of synthetic. All you need is variation or diversity of samples for you to fine tune on. And then you can fine tune new knowledge into your model. I don't know if you've seen that as a direction for synthetic data.Soumith [00:34:13]: I think you're basically trying to, what you're doing is you're saying, well, language, I know how to parametrize language to an extent. And I need to teach my model variations of this input data so that it's resilient or invariant to language uses of that data.Swyx [00:34:32]: Yeah, it doesn't overfit on the wrong source documents.Soumith [00:34:33]: So I think that's 100% synthetic. You understand, the key is you create variations of your documents and you know how to do that because you have a symbolic model or like some implicit symbolic model of language.Swyx [00:34:48]: Okay.Alessio [00:34:49]: Do you think the issue with symbolic models is just the architecture of the language models that we're building? I think maybe the thing that people grasp is the inability of transformers to deal with numbers because of the tokenizer. Is it a fundamental issue there too? And do you see alternative architectures that will be better with symbolic understanding?Soumith [00:35:09]: I am not sure if it's a fundamental issue or not. I think we just don't understand transformers enough. I don't even mean transformers as an architecture. I mean the use of transformers today, like combining the tokenizer and transformers and the dynamics of training, when you show math heavy questions versus not. I don't have a good calibration of whether I know the answer or not. I, you know, there's common criticisms that are, you know, transformers will just fail at X. But then when you scale them up to sufficient scale, they actually don't fail at that X. I think there's this entire subfield where they're trying to figure out these answers called like the science of deep learning or something. So we'll get to know more. I don't know the answer.Meta AI and Llama 2/3Swyx [00:35:57]: Got it. Let's touch a little bit on just Meta AI and you know, stuff that's going on there. Maybe, I don't know how deeply you're personally involved in it, but you're our first guest with Meta AI, which is really fantastic. And Llama 1 was, you know, you are such a believer in open source. Llama 1 was more or less the real breakthrough in open source AI. The most interesting thing for us covering on this, in this podcast was the death of Chinchilla, as people say. Any interesting insights there around the scaling models for open source models or smaller models or whatever that design decision was when you guys were doing it?Soumith [00:36:31]: So Llama 1 was Guillaume Lample and team. There was OPT before, which I think I'm also very proud of because we bridged the gap in understanding of how complex it is to train these models to the world. Like until then, no one really in gory detail published.Swyx [00:36:50]: The logs.Soumith [00:36:51]: Yeah. Like, why is it complex? And everyone says, oh, it's complex. But no one really talked about why it's complex. I think OPT was cool.Swyx [00:37:02]: I met Susan and she's very, very outspoken. Yeah.Soumith [00:37:05]: We probably, I think, didn't train it for long enough, right? That's kind of obvious in retrospect.Swyx [00:37:12]: For a 175B. Yeah. You trained it according to Chinchilla at the time or?Soumith [00:37:17]: I can't remember the details, but I think it's a commonly held belief at this point that if we trained OPT longer, it would actually end up being better. Llama 1, I think, was Guillaume Lample and team Guillaume is fantastic and went on to build Mistral. I wasn't too involved in that side of things. So I don't know what you're asking me, which is how did they think about scaling loss and all of that? Llama 2, I was more closely involved in. I helped them a reasonable amount with their infrastructure needs and stuff. And Llama 2, I think, was more like, let's get to the evolution. At that point, we kind of understood what we were missing from the industry's understanding of LLMs. And we needed more data and we needed more to train the models for longer. And we made, I think, a few tweaks to the architecture and we scaled up more. And that was Llama 2. I think Llama 2, you can think of it as after Guillaume left, the team kind of rebuilt their muscle around Llama 2. And Hugo, I think, who's the first author is fantastic. And I think he did play a reasonable big role in Llama 1 as well.Soumith [00:38:35]: And he overlaps between Llama 1 and 2. So in Llama 3, obviously, hopefully, it'll be awesome.Alessio [00:38:42]: Just one question on Llama 2, and then we'll try and fish Llama 3 spoilers out of you. In the Llama 2 paper, the loss curves of the 34 and 70B parameter, they still seem kind of steep. Like they could go lower. How, from an infrastructure level, how do you allocate resources? Could they have just gone longer or were you just, hey, this is all the GPUs that we can burn and let's just move on to Llama 3 and then make that one better?Soumith [00:39:07]: Instead of answering specifically about that Llama 2 situation or whatever, I'll tell you how we think about things. Generally, we're, I mean, Mark really is some numbers, right?Swyx [00:39:20]: So let's cite those things again. All I remember is like 600K GPUs.Soumith [00:39:24]: That is by the end of this year and 600K H100 equivalents. With 250K H100s, including all of our other GPU or accelerator stuff, it would be 600-and-something-K aggregate capacity.Swyx [00:39:38]: That's a lot of GPUs.Soumith [00:39:39]: We'll talk about that separately. But the way we think about it is we have a train of models, right? Llama 1, 2, 3, 4. And we have a bunch of GPUs. I don't think we're short of GPUs. Like-Swyx [00:39:54]: Yeah, no, I wouldn't say so. Yeah, so it's all a matter of time.Soumith [00:39:56]: I think time is the biggest bottleneck. It's like, when do you stop training the previous one and when do you start training the next one? And how do you make those decisions? The data, do you have net new data, better clean data for the next one in a way that it's not worth really focusing on the previous one? It's just a standard iterative product. You're like, when is the iPhone 1? When do you start working on iPhone 2? Where is the iPhone? And so on, right? So mostly the considerations are time and generation, rather than GPUs, in my opinion.Alessio [00:40:31]: So one of the things with the scaling loss, like Chinchilla is optimal to balance training and inference costs. I think at Meta's scale, you would rather pay a lot more maybe at training and then save on inference. How do you think about that from infrastructure perspective? I think in your tweet, you say you can try and guess on like how we're using these GPUs. Can you just give people a bit of understanding? It's like, because I've already seen a lot of VCs say, Llama 3 has been trained on 600,000 GPUs and that's obviously not true, I'm sure. How do you allocate between the research, FAIR and the Llama training, the inference on Instagram suggestions that get me to scroll, like AI-generated stickers on WhatsApp and all of that?Soumith [00:41:11]: Yeah, we haven't talked about any of this publicly, but as a broad stroke, it's like how we would allocate resources of any other kinds at any company. You run a VC portfolio, how do you allocate your investments between different companies or whatever? You kind of make various trade-offs and you kind of decide, should I invest in this project or this other project, or how much should I invest in this project? It's very much a zero sum of trade-offs. And it also comes into play, how are your clusters configured, like overall, what you can fit of what size and what cluster and so on. So broadly, there's no magic sauce here. I mean, I think the details would add more spice, but also wouldn't add more understanding. It's just gonna be like, oh, okay, I mean, this looks like they just think about this as I would normally do.Alessio [00:42:05]: So even the GPU rich run through the same struggles of having to decide where to allocate things.Soumith [00:42:11]: Yeah, I mean, at some point I forgot who said it, but you kind of fit your models to the amount of compute you have. If you don't have enough compute, you figure out how to make do with smaller models. But no one as of today, I think would feel like they have enough compute. I don't think I've heard any company within the AI space be like, oh yeah, like we feel like we have sufficient compute and we couldn't have done better. So that conversation, I don't think I've heard from any of my friends at other companies.EleutherSwyx [00:42:47]: Stella from Eleuther sometimes says that because she has a lot of donated compute. She's trying to put it to interesting uses, but for some reason she's decided to stop making large models.Soumith [00:42:57]: I mean, that's a cool, high conviction opinion that might pay out.Swyx [00:43:01]: Why?Soumith [00:43:02]: I mean, she's taking a path that most people don't care to take about in this climate and she probably will have very differentiated ideas. I mean, think about the correlation of ideas in AI right now. It's so bad, right? So everyone's fighting for the same pie. In some weird sense, that's partly why I don't really directly work on LLMs. I used to do image models and stuff and I actually stopped doing GANs because GANs were getting so hot that I didn't have any calibration of whether my work would be useful or not because, oh yeah, someone else did the same thing you did. It's like, there's so much to do, I don't understand why I need to fight for the same pie. So I think Stella's decision is very smart.Making BetsAlessio [00:43:53]: And how do you reconcile that with how we started the discussion about intrinsic versus extrinsic kind of like accomplishment or success? How should people think about that especially when they're doing a PhD or early in their career? I think in Europe, I walked through a lot of the posters and whatnot, there seems to be mode collapse in a way in the research, a lot of people working on the same things. Is it worth for a PhD to not take a bet on something that is maybe not as interesting just because of funding and visibility and whatnot? Or yeah, what suggestions would you give?Soumith [00:44:28]: I think there's a baseline level of compatibility you need to have with the field. Basically, you need to figure out if you will get paid enough to eat, right? Like whatever reasonable normal lifestyle you want to have as a baseline. So you at least have to pick a problem within the neighborhood of fundable. Like you wouldn't wanna be doing something so obscure that people are like, I don't know, like you can work on it.Swyx [00:44:59]: Would a limit on fundability, I'm just observing something like three months of compute, right? That's the top line, that's the like max that you can spend on any one project.Soumith [00:45:09]: But like, I think that's very ill specified, like how much compute, right? I think that the notion of fundability is broader. It's more like, hey, are these family of models within the acceptable set of, you're not crazy or something, right? Even something like neural or DS, which is a very boundary pushing thing or states-based models or whatever. Like all of these things I think are still in fundable territory. When you're talking about, I'm gonna do one of the neuromorphic models and then apply image classification to them or something, then it becomes a bit questionable. Again, it depends on your motivation. Maybe if you're a neuroscientist, it actually is feasible. But if you're an AI engineer, like the audience of these podcasts, then it's more questionable. The way I think about it is, you need to figure out how you can be in the baseline level of fundability just so that you can just live. And then after that, really focus on intrinsic motivation and depends on your strengths, like how you can play to your strengths and your interests at the same time. Like I try to look at a bunch of ideas that are interesting to me, but also try to play to my strengths. I'm not gonna go work on theoretical ML. I'm interested in it, but when I want to work on something like that, I try to partner with someone who is actually a good theoretical ML person and see if I actually have any value to provide. And if they think I do, then I come in. So I think you'd want to find that intersection of ideas you like, and that also play to your strengths. And I'd go from there. Everything else, like actually finding extrinsic success and all of that, I think is the way I think about it is like somewhat immaterial. When you're talking about building ecosystems and stuff, slightly different considerations come into play, but that's a different conversation.Swyx [00:47:06]: We're gonna pivot a little bit to just talking about open source AI. But one more thing I wanted to establish for Meta is this 600K number, just kind of rounding out the discussion, that's for all Meta. So including your own inference needs, right? It's not just about training.Soumith [00:47:19]: It's gonna be the number in our data centers for all of Meta, yeah.Swyx [00:47:23]: Yeah, so there's a decent amount of workload serving Facebook and Instagram and whatever. And then is there interest in like your own hardware?MTIASoumith [00:47:31]: We already talked about our own hardware. It's called MTIA. Our own silicon, I think we've even showed the standard photograph of you holding the chip that doesn't work. Like as in the chip that you basically just get like-Swyx [00:47:51]: As a test, right?Soumith [00:47:52]: Yeah, a test chip or whatever. So we are working on our silicon and we'll probably talk more about it when the time is right, but-Swyx [00:48:00]: Like what gaps do you have that the market doesn't offer?Soumith [00:48:04]: Okay, I mean, this is easy to answer. So basically, remember how I told you about there's this memory hierarchy and like sweet spots and all of that? Fundamentally, when you build a hardware, you make it general enough that a wide set of customers and a wide set of workloads can use it effectively while trying to get the maximum level of performance they can. The more specialized you make the chip, the more hardware efficient it's going to be, the more power efficient it's gonna be, the more easier it's going to be to find the software, like the kernel's right to just map that one or two workloads to that hardware and so on. So it's pretty well understood across the industry that if you have a sufficiently large volume, enough workload, you can specialize it and get some efficiency gains, like power gains and so on. So the way you can think about everyone building, every large company building silicon, I think a bunch of the other large companies are building their own silicon as well, is they, each large company has a sufficient enough set of verticalized workloads that can be specialized that have a pattern to them that say a more generic accelerator like an NVIDIA or an AMD GPU does not exploit. So there is some level of power efficiency that you're leaving on the table by not exploiting that. And you have sufficient scale and you have sufficient forecasted stability that those workloads will exist in the same form, that it's worth spending the time to build out a chip to exploit that sweet spot. Like obviously something like this is only useful if you hit a certain scale and that your forecasted prediction of those kind of workloads being in the same kind of specializable exploitable way is true. So yeah, that's why we're building our own chips.Swyx [00:50:08]: Awesome.Open Source AIAlessio [00:50:09]: Yeah, I know we've been talking a lot on a lot of different topics and going back to open source, you had a very good tweet. You said that a single company's closed source effort rate limits against people's imaginations and needs. How do you think about all the impact that some of the Meta AI work in open source has been doing and maybe directions of the whole open source AI space?Soumith [00:50:32]: Yeah, in general, I think first, I think it's worth talking about this in terms of open and not just open source, because like with the whole notion of model weights, no one even knows what source means for these things. But just for the discussion, when I say open source, you can assume it's just I'm talking about open. And then there's the whole notion of licensing and all that, commercial, non-commercial, commercial with clauses and all that. I think at a fundamental level, the most benefited value of open source is that you make the distribution to be very wide. It's just available with no friction and people can do transformative things in a way that's very accessible. Maybe it's open source, but it has a commercial license and I'm a student in India. I don't care about the license. I just don't even understand the license. But like the fact that I can use it and do something with it is very transformative to me. Like I got this thing in a very accessible way. And then it's various degrees, right? And then if it's open source, but it's actually a commercial license, then a lot of companies are gonna benefit from gaining value that they didn't previously have, that they maybe had to pay a closed source company for it. So open source is just a very interesting tool that you can use in various ways. So there's, again, two kinds of open source. One is some large company doing a lot of work and then open sourcing it. And that kind of effort is not really feasible by say a band of volunteers doing it the same way. So there's both a capital and operational expenditure that the large company just decided to ignore and give it away to the world for some benefits of some kind. They're not as tangible as direct revenue. So in that part, Meta has been doing incredibly good things. They fund a huge amount of the PyTorch development. They've open sourced Llama and those family of models and several other fairly transformative projects. FICE is one, Segment Anything, Detectron, Detectron 2. Dense Pose. I mean, it's-Swyx [00:52:52]: Seamless. Yeah, seamless.Soumith [00:52:53]: Like it's just the list is so long that we're not gonna cover. So I think Meta comes into that category where we spend a lot of CapEx and OpEx and we have a high talent density of great AI people and we open our stuff. And the thesis for that, I remember when FAIR was started, the common thing was like, wait, why would Meta wanna start a open AI lab? Like what exactly is a benefit from a commercial perspective? And for then the thesis was very simple. It was AI is currently rate limiting Meta's ability to do things. Our ability to build various product integrations, moderation, various other factors. Like AI was the limiting factor and we just wanted AI to advance more and we didn't care if the IP of the AI was uniquely in our possession or not. However the field advances, that accelerates Meta's ability to build a better product. So we just built an open AI lab and we said, if this helps accelerate the progress of AI, that's strictly great for us. But very easy, rational, right? Still the same to a large extent with the Llama stuff. And it's the same values, but the argument, it's a bit more nuanced. And then there's a second kind of open source, which is, oh, we built this project, nights and weekends and we're very smart people and we open sourced it and then we built a community around it. This is the Linux kernel and various software projects like that. So I think about open source, like both of these things being beneficial and both of these things being different. They're different and beneficial in their own ways. The second one is really useful when there's an active arbitrage to be done. If someone's not really looking at a particular space because it's not commercially viable or whatever, like a band of volunteers can just coordinate online and do something and then make that happen. And that's great.Open Source LLMsI wanna cover a little bit about open source LLMs maybe. So open source LLMs have been very interesting because I think we were trending towards an increase in open source in AI from 2010 all the way to 2017 or something. Like where more and more pressure within the community was to open source their stuff so that their methods and stuff get adopted. And then the LLMs revolution kind of took the opposite effect OpenAI stopped open sourcing their stuff and DeepMind kind of didn't, like all the other cloud and all these other providers, they didn't open source their stuff. And it was not good in the sense that first science done in isolation probably will just form its own bubble where people believe their own b******t or whatever. So there's that problem. And then there was the other problem which was the accessibility part. Like, okay, I again always go back to I'm a student in India with no money. What is my accessibility to any of these closers models? At some scale I have to pay money. That makes it a non-starter and stuff. And there's also the control thing. I strongly believe if you want human aligned stuff, you want all humans to give feedback. And you want all humans to have access to that technology in the first place. And I actually have seen, living in New York, whenever I come to Silicon Valley, I see a different cultural bubble. Like all the friends I hang out with talk about some random thing like Dyson Spheres or whatever, that's a thing. And most of the world doesn't know or care about any of this stuff. It's definitely a bubble and bubbles can form very easily. And when you make a lot of decisions because you're in a bubble, they're probably not globally optimal decisions. So I think open source, the distribution of open source powers a certain kind of non-falsifiability that I think is very important. I think on the open source models, like it's going great in the fact that LoRa I think came out of the necessity of open source models needing to be fine-tunable in some way. Yeah, and I think DPO also came out of the academic open source side of things. So do any of the closed source labs, did any of them already have LoRa or DPO internally? Maybe, but that does not advance humanity in any way. It advances some companies probability of doing the winner takes all that I talked about earlier in the podcast.Open Source and TrustI don't know, it just feels fundamentally good. Like when people try to, you know, people are like, well, what are the ways in which it is not okay? I find most of these arguments, and this might be a little controversial, but I find a lot of arguments based on whether closed source models are safer or open source models are safer very much related to what kind of culture they grew up in, what kind of society they grew up in. If they grew up in a society that they trusted, then I think they take the closed source argument. And if they grew up in a society that they couldn't trust, where the norm was that you didn't trust your government, obviously it's corrupt or whatever, then I think the open source argument is what they take. I think there's a deep connection to like people's innate biases from their childhood and their trust in society and governmental aspects that push them towards one opinion or the other. And I'm definitely in the camp of open source is definitely going to actually have better outcomes for society. Closed source to me just means that centralization of power, which, you know, is really hard to trust. So I think it's going well

Today on Feminine Roadmap Susan Lazar Hart talks about creating the life you choose. We often live in the world feeling that we have no choice, Susan would say that even thinking we have no choice is a choice. She encourages listeners to sit with the question: who do I want to be and where do I want to go next? Fundamentally, you do have a choice. It's important that our choices be in alignment with what we want to create in the world. When we stop, get quiet and allow things to come to the front of our minds instead of being in a state of resistance, then our better choices can rise. Susan reminds listeners to tap into what your choices could create. Remembering to ask if each choice is congruent. Life is full of choices, both of doing and not doing. What if you indulged in a completely different choice by allowing yourself to do things differently or show up differently. IF you want to break free from the patterns in your life, change is created by the choices you make. Please grab a cuppa something wonderful and choose to join us for this great conversation! https://www.susanlazarhart.com/

Stamford Chidge & Jonathan Kydd are joined by Mark Meehan to look back at another Jekyll and Hyde performance by Chelsea, against Brentford.In part one we discuss Pochettino playing 3 at the back and no Sterling. Was it to protect the space around Enzo and Moises and if they're knackered, why not play someone else, like Casadei for example? We discuss the two sides of Jackson as he misses a sitter laughably, scores a great goal, and then rounds it off with ego nonsense with the shushing but...he never gives up!! It was a poor second half as Chelsea conceded twice. Is it a lack of concentration? taking the foot off the gas? Poor mentality? The statistics bear out how poor we are in the second half - first half top six; second half relegation zone!But we did claw it back, well done Disasi but we should never have had to against a poor Brentford side. Same old Chelsea this season Jekyll and Hyde...Caviar and Turds.In part two we ask has Poch lost the away support? There were audible chants against Boehly and Poch and for Abramovich and Mourinho. Is Poch a goner - does he have himself to blame - he's not endeared himself to the fans or made much effort to engage with them? If he was to go would it be the right decision? Would it take us back to square one? He hasn't lost the dressing room so shoudl he go? And whose fault is it really - Putin? Boris Johnson's Tory Govt? Sunak and Dorries? Boehly and Clearwater? Fundamentally, this all changes if we were winning doesn't it - a chant for Roman and Jose is a cry for the return to a winning Chelsea. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You can also watch this video episode on our YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/FhPkzzzYjnsRamadan in 2024 starts on the evening of Sunday, March 10th and goes until Tuesday, April 9th, followed by the feast of Eid al-Fitr, or the ‘Feast of Fast-Breaking.' Despite its perhaps solemn reputation, Ramadan is a joyful time for Muslims around the world, Morocco being no exception. As Azdean, Hiba and Sam explain in today's episode, the food is unique and better, families and community frequently come together, and it is a time for celebration and collective spirit, where sacrifice and diligence go hand in hand with helping others and giving back.The question though is often raised by non-Muslim travellers, "Can I travel to Morocco during Ramadan? Is it worth it, is it a good idea?"Our episode today is to counter that view and establish that, although routines and schedules are undeniably different during Ramadan, it is still very much possible to travel to and around Morocco during the holy month, and in fact it is quite a special experience. Hiba, Sam and Azdean discuss the spiritual meaning and practices of Ramadan for Moroccan Muslims, which includes fasting, Zakat (charitable giving), communal traditions such as Iftar (breaking of the fast), and increased recitation of the Quran. Because if you are in Morocco during Ramadan, you'll want to understand what the traditions are, why they're important, and what to look for, to give you a better appreciation for what's happening around you. Then there is some practical travel advice for tourists, including suggested itineraries, cultural etiquette, and meal planning, which is key. Fundamentally, everything remains open in Morocco during Ramadan, from restaurants to shops to riads. The defining difference is the availability of food. It is easier to find western-catering restaurants in the big cities, but since travel around Morocco involves a lot of driving through the rural countryside, restaurants are fewer anyway and during Ramadan they may be closed during the day. You can plan ahead with snacks and packed lunches, and your tour guide, driver and riad hosts will all help you stay prepared.Traveling to Morocco during Ramadan is a unique and immersive cultural experience. As Azdean points out, you only have the chance one month out of the entire year, so if you have the opportunity, make the most of it and enjoy this special time!Music credits: Min Wahi El-Lami / Ali Sabah / courtesy of www.epidemicsound Do you dream of exploring the enchanting land of Morocco?Destination Morocco is your ultimate travel experience for those seeking luxury and adventure. We specialize in crafting bespoke itineraries tailored to your unique tastes and desires.If you're a discerning traveler who values an immersive, curated adventure, visit www.destinationsmorocco.com, and let us bring your dream Moroccan vacation to life.Learn more about Azdean and Destination Morocco.Download the stunning Destination Morocco magazine!Follow the podcast and help us grow.Join us for our monthly Q&A's! Live on Destination Morocco's YouTube, Facebook and LinkedIn pages, the 2nd Wednesday of each month at 9am Pacific/12noon Eastern/6pm Central European time.

Live from Studio G—in the heart of AMERICA—I'm Steve Gruber, fighting for you every day from the foxhole of freedom to defend what freedoms we have left— AND BEING BRUTALLY  HONEST— Thank you for being here—this is the Steve Gruber Show—   AND Here are 3 big things you need to know this hour—   Number One— Squad members have been secretly going to Cuba in search of socialist Nirvana I guess—not sure what else it could be—but with a broken border—they must want to see what America will soon look like—   Number Two— You won't have to Ditch Mitch afterall—because Mitch is taking himself out of the lead position in the US Senate—yep he says he will stay until 2027—BUT at least we will have younger and hopefully more conservative leadership—   Number Three— Let's be clear right from the top today—and I know I am repeating myself—BUT these ideas bear repeating when they are having such a detrimental effect on all of us—

This Dutch designer has left an indelible mark on how we view the role of design in our lives. Through his ingenious housewares, elegant furniture, and playful interiors, he is part of a pantheon of talents that has ushered design into a more artful discipline. But his ideas and thoughts on what it all means are downright serious. On this episode Dan speaks with Wanders on his early career creating lamps for the Dutch postal service, how his famed Knotted Chair came to be, his new collection for Poliform, and more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“I remind folks that it's okay to care about ourselves, about how we look, and about how we feel. Fundamentally, it's very important. I think as a broader society, we're coming to appreciate the mental and physical components of what it means to care for ourselves,” says board-certified dermatologist Anar Mikailov, M.D. In this episode of Clean Beauty School, mindbodygreen beauty director and host Alexandra Engler chats with Mikailov about how the dermis changes with aging, how to deal with KP (or sometimes called “chicken skin”), and the lesser known signs of skin aging.  Show notes: -About Skintensive: https://www.skintensive.com/pages/about-us -About KPAway: https://kpaway.com/pages/about-us  -Read Fitzpatrick's Color Atlas and Synopsis of Clinical Dermatology, Ninth Edition Take 15% off dry body oil with code BODYOILPOD. Cannot combine with gift cards or other discount codes. Apply code at checkout. Follow the host: @alex_blair_ Call in: sayhi.chat/cleanbeautyschool Comments: podcast@mindbodygreen.com Sponsorship inquiries: sales@mindbodygreen.com 

Something Fundamentally Wrong With The Current Republican Party, The What Is a Woman Bill In Wyoming https://www.audacy.com/989word The Charlie James Show   Listen on Spotify : https://spoti.fi/3MXOvGP Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-charlie-james-show-podcast/id1547262821   Follow us on Social Media Join our Live Stream Weekdays - 3pm to 7pm   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/989word Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-2031096 X: https://twitter.com/989word Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/989word/   "Red Meat, Greenville." 02/15/24

Andy and (a sick) Matt discuss one of the most common places of tension when someone talks about HOP. What does it mean when we say "no all accidents are preventable"?

What if success isn't about being the best but about continuous improvement? Global executive James Williams shares his journey from leading Olympic campaigns to empowering startups and teaching MBA students. Discover how his focus on performance, purpose, partnerships, and people has shaped his career and why he believes that embracing discomfort is the key to personal and professional growth.Now, as an advisor at Nobody Studios and a mentor to the next generation of marketers, James shares his insights on personal growth and the art of embracing new challenges with purpose and performance in mind. Success isn't a straight climb to the top; it's about the courage to be imperfect and the grit to improve, even if it means stepping off the peak to explore new paths.Embracing Improvement Over WinningJames emphasizes the importance of focusing on personal and professional improvement. "Fundamentally, it's not about winning. It's about improving. And that's what I mean by performance." The conversation delves into the concept of continuous learning and the mindset of always striving to get better. James shares his personal experience of realizing that success isn't always about being the best but rather about making incremental improvements. By embracing improvement as the ultimate goal, individuals can foster a growth mindset and continuously push themselves to reach new heights.The Power of Teamwork and Overcoming Personal ChallengesDyslexia was a major challenge for James, especially since he grew up in a hypercritical environment. He highlights the value of teamwork and collaboration: "If I work with a bunch of people, there are certain things I'm not very good at. And there are some things I'm very good at. And if I can build those balances, then it doesn't mean I'm constantly trying to hide that I can't spell or say things like that."Embracing strengths and weaknesses is transformational, and by recognizing and honoring the strengths of each team member, individuals can create a collaborative environment that fosters growth and success.Setting Personal and Professional GoalsPersonal and professional goals drive growth and progress, and James sets his goals at the beginning of each year. He shares his approach to goal-setting and the importance of feedback and continuous learning. "Each time, I would then sit down and look at those and say, 'How am I doing?'" Whether the goals you set are short- or long-term, they will enable you to have a clear direction and purpose in your personal and professional life. As you regularly reflect and evaluate, you can stay focused and motivated and will continuously improve yourself.The Importance of Partnerships in BusinessPartnerships are more than just transactional. "Partnership is where you find the added value in that relationship." James stresses the importance of long-term partnerships that drive society's impact. When you align your partnerships with your goals and values, you can maximize both your own personal growth and the impact you can have.James believes that businesses need to integrate partnerships into their strategies. Much like team members relying on one another's strengths, businesses can build partnerships with other organizations that will drive innovation, growth, and positive change.The Intersection of ESG and MarketingWhen companies integrate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors, that integration needs to reach their marketing teams. "You can still drive commercial impact, consumer engagement, but also have a positive impact rather than a negative one."When companies fully embrace ESG principles as part of their core marketing strategies, they can build trust, engage consumers, and contribute to a more sustainable and inclusive future. ResourcesJames Williams on LinkedIn Nobody Studios

In this video interview, Chris Alexander, President of RE/MAX Canada, discusses the real estate company's latest 2024 Tax Report and the impact of taxes and other rising costs on housing affordability in the country.   FULL PRESS RELEASE  TORONTO, Feb. 6, 2024 /CNW/ — While land transfer taxes and new property assessments in key markets appear to have little effect on the surface, eroding affordability levels are slowly shifting migration patterns and changing the landscape in major Canadian centres, according to a new report released today by RE/MAX Canada. RE/MAX Canada's 2024 Tax Report examined key markets in six Canadian provinces, including Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal and Halifax, and found governments at all levels are collecting billions from Canadian homebuyers through levies and development fees on new construction, as well as land transfer and property taxes on residential properties. Tax rate increases, in tandem with record-high housing values and mortgage rates, have sparked a post-pandemic exodus from the country's most expensive markets, contributing to a significant uptick in interprovincial migration numbers in Alberta and Atlantic Canada in 2023. While some homebuyers were content to move outside of core markets within their province, close to 60,000 Canadians found their answer to the current housing crisis in Alberta and, to a lesser extent, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. According to Statistics Canada's Quarterly Demographic Estimates, Provinces and Territories Interactive Map, interprovincial migration doubled over already-strong year-ago levels in the first three quarters of 2023 in Alberta, with the province welcoming 45,194 people, compared to 22,278 during the same period in 2022. Alberta gained the most interprovincial migrants in the third quarter of 2023, with the highest influx coming from Ontario (6,262), followed by BC (5,269), Saskatchewan (1,579) and Manitoba (1,316). Nova Scotia also saw more than 5,000 new residents in the first three quarters of 2023, following an influx of close to 10,000 interprovincial migrants during the same period in 2022. New Brunswick's net interprovincial total was almost 4,500 in the first three quarters of 2023, while Prince Edward Island posted a net interprovincial increase of just over 1,000. All other provinces noted negative net interprovincial numbers, with more people leaving than arriving.                                                         Source: Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV), Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB), Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB), Quebec Professional  Association of Real Estate Brokers (QPAREB). Local boards provided  by RE/MAX brokers.  *Benchmark Price for all properties in December  **Non-residents pay five per cent deed transfer tax in Nova Scotia ***First-time Home Buyer exemption/rebate applied to Vancouver and Toronto/GTA “Given today's housing market realities, it comes as no surprise that buyers are willing to travel across the country to achieve home ownership,” says RE/MAX Canada President Christopher Alexander. “In addition to affordable housing values and extensive job opportunities, Alberta is well known for its position on taxation, with no provincial sales tax and zero land transfer tax on residential real estate. Cash-rich buyers from provinces such as Ontario and British Columbia are aware that the sale of their property in Toronto or Vancouver will stretch that much further in Alberta or Atlantic Canada's major centres. And for first-time buyers, it's an opportunity to get into the market at an affordable price point and gain equity, as opposed to paying down someone else's mortgage by renting.” According to the Fraser Institute's 24 Facts for 2024 Report, the average Canadian family pays 45.3 per cent of its income to taxes – more than the 35.6 per cent spent on necessities of life. Regressive tax policies are also to blame for the changing migration patterns. Land transfer taxes were introduced across Canada in the 1970s as a method of generating revenue for municipalities, regardless of income. The highest land transfer taxes are found in Toronto, where buyers pay a municipal land transfer tax as well as a provincial tax. On January 1, 2024, Toronto upped the ante, introducing a luxury tax on home sales over $3 million. While the existing municipal land transfer tax (MLTT) essentially remains the same under $3 million, homebuyers that cross the threshold will find a sliding scale of taxes that range from 3.5 per cent on sales over $3 million to 7.5 per cent on sales over $20 million. On an average-priced home in the city, buyers can expect to pay close to $40,000 in taxes. “When you think about what a $40,000 tax bill payable upon closing could do if it was applied to a down payment, it's clearly time to incentivize the first domino,” says Alexander. “The first order of business should be revisiting the first-time buyer rebate/exemption in Toronto and Vancouver, because at $400,000 and $500,000–$525,000 respectively, they're woefully inadequate given the average or benchmark price of properties in those cities.” A survey conducted by Leger on behalf of RE/MAX in mid-2023 found that more than one in four Canadians (28 per cent) agreed the land transfer tax has impacted their decision to participate in the housing market. The home-buying decisions of young Canadians were particularly impacted, with 40 per cent of Gen Z and 35 per cent of Millennials agreeing that the land transfer tax has played a role in their pursuit of home ownership, compared to 26 per cent of Gen X and 21 per cent of Baby Boomers.* As a result, there is a growing wave of younger people who are choosing to leave major centres and provinces to attain home ownership. Not surprisingly, some of the fastest-growing municipalities are inside or close to urban areas, according to Statistics Canada 2021 Census. For example, East Gwillimbury in the Greater Toronto Area experienced the greatest increase in population between 2016 and 2021 with a 44.4-per-cent uptick; Langford, outside of Victoria, BC, and Southern Gulf Islands just outside Vancouver, were up 31.8 and 28.9 per cent respectively; Niverville, on the outskirts of Winnipeg was up 29 per cent; Carignan just outside Montreal was up 24.1 per cent; while Wolfville, Nova Scotia was up 20.5 per cent. New and proposed property tax reassessments are also creating confusion in markets across the country, including Toronto, Montreal and Halifax, with some properties assessed above recent sale prices. The Province of Ontario has yet again postponed its reassessment. With the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) still operating at levels assessed in 2016, new assessments in the province for the years 2023 and 2024 will likely be significantly higher when distributed. The burden is even higher on new home construction within Canada's most expensive markets. In Toronto, for example, taxes, levies and development fees on new condominiums – the first step to home ownership for many Canadians – is estimated to account for approximately 25 to 30 per cent of the overall purchase price. On a unit priced at $717,000, the average price for a condominium in Toronto at year-end, that accounts for roughly $180,000 to $215,000 paid by the purchaser. New low-rise housing is no exception. Based on a study by Altus Group, the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) found that government fees, taxes and charges added $222,000 to the cost of an average, new single-family home in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) in 2019 – three times higher than in major U.S. markets such as San Francisco, Miami, Boston, New York City, Chicago, and Houston. “The goal should be to make home ownership more accessible, not less,” says Alexander. “Taxation is contributing to the demise of the Canadian dream, with home ownership across the country falling from peak levels reported in 2011, and it will continue to decline unless there is some intervention. A greater supply of affordable housing in major centres will have a sizeable impact on keeping the dream alive. However, if we don't heed the call, we risk continued out-migration of our youth.” Rising tax levels and quality of life have become a growing concern in cities throughout North America as well. Driven by domestic out-migration, more than 600,000 people left New York State for Florida, Texas, and other low-tax states in 2020 and 2023, according to US Census Data. Internal Revenue Services (IRS) data show the state lost an estimated $45 billion in taxable income between 2020 and 2023. Florida, on the other hand, welcomed more than 700,000 people during the same period, as the state's favourable tax structure proved irresistible to buyers. “Clearly, public policy is contributing to a myriad of issues – with affordability front and centre – and there's no relief in sight,” says Alexander. “Shelter is a basic human need, yet accessibility is becoming increasingly problematic as government reliance on the housing sector as a means of funding creates a greater divide. Affordability and opportunity are key to healthy and sustainable real estate market activity and a vibrant economy. As such, the potential economic impact of ongoing out-migration on the future of individual provinces should raise alarm bells.” Market by Market Overview** Greater Vancouver The tax burden weighs most heavily on buyers in markets such as the Greater Vancouver Area where housing values are amongst the highest in the country. Yet first time, move up, and downsizing buyers remain determined to move forward, regardless of tax implications. In fact, home-buying activity in the Greater Vancouver Area is off to a strong start in 2024, as buyers who've sat on the sidelines throughout 2023 re-enter the market en masse. The imbalance between supply and demand has prompted a flurry of multiple offers on properties at affordable price points. While land transfer taxes are the cost of doing business in Vancouver and purchasers have come to begrudgingly accept that reality, property taxes are amongst the lowest in the country. High interest rates were the greatest impediment to home-buying activity in Vancouver throughout 2023, with the threat of ever-rising mortgage rates creating havoc in the market. With the expectation of an end to quantitative tightening, homebuyers are hoping to get into the market before values climb once again. Evidence of the trending has been apparent over the past two months, as fixed rates have now come down about one half of a per cent. Inflation appears to be heading in the right direction, although slower than originally anticipated. The first-time buyer's rebate has proven inadequate in a market that had an average benchmark price of $1,168,700. Few first-time buyers qualify at the current $525,000 threshold. Properties up to $499,999 are eligible for a full tax exemption while properties priced from $500,000 to $524,999 are eligible for partial repayment. There are currently 43 properties listed for sale under $525,000 in the City of Vancouver. The full land transfer tax is obligatory on property priced at more than $525,000. Surprisingly, the first-time buyer's exemption on new construction is considerably higher, with exemption available on homes priced up to $750,000. While buyers are faced with the additional cost of a government sales tax (GST) on their new home, there's really no reason the threshold of $750,000 shouldn't be applied equitably. Unfortunately, the higher cost of living in the province is driving movement out of the province, with many young families and retirees heading for neighbouring Alberta where BC dollars go a lot further.  Data compiled for the first nine months of 2023 by the Statistics Canada Quarterly Demographic Estimates: Provinces and Territories Interactive Map showed a decline in net interprovincial migration numbers, with British Columbia registering close to 6,000 people leaving BC. Years ago, the trend had been to move to the Okanagan to take advantage of lower prices, but in recent years, strong migration levels have accelerated housing values in cities such as Kelowna, Kamloops and Penticton. Net international migration numbers for the same period show more than 150,000 immigrants, net emigration and net non-permanent residents entering the province in the first three-quarters of 2023. Methodology for Residential Property Transfer Tax First $200,000 – taxed at 1 per cent $200,000 – $2,000,000 – taxed at 2 per cent $2 million to $3 million – taxed at 3 per cent Over $3 million – taxed at 5 per cent Calgary Home-buying activity continues at a frenzied pace in the Calgary area as affordable housing values and lower tax rates incentivize an increasing number of out-of-province buyers to move to Alberta. In the first three quarters of 2023, the province welcomed just over 45,000 interprovincial residents, according to the Statistics Canada Quarterly Demographic Estimates: Provinces and Territories Interactive Dashboard. During the same period, net international migration rose by almost 100,000 people, including new immigrants, net emigration, and net non-permanent residents. Buyers from Ontario and BC remain most active in the province, with the vast majority settling in the City of Calgary where the average price at year end 2023 hovered at $539,313, according to the Calgary Real Estate Board. Home ownership in the city can be attained for as low as $350,000, with the condominium apartment category seeing the highest year-over-year increase in sales in 2023. Younger buyers as well as retirees and investors are behind the push for housing. Tight market conditions persist throughout the city, however, with local buyers vying for prime properties with cash-rich purchasers from Ontario and British Columbia. As a result, many seasoned local buyers have moved to the sidelines in the latter half of 2023, choosing not to participate in the frothy market. Entry-level buyers, representing approximately 20 to 30 per cent of the market, are driving activity between $350,000 to $650,000. Those first-time buyers that have scrimped and saved for a down payment are largely targeting two-bedroom, one bath condominium apartment properties priced between $350,000 to $400,000. First-time buyers are fortunate enough to have some help from the bank of mom and dad are typically seeking single detached starter homes in the $500,000 to $650,000 price range. Land transfer taxes are non-existent in Alberta, although most buyers pay a registration fee around $300. There are no provincial sales taxes. The combination of lower taxes, affordable housing, and greater job opportunities are expected to continue to draw purchasers from out-of-province, many of whom have been priced out by rapidly rising housing values and taxes in their own provinces. Zero Residential Property Transfer Tax – All properties, all price points Winnipeg A significant uptick in housing sales and values in the last six weeks of 2023 has set the stage for home-buying activity in Winnipeg in 2024. Listings that had lingered on the market were quickly snapped up, some in multiple-offer situations, between mid-November and mid-December. The same momentum has been noted in the first two weeks of January as the potential for an end to the Bank of Canada's stance on quantitative tightening grows increasingly likely after four rate pauses in a row. There has been a considerable increase in the number of renters getting into the market, in large part due to rental rates that look more like mortgage payments at present. First time buyers, many of whom are new to the country, would rather own their homes than paying off someone else's mortgage. As such, the land transfer and property taxes are just part of the process, despite property rate taxes that are amongst the highest in the country. The vast majority of first-time purchasers are coming to the table with at least two percent of the property's value set aside for land transfer taxes and closing costs. For move up buyers, they've generally factored the land transfer tax into the equation. However, at higher price points, from $750,000 to $1 million, buyers may put their decision to move on pause, opting to renovate instead. Seniors, particularly those who have lost partners and live alone, may choose to age in place rather than undertaking the additional costs, not to mention the stress of a move. The greatest activity remains at lower price points, where inventory levels are particularly low. Winnipeg is one of the most affordable housing markets in the country with an average price in 2023 hovering at just over $400,000 (approximately $5,700 in land transfer tax). Most first-time buyers are looking at properties priced between $350,000 and $450,000. Trade-up buyers are typically active between $500,000 and $750,000. Like other parts of the country, overall housing stock in the city remains low. Yet, net international migration, comprised of immigrants, net emigration, and net non-permanent residents, added an estimated 36,000 to Manitoba's population in the first three quarters of 2023, according to Statistics Canada Quarterly Demographic Estimates: Provinces and Territories Interactive Dashboard. Population growth is expected to contribute to housing market activity in Winnipeg in the year ahead, bolstered by an anticipated fall in interest rates in the second or third quarters. Methodology for Residential Land Transfer Tax 0 – $30,000 – No Tax $30,001 to $90,000 – 0.5 per cent $90,001 to $150,000 – 1 per cent $150,001 to $200,000 – 1.5 per cent $200,000 and above – 2 per cent Greater Toronto Area After a flurry of home-buying activity at luxury price points in the final quarter of 2023 in Toronto Proper due to upcoming changes to the city's 2024 land transfer taxes, the housing market has slowed in the Greater Toronto Area. Sales are currently trending on par or slightly ahead of year-ago levels, with economic concerns and high interest rates leaving many buyers sitting on the sidelines. While the Bank of Canada (BOC) held firm on rates in January for the fourth consecutive time since its July 2023 rate hike, inflation remains high, placing the BOC in a challenging position. That said, there are signs that quantitative tightening is drawing to a close and some economists predict rates will start coming down by mid-year. With the promise of lower rates on the horizon, the spring market is expected to be active, with trade-up buyers leading the charge, cashing in on equity gains realized over the past decade. Unlike years prior, this spring market will be characterized by a greater selection of homes available for sale and less competition in the marketplace. Sales in the spring will ideally position seasoned buyers with a three-month closing to potentially dovetail with interest rate cuts. First-time buyers, however, will continue to struggle to achieve home ownership, given a continuation of tight inventory levels at entry-level price points from $500,000 to $1,000,000.  That, combined with the government stress test that adds an additional two percentage points to existing rates is hurting those who've been able to accumulate a down payment and transfer taxes but are unable to qualify at today's rates plus two per cent. The unfortunate fact is that many potential homebuyers are already paying rates similar to a mortgage on their rental units while inflation continues to eat away at their savings. The 416 area-code remains popular with younger buyers who want to be close to shops, restaurants and transportation. The additional municipal land transfer tax fails to deter this segment of the market. However, for those starting a family, the 905 area-code generally offers greater affordability and one less transfer tax. Hybrid workplaces have also made moving north, east, and west of the city an easier transition, requiring only one or two days a week travelling on the GTA's busy highways. For existing homeowners located in the city core, the expense of a move with its associated municipal and provincial land transfer taxes and closing costs have prompted some to consider renovation. By upgrading their home, making cosmetic changes to kitchen, bathrooms and flooring, homeowners are adding value to their properties down the road. While renovation can have its own challenges, it is an option that many are taking given the high cost of moving. Ongoing conversations regarding a 10 to 16 per cent increase in property taxes are another issue that stems from a city that is burdened by rising costs and a stagnating downtown core. Fundamentally regressive taxing punishes the city's most vulnerable homeowners – its seniors – many who are on fixed incomes. Taxes are based on the value of the property but have nothing to do with income. While the only certainties in life are death and taxes, there needs to be better solution to the current structure. Taxation is not actually deterring most buyers from getting into the market, but it is somewhat hampering, especially at entry-level price points. The current structure allows for a full rebate of municipal and provincial land transfer taxes of up to $400,000 for first-time buyers. There are currently close to 250 “properties” listed for sale under the $400,000 price point, the vast majority of which are parking spaces, lockers and vacant land. Although buyers are still active in the Toronto market, there are those that are moving to areas outside of the GTA where housing values are lower.  And, in the first three quarter of 2023, there were more people leaving the province than arriving, with net interprovincial migration numbers down by just over 32,500, according to Statistics Canada Quarterly Demographic Estimates: Provinces and Territories Interactive Dashboard. While interprovincial migration has been offset by close to half a million immigrants, net emigration, and net non-permanent residents, it's clear the cost of living in Ontario – with its high housing values and tax base – is resulting in migration to other areas of the country. Methodology for Municipal Land Transfer Tax on Residential Properties Up to $55,000: 0.5 per cent Up to $250,000: 1 per cent Up to $400,000: 1.5 per cent Up to $2 million: 2 per cent $2 million Up to $2.999 million: 2.5 per cent $3 million to $3.999 million: 3.5 per cent $4 million to $4.999 million: 4.5 per cent $5 million to $9.999 million: 5.5 per cent $10 million to $19.999 million: 6.5 per cent $20 million plus: 7.5 per cent Methodology for Provincial Land Transfer Tax on Residential Properties Up to $55,000: 0.5 per cent Up to $250,000: 1 per cent Up to $400,000: 1.5 per cent Up to $2 million: 2 per cent More than $2 million: 2.5 per cent Montreal While higher interest rates and the threat of a possible recession seriously hampered home-buying activity in Montreal over the past year, housing taxes –in the form of a welcome tax and property tax—proved to be a negligible part of the equation in 2023. The sentiment is largely due to Montreal's affordable housing market, where average price at year-end 2023 ($574,845) remains well below other large Canadian markets such as Toronto and Vancouver. Buyers can expect to pay a welcome tax of close to $8,000, payable upon closing, based on the 2023 year-end average. First-time buyers, defined as those who have never owned a home, are not eligible for a rebate but can receive the Quebec Home Buyers Tax Credit on their tax return. Set by the city, property tax rates currently run at approximately 0.63000 per cent in Montreal, adding another $3,183 to the annual cost of home ownership, based the average price. A recent update to property assessments have made headlines in Quebec as the province moves to bring assessments in line with today's housing values. The new assessments have, however, caused confusion in the market, particularly given that some homes have been assessed above recent sale prices. After a dismal 2023, renewed momentum is expected to characterize home-buying activity in Montreal in 2024. Properties appear to be moving at a faster pace than year-ago levels while showings and open houses are growing busier. First-time buyers are cautiously optimistic, entering the market at price points ranging between $450,000 and $750,000. While condominiums are the first step to home ownership at lower price points in the city, first-time buyers willing to move farther afield may find small, detached homes priced around $750,000. The trade-up market has been impacted by an abundance of offers conditional on the sale of the buyers' home within 30 days in recent months. Many of these offers are falling through as buyers fail to sell their homes and new buyers lie waiting in the wings. As a result, existing homeowners are choosing to sit tight, hesitant to sell first for fear that they won't find another suitable home. Yet, they are also hesitant to buy first and go through the motions, only for the deal to die after 30-days. As a result, some buyers will choose to renovate their property, instead of embarking on a move. The promise of lower interest rates down the road is bringing some comfort to buyers and sellers. Once rates start to decline, which could potentially happen as early as April, home buying activity is expected to gain traction. The market at present, however, remains tenuous, with any unexpected development having the potential to disrupt the whole market. Methodology for residential land transfer tax in Montreal 0.5 per cent on the first $58,000 1.0 percent between $58,900 and $294,600 1.5 per cent between $294,600 to $552,300 2.0 per cent between $552,300 to $1,104,700 2.5 per cent between $1,104,700 to $2,136,500 3.5 per cent between $2,136,500 to $3,113,000 4.0 per cent on homes priced over $4,113,000 Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) With housing market uncertainty seeping into January 2024, homebuyers in Halifax are banking of the prospect of lower interest rates down the road to revitalize home-buying activity. Demand remains relatively healthy in hot pocket areas, where well-priced properties are selling in short order, but in areas where greater selection exists, turnover is slow. Given the current high interest rate environment, many buyers are choosing to stay in place until the first interest rate cut is announced. Once that occurs, it's expected that buyers will enter the market in full force, hoping to get in before prices increase. Immigration and in-migration have factored into the housing equation, with both ramping up significantly since 2020. According to Statistics Canada, Nova Scotia's population rose five per cent between 2016 to 2021, settling in at just under 970,000, with the provincial government committed to doubling the population to two million by 2060. In 2023, more than 5,300 interprovincial migrants and over 20,000 immigrants moved to Nova Scotia in the first three quarters of the year – the vast majority settling in Halifax – according to Statistics Canada Quarterly Demographic Estimates, Provinces and Territories Interactive Dashboard. The increase came as a surprise, driving upward momentum in housing values, as buyers from other provinces and countries arrive flush with cash, outspending the average Halifax buyer in large part due to stronger buying power. Inventory levels have improved significantly over one year ago, but less than 1,000 homes are currently listed for sale. First-time buyers in the Halifax housing market are finding it particularly stressful as of late to compete for homes in the sweet spot – priced from $350,000 to $500,000. Some are moving between one and two hours outside of Halifax to take advantage lower house prices. With remote work increasingly accepted, the necessity to be located in Halifax has waned. Halifax urbanization and development in recent years is also a factor, with traffic, construction, and increased congestion prompting buyers to look at areas outside the Halifax Regional Municipality. Taxation has played a greater role in the market this year, as new reassessments mailed out in January reflected strong growth in housing values over the Covid years. Residential assessments are up about 20 per cent over last year, one of the largest increases in the history of the province. Numbers vary by community or municipality, with Halifax up 21.1 per cent. In addition, the new reassessments will not be capped after the sale of a home, which could see property taxes increase further for the next buyer. Deed transfer tax at 1.5 per cent on the purchase of a home in Halifax is an on-going hardship for first—time buyers, although there has been a first-time buyer plan in place that allows first-time buyers to repay the debt over a longer period. This is woefully inadequate at a time when it's important to incentivize the first domino. However, unlike other major areas of the country, housing values are still relatively affordable here. First-time buyers are laser focused on home ownership as rental rates rise. Many spend years saving 10 to 20 per cent down payments, only to be told they owe another 1.5 per cent upon closing, in addition to all other closing costs. The combination of reassessment and the deed transfer tax have also prompted some buyers to stay in place, especially at higher price points. Many are choosing to renovate rather than move. For non-residents, Nova Scotia charges a five per cent Provincial Deed Transfer Tax. Prices were up over 2022 at year-end 2023, sitting at $552,700 (up from $536,700 one year prior). Supply issues, like other parts of the country, exist and while development fees and approvals are slow and far between, there are more condominiums and freehold properties being added the city's housing stock. However, its estimated that the Halifax market is still 30,000 to 35,000 units short of what the city needs, given the governments vision for growth. Under the present conditions, there's no question that prices will continue to rise in the year ahead, with sales rising in tandem with falling interest rates. Methodology for Deed Transfer Tax in Nova Scotia Deed Transfer Tax in the Halifax Regional Municipality for residents is 1.5 per cent on purchase price. Deed Transfer Tax in Nova Scotia for out of province/country buyers is 5 per cent on purchase price. Mario Toneguzzi is Managing Editor of Canada's Podcast. He has more than 40 years of experience as a daily newspaper writer, columnist, and editor. He was named in 2021 as one of the Top 10 Business Journalists in the World by PR News – the only Canadian to make the list About Us Canada's Podcast is the number one podcast in Canada for entrepreneurs and business owners. Established in 2016, the podcast network has interviewed over 600 Canadian entrepreneurs from coast-to-coast. With hosts in each province, entrepreneurs have a local and national format to tell their stories, talk about their journey and provide inspiration for anyone starting their entrepreneurial journey and well- established founders. The commitment to a grass roots approach has built a loyal audience on all our social channels and YouTube – 500,000+ lifetime YouTube views, 200,000 + audio downloads, 35,000 + average monthly social impressions, 10,000 + engaged social followers and 35,000 newsletter subscribers. Canada's Podcast is proud to provide a local, national and international presence for Canadian entrepreneurs to build their brand and tell their story. #business #CanadasNumberOnePodcastforEntrepreneurs #entrepreneurs #entrepreneurship #Homes #Housing #RealEstate #smallbusiness #Taxes

Hycean planets were thought to be covered by oceans of water, but a new study suggests it could be magma instead. And, author Rafi Kohan explains the psychological and physiological responses to trash talk, ahead of Super Bowl Sunday.Faraway Planets Could Have Oceans Of MagmaFar beyond our solar system are hycean planets—planets that have hydrogen-rich atmospheres and are covered in giant oceans. Scientists have long believed that those oceans were made of water, but a new study throws a wrench in that idea, suggesting that they could actually be oceans of magma.SciFri's John Dankosky talks with Sophie Bushwick, senior news editor at New Scientist based in NYC, about this and other science news of the week, including a new type of thunderstorm, how droughts are affecting the Panama Canal, inhalable nanoparticles that could carry antibiotics, which dog breeds live longest, and a fern whose dying leaves can sprout roots.The Art And Science Of Trash TalkAs frivolous as it may sound, the use of trash talk has a long, hilarious history that dates back to the Bible and the Homeric poems. Fundamentally, this insult-slinging is the presentation of a challenge, and it's found its way into sports, politics, and even cutthroat family board game nights.But there's a science to trash talk that explains why it's stuck around all these millennia, the psychology behind it, and how it can either rev up or fluster an opponent.Just in time for the 2024 Super Bowl, guest host John Dankosky talks with Rafi Kohan, author of Trash Talk: The Only Book About Destroying Your Rivals That Isn't Total Garbage.Read an excerpt from Trash Talk at sciencefriday.com.Transcripts for each segment will be available after the show airs on sciencefriday.com. To stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.

In this episode host Charlotte Burns is joined by artist Alvaro Barrington, who brings as much generosity of spirit to this conversation as he does to his art practice. Fundamentally curious, Alvaro wants to connect with as many people as possible and to make art that is as relevant to people today as Hip Hop was to him as a kid growing up in New York in the 1990s. But, as the art world has expanded, he says, it's also become narrower in terms of who gets in. Alvaro is interested in changing that, creating less hierarchy and more connections. What if art could be as beloved as music by Beyonce or Taylor Swift? “Art has to be more in people's lives,” he says, “It just has to figure that out.”

The only reason we do interviews is because we've done them in the past. Hear Nolan and Kelli discuss Linear's recent announcement that they're moving from interviews to work trials for all candidates (https://twitter.com/linear/status/1735019663875264958)Also discussed is Nolan's experience with a failed interview policy from his time at Google.Let us know what you think by sending us a message on LinkedIn, sharing your thoughts in the comments. Our substack is new and we're excited about this new way to watch the podcast, so we'd appreciate you subscribing, sharing and forwarding this to anyone you think would love it.This episode is brought to you by Continuum. Hire Fractional Executives with Continuum using this link: https://bit.ly/40hlRa9 There is no hidden cost, you only pay the person you hire. And you can cancel at any time.KEEP UP WITH NOLAN, + KELLI ON LINKEDIN- Nolan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nolan-church/- Kelli: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellidragovich/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit hrheretics.substack.com

Today's Post - https://bahnsen.co/48OKdeA Ask David “What is the best argument for why the distributed independent decisions of individuals, families, and businesses create more beneficial outcomes for most people than the top-down, centralized decisions of government, especially the federal government?” ~ David K. My argument is one of incentives and one of knowledge. These are two different arguments, even if they do overlap at points. Fundamentally, I believe better outcomes take place when the decision-makers reap benefits from their decisions and when decision-makers feel pain from bad decisions. I do not believe “disinterested third parties” (Thomas Sowell's term) have the incentives to allocate and adjudicate risk and reward the way those with “skin in the game” do. But beyond the classical incentive argument, I am very much a believer in what Friedrich Hayek referred to as the “knowledge problem.” Knowledge is widely dispersed throughout a society and no central entity possesses the knowledge needed to properly steward the affairs of a diverse economy. I read the masterful essay, The Use of Knowledge in Society, by Friedrich Hayek while in high school. It was the beginning of a lifetime journey for me through Hayekian thought, particularly around Hayek's thesis of the “fatal conceit” of central planners. Links mentioned in this episode: TheDCToday.com DividendCafe.com TheBahnsenGroup.com

As we discussed in our last show, it now appears beyond any reasonable doubt that COVID-19 emerged from a lab. It almost certainly came about as a result of EcoHealth's work at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Work that was based on the 2018 gain-of-function DEFUSE proposal they submitted to DARPA. That proposal was turned down for being too risky, but it now appears that EcoHealth went ahead and did the gain-of-function work anyway in a low-security lab in China. Which brings us to the topic of today's show. We've said for some time now that the focus needs to shift outwards and upwards to those in government, including the various federal agencies, powerful and influential individuals, and the Department of Defense—as well as to the Intelligence Community, who worked so hard to hide all this information from the public for the last four years. ⭕️ Watch in-depth videos based on Truth & Tradition at Epoch TV

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Is Britain a conservative nation at its core – or is it time to dispel that myth? And the Tories haven't been too good at picking party leaders of late, could Kemi Badenoch be next up? The panel discusses who she is and what she stands for? Plus, in the extra bit for subscribers, Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer wants to give Ofcom more powers to stop what she believes is BBC bias – does she have a point? • “I think the cost of living crisis is making more institutions left wing.” – Marie Le Conte • “There is evidence that this woke moral panic is making people over a particular age more conservative and people under a certain age less so.” – Alex Andreou We're on YouTube!: https://www.youtube.com/@ohgodwhatnow www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow Presented by Dorian Lynskey with Alex Andreou, Rachel Cunliffe and Marie Le Conte. Producer: Chris Jones. Audio production by: Robin Leeburn. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Children of Israel step into freedom and they immediately face potential war with the Philistines. God is concerned about this and that they might run away from it back to Egypt. To stop this, God diverts the people away from the Philistines and towards the Red Sea. In this episode we question why God is so concerned about the retreat to Egypt and how He deals with it. What are the implications about what he expects of us and our capabilities?

The New York Times has sued OpenAI and Microsoft, alleging the tech companies violated the newspaper's copyrights by training ChatGPT on millions of Times articles. The decision in this case could have enormous implications for journalism and AI tools like large language models, and the lawsuit could go to the Supreme Court. While OpenAI says such training is “fair use,” the Times says the companies “seek to free-ride” on its journalism. How will the case be decided, and how will the outcome affect the next decade-plus of journalism and AI development? Fundamentally, should companies like OpenAI be allowed to train on copyrighted material without compensating creators?Joining us to discuss all of this today are Matthew Sag and Zach Graves. Sag is a Professor of Law in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Data Science at Emory University Law School. He is an expert in copyright law and intellectual property, and a leading authority on the fair use doctrine in copyright law and its implications for AI. Graves is the Executive Director at the Foundation for American Innovation. He was recently invited to participate in the Senate's AI Insight Forum. 

Pablos: Here's one of the things I think is a critical area of invention that remains unsolved, but it's definitely a part of the future. So if you're using an iPhone anywhere in the world, cultures vary. I've been working with this guy in Venezuela on a project. I text him on WhatsApp and then he replies with a voice memo like every time and so his, culture and worldview is just like talking to the phone and probably because I know Venezuelans do a lot more talking or something. Whereas I never use voice memo. I'm texting, but a lot of that is like, I'm in public around other people and I don't want to disturb them and, disturbing people is considered uncool where I come from, but in Venezuela, like everybody's chattering all the time, probably because they're all Latinos. Talking to your computer will become more and more common. And you can see that some people are more comfortable with it than others. I see it a lot more in people from other countries than I do in Americans. Right now, talking to Siri kind of sucks, and Alexa. These things are kind of stunted because, they're very one shot oriented. If you take your iPhone and start using the voice interface for ChatGPT, wow, it gets pretty exciting. Because now you're having this, two way, audible conversation that builds on itself over time. And if you haven't done that, I think everybody should try it because that will give you a sense of where these things are going. Once you get that going and realize, oh, I can just do this while I'm driving or walking, and I don't have to be staring at my phone. It starts to get compelling. And so it's not hard to imagine being, a few years down the road where ChatGPT is just listening all the time and piping in when it has the answers for you . So that's just laying the groundwork, hopefully all that makes sense. But where I think this goes is that we need to solve one really big problem that remains, which is sub vocal input. Ash: Okay. Pablos: And what that means is, right now, if I'm talking, I don't want to talk to my phone, I don't even want to dictate text messages or do voice memo, because there's people around listening, I don't want them here in my business. We're in this situation where the eavesdropping potential, even if you're not talking about something super secret, it could be private or whatever. I don't want to play a message from you out loud and I want other people hearing things that I haven't screened yet, who knows what you're talking about. So, what sub vocal input would do is give you the ability to just essentially whisper and have your phone pick it up. People around you wouldn't hear you, wouldn't understand you but you would still use the same machinery that you have and we all have the ability to whisper, and and quietly. If you're trying to whisper for someone else to hear you, maybe it gets kind of loud, but if you're just trying to whisper to yourself, it can be super quiet. We know that this should be possible, and we know that because deaf people are able to train themselves to do lip reading pretty well. So a deaf person who's, got nothing, bothering them audibly can sometimes, apply enough focus to the task of learning how to read lips that they can do a really good job of it. So there's enough of a signal in what your phone could see. So you know with Face ID there's a tiny little LiDAR sensor that's doing depth, and it can see your face. It can see the, minute details about your face. That's why it can tell, the difference between your face and a photo of you and your twin brother or sister, whatever. So it might be possible right now. With the hardware that's in an iPhone, even though you probably don't have access to the right APIs for this to work, but maybe in a equivalent Android phone or something, maybe this could be prototyped. Where you could just use that machinery, train a giant, model, just a machine learning model on, lip reading. Ash: Yeah. Pablos: And so you would be able to just look at your phone and whisper, and it would transcribe. Ash: There's a couple of things on this. Three GSM world, before GSM, 2000 or so. So we'll go back in time. One of the big conversations that we would have was, I was a proponent saying that we just don't have enough bandwidth and People are like, "yeah, but we're going to have 3G & 4G & 5G & 6G." And I said, "no, no, you're missing the point." The bandwidth to your device is not the issue, it's between the device and the human. It's your conversation. It's, this is where we're stuck. We're stuck because we type, we could try Dvorak, we could try QWERTY, we can pick the keyboard, we can have sideways keyboards, we can speak to it, but I still think all of these are terrible. Whispering, could be very interesting. There was a MIT headset, Alter Ego. So Alter Ego, if you look at this thing up, it's a mind reading, reading device. Sub vocalization signals through EEG, brain activity. He can actually make it work. Pablos: Well, I've played with some of these things. I have NeuroSky headset emotive, but I think what you have to do with them... Ash: This one you wear. It's bone conducting. It's wild. You just put it on and say, Pablos: Oh, it's bone conducting. So it's picking up speech, it's not EEG. Ash: No, no, no. The bone conducting is how it tells you things back. So it even whispers it back. Like, into your head. Pablos: Oh, but you could just do that with headphones. Ash: No, that's how it whispers back. You think it and then it tells you things. Anyway, it's called alter ego, we'll link to Alter Ego. To me, it goes back to what you're saying, which is, is there a way? Otherwise, we just look like, we're murmuring to ourselves, right? We'll just look completely crazy. Like sometimes I get a little bit annoyed with people on conversations with AirPods. You just have no idea what's going on, right? There's a little hairdryer sticking out of their head, and they're like, just walking around, and we just are fully, we're already like, isolating ourselves and now we're, we're conversing. I think what you're saying though is that the sub vocalization stuff needs to be in a way where it's, Almost so discreet that it is a relationship between you and a listening device, right? It's almost like the pixie on your shoulder. Pablos: Yes. Ash: It's like the little angel devils whatever the animated version was. Pablos: Yeah, and I think there could be other technologies. I don't know if you could fit it in something like an AirPod. Maybe like a Compton backscatter detector, one of these terahertz imagers, like the thing at the airport that you do the HOVA signal to, and then it's you. Without a lot of radiation, you know, those things are low impact. You could do something like that to see the tongue through the side of the mouth. Ash: My belief is closer to the way that you were trying to tackle this problem, which is, hey, it listens in and jumps in. But what if I could prompt it to jump in, right? So for example, let's assume that instead of having to build anything new, it's now just listening to me. Constant in real time. Imagine a natural language parsing system with a, engine underneath. We used to call these things While Aware. This was actually the name of our company from years ago. And While Aware was intercepting SMS messages in real time on the SMSC. And the idea was that, it would detect what the conversation was, but because it knows who you are, it would evoke different things at different moments, right? So let's pick, for example, Bitcoin share price, Bitcoin's falling as a price. And that message was coming to you or that data was somehow coming to you. It might say, do you want to open up, your trading account and you can go sell it. And for me, it might, immediately tell me, do you want to book, tickets to Belize in a non extradition country, because my capital call is too high,. Whatever it is, if I have a margin call, because it knows what's happening. It's contextual, understanding. And I think one of the big things that we're missing in all of these little support things that you allude to that ChatGPT brings to the table is contextual. We fail because It doesn't understand us. Siri doesn't know. Pablos: This is a separate conversation. Fundamentally, you are right. The whole future of AI requires that it know you, it needs to know you, it needs to know every conversation you've had, not only every SMS but text message and email, it needs to have 100 percent of that so it understands you. It knows what you know, it knows what you care about, it sees what you do, it sees what you say, it has to have all that and I want the AI to have all that. We need to architect for that and right now we're not doing that because we're building giant centralized AI's. Ash: That's when you're, different technologies, whether it's the backscatter or it's the, lip reader or the whisper detector. All of those become a lot easier when you have context. I don't know if you remember Google's evolution, 2009, 2010, Google suddenly, not as creepy as Facebook, but its searches were just better, its searches were just better. Why were they better? Oh, you're standing in New York city. So obviously maybe it's contextual to what's around you. Maybe the weather is cold. So Google's original cookie, which they're now getting rid of, was so laden with data. If you could mine that sucker, you won. It knew all of the signals. And I used to call it, signal gathering in terms of the more signal you had, the more accurate you became. And the more you look like sort of a savant. So our AI, like you said, isn't really smart and Siri's terrible because it doesn't know much. It doesn't even know intent. So as humans, why is it that we can speak with somebody with a very heavy accent sometimes? Because we know the context of what's happening and why we got there. It's not just lip reading. It's because when we're with them, we do our own interpretive dance. I think that if you tie the two together, what you just said about, you know, these other little signal things, you could pull it off. Pablos: I assume we're gonna get the latter for free. That's gonna happen. AIs will be stunted until they start to have access to everything and know everything about me and my context in real time. So that's all gonna happen anyway, and there's such momentum around that. So I think we get that for free and even if you didn't, having a conversation with ChatGPT right now will probably convince you that it's, like, good enough that we're going this direction one way or another. Ash: The reason I bring all this up is, can you imagine if, instead of having to whisper, what if all I have to do is have my phone out, and I just say yes or no, or I say more? Go back to my Starship Trooper obsession of, "would you like to know more?" What's interesting is, imagine in your scenario, you're having this sub vocal conversation, but instead of you having to have any conversation, ChatGPT has heard you and it's like, " oh, alter ego, Pablos: No, no, I get it. One of my friends, figured out that you could get through life with only four words, fuck, man, dude, and totally. If you just have those four words, you can get through life because you can express a multitude of things with just those four words. Totally. Ash: Totally. Your response, totally. Funny enough though, right? That may solve some of your problems because you could whisper a little Pablos: Yeah, yeah. Ash: And not have to do long things. Pablos: Yeah. Right. Exactly. No, you're totally right. And that's what you do with your friends. And the closer you are to your friends, like if you're just hanging out with somebody you've known for a long time, you can have a lot of communication with very little actual content. If I watch my daughter and her best friend hanging out, they're incomprehensible because they have like, shortcodes for memes, everything they see or talk about or discuss is related to some other thing that I wasn't part of and like they're foreign objects to me. I think that is kind of what you're describing. Like at some point, Ash: So go back to your Venezuelan, right? If you go back to that conversation and they're sending you a voice note. Now, let's say that voice notes processed and parsed and read by our GPT friend, and it comes back and gives you a summary, five sentence. So you don't even have to look. It just whispers it in your head. Like he wants to know, should he edit the podcast? I don't know, whatever it is. And you could just go back and be like, just hit the yes button, right? I mean, you could go back and say, totally. You could do one of your four words. Pablos: Yeah, totally. No, you got to try it. I tried it. You can go for days without using any other words. But yeah, I think that gets more possible. Like with a human, the more shared experience you have, the more shared context, shared vocabulary, the more concise you can be in your interactions. And so it stands to reason that an AI that knows you really well could get to the point where. All you gotta do is nod or wink and you're done, on a lot of things cause it knows how to set you up to make a quick decision. Ash: If it can formulate the outbound response in long form, and all you have to say is totally... Pablos: Mm hmm, yep. Ash: Then you're good, right? That's usually the problem with these voices, with getting those voices. I've got those too, where people, it is the Latin America thing. They just love, like, I don't know what's going on. It was Brazil too, just, people just go off. And they have a recording. I'm like, you do understand, if I could listen to this, I wouldn't be texting you. That's like, I would pick up the phone and just phone you if I can, if I could have a dialogue, I would have one. When I saw that, I was like, well, can you just tell me like what's in the voice recording? That's what we're looking for. The other thing to think of, and I thought this is where you were going before, you were talking about the sub vocal thing, It's almost like the Babelfish thing, for all the fans of Hitchhiker's Guide. I just had this crazy problem happen, which was, I'd ordered an Uber, and I'm sending information to the Uber driver in English, and the Uber driver is replying in Spanish, but I have a little translate button, but I don't think they had a translate button. And at some point they just simply just said, no hable ingles. I tried to give the directions to my house, finally, I had to run into the street. I sent my daughter out into the street, like someone went out and we're trying to tell them like, go to the yellow house. And I'm like, does anyone remember the word yellow? I realized that I was getting translate and they just didn't speak English. I think that maybe there's this universal input concept. If someone sends you a voice message, it not just transcribes it, but maybe it automatically just dumps it into like concise format. Or to the other person, it reads it to them. So you pick your poison of consumption, like the way you like to consume it, and you just build a proxy in the sky that just It just takes care of all this. There's like a universal proxy, like a little babble bot that sits in the world. And I think you could get pretty far with that. And then you use that to feed ChatGPT. And then you use that to go with the totally man, dude, fuck, right? That's your sequence to that. And then you add your sort of exotic input mechanisms for your sub vocal and everything else. So I could like, you know. Whisper. Pablos: So job one is all the people making AIs need to figure out how to make them mine so that I have my own that I can love and trust and have for life. Job two is they need to make that thing know everything about me, I'm not just a lowest common denominator, I'm me and I need, I need my AI to really know me. Job three is we've got to come up with some clever hardware for doing sub vocal input and it could be something that you wear like a headset that just see through the side of your face and see what's going on in your mouth and your tongue and your embouchure Ash: Well, it could be like a body cam, just clip it on. Pablos: It could be something like that, something that looks up at you. I don't know, it's hard to mount something that sees the front of your face very well, a phone does, though. And even if you had to just aim the phone at your face for it to work. That would be a good start. And I think you could do that today without making any hardware. Ash: Yeah, well, you could put it into your Apple watch. Just hold it up. it's like Dick Tracy. Pablos: There's no camera yet, but next apple Watch will. Ash: Yeah, next Apple will have a little camera, so you just hold that up. It doesn't even have to, you just have, you don't even have to hold it up because if you're using your little radar or LIDAR thing, you just have to have your hand out a little bit. Gesture control on steroids. Pablos: Did you see they put like a gesture control in the new Apple Watch, but it only knows one gesture, which is you pinch your fingers together and it can detect that. I haven't tried it yet. Ash: The other thing I was going to say is I wanted to add what you said about your daughter's thing is that if the AI becomes your buddy, then the total bandwidth between your AI and you will start to decrease. The requirement will decrease because you'll just be able to speak in your own code. You'll be able to be like, yeah, that thing that we worked on last week, dude. Pablos: Mm hmm. Ash: And then it'll just know, Pablos: Exactly. Right. Ash: the other way that it's going to help. So it all starts with that first step, though. It's got to twin you a little bit. Little little scary on the privacy side. Pablos: That's where, some of these, some of these folks working on OpenAI competitors have certainly, gotten onto that notion. Allegedly Apple is trying to figure out how to make the LLM's local, so they run on your device and presumably that's part of the rationale beyond just, justifying you having to buy a faster device and also, make it low latency.

In this episode of the Thoughtful Entrepreneur, your host Josh Elledge speaks with the Chief Strategist of Infinite Business Solutions Group, Chuck Leblo.Interact Business Solutions Group stands out as a beacon for companies grappling with various challenges. Chuck Leblo, at the helm of this consultancy, brings a wealth of experience to the table. The firm's approach is rooted in identifying the core issues that businesses face and tackling them head-on. Chuck recounted how his team has successfully managed projects ranging from short-term data analysis for a lojack company to comprehensive business repositioning for a virtual assistant firm. The key, he stressed, is to dig deep and find the underlying cause of a problem before devising a strategic solution.Drawing from his extensive background in telecommunications, Chuck has shaped the services offered by his company to meet the nuanced needs of the industry. He has built a network of specialists, or "fractional officers," who bring their unique expertise to the table, ensuring that each client's specific needs are precisely met. This collaborative approach has proven invaluable for small and medium-sized businesses that often face revenue generation and profitability improvement hurdlesChuck is a strong proponent of harnessing this technology to enhance various business processes. He envisions a future where generative AI streamlines content creation, marketing, data analysis, and customer engagement.Key Points from the Episode:Services provided by Interact Business Solutions GroupExamples of projects worked on by the companyImportance of identifying the root cause of a problemChuck's experience in the telecommunications industryNetwork of specialists or "fractional officers" collaborating with ChuckCommon challenges faced by small and medium-sized businessesEmerging trend of generative AI and its potential applications in businessPractical uses of generative AI in business processesAbout Chuck Leblo:Chuck Leblo, as the Chief Strategist at Interact Business Solutions Group, is pivotal in tackling intricate business challenges with customized strategies. His role centers on leveraging his profound knowledge in telecommunications, retail, electric, and business sectors. This expertise is crucial in pinpointing and resolving issues impeding client profitability and growth. Chuck's multifaceted approach involves optimizing digital media strategies, executing thorough audits, and addressing operational and sales dilemmas. His team is dedicated to producing concrete, positive results across various industries. Fundamentally, Chuck's mission is to transform obstacles into opportunities and guide clients towards achieving their maximum potential and success. This role showcases his ability to blend analytical acumen with strategic thinking, making him a key asset in navigating complex business landscapes.About Interact Business Solutions Group:Interact Business Solutions Group stands out as a problem-solving powerhouse in the complex world of modern business. The company excels in transforming challenges into opportunities, enhancing digital presence, refining operational processes, and providing strategic insights for tangible, positive outcomes. Their diverse expertise is evident in their varied projects, from digital strategy optimization for local enterprises to conducting comprehensive audits leading to significant financial savings. The group's versatility extends to serving unique industries, including music schools and helicopter manufacturers. Their

It seems the deeper we go into our beingness, the more challenging it becomes to actually talk about God with any level of conviction, knowing how ephemeral words can be in attempting to illuminate the absolute.  To be honest, the deeper I fall into my own stillness, the less I feel compelled to talk about it. After all, how can we clearly point to that which has no defined and conclusive destination.  Of course, that doesn't mean to lay down our spiritual tools and give up the search altogether. Perhaps a better more productive way of approaching this path, is to renounce the idea of their being a teacher responsible for taking us there. After all, a teacher can only speak from their experience, which ultimately isn't your experience.   However, this understanding can be a great equalizer in the realm of enlightenment because it shows us that we are all capable of arriving to the same destination, though through different means of exploration.  The beautiful thing about the spiritual journey is how it allows us to gain insight from each other.  Though, not as teachers, but as explorers on the quest for truth.  An honest seeker isn't looking for instructions to follow. They aren't looking for methods to borrow of someone else's experience.  What a seeker searches for, is a light to help illuminate their path. Ultimately, once it's lit, it is their responsibility to carry on walking.  Fundamentally, that is the responsibility we have as a community. To walk each other home.  My goal for Divine Nobodies in 2024, is to create a space where we can transcend the linear and predictable paths of “how to's”, and instead create a space where we can reflect on the more experiential qualities in life.  After all, that is where we place our spirituality into practice.   In this episode I reflect on my current motivation with Divine Nobodies, and the future ahead for the podcast.   Renouncing linear teachings No beginning or end to source The meaningless mantra No student or guru Beware of fake gurus Spirituality cannot be bought My journey Divine Nobodies 2024   Watch additional videos on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@divinenobodiespodcast6764   Divine Nobodies Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/divine.nobo... Spotify:  https://open.spotify.com/show/7uiWvCa... Divine Nobodies on Apple Podcasts:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast..   Contact: info@divine-nobodies.com Booking: booking@divine-nobodies.com Website: www.divine-nobodies.com    

Episode Summary This week on Live Like the World is Dying, Inmn is joined by two humanitarian-aid workers who have been providing care to asylum seekers along the Mexico-Arizona border near Sasabe where Prevention Through Deterrence policies are playing out in realtime as thousands of asylum seekers are left out in the winter desert by Border Patrol. Guest Info Groups like the ones these volunteers work with can be found at nomoredeaths.org/, www.tucsonsamaritans.org, and www.gvs-samaritans.org. Groups in California like borderkindness.org are doing similar work. Host Info Inmn can be found on Instagram @shadowtail.artificery Publisher Info This show is published by Strangers in A Tangled Wilderness. We can be found at www.tangledwilderness.org, or on Twitter @TangledWild and Instagram @Tangled_Wilderness. You can support the show on Patreon at www.patreon.com/strangersinatangledwilderness. Transcript Live Like the World is Dying: Crisis on the Arizona Border **Inmn ** 00:15 Hello, and welcome to Live Like the World is Dying, your podcast for what feels like the end times. I'm your host today Inmn Neruin and today we're gonna be talking about some pretty horrible things going on in the world which, you know, of course, we never talk about horrible things on this podcast. It's always really good and wonderful things. But yeah, we're going to be talking about a crisis that has been going on on the Arizona border near the town of Sasabe. And it's gonna tie in a lot of things that we've talked about on the show before, especially from the No More Deaths interviews. So, if you haven't listened to the No More Deaths interviews, they're not...it's certainly not required. But if you do not have a...like a broad understanding of the history of border militarization or fucking dumb things that Border Patrol does, it might be helpful to go back and listen to those episodes first. But yeah, but before we get to all of that, we are a proud member of the Channel Zero Network of anarchists podcasts and here is a jingle from another show on that network. Doo doo doo doo doo. [Singing a simple melody] **Inmn ** 02:54 And we're back. Thanks you all so much for coming on the show today. Would y'all Introduce yourself with your names, pronouns, and I guess a little bit about like what you do in the world that relates to what we're going to be talking about? **Bryce ** 03:24 Yeah, Bryce, he/him. I've been working with various desert aid organizations over the past couple of years, Tucson Samaritans, No More Deaths and some search and rescue search and recovery groups. **Ember ** 03:42 I'm Ember, he/him, and have been working with No More Deaths around Arivaca, Arizona for the last year and a half. **Inmn ** 03:53 Cool. So there's been a lot of stuff happening at the wall recently, which, you know, is what we're here to talk about and, yeah, I don't know, do y'all want to just tell us about what's what's going on at the wall? Ember04:18 Yeah, I'll just preface it by saying, you know, we're very much just speaking as individuals who've been involved with wall stuff around Sasabe, Arizona, which is about an hour south of Tucson and we'll talk more about it but to just step back, this is a crisis that's happening all over the border and we're really going to be speaking primarily to the situation that's been unfolding around Sasabe in the last months and weeks and not speaking on behalf of No More Deaths or any other groups. **Inmn ** 04:58 Cool. Cool. Yeah. Yeah, it seems like a huge, huge, huge, sprawling crisis of horrible things. Bryce05:07 But yeah, so I think there's been a lot more media about what's happening in Jacumba or in Lukesville, where hundreds or thousands of people have been coming through the wall, not a port of entry, to seek asylum, and have been left out there in sort of makeshift camps for days or weeks at a time waiting to be apprehended by Border Patrol. And something similar has been happening east of Sasabe, which is this tiny, tiny, tiny little town, as Ember said, about an hour south of Tucson. For the past couple years, people have been doing a similar thing of coming through gaps in the border wall to seek asylum because they're blocked from presenting themselves at ports of entry. So over the past couple of years, it's mostly been like the Tucson Samaritans and Green Valley Samaritans that have been helping these people out, because pretty much the situation was that if you don't call Border Patrol to come apprehend them then Border Patrol will just never come. It's a super remote area of the desert. There's a road that goes along the border wall that you can easily drive to get to these people, but Border Patrol just won't do it because it's not really worth their time. And so at times, there would be people stuck out there for like three or four days. I ran into one group that had written SOS in rocks and had built a fire just trying to get Border Patrol's attention. And this is like two years ago before any of this was even in the news. And just...it's kind of just slowly escalated until the beginning of November. A lot of violence broke out south of Sasabe on the Mexican side. And it's just.... Between that and just other dynamics happening, it just shifted things so that we suddenly started seeing just hundreds of people there on the border wall seeking asylum. And where usually there were gaps closer to Sasabe where they could present so that Border Patrol could just show up in buses or vans and pick people up, now people were showing up much further east in more remote areas that are much more difficult to get to because of Biden's new border wall construction that blocked off access to some of these closer areas. So now the situation quickly became that Border Patrol would take a very long time to pick anybody up. And because of the high volume of people, they're now 20 kilometers, or 30 kilometers away from the actual port of entry. People are having to hike are left overnight just in the middle of nowhere, just building fires or doing whatever they can to survive the night. And, yeah, it's been about a couple of months of that now. Ember08:20 I'm going to just reiterate that, you know, a big call of a lot of groups is to open ports of entry because this is stemming from the point that people can't claim asylum at a port of entry, people are being forced to use this bullshit CBP app and wait for insane amounts of time, if ever, to be allowed to present for asylum. And so as we kind of hear the mainstream propaganda about what's going on, there's very little emphasis on the fact that the reason people are coming through gaps in the wall in really remote areas is fundamentally because they can't claim asylum at a port of entry and because the gaps are being closed nearby and that's just really important to ground it because there's just so much misinformation about that. **Inmn ** 09:10 For folks who don't know, why can't people claim...apply for asylum at a port of entry? Bryce09:17 I think there's a lot of confusion and misinformation about this. A lot of people I think thought that that was going to change when Title 42 was repealed or thinking it had something to do with the MPP, the Remain in Mexico Policy, but this actually was, it was a separate policy decision that at first got some media exposure. It started with metering back in like 2017 or something--sometimes during--where they would where they would just let in a certain amount of people and then CBP agents would actually block people before they got to the port of entry and say "We can't take any more people. You have to show us your passport," all this stuff. And then that turned into during COVID, "We're just not going to take anybody." And then now with Biden, it has continued, where if you don't have a CBP One app, CBP agents will just turn you away at the port of entry. And there's been a lot of legal stuff about it. Like, I think in San Diego there were a couple big court cases where they said, "You can't continue doing this," but the Biden administration has come out saying, like, "We don't actually turn people away at the port of entry. We don't do turn-backs." But clearly on the ground, that is what's happening. And so I think people think of it as like that there's some big law that needs to be changed or that, you know, people are trying to do something sketchy by coming between ports of entry, or at the port of entry, or that there is a legal pathway through the CBP One app and people just aren't doing it. But really, the CBP One app forces people.... It's essentially the remain in Mexico Policy but without the Remain in Mexico Policy. And then if people try to present themselves at the port of entry, which they should be allowed to do, they're just turned away. And there's not some...there's not some big thing causing this to happen. It's just pure policy that could be changed very, very soon if they actually had the desire to do it. **Inmn ** 10:29 Yeah. So it's like with this app, people are being asked to download an app to apply for asylum through and then they just wait for a notification? Bryce11:48 Yeah. And then once the.... This should all be.... Nobody should take my word for this because I'm not like a fucking asylum lawyer or something. This is just from talking to people, my understanding of it. So definitely don't.... Don't take it too seriously. But from what I understand, people are...people download the app and once they get the notification that they have an appointment then they have to get to the port of entry where that appointment is within 24 hours or something. And then just get to it. But there's no like.... The people will wait, you know, a couple months, six months, a year, and they just are sort of in limbo until they get their appointment. **Inmn ** 12:35 Golly, it sounds like.... This sounds like a sick joke of like people like.... Wait, I'm not even gonna make the comparison. This sounds like a sick fucking joke. But um...and so this has been happening for quite some time. But very recently, things kind of got a lot worse in Arizona, or like around Sasabe. Bryce13:05 Yeah, I mean, and it definitely seems like a big part of it is...whatever fighting between rival factions of the cartel south of the border. It's hard to really say exactly, but at the same time, that.... People started coming in higher numbers in the last two months. People also started coming through the San Miguel gate on the Tohono O'odham Nation in even higher numbers than here. And over there, there's not nearly as much.... Border Patrol was promising to, you know, set up structures and give water and all that stuff, but in the end, there's just really not a lot of support over there like, you know, what we have here. There's been a lot of community committee support and donations coming in, which has been great, but over at San Miguel, there's not even that which is already inadequate. **Inmn ** 14:08 Yeah, yeah. And maybe this is sort of me asking a question that I've had about all of this: I've heard that the town of Sasabe is like.... I've heard it referred to as a ghost town right now? Bryce14:27 Yeah, I mean, I think there's like 20 residents left or something like that. I have...a couple of friends of mine went down there recently to visit a friend who's still living there and she runs a migrant outreach center in the town, which hasn't really had people in it, but it's doing fine. The garden is still going. [Inmn "Hell yeahs"] I do know people are definitely interested in coming back if and when things calm down. **Inmn ** 15:00 Do...I guess do you want to talk about what y'all have been experiencing in kind of like the last week, I guess? Ember15:08 Yeah, I mean, pretty much as Bryce was saying, there's been folks responding to this, primarily the Samaritans as a formal group from Tucson and Green Valley, who have been responding to this for much longer. But folks involved with No More Deaths really got involved more significantly about a month ago because of the massive increase in the numbers of people out there and people being pushed further out into the desert. And that response has grown quite a bit. It kind of started with a few people from No More Deaths who were getting involved and then has exponentially increased in the last week. It was a situation that was really, really challenging in terms of the amount of resources and supplies needed for stuff. Like, basically hundreds of people, primarily a lot of children and babies and families and elders, stuck out in the increasingly becoming winter temperatures with completely inadequate supplies, most people who expected to be picked up immediately and we're instead waiting for up to three or four days in the winter conditions in very remote areas of the desert. The border wall outside of this area goes just right through very, very mountainous terrain. And so the border wall, you know, there's a road on the border wall, but it's basically, as you get far out, just being completely out in the middle of the desert. It's an insane road. It just goes straight up and down mountains. And so people are stuck out there for, at times, up to multiple days and may have been waiting on the other side for some days before they crossed. And so a lot of the original response as our group started to get involved was just primarily supply distro and medical care and medical triage. And I mean, just to give a context of how many people were out there, I think we originally had an emergency request for $10,000 and we used that money in about a week. **Inmn ** 17:41 Oh my god. Ember17:42 So that's primarily for food, water, blankets, you know, over the counter meds, and gas for the trucks, and things like that. Things really came to a head. I mean, it was a very untenable situation or unsustainable situation in terms of people going out there regularly and being like, "People are going to die out here. This is a really fucked up situation." People tried to pressure and call Border Patrol to pick people up, which they were slow to do. So sometimes they would do it regularly. Sometimes they would take a lot longer. But last Friday, there was a massive rainstorm. And we had...those of us who had been involved in organizing support around it had already started to put out larger calls for support, realizing this was way out of the depths of just what our group could respond to. And so we were putting out larger calls for support from the Tucson community, from Arivaca, which is a town about 15 miles from Sasabe, and we were preparing a little bit for the rain in terms of...the day before we set up some tarp structures at some of the places people were waiting. But what happened on Friday, I think really expanded the calls to mobilize and got way more people involved. And yeah, I'll leave it to Bryce if you want to talk a little bit about what happened on Friday. Bryce19:25 Sure. Yeah. I mean, I guess some other context would be that, increasingly, we had to do a lot of advocacy for emergency situations because, like Ember said, it was really just, you know, kids, infants, people that were not prepared to be out, you know, 30 mile...30 kilometers from a road, coming just with the clothes on their backs or maybe a little day pack or something but really kind of expecting to be picked up by Border Patrol immediately. And there's a lot of people that had started out with very serious medical conditions even. There's at least a few cases that I was personally involved in of people coming to the United States specifically to seek medical care for their children. So, it'd be like a kid with kidney disease or, you know, needing some kind of medicine daily that hadn't had it for multiple days are really serious things, you know, or some woman who is nine months pregnant and having medical issues. I mean, really serious things where somebody should just not be out in the middle of the desert. And the kind of advocacy we had to do for on 911 [calls] was just really obscene. Like, we call 911, say, there's somebody out here with some particular medical emergency, they'd ask the nationality of the person, whether they were entering the United States illegally, things like that, and then transfer us to Border Patrol. And Border Patrol would either drop the call or say, "Okay, we're sending somebody." and then we sit there for six hours and, of course, nobody comes. There were times when Border Patrol would actually come out. They'd check out like two or three 911 calls, say, "Okay, this person is not going to die today," and then leave. And then we eventually were able to convince some ambulances to occasionally come out for very, very serious cases. But even then, they started getting upset with us for, quote-unquote, "Crying wolf." And just the amount of advocacy that we had to do even to get that response was just...I mean, it was...it would just be hours of calling everybody we knew with connections to be able to get an ambulance down there. And then, even then, we would get threatened with arrest by Border Patrol for transporting people to the highway to rendezvous with an ambulance, even with permission of the ambulance. And so when the rainstorm came, it was this sort of perfect storm where we had a system in place where we were sort of prepared to medivac the most serious patients out of there and just sort of keep everybody else alive until Border Patrol came to pick people up because.... And then we would advocate for, "Okay, these people really need to be taken first. You need to take these people first." Which in itself is a really compromising position to be in just because we're acting as an intermediary between people and their physical safety and the asylum process. It's like this weird.... Like, we're not the government, but we're fulfilling this weird government role. And, yeah, it's a very weird thing. But when the rain storm happened, we were not prepared for the reality of Border Patrol just not showing up at all. They had been pretty consistently, even if we don't see them all day, they eventually show up at like five or six, especially if we call a million times and advocate and call 911, and all that. And so, the roads were muddy, but we were doing it in our janky little trucks, we were driving back and forth just fine. And somewhere around like two or three, it started...we started to realize that just nobody was coming. And they were.... Like, I don't know why, after everything we've all been through, that anybody would have had any faith in Border Patrol to avoid, to want to avoid a mass casualty incident. But here they were, seemingly, just like willingly causing one. Just to give an example of what the scene looked like, we showed up, things were already pretty bad. Like people were in good spirits, just because, you know, they've been traveling so long, they're glad to finally be there. And having a good sense of humor about things is kind of the only way to survive something horrible like that. People were still kind of in that space when we showed up. We handed out food and water. Most people, even though we had built some really rudimentary tarps structures, people generally opted to just keep walking because they didn't want to just be stuck out there in the cold and rain. And every time we drove back and forth along the wall, we just noticed people getting increasingly more desperate as they realized that they're just stuck out in the middle of the desert in this rain. And to the point where there was just no way to properly triage. There would just be.... We were just sort of bouncing.... Or, instead of actually helping people out, we were just bouncing around from emergency to emergency Yeah, we would be on our way to an emergency and then just see somebody laying in a puddle of water, just in agonizing pain--because even, you know, somebody gets a muscle cramp and can't stand anymore and then they're just laying in the cold and rain. And they don't have warm gear, they don't have anything waterproof. They're just laying there and it becomes a medical emergency just because they're stuck out in the elements in this rainstorm. And so we'd be on our way to some medical emergency and have to drop two people off to go deal with another one and then just hope that another of our trucks would come back to get people. And yeah, we started just having to treat it as--I mean, Ember could speak more to the medical stuff as an EMT--but there were...we had nurses with us and other medical people who essentially just started treating the triage as if it was...as if it was going to be a mass casualty incident. Ember25:55 Yeah, I mean, Friday set historic rainfall records. In Tucson, there was an inch of rain. And there was probably almost that much where we were and we're talking about, you know, winter desert rain. So you know, 4000', almost 4000', elevation, like freezing...almost freezing temperatures and dumping, dumping rain, including large amounts of thunder and lightning. And with the lightning, keep in mind that everybody who's there is against this 30' metal border wall. And so, just a really, really scary situation. And it very quickly became obvious, as Bryce said, that we were...it was going to be way overwhelming for the capacity of the amount of people who are out there to respond to. It kind of started in the morning, there were a few Samaritans', a group out of Tucson and Green Valley, a few Samaritans' vehicles out there and then a few No More Deaths trucks came out. But one of the first things we did when we really understood the scope of the situation was just put out a massive call for more support, which was really inspiring to see really come out that night. But obviously, it takes time for people to mobilize. So we really tried, those of us who were on the ground there really realized, "Okay, this really has the potential to be a really horrific mass casualty situation." And I want to say, I have no illusions about Border Patrol, no illusions about the State giving a shit about people seeking asylum dying in the desert, but I was surprised, based on my experiences in the few weeks prior, I was genuinely surprised that Border Patrol completely refused to come out at all. And once that became clear, I think our plans really changed, because those of us who were responding that day, our plans for the rain were really to try to build, you know, to have some some shelters but fundamentally to keep people okay until they can get picked up by Border Patrol and brought to an actual place to be warm and dry. And as it became clear that Border Patrol was absolutely not going to come that day--and we had Border Patrol liaisons on the phone with them--and they were being pretty explicit about, "Yeah, we can't come. It's raining." Obviously, they can. They have trucks way better than our trucks. And they chose not to at all. And once that became clear, I think our mission really changed quite drastically too, to where, "Okay, we need to get as many people to these shelters and we need to build more shelters, but, fundamentally, we need to get people off the wall, just from a medical perspective." I mean, I was rolling out in the morning with my friend who's a nurse who has been in a lot of disaster contexts and situations and he was like, "Holy shit, this is one of the worst things I've ever seen." **Bryce ** 29:01 I think he said, "This is [emphasis on "is"] the worst thing I've seen." Ember29:03 He said, "This is the worst thing I've seen," and equated it to when he was in Haiti after the earthquake. It was where I think those of us out there were.... Once we realized the extent of the situation and thought that we are going to see a lot of children die today. A lot. You know? It was--and I will preface this by saying that, as we know of, nobody did die that day. And I think that was because of generally just choices of people responding on the ground, people taking care of each other who were out there on the wall, and pure luck of breaks in the rain are the reasons for that. I think it was a situation that could have.... A lot of people absolutely could have and would have died. But, you know, before the rain storm, there had been a lot of conversations about, you know, "Should we be driving people to the substation?" which is, you know, where people can be processed by Border Patrol--that has a certain capacity limit--in the town of Sasabe. And there were a lot of these conversations about the legal risks of that and the potential dangers to people seeking asylum because, to keep in mind, like most people, when we've been out there for the time any of us had been out of the wall, most people wanted rides to the substation. That was, you know, a big thing people wanted and needed. That's where they were trying to get to. And there were all these conversations about the potential dangers of that legal risk. And what we encountered on Friday in the rainstorm was a situation where there was simply no choice. I mean, we were able to have some janky makeshift shelters at two camps along the wall that people, some people, did stay in, and we're trying to treat and warm and dry and triage those people, but there were about 150 people--there was over 300 people out in the wall that day and there was about 150 people who were walking past the last camp the 12 to 15 miles between the camp. And by camp, I mean a very shitty janky tarp structure setup. I don't mean a real camp. But there are about 150 people walking between the town of Sasabe that like 12 to 15 miles from the camp. Those people were out in the rain with no protection whatsoever. And so after we did some triage and made sure that, you know, the people further back on the wall were at one of these makeshift camps, we made the decision--that was not even really a choice--but just fundamentally that like people are going to die if we don't drive everyone to the substation. So we made a choice to evacuate everyone on the road in multiple caravans of trucks and shuttles to the substation while calling Border Patrol, telling them what we were doing, making it clear that it wasn't really a choice, that people people are going to die if they don't get to get to the station. And we weren't really sure how they would react to that. They, Border Patrol, did process everybody that was brought to the station. They got buses down from Tucson. And at the same time, they were being pretty hostile with volunteers that were evacuating people there, including a lot of threats of arrest, that people would be arrested and to "Not be doing this." But no volunteers were arrested. And everybody who was evacuated to the substation was processed within the next chunk of hours. And so, yeah, that kind of changes the whole dynamic in a sense. And the other thing that changed the dynamic is just this massive call for mobilization and support. So a lot of people from Tucson and Arivaca came down to support that evening and we were really in a triage situation all day and night of evacuating the most vulnerable and medically unwell people to the Border Patrol station and trying to do our best to make the makeshift camps slightly safer. But fundamentally, they were extremely inadequate shelters for people in the conditions that we were in. **Inmn ** 33:34 Dang, yeah, that sounds harrowing and just fucking terrible. I I don't have a real emotional response to it because it's just...it's just fucked. But I don't know, it's like this thing where it feels like things we've talked about on the show before with Sophie and Parker from No More Deaths talking to us about Border Patrol's kind of...their tendency to create a humanitarian crisis that they then refuse to respond to. But they, at the same time, you know, they claim to...like, they claim all the time to rescue people from the desert. Or, like, framing themselves as these humanitarian actors when they're the ones who are creating these crises and then completely not responding to them or like.... I don't know, like, hearing more confirmation of discrimination of medical dispatchers and stuff to respond to calls or to pass that off to Border Patrol who then just doesn't respond. I don't know. It's just terrible. And it's like... Like Border Patrol's perfectly capable of responding to these crises, right? **Bryce ** 35:24 Oh, totally and even in this case with the same.... Because eventually they do get everybody. So if they just...they're basically making the choice, in addition to like border wall, asylum, all that stuff, even with the current situation as it is, they're making the choice to leave people out there versus if they just went and got everybody. They say their issue is capacity for processing people. But why not have them wait in Sasabe or near the station or somewhere where they're not in the middle of the desert? They could just go get everybody, bring them to the station, and have them wait where an ambulance can arrive, where people can easily show up and give them help, where they're not just.... I mean, there's vigilantes along the wall, there's like gun battles. For many days, we were hearing automatic gunfire just south of where people were waiting for asylum. Like it's very much even outside of the danger of the desert itself. It is not a good place to be waiting. These people are freaking terrified. But the benefit of them being there for Border Patrol is that they're totally invisible. So they're just sort of hiding what...a thing that should be happening in public view in front of the Border Patrol station, in the middle of the desert where there's just extreme danger. If they wanted to, they could bring everybody to a safer place. It would be bad for PR, because then we'd have a bunch of news articles about like, "All these people are like being kept in an open air detention facility," or whatever. But they're essentially doing the same thing. But because it's far enough away from the public eye and from their own facilities, it just becomes invisible in a way, the same as, you know, Border Patrol's nonsense that they get up to with other kinds of people crossing the border with Prevention Through Deterrence, all of that policy; the suffering really is the point. I think they're hoping that people will tell stories back home that they, "Showed up and things were really bad and we almost died and there was this rainstorm," or whatever, "Don't do it this way." And the same way that their narratives kind of push things on the quote-unquote "smugglers" as being these predatory people that--which they are--but as being like, "It's them that's doing this. They're the ones that are causing this," and just really outsourcing any blame of anything on to on to other people. **Inmn ** 38:05 This situation makes me wonder if Border Patrol is making this conscious choice to, where with open air detention facilities they're--in Arizona at least--are just like, "Oh, we don't want to deal with that." or, "We don't want to deal with the PR. We just don't want to deal with it so we're gonna do this other thing to push people further out or to really invisiblize it," like you're talking about? I mean, that seems like a very Border Patrol thing to do. Which is horrible to laugh about but.... I guess you talked a little bit about Border Patrol's responses to what's going on, or to interventions that people are taking, and I'm just wondering if there's any more, anything more to say about how Border Patrol is reacting to how people are intervening in the situation? **Ember ** 39:09 There's been significant threats of arrest to people as we've continued to evacuate people to the substation, and to people that are just walking to the makeshift camps. There have been continual threats of arrest. Some volunteers had their IDs taken and said they were coming back for them to arrest them. Fundamentally, we feel extremely strongly that, obviously, we would be doing it even if it wasn't legal because it's the right thing to do, because we're not going to...we're going to do what we can to keep people from dying. But fundamentally, we feel very strongly that it is completely legal what we're doing and we will not back down from threats from Border Patrol and have been pretty explicit with them about that, **Bryce ** 40:00 Yeah. Also, after one of those threats of arrest, they did go up to the further camp, which usually is a lot of women and children, and they picked up just a few people. They could have picked up way more. They just picked up a few people and said, "Wait in three lines. We're coming back for the rest." The people all--it was, I think, like, maybe 100 people or so--they all waited in lines. Border Patrol left and then just never came back. And so people ended up standing in lines for hours, thinking that they were going to miss their place in line or mess up if they left the lines. And [it was] just this really cruel display of--and this is right after we got some media attention for the thing that happened during the rain, so maybe [Border Patrol was] punishing them for what we were up to or, you know, who knows how those people think? But that was one thing that we saw. Another thing is, we've actually been caught by Border Patrol while transporting people. And they stopped and essentially thanked us. So there's, in addition to threats of arrest, we've also gotten that, because, I mean, if you're a Border Patrol agent, and you have an...you believe your own bullshit about like, "You're a humanitarian," and all these things, or whatever, then by those standards, hypothetically, we were actually doing your job and you should be thankful for what we're up to by moving people. And this one agent that we've run into a few different times has definitely had that attitude, which is.... Yeah, I don't know whether.... I don't even know how to think about that. But it's made it so that it's given us a little bit more confidence in what we're doing, but also has set up a weird thought of like, "Oh shit. At what point are they going to stop picking people up because they think we're gonna do it? At what point are we really just unpaid fucking Border Patrol agents?" And so I think there's a big.... And even just our role in the camps and all this stuff, like, how much of what we're actually doing to save lives is playing into the wants and needs of the Border Patrol? And so trying to figure out ways to--we have been talking a lot internally about ways to ways to push back on that and sort of change tactics of what we're doing in order to...in order to pressure them to be doing the right thing, rather than this unsustainable thing in which we're clothing, feeding, housing, and triaging hundreds of people a day, which is just like wildly unsustainable. **Inmn ** 43:01 I mean, it seems like this thing that's become very wildly unsustainable. And I know that y'all have recently put out this big call for like, what? For like things needing to be different? Pr like, just like broader kind of community support? Just wondering if y'all wanted to talk about that a little bit? **Ember ** 43:28 Yeah. The calls for support really started to come out of, you know, conversations after a few weeks of folks in our group responding really heavily to the situation and realizing that we needed way more support. And also, I mean, for one, supportive people autonomously responding to the situation outside of our organization, and also more like visiblization what's going on because it was very invisible. There's a few news stories about things going on in other parts of the Borderlands, similar situations, or even worse situations, but really not the attention that the extent of the situation demanded. So those calls for support went out before the rain, but the rain day really amplified it. A lot of people from larger networks in the area came out that night. And it led to huge...way more numbers of people getting involved. And part of it is us really trying to encourage a non--outside of our organization--an autonomous response from more people regionally to the situation that can obviously look a lot of different ways and I don't think any of us presume to know what the best strategy or way to go about this is, but that, you know, making it more visible and having more people being involved is is an important and good thing. And I will add to that, this is obviously a situation going on throughout the Borderlands. But I think we're in a unique position because of where we are, because of our proximity to Tucson because of networks of mutual aid and support that exists in these areas, because of the proliferation of aid groups that exist in these areas, and just generally, yeah, large networks of individuals that are down to support with something like this. I think there's a potential for us to really build a lot of mobilization and support here that hopefully can also help spread and support other places where people are trying to respond to the crisis in their areas, some of which, as Bryce was talking about are, are significantly worse than what's happening here. But it obviously also breeds enormous questions about like, what are we actually doing? What is our role here? And, yeah, and what are we doing? And I don't think, you know, anyone presumes to know the answers to all questions. **Inmn ** 46:06 Yeah, I think in terms of what the role of aid groups is.... Just just wanting to bring up this like, kind of weird, maybe complexity of like, I don't know, it sounds, it sounds really, it sounds really weird to have to put yourself in the position of helping people get to Border Patrol or like helping people get to situations that are a potential open air detention facility or a detention facility that's as hellish as it is out in the desert. But like, I don't know, that.... It seems like a real...it seems a real mindfuck. And I don't know, this isn't really a question, just a thought. **Bryce ** 46:58 It's fucked up. **Inmn ** 47:01 Yeah. Yeah. I was...we talked a little off air about this, but so there has been a little bit of media attention and I know that y'all have not been exactly happy about the media, like what large media sources are saying about what's happening? I was wondering if y'all wanted to talk about what kind of media myths or narratives you see going around that don't reflect what's happening? **Ember ** 47:44 Yeah, and I think on a personal level, just those of us that were out Friday that had been out for weeks before, you know, there have been a lot of conversations about the role of media and our general hesitation with media with most of our other work. But it just became clear that there had to be a significant push for a lot more media outrage about what was going on and about what happened that rainy day, because it was just a question of that this is just going to continue to happen and we need to visibilize this more. There was a journalist, a local journalist, who was out, who came out during the rainstorm and wrote a solid story about what was happening, but the larger mainstream media attention to it has been pretty horrific. I'll say the New York Times came out here a few days ago and wrote a disgusting propaganda piece that basically...it was a piece about how, you know, hordes of people are coming into the country and Border Patrol is overwhelmed and doing everything they can and trying to rescue as many people as they can. But they're so overwhelmed. It felt very much like the liberal media version of like an "invasion of the country," and Border Patrol being overwhelmed. I mean, I think it's really scary that those are the...are the stories that are taking shape in the more kind of centrist or liberal mainstream media with no context of why people are coming here, no context of why people are being pushed out into the remote areas of the desert, no context about how much money Border Patrol has, and their absolute refusal to do their job in this case, which is to process people that are seeking asylum. None of that context. And instead, a story that literally is about, you know, Border Patrol just like trying to do everything they can to save these people being manipulated by smugglers. And it was also in the New York Times, was next to an article about the--kind of fear mongering--about a large migrant caravan that's coming up through Mexico right now. And it just felt very much part of this media narrative that is really just playing into the worst fascist impulses. So, yeah, it was a pretty horrific article. **Bryce ** 50:20 Yeah. And in addition to that, I mean, the New York Times article, in addition to other articles that ended up talking about the rainstorm and some of what we've been dealing with, we're really tucked into a different story about the record number of migrant apprehensions. It seems like all these news media outlets were just sort of waiting for those numbers to get released and then they kind of had these pre-written articles and anything about the humanitarian disaster was just sort of tucked into that, which that narrative is always like, "There's too many people at the border. Border Patrol is overwhelmed," or they're not really interested in any other narrative whatsoever. And, which is just really bizarre, because, I mean, when a journalist comes out and we talk to them, the first thing we explain is [that narrative] is so much the opposite to what we actually see on the ground. Like, the migrant apprehension data is inflated because there's now, rather than people seeking asylum at a port of entry, they're coming through irregularly where that gets put in as a Border Patrol migrant apprehension. So it seems like numbers-wise that there's some huge surge of, you know, the numbers are just off the charts and they've "never seen anything like this before." But these people actually should be under an entirely different system altogether, coming through a port of entry and, in which case, the migrant apprehensions would probably not change that much at all. And so there's this narrative that gets pushed forth where you look at this increase in numbers, which is totally fake, and then you get to show Border Patrol in a place where we've been going out and just seeing...dealing with the most horrific medical emergencies every single day and watching Border Patrol do nothing to stop it and also [Border Patrol is] causing the situation in the first place, and it shows them, like...rescuing people. I think the New York Times article specifically said like, you know, under the caption for one of the pictures, it was like, "Border Patrol's leaves with a group of people and rushes off to go rescue some more people," or something like that, which as you're saying before, it's like, they cause a problem and then give themselves credit for rescues, which is just not...is just upsetting and false and just like, insulting on a human level, you know? **Inmn ** 52:57 Yeah. Yeah, they're really...they're quite...they're quite adept at what they do, which is creating humanitarian crises that they then pretend to respond to so that everyone thinks that they're humanitarian actors. Meanwhile, they're sitting on their asses doing nothing. **Ember ** 53:25 Well, I mean, literally. When we were evacuating people to the station that day, they were sitting on their asses doing nothing, not wanting to get up. "Well, there was a massive rainstorm," and asking us, you know, like, "How do you know these people are cold?" as a question. **Bryce ** 53:42 Yeah, literally. **Ember ** 53:43 That was a question. I was literally asked. And this was with a group of like, mostly children who had been out in the freezing rain and were in severe danger of hypothermia, and they [Border Patrol] literally were like, "How do you know these people are cold?" **Bryce ** 54:00 And then since we started building shelters, they would ask, "Oh, do they have shelter?" using our little like, half-assed, last-ditch effort to fucking have people not die against us or as an excuse to not go pick people up because they have, quote-unquote, "shelter?" You know, I mean, it's just horrific. And Ember, do we have permission to say that correction thing? **Ember ** 54:26 Oh, yeah, I think we should say it. I mean, yeah. **Inmn ** 54:31 I'm so curious about what's going to be said. **Bryce ** 54:32 So, the New York Times, their original article that they published, so we all sat together and read it together and we're like, "Oh!" we're all yelling like, "What the fuck? That's bullshit. Like, what the fuck are you talking about? Like, that's totally..." and we get to the end and see that they have a paragraph saying, "Last friday, Border Patrol had to evacuate 300 people during this rainstorm that almost caused all these deaths," or whatever. And we were just like...I almost threw the computer across the room. It was like, you know, we expected an awful narrative but to have not just a lie but the literal opposite of what happened, like the people that caused the problem.... You know, because it would have been messed up no matter what it was on that day, but we expected, stupidly, Border Patrol to show up in the same way that they had been. And so by not showing up, they actually caused a potential mass casualty incident. So to give them credit for averting something that just outside of anything, any context, just was going to happen, and Border Patrol "rescued" people...and not that some random scrappy punks from Tucson wandered down into the desert and under threat of arrests drove a bunch of people to the Border Patrol station was just like...like, I don't even have words for.... Like, what do you even fucking do with that? Like? Yeah, it's...it was, so we...one of our media people forced them to make a correction. And they quickly did. They didn't fix the rest of the heinous fucking article, but they at least changed that, which they also seem to credit it to Border Patrol. But our person was there during their [NYT's] interview with Border Patrol, and at no point did Border Patrol claim to have rescued anybody on that day. So this was just New York Times on their own just coming up with some bullshit out of thin fucking air. **Ember ** 56:37 And then when they corrected it, they never...there's no note in the article that says a previous version was...had this lie in it and it was corrected. But I will also add that the article on the website was also next to an ad for Exxon Mobil and the other articles next to it were defending the genocide of Palestinian kids because IDF spokesperson says "It's justified." So we also obviously shouldn't be, you know, shouldn't be surprised. **Inmn ** 57:06 Yeah. I mean, you know, it's like, we see the same thing over and over and over again, of governments causing horrifying things to happen and then blaming it on some shadowy thing and then taking credit for fixing it. Or making it worse. Wow, yeah, that's fucked up. Like fucking shame. Shame on the New York Times. I know this is not a new thing for anyone to hear, but fucking shame on y'all. Yeah, it's upsetting. It's beyond upsetting. Well, I, you know, I want to end on a positive note. What's some like...what's some inspiring shit? Because also, this is...this is like, I don't know, it's...I feel like it's easy to get wrapped into this, the horrifying reality of like, "Oh, we're just doing Border Patrol's job for them." Or, like, "How sustainable is this?" But y'all I've been doing...like, people have been doing some truly inspiring shit and I think that's like really worth reflecting on and y'all will continue to do really amazing things to respond to these horrifying things. **Bryce ** 58:42 But also, just right afterwards, the huge community mobilization that happened and continues to happen has just been not surprising but just really amazing like knowing that in some situations like this people can just…the Tucson community will just throw down so hard and so quickly for some shit is just… like I think brought us all to tears the next day when we went down to collect donations and stuff. **Inmn ** 1:00:13 Yeah, the supply drives have been wild. Like that's... Yeah, I don't know. Ember, you got any inspiring shit to go out on? **Ember ** 1:00:25 I mean, everything Bryce said. And just like, I mean, the night with the rainstorm, where it's like, what we really realized we needed at a point is just like, people are building tarp structures, people are taking care of each other, but what we really needed at a certain point was just more trucks to drive people and evacuate people to the substation. And we would just get, kind of, convoy after convoy, late in the evening and at night of friends or people we don't even know, through our networks, coming down. And it was really fucked up because it wasn't Border Patrol, who we needed to fucking pick people up. But to just see so many people come out on really last minute notice and be able to help with evacuating lots of people, what we needed was those vehicles and more and more people. And people really showed up and continue to show up. And it's the same thing people are doing all over the country in response to this, you know, from cities where people are mobilizing to support asylum seekers that are, you know, just being dropped off in random cities, and to just like other places along the border where people are responding to this at its inception point at the wall. Like, it's really.... Yeah, the amount of mobilization is pretty awesome, just people like trying to take care of each other on all levels. **Inmn ** 1:01:52 Are there any things you want to say before we...before we break? Any, you know, broader call things people who are listening hundreds or thousands of miles away can do? **Ember ** 1:02:12 I think, you know, on a small scale people are gonna do what they can in the places they are, but on a larger scale, it's like...a lot of these media narratives, a lot of the right-wing push, all of that is really going to continue to grow and push for harsher, gnarlier border policies. And I think that really the thing that can push back against that is people mobilizing together and organizing against it. And I do think there is power for...or potential for, with enough, you know, people, power for things to actually not get gnarlier but, you know, go in the other direction. And I think we really have to keep that in mind that we can't just submit to the idea that, you know, the right-wing and the mainstream news outlets are just gonna push this narrative and policies are gonna get stricter and stricter. Like, we have power to push back against that as people everywhere, mobilizing and organizing together. **Inmn ** 1:03:18 Great. Well, I mean, you know, not great, but...shit. Great that people are doing great things in response. I'm a little emotionally dead end right now because this...because everything's just really fucked. Thanks, you all so much for coming on today and talking about what's going on. And, you know, if anyone in the Arizona area wants to donate 4x4 trucks, donate your 4x4 truck. **Ember ** 1:03:58 It will die a glorious death. **Bryce ** 1:04:03 Yeah, a couple of trucks have already died on the border wall roads. So, trucks are very needed. **Ember ** 1:04:11 I will add too, obviously, we preface it that we're just talking about this one area, but maybe we could link in the show notes to just some of the other struggles of other groups and communities, you know, pushing back and mobilizing for similar shit. **Inmn ** 1:04:28 Yeah. **Bryce ** 1:04:30 I mean, yeah, it's all over too. I mean, the stuff in California has gotten a lot of coverage. But also in Texas this stuff is happening just as much. So it's really like border wide. And it's somehow managed to be pretty invisible or co-opted into other narratives. But yeah, pushing...pushing back on that I think is super important. **Inmn ** 1:04:52 Cool. Well, thanks y'all for coming on today. Hope you get some rest. **Bryce ** 1:05:02 Yeah, thank you. **Inmn ** 1:05:07 Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed this show, then do what you can to fight border militarization and do what you can to support asylum seekers in your city. Or go out and respond. If you're near a place where similar things like what's happening in Arizona and Sasabe are happening, then go out and get involved, see what you can do to help. And also, if you like the show, you can support it. You can support the show by liking, subscribing, following, and whatever.... These words are.... I'm clearly actually detached from how the algorithm works. And you can also just tell people about the show. It's one of the better ways to support it and one of, just one of the best ways that people hear about the show. You can also support Live Like the World is Dying by supporting our publisher, Strangers in a Tangled Wilderness. Strangers in a Tangled Wilderness is a radical publishing collective. 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