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Law Enforcement Today Podcast
Police in a Riot: An Officer Speaks. Special Episode.

Law Enforcement Today Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 31, 2025 36:54


Police in a Riot: An Officer Speaks. Special Episode. Riots are something most people only see through the lens of a television screen or a viral clip on social media. Flames in the background. Police lines in riot gear. Shouting crowds. What rarely makes it into the headlines is what it feels like to stand in the middle of that chaos, especially when you're a young police officer with only weeks of experience on the street. This special episode is streaming for free on the Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast website, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and most every major Podcast platform In this special episode, former Charlotte, North Carolina police officer Bill Broadway takes listeners inside the harsh realities of policing during violent riots. His account is raw, detailed, and deeply unsettling, not because it's political, but because it's personal. Look for The Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast on social media like their Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , Medium and other social media platforms. Thrown Into the Fire Bill Broadway was just weeks out of field training when he was suddenly called into action to help control violent riots in Charlotte. Like many young officers, he expected to learn policing step by step, traffic stops, calls for service, building rapport with the community. Instead, he found himself facing crowds that were no longer protesting, but actively engaging in violence. Police in a Riot: An Officer Speaks. Special Episode. Supporting articles about this and much more from Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast in platforms like Medium , Blogspot and Linkedin . “These weren't peaceful demonstrations,” Bill explains. “This was chaos.” From the moment he arrived, it was clear this was something different. Police vehicles were targeted and removed. Officers were surrounded. Projectiles were thrown. Every decision carried the risk of serious injury, or worse. Police in a Riot: An Officer Speaks. Special Episode. Protest vs. Riot: A Critical Distinction Much of the public conversation blurs the line between protest and riot, but legally and practically, the difference matters. Generally speaking, a protest is an organized public demonstration of disapproval, often protected under the First Amendment. A riot, by contrast, is defined as a violent disturbance of the peace involving multiple people acting together in a way that threatens public safety. Police in a Riot: An Officer Speaks. Special Episode. Available for free on their website and streaming on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Youtube and other podcast platforms. Federal law, under the Anti-Riot Act of 1968, defines a riot as a public disturbance involving acts of violence by an assemblage of three or more people that create a clear and present danger to people or property. Many states, including North Carolina, enforce similar statutes through laws addressing arson, looting, assault, unlawful assembly, and destruction of property. As Bill describes it, the moment objects started flying and officers became targets, the situation crossed that line. “When violence starts, it's no longer a protest,” he says. “It's something else entirely.” Injuries, Fear, and Constant Threats Bill walks listeners through every phase of the riot, from his initial arrival, to the loss of police vehicles, to the injuries sustained by officers on the line. What stands out most is the constant psychological pressure. Police in a Riot: An Officer Speaks. Special Episode. The Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast episode is available for free on their website , Apple Podcasts , Spotify and most major podcast platforms. “You don't just worry about what's in front of you,” Bill explains. “You're watching rooftops, alleys, shadows. You're wondering if the next hit is coming from behind.” The stress didn't end when the shift was over. Officers went home bruised, exhausted, and emotionally drained, knowing they could be called back at any moment. For many, sleep was elusive. The adrenaline lingered. The fear stayed close. Optics vs. Officer Safety One of the most controversial topics addressed is the allegation that department leadership and city officials were more concerned with optics and public opinion than with the truth, or the safety of their officers. This is not a new accusation in American policing, and it remains a deeply divisive issue. Critics argue that police departments often prioritize public relations to manage perception, reduce backlash, and limit legal exposure. The use of Public Information Officers and carefully worded statements can sometimes feel, to officers on the ground, like a disconnect from reality. Police in a Riot: An Officer Speaks. Special Episode. The special episode can be found on The Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast website, on Apple podcasts, Spotify, Youtube and on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and across most podcast platforms where listeners will find authentic law enforcement stories. On the other hand, law enforcement leaders emphasize the importance of public trust. Studies consistently show that effective policing depends on community cooperation. Transparency, communication, and accountability are essential, but difficult to balance during fast-moving, volatile events. “The people making decisions weren't the ones standing there,” Bill says. “That's what made it hard.” A Divided Public Public opinion on policing during riots is sharply divided, often along political, racial, and ideological lines. Some see restraint as weakness. Others see enforcement as oppression. Officers in the middle are left navigating not just physical danger, but a cultural battlefield. Bill doesn't claim to have all the answers. What he offers instead is perspective, what it's like to be young, inexperienced, and suddenly responsible for holding a line while the world watches. You Decide Today, Bill Broadway works for a different agency, carrying with him the lessons and scars of those nights in Charlotte. His story raises difficult questions about leadership, accountability, public safety, and the human cost of civil unrest. Police in a Riot: An Officer Speaks. Special Episode. The full podcast episode is streaming now on their website, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Youtube and across Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Were the riots handled correctly by department leadership and city officials? Was the balance between optics and officer safety struck appropriately? Bill shares his experience from the front lines. You decide. Listen to this special episode on the Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast website on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Youtube, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and most major podcast platforms. Find a wide variety of great podcasts online at The Podcast Zone Facebook Page , look for the one with the bright green logo. Be sure to check out our website . Be sure to follow us on X , Instagram , Facebook, Pinterest, Linkedin and other social media platforms for the latest episodes and news. Listeners can tune in on the Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show website, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and most every major Podcast platform and follow updates on Facebook, Instagram, and other major News outlets. You can find the show on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, X (formerly Twitter), and LinkedIn, as well as read companion articles and updates on Medium, Blogspot, YouTube, and even IMDB. Background song Hurricane is used with permission from the band Dark Horse Flyer. You can contact John J. “Jay” Wiley by email at Jay@letradio.com , or learn more about him on their website . Stay connected with updates and future episodes by following the show on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, their website and other Social Media Platforms. Police in a Riot: An Officer Speaks. Special Episode. Attributions: Brittanica.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

MacVoices Video
MacVoices #25327: Live! - A Deep Dive Into Self-Driving Cars

MacVoices Video

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 31, 2025 32:48


The MacVoices Live! panel takes a deep dive into the self-driving car debate, weighing sensational media coverage against real-world safety data and personal experiences with autonomous taxis. Chuck Joiner, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Marty Jencius, Eric Bolden, David Ginsburg, Web Bixby, and Jim Rea discuss human distraction, software transparency, police interaction with automated vehicles, and whether machines can outperform inattentive drivers in real-world situations.  The Antigravity A1 is the world's first 8K 360 drone, it's genuinely a game-changer. You get full immersive flight with the goggles, insanely intuitive controls, and endless creative freedom in editing.If you're thinking about buying a drone, make it this one. Check out the link in our show notes and get a free landing pad with your order! https://www.antigravity.tech/drone/antigravity-a1/buy?utm_term=macvoices Show Notes: Chapters: [0:00] Media coverage and self-driving incidents [1:11] Comparing autonomous driving to human drivers [2:20] Tesla and Waymo real-world experiences [5:41] Ride safety and public comfort with automation [6:52] Media bias and tech success stories [8:27] Police interaction and system improvements [9:47] Human distraction and societal impact [13:35] Transparency, regulation, and AI concerns [19:56] Interface frustrations and lighter discussion [21:55] Scheduling notes and community wrap-up Links: Driverless Waymo vehicle goes through tense police stop in L.A. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/driverless-waymo-vehicle-inadvertently-takes-riders-tense-police-stop-rcna246994 The Data on Self-Driving Cars Is Clear. We Have to Change Course. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/02/opinion/self-driving-cars.html Justin Bieber threatens Apple with 'rear naked choke hold' over Messages UI 
 https://appleinsider.com/articles/25/12/07/justin-bieber-threatens-apple-with-rear-naked-choke-hold-over-messages-ui Guests: Web Bixby has been in the insurance business for 40 years and has been an Apple user for longer than that.You can catch up with him on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, but prefers Bluesky. Eric Bolden is into macOS, plants, sci-fi, food, and is a rural internet supporter. You can connect with him on Twitter, by email at embolden@mac.com, on Mastodon at @eabolden@techhub.social, on his blog, Trending At Work, and as co-host on The Vision ProFiles podcast. Brian Flanigan-Arthurs is an educator with a passion for providing results-driven, innovative learning strategies for all students, but particularly those who are at-risk. He is also a tech enthusiast who has a particular affinity for Apple since he first used the Apple IIGS as a student. You can contact Brian on twitter as @brian8944. He also recently opened a Mastodon account at @brian8944@mastodon.cloud. David Ginsburg is the host of the weekly podcast In Touch With iOS where he discusses all things iOS, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and related technologies. He is an IT professional supporting Mac, iOS and Windows users. Visit his YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/daveg65 and find and follow him on Twitter @daveg65 and on Mastodon at @daveg65@mastodon.cloud. Dr. Marty Jencius has been an Associate Professor of Counseling at Kent State University since 2000. He has over 120 publications in books, chapters, journal articles, and others, along with 200 podcasts related to counseling, counselor education, and faculty life. His technology interest led him to develop the counseling profession ‘firsts,' including listservs, a web-based peer-reviewed journal, The Journal of Technology in Counseling, teaching and conferencing in virtual worlds as the founder of Counselor Education in Second Life, and podcast founder/producer of CounselorAudioSource.net and ThePodTalk.net. Currently, he produces a podcast about counseling and life questions, the Circular Firing Squad, and digital video interviews with legacies capturing the history of the counseling field. This is also co-host of The Vision ProFiles podcast. Generally, Marty is chasing the newest tech trends, which explains his interest in A.I. for teaching, research, and productivity. Marty is an active presenter and past president of the NorthEast Ohio Apple Corp (NEOAC). Jim Rea built his own computer from scratch in 1975, started programming in 1977, and has been an independent Mac developer continuously since 1984. He is the founder of ProVUE Development, and the author of Panorama X, ProVUE's ultra fast RAM based database software for the macOS platform. He's been a speaker at MacTech, MacWorld Expo and other industry conferences. Follow Jim at provue.com and via @provuejim@techhub.social on Mastodon. Support: Become a MacVoices Patron on Patreon      http://patreon.com/macvoices      Enjoy this episode? Make a one-time donation with PayPal Connect: Web:      http://macvoices.com Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/chuckjoiner      http://www.twitter.com/macvoices Mastodon:      https://mastodon.cloud/@chuckjoiner Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/chuck.joiner MacVoices Page on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/macvoices/ MacVoices Group on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/groups/macvoice LinkedIn:      https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckjoiner/ Instagram:      https://www.instagram.com/chuckjoiner/ Subscribe:      Audio in iTunes      Video in iTunes      Subscribe manually via iTunes or any podcatcher: Audio: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesrss      Video: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesvideorss

MacVoices Audio
MacVoices #25327: Live! - A Deep Dive Into Self-Driving Cars

MacVoices Audio

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 31, 2025 32:49


The MacVoices Live! panel takes a deep dive into the self-driving car debate, weighing sensational media coverage against real-world safety data and personal experiences with autonomous taxis. Chuck Joiner, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Marty Jencius, Eric Bolden, David Ginsburg, Web Bixby, and Jim Rea discuss human distraction, software transparency, police interaction with automated vehicles, and whether machines can outperform inattentive drivers in real-world situations.  The Antigravity A1 is the world's first 8K 360 drone, it's genuinely a game-changer. You get full immersive flight with the goggles, insanely intuitive controls, and endless creative freedom in editing.If you're thinking about buying a drone, make it this one. Check out the link in our show notes and get a free landing pad with your order! https://www.antigravity.tech/drone/antigravity-a1/buy?utm_term=macvoices Show Notes: Chapters: [0:00] Media coverage and self-driving incidents [1:11] Comparing autonomous driving to human drivers [2:20] Tesla and Waymo real-world experiences [5:41] Ride safety and public comfort with automation [6:52] Media bias and tech success stories [8:27] Police interaction and system improvements [9:47] Human distraction and societal impact [13:35] Transparency, regulation, and AI concerns [19:56] Interface frustrations and lighter discussion [21:55] Scheduling notes and community wrap-up Links: Driverless Waymo vehicle goes through tense police stop in L.A. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/driverless-waymo-vehicle-inadvertently-takes-riders-tense-police-stop-rcna246994 The Data on Self-Driving Cars Is Clear. We Have to Change Course. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/02/opinion/self-driving-cars.html Justin Bieber threatens Apple with 'rear naked choke hold' over Messages UI
https://appleinsider.com/articles/25/12/07/justin-bieber-threatens-apple-with-rear-naked-choke-hold-over-messages-ui Guests: Web Bixby has been in the insurance business for 40 years and has been an Apple user for longer than that.You can catch up with him on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, but prefers Bluesky. Eric Bolden is into macOS, plants, sci-fi, food, and is a rural internet supporter. You can connect with him on Twitter, by email at embolden@mac.com, on Mastodon at @eabolden@techhub.social, on his blog, Trending At Work, and as co-host on The Vision ProFiles podcast. Brian Flanigan-Arthurs is an educator with a passion for providing results-driven, innovative learning strategies for all students, but particularly those who are at-risk. He is also a tech enthusiast who has a particular affinity for Apple since he first used the Apple IIGS as a student. You can contact Brian on twitter as @brian8944. He also recently opened a Mastodon account at @brian8944@mastodon.cloud. David Ginsburg is the host of the weekly podcast In Touch With iOS where he discusses all things iOS, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and related technologies. He is an IT professional supporting Mac, iOS and Windows users. Visit his YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/daveg65 and find and follow him on Twitter @daveg65 and on Mastodon at @daveg65@mastodon.cloud. Dr. Marty Jencius has been an Associate Professor of Counseling at Kent State University since 2000. He has over 120 publications in books, chapters, journal articles, and others, along with 200 podcasts related to counseling, counselor education, and faculty life. His technology interest led him to develop the counseling profession 'firsts,' including listservs, a web-based peer-reviewed journal, The Journal of Technology in Counseling, teaching and conferencing in virtual worlds as the founder of Counselor Education in Second Life, and podcast founder/producer of CounselorAudioSource.net and ThePodTalk.net. Currently, he produces a podcast about counseling and life questions, the Circular Firing Squad, and digital video interviews with legacies capturing the history of the counseling field. This is also co-host of The Vision ProFiles podcast. Generally, Marty is chasing the newest tech trends, which explains his interest in A.I. for teaching, research, and productivity. Marty is an active presenter and past president of the NorthEast Ohio Apple Corp (NEOAC). Jim Rea built his own computer from scratch in 1975, started programming in 1977, and has been an independent Mac developer continuously since 1984. He is the founder of ProVUE Development, and the author of Panorama X, ProVUE's ultra fast RAM based database software for the macOS platform. He's been a speaker at MacTech, MacWorld Expo and other industry conferences. Follow Jim at provue.com and via @provuejim@techhub.social on Mastodon. Support:      Become a MacVoices Patron on Patreon      http://patreon.com/macvoices      Enjoy this episode? Make a one-time donation with PayPal Connect:      Web:      http://macvoices.com      Twitter:      http://www.twitter.com/chuckjoiner      http://www.twitter.com/macvoices      Mastodon:      https://mastodon.cloud/@chuckjoiner      Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/chuck.joiner      MacVoices Page on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/macvoices/      MacVoices Group on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/groups/macvoice      LinkedIn:      https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckjoiner/      Instagram:      https://www.instagram.com/chuckjoiner/ Subscribe:      Audio in iTunes      Video in iTunes      Subscribe manually via iTunes or any podcatcher:      Audio: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesrss      Video: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesvideorss

MacVoices Video
MacVoices #25325: Live! - Age Verification, Social Media Disclosure, and Alan Dye's Departure

MacVoices Video

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 30, 2025 42:01


A multi-topic MacVoices Live! discussion touches on the growing pains of predictive markets after disputes over Time's Person of the Year, raising questions about gambling, rules, and manipulation. Chuck Joiner, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Marty Jencius, Eric Bolden, David Ginsburg, Web Bixby, and Jim Rea also debates proposed age-verification requirements for online content, concerns over data retention and privacy, new calls for social-media disclosures from travelers, and what Alan Dye's departure could mean for Apple's interface direction.  "The Antigravity A1 is the world's first 8K 360 drone, it's genuinely a game-changer. You get full immersive flight with the goggles, insanely intuitive controls, and endless creative freedom in editing.If you're thinking about buying a drone, make it this one. Check out the link in our show notes and get a free landing pad with your order!"https://www.antigravity.tech/drone/antigravity-a1/buy?utm_term=macvoices Show Notes: Chapters: [0:00] Predictive markets and AI controversy[6:42] Gambling, manipulation, and rule disputes[7:50] Age verification and online privacy risks[19:47] Social media data demands for travelers[28:10] Encrypted alternatives and Proton tools[29:51] Alan Dye's departure and Apple design impact[36:53] Interface consistency across Apple platforms Links: Kalshi users are in an uproar over their Time 'Person of the Year' betshttps://www.fastcompany.com/91459584/kalshi-polymarket-time-magazine-artificial-intelligence-sam-altman Apple and Google will be asked to block nude photos unless user age is verifiedhttps://9to5mac.com/2025/12/15/apple-and-google-will-be-asked-to-block-nude-photos-unless-user-age-is-verified/ App age verification in action: What you share and who gets your informationhttps://9to5mac.com/2025/12/11/app-age-verification-in-action-what-you-share-and-who-gets-your-information/ U.S. will require some tourists to hand over 5 years of social mediahttps://www.fastcompany.com/91458104/u-s-will-require-some-tourists-to-hand-over-5-years-of-social-media Why Travel to the U.S. Feels Harder Than It Should: The Real Story Behind Social Media Screening and TSA Delayshttps://johnnyjet.com/why-travel-to-the-u-s-feels-harder-than-it-should-the-real-story-behind-social-media-screening-and-tsa-delays/ Guests: Web Bixby has been in the insurance business for 40 years and has been an Apple user for longer than that.You can catch up with him on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, but prefers Bluesky. Eric Bolden is into macOS, plants, sci-fi, food, and is a rural internet supporter. You can connect with him on Twitter, by email at embolden@mac.com, on Mastodon at @eabolden@techhub.social, on his blog, Trending At Work, and as co-host on The Vision ProFiles podcast. Brian Flanigan-Arthurs is an educator with a passion for providing results-driven, innovative learning strategies for all students, but particularly those who are at-risk. He is also a tech enthusiast who has a particular affinity for Apple since he first used the Apple IIGS as a student. You can contact Brian on twitter as @brian8944. He also recently opened a Mastodon account at @brian8944@mastodon.cloud. David Ginsburg is the host of the weekly podcast In Touch With iOS where he discusses all things iOS, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and related technologies. He is an IT professional supporting Mac, iOS and Windows users. Visit his YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/daveg65 and find and follow him on Twitter @daveg65 and on Mastodon at @daveg65@mastodon.cloud. Dr. Marty Jencius has been an Associate Professor of Counseling at Kent State University since 2000. He has over 120 publications in books, chapters, journal articles, and others, along with 200 podcasts related to counseling, counselor education, and faculty life. His technology interest led him to develop the counseling profession ‘firsts,' including listservs, a web-based peer-reviewed journal, The Journal of Technology in Counseling, teaching and conferencing in virtual worlds as the founder of Counselor Education in Second Life, and podcast founder/producer of CounselorAudioSource.net and ThePodTalk.net. Currently, he produces a podcast about counseling and life questions, the Circular Firing Squad, and digital video interviews with legacies capturing the history of the counseling field. This is also co-host of The Vision ProFiles podcast. Generally, Marty is chasing the newest tech trends, which explains his interest in A.I. for teaching, research, and productivity. Marty is an active presenter and past president of the NorthEast Ohio Apple Corp (NEOAC). Jim Rea built his own computer from scratch in 1975, started programming in 1977, and has been an independent Mac developer continuously since 1984. He is the founder of ProVUE Development, and the author of Panorama X, ProVUE's ultra fast RAM based database software for the macOS platform. He's been a speaker at MacTech, MacWorld Expo and other industry conferences. Follow Jim at provue.com and via @provuejim@techhub.social on Mastodon. Support:      Become a MacVoices Patron on Patreon     http://patreon.com/macvoices      Enjoy this episode? Make a one-time donation with PayPal Connect:      Web:     http://macvoices.com      Twitter:     http://www.twitter.com/chuckjoiner     http://www.twitter.com/macvoices      Mastodon:     https://mastodon.cloud/@chuckjoiner      Facebook:     http://www.facebook.com/chuck.joiner      MacVoices Page on Facebook:     http://www.facebook.com/macvoices/      MacVoices Group on Facebook:     http://www.facebook.com/groups/macvoice      LinkedIn:     https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckjoiner/      Instagram:     https://www.instagram.com/chuckjoiner/ Subscribe:      Audio in iTunes     Video in iTunes      Subscribe manually via iTunes or any podcatcher:      Audio: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesrss      Video: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesvideorss

MacVoices Audio
MacVoices #25325: Live! - Age Verification, Social Media Disclosure, and Alan Dye's Departure

MacVoices Audio

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 30, 2025 42:02


A multi-topic MacVoices Live! discussion touches on the growing pains of predictive markets after disputes over Time's Person of the Year, raising questions about gambling, rules, and manipulation. Chuck Joiner, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Marty Jencius, Eric Bolden, David Ginsburg, Web Bixby, and Jim Rea also debates proposed age-verification requirements for online content, concerns over data retention and privacy, new calls for social-media disclosures from travelers, and what Alan Dye's departure could mean for Apple's interface direction.  "The Antigravity A1 is the world's first 8K 360 drone, it's genuinely a game-changer. You get full immersive flight with the goggles, insanely intuitive controls, and endless creative freedom in editing.If you're thinking about buying a drone, make it this one. Check out the link in our show notes and get a free landing pad with your order!" https://www.antigravity.tech/drone/antigravity-a1/buy?utm_term=macvoices Show Notes: Chapters: [0:00] Predictive markets and AI controversy [6:42] Gambling, manipulation, and rule disputes [7:50] Age verification and online privacy risks [19:47] Social media data demands for travelers [28:10] Encrypted alternatives and Proton tools [29:51] Alan Dye's departure and Apple design impact [36:53] Interface consistency across Apple platforms Links: Kalshi users are in an uproar over their Time 'Person of the Year' bets https://www.fastcompany.com/91459584/kalshi-polymarket-time-magazine-artificial-intelligence-sam-altman Apple and Google will be asked to block nude photos unless user age is verified https://9to5mac.com/2025/12/15/apple-and-google-will-be-asked-to-block-nude-photos-unless-user-age-is-verified/ App age verification in action: What you share and who gets your information https://9to5mac.com/2025/12/11/app-age-verification-in-action-what-you-share-and-who-gets-your-information/ U.S. will require some tourists to hand over 5 years of social media https://www.fastcompany.com/91458104/u-s-will-require-some-tourists-to-hand-over-5-years-of-social-media Why Travel to the U.S. Feels Harder Than It Should: The Real Story Behind Social Media Screening and TSA Delays https://johnnyjet.com/why-travel-to-the-u-s-feels-harder-than-it-should-the-real-story-behind-social-media-screening-and-tsa-delays/ Guests: Web Bixby has been in the insurance business for 40 years and has been an Apple user for longer than that.You can catch up with him on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, but prefers Bluesky. Eric Bolden is into macOS, plants, sci-fi, food, and is a rural internet supporter. You can connect with him on Twitter, by email at embolden@mac.com, on Mastodon at @eabolden@techhub.social, on his blog, Trending At Work, and as co-host on The Vision ProFiles podcast. Brian Flanigan-Arthurs is an educator with a passion for providing results-driven, innovative learning strategies for all students, but particularly those who are at-risk. He is also a tech enthusiast who has a particular affinity for Apple since he first used the Apple IIGS as a student. You can contact Brian on twitter as @brian8944. He also recently opened a Mastodon account at @brian8944@mastodon.cloud. David Ginsburg is the host of the weekly podcast In Touch With iOS where he discusses all things iOS, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and related technologies. He is an IT professional supporting Mac, iOS and Windows users. Visit his YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/daveg65 and find and follow him on Twitter @daveg65 and on Mastodon at @daveg65@mastodon.cloud. Dr. Marty Jencius has been an Associate Professor of Counseling at Kent State University since 2000. He has over 120 publications in books, chapters, journal articles, and others, along with 200 podcasts related to counseling, counselor education, and faculty life. His technology interest led him to develop the counseling profession 'firsts,' including listservs, a web-based peer-reviewed journal, The Journal of Technology in Counseling, teaching and conferencing in virtual worlds as the founder of Counselor Education in Second Life, and podcast founder/producer of CounselorAudioSource.net and ThePodTalk.net. Currently, he produces a podcast about counseling and life questions, the Circular Firing Squad, and digital video interviews with legacies capturing the history of the counseling field. This is also co-host of The Vision ProFiles podcast. Generally, Marty is chasing the newest tech trends, which explains his interest in A.I. for teaching, research, and productivity. Marty is an active presenter and past president of the NorthEast Ohio Apple Corp (NEOAC). Jim Rea built his own computer from scratch in 1975, started programming in 1977, and has been an independent Mac developer continuously since 1984. He is the founder of ProVUE Development, and the author of Panorama X, ProVUE's ultra fast RAM based database software for the macOS platform. He's been a speaker at MacTech, MacWorld Expo and other industry conferences. Follow Jim at provue.com and via @provuejim@techhub.social on Mastodon. Support:      Become a MacVoices Patron on Patreon      http://patreon.com/macvoices      Enjoy this episode? Make a one-time donation with PayPal Connect:      Web:      http://macvoices.com      Twitter:      http://www.twitter.com/chuckjoiner      http://www.twitter.com/macvoices      Mastodon:      https://mastodon.cloud/@chuckjoiner      Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/chuck.joiner      MacVoices Page on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/macvoices/      MacVoices Group on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/groups/macvoice      LinkedIn:      https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckjoiner/      Instagram:      https://www.instagram.com/chuckjoiner/ Subscribe:      Audio in iTunes      Video in iTunes      Subscribe manually via iTunes or any podcatcher:      Audio: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesrss      Video: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesvideorss

Cowboy State Politics
Monday Reload - Who Is 'Frontier Stand?' 12/29

Cowboy State Politics

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 29, 2025 27:11


Billboards have been popping up in several places attacking Honor Wyoming.  They purport to be paid for by an organization called, "Frontier Stand."  They do have a website, but it doesn't tell you anything about them.  Pretty much its a bunch of Redcoat, liberal republican drivel. Generally, leftists accuse Republicans of what they are doing.  In this case, the billboard accuses Honor Wyoming of not being transparent or accountable.  Pretty rich coming from a group that has almost absolutely nothing online about them.  However, there is a little nugget in their website data.  The website was registered by a Utah company that has some pretty spooky ties.

TD Ameritrade Network
Lloyd: Gold Still a Buy, GOOGL & MSFT to Outperform AMZN in 2026

TD Ameritrade Network

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 29, 2025 7:02


"Generally speaking," gold is a buy, according to Luke Lloyd. He says gold will continue to rally alongside peers like silver and copper despite massive run-ups in recent months. In the Mag 7, Luke points to Alphabet (GOOGL) and Microsoft (MSFT) adding to their 2025 rallies even though both stocks saw significant up arrows compared to Amazon (AMZN). He later offers bull cases for CoreWeave (CRWV) and Blue Owl Capital (OWL). ======== Schwab Network ========Empowering every investor and trader, every market day. Subscribe to the Market Minute newsletter - https://schwabnetwork.com/subscribeDownload the iOS app - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/schwab-network/id1460719185Download the Amazon Fire Tv App - https://www.amazon.com/TD-Ameritrade-Network/dp/B07KRD76C7Watch on Sling - https://watch.sling.com/1/asset/191928615bd8d47686f94682aefaa007/watchWatch on Vizio - https://www.vizio.com/en/watchfreeplus-exploreWatch on DistroTV - https://www.distro.tv/live/schwab-network/Follow us on X – https://twitter.com/schwabnetworkFollow us on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/schwabnetworkFollow us on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/schwab-network/ About Schwab Network - https://schwabnetwork.com/about

MacVoices Video
MacVoices #25324 - Live! - Mixed CarPlay Messages, Bending Spoons…Again

MacVoices Video

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 29, 2025 37:34


A wide-ranging discussion covers mixed signals from GM around CarPlay, as the automaker rejects full support while selectively adopting Apple integrations like Music and digital keys. Chuck Joiner, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Marty Jencius, Eric Bolden, David Ginsburg, Web Bixby, and Jim Rea also reacts to safety concerns over more recalled power banks, new Vision Pro travel features, updates to Apple's Sports app, and the latest Bending Spoons' acquisition, this time of Eventbrite.  "The Antigravity A1 is the world's first 8K 360 drone, it's genuinely a game-changer. You get full immersive flight with the goggles, insanely intuitive controls, and endless creative freedom in editing.If you're thinking about buying a drone, make it this one. Check out the link in our show notes and get a free landing pad with your order!"https://www.antigravity.tech/drone/antigravity-a1/buy?utm_term=macvoices Show Notes: Chapters: 00:00 Mixed messages around CarPlay and recent headlines01:20 Live show return and panel introductions05:15 Amazon power bank fire warning and safety concerns06:40 VisionOS travel features and real-world use cases14:00 Apple Sports app adds golf coverage15:00 GM's CarPlay stance, Apple Music, and digital keys24:05 Bending Spoons acquires Eventbrite30:00 Eventbrite pricing, data, and business model discussion Links: PSA: Amazon-exclusive power banks have been recalled after fires
 https://9to5mac.com/2025/12/10/psa-amazon-exclusive-power-banks-have-been-recalled-after-fires/ visionOS 26.2 adds big change for using Apple Vision Pro on the go
 https://9to5mac.com/2025/12/15/visionos-26-2-adds-big-change-for-using-apple-vision-pro-on-the-go/ Apple Sports App to Support Golf, Including PGA Tourhttps://www.macrumors.com/2025/12/15/apple-sports-app-to-support-golf/ General Motors Announces Plans to Start Offering iPhone Car Keyshttps://www.macrumors.com/2025/12/15/gm-plans-to-roll-out-iphone-car-keys/ GM rolling out native Apple Music app with Spatial Audio support
https://9to5mac.com/2025/12/15/gm-native-apple-music-app/ Apple and Google will be asked to block nude photos unless age verifiedhttps://9to5mac.com/2025/12/15/apple-and-google-will-be-asked-to-block-nude-photos-unless-user-age-is-verified/ Bending Spoons to acquire Eventbrite in $500M all-cash dealhttps://tech.eu/2025/12/02/bending-spoons-to-acquire-eventbrite-in-500m-all-cash-deal/ Guests: Web Bixby has been in the insurance business for 40 years and has been an Apple user for longer than that.You can catch up with him on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, but prefers Bluesky. Eric Bolden is into macOS, plants, sci-fi, food, and is a rural internet supporter. You can connect with him on Twitter, by email at embolden@mac.com, on Mastodon at @eabolden@techhub.social, on his blog, Trending At Work, and as co-host on The Vision ProFiles podcast. Brian Flanigan-Arthurs is an educator with a passion for providing results-driven, innovative learning strategies for all students, but particularly those who are at-risk. He is also a tech enthusiast who has a particular affinity for Apple since he first used the Apple IIGS as a student. You can contact Brian on twitter as @brian8944. He also recently opened a Mastodon account at @brian8944@mastodon.cloud. David Ginsburg is the host of the weekly podcast In Touch With iOS where he discusses all things iOS, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and related technologies. He is an IT professional supporting Mac, iOS and Windows users. Visit his YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/daveg65 and find and follow him on Twitter @daveg65 and on Mastodon at @daveg65@mastodon.cloud. Dr. Marty Jencius has been an Associate Professor of Counseling at Kent State University since 2000. He has over 120 publications in books, chapters, journal articles, and others, along with 200 podcasts related to counseling, counselor education, and faculty life. His technology interest led him to develop the counseling profession ‘firsts,' including listservs, a web-based peer-reviewed journal, The Journal of Technology in Counseling, teaching and conferencing in virtual worlds as the founder of Counselor Education in Second Life, and podcast founder/producer of CounselorAudioSource.net and ThePodTalk.net. Currently, he produces a podcast about counseling and life questions, the Circular Firing Squad, and digital video interviews with legacies capturing the history of the counseling field. This is also co-host of The Vision ProFiles podcast. Generally, Marty is chasing the newest tech trends, which explains his interest in A.I. for teaching, research, and productivity. Marty is an active presenter and past president of the NorthEast Ohio Apple Corp (NEOAC). Jim Rea built his own computer from scratch in 1975, started programming in 1977, and has been an independent Mac developer continuously since 1984. He is the founder of ProVUE Development, and the author of Panorama X, ProVUE's ultra fast RAM based database software for the macOS platform. He's been a speaker at MacTech, MacWorld Expo and other industry conferences. Follow Jim at provue.com and via @provuejim@techhub.social on Mastodon. Support:      Become a MacVoices Patron on Patreon     http://patreon.com/macvoices      Enjoy this episode? Make a one-time donation with PayPal Connect:      Web:     http://macvoices.com      Twitter:     http://www.twitter.com/chuckjoiner     http://www.twitter.com/macvoices      Mastodon:     https://mastodon.cloud/@chuckjoiner      Facebook:     http://www.facebook.com/chuck.joiner      MacVoices Page on Facebook:     http://www.facebook.com/macvoices/      MacVoices Group on Facebook:     http://www.facebook.com/groups/macvoice      LinkedIn:     https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckjoiner/      Instagram:     https://www.instagram.com/chuckjoiner/ Subscribe:      Audio in iTunes     Video in iTunes      Subscribe manually via iTunes or any podcatcher:      Audio: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesrss      Video: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesvideorss

MacVoices Audio
MacVoices #25324 - Live! - Mixed CarPlay Messages, Bending Spoons…Again

MacVoices Audio

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 29, 2025 37:35


A wide-ranging discussion covers mixed signals from GM around CarPlay, as the automaker rejects full support while selectively adopting Apple integrations like Music and digital keys. Chuck Joiner, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Marty Jencius, Eric bolden, David Ginsburg, Web Bixby, and Jim Real also reacts to safety concerns over more recalled power banks, new Vision Pro travel features, updates to Apple's Sports app, and the latest Bending Spoons' acquisition, this time of Eventbrite.  "The Antigravity A1 is the world's first 8K 360 drone, it's genuinely a game-changer. You get full immersive flight with the goggles, insanely intuitive controls, and endless creative freedom in editing.If you're thinking about buying a drone, make it this one. Check out the link in our show notes and get a free landing pad with your order!" https://www.antigravity.tech/drone/antigravity-a1/buy?utm_term=macvoices Show Notes: Chapters: 00:00 Mixed messages around CarPlay and recent headlines 01:20 Live show return and panel introductions 05:15 Amazon power bank fire warning and safety concerns 06:40 VisionOS travel features and real-world use cases 14:00 Apple Sports app adds golf coverage 15:00 GM's CarPlay stance, Apple Music, and digital keys 24:05 Bending Spoons acquires Eventbrite 30:00 Eventbrite pricing, data, and business model discussion Links: PSA: Amazon-exclusive power banks have been recalled after fires
https://9to5mac.com/2025/12/10/psa-amazon-exclusive-power-banks-have-been-recalled-after-fires/ visionOS 26.2 adds big change for using Apple Vision Pro on the go
https://9to5mac.com/2025/12/15/visionos-26-2-adds-big-change-for-using-apple-vision-pro-on-the-go/ Apple Sports App to Support Golf, Including PGA Tour https://www.macrumors.com/2025/12/15/apple-sports-app-to-support-golf/ General Motors Announces Plans to Start Offering iPhone Car Keys https://www.macrumors.com/2025/12/15/gm-plans-to-roll-out-iphone-car-keys/ GM rolling out native Apple Music app with Spatial Audio support
 https://9to5mac.com/2025/12/15/gm-native-apple-music-app/ Apple and Google will be asked to block nude photos unless age verified https://9to5mac.com/2025/12/15/apple-and-google-will-be-asked-to-block-nude-photos-unless-user-age-is-verified/ Bending Spoons to acquire Eventbrite in $500M all-cash deal https://tech.eu/2025/12/02/bending-spoons-to-acquire-eventbrite-in-500m-all-cash-deal/ Guests: Web Bixby has been in the insurance business for 40 years and has been an Apple user for longer than that.You can catch up with him on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, but prefers Bluesky. Eric Bolden is into macOS, plants, sci-fi, food, and is a rural internet supporter. You can connect with him on Twitter, by email at embolden@mac.com, on Mastodon at @eabolden@techhub.social, on his blog, Trending At Work, and as co-host on The Vision ProFiles podcast. Brian Flanigan-Arthurs is an educator with a passion for providing results-driven, innovative learning strategies for all students, but particularly those who are at-risk. He is also a tech enthusiast who has a particular affinity for Apple since he first used the Apple IIGS as a student. You can contact Brian on twitter as @brian8944. He also recently opened a Mastodon account at @brian8944@mastodon.cloud. David Ginsburg is the host of the weekly podcast In Touch With iOS where he discusses all things iOS, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and related technologies. He is an IT professional supporting Mac, iOS and Windows users. Visit his YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/daveg65 and find and follow him on Twitter @daveg65 and on Mastodon at @daveg65@mastodon.cloud. Dr. Marty Jencius has been an Associate Professor of Counseling at Kent State University since 2000. He has over 120 publications in books, chapters, journal articles, and others, along with 200 podcasts related to counseling, counselor education, and faculty life. His technology interest led him to develop the counseling profession 'firsts,' including listservs, a web-based peer-reviewed journal, The Journal of Technology in Counseling, teaching and conferencing in virtual worlds as the founder of Counselor Education in Second Life, and podcast founder/producer of CounselorAudioSource.net and ThePodTalk.net. Currently, he produces a podcast about counseling and life questions, the Circular Firing Squad, and digital video interviews with legacies capturing the history of the counseling field. This is also co-host of The Vision ProFiles podcast. Generally, Marty is chasing the newest tech trends, which explains his interest in A.I. for teaching, research, and productivity. Marty is an active presenter and past president of the NorthEast Ohio Apple Corp (NEOAC). Jim Rea built his own computer from scratch in 1975, started programming in 1977, and has been an independent Mac developer continuously since 1984. He is the founder of ProVUE Development, and the author of Panorama X, ProVUE's ultra fast RAM based database software for the macOS platform. He's been a speaker at MacTech, MacWorld Expo and other industry conferences. Follow Jim at provue.com and via @provuejim@techhub.social on Mastodon. Support:      Become a MacVoices Patron on Patreon      http://patreon.com/macvoices      Enjoy this episode? Make a one-time donation with PayPal Connect:      Web:      http://macvoices.com      Twitter:      http://www.twitter.com/chuckjoiner      http://www.twitter.com/macvoices      Mastodon:      https://mastodon.cloud/@chuckjoiner      Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/chuck.joiner      MacVoices Page on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/macvoices/      MacVoices Group on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/groups/macvoice      LinkedIn:      https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckjoiner/      Instagram:      https://www.instagram.com/chuckjoiner/ Subscribe:      Audio in iTunes      Video in iTunes      Subscribe manually via iTunes or any podcatcher:      Audio: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesrss      Video: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesvideorss

Daily Halacha Podcast - Daily Halacha By Rabbi Eli J. Mansour
If the Tenth Man Needs to Leave During the Hazara

Daily Halacha Podcast - Daily Halacha By Rabbi Eli J. Mansour

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 24, 2025


Generally speaking, one should not leave the synagogue until the end of the Tefila. There is a tradition that if a person routinely leaves in the middle of the service, then in the future, after Mashiah comes, he will be told to leave the Bet Ha'mikdash before the end of the prayers. It is especially grievous for a person to leave if he is the tenth man. As we've seen in previous installments, a person who exits during a part of the service that requires a Minyan, leaving behind less than ten men, is subject to the harsh warning of the prophet Yeshayahu, "Ve'ozebeh Hashem Yichlu" – "Those who abandon G-d shall be annihilated" (Yeshayahu 1: 28). Sometimes, however, a person has a pressing need to leave. It goes without saying that in the case of a dire emergency, a person may leave the synagogue during any part of the service even if this results in breaking the Minyan. Thus, for example, it is obvious that if a Hatzalah member gets a call during the Hazara (repetition of the Amida), he should immediately leave and tend to the emergency. However, there are even matters of lesser urgency that allow leaving during the Hazara (or other parts of the service that require a Minyan) even if one is the tenth man. If a person needs to use the restroom, for example, and he cannot restrain himself, then it is permissible for him to leave, even though fewer than ten men will be remaining in the synagogue. If a significant financial loss is at stake – such as if a person must leave early for a vitally important business meeting, or might otherwise lose his job – then according to Rav Shmuel Wosner (1913-1915), one may be lenient and leave to avoid the financial loss. Others disagree. In practice, Rav Yisrael Bitan writes that one may rely on the lenient position if he wishes, but he should preferably remain in the synagogue and trust that "Kol Ha'shome'a Li Eno Mafsid" – one ultimately gains, and does not lose, by obeying Hashem and doing the right thing, and any money lost as a result of remaining in the synagogue will be repaid. There is some discussion among the Poskim regarding a Kohen's hand-washing in preparation for Birkat Kohanim in a situation where only ten men are present in the synagogue. In most synagogues, the Kohanim must exit the sanctuary to access the sink. Should the Kohen do so if only ten men are present, and he would thus leave behind fewer than ten men for a few moments during the Hazara? Some suggested that in such a situation, it is preferable for the Kohen to wash his hands before the Amida in order to avoid the problem. Others, however, disapprove of this solution, as a Kohen ought to wash his hands as close to Birkat Kohanim as possible. Rav Haim Palachi (Turkey, 1788-1868) writes that in such a case, the Hazzan should pause for those few moments when the Kohen is outside the synagogue and only nine men remain. As for the final Halacha, Rav Yisrael Bitan ruled that preferably, water should be brought to the Kohen inside the sanctuary in this situation so he does not need to leave. If this is not feasible, then the Kohen should leave to wash his hands, and the Hazzan should pause, in accordance with Rav Haim Palachi's ruling. If the sink is visible from inside the sanctuary, then the Kohen may leave to wash his hands and rely on the opinion that he counts toward the Minyan since he can still be seen. Whenever one exits the synagogue, it is proper to do slowly, as leaving hurriedly gives the impression that he is eager to finish the prayers and leave.

MacVoices Video
MacVoices #25321: Live! - Implications of Apple's AI Talent Losses

MacVoices Video

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 23, 2025 42:23


A wide-ranging discussion examines the implications of leadership changes and talent loss within Apple's AI organization following delays to promised Siri features. Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Jeff Gamet, Marty Jencius, Eric Bolden, and Jim Rea debate whether Apple's struggles reflect internal turmoil, unrealistic timelines, or a deliberate partnering with external AI options. Privacy, on-device capabilities, and regulatory pressure all factor into a candid assessment of Apple's AI strategy and credibility.  MacVoices is supported by The Antigravity A1. Get off the ground like never before with the Antigravity A1. You have to see the results to believe them. Find out everything you need to know to get off the ground with Antigravity A1 — the world's first 8K 360 drone.https://www.antigravity.tech/drone/antigravity-a1/buy?utm_term=macvoices Show Notes: Chapters: 00:00 – Apple AI leadership changes and antitrust context01:29 – Interpreting the AI “retirement” and internal disruption03:23 – Internal models vs. external AI partnerships07:24 – Privacy, outsourcing, and Apple's long-term goals11:46 – Competing AI platforms and market momentum15:03 – Infrastructure limits and AI hype cycles18:12 – Credibility gap after delayed Siri features22:08 – Contextual AI and Apple's closed-system approach28:14 – Privacy tradeoffs and user awareness32:17 – Can closed systems still innovate? Links: Apple AI Chief John Giannandrea Retiring After Siri Delayshttps://www.macrumors.com/2025/12/01/apple-ai-chief-retiring-after-siri-failure/ Guests: Eric Bolden is into macOS, plants, sci-fi, food, and is a rural internet supporter. You can connect with him on Twitter, by email at embolden@mac.com, on Mastodon at @eabolden@techhub.social, on his blog, Trending At Work, and as co-host on The Vision ProFiles podcast. Brian Flanigan-Arthurs is an educator with a passion for providing results-driven, innovative learning strategies for all students, but particularly those who are at-risk. He is also a tech enthusiast who has a particular affinity for Apple since he first used the Apple IIGS as a student. You can contact Brian on twitter as @brian8944. He also recently opened a Mastodon account at @brian8944@mastodon.cloud. Jeff Gamet is a technology blogger, podcaster, author, and public speaker. Previously, he was The Mac Observer's Managing Editor, and the TextExpander Evangelist for Smile. He has presented at Macworld Expo, RSA Conference, several WordCamp events, along with many other conferences. You can find him on several podcasts such as The Mac Show, The Big Show, MacVoices, Mac OS Ken, This Week in iOS, and more. Jeff is easy to find on social media as @jgamet on Twitter and Instagram, jeffgamet on LinkedIn., @jgamet@mastodon.social on Mastodon, and on his YouTube Channel at YouTube.com/jgamet. David Ginsburg is the host of the weekly podcast In Touch With iOS where he discusses all things iOS, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and related technologies. He is an IT professional supporting Mac, iOS and Windows users. Visit his YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/daveg65 and find and follow him on Twitter @daveg65 and on Mastodon at @daveg65@mastodon.cloud. Dr. Marty Jencius has been an Associate Professor of Counseling at Kent State University since 2000. He has over 120 publications in books, chapters, journal articles, and others, along with 200 podcasts related to counseling, counselor education, and faculty life. His technology interest led him to develop the counseling profession ‘firsts,' including listservs, a web-based peer-reviewed journal, The Journal of Technology in Counseling, teaching and conferencing in virtual worlds as the founder of Counselor Education in Second Life, and podcast founder/producer of CounselorAudioSource.net and ThePodTalk.net. Currently, he produces a podcast about counseling and life questions, the Circular Firing Squad, and digital video interviews with legacies capturing the history of the counseling field. This is also co-host of The Vision ProFiles podcast. Generally, Marty is chasing the newest tech trends, which explains his interest in A.I. for teaching, research, and productivity. Marty is an active presenter and past president of the NorthEast Ohio Apple Corp (NEOAC). Jim Rea built his own computer from scratch in 1975, started programming in 1977, and has been an independent Mac developer continuously since 1984. He is the founder of ProVUE Development, and the author of Panorama X, ProVUE's ultra fast RAM based database software for the macOS platform. He's been a speaker at MacTech, MacWorld Expo and other industry conferences. Follow Jim at provue.com and via @provuejim@techhub.social on Mastodon. Support:      Become a MacVoices Patron on Patreon     http://patreon.com/macvoices      Enjoy this episode? Make a one-time donation with PayPal Connect:      Web:     http://macvoices.com      Twitter:     http://www.twitter.com/chuckjoiner     http://www.twitter.com/macvoices      Mastodon:     https://mastodon.cloud/@chuckjoiner      Facebook:     http://www.facebook.com/chuck.joiner      MacVoices Page on Facebook:     http://www.facebook.com/macvoices/      MacVoices Group on Facebook:     http://www.facebook.com/groups/macvoice      LinkedIn:     https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckjoiner/      Instagram:     https://www.instagram.com/chuckjoiner/ Subscribe:      Audio in iTunes     Video in iTunes      Subscribe manually via iTunes or any podcatcher:      Audio: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesrss      Video: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesvideorss

MacVoices Audio
MacVoices #25321: Live! - Implications of Apple's AI Talent Losses

MacVoices Audio

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 23, 2025 42:24


A wide-ranging discussion examines the implications of leadership changes and talent loss within Apple's AI organization following delays to promised Siri features. Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Jeff Gamet, Marty Jencius, Eric Bolden, and Jim Rea debate whether Apple's struggles reflect internal turmoil, unrealistic timelines, or a deliberate partnering with external AI options. Privacy, on-device capabilities, and regulatory pressure all factor into a candid assessment of Apple's AI strategy and credibility.  MacVoices is supported by The Antigravity A1. Get off the ground like never before with the Antigravity A1. You have to see the results to believe them. Find out everything you need to know to get off the ground with Antigravity A1 — the world's first 8K 360 drone. https://www.antigravity.tech/drone/antigravity-a1/buy?utm_term=macvoices Show Notes: Chapters: 00:00 – Apple AI leadership changes and antitrust context 01:29 – Interpreting the AI "retirement" and internal disruption 03:23 – Internal models vs. external AI partnerships 07:24 – Privacy, outsourcing, and Apple's long-term goals 11:46 – Competing AI platforms and market momentum 15:03 – Infrastructure limits and AI hype cycles 18:12 – Credibility gap after delayed Siri features 22:08 – Contextual AI and Apple's closed-system approach 28:14 – Privacy tradeoffs and user awareness 32:17 – Can closed systems still innovate? Links: Apple AI Chief John Giannandrea Retiring After Siri Delays https://www.macrumors.com/2025/12/01/apple-ai-chief-retiring-after-siri-failure/ Guests: Eric Bolden is into macOS, plants, sci-fi, food, and is a rural internet supporter. You can connect with him on Twitter, by email at embolden@mac.com, on Mastodon at @eabolden@techhub.social, on his blog, Trending At Work, and as co-host on The Vision ProFiles podcast. Brian Flanigan-Arthurs is an educator with a passion for providing results-driven, innovative learning strategies for all students, but particularly those who are at-risk. He is also a tech enthusiast who has a particular affinity for Apple since he first used the Apple IIGS as a student. You can contact Brian on twitter as @brian8944. He also recently opened a Mastodon account at @brian8944@mastodon.cloud. Jeff Gamet is a technology blogger, podcaster, author, and public speaker. Previously, he was The Mac Observer's Managing Editor, and the TextExpander Evangelist for Smile. He has presented at Macworld Expo, RSA Conference, several WordCamp events, along with many other conferences. You can find him on several podcasts such as The Mac Show, The Big Show, MacVoices, Mac OS Ken, This Week in iOS, and more. Jeff is easy to find on social media as @jgamet on Twitter and Instagram, jeffgamet on LinkedIn., @jgamet@mastodon.social on Mastodon, and on his YouTube Channel at YouTube.com/jgamet. David Ginsburg is the host of the weekly podcast In Touch With iOS where he discusses all things iOS, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and related technologies. He is an IT professional supporting Mac, iOS and Windows users. Visit his YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/daveg65 and find and follow him on Twitter @daveg65 and on Mastodon at @daveg65@mastodon.cloud. Dr. Marty Jencius has been an Associate Professor of Counseling at Kent State University since 2000. He has over 120 publications in books, chapters, journal articles, and others, along with 200 podcasts related to counseling, counselor education, and faculty life. His technology interest led him to develop the counseling profession 'firsts,' including listservs, a web-based peer-reviewed journal, The Journal of Technology in Counseling, teaching and conferencing in virtual worlds as the founder of Counselor Education in Second Life, and podcast founder/producer of CounselorAudioSource.net and ThePodTalk.net. Currently, he produces a podcast about counseling and life questions, the Circular Firing Squad, and digital video interviews with legacies capturing the history of the counseling field. This is also co-host of The Vision ProFiles podcast. Generally, Marty is chasing the newest tech trends, which explains his interest in A.I. for teaching, research, and productivity. Marty is an active presenter and past president of the NorthEast Ohio Apple Corp (NEOAC). Jim Rea built his own computer from scratch in 1975, started programming in 1977, and has been an independent Mac developer continuously since 1984. 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Get Rich Education
585: The Fed's Quiet War on the Middle Class with Doug Casey

Get Rich Education

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 22, 2025 46:31


Keith discusses the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) new regulations on rental pricing transparency, following a settlement with Greystar.  Legendary author, Doug Casey, joins the conversation to argue that the Federal Reserve is waging a quiet war on the middle class.  Casey explains that by creating trillions of new fiat dollars to push interest rates lower, the Fed fuels inflation, which erodes savings, distorts markets, and quietly reduces the average American's standard of living. He warns of an impending economic downturn due to inflation and government debt. Resources: Find the FTC article here. Visit internationalman.com to read Doug Casey's weekly articles and watch his "Doug Casey's Take" videos on YouTube. Episode Page: GetRichEducation.com/585 For access to properties or free help with a GRE Investment Coach, start here: GREmarketplace.com GRE Free Investment Coaching: GREinvestmentcoach.com Get mortgage loans for investment property: RidgeLendingGroup.com or call 855-74-RIDGE  or e-mail: info@RidgeLendingGroup.com Invest with Freedom Family Investments.  For predictable 10-12% quarterly returns, visit FreedomFamilyInvestments.com/GRE or text  1-937-795-8989 to speak with a freedom coach Will you please leave a review for the show? I'd be grateful. Search "how to leave an Apple Podcasts review"  For advertising inquiries, visit: GetRichEducation.com/ad Best Financial Education: GetRichEducation.com Get our wealth-building newsletter free— GREletter.com or text 'GRE' to 66866 Our YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/c/GetRichEducation Follow us on Instagram: @getricheducation Complete episode transcript: Keith Weinhold  0:01   welcome to GRE. I'm your host. Keith Weinhold, the Fed keeps escalating their quiet war against the middle class. I'm talking about it with one of the most influential financial figures of the past century. Today, also what the recent FTC decision on rents means to real estate on get rich education.   Speaker 1  0:25   Since 2014 the powerful get rich education podcast has created more passive income for people than nearly any other show in the world. This show teaches you how to earn strong returns from passive real estate investing in the best markets without losing your time being a flipper or landlord. Show Host Keith Weinhold rights for both Forbes and Rich Dad advisors, and delivers a new show every week since 2014 there's been millions of listener downloads of 188 world nations. He has a list show guests include top selling personal finance author Robert Kiyosaki. Get rich education can be heard on every podcast platform, plus it has its own dedicated Apple and Android listener phone apps build wealth on the go with the get rich education podcast. Sign up now for the get rich education podcast, or visit get rich education.com   Corey Coates  1:11   You're listening to the show that has created more financial freedom than nearly any show in the world. This is get rich education.   Keith Weinhold  1:27   Welcome to GRE I'm your host. Keith Weinhold, let's get right into it, as there's a lot to cover here on our last big show before Christmas. Briefly before we get to the Fed's quiet war against the middle class the Federal Trade Commission just fired off a warning shot to landlords, and here's the translation about what this means to you, advertise your real all in rent amount with mandatory fees included in that amount or expect company and by company, the FTC means attorneys, paperwork and a long headache, and I'll tell you why I think this is a good thing. But really, first what this is all about is that it stems from the antecedent settlement with the massive global real estate company greystar, about transparent pricing. You might know that greystar is the massive global real estate company. They specialize in rental housing. In fact, greystar is the largest apartment operator in the entire US. They're in about 250 markets. The FTC cracked down on greystars add on fees, those fees added on to the rent amount that aren't clear and transparent right from the beginning. Now, in their case, it's things like Package Concierge charges, valet, trash service fees and some of these other line items that magically appear after a renter has already emotionally moved into a unit. Now for your rentals, they might be other things like Pest Control fees, gym fees, pet fees, utility add ons and notice that I use the word might, because clarification is still being sought here, but suffice to say, the least that you should know is really three things, advertise a rental price that excludes mandatory charges and that could be a violation of the law. So then state the total cost of renting the unit up front, no fine print gymnastics. Secondly, do a compliance check. You need to review your ads to confirm that they honestly convey your rental unit's price. That includes working with third party marketing vendors like Zillow or Facebook marketplace to see if they accurately state the all in price, because if they understate the price, it's still your problem. And thirdly, know that the FTC is reviewing harmful practices in the rental housing market. They'll take action against landlords that try to hide mandatory fees, so no hide and seek. And the FTC resource is in our show notes, and I sent it to you in last week's newsletter as well, if you want to read it, all my take here is that this type of transparency is a good thing. I mean, come on, we all know how annoying it is if, say, an airline states like, Hey, we've got prices to this destination. You can fly there for as low as $200 Yeah, but what if it's a 28 hour, four layover journey to fly 300 miles? Okay? What about buying an event ticket to go to a music concert and say you've already got 10 minutes wrapped up in this, but they don't show you the final price with all the fees until you've already invested that 10 minutes a. Then you learn about this in your shopping cart. So that type of thing is deceptive, all right. Well, what this FTC case does is it eliminates that effect in the rental housing market. So if you're a landlord, your competitors shouldn't be able to advertise base rents minus fees against your unit that appears higher priced than it's really not. And then for renters, I mean, the clarity helps expedite their search process. So this lets good assets compete on real value, and that is good business. Now, as far as the Fed controlling the economy, Jerome Powell announced interest rate cuts both last year and some more again this year, and though the effect isn't immediate, mortgage rates do come down with them. Mortgage rates have also fallen this year because the yield spread premium is lower. And you know what the prevailing sentiment is among a lot of armchair economists, it is squarely this, you ain't seen nothing for cuts yet. People say, Oh, watch, once Trump gets his guy in there in May, meaning that's when the newly appointed Fed chair is in power. Oh, you're really going to see some giant rate cuts then, yeah. I mean, a lot of people talk about this like it's certainly coming. They say then the Fed funds rate is going to go way down, meaning mortgage rates are then going to go way down, meaning that home prices are therefore going to soar next year. Well, all that could happen, but it is nowhere close to the certainty camp for everything to respond exactly that way. As you know, as a listener here, paradoxically, mortgage rates have little to do with home prices. Look at history over hunches. In fact, it might be more likely that those things don't happen and don't all break exactly that way, then the probability that they do, and that quickly gets into conjecture territory. As we know, lowering rates is bad too, because it signals that a weak economy needs the help. Typically. What could be different this next time. Well, whether we're in a good or a bad economy, Trump still wants lower rates, and he really imposes his will on the situation.    Keith Weinhold  7:30   We're about to bring in the author of a new book called The preparation. It's about preparing for the economic future. A lot of the book is mostly for young men and their parents, but we'll speak to both females and males. Today is the middle class both worse off and in a way, better off today than they were a generation or two ago. Talk to your grandparents. They didn't pay for a college education. They didn't get one. They rarely ate out at restaurants. They didn't have a smartphone, which is now practically mandatory to even exist. Today, people are paying for all of that, so no wonder that prospective first time homebuyers almost seem to be going extinct. Let's meet this week's guest.   Keith Weinhold  8:21   Are we going to get a painful financial reset in the form of runaway inflation, a market crash or something else? We'll answer that before we're done today, the Fed is engaged in a quiet war against the middle class. They are going to create trillions more Fiat dollars to lower interest rates further and create inflation that's according to today's guest. He is the International man himself, a legendary and generationally popular author, and he does a lot more than that. He's back with us for a sobering look at this today. Hey, welcome in. Doug Casey,   Doug Casey  8:57   Thanks, Keith. It's nice to be here with you, although care for me is in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where I spend a good part of the year.   Keith Weinhold  9:05   Such a nice place, good year round weather. There. A piece you recently wrote is titled, The Fed's quiet war against the middle class. The Fed recently announced that they're stopping Qt, which basically means they're stopping the destruction of dollars and opening the floodgates to print dollars. You've been known to say that the level of interest rates is the most important single indicator of an economy, and the Fed has made several quarter point cuts over the last year plus, although the President is supposed to stay independent of Fed influence. Oh my gosh, he has been more vocal than any other president ever over how badly he wants low rates. What are your thoughts with regard to all this Doug?   Doug Casey  9:53   Well, the Fed, which most people have been taught to believe, is part of the cosmic firmament. Right? It should be abolished. It serves no useful purpose. The Fed is an engine of inflation. It's what creates Federal Reserve notes. It's an engine of inflation and purely destructive, and it's used by the government to finance itself. So that's the first thing I've got to say. And they don't know what interest rates should be. Neither does Trump neither does anybody else. That's for the market to determine right and interest rates are set by the amount of savings that's done by the people and the amount of borrowing that's done by other people. The problem is with the Fed printing up lots and lots of money, which they are through the banking system, it makes it rather foolish to be a saver. In other words, if you produce more than you consume, which is something everybody should do, you want to save the difference. That's how you become wealthy. But if they destroy the currency with inflation, it's pointless to save, and if there's no savings, there's no capital to lend. This is why we're sliding off a slippery slope in the direction of a third world country where there's no savings, where the money's no good, it's a real problem. I think the average American, despite increases in technology that we've benefited from over many years, the average American has found his standard of living go down a lot, and it's basically because of the destruction of the currency that makes it impossible for him to save and get ahead of things, and results in wild and crazy moves in the stock markets and the real estate markets and the interest rate markets, where things become unpredictable. So everybody's being turned into a speculator, whether they like it or not, and frankly, we're headed towards a real reckoning in the US and in the world generally. So my approach at this point is to hold on to your hat, because we're in for rough running in the years   Keith Weinhold  12:14   to come. To create low rates, the Fed basically needs to create trillions of new Fiat dollars. Tell us about how that works.   Doug Casey  12:25   Well, it's a question of the supply and demand of money. You've got two things happening. Number one, when the Fed has quantitative easing, as they call it, which basically means inflating the dollar. Quantitative easing, or QE is just a nice word for inflating the dollar. They're increasing the supply of dollars out there. You increase the supply of dollars, the price of money goes down in the short run, but in the long run, the value of the dollar also goes down. And nobody's going to lend money if they can't get more in interest than it's being depreciated at. So you've got these two forces fighting against each other making for an unstable system. That's why I say that look before 1933 and when Roosevelt took gold out of the dollar, or in fact, before 1913 when the Federal Reserve was created, before that, there was no central bank. There was no Federal Reserve in the US. Money was just a medium of exchange and a store of value. It wasn't a political commodity, which it is now. Today, everybody is looking at the government to do something to make a decision to raise rates. Some people want them higher or lower them. Some people want them lower. But this is for the market to decide. It shouldn't be a political decision.   Keith Weinhold  13:53   Low rates, which most think are coming, produce an inflationary environment, which then means that longer term, there need to be new higher rates in order to combat that.   Doug Casey  14:05   Well, what we've got is a situation where conflicting advice and beliefs are causing rates, and indeed, most of the economy, to go up and down like an elevator with a lunatic at the controls. And actually, that's a very good analogy.   Keith Weinhold  14:22   And low rates to your earlier point, Doug, they don't encourage anyone to save. And you know what? Government policy doesn't encourage anyone to save either in times of crisis, like, look what happened during covid. Oh my gosh, if these people can't go to work and generate an income, they don't have any savings, obviously. So then let's go ahead and intervene even more and send them stimulus checks, basically a bailout. So low rates discourage anyone from saving, but so does our policy, because every time there's a big catastrophe, oh, they just come in with a safety net anyway. That's Part. The reason why we have such a problem with capital formation of the average American today?   Doug Casey  15:04   Well, it's actually worse than that, because over generations, a lot of debt has built up in the country. In other words, to maintain your standard of living, a lot of people have borrowed. They've done this either by taking the savings of past generations and borrowing it or mortgaging their personal futures. Either way, look, if you and I went out and borrowed a million dollars today, we could raise our standard of living artificially, sure, for the next year, but at the end of that year, we have to pay back the million dollars to lost interest, and that artificial rise in our standard of living will result in a very real decline in our standard of living. And a great deal of the borrowing that's been done to stimulate the economy through the banking system is for consumption, not for production. In other words, a lot of the borrowing is not to create new technologies and new infrastructure and new capital goods to create more wealth. A lot of it's just stuff that you wind up. People are borrowing things to fill their basements and their garages with more junk, consumer borrowing, borrowing for vacations, borrowing for to go to music, shows, all kinds of things. This has become a habit in the US, right? So let's look. It's going to end very badly. It's going to end and is ending as we speak, actually, in what I call the greater depression. It's going to be what we're looking at here, largely because of monetary manipulation, but also because taxes have gone up, up, up, up from zero level. Basically, in 1913 there were no income taxes in the US, the US government lived exclusively on minimal tariffs and excise duties. But today, there's right and they're very high, high levels of inflation, high levels of borrowing. So I think we're coming to the end of the road, as far as that's concerned. And it's bad news. Of course, most of the real wealth in the world, when you have a financial collapse, when you have a depression, most of the real wealth still exists. It just changes ownership, that's all so you want to position yourself so that you're not too adversely affected by what's coming   Keith Weinhold  17:31   this inflation and more coming inflation pumping up the asset values of the asset owners and then ruining the lifestyles of those in the lower middle class and making them trend down lower since they spend a greater proportion of their income on everyday needs like clothing and food, which is a small proportion of people that are well off and the poor don't have the assets to benefit from that inflation. And you know, Doug, it wasn't until I read your recent article that I realized something that initially the fed only had one mandate, price stability, and then later they added that maximum employment was their second mandate. I didn't realize that. So really, it's been an expansion of what they're paying attention to, and a de facto expansion of their powers and influence and control.   Doug Casey  18:23   Well, actually, they have a third mandate now, which is to control long term interest rates, to prop up the mortgage market, to prop up the real estate market. Because, as you know, the real estate market floats on a sea of debt, and if you can't get a mortgage, if you can't borrow, you can't buy real estate, or, for that matter, you can't sell it. So this makes it a very unstable situation, and most people are unaware of the fact that before the last depression, the longest mortgage you could get was five years, and that was with a 20% down payment. So things have changed a lot since then, and the more debt you use to finance anything, the more unstable things become. And the fact that things have become so unstable, and the average guy's standard of living has been sinking, and he has more credit card debt, more mortgage debt, more automobile debt. Used to be paid cash for a car, then was financed for two years and five and seven, and then it was leased where you never even owned it. I mean, this is, this is a trend that's coming to an end at this point, so it's going to be quite a comeuppance for people.   Keith Weinhold  19:42   I think long term financing and the easing of getting financing makes the cost of anything higher. There's probably no greater example than that of what has happened with college tuition over the decades. But you know Doug, when we talk about this centrally planned economy. Rather than letting free market forces take over, I love it. I just absolutely love it when the answer to a problem is actually doing less than what you're currently doing, let go of the reins, rather than the Fed controlling interest rates. If there were a free market doing it, you would have bank loan rates that couldn't become too high, or else they wouldn't attract borrowers. So rates would naturally fall, and then you also couldn't have bank loan rates that are too low, because you've got to compensate the bank for bad borrower risk. So rates would come up, and they would find some natural level, kind of to the point that you made earlier. There would be a natural set point price discovery. That's how I think of a free market working for interest rates rather than announcements by a Fed chair.   Doug Casey  20:51   Well, you're right. The problem is that the high government officials, the elite, if you would, think they know best and try to manipulate things, but they don't know best, quite frankly. And one other comment that you made, which I think is very appropriate, is college tuitions. For years, I've recommended that young people forget about college. It's a huge misallocation of your time and money, you wind up studying things well after you are through partying and drinking and chasing the opposite sex, and the things you learn about have no practical application in the world. And I'm not talking about learning history and the classics and mathematics and science, okay? Those are valuable things. Most of what people are taking in college today are hobby subjects, if you would, or things that are fun to learn in your spare time, but you shouldn't burden yourself with a lifetime of debt to do those things and get a worthless degree. Everybody has a degree and with grade inflation, they're a waste of time. That's listen. That's why I wrote this book with Matt Smith. Is my podcast. It's called the preparation. It's on Amazon, and it explains talking about your standard of living, which is what this is all about, really, why it's foolish to go to college today and exactly what especially a young man should do, instead of misallocating The four most valuable vibrant years of his life, sitting behind a desk listening to Marxist leaning professors corrupt you with all kinds of really bad ideas. So that's why we wrote the preparation. And it tells young men exactly what they should do, instead of burdening themselves under hundreds of 1000s of dollars of debt, which can't be discharged and serves no useful purpose, what they've learned in exchange for it. So, I mean, this is one of the one of the things that people should be doing, but not enough are.   Keith Weinhold  23:07   AI changes things fast. I mean, for a four year college graduate today, what you learned as a freshman three or four years ago could quickly be outdated, and that effect just wasn't nearly as great as it was a few decades ago, but if you're listening in the audio only, Doug just held his book called The preparation, which he co authored with Matthew Smith. If this way of thinking resonates with you, here's some actionable things that you can actually do. You're listening to get rich education. Our guest is international man. Doug Casey, when we come back, I'm your host. Keith Weinhold   Keith Weinhold  23:41   you know, most people think they're playing it safe with their liquid money, but they're actually losing savings accounts and bonds don't keep up when true inflation eats six or 7% of your wealth. Every single year, I invest my liquidity with FFI freedom family investments in their flagship program. Why fixed 10 to 12% returns have been predictable and paid quarterly. There's real world security backed by needs based real estate like affordable housing, Senior Living and health care. Ask about the freedom flagship program. When you speak to a freedom coach there, and that's just one part of their family of products, they've got workshops, webinars and seminars designed to educate you before you invest. Start with as little as 25k and finally, get your money working as hard as you do. Get started at Freedom family investments.com/gre, or send a text. Now it's one, 937, 795, 8989. Yep, text their freedom coach directly again. 1-937-795-8989   Keith Weinhold  24:52   the same place where I get my own mortgage loans is where you can get yours. Ridge lending group and MLS, 420, Five, six, they provided our listeners with more loans than anyone because they specialize in income properties. They help you build a long term plan for growing your real estate empire with leverage. Start your prequel and even chat with President Caeli Ridge personally, while it's on your mind, start at Ridge lending group.com that's Ridge lending group.com.    Robert Helms  25:23   Hi everybody. t's Robert Allens of the real estate guys radio program. So glad you found Keith Weinhold and get rich education. Don't quit your Daydream.   Keith Weinhold  25:34   Steve, welcome back to get rich Education. I'm your host, Keith Weinhold, we're talking with Doug Casey about how the Fed is quietly intervening and hollowing out the middle class when it comes to interest rates. Since you state about them being the most important indicator for an economy, I think a lot of people don't realize Doug, and maybe you run into this too, that interest rates are not high today. I mean, on the long run, the Fed funds rate averages 4.6% and today it's in the high threes. So they're not actually high today. But with all these crises where we had all this money printing in these low rates, they feel high, but they're not.   Doug Casey  26:22   Well, you're quite correct. The question is, at what rate is the dollar losing value? The official US government figures say, Well, I don't know what they say. They vary, and the numbers are jumbled. And I think the general price level in the US, if we were realistic, is going up well over 5% probably closer to 10% you can make that case. Yeah, I think so, because I'm talking to you now from Argentina and for years, the figures were notoriously and outrageously concocted, made up to make people think things weren't as bad as they are. And here in Argentina, we've just had a revolution, actually a peaceful revolution, with replacing the Peronist government with a man named Javier Malay. It's probably the most unusual and most important election, believe it or not, in world history, because Malay was elected here in Argentina on the platform of basically getting rid of the government disbanding it. In other words, Elon Musk's Doge, but on steroids times 10, and things have gotten a lot better here because of that. And it's too bad that Doge has been eliminated in the US, because a lot of people don't understand that the government doesn't really produce anything at all. All it does is take taxes from you and pass that money around to other people with a lot skimmed off the top to do things that entrepreneurs would probably, or certainly, I'd say, do by themselves, and they make it worse by printing up money to give to people to do those things, and borrowing money, which acts as an albatross around everybody's neck. So I'd make the case that I'm not promoting either the Republicans or the Democrats, I'd kind of say a pox on both their houses. They're just two sides of the same coin. What I think we ought to have is a much smaller, much much smaller government. But are we going to get one? No, we're not getting it right now, because I think a lot of people aren't aware of the fact that the government is running 2 trillion, $3 trillion per year deficits, and those deficits are going up, not down. So where's that money coming from? Well, most of it's being created out of thin air. It's being inflated through the banking system. So the prognosis is not terribly good. Now, along the way, of course, people have hid in real estate, made a lot of money in real estate. Real estate prices have gone up faster than retail inflation has gone up. Yeah, but I'm asking myself whether it's not possible that the real estate market could come unglued at this point, because it floats on a sea of debt. What do you think, Keith, do you have any fears about that?   Keith Weinhold  29:27   Homeowners are in great shape today. They have record equity positions. They're not going to walk away. Many of them are still locked into these really low mortgage rates, so they're in really good shape. This is something very different from the 2008 global financial crisis, when you had irresponsible borrowers that had negative equity positions and an oversupply of housing so they could move out and get something cheaper. Today, if you move out in the great situation that you're in with your low mortgage rate and a high equity position, you'd lose your high equity position and. Might have to go pay rent that's higher somewhere else, so I don't see a lot of real estate appreciation coming over the next year or two, but I don't see any impending crash, largely due to that condition, there's not distress in the market.   Doug Casey  30:17   Are you worried about the fact that most local and state governments are on the ragged edge of insolvency and might be raising their real estate taxes and of course, insurance costs seem to be going up a lot faster than most other costs as well. Right now, utility costs are relatively low because oil and gas prices are low, but that could change too. I mean, is there anything that could take the real estate train off the rails?   Keith Weinhold  30:47   Not that I see. In fact, real estate values have only fallen substantially one time since World War Two, and that was during the 2008 global financial crisis, when we had conditions that are largely the opposite today. That's back when we had an oversupply and an irresponsible borrower that had negative equity so they wanted to walk away, and that created the down drain. To your point, yes, I do see property taxes continuing to increase, but because values aren't increasing as much, they would have to increase the mill rate to get further increases, and then most of the big insurance increases, many feel they are done. They had to come up. Because with inflation, the replacement cost of a property, if you would have a loss, rose and increased that way. So because we're still supply challenge in a lot of places, I see prices holding up but not appreciating like 10% anytime soon, and that's due to an affordability constraint. I don't see how they could possibly do that. And when we talk about that average person Doug, that person trying to make their mortgage payments or their rent payments, I was talking on a recent episode about the K shaped economy, I think it's something that we often visualize in our mind. You see the upper branch of the K rising, the lower branch of the k falling, which is emblematic of this hollowing out of the middle class. But I recently saw it graphically represented, where you have the capital share of income going up for people over the decades. That used to be 5050, between capital share of income and labor share of income. Back 60 years ago, it was 5050, but now, with this K shaped divergence, one's capital share of income is about 57% today, and their labor share of income is only about 43% today. And it's kind of sad. I sort of hate to say it out loud, but it's like, hard work just does not pay off, like it used to. Much of this due to inflation pumping up asset values.   Doug Casey  32:52   Well, I understand what you're saying, and I think you're correct, because there's an old saw. They say the rich get richer while the poor get poorer, and that's kind of what this K shaped economy is telling us. You've got the super rich in the top 1% or 1/10 of 1% that are becoming Ultra double wealthy, and the guy at the bottom, well, his social security taxes have risen from almost nothing to 15% of his wages, and it's a real problem. And it's said that the members of Gen Z can't afford to buy a house today as well. So what do you do about this? Well, my suggestion is, if possible, you don't want to get a job working for somebody else. If at all possible, you've got to work for yourself as an entrepreneur. That's the first thing. It's very hard to get wealthy working for somebody else. The best is to work for yourself, but in order to do that, you have to train yourself with lots of skills and lots of knowledge. And I'm not sure if people are doing that to the degree they ought to either. So I don't know how this is going to end. And of course, you mentioned earlier, artificial intelligence and robotics are tied up hand in glove with artificial intelligence. It's clear that within five years, we'll have robots that may not look entirely like people, but can do almost anything that a human being can do, and this is going to put a lot of pressure on people that don't have special skills, especially with artificial intelligence being programmed into these super competent robots. So the whole world is changing right before our very eyes. Right now,   Keith Weinhold  34:39   when we talk about the middle class struggle. I probably follow the housing market more closely than you do. The NAR recently gave us the latest statistic. Two years ago, the average age of the first time homebuyer was aged 35 last year, it rose to 38 this year, it's now 40 just the average. Age of the first time homebuyer. So in high cost areas, that could very well be 45 I mean, people are getting gray hair before they make a down payment for this middle class that's trying to get into the ownership class.   Doug Casey  35:13   And the further back you go, the younger the age right people were buying houses at So, I mean, it used to be people would try to buy a house right out of school. Frankly, that's out of the question today.   Keith Weinhold  35:27   Yeah, I sure don't remember those days myself, but Yeah, it sure was substantially younger just a couple decades ago. Well, Doug, where are we going with all this? I mean, does a reset eventually happen with either runaway inflation? Do you think that happens first, or some sort of market crash, or is it something else? I mean, what cataclysmic act is likely to happen first?   Doug Casey  35:52   Well, look, I hate to be too gloom and doomy, because everybody, first of all, generally speaking, trends in motion stay in motion, and everything has been maybe gradually descending standard of living wise, but the economy's held together, and we haven't had any catastrophic collapse. Well, almost in 2008 and a couple other times, but I think we're headed for one. So what should you do about it? I would say, consume less if you possibly can, and save what you can, if possible, take a second job while it's still possible, to go out and get a second job or found an entrepreneurial activity so that if you lose your job, you've got a backup system. But with the changes in technology and of course, what's happening in robotics and AI are just part of it. You're not going to be able to rely on what you relied on in the past, because the world is changing very, very radically as far as real estate is concerned. Look, I actually own a lot of real estate, but, you know, I've come to the conclusion that at this point I want to treat my house and other real estate, basically as a not so much as an investment to make money, but to store value. That's right, a store of value where I can put some capital aside. I don't want to keep a lot of money in dollars. That doesn't mean I want debt either. That's risky. For many, many years, I've advocated and bought gold and silver because they are money in its most basic form, and it's worked out really well. I started buying gold at about $40 it's at about 4000 today, and I've always treated it, almost always, as a savings vehicle, not as a speculative vehicle, although, if I want to speculate, I speculate in mining stocks, which are a leveraged way of playing gold and silver, the most volatile class of securities on the planet, actually, and I understand that a lot of people today have Robin Hood accounts and are speculating on the stock market, desperately trying to stay ahead of currency debasement and somehow build a nest egg for themselves by speculating in the market. Generally, that's not a good formula for success you're playing against, you know, extremely smart and well capitalized and knowledgeable big boys, and the fact that everybody's doing it is also, in itself, a tip off to the fact the stock market could be at the tippy top right now, I kind of think it is a bubble in the tech stocks. It's tough, Keith, there's not a lot of places to run and hide at this point.   Keith Weinhold  38:39   Price to earnings ratios are really bloated in the s, p5, 100. I'd love to get your thought on this. Doug, if a person can get a 30 year mortgage rate for a rental property where the rent income meets or exceeds the expenses at a mortgage rate between six and 7% should they do that?   Doug Casey  38:57   Look, if you can cover your mortgage a fixed interest rate mortgage 30 years. One thing that you can almost plan your life around is that dollar is going to lose value every year. So the actual value of your debt, your mortgage, is going to go down every year, right? And presumably the rent that you can charge on your house is going to go up every year. So yep, doing it the way I think you're doing it is an excellent plan for slow and steady long term success. Yeah, it makes sense. You're right.   Keith Weinhold  39:30   We actually have some listener questions on the thing that you brought up, which I call inflation profiting when you borrow long term fixed interest rate debt and get to pay it back with more plentiful dollars down the road. Some people don't understand what you just explained. One way I brought it up with my listeners is we'll just look back 30 years ago, in 1995 the average home cost 130k an 80% loan would be 104k so here, 30 years later, that median home costs over 400 K, and you still just owe 104k on the loan. That's the benefit of what I call inflation, profiting on long term fixed interest rate debt. And of course, your tenant would have paid that down to zero as well. But that kind of makes the benefit be more apparent when we look back into the past 30 years. Well, Doug, as we're winding down here, you have any other thoughts about, just say, the average American out there, what they should do with the Fed behaving and controlling the economy like we do. We're talking about the average American, maybe someone with a mortgage, some rental properties, some savings, maybe a 401, K. How do these potential shifts in Fed policy translate into real life consequences and actions for them. Is there anything else?   Doug Casey  40:44   Well, look, don't count on some outside force to kiss everything and make it better. You've got to look out for number one. And as I said before, the way you do that is you should cut back your expenditures every way you can at this point and when you cut back your expenditures, save that money. Now, what do you do with the money that you save? It's not as easy making that recommendation as it was a few years ago, when I was recommending gold, when it was much cheaper than it is. Now it's at $4,000 now look, save money, get an extra job, earn money, cut back your consumption, learn some new skills, because we don't know how things are going to reorient with the immense advances being made through AI and robotics. That's just generalized advice, but that's all you can do, is well and buy real assets. Nothing wrong with buying a house the way you're talking about if you can buy it and the mortgage is cracked with rent. Eventually, I think we're going to see interest rates go back up to the levels that they were in the early 1980s people don't remember this, but the US government was paying 1518, even 20% for its money, and mortgages were, well, 15, 16% it's going to happen again. So I think if you can lock in a mortgage anywhere in here, on a good piece of real estate that covers the mortgage, that's simple, it's doable. Everybody should try to do it. In addition to the other things I mentioned    Keith Weinhold  42:20   in 1981 the 30 year fixed rate mortgage peaked at over 18% to our earlier point about the fact that mortgage rates are actually historically low now so are fed funds rates. Well, Doug, tell us one last time about your new book and then any other resources. If our audience wants to engage with you   Doug Casey  42:40   I do a blog will know who he is. We've had him here on the show twice, yeah, well, he writes there for us every week, and we've got great articles. That's number one. Number two, I do a podcast with Matt Smith every week called Doug Casey's take on youtube.com third, I urge everybody to get this book, which talks about, if you have a grandchild, a son, it talks about why you should not go to college and what you should do exactly instead of going to college. So that's another thing to do. And we have a newsletter that also covers mining stocks, which is where I'm concentrated in at the moment. They're very cheap, very volatile, and one of the few places in the market, and I hate to say this, that offer the potential of 10 to one or more returns in the near future. So I guess those are the areas where you can find out more about me.   Keith Weinhold  43:49   Again, the new book from Doug is called the preparation. It shows a compass on the cover, and then internationalmen.com. Is actually where Doug wrote a piece called The Fed's quiet war against the middle class, which spawned this very conversation right here. Doug, it's been valuable as always. Thanks so much for coming back onto the show.   Doug Casey  44:08   My pleasure. Keith, thank you.   Keith Weinhold  44:16   Yeah, real estate is positioned for price stability. I was actually investing directly in real estate through the 2008 global financial crisis, and I know what happened is that people walked away from properties when the economy got rough and they couldn't make their payments. It is almost impossible for that to happen today. Homeowners can make their payments. Look through Census Bureau data in realtor.com we know a couple things here. Four in 10 homeowners have no mortgage at all. They own the property free and clear. And then among that group with mortgages, 70% of those borrowers still have a mortgage rate locked in at. Under 5% yes, still today I'll amalgamate those for you. This means that 82% of borrowers either have no mortgage or they have a rate under 5% so that is really affordable payments, along with the protective equity and inflation can't touch that principal and interest amount in addition to real estate, Doug Casey is a longtime gold and silver guy. Of course, both of those have sort to fantastic new all time highs this year.    Keith Weinhold  45:34   Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from me and everyone here at GRE. Next week is another big one. You'll get GRE home price appreciation forecast for next year to the exact percent. I'm Keith Weinhold. Don't quit you daydream.   Speaker 3  45:53   Nothing on this show should be considered specific, personal or professional advice. Please consult an appropriate tax, legal, real estate, financial or business professional for individualized advice. Opinions of guests are their own. Information is not guaranteed. All investment strategies have the potential for profit or loss. The host is operating on behalf of get rich Education LLC, exclusively   Keith Weinhold  46:21   The preceding program was brought to you by your home for wealth building, get richeducation.com  

MacVoices Video
MacVoices #25320: Live! - The MacVoices Live! Panel's Holiday Purchases

MacVoices Video

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 22, 2025 36:46


In response to the inevitable shower of deals and special offers on Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and beyond, Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Jeff Gamet, Marty Jencius, Eric Bolden, and Jim Rea share some of their holiday acquisitions and why the made them. The panel also covers “fake” discounts, deal fatigue, and why loyal customers often miss out while still celebrating the fun of finding genuinely useful gear.  MacVoices is supported by The Antigravity A1. Get off the ground like never before with the Antigravity A1. You have to see the results to believe them. Find out everything you need to know to get off the ground with Antigravity A1 — the world's first 8K 360 drone. https://www.antigravity.tech/drone/antigravity-a1/buy?utm_term=macvoices Show Notes: Chapters: [0:00] Black Friday/Cyber Monday kickoff and sponsor message [1:11] Panel introductions and holiday check-in [7:05] Big tech buys: lights, Stream Decks, docks, cameras [9:34] Software deals and productivity tools [12:38] Choosing not to buy—and why that's OK [17:22] Sponsor spotlight and discussion reset [19:05] Stream Deck Plus knobs and workflow ideas [21:27] Discoverability and deal overload [26:26] Ongoing sales vs. true deadlines [28:41] Storage upgrades and hardware bargains [30:57] “Deals that aren't deals” and shopping fatigue [34:46] Loyalty vs. new-customer discounts [35:38] Wrap-up thoughts on value and restraint Links: Elgato Key Light https://amzn.to/4q8e1Lq Elgato Stream Deck XL – Advanced Studio Controller, 32 macro keys https://amzn.to/4rXIjlO Insta360 Link 2 - PTZ 4K Webcam for PC/Mac, 1/2" Sensor, AI Tracking, HDR, AI Noise-Canceling Mic https://amzn.to/4rXZAeA Elgato Stream Deck + https://amzn.to/4qcTV2T Keyboard Maestro Field Guide https://learn.macsparky.com/p/km NASA Apollo Lunar Roving Vehicle https://www.lego.com/en-us/product/nasa-apollo-lunar-roving-vehicle-lrv-42182 Guests: Eric Bolden is into macOS, plants, sci-fi, food, and is a rural internet supporter. You can connect with him on Twitter, by email at embolden@mac.com, on Mastodon at @eabolden@techhub.social, on his blog, Trending At Work, and as co-host on The Vision ProFiles podcast. Brian Flanigan-Arthurs is an educator with a passion for providing results-driven, innovative learning strategies for all students, but particularly those who are at-risk. He is also a tech enthusiast who has a particular affinity for Apple since he first used the Apple IIGS as a student. You can contact Brian on twitter as @brian8944. He also recently opened a Mastodon account at @brian8944@mastodon.cloud. Jeff Gamet is a technology blogger, podcaster, author, and public speaker. Previously, he was The Mac Observer's Managing Editor, and the TextExpander Evangelist for Smile. He has presented at Macworld Expo, RSA Conference, several WordCamp events, along with many other conferences. You can find him on several podcasts such as The Mac Show, The Big Show, MacVoices, Mac OS Ken, This Week in iOS, and more. Jeff is easy to find on social media as @jgamet on Twitter and Instagram, jeffgamet on LinkedIn., @jgamet@mastodon.social on Mastodon, and on his YouTube Channel at YouTube.com/jgamet. David Ginsburg is the host of the weekly podcast In Touch With iOS where he discusses all things iOS, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and related technologies. He is an IT professional supporting Mac, iOS and Windows users. Visit his YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/daveg65 and find and follow him on Twitter @daveg65 and on Mastodon at @daveg65@mastodon.cloud. Dr. Marty Jencius has been an Associate Professor of Counseling at Kent State University since 2000. He has over 120 publications in books, chapters, journal articles, and others, along with 200 podcasts related to counseling, counselor education, and faculty life. His technology interest led him to develop the counseling profession ‘firsts,' including listservs, a web-based peer-reviewed journal, The Journal of Technology in Counseling, teaching and conferencing in virtual worlds as the founder of Counselor Education in Second Life, and podcast founder/producer of CounselorAudioSource.net and ThePodTalk.net. Currently, he produces a podcast about counseling and life questions, the Circular Firing Squad, and digital video interviews with legacies capturing the history of the counseling field. This is also co-host of The Vision ProFiles podcast. Generally, Marty is chasing the newest tech trends, which explains his interest in A.I. for teaching, research, and productivity. Marty is an active presenter and past president of the NorthEast Ohio Apple Corp (NEOAC). Jim Rea built his own computer from scratch in 1975, started programming in 1977, and has been an independent Mac developer continuously since 1984. He is the founder of ProVUE Development, and the author of Panorama X, ProVUE's ultra fast RAM based database software for the macOS platform. He's been a speaker at MacTech, MacWorld Expo and other industry conferences. Follow Jim at provue.com and via @provuejim@techhub.social on Mastodon. Support: Become a MacVoices Patron on Patreon      http://patreon.com/macvoices      Enjoy this episode? Make a one-time donation with PayPal Connect: Web:      http://macvoices.com Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/chuckjoiner      http://www.twitter.com/macvoices Mastodon:      https://mastodon.cloud/@chuckjoiner Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/chuck.joiner MacVoices Page on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/macvoices/ MacVoices Group on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/groups/macvoice LinkedIn:      https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckjoiner/ Instagram:      https://www.instagram.com/chuckjoiner/ Subscribe:      Audio in iTunes      Video in iTunes      Subscribe manually via iTunes or any podcatcher: Audio: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesrss      Video: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesvideorss

MacVoices Audio
MacVoices #25320: Live! - The MacVoices Live! Panel's Holiday Purchases

MacVoices Audio

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 22, 2025 36:47


In response to the inevitable shower of deals and special offers on Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and beyond, Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Jeff Gamet, Marty Jencius, Eric Bolden, and Jim Rea share some of their holiday acquisitions and why the made them. The panel also covers "fake" discounts, deal fatigue, and why loyal customers often miss out while still celebrating the fun of finding genuinely useful gear.  MacVoices is supported by The Antigravity A1. Get off the ground like never before with the Antigravity A1. You have to see the results to believe them. Find out everything you need to know to get off the ground with Antigravity A1 — the world's first 8K 360 drone. https://www.antigravity.tech/drone/antigravity-a1/buy?utm_term=macvoices Show Notes: Chapters: [0:00] Black Friday/Cyber Monday kickoff and sponsor message [1:11] Panel introductions and holiday check-in [7:05] Big tech buys: lights, Stream Decks, docks, cameras [9:34] Software deals and productivity tools [12:38] Choosing not to buy—and why that's OK [17:22] Sponsor spotlight and discussion reset [19:05] Stream Deck Plus knobs and workflow ideas [21:27] Discoverability and deal overload [26:26] Ongoing sales vs. true deadlines [28:41] Storage upgrades and hardware bargains [30:57] "Deals that aren't deals" and shopping fatigue [34:46] Loyalty vs. new-customer discounts [35:38] Wrap-up thoughts on value and restraint Links: Elgato Key Light https://amzn.to/4q8e1Lq Elgato Stream Deck XL – Advanced Studio Controller, 32 macro keys https://amzn.to/4rXIjlO Insta360 Link 2 - PTZ 4K Webcam for PC/Mac, 1/2" Sensor, AI Tracking, HDR, AI Noise-Canceling Mic https://amzn.to/4rXZAeA Elgato Stream Deck + https://amzn.to/4qcTV2T Keyboard Maestro Field Guide https://learn.macsparky.com/p/km NASA Apollo Lunar Roving Vehicle https://www.lego.com/en-us/product/nasa-apollo-lunar-roving-vehicle-lrv-42182 Guests: Eric Bolden is into macOS, plants, sci-fi, food, and is a rural internet supporter. You can connect with him on Twitter, by email at embolden@mac.com, on Mastodon at @eabolden@techhub.social, on his blog, Trending At Work, and as co-host on The Vision ProFiles podcast. Brian Flanigan-Arthurs is an educator with a passion for providing results-driven, innovative learning strategies for all students, but particularly those who are at-risk. He is also a tech enthusiast who has a particular affinity for Apple since he first used the Apple IIGS as a student. You can contact Brian on twitter as @brian8944. He also recently opened a Mastodon account at @brian8944@mastodon.cloud. Jeff Gamet is a technology blogger, podcaster, author, and public speaker. Previously, he was The Mac Observer's Managing Editor, and the TextExpander Evangelist for Smile. He has presented at Macworld Expo, RSA Conference, several WordCamp events, along with many other conferences. You can find him on several podcasts such as The Mac Show, The Big Show, MacVoices, Mac OS Ken, This Week in iOS, and more. Jeff is easy to find on social media as @jgamet on Twitter and Instagram, jeffgamet on LinkedIn., @jgamet@mastodon.social on Mastodon, and on his YouTube Channel at YouTube.com/jgamet. David Ginsburg is the host of the weekly podcast In Touch With iOS where he discusses all things iOS, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and related technologies. He is an IT professional supporting Mac, iOS and Windows users. Visit his YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/daveg65 and find and follow him on Twitter @daveg65 and on Mastodon at @daveg65@mastodon.cloud. Dr. Marty Jencius has been an Associate Professor of Counseling at Kent State University since 2000. He has over 120 publications in books, chapters, journal articles, and others, along with 200 podcasts related to counseling, counselor education, and faculty life. His technology interest led him to develop the counseling profession 'firsts,' including listservs, a web-based peer-reviewed journal, The Journal of Technology in Counseling, teaching and conferencing in virtual worlds as the founder of Counselor Education in Second Life, and podcast founder/producer of CounselorAudioSource.net and ThePodTalk.net. Currently, he produces a podcast about counseling and life questions, the Circular Firing Squad, and digital video interviews with legacies capturing the history of the counseling field. This is also co-host of The Vision ProFiles podcast. Generally, Marty is chasing the newest tech trends, which explains his interest in A.I. for teaching, research, and productivity. Marty is an active presenter and past president of the NorthEast Ohio Apple Corp (NEOAC). Jim Rea built his own computer from scratch in 1975, started programming in 1977, and has been an independent Mac developer continuously since 1984. He is the founder of ProVUE Development, and the author of Panorama X, ProVUE's ultra fast RAM based database software for the macOS platform. He's been a speaker at MacTech, MacWorld Expo and other industry conferences. Follow Jim at provue.com and via @provuejim@techhub.social on Mastodon. Support:      Become a MacVoices Patron on Patreon      http://patreon.com/macvoices      Enjoy this episode? Make a one-time donation with PayPal Connect:      Web:      http://macvoices.com      Twitter:      http://www.twitter.com/chuckjoiner      http://www.twitter.com/macvoices      Mastodon:      https://mastodon.cloud/@chuckjoiner      Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/chuck.joiner      MacVoices Page on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/macvoices/      MacVoices Group on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/groups/macvoice      LinkedIn:      https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckjoiner/      Instagram:      https://www.instagram.com/chuckjoiner/ Subscribe:      Audio in iTunes      Video in iTunes      Subscribe manually via iTunes or any podcatcher:      Audio: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesrss      Video: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesvideorss

Hacking The Afterlife podcast
Hacking the Afterlife Holiday Edition; Jennifer Shaffer, Luana Anders talk to people offstage about the coming year!

Hacking The Afterlife podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 20, 2025 32:44


Welcome to the podcast Hacking the Afterlife. I tend to put information here that gives context to the podcast. In that vein, for those unfamiliar with what we're doing: At what point in time is it okay to ask recently deceased people questions on the flipside? When is too soon? When is it inappropriate?  Some context: as a filmmaker, I've written and or directed 10 feature films, made a number of documentaries about the afterlife, and have spoken at UVA Medical school DOPS regarding how the footage shows consciousness is not confined to the brain. Jennifer Shaffer works with law enforcement agencies nationwide on missing person cases. I've interviewed some of those agents from the FBI, LAPD (NYPD) who work with her on a daily basis. A third of her practice is pro bono work with law enforcement. She also works with a number of people who knew Rob and Michelle, and the families of Kobe Bryant and Steve Jobs have allowed her to mention that she works with them. Ten years ago, I began working with Jennifer - we met for lunch and have been talking since then. The past five years on our podcast. Our moderator on the flipside is Luana Anders - who worked with Rob Reiner in the film THE LAST DETAIL. Luana died in my arms, and began visiting me not long after (back in 1996). It took me until 2004 to investigate how it was possible she could communicate with me - and upon meeting Jennifer I realized I could have conversations with her. And indeed - we've been doing that nonstop for over ten years. Luana was in many films - worked with Marlon Brando, Jack Nicholson and others - and in my case, I worked with Ray Charles in the film LIMIT UP where he plays “God.” The point is that it's “six degrees of separation.” If Luana knows someone, or I worked with someone, it's easier for us to verify those details. I knew Penny Marshall, we did a gig together once, I appeared on Laverne and Shirley once (cutting room floor because Harry Dean Stanton's song went long.) So when this question is asked; “Are you going to be speaking to Rob and Michelle soon?” it comes from the couple of hundred interviews we have on the podcast HACKING THE AFTERLIFE on YouTube. In terms of our podcast, people tend to miss the notion that we aren't in charge of the guest list. Since Jennifer and I have begun to talk to the flipside, it's really up to Luana Anders to decide who is “ready to be interviewed.” In terms of how that works, sometimes I “hear” a voice from someone I knew or know - and when that happens, I'll say to myself “Well, if this person wants to show up for a conversation, they know where to find us.” And then - since Jennifer and I have been doing that for over the past ten years, frequently I'll show up for a meeting with her - and she'll say “so and so is here.” That has happened more often than I can recall. I can report that I heard Robert Kennedy's voice one day saying “I understand you're the person I need to speak with to get a message to my family.” I had the presence of mind to not judge that I heard his distinct voice - and said to him; “Actually I'm not the guy, you need to find Luana.” The next day I went to meet with Jennifer and she said before I could say anything; “Robert Kennedy is here.” The other day during the Frank Gehry interview, I heard his voice (or had the impression of hearing his voice) saying “Yes, I'll be on your podcast.” And not believing that it was actually him and not my imagination, I said to him “Well, we met through Sally Kellerman, so if you do want to speak to us, Sally should show up and I'll know it's you.” And during that podcast, at first Jennifer said “Luana says you have someone” and then said “Hot Lips is here.” (Sally Kellerman's role in the film MASH.) So I knew that Frank was available to converse. In this case, we have spoken to Rob Reiner's ex, Penny whom I was pals with. When she crossed over, we have a conversation with the one and only. We've also interview Garry Marshall, whom I knew when he was still on the planet - so it wasn't hard for us to connect with Penny. Generally - what we've learned recently is that Luana Anders is teaching a class in the flipside in how to communicate with us. The class - is large. We've spoken to quite a few people in the past ten years. So all that being said, I was wondering if we'd be speaking to Rob and his wife Michelle this week. A friend of mine who has done a guided meditation session with me said “I have the feeling you're going to be speaking to Rob Reiner this week.” I said “It may be too soon - but I have to be open to whomever does show up.” In other words - I know how tragic the event is, I know how raw his friends feel - and some of them I know well enough to say that I know they'd be upset to hear that we were inviting him to our podcast. This week - I'm about to post it - he does show up. I ask Luana “Who is here on your guest list” and Jennifer makes a face and says “Rob Reiner.” Then she said “He's just observing. He doesn't want to speak. But he's observing the class.” We've had that before - where people show up to just observe this give and take to see what it is. In the Frank Gehry podcast I asked him if he was ready to converse (He was friends with Luana and I told him at a party that I had scattered some of his old friend's ashes at the Guggenheim in Bilbao) - and we ask him about that on the podcast. The point is - without context it may seem exploitive to converse with someone who is recently passed. I know that some people are offended that we speak to anyone in this fashion - however, as I try to point out, as a filmmaker for the past 40 years, a music critic at Variety, and since Luana was in over 100 films and TV shows - between us we know many folks on the flipside, and she has many of them in her class on how to “communicate with the denser realm.” (Folks onstage). So Rob and Michelle may talk to us in the future. That's up to them. Again - it's not my opinion, theory or belief that people exist after leaving the stage - it's what the footage, data and research show. People can spend their lives believing that life ends, and be completely startled, shocked to realize life goes on. That our manner of passing isn't as relevant as our many of living - and how many people we've affected or cared about. Love is all there is. So it's a cogent question, and the answer is revealed in today's podcast: “Yes, he still exists and No, he's not ready to talk about it yet.” We'll see if he is at a future date. The point of the podcast (and the underlying point of the question) is that “everyone can communicate with people offstage” - our loved ones are not gone, they just aren't here. I'm sorry that bothers some people - but I wouldn't be accurate if I didn't report verbatim what the data, research or footage was showing. Hope this helps someone. For people who want to communicate directly with loved ones, I can recommend Jennifer's help - there's also her "Wine & Spirits" events in Manhattan beach. For those willing to do hypnotherapy, I recommend Scott at LightBetweenLives.com - a way to explore in detail. For those who are familiar with guided meditation, I can help them access their teachers and guides via RichardMartini.com Hope this helps.

Nurturing Financial Freedom
Are 529 Plans Still Worth It?

Nurturing Financial Freedom

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 18, 2025 21:45


In our final episode of Nurturing Financial Freedom for 2025, we take a deep dive into the rapidly evolving world of education and what that means for families planning ahead. College isn't what it used to be, and as we head into 2026, we unpack how demographic shifts, cost pressures, and emerging technologies like AI are reshaping higher education—and what families can do to stay ahead of the curve.Alex explains how college enrollment has been declining steadily since its peak in 2010. While part of that is due to lower birth rates post-2007, we focus on the bigger shift—young people increasingly turning toward trade careers, certifications, and alternative learning paths. Fields like HVAC, welding, and nursing are growing in demand, and students are seeking out stable, well-paying jobs that don't require a four-year degree.For those who do choose college, we're seeing a clear shift in preferred majors. STEM fields like engineering, computer science, and data science are growing, along with healthcare and business, while traditional liberal arts majors are shrinking. Rising costs are a huge part of the conversation, with many families questioning whether a $320,000 undergraduate degree truly delivers a return on investment. This economic pressure has pushed many toward more flexible paths like community college, online programs, or hybrid models that offer practical value without the high price tag.We also examine how universities themselves are evolving—sometimes in the wrong direction. From luxury dorms to reduced tenure-track faculty, schools are spending more to attract students but aren't always investing in what really matters: quality education. Alex shares a personal story from his alma mater, Washington University that perfectly illustrates this disconnect.Next, we turn to the financial side. Ed walks us through how 529 plans remain one of the best tools families can use, even in this uncertain educational landscape. These plans are far more flexible than many realize—they now cover trade schools, certifications, online degrees, and even some K–12 costs. Plus, any leftover funds can be rolled into a Roth IRA, offering tax-free growth and long-term retirement benefits for beneficiaries. The ability to change the plan's beneficiary and the favorable tax treatment make 529s an incredibly versatile, powerful savings option.Even if the future of education is less predictable, we agree the cost will still be significant. That's why saving early and often—while staying flexible—is more important than ever. You can always email Alex and Ed at info@birchrunfinancial.com or give them a call at 484-395-2190.Or visit them on the web at https://www.birchrunfinancial.com/Alex and Ed's Book: Mastering The Money Mind: https://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Money-Mind-Thinking-Personal/dp/1544530536 Any opinions are those of Ed Lambert Alex Cabot, financial advisors, RJFS, and Jon Gay, and not necessarily those of RJFS or Raymond James. The information contained in this report does not purport to be a complete description of the securities, markets, or developments referred to in this material. There is no assurance any of the trends mentioned will continue or forecasts will occur. The information has been obtained from sources considered to be reliable, but Raymond James does not guarantee that the foregoing material is accurate or complete. Any information is not a complete summary or statement of all available data necessary for making an investment decision and does not constitute a recommendation. The examples throughout this material are for illustrative purposes only. Raymond James does not provide tax or legal services. Please discuss these matters with the appropriate professional. Diversification and asset allocation do not ensure a profit or protect against a loss. Past performance is not indicative of future returns. CDs are insured by the FDIC and offer a fixed rate of return, whereas the return and principal value of investment securities fluctuate with changes in market conditions. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index of 500 widely held stocks that is generally considered representative of the U.S. Stock Market. Keep in mind that individuals cannot invest directly in any index, and index performance does not include transaction costs or other fees, which will affect actual investment performance. Individual investor's results will vary. This information is not intended as a solicitation or an offer to buy or sell any security referred to herein. Future investment performance cannot be guaranteed, investment yields will fluctuate with market conditions. International investing involves special risks, including currency fluctuations, differing financial accounting standards, and possible political and economic volatility. There is an inverse relationship between interest rate movements and bond prices. Generally, when interest rates rise, bond prices fall and when interest rates fall, bond prices generally rise. Investing in small cap stocks generally involves greater risks, and therefore, may not be appropriate for every investor. The prices of small company stocks may be subject to more volatility than those of large company stocks. Securities offered through Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. Member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Raymond James Financial Services Advisors, Inc. Birch Run Financial is not a registered broker/dealer and is independent of Raymond James Financial Services. Birch Run Financial is located at 595 E Swedesford Rd, Ste 360, Wayne PA 19087 and can be reached at 484-395-2190. Any rating is not intended to be an endorsement, or any way indicative of the advisors' abilities to provide investment advice or management. This podcast is intended for informational purposes only.Links are being provided for information purposes only. Raymond James is not affiliated with and does not endorse, authorize, or sponsor any of the listed websites or their respective sponsors.Raymond James is not responsible for the content of any website or the collection or use of information regarding any website's users or members. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

ChinesePod - Beginner
Newbie | Tone Change #5 Three third tones

ChinesePod - Beginner

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 17, 2025 9:18


In this series, we tackle the most common question in every newbie's mind: "What's with the tone changes?" Along the way, you'll learn the tone change rules for 不, 一, two third tones, and three third tones. Practice and familiarize yourselves with the sounds, and you'll be a tone master in no time. Generally we do not see tone change rules applied in written texts, i.e. we do not see the change of tone mark reflected in written pinyin. Precisely because of this, tone change rules are confusing and burdensome to beginning learners. To help our users to master tone change rules more quickly, we have deliberately marked the changes so that they are more easily recognized and more discernible to learners. So join us in this newly designed tone change series, and let us know your thoughts! In this episode, we will introduce the tone change rule for consecutive three third tones! Let's get started! Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/4214

Cardionerds
438. Heart Failure: Perioperative Heart Transplant Management with Dr. Dave Kaczorowski and Dr. Jason Katz

Cardionerds

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 16, 2025 33:38


In this episode, the CardioNerds (Dr. Natalie Tapaskar, Dr. Jenna Skowronski, and Dr. Shazli Khan) discuss the process of heart transplantation from the initial donor selection to the time a patient is discharged with Dr. Dave Kaczorowski and Dr. Jason Katz. We dissect a case where we understand criteria for donor selection, the differences between DBD and DCD organ donors, the choice of vasoactive agents in the post-operative period, complications such as cardiac tamponade, and the choice of immunosuppression in the immediate post-operative period. Most importantly, we highlight the importance of multi-disciplinary teams in the care of transplant patients. Audio editing for this episode was performed by CardioNerds Intern, Dr. Julia Marques Fernandes. Enjoy this Circulation 2022 Paths to Discovery article to learn about the CardioNerds story, mission, and values. CardioNerds Heart Success Series PageCardioNerds Episode PageCardioNerds AcademyCardionerds Healy Honor Roll CardioNerds Journal ClubSubscribe to The Heartbeat Newsletter!Check out CardioNerds SWAG!Become a CardioNerds Patron! Pearls When thinking about donor selection, you need to consider how much physiologic stress your recipient can tolerate, and this may guide your selection of “higher risk” or “lower risk” donors.   The use of DCD donors has increased the potential donor pool and shortened waitlist times with very similar perioperative outcomes to DBD transplantation.  Post-operative critical care management rests on a fundamental principle to apply as much inotropic/vasoactive therapy as needed to achieve some reasonable physiologic hemostasis, and then getting “the heck out of the way!” There are no standard regimens as practices vary across centers, but rest on providing adequate RV support, maintaining AV synchrony, and early resuscitation.   The RV is fickle and doesn't take a joke too well. RV dysfunction post-transplant is important to watch for, and it can be transient or require aggressive support. Don't miss assessing for cardiac tamponade which can require surgical evacuation- “where there's space, that space can be filled with fluid.”   Induction immunosuppression post-transplant varies across centers, but some considerations for use may include (1) high sensitization of the patient, (2) high risk immunologic donor-recipient matching, and (3) recipient renal dysfunction to provide a calcineurin inhibitor (CNI) sparing regimen long term.  Management of heart transplant patients is a multi-disciplinary effort that requires coordination amongst heart failure/transplant cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, anesthesiologists, pathology/immunologists and a slew of ancillary services. Without a dynamic and collaborative team, successful cardiac transplantation could not be possible.  Notes Notes: Notes drafted by Dr. Natalie Tapaskar  What are the basic components of donor heart selection? In practicality, it can be a very inexact science, but we use some basic selection criteria such as: (1) size matching (2) ischemic time (3) donor graft function (4) immunologic compatibility (5) age of the potential donor and recipient (6) severity of illness of the recipient (7) regional variation in donor availability When thinking about accepting older donors (>50 years old), we ideally would screen for donor coronary disease and try to keep ischemic times as short as possible. We may accept an older donor for a recipient who is highly sensitized, which leaves a smaller potential donor pool. There is no clear consensus on size matching, but the predicted heart mass is most used. We are generally more comfortable oversizing than under-sizing donor hearts. Serial echocardiography is important in potential donors as initially reduced ejection fractions can improve on repeat testing, and these organs should not be disregarded automatically. For recipients who are more surgically complex, (i.e. multiple prior sternotomies or complex anatomy), it's probably preferable to avoid older donors with some graft dysfunction and favor donors with shorter ischemic times. What is the difference between DBD and DCD? DBD is donation after brain death- these donors meet criteria for brain death. Uniform Determination of Death Act 1980: the death of an individual is The irreversible cessation of circulatory and respiratory functions or The irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain, including those of the brain stem DCD is donation after circulatory death- donation of the heart after confirming that circulatory function has irreversibly ceased. Only donors in category 3 of the Maastricht Classification of DCD donors are considered for DCD donations: anticipated circulatory arrest (planned withdrawal of life-support treatment). DCD hearts can be procured via direct procurement or normothermic regional perfusion (NRP). The basic difference is the way the hearts are assessed, either on an external circuit or in the donor body. For the most complex recipient, DCD may not be utilized at some centers due to concern for higher rates of delayed graft function, but this is center specific and data is still evolving. What are some features surgeons consider when procuring the donor heart? Visual assessment of the donor heart is key in DBD or NRP cases. LV function may be hard to assess, but visually the RV can be inspected. Palpation of the coronary arteries is important to assess any calcifications or abnormalities. Ventricular arrhythmias at the time of procurement may be concerning. Key considerations in the procurement process: (1) Ensuring the heart remains decompressed at all times and doesn't become distended (2) adequate cardioplegia delivery (3) aorta is cross-clamped properly all the way across the vessel (4) avoiding injury to adjacent structures during procurement What hemodynamic parameters should we monitor and what vasoactive agents are used peri-heart transplant? There is no consensus regarding vasoactive agent use post-transplant and practice varies across institutions. Some commonly seen regimens may include: (1) AAI pacing around 110 bpm to support RV function and preserve AV synchrony (2) inotropic agents such as epinephrine and dobutamine to support RV function (3) pulmonary vasodilators such as inhaled nitric oxide to optimize RV afterload Early post-transplant patients tend to have low cardiac filling pressures and require preload monitoring and resuscitation initially. Slow weaning of inotropes as the patient shows signs of stable graft function and hemodynamics. RV dysfunction may manifest as elevated central venous pressure with low cardiac index or hypotension with reducing urine output. Optimize inotropic support, volume status, metabolic status (acidosis and hypoxia), afterload (pulmonary hypertension), and assess for cardiac tamponade. Tamponade requires urgent take-back to the operating room to evacuate material. Refractory RV failure requires mechanical circulatory support, with early consideration of VA-ECMO. Isolated RV MCS may be used in the right clinical context. Why do pericardial effusions/cardiac tamponade happen after transplant? They are not uncommon after transplant and can be due to: Inherent size differences between the donor and recipient (i.e. if the donor heart is much smaller than the recipient's original heart) Bleeding from suture lines and anastomoses, pacing wires, and cannulation sites Depending on the hemodynamic stability of the patient and the location of the effusion, these effusions may require urgent return to the OR for drainage/clot evacuation via reopening the sternotomy, mini thoracotomy, and possible pericardial windows. What are the basics of immunosuppression post-transplant? Induction immunosuppression is variably used and is center-specific. Considerations for using induction therapy may include: (1) high sensitization of the patient (2) younger patients or multiparous women with theoretically more robust immune systems (3) crossing of recipient antibodies with donor antigens (3) renal function to provide a CNI sparing regimen long term Some considerations for avoiding induction may include: (1) older age of the recipient (2) underlying comorbid conditions such as infections or frailty of the recipient What are expected activity restrictions post-transplant? Sternal precautions are important to maintain sternal wire integrity. Generally avoiding lifting >10 pounds in the first 4-12 weeks, no driving usually in the first 4 weeks, monitoring for signs and symptoms of wound infections, and optimizing nutrition and physical activity. Cardiac rehabilitation is incredibly important as soon as feasible. References Kharawala A , Nagraj S , Seo J , et al. Donation after circulatory death heart transplant: current state and future directions. Circ: Heart Failure. 2024;17(7). doi: 10.1161/circheartfailure.124.011678  Copeland H, Knezevic I, Baran DA, et al. Donor heart selection: Evidence-based guidelines for providers. The Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation. 2023;42(1):7-29. doi:10.1016/j.healun.2022.08.030  Moayedifar R, Shudo Y, Kawabori M, et al. Recipient Outcomes With Extended Criteria Donors Using Advanced Heart Preservation: An Analysis of the GUARDIAN-Heart Registry. J Heart Lung Transplant. 2024;43(4):673-680. doi:10.1016/j.healun.2023.12.013  Kharawala A, Nagraj S, Seo J, et al. Donation After Circulatory Death Heart Transplant: Current State and Future Directions. Circ Heart Fail. 2024;17(7):e011678. doi:10.1161/CIRCHEARTFAILURE.124.011678  Copeland H, Hayanga JWA, Neyrinck A, et al. Donor heart and lung procurement: A consensus statement. J Heart Lung Transplant. 2020;39(6):501-517.

R.O.G. Return on Generosity
252. Celebrating Five Years of Generosity

R.O.G. Return on Generosity

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 16, 2025 54:14


“Generosity means that you give of the things that you really can't get back.”   “I was happiest and most fulfilled anytime I was giving or fully engaged with another person.”   “Generally when people hear generosity, they think you're asking them for money. So I specifically wanted to focus on generosity that had nothing to do with money, especially using an ROG.”   Episode summary | In this final episode of the Return on Generosity podcast, hosts Shannon Cassidy and Susan Jin Davis reflect on the journey of the podcast, discussing the importance of generosity in leadership, the insights gained from over 250 episodes, and the impact of generosity on personal and professional growth. They emphasize the need for self-care, the power of listening to diverse voices, and the call to action for listeners to live generously in their own lives.   R.O.G. Takeaway Tips | The importance of being present and listening to others is crucial in leadership. Generosity is often misunderstood and is not just about money. The Return on Generosity concept emphasizes the joy and fulfillment that comes from giving. Leaders set the tone for a culture of generosity within their teams. Listening to diverse voices can amplify underrepresented perspectives. Self-care is a crucial aspect of being able to give generously to others. Generosity can lead to better business results and stronger team dynamics. The podcast has highlighted the importance of mentoring and thoughtful feedback. Gratitude can serve as a gateway to a more generous mindset. The impact of generosity can be profound, changing lives and communities. Living generously can help combat feelings of loneliness and disconnection.    Chapters |  00:00 Farewell to ROG: A Reflective Goodbye 03:04 The Genesis of Generosity: Understanding ROG's Foundation 05:55 Defining Generosity: Beyond Money 08:50 The Impact of Generosity on Leadership and Culture 11:54 Lessons from 250 Episodes: Insights and Reflections 14:38 Diverse Voices: Amplifying Underrepresented Perspectives 17:28 The Transformative Power of Generosity 20:28 Generosity in Today's World: Challenges and Opportunities 23:17 Cultivating an Abundance Mindset: The Path to Generosity 27:44 The Power of Love as an Action 30:18 Generosity and Self-Care: A Holistic Approach 34:12 Leadership Lessons from the Podcast Journey 37:28 Stories of Generosity: Transformative Experiences 40:54 The Impact of Generosity on Listeners 42:39 Reflections on Achievements and Future Aspirations 47:33 Activating Generosity in Personal Life 50:28 A Call to Action: Embracing Generosity   Guest Bio | Shannon Cassidy is the Founder and CEO of Bridge Between, Inc., a Certified Woman-Owned Business celebrating 25 years of helping leaders and teams thrive. A Certified Executive Performance Coach, Keynote Speaker, and High-Performance Team Facilitator, Shannon is an authority on behavioral change and the transformative power of generosity in leadership. As the host of the R.O.G. Return on Generosity podcast, Shannon amplifies the message that generosity isn't just a virtue—it's a competitive advantage. She believes that small, intentional acts of generosity—whether through time, attention, knowledge, or opportunity—can revolutionize workplace culture, drive engagement, and unlock extraordinary business results. Her keynote presentations are designed to equip audiences with actionable wisdom and practical frameworks that make their lives easier, more productive, and more fulfilling. Through compelling storytelling and real-world strategies, Shannon challenges audiences to embrace generosity as a powerful leadership philosophy—one that fosters trust, strengthens collaboration, and accelerates success. With a proven track record of coaching CEOs and senior executives, Shannon helps leaders integrate generosity into their daily practices, empowering them to step up as role models and create environments where teams feel valued, motivated, and inspired to give their best. She is the author of Grounded in Gratitude, V.I.B.E.—an in-depth self-discovery journey—and The 5 Degree Principle, a leadership fable illustrating how small changes lead to extraordinary results. Recognized for her practical, impactful, and authentic approach, Shannon is a sought-after speaker for conferences, leadership summits, and corporate events. Audiences leave her sessions feeling energized, empowered, and equipped to implement strategies that boost their productivity, fulfillment, and overall effectiveness.   Bridge Between Resources: 5 Degree Change Course Free N.D.I. Network Diversity Index  Free Generosity Quiz  Crazy Good Turns Podcast Credits: Guest Host, Susan Jin Davis interviewing R.O.G. Host, Shannon Cassidy, Bridge Between, Inc.

The Leading Voices in Food
Posting calorie counts on menus should be just one strategy of many

The Leading Voices in Food

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 16, 2025 33:30


In this episode of the Leading Voices in Food podcast, Norbert Wilson of Duke University's Sanford School of Public Policy speaks with researchers Jean Adams from the University of Cambridge and Mike Essman from Duke's World Food Policy Center. They discuss the mandatory calorie labeling policy introduced in England in April 2022 for large food-away-from-home outlets. The conversation covers the study recently published in the British Medical Journal, exploring its results, strengths, limitations, and implications within the broader context of food labeling and public health policies. Key findings include a slight overall reduction in calorie content offered by food outlets, driven by the removal of higher-calorie items rather than reformulation. The discussion also touches on the potential impacts on different consumer groups, the challenges of policy enforcement, and how such policies could be improved to more effectively support public health goals. Interview Summary Now everyone knows eating out is just part of life. For many, it's a place to make connections, can be a guilty pleasure, and sometimes it's just an outright necessity for busy folks. But it is also linked to poor dietary quality, weight gain, and even obesity. For policymakers, the challenge is identifying what policy changes can help improve population health. Jean, let's begin with you. Can you tell our listeners about the UK's menu labeling intervention and what change did you hope to see? Jean - Yes, so this was a policy that was actually a really long time in coming and came in and out of favor with a number of different governments. So maybe over the last 10 years we've had various different suggestions to have voluntary and/or mandatory calorie labeling in the out-of-home sector. Eventually in April, 2022, we did have new mandatory regulations that came into a force that required large businesses just in England - so not across the whole of the UK, just in England - if they sold food and non-alcoholic drinks and they had to display the calories per portion of every item that they were selling. And then have alongside that somewhere on their menu, a statement that said that adults need around 2000 calories per day. The policy applied just to large businesses, and the definition of that was that those businesses have 250 or more employees, but the employees didn't all have to be involved in serving food and drinks. This might apply also to a large hotel chain who just have some bars or something in their hotels. And the food and drinks covered were things that were available for immediate consumption. Not prepackaged. And then there was also this proviso to allow high-end restaurants to be changing their menus regularly. So, it was only for things that were on the menu for at least 30 days. You mentioned that this policy or a menu labeling might have at least two potential modes of impacts. There's first this idea that providing calories or any sort of labeling on food can somehow provide information for consumers to make what we might hope would be better choices. Might help them choose lower calorie options or healthier options. And then the second potential impact is that businesses might also use the information to change what sort of foods they're serving. It might be that they didn't realize how many calories were in the foods and they're suddenly embarrassed about it. Or as soon as their customers realize, they start to put a little bit of pressure on, you know, we want something a little bit lower calorie. So, there's this potential mechanism that operates at the demand side of how consumers might make choices. And another one at the supply side of what might be available to consumers. And we knew from previous evaluations of these sorts of interventions that there was some evidence that both could occur. Generally, it seems to be that findings from other places and countries are maybe null to small. So, we were thinking that maybe we might see something similar in England. Thank you for sharing that background. I do have a question about the length of time it took to get this menu labeling law in place. Before we get into the results, do you have a sense of why did it take so long? Was it industry pushback? Was it just change of governments? Do you have a sense of that? Jean - Yes, so I think it's probably a bit of both. To begin with, it was first proposed as a voluntary measure actually by industry. So, we had this kind of big public-private partnership. What can industry do to support health? And that was one of the things they proposed. And then they didn't really do it very well. So, there was this idea that everybody would do it. And in fact, we found maybe only about 20% of outlets did it. And then definitely we have had government churn in the UK over the last five years or so. So, every new prime minister really came in and wanted to have their own obesity policy threw out the last one started over. And every policy needs consulted on with the public and then with industry. And that whole process just kind of got derailed over and over again. Thank you. That is really helpful to understand that development of the policy and why it took time. Industry regulated policy can be a tricky one to actually see the results that we would hope. You've already given us a sort of insight into what you thought the results may be from previous studies - null to relatively small. So, Mike, I want to turn to you. Can you tell us what came out of the data? Mike - Thank you, yes. So, we found a small overall drop in average calories offered per item. That amounts to a total of nine calories per item reduction in our post policy period relative to pre policy. And this is about a 2% reduction. It was statistically significant and we do in public health talk about how small effects can still have big impacts. So, I do want to sort of put that out there, but also recognize that it was a small overall drop in calories. And then what we did is we looked at how different food groups changed, and also how calories changed at different types of restaurants, whether it was fast food, restaurants, sit downs that we call pubs, bars, and inns. And then also other different types of takeaways like cafes and things like that where you might get a coffee or a cappuccino or something like that. What we found was driving the overall reduction in calories was a reduction in higher calorie items. So, as Jean mentioned at the outset, one of the things we were trying to identify in this analysis was whether we saw any evidence of reformulation. And we defined reformulation as whether specific products were reduced in their calories so that the same products were lower calories in the post period. We define that as reformulation. And that would be different from, say, a change in menu offering where you might identify a high calorie item and take it off the menu so that then the overall calories offered goes down on average. We found more evidence for the latter. Higher calorie items were removed. We separated into categories of removed items, items that were present in both periods, and new items added in the post period. There were higher calorie items in the removed group. The items that were present in both periods did not change. The new items were lower calorie items. What this says overall is this average reduction is driven by taking off high calorie items, adding some slightly lower calorie items. But we did not find evidence for reformulation, which is a crucial finding as well. We saw that the largest reductions occurred in burgers, beverages and a rather large mixed group called Mains. So, burgers reduced by 103 calories per item. That's pretty substantial. One of the reasons that's so large is that burgers, particularly if they're offered at a pub and might even come with fries or chips, as they say in the UK. And because they have such a high baseline calorie level, there's more opportunity to reduce. So, whether it's making it slightly smaller patty or reducing the cheese or something like that, that's where we saw larger reductions among the burgers. With beverages, typically, this involved the addition of lower calorie options, which is important if it gives an opportunity for lower calorie selections. And that was the main driver of reduction there. And then also we saw in Mains a reduction of 30 calories per item. A couple of the other things we wanted to identify is whether there was a change in the number of items that were considered over England's recommended calories per meal. The recommended calories per meal is 600 calories or less for lunch and dinner. And we saw no statistical change in that group. So overall, we do see a slight reduction in average calories. But this study did not examine changes in consumer behavior. I do want to just briefly touch on that because this was part of a larger evaluation. Another study that was published using customer surveys that was published in Nature Human Behavior found no change in the average calories purchased or consumed after the policy. This evaluation was looking at both the supply and the demand side changes as a result of this policy. Thanks, Mike and I've got lots of questions to follow up, but I'll try to control myself. The first one I'm interested to understand is you talk about the importance of the really calorie-heavy items being removed and the introduction of newer, lower calorie items. And you said that this is not a study of the demand, but I'm interested to know, do you have a sense that the higher calorie items may not have been high or top sellers. It could be easy for a restaurant to get rid of those. Do you have any sense of, you know, the types of items that were removed and of the consumer demand for those items? Mike - Yes. So, as I mentioned, given that the largest changes were occurring among burgers, we're sort of doing this triangulation attempt to examine all of the different potential impacts we can with the study tools we have. We did not see those changes reflected in consumer purchases. So, I think sticking with the evidence, the best thing we could say is that the most frequently purchased items were not the ones that were being pulled off of menus. I think that would be the closest to the evidence. Now, no study is perfect and we did in that customer survey examine the purchases and consumption of about 3000 individuals before and after the policy. It's relatively large, but certainly not fully comprehensive. But based on what we were able to find, it would seem that those reductions in large calorie items, it's probably fair to say, were sort of marginal choices. So, we see some reduction in calories at the margins. That's why the overall is down, but we don't see at the most commonly sold. I should also mention in response to that, a lot of times when we think about eating out of home, we often think about fast food. We did not see reductions in fast food chains at all, essentially. And so really the largest reductions we found were in what would be considered more sit-down dining establishment. For example, sit-down restaurants or even pubs, bars and ends was one of our other categories. We did see average reductions in those chains. The areas you kind of think about for people grabbing food quickly on the go, we did not see reductions there. And we think some of this is a function of the data itself, which is pubs, bars and inns, because they offer larger plates, there's a little bit more space for them to reduce. And so those are where we saw the reductions. But in what we might typically think is sort of the grab and go type of food, we did not see reductions in those items. And so when we did our customer surveys, we saw that those did not lead to reductions in calories consumed. Ahh, I see this and thank you for this. It sounds like the portfolio adjusted: getting rid of those heavy calorie items, adding more of the lower calorie items that may not have actually changed what consumers actually eat. Because the ones that they typically eat didn't change at all. And I would imagine from what you've said that large global brands may not have made many changes, but more local brands have more flexibility is my assumption of that. So that, that's really helpful to see. As you all looked at the literature, you had the knowledge that previous studies have found relatively small changes. Could you tell us about what this work looks like globally? There are other countries that have tried policy similar to this. What did you learn from those other countries about menu labeling? Jean - Well, I mean, I'm tempted to say that we maybe should have learned that this wasn't the sort of policy that we could expect to make a big change. To me one of the really attractive features of a labeling policy is it kind of reflects back those two mechanisms we've talked about - information and reformulation or changing menus. Because we can talk about it in those two different ways of changing the environment and also helping consumers make better choices, then it can be very attractive across the political landscape. And I suspect that that is one of the things that the UK or England learned. And that's reflected in the fact that it took a little while to get it over the line, but that lots of different governments came back to it. That it's attractive to people thinking about food and thinking about how we can support people to eat better in kind of a range of different ways. I think what we learned, like putting the literature all together, is this sort of policy might have some small effects. It's not going to be the thing that kind of changes the dial on diet related diseases. But that it might well be part of an integrated strategy of many different tools together. I think we can also learn from the literature on labeling in the grocery sector where there's been much more exploration of different types of labeling. Whether colors work, whether black stop signs are more effective. And that leads us to conclusions that these more interpretive labels can lead to bigger impacts and consumer choices than just a number, right? A number is quite difficult to make some sense of. And I think that there are some ways that we could think about optimizing the policy in England before kind of writing it off as not effective. Thank you. I think what you're saying is it worked, but it works maybe in the context of other policies, is that a fair assessment? Jean - Well, I mean, the summary of our findings, Mike's touched on quite a lot of it. We found that there was an increase in outlets adhering to the policy. That went from about 20% offered any labeling to about 80%. So, there were still some places that were not doing what they were expected to do. But there was big changes in actual labeling practice. People also told us that they noticed the labels more and they said that they used them much more than they were previously. Like there was some labeling before. We had some big increases in noticing and using. But it's... we found this no change in calories purchased or calories consumed. Which leads to kind of interesting questions. Okay, so what were they doing with it when they were using it? And maybe some people were using it to help them make lower calorie choices, but other people were trying to optimize calories for money spent? We saw these very small changes in the mean calorie of items available that Mike's described in lots of detail. And then we also did some work kind of exploring with restaurants, people who worked in the restaurant chains and also people responsible for enforcement, kind of exploring their experiences with the policy. And one of the big conclusions from that was that local government were tasked with enforcement, but they weren't provided with any additional resources to make that happen. And for various reasons, it essentially didn't happen. And we've seen that with a number of different policies in the food space in the UK. That there's this kind of presumption of compliance. Most people are doing it all right. We're not doing it a hundred percent and that's probably because it's not being checked and there's no sanction for not following the letter of the law. One of the reasons that local authorities are not doing enforcement, apart from that they don't have resources or additional resources for it, is that they have lots of other things to do in the food space, and they see those things as like higher risk. And so more important to do. One of those things is inspecting for hygiene, making sure that the going out is not poisonous or adulterated or anything like that. And you can absolutely understand that. These things that might cause acute sickness, or even death in the case of allergies, are much more important for them to be keeping an eye on than labeling. One of the other things that emerged through the process of implementation, and during our evaluation, was a big concern from communities with experience of eating disorders around kind of a greater focus on calorie counting. And lots of people recounting their experience that they just find that very difficult to be facing in a space where they're maybe not trying to think about their eating disorder or health. And then they're suddenly confronted with it. And when we've gone back and looked at the literature, there's just not very much literature on the impact of calorie labeling on people with eating disorders. And so we're a little bit uncertain still about whether that is a problem, but it's certainly perceived to be a problem. And lots of people find the policy difficult for that reason because they know someone in their family or one of their friends with an eating disorder. And they're very alert to that potential harm. I think this is a really important point to raise that the law, the menu labeling, could have differential effects on different consumers. I'm not versed in this literature on the triggering effects of seeing menu labeling for people with disordered eating. But then I'm also thinking about a different group of consumers. Consumers who are already struggling with obesity, and whether or not this policy is more effective for those individuals versus folks who are not. In the work that you all did, did you have any sense of are there heterogeneous effects of the labeling? Did different consumers respond differentially to seeing the menu label? Not just, for example, individuals maybe with disordered eating? Mike - In this work, we mostly focused on compliance, customer responses in terms of consumption and purchases, changes in menus, and customers reporting whether or not they increase noticing and using. When we looked at the heterogeneous effects, some of these questions are what led us to propose a new project where we interviewed people and tried to understand their responses to calorie labeling. And there we get a lot of heterogenous groups. In those studies, and this work has not actually been published, but should be in the new year, we found that there's a wide range of different types of responses to the policy. For example, there may be some people who recently started going to the gym and maybe they're trying to actually bulk up. And so, they'll actually choose higher calorie items. Conversely, there may be people who have a fitness routine or a dieting lifestyle that involves calorie tracking. And they might be using an app in order to enter the calories into that. And those people who are interested in calorie counting, they really loved the policy. They really wanted the policy. And it gave them a sense of control over their diet. And they felt comfortable and were really worried that if there was evidence that it wouldn't work, that would be taken away. Then you have a whole different group of people who are living with eating disorders who don't want to interact with those numbers when they are eating out of home. They would rather eat socially and not have to think about those challenges. There's really vast diversity in terms of the responses to the policy. And that does present a challenge. And I think what it also does is cause us just to question what is the intended mechanism of action of this policy? Because when the policy was implemented, there's an idea of a relatively narrow set of effects. If customers don't understand the number of calories that are in their items, you just provide them with the calories that are in those items, they will then make better choices as rational actors. But we know that eating out of home is far more complex. It's social. There are issues related to value for money. So maybe people want to make sure they're purchasing food that hasn't been so reduced in portions that now they don't get the value for money when they eat out. There are all sorts of body image related challenges when people may eat out. We didn't find a lot of evidence of this in our particular sample, but also in some of our consultation with the public in developing the interview, there's concern about judgment from peers when eating out. So, it's a very sensitive topic. Some of the implications of that are we do probably need more communication strategies that can come alongside these policies and sort of explain the intended mechanism impact to the public. We can't expect to simply add numbers to items and then expect that people are going to make the exact choices that are sort of in the best interest of public health. And that sort of brings us on to some potential alternative mechanisms of impact and other modes of labeling, and those sorts of things. Mike, this has been really helpful because you've also hinted at some of the ways that this policy as implemented, could have been improved. And I wonder, do you have any other thoughts to add to how to make a policy like this have a bigger impact. Mike - Absolutely. One of the things that was really helpful when Jean laid out her framing of the policy was there's multiple potential mechanisms of action. One of those is the potential reformulation in menu change. We talked about those results. Another intended mechanism of action is through consumer choice. So, if items have fewer calories on average, then that could reduce ultimately calories consumed. Or if people make choices of lower calorie items, that could also be a way to reduce the overall calories consumed. And I would say this calorie labeling policy, it is a step because the calories were not previously available. People did not know what they were eating. And if you provide that, that fulfills the duty of transparency by businesses. When we spoke to people who worked in enforcement, they did support the policy simply on the basis of transparency because it's important for people to understand what they're consuming. And so that's sort of a generally acceptable principle. However, if we want to actually have stronger population health impact, then we do need to have stronger mechanisms of action. One of the ways that can reduce calories consumed by the consumers, so the sort of demand side, would be some of the interpretive labels. Jean mentioned them earlier. There's now a growing body of evidence of across, particularly in Latin America. I would say some of the strongest evidence began in Chile, but also in Mexico and in other Latin American countries where they've put warning labels on items in order to reduce their consumption. These are typically related to packaged foods is where most of the work has been done. But in order to reduce consumer demand, what it does is rather than expecting people to be sort of doing math problems on the fly, as they go around and make their choices, you're actually just letting them know, well, by the way, this is an item that's very high in calories or saturated fat, or sodium or sugars. Or some combination of those. What that does is you've already helped make that decision for the consumers. You've at least let them know this item has a high level of nutrients of concern. And you can take that away. Conversely, if you have an item that's 487 calories, do you really know what you're going to do with that information? So that's one way to have stronger impact. The other way that that type of policy can have stronger impact is it sets clear thresholds for those warnings. And so, when you have clear thresholds for warnings, you can have a stronger mechanism for reformulation. And what companies may want to do is they may not want to display those warning labels, maybe because it's embarrassing. It makes their candy or whatever the unhealthy food look bad. Sort of an eyesore, which is the point. And what they'll do is they can reformulate those nutrients to lower levels so that they no longer qualify for that regulation. And so there are ways to essentially strengthen both of those mechanisms of action. Whereas when it's simply on the basis of transparency, then what that does is leave all of the decision making and work on the consumer. Mike, this is great because I've worked with colleagues like Gabby Fretes and Sean Cash and others on some menu labeling out of Chile. And we're currently doing some work within the center on food nutrition labels to see how different consumers are responding. There's a lot more work to be done in this space. And, of course, our colleagues at UNC (University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill) have also been doing this work. So, this work is really important because it tells us how it can help consumers make different choices, and how it can affect how companies behave. My final question to the two of you is simply, what would you like policymakers to learn from this study? Or maybe not just this study alone, but this body of work. What should they take away? Jean - Well, I think there's lots of information out there on how to do food labeling well, and we can certainly learn from that. And Mike talks about the work from South America particularly where they're helping people identify the least healthy products. And they're also providing messaging around what you should do with that - like choose a product with fewer of these black symbols. But I think even if labeling is optimized, it's not really going to solve our problem of dietary related diseases. And I think I always want policymakers to know, and I think many of them do understand this, that there is no one magic solution and we need to be thinking about labeling as part of a strategy that addresses marketing in its entirety, right? Companies are using all sorts of strategies to encourage us to buy products. We need to be thinking of all sorts of strategies to support people to buy different products and to eat better. And I think that focuses on things like rebalancing price, supporting people to afford healthier food, focusing advertising and price promotions on healthier products. And I also think we need to be looking even further upstream though, right? That we need to be thinking about the incentives that are driving companies to make and sell less healthy products. Because I don't think that they particularly want to be selling less healthy products or causing lots of illness. It's those products are helping them achieve their aims of creating profit and growth for their shareholders. And I think we need to find creative ways to support companies to experiment with healthier products that either help them simultaneously achieve those demands of profit or growth. Or somehow allow them to step away from those demands either for a short period or for a longer period. I think that that requires us to kind of relook at how we do business in economics in our countries. Mike? Yes, I think that was a really thorough answer by Jean. So, I'll just add a couple points. I think most fundamentally what we need to think about when we're doing policy making to improve diet is we need to always think about are we helping to make the healthier choice the easier choice? And what that means is we're not implementing policies that merely provide information that then require individuals to do the rest of the work. We need to have a food environment that includes healthier options that are easily accessible, but also affordable. That's one thing that's come through in quite a lot of the work we've done. There are a lot of concerns about the high cost of food. If people feel like the healthier choices are also affordable choices, that's one of many ways to support the easier choice. And I really just want to reiterate what Jean said in terms of the economics of unhealthy food. In many ways, these large multinational corporations are from their perspective, doing right by their shareholders by producing a profitable product. Now there are debates on whether or not that's a good thing, of course. There's quite a lot of evidence for the negative health impacts of ultra-processed (UPF) products, and those are getting a lot more attention these days and that's a good thing. What we do need to think about is why is it that UPFs are so widely consumed. In many ways they are optimized to be over consumed. They're optimized to be highly profitable. Because the ingredients that are involved in their production means that they can add a lot of salt, sugar, and fat. And what that does is lead to overconsumption. We need to think about that there's something fundamentally broken about this incentive structure. That is incentivizing businesses to sell unhealthy food products with these food additives that lead to over consumption, obesity, and the associated comorbidities. And if we can start to make a little progress and think creatively about how could we incentivize a different incentive structure. One where actually it would be in a food business's best interest to be much more innovative and bolder and produce healthier products for everyone. That's something that I think we will have to contend with because if we are thinking that we are only going to be able to restrict our way out of this, then that's very difficult. Because people still need to have healthy alternatives, and so we can't merely think about restricting. We also have to think about how do we promote access to healthier foods. This is great insight. I appreciate the phrasing of making the healthy choice the easy choice, and I also heard a version of this making the healthy choice the affordable choice. But it also seems like we need to find ways to make the healthy choice the profitable choice as well. Bios: Jean Adams is a Professor of Dietary Public Health and leads the Population Health Interventions Programme at the University of Cambridge MRC Epidemiology Unit. Adams trained in medicine before completing a PhD on socio-economic inequalities in health. This was followed by an MRC Health of the Population fellowship and an NIHR Career Development Fellowship both exploring influences on health behaviours and socio-economic inequalities in these. During these fellowships Jean was appointed Lecturer, then Senior Lecturer, in Public Health at Newcastle University. Jean moved to Cambridge University to join the MRC Epidemiology Unit and CEDAR in 2014 where she helped establish the Dietary Public Health group. She became Programme Leader in the newly formed Population Health Interventions programme in 2020, and was appointed Professor of Dietary Public Health in 2022. Mike Essman is a Research Scientist at Duke University's World Food Policy Center. His background is in evaluating nutrition and food policies aimed at improving diets and preventing cardiometabolic diseases. His work employs both quantitative and qualitative methods to explore drivers of dietary behavior, particularly ultra-processed food consumption, across diverse environments and countries. Mike earned his PhD in Nutrition Epidemiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where his research focused on evaluating the impacts of a sugary beverage tax in South Africa. He completed MSc degrees in Medical Anthropology and Global Health Science at the University of Oxford through a fellowship. Prior to joining Duke, he conducted research at the MRC Epidemiology Unit at the University of Cambridge, where he evaluated the impacts of calorie labeling policies in England and led a study examining public perceptions of ultra-processed foods.  

The Underground
220: Netflix Wants to Buy Warner Bros and Other News

The Underground

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 16, 2025 51:52


Donate Here - https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=Y6TSU94STL9PUThank You Brendan M. for your $10 donation!All our Links - https://direct.me/theundergroundWhat is our Value for Value System?Value for Value is a listener based business model where you determine the value our content is worth. If you feel you are getting value from our content, please consider becoming a supporter by donating your time, talent, & treasure. Time: meaning any effort you put in to improving or developing our content or sharing it.Talent: meaning any skills you possess that you want to contribute to help us develop our platform (ie., artwork for podcast episodes, branding design, editing, etc). Treasure: pay a one-off amount or a recurring contribution for the value you think our service is worth. Please be sure with any payment you send via PayPal to include a note, so that we can read it on the livestream, if you'd like. Your donations keep our content advertisement free. Thank you.Where do you support us? Click the direct.me link to find our PayPal link for contributions as well as our YouTube, Odysee, TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter links! We appreciate the engagement from all of you! Contribution Amounts:Donors of less than $100 will automatically become Producers of the corresponding episode!Donors of $100 and above will automatically become Associate Executive Producers of the corresponding episode!Donors of $200 and above will receive the Executive Producer credit for that episode!We will list the credits in our show notes as Executive Producer, Associate Executive Producer, & Producer and is a genuine credit we will vouch for. Generally, executive producers are primarily responsible for financing the project. Therefore, this is a legitimate credit for your resume. Please note any amount will remain anonymous upon request.All donors will receive a special mention on the show unless otherwise noted!Special Note: The Value for Value business model originated with Adam Curry & John C. Dvorak of the No Agenda Podcast.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgihPtnBSek

The Boat Galley
Catamaran or Monohull - Which is Better?

The Boat Galley

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 15, 2025 11:02


So, you've decided to buy a cruising boat. Congratulations! Which is the best fit for you? A catamaran or a monohull? Here are some thoughts from someone who has cruised on both. Summary Which is a better cruising vessel, a catamaran or a monhull? After cruising aboard both a 37-foot monohull and later a 34-foot catamaran, I've seen benefits and drawbacks to each. For life aboard, a catamaran is more comfortable. Even a shorter cat will feel larger. Beds are more likely to fit standard sizes, and the space can feel light and airy. However, storage is usually easier on a monohull. They have more built-in storage spaces. In addition, while no boat should be overloaded, catamarans are particularly sensitive to weight. If you fill a cat with too many spares and tools, it will affect performance.  Underway, cats are faster. Without a heavy keel to push through the water, they slip along. However, monohulls tend to point higher when sailing upwind.  A catamaran's shallower draft opens up more anchoring possibilities. With twin engines, it can do some tricky maneuvers. However, with a wider beam and higher windage, close-quarters handling can be challenging.  Monohulls with fin keels are easier to maneuver, while full-keels can be especially fussy backing into a slip.  Catamarans offer tons of space to entertain in the cockpit. But in poor weather, the deeper and more sheltered cockpit of a monohull will feel safer in rough or cold conditions.  Generally, catamarans are easier to board. A monohull with a sugar scoop completes well. But generally, cats are easier.  While the catamaran's two engines offer a backup if one fails, they also require double the maintenance.  Their saildrives provide less drag but also require more maintenance. For people who dislike heeling, a catamaran's stability offers a big selling point. However, the motion is more jerky underway. Different sailors prefer different motions, and you have to experience it to decide for yourself.  With a roomier deck, sail handling tends to be easier on a catamaran. However, the annoying "slapping" sound under the bridge deck can be irritating when the waves hit wrong. It even happens at anchor. Noise can be another difference. Catamarans can have an annoying slap under the bridge deck when waves hit just right. It can happen even at anchor. Don't forget to consider righting ability. A monohull will nearly always right itself. A catamaran, while it's less likely to capsize, will not turn itself back up.  Catamaran costs can be higher because of their width. Consider the difficulties of finding a spot in a marina or getting hauled out. Insurance may be more expensive as well. Extra equipment--davits, windvanes, solar panels-- works better on one or the other. Think about your needs carefully. Finally, catamarans are nearly always more expensive to buy and maintain.  So, which is better — a catamaran or a monohull?  Catamarans offer space, stability, and a shallow draft. A monohull offers simplicity, sailing performance, and a boat that will right itself if the worst happens. They both have benefits. The choice is up to you. To get more details, listen to the full podcast or check out Catamaran or Monohull (https://theboatgalley.com/catamaran-or-monohull-2/). Subscribe to the Boat Galley Newsletter! - https://theboatgalley.com/newsletter-signup-2 Today's episode is sponsored by Roam Devices. Their Marine Monitor is a premium boat monitoring system that allows you to stay informed with what's happening on your boat while you're ashore for just $349 and $5 per month. Never be caught off guard by a failing battery or burnt-out bilge pump —Your boat will text you as soon as anything starts going wrong! The Roam Devices app shows a real-time view of your boat's status and location with an awesome built in remote anchor alarm. RoamDevices.com - never worry about your boat from afar again. Use coupon code BOATGALLEY for an exclusive 5% discount.  Click to see all podcast sponsors, past and present. - https://bit.ly/3idXto7 Music: "Slow Down" by Yvette Craig    

The Underground
219: Frankenstein a Very Late Review

The Underground

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 15, 2025 82:52


Frankenstein (2025) is Netflix's upcoming adaptation of Mary Shelley's classic novel, directed by Guillermo del Toro. In this video, we break down everything currently known about the 2025 Frankenstein movie, including story details, cast, themes, and how this version differs from past adaptations.Guillermo del Toro has described Frankenstein as a deeply personal project, focusing more on tragedy, obsession, and humanity than traditional horror. But with Netflix handling distribution and expectations already high, this adaptation faces serious pressure to stand apart from decades of Frankenstein movies.Donate Here - https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=Y6TSU94STL9PUAll our Links - https://direct.me/theundergroundWhat is our Value for Value System?Value for Value is a listener based business model where you determine the value our content is worth. If you feel you are getting value from our content, please consider becoming a supporter by donating your time, talent, & treasure. Time: meaning any effort you put in to improving or developing our content or sharing it.Talent: meaning any skills you possess that you want to contribute to help us develop our platform (ie., artwork for podcast episodes, branding design, editing, etc). Treasure: pay a one-off amount or a recurring contribution for the value you think our service is worth. Please be sure with any payment you send via PayPal to include a note, so that we can read it on the livestream, if you'd like. Your donations keep our content advertisement free. Thank you.Where do you support us? Click the direct.me link to find our PayPal link for contributions as well as our YouTube, Odysee, TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter links! We appreciate the engagement from all of you! Contribution Amounts:Donors of less than $100 will automatically become Producers of the corresponding episode!Donors of $100 and above will automatically become Associate Executive Producers of the corresponding episode!Donors of $200 and above will receive the Executive Producer credit for that episode!We will list the credits in our show notes as Executive Producer, Associate Executive Producer, & Producer and is a genuine credit we will vouch for. Generally, executive producers are primarily responsible for financing the project. Therefore, this is a legitimate credit for your resume. Please note any amount will remain anonymous upon request.All donors will receive a special mention on the show unless otherwise noted!Special Note: The Value for Value business model originated with Adam Curry & John C. Dvorak of the No Agenda Podcast.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgihPtnBSek

The Underground
218: Lord of The Rings Upsets "Intellectuals"

The Underground

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 14, 2025 43:43


Donate Here - https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=Y6TSU94STL9PUAll our Links - https://direct.me/theundergroundWhat is our Value for Value System?Value for Value is a listener based business model where you determine the value our content is worth. If you feel you are getting value from our content, please consider becoming a supporter by donating your time, talent, & treasure. Time: meaning any effort you put in to improving or developing our content or sharing it.Talent: meaning any skills you possess that you want to contribute to help us develop our platform (ie., artwork for podcast episodes, branding design, editing, etc). Treasure: pay a one-off amount or a recurring contribution for the value you think our service is worth. Please be sure with any payment you send via PayPal to include a note, so that we can read it on the livestream, if you'd like. Your donations keep our content advertisement free. Thank you.Where do you support us? Click the direct.me link to find our PayPal link for contributions as well as our YouTube, Odysee, TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter links! We appreciate the engagement from all of you! Contribution Amounts:Donors of less than $100 will automatically become Producers of the corresponding episode!Donors of $100 and above will automatically become Associate Executive Producers of the corresponding episode!Donors of $200 and above will receive the Executive Producer credit for that episode!We will list the credits in our show notes as Executive Producer, Associate Executive Producer, & Producer and is a genuine credit we will vouch for. Generally, executive producers are primarily responsible for financing the project. Therefore, this is a legitimate credit for your resume. Please note any amount will remain anonymous upon request.All donors will receive a special mention on the show unless otherwise noted!Special Note: The Value for Value business model originated with Adam Curry & John C. Dvorak of the No Agenda Podcast.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgihPtnBSek

Saturday Morning with Jack Tame
Mike Yardley: Delving into Derry~Londonderry

Saturday Morning with Jack Tame

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 13, 2025 9:09 Transcription Available


"Fuelled by popular culture and history's long shadow, Derry~Londonderry is enjoying its moment in the sun. The Walled City in Northern Ireland has stamped its mark on the tourist map, appealing to a broad band of visitors. On my recent swing through the island of Ireland, Derry~Londonderry certainly didn't fail to impress, serving up a heady cocktail of colour, culture, and the echoes of extreme conflict." "The official name of this border town has long been the subject of a naming dispute between Irish nationalists and unionists. Generally, although not always, nationalists favour using the name Derry, and unionists favour Londonderry. On my approach to the city, I noticed most highway signs have had the Londonderry name scratched or painted over. And while I was in the “hyphenated city”, most locals I spoke to resolutely called the city simply Derry." Read Mike's full article. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

ChinesePod - Beginner
Newbie | Tone change series #4 你 (nǐ)

ChinesePod - Beginner

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 12, 2025 6:17


In this series, we tackle the most common question in every newbie's mind: "What's with the tone changes?" Along the way, you'll learn the tone change rules for 不, 一, two third tones, and three third tones. Practice and familiarize yourselves with the sounds, and you'll be a tone master in no time. Generally we do not see tone change rules applied in written texts, i.e. we do not see the change of tone mark reflected in written pinyin. Precisely because of this, tone change rules are confusing and burdensome to beginning learners. To help our users to master tone change rules more quickly, we have deliberately marked the changes so that they are more easily recognized and more discernible to learners. So join us in this newly designed tone change series, and let us know your thoughts! Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/4206

The Milk Check
One Bull in a Barn Full of Bears

The Milk Check

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 11, 2025 23:23


There's milk everywhere: more milk in the U.S., Europe and New Zealand than a year ago, soft Class IV, and Class III futures that could slip into the $13s once you plug in today's spot cheese and whey. With a long milk wave crashing over the dairy industry, will farmers start culling cows and leaving stalls empty? Inside the episode, the team churns through: Why strong balance sheets, paid-down debt and high cow values could delay a production pullback How lower feed costs shift the breakeven – but can't fully offset falling milk checks Why Western and cheese-focused regions like the Pacific Northwest, California and Idaho may struggle first How WPC 80, WPI and clear whey proteins have become the lone bulls – and why capacity constraints limit the industry's response Why there are limits to what customers can pay for whey, and where substitution is already happening It's a barn full of bears on butter, cheese and fluid milk, but the protein complex is still flexing. The question is how long that can last? Tune in to The Milk Check episode 88: One bull in a barn full of bears to hear how our traders are navigating a market that's bearish on volume but still bullish on protein. Got questions? We'd love to hear them. Submit below, and we might answer it on the show. Ask The Milk Check Ted Jacoby III: Welcome, everybody, to The Milk Check. It is December 5th. We’re gonna talk about markets today. And rather than boring you and having the same conversation we had three weeks ago, everything is still bearish. There’s milk everywhere. There’s milk all over the U.S. There’s milk all over Europe. There’s milk all over New Zealand. There’s a whole bunch more milk this year than last year. Things are long. It’s very likely things are gonna get longer before they get shorter. Today we have some of our usual suspects. My brother Gus has joined us today. We’ve got Josh White, we’ve got Joe Maixner, we’ve got Diego Carvallo. And, of course, myself. Looking forward to a great conversation. So, rather than discussing how bearish we can be on these markets, my question, and I’m gonna start by throwing this question at my brother, Gus, is Gus, how long do you think it’s gonna take for dairy farmers to start culling cows and for this milk [00:01:00] production to slow down? Gus Jacoby: I feel like milk price and farm economics are completely contingent on that and how bad those farm economics get with respect to the milk price. Class III is still relatively high. Obviously, Class IV is pretty poor right now. The way I see it, dairymen, at this moment in time, still have fairly strong balance sheets. So, the recent low prices haven’t affected ’em all that much. So, I don’t expect their behavior with respect to culling and whatnot to change. But I think in five, six months from now, assuming that the milk price is at or lower, and quite frankly, I think Class III probably does need to get a bit lower, you’ll start to see some of that behavior change. If I had to guess, either as early as early summer, but as late as maybe mid-fall, if farm economics don’t change, we’ll start to see dairymen begin to leave stalls open. I mean, they’re gonna cull a cow, collect that beef revenue that they can grab, and not necessarily buy the expensive heifer. Ted Jacoby III: You’re thinking it’s gonna take about six months for dairy farmers [00:02:00] to get to the point where they feel like they need to increase the amount of cows they’re selling in order to meet their cashflow needs? Gus Jacoby: That’s my best guess. And again, that can be either expedited or slowed down depending on where the milk price goes. Ted Jacoby III: Corn prices have really come down this year. Do you think the lower feed prices have lowered where that break even point is, or how low we need to go in milk price in order to really send those signals in a strong way? Gus Jacoby: Certainly, feed prices being lower are gonna be helpful to the farm economic model. This becomes a milk price discussion. If the cheese price continues to have that downward pressure and gets low enough, those feed prices won’t be low enough. It’s always related to their inputs. And certainly, cheap feed helps their cause to extend growth in the milk production model. Ted Jacoby III: Right now, on December 5th, the Class III prices for the first quarter are right around, let’s call it $15.50, but if you use today’s cheese price on the spot market at the CME in today’s whey price, you’re probably looking at something closer to $14, 14 and a quarter. [00:03:00] Is that low enough or do we need to go lower? Gus Jacoby: It’s low enough. But not low to expedite anything. Maybe that takes us into the late summer, and remember, it depends on where we’re talking here in the country. Milk production costs are different depending on where you exist in the country. And also payouts are a lot different in a lot of places, depending on where you exist in the country. So, some regions might struggle sooner than later. Ted Jacoby III: Which regions do you think are gonna struggle first? Gus Jacoby: The West, Pacific Northwest, I think California, areas like Idaho that are strongly cheese based. If you’re paying on a Class III price and it stabilizes, which I don’t anticipate here, then perhaps some of those regions might hold on longer. My guess is predicated on the forecast of Class III going a bit lower. Ted Jacoby III: I guess I’d have to agree with that ’cause I don’t think $14 a hundredweight is enough. Because we’re still in front of Christmas, and I think the market’s probably gonna get worse before it gets better. My hunch is we’re gonna see $13 milk this year. We’re gonna see it in Class IV, and we may be already [00:04:00] seeing it in Class IV as soon as December. I think we’re gonna see a 13 handle in Class III, probably most of the first quarter. Gus Jacoby: If you’ve got a Class III at 13, and Class IV holds as low as it is, which I would expect certainly in the first half of the year, and then you have your standard freight and other deducts in those milk checks, dairymen are now getting to an area that is very adverse. Ted Jacoby III: Even though we’re talking about really low prices, I think there’s a lot of dairy farmers out there that are in a pretty healthy place. Gus Jacoby: I would agree. Ted Jacoby III: They’re healthy in two ways. One, I think that many of them have been able to take the last two years and really pay down their debt. And so, they’re in a really good spot financially, just on the balance sheet alone. But the second thing is those cows, they’re worth twice what they were worth three years ago. And so, not only have they paid down their debt, but if they need to borrow more, they’ve got more collateral to borrow against because those cows are usually the collateral for the banks when the banks lend dairy farmers money. It’s [00:05:00] usually the cows and the land. My hunch is that this may go on longer than we expect because of how healthy dairy farmers are financially today. Not saying they’ll be healthy in four or five months, but they’re healthy today. And because of how much bankers are probably willing to lend them based on those balance sheets. Gus Jacoby: I agree that the balance sheets are strong at the moment, even after a couple tough months. But I would also add, that that can change fairly quickly if the milk price gets low enough. And it’s certainly a ratio of farm economics over a certain period of time and milk price. If it gets low enough and makes those farm economics adverse enough, it can expedite the issue, which is a plausible scenario right now. Ted Jacoby III: Mm-hmm. I would agree with that. I think the hardest thing, especially when you have a falling market like we do right now, is to try and figure out exactly where the bottom is. About a month ago, the bottom was about a $1.40. Well, guess what? Cheese price is already below a $1.40 Now, we’re hearing it’s gonna be [00:06:00] somewhere in the $1.20s. What I’m scared is we’re gonna get to the $1.20s, and somebody’s gonna start talking about maybe we need to go into the teens. I don’t know if we’re gonna go that low, but we’re definitely in that scenario right now, where you have a market that’s falling and nobody has a really good feel for where that bottom is. Gus Jacoby: I agree. Cheese and butter right now, their outlook over the next six to eight months does not look good. Ted Jacoby III: Yeah. You mentioned butter. Joe, I’ll ask you: we’re below a $1.50 in butter. Butter feels like maybe it’s caught a temporary floor. Is this a temporary floor or could we stabilize here for the next six months? Joe Maixner: I think we’ve hit a temporary floor, but I don’t think it’s the lowest we’ll see over the next 90 days. I think that cream seems to be in balance, even after Thanksgiving, and I think it’s kept a nice spot in the market where people are willing to buy, those that hadn’t already put contracts on for next year are seeing the 2026 numbers and they’re looking at that against their budgets and blocking volume up for next year. A [00:07:00] lot of first half volume’s already been booked. We’re just seeing more activity. We’ve hit that level of support. Ted Jacoby III: Joe, you mentioned cream. Gus, I’m gonna go back to you. We had some really ugly cream multiples the first half of last year. Have we increased churn capacity, and do we expect those multiples to be just as bad this year or have we increased churn capacity enough so that maybe they won’t quite get so bad? Gus Jacoby: We have increased churn capacity, certainly. I don’t know if it’s enough. Some dairymen around the country are feeding their rations a bit different and getting a little bit less butterfat out of the milk. I don’t think that’s enough, yet, to make too much change. I will anticipate having some very low multiples through the holidays and the spring flush. Ted Jacoby III: Okay. Diego, I’m gonna switch gears and come to you. We just talked about U.S. milk production. Gus thinks it’ll take about six months to turn. I hate to be really pessimistic, but my gut, and I just can’t shake this gut, is it’s gonna take longer than usual this time around. And we may see it go well past nine months before we see a real turn. [00:08:00] We may see the number get better simply because we’re measuring against strength, but that doesn’t mean we actually see a change in trend. What about Europe and some of the other milking regions in the world, is it gonna take that long us to see some changes in milk production in those regions? Diego Carvallo: If you just go to the fundamentals and you analyze that the European farmer usually has a smaller scale, and that means that their costs tend to be a little bit on the higher end. They do not have access to capital as there is in the U.S. There’s more restrictions when it comes to environmental, and overall I would say they have more headwinds than the U.S. So, if you add to all of those headwinds, the price headwind, the reaction on milk production to lower prices should be faster than in the U.S. The same applies to South America. But we’ve talked a lot about Chinese production, we know that in that country, there are way more things to take into account. Ted Jacoby III: [00:09:00] So, we’ve been talking a lot about the supply side today. We’re just overwhelming supply on the butter side; we’re overwhelming demand to a lesser extent, but still on the cheese side. Josh, protein still tends to be the shining star. But are we getting to a point where we’re starting to get some pushback on protein prices? And is that going to continue to be the lone bull in an overall bearish dairy market, or do we need to be concerned there too? Josh White: I don’t think we’re getting pushback at the prices quite yet. Does that mean I think that these prices are palatable over the long term? I’m unsure. But what we are seeing right now is lack of availability and no quick ability by the European market or the U.S. market to scale production to meet the demand, which means that ultimately, the demand for WPC 80 and WPI and then some of the more value-added proteins, particularly in the whey complex, like the clear WPIs, the acidified products and others, the demand is outpacing our ability to supply it. What that’s [00:10:00] doing is forcing utilization segments or customers that can’t compete in terms of price for that available supply to look to alternatives. We’re starting to see more and more of that. As a commodity trader, we expect that to happen quicker than it does. So, already in early 2025, we were looking towards MPCs, casein-related products and others to pick up some of that demand because they’re much lower value. And I don’t think that the average customer in the market that’s using whey proteins fully recognize the functional differences between whey proteins and milk proteins. And they certainly don’t realize that milk protein concentrate has whey protein in it. Generally speaking, the average consumer doesn’t know the difference in these products. That’s not a fault of theirs. Particularly going into CPG applications and further processing, this is an ingredient. An ingredient that has a lot of label recognition and popularity right now for all the reasons we’ve talked about in prior podcasts: GLP-1 driven demand, [00:11:00] health and wellness movements globally, a lot of other reasons. Is that an early indication that enough time has now passed that the relative value of whey protein above the competing, but still quite valuable proteins in the dairy complex, are gonna result in substitution both substitution within the dairy category to whey protein to milk protein concentrates to micellar casein to WPC 70, also known as WPPC, whey protein phospholipid concentrate (WPPC) ProCream. There’s a lot of different names for these products. That’s likely to happen. But it also, unfortunately, might result in a lot of categories pushing to non-dairy proteins. There’s a lot of information out there, things put on by ADPI and others talking about the protein power of dairy and how digestible it is. How high quality it is for your conversion rate, why it’s such a popular thing. But if you can’t get supply, you’re forced to look to alternatives. And so, we’re starting to see some of that [00:12:00] happen. So, a couple things that I’ve heard anecdotally in the market over the past few weeks in particular, but it’s been happening over the last few months are: get us samples of milk protein concentrate. One of our customers is suspending a certain SKU on the shelf because they can’t get the supply. This price simply won’t work for our application. So, we won’t buy this product at above this price. So, we are triggering some thresholds. And triggering thresholds is gonna have some type of balancing result in the industry. Whether that’s enough to support the milk protein side of the equation, I don’t know. We have a limit to the ability to respond to this demand. You have to order equipment, you have to get the bank lending, you’ve gotta get the design. It takes a long time to increase capacity. That’s all gonna come into play and impact this market and the balance of this market in 2026. Now, if you’re asking me, is my gut that we hold these high prices or even higher prices without some reversal in the price [00:13:00] action for whey proteins in 2026? I’m not ready to say that it’s just here or higher in 26, but is it here or higher in the first quarter? Absolutely. Is it here higher in the second quarter, probably. Is it here or higher after that? I become a little bit skeptical. And to be clear, that’s not because the demand isn’t there right now. The demand feels like it’s there. I just don’t know how the market balances it out without pushing the price just too high in the short term for the market to digest it and pass it through. I also think that when you’re talking about the dairymen and you’re talking about the cheese makers, there is two different classes here. There is the class of those that make whey proteins and the class of those that do not. That has a material impact on profitability throughout the supply chain. Additionally, we’ve got a lot of milk in the U.S. We’ve got a lot of milk in the world right now, and the milk in the Northern hemisphere altogether is only gonna increase from here through the first half of [00:14:00] the year. That milk is gonna need to be processed. The incremental milk production will result in incremental whey protein availability, which means that those whey solids from cheese processors they have to find a market. If you can’t make the valuable product of WPC 80 and WPI, you have to explore the other alternatives, which are simply not experiencing the robust demand of those two categories. Sweet whey powder, whey protein concentrate 34% (WPC 34) and some of these other products, they have a limit to what people are willing to pay. History tells us, at least for sweet whey powder, we’re testing those limits. Ted Jacoby III: For sweet whey powder, we are, the question is, is this happening for whey protein? And that’s a harder one to answer. Josh White: Absolutely. Ted Jacoby III: I did some back of the envelope math. As a country, we produce 8% to 9% more milk in May on a daily basis than we do in November. If half of that milk goes into cheese, we’ll produce 8% more cheese and 8% perhaps more whey protein. The solids change, too. So, maybe it’s not a full [00:15:00] 8%, but is 8% enough to tip the scale on whey protein demand? And I don’t know, given the demand complex for whey, I think for cheese it’s gonna feel very burdensome. I think for butter, it would probably feel pretty burdensome. The butter market we’re kind of used to it because of the way the demand curve looks, but I just don’t know when it comes to whey, if that’s enough to put some pressure on this market and bring those prices down. Josh White: Well, it depends on what you’re talking about because you could argue that the WPC and WPI facilities are bringing in outside whey solids. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. As their own milk and their own whey generation increases seasonally, that’s gonna push whey solids back to somebody else. So, all 8% in your hypothesis there, I doubt contributes to an 8% increase in whey protein production. Because the available capacity isn’t there? Josh White: Correct. Now, is there production efficiencies that are still gonna be gained? Are there those out there that are expanding a bit [00:16:00] that we’re unaware of? Are there orders for new equipment in the system that might be closer to realization than we think? All possible. And we can’t ignore Europe. I don’t feel like I can adequately represent what the expansion model looks like in Europe right now for whey proteins. What I can say is that at least for the U.S. and Europe, our internal demand is currently absorbing a greater percentage of our production than ever before, and that’s leaving the rest of the world that was buying product from those two markets, having to search for that protein elsewhere. Ted Jacoby III: Mm-hmm. Josh White: And, this is being a bit over generic, but the rest of the world likely will be more willing to substitute than the U.S. or the European consumer to other products. Ted Jacoby III: I would agree with that. Everybody in our office is just leaning really bearish, just about everybody we talk to seems to be leaning really bearish. Josh White: Outside of Black Swan events: major trade disruptions, major production impacts that we can’t predict. If you’ve [00:17:00] been in the dairy industry long enough, you know to never bet against the dairymen and their ability to make milk. But it’s gotta be on the radar that the competitive dollars for those animals I don’t think has ever been as lucrative as it is right now. And those animals that they’re currently milking are older then typically they want them to be. So, if we shift this cycle quickly enough and violently enough, and that’s price, at what moment do we get surprised at what that residual response is? How many pent up animals find their way to slaughter? How quickly that could happen. And I think generally speaking, most of us would bet that the calf inside the dairy cow right now is worth enough to wait. And so, we’ve gotta get through the first half of the Northern Hemisphere season before we see much of an animal response. Ted Jacoby III: I think that’s a fair comment. Dairy farmers, especially the big financially astute ones, there’s a math equation. It’s like, this is my revenue [00:18:00] from milk. This is my maybe revenue from biofuels or wherever else. They have revenue streams from a cow that’s giving milk every day. This is the cost to maintain that cow. The variable cost feed, for example, being the big one. Well, when you’re getting $20, a hundredweight from your milk versus $13, a hundredweight for your milk. That equation has changed quite a bit, whereas the exit price, what you’re gonna get if you sell the cow hasn’t changed at all, which means your math equation, the exit possibility has definitely gone up. It’s more profitable to sell this cow than it used to be. Josh White: History tells us that the exits of the older dairymen and the smaller dairies doesn’t really change based on economic conditions, it’s relatively stable. Maybe there’s some risk that we have some pent up exits and some risk that it’s never been a better time to retire. Mm-hmm. And you get some smaller dairies that decide to exit. That doesn’t move the needle. Ted Jacoby III: I would suspect. You’re right. We’ll see. Josh White: One [00:19:00] quick remark that’s important is the outlook on demand. It seems like the market is very, very bearish because supply is outpacing demand globally and it’s in every major milk shed. But demand by import regions has been pretty good. Mm-hmm. They’ve been buying year over year, more dairy products. At the same time, I don’t believe there’s any region in the world that’s currently sitting on cumbersome overall dairy stocks, whether that’s from the import regions or the production regions. Everyone seems to be quite aware that you gotta stay in front of this. I don’t know how to interpret that. On one hand, you could say that based on some of the economic outlooks, globally, we shouldn’t be expecting things to get better. We should be expecting them to get at best the same or possibly even worse. On the other side of that equation is import dairy consumption and demand is growing and continues to grow, so it might be a painful period, but the long-term [00:20:00] outlook remains pretty good, and we just overreacted to some of the demand signals that we have. Credit to the dairymen in the world, being able to respond to signals that we needed more fat, not even a year ago. That whey protein demand’s good. I mean, the market has responded, but overall we’re not talking about an oversupply situation because demand’s bad. If you go granularly, like U.S. cheese consumption, doesn’t look real great right now. The outlook for overall economic health, I’m not an expert in that area, but I’m not seeing a lot of people talking about a rosy 12 to 24 months there. So, yeah, I think generally speaking, it’s easy to be bearish, but maybe that’s one thing to pay attention. Ted Jacoby III: You mentioned demand. I happened to be involved in a conversation yesterday with an equities trader and his comment about stock valuations, equities, valuations, which was really a demand comment, was, I’m just waiting to see what Christmas sales do. I think there’s a lot of people out there right now that are trying to get a feel for what’s [00:21:00] the long-term demand or the 2026 demand perspective, and I think a lot of them are gonna judge what it really is based on how this holiday season plays out. All right guys. Hey, thanks for a great conversation. I apologize to all the dairy farmers out there that I couldn’t give you any better news, but hang in there that good news will come eventually. That’s right.

UBM Unleavened Bread Ministries
Ultimate Reconciliation of All - David Eells - UBBS 12.10.2025

UBM Unleavened Bread Ministries

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 11, 2025 136:24


Ultimate Reconciliation of All (1) (audio) David Eells – 12/10/25 I have found that the truth always motivates people to holiness, to turn loose of the world and run after God; but a lie always makes people comfortable where they are, and there are a lot of lies out there. People who like to make up their own gospel turn the grace of God into lasciviousness by choosing to believe that once saved is always saved. That means there's no use in taking any warning from the Lord seriously, since that false doctrine negates the possibility of being lost. These people are not motivated because they erroneously believe their “ticket's been punched.” Today, I'm going to speak to you about a doctrine that's in the church denominations called “ultimate reconciliation of all.” Many Unconditional Eternal Security people find this easy to fall into since in effect you cant be lost. Ultimate Reconciliationists believe there will come a time when the wicked, including the devil and his angels, in some cases, will come out of torment and be reconciled to God. This doctrine did not come from Christians but Unitarians and Universalists who brought it from England to the New England colonies in the 18th century. The fruit of this doctrine is the same as that of unconditional eternal security. If no one can ultimately be lost, why fear God or the warnings of Scripture? It destroys motivation to study and obey the Word of God or evangelize the lost and dying. Like the unconditional eternal security people, many of these will take the mark of the beast and are taking the spiritual mark now. What else would the devil have you believe? I have ministered in several churches that believed this. Generally, the people are very prideful and judgmental of those who do not have their “deep revelation”. They are forced to pick and choose verses in order to justify this doctrine, and it makes them disrespect the Word. I have debated many with this doctrine over the years, some on our live internet chat Bible study a few years ago. When they can't back it up with scriptures, they generally resort to insults. We who believe the Word just don't have “the revelation”. Reconciliationists say the Greek words for forever and ever mean “unto the age of the ages”, meaning when used of those in eternal punishment, it is only for a period of time after which everyone comes out of the lake of fire. They lie. “Unto the age of the ages” is only in one place. (Eph.3:21) unto him [be] the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus unto all generations for ever and ever (unto the age of the ages) Amen. Here it says, “unto all generations unto the age of the ages”, which is only as long as men have children, clearly making it a period of time. In the four Greek manuscripts I have, which range from the oldest to the Received Text, the second-to-last Greek letter of “age” in this verse is an omicron, the 17th letter of the Greek alphabet, which makes this word singular, “Age”. In every other place, the second-to-last letter in the word “ages” is an alpha, the 1st letter of their alphabet, making this word plural, “Ages”. In every other case where “forever and ever” is the translation, “unto the ages of ages” is the literal wording, which has no end. The manuscripts and Bible Numerics prove this to be the case. (Rev.14:11) and the smoke of their torment goeth up for ever and ever (unto the ages of ages); and they have no rest day and night, they that worship the beast and his image, and whoso receiveth the mark of his name. There is no end to the fiery punishment. Many will receive the mark because of this false doctrine. That means that God would die if it were only a period of time. Notice in (Rev.15:7) And one of the four living creatures gave unto the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever. So if they are correct, using the same words, when these people come out of hell, God dies. If it were only a period of time in the following verses, the devil, beast, and false prophet would come out of the lake of fire at the end of that time. (Rev.20:10) And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where are also the beast and the false prophet; and they shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. Even though many Reconciliationists say they do not believe the devil will be saved, according to this doctrine, he has to be. If there is an end to his torment, God will die for the same phrase is used for the longevity of each. They say that “forever,” Greek: “aionios”, meaning “unto the ages”, is for a period of time, but the Kingdom will cease if that is true. We are told forever is without end. (Luk.1:33) and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Vines says this is a Greek Idiom; i.e., an expression whose meaning cannot be derived from the elements of the word. Idioms can always be explained by their usage in the text. If one said, “After he kicked the bucket, I went to the funeral”, you know that “kicked the bucket” means death. It is so with the Greek word for “for ever” or “eternal”. Forever is clearly set apart from a period of time in this verse: (Phm.15) For perhaps he was therefore parted [from thee] for a season, that thou shouldest have him for ever. Clearly “for ever” is far more than a period of time. They also say eternal, which is the same Greek word, “aionios”, meaning “unto the ages”, and has no end. (Joh.10:28) and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand. Clearly the elect only are eternal and eternal is clearly set apart from a period of time in this verse: (2 Cor.4:18) while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal (temporary or for a season); but the things which are not seen are eternal. If eternal is only a period of time, then at the end of that period, the wicked come out of hell and God and the righteous die. (Mat.25:46) And these shall go away into eternal punishment: but the righteous into eternal life. If “eternal” is only a period of time, then, according to this doctrine, God, the Holy Spirit, the Kingdom of God, the new body, etc., would come to an end; but God is also immortal, i.e., deathless (1 Timothy 6:16); the Holy Spirit is eternal (Hebrews 9:14); the Kingdom is eternal (2 Peter 1:11); and the new body, which is also immortal, i.e., deathless, is eternal (1 Cor­inthians 15:52,53; 2 Corinthians 5:1). Here is the clincher: Those who do not have eternal life will “not see life”. (Joh.3:36) He that believeth on the Son hath eternal life (Greek: aionios; “unto the ages”); but he that obeyeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. We can't twist those words. “Not see life” clearly means never. Those who have eternal sin “never” get forgiveness. (Mar.3:29) but whosoever shall blaspheme against the Holy Spirit hath never forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin. Once again, we can't twist those words. Reconciliationists use the following verse to claim that “eternal” has an end. (Rom.16:25) Now to him that is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which hath been kept in silence through times eternal, (26) but now is manifested, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God. There is no end of eternity, just as God here is eternal, but there are points in eternity when things are manifested like the revelation of Christ here. From our point of view, eternity goes into the past and into the future. Something may be eternally future without being eternally past. For instance, we have eternal life because we entered into eternity. The spiritual man in Jesus is eternal for he came out of God. His flesh had a beginning for He was sown of God and born of Mary.  And even before that He was “the beginning of the creation of God” and “the first-born of all creation”. This was a point in eternity. When other terminology is used in the Word as we have seen, the Ultimate Reconciliationists are at a loss. (Isa.66:24) And they shall go forth, and look upon the dead bodies of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh. Clearly the wicked souls do not die for they are in eternal fire. (Job.5:6) How much less man, that is a worm! And the son of man, that is a worm! Which will not come out of fire. (Mar.9:47) ... it is good for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell; (48) where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. Notice that using different words they will always be in fire. (Psa.49:19) He shall go to the generation of his fathers; They shall never see the light. Again using other words they will never see the light of truth. They also say, “everlasting” is a period of time, but as we can see, it has no end! (Jer.20:11) But Jehovah is with me as a mighty one [and] a terrible: therefore my persecutors shall stumble, and they shall not prevail; they shall be utterly put to shame, because they have not dealt wisely, even with an everlasting dishonor which shall never be forgotten. Everlasting here is clearly eternal. When I was younger, “Ultimate Reconciliation” was often called the “Restoration of All Things,” taken from the KJV. (Acts 3:21) whom the heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things (Things is not in the original Greek.), whereof God spake by the mouth of His holy prophets that have been. Restoration here is “apokatastasis,” meaning “back in order”. Only God's people can go back to order because the rest never had order. Notice that when the Lord returns after the Tribulation, the “restoration of all” of His elect is completed. At that time, He is not restoring the wicked but destroying them. (Rev.19:15) And out of his mouth proceedeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of God, the Almighty. Even a thousand years later, when all the wicked are resurrected at the Great White Throne judgment, they are taken from hell and thrown in the lake of fire (Revelation 20:7-15). That makes it clear that “all” is all of the elect, not all people, as even the Jews understood. To the Jews, “all” meant all of the elect. It is the same today. All of the elect, but without racial distinction, classes or conditions of people, rather than just physical Jews. All Israel is all elect Jews and Gentiles who are grafted into the olive tree (Romans 11:19-24,26), not those who are broken off. Compare the “all” in Mark 1:5 and Luke 7:29-30, where “all” is clearly the elect. The “all” whom the Father gives to Jesus are the elect in John 17:6,9 and in John 6:37,45. We see the same thing when we look at John 8:2, Acts 22:15, 2 Corinthians 3:2 and 1 Corinthians 15:22. Compare Romans 12:3 and 2 Thessalonians 3:2. Read 1 Timothy 2:6, Colossians 3:11 and Matthew 20:28. Jesus came to save only all of His own (Isaiah 53:8,11; Luke 1:68,77; Romans 9:21). God is not wishing that any of His people perish (2 Peter 3:9). (Rom.9:11) For [the children] being not yet born, neither having done anything good or bad, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth, (12) it was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. (13) Even as it is written, Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated. Reconciliationists say that God unconditionally loves the whole world and could not fail to save it. They like to use this verse as proof. (Joh.3:16) For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life. Yet, God clearly specifies what part of the world He loves here as “whosoever believeth”. Jesus disagreed with their interpretation of this verse. (Joh.14:21) He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself unto him. (22) Judas (not Iscariot) saith unto him, Lord, what is come to pass that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? (23) Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my word: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. (Joh.15:10) If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. (15:14) Ye are my friends, if ye do the things which I command you. Here's even more proof from the Word: (Rom.9:13) Even as it is written, Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated. (Psa.5:5) The arrogant shall not stand in thy sight: Thou hatest all workers of iniquity. (Psa.11:5) Jehovah trieth the righteous; But the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth. (Pro.6:16-19) There are six things which Jehovah hateth; Yea, seven which are an abomination unto him: (17) Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood; (18) A heart that deviseth wicked purposes, Feet that are swift in running to mischief, (19) A false witness that uttereth lies, And he that soweth discord among brethren. (Pro.8:17) I love them that love me; And those that seek me diligently shall find me. (Hos.9:15) All their wickedness is in Gilgal; for there I hated them: because of the wickedness of their doings I will drive them out of my house; I will love them no more; all their princes are revolters. Friends, we cannot make God's love a worldly love. God would not be love if He permitted the wicked into His Kingdom to leaven the whole lump. God does not dwell in time and can, therefore, love by faith the elect whom He foreknew and foreordained. (Rom.9:11) for [the children] being not yet born, neither having done anything good or bad, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth, (12) it was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. (13) Even as it is written, Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated. (Psa. 11:5) Jehovah trieth the righteous; But the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth. God's people who live in sin will prove themselves called but not chosen, and He will love them no more. (Hos.9:15) All their wickedness is in Gilgal; for there I hated them: because of the wickedness of their doings I will drive them out of my house; I will love them no more; all their princes are revolters. This is not traditional, but I hope I've made it clear. (1 Cor.15:22) For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. Ultimate reconciliationists use this verse to say that those in Adam, the whole natural man creation, and those in Christ, the whole spiritual man creation, are the same people, so therefore God will save all. However, the next verse narrows those “in Christ” to those who are His at His coming. (23) But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; then they that are Christ's, at his coming. As most know, when Jesus comes, He will eternally destroy the wicked who were obviously not in Him. (2 Thes.1:7) and to you that are afflicted rest with us, at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with the angels of his power in flaming fire, (8) rendering vengeance to them that know not God, and to them that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus: (9) who shall suffer punishment, [even] eternal destruction from the face of the Lord....   PREDESTINED AND CHOSEN Let us see who the full measure of those in Christ are, and also if God ever planned to reconcile all of Adam's seed. “Predestine” means “to determine destiny before it happens”. “Foreordain”, which is the same Greek word, means “to ordain an event before it takes place”. (Eph.1:4) even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blemish before him in love: (5) having foreordained us unto adoption as sons through Jesus Christ unto himself, according to the good pleasure of his will. You who are manifesting sonship by bearing fruit have been chosen and are being drawn by God. (Rom.8:29) For whom he foreknew, he also foreordained (predestined) [to be] conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. God foreknew and decreed all who come to the likeness of Jesus, but not the apostate. “Foreknew” here does not mean that He looked into the future and saw what we would be. “Foreknew” here means “to know before” and is not connected with actions or events, but persons. God knew these people before the foundation of the world because He does not dwell in time. God conceives and knows what He creates before He speaks it into existence, just as we conceive and design something first in our mind before we make it. “Knew” speaks of intimate knowledge; for instance, Adam knew Eve. Jesus will say to those who called Him Lord but do not do the will of the Father, (Mat.7:23) “And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you (I.e.,from the foundation of the world): depart from me, ye that work iniquity”. To the foolish virgins who had not the oil of the Spirit, Jesus said, “I know you not”. The ones that God intimately knew He “foreordained” before the creation to be conformed to the image of Jesus. God is creating us through His gift of faith and grace and His Word in us. These are the people on the narrow road. This is grace. (Rom.8:30) and whom he foreordained, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. We see here that all who are foreordained will be called, justified, and glorified. They will not fall away but will bear the fruit of Christ. Are there others who are called but not foreordained? Let us see. (2 Tim.1:9) who saved us, and called us with a holy calling … Notice that only the saved are called. “Called” is from the Greek word “kaleo”, which means “to invite”. “Called” is an invitation given only to God's people (for more proof, read Hebrews 3:1; Hosea 11:1; 1 Timothy 6:11,12; Matthew 25:14; Romans 1:6,7) to partake of His heavenly benefits in Christ in order to bear fruit. Those who bear fruit 30-, 60-, or 100-fold will be proven to be the chosen, or picked. Naturally, if at harvest time you have no fruit, rotten fruit, or unripe fruit, you will not be picked. The called are the vineyard of God (Isaiah 5:7). The chosen are the much smaller percentage who bear fruit (verse 10). (Mat.22:14) For many are called, but few chosen (Greek: eklektos; “elect”). The “called” can fall, but the elect or chosen will not ultimately. (Hos.11:1) When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt. (2) The more [the prophets] called them, the more they went from them .... The Lord saved those who ate the lamb and were baptized in the Red Sea. He then tried them in the wilderness to see who would be a believer in the midst of trials, and only those entered the Promised Land. Jude warned the called of this very thing. (Jud.1) Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are called ... (5) Now I desire to put you in remembrance, though ye know all things once for all, that the Lord, having saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not. Notice that the called were saved, but some did not continue in faith to bear fruit and were destroyed. Friends, God is not looking for what we loosely call “Christians”, but believers or disciples, as they were called. Jesus gave us very clear examples of His servants who are called but do not come and partake in order to bear fruit. Jesus shared a parable in which a king made a marriage feast for His son. (Mat.22:3) … and sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden (Greek: “called”) to the marriage feast: and they would not come. They were full of excuses (a farm, merchandise, a new wife, etc.). (Mat.22:8) Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they that were bidden were not worthy. Even one who appeared to come did not have on a wedding garment, which implies putting on Christ (Romans 13:14) or putting on righteous acts (Revelation 19:8). (Mat.22:13) Then the king said to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and cast him out into the outer darkness; there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. (14) For many are called, but few chosen. A few of the called are chosen or elect because they bear fruit. (Mat.25:14) For [it is] as [when] a man, going into another country, called his own servants (Greek: “bondservants”), and delivered unto them his goods. (15) And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one; to each according to his several ability; and he went on his journey. Obviously, the man who went away was the Lord, and His bondservants are His people. Two of these example servants brought forth fruit of the talent given them (Matthew 25:20-22), but one buried his in the earth (used his talent for the earthly, Matthew 25:24,25). When our Lord returns, He will say, “And cast ye out the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth” (Mat.25:30). The apostle Paul, who said of himself that he was called in Galatians 1:6, also said, “But I buffet my body, and bring it into bondage: lest by any means, after that I have preached to others, I myself should be rejected” (That's the Greek word for “reprobated”) (1 Cor.9:27). There is much more proof that the saved and the called can fall. Some good examples are 2 Peter 1:9-11; 1 Timothy 6:11,12; Hebrews 3:1,6,12,14, and Romans 11:1-7,19-23. Friend, you probably know if you are called, but are you chosen? You must be diligent in your walk of faith to prove this with fruit. (2Pe.1:10) Wherefore, brethren, give the more diligence to make your calling and election (“choosing”) sure: for if ye do these things (the attributes of Christ listed in verses 5-7), ye shall never stumble: (11) for thus shall be richly supplied unto you the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. God, at the cross, has already given us everything that we need to bear fruit through faith. (3) Seeing that his divine power hath granted unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that called us by his own glory and virtue; (4) whereby he hath granted unto us his precious and exceeding great promises; that through these ye may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world by lust. Faith in the promises through the midst of trials will give us the fruit. The called have the power and the opportunity. The called and the chosen, or foreordained, use the power by faith and take the opportunity. The only ones who will ultimately be with the Lord are identified in this verse. (Rev.17:14) These shall war against the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings; and they [also shall overcome] that are with him, called and chosen and faithful. Notice that the called who are chosen will be faithful. I did not make these verses up; they are the Word of God. Those who have eyes and ears will see and understand, but the rest will justify their religion and ignore the Scriptures. Before time and the future, God sovereignly spoke the end from the beginning, bringing these things into existence in time. Some would argue, “How could God make a promise to all of His called and then not keep it for those who do not bear fruit?” The answer is that every promise in the Bible is useless until someone walks by faith in it. Our part of the covenant is faith; God's part is power and salvation. We can break the covenant through unbelief. (Num.14:11) And the Lord said unto Moses, How long will this people despise me? and how long will they not believe in me, for all the signs which I have wrought among them? (12) I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of thee a nation greater and mightier than they. Notice that God is saying this to His own people who did not believe that He would disinherit them. Lest any believe that God cannot make a promise and then take it back when they do not walk in faith, pay attention to this: (Num.14:23) surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that despised me see it. (30) surely ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware that I would make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun. (34) and ye shall know my alienation (Hebrew: “revoking of my promise”). Unless we mix faith with God's promises, they are void. (Heb.4:2) For indeed we have had good tidings preached unto us, even as also they (God's people): but the word of hearing did not profit them, because it was not united by faith with them that heard. Many Israelites walked in sin and were disinherited and blotted out of God's book. (Exo.32:33) And the Lord said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book. The same is true of the Christians who do not overcome sin. Notice what the Lord said to the church. (Rev.3:5) He that overcometh shall thus be arrayed in white garments; and I will in no wise blot his name out of the book of life... They will be rejected from the body of Christ. (Rev.3:16) So because thou art lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spew thee out of my mouth. Many of God's people, Israel, were broken off because of unbelief, and Christians who were grafted in but do not walk by faith will be too. (Rom.11:20) Well; by their unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by thy faith. Be not highminded, but fear: (21) for if God spared not the natural branches, neither will he spare thee. (22) Behold then the goodness and severity of God: toward them that fell, severity; but toward thee, God's goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. Those who are still grafted in at the end are called “all Israel”… (26) and so all Israel shall be saved... Those who are still in the Book of Life, still grafted in, are the elect (Greek: “chosen”). (Rom.11:2) God did not cast off his people, which he foreknew ... (5) Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election (Greek: “chosen”) of grace. A remnant is the ones who are left. Notice that they are foreknown and chosen. Sovereign God will have those who are truly His. Abiding in Christ is where salvation is. Some say God gave us the gift of eternal life so He cannot take it back. In Galatians 3:16, we are told, “To Abraham were the promises spoken, and to his seed. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many, but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ”. So the promises were given to Christ, not to us individually. The only way the promises are ours is if we abide in Christ. Abiding in Christ is bearing fruit (John 15:1-6), walking as he walked (1 John 2:3-6), believing the same teachings given by Jesus and the apostles (1 John 2:24; Jude 3; Matthew 28:20), not adding or subtracting from the Word (Revelation 22:18,19), not walking in sin (1 John 3:5,6), and keeping his commandments (1 John 3:24). In Christ is the only place we can claim the gift of eternal life. (1Jn.5:11) ... God gave unto us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. God does not have to take His gift back; His people walk out of it. (1 Cor.6:18) ... Every sin that a man doeth is without the body ... When you walk in willful sin, you are not abiding in His body, for in him is no sin (1Jn.3:5). (6) Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not … For instance, fornication, whether spiritual or physical, takes away the members of Christ and makes them members of a harlot (1 Corinthians 6:15,18). Only Christ and those abiding in Him are chosen. (Eph. 1:4) Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world... Only Christ and those abiding in Him are going to heaven. (Joh.3:13) And no one hath ascended into heaven, but he that descended out of heaven... Jesus Christ is the Manna from heaven, the Word, Who takes up residence in those who love Him; this is the fruit that God is coming to choose. By this time, I am sure some are thinking that they do not measure up. We must first abide in Christ by faith accepting the gospel report that “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ living in me: and that [life] which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, [the faith] which is in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me” (Gal.2:20). Those who walk by faith that they are dead to sin and Christ now lives in them are accounted as righteous until God uses that faith to manifest righteousness in them. (Gal.3:6) Even as Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness. Amen. Next, I'd like to share with you a couple of testimonies from our website of people who received the revelation of the error in their thinking concerning their own salvation.   Coming Judgment on the Lukewarm Sandy - 01/15/2014 I had a dream that thousands of demons entered my bedroom, then jumped on me while I was in bed, devouring my flesh. I was totally paralyzed. I repeatedly shouted out, “You must flee, in the name of Jesus!” These demons continued to attack me. There was total darkness -- no Jesus. It was HORRIFYING. I felt as though I was in the pits of hell, and this is where my soul is going if I don't change my ways. Then I was whisked away, and I was standing in front of a large cross. From the center of the cross, a bright light was shining. I heard the Lord say to me, “Come to the cross. I did not hear or respond to your cries because you are not abiding in Me. Horrific evil is here, and more is coming, and if you do not abide in Me, you will be devoured. I will not hear nor respond to your cries, if you do not abide in me, and you will not be able to fight off this evil in your own strength”.  Then I was whisked back to my bed, where the demons were devouring me again. I was once again paralyzed. I breathed on them, saying, “Jesus”, and they eventually all fled. I woke up with tears streaming down my face, crying out to the Lord. Now, here is what is so IRONIC: I considered myself to be a born-again, saved Christian! Over the past few years, I've started to walk in the ways of the world, thinking it is okay because ‘I know the Lord loves me; I am a good person and I am saved.' How many other Christians are thinking in the same way? How many other Christians are not truly saved? I turned away from Jesus in my walk. It was a slow and subtle turning away, convincing myself all along the way that I can walk my walk, give the Lord ‘courtesy prayer' and everything will be okay. I WAS SO WRONG.  Thank You, LORD, for Your warning, as horrifying as it was. Thank You, LORD, for giving me another chance to make You Lord of my life.   My Salvation and Deliverance from Satanic Music James Austin - 07/08/2008 When I was a child and up to the age of 15, I had gone to some Baptist and Methodist churches off and on. I had even been what I believed at the time to be saved and baptized. I never really placed importance in my salvation as most Christians at the time. I was scared about hell, so I thought if I got saved, then I would go to heaven and still do whatever I wanted. When I was about 16, I cared only about the world and gave God no attention at all. I was associating with people who weren't Christian and listening to music that wasn't Godly. I began to stop believing that there was a God and didn't care if He even existed. A year and a half ago, I was up late one night and I had nothing to do and I started thinking about life and the world and I felt a sudden loneliness and sadness, and I looked up and said, “God, if You are real and Your Word is true, then help me; I want to know the truth.” I don't think it was even two weeks and God led a brother I work with by the name of Nehemiah to me to inquire about carpooling with me. By this time, I had forgotten about what I had asked God. I was still listening to satanic music and living very worldly. The first week he rode with me to work, I didn't play any music because I began to feel ashamed and did not want people to know which music I listened to. At this time, I didn't know Nehemiah was a Christian. A few weeks later, someone else with whom we were carpooling informed me that Nehemiah was a Christian. Then I really felt low and inadequate to be around him. One day, I was looking at some space nebula and stuff, and I saw what looked like Jesus' face in one of these objects in space. Then I started thinking about God even more. I asked Nehemiah one day about it, and we began talking, and he told me some things the Bible spoke of. Then, after about two weeks of talking and debating with him, he led me to your website, and I started reading and listening to some of your stuff and became very fearful of where I was headed. That morning when I got home from work, I cried to God to forgive me and save me. I confessed to so many evil things I had done and wept, and then felt a peace come over me. I have been reading and listening to your programs and teachings ever since, and I feel the Holy Spirit every time I do. God began to work in me, and I bought your “Sovereign God” book and an ASV Bible. Now I have the New Testament on audio, and I only have the desire to listen to music that glorifies God, and I listen and read the Word of God. I have lost the desire to watch all TV programs because I can now see the sinful nature of TV and how TV glorifies sin. I believe God has saved me and He also healed me from plantar fasciitis (a painful tendon injury) by faith alone. Glory to God! God Bless you, brothers and sisters. I don't listen to evil music, and I feel better inside. God has really changed me. Thank you! I had sent an email about my wife a while ago, but I couldn't remember if I had ever given my testimony to you. My wife is still an unbeliever, but I continue to pray for her salvation. I believe that one day God, in some way, will also save her.

MacVoices Video
MacVoices #25309: Live! - Age Verification, A New Predictive Market, and Another Data Breach

MacVoices Video

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 10, 2025 37:23


The MacVoices Live! panel touches on Microsoft's warning about a risky experimental AI agent in Windows, raising concerns about big tech pushing features before security is understood. Chuck Joiner, Marty Jencius, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Eric Bolden, Jim Rea, Web Bixby, and David Ginsburg debate age-verification proposals from Roblox and Pornhub, explore Coinbase's new prediction market, and react to a massive WhatsApp data breach affecting billions of phone numbers.  MacVoices is supported by Incogni. Take your personal data back with Incogni! Get 60% off an annual plan at incogni.com/CHUCK and use code CHUCK at checkout..http://incogni.com/CHUCK Show Notes: Chapters: [0:00] Opening, sponsor mention, and setup for AI security discussion[0:23] Microsoft warns experimental Windows AI agent may expose user data[1:52] Enterprise perspective: why companies won't enable risky AI features[3:29] The broader question: why tech firms ship features before securing them[3:46] Roblox proposes selfie-based age verification[4:49] Pornhub urges device-level age verification by Apple/Google[6:14] State-by-state regulation pressures adult platforms[7:33] Concerns about third-party apps storing user photos and IDs[9:32] The burden of age verification and whether platforms should hold it[11:10] Regulatory inconsistencies, digital IDs, and privacy trade-offs[17:36] Coinbase launches Kaushy-powered prediction market[18:41] Risks of betting platforms built on crypto or “play money”[20:35] Similarities to opaque financial instruments and fairness concerns[21:54] Recommended podcast episodes on betting markets manipulation[24:17] WhatsApp data breach exposes 3.5B phone numbers[26:03] Why WhatsApp's identity model makes leaks so damaging[27:17] Meta's years-long failure to address systemic vulnerabilities[28:22] International reliance on WhatsApp and global impact of breach[29:58] Closing roundtable, Thanksgiving plans, and contact info Links: Critics scoff after Microsoft warns AI feature can infect machines and pilfer datahttps://arstechnica.com/security/2025/11/critics-scoff-after-microsoft-warns-ai-feature-can-infect-machines-and-pilfer-data/ Roblox demands an AI-verified selfie to prevent kids from chatting to adultshttps://www.fastcompany.com/91445273/roblox-age-verification-ai-lawsuit Pornhub Is Urging Tech Giants to Enact Device-Based Age Verificationhttps://www.wired.com/story/pornhub-is-urging-tech-giants-to-enact-device-based-age-verification/ Coinbase said to launch Kalshi-powered prediction markethttps://seekingalpha.com/news/4524123-coinbase-said-to-launch-kalshi-powered-prediction-market Against The Rules podcasthttps://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/against-the-rules * Episode 4: “A Hard Way to Make an Easy Living” — explores how sports betting worked before legalization, the betting sharps, and differences between old-school versus online gambling.   * Episode 7: “Little Big Short” — discusses restrictions on online sportsbooks (for example in California), featuring perspectives from pastors, Native Americans, and short-sellers.   * Episode 8: “The Integrity Landscape” — covers how betting based on inside information hasn't gone away, and the problems this raises for athletes — especially in college sports.   * Episode 10: “Anybody Can Win, but Everybody's Gonna Lose…” — looks at online gambling and the risks to individuals, especially younger people; includes reflection by the host on protecting his son from gambling's lure. “ WhatsApp security flaw exposed 3.5B phone numbers – including yourshttps://9to5mac.com/2025/11/18/whatsapp-security-flaw-exposed-3-5b-phone-numbers-including-yours/ “Wanna bet? Online prediction markets wager that you will” - CBS Sunday Morninghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGx-kqf_840 Guests: Web Bixby has been in the insurance business for 40 years and has been an Apple user for longer than that.You can catch up with him on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, but prefers Bluesky. Eric Bolden is into macOS, plants, sci-fi, food, and is a rural internet supporter. You can connect with him on Twitter, by email at embolden@mac.com, on Mastodon at @eabolden@techhub.social, on his blog, Trending At Work, and as co-host on The Vision ProFiles podcast. Brian Flanigan-Arthurs is an educator with a passion for providing results-driven, innovative learning strategies for all students, but particularly those who are at-risk. He is also a tech enthusiast who has a particular affinity for Apple since he first used the Apple IIGS as a student. You can contact Brian on twitter as @brian8944. He also recently opened a Mastodon account at @brian8944@mastodon.cloud. David Ginsburg is the host of the weekly podcast In Touch With iOS where he discusses all things iOS, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and related technologies. He is an IT professional supporting Mac, iOS and Windows users. Visit his YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/daveg65 and find and follow him on Twitter @daveg65 and on Mastodon at @daveg65@mastodon.cloud. Dr. Marty Jencius has been an Associate Professor of Counseling at Kent State University since 2000. He has over 120 publications in books, chapters, journal articles, and others, along with 200 podcasts related to counseling, counselor education, and faculty life. His technology interest led him to develop the counseling profession ‘firsts,' including listservs, a web-based peer-reviewed journal, The Journal of Technology in Counseling, teaching and conferencing in virtual worlds as the founder of Counselor Education in Second Life, and podcast founder/producer of CounselorAudioSource.net and ThePodTalk.net. Currently, he produces a podcast about counseling and life questions, the Circular Firing Squad, and digital video interviews with legacies capturing the history of the counseling field. This is also co-host of The Vision ProFiles podcast. Generally, Marty is chasing the newest tech trends, which explains his interest in A.I. for teaching, research, and productivity. Marty is an active presenter and past president of the NorthEast Ohio Apple Corp (NEOAC). Jim Rea built his own computer from scratch in 1975, started programming in 1977, and has been an independent Mac developer continuously since 1984. He is the founder of ProVUE Development, and the author of Panorama X, ProVUE's ultra fast RAM based database software for the macOS platform. He's been a speaker at MacTech, MacWorld Expo and other industry conferences. Follow Jim at provue.com and via @provuejim@techhub.social on Mastodon. Support:      Become a MacVoices Patron on Patreon     http://patreon.com/macvoices      Enjoy this episode? Make a one-time donation with PayPal Connect:      Web:     http://macvoices.com      Twitter:     http://www.twitter.com/chuckjoiner     http://www.twitter.com/macvoices      Mastodon:     https://mastodon.cloud/@chuckjoiner      Facebook:     http://www.facebook.com/chuck.joiner      MacVoices Page on Facebook:     http://www.facebook.com/macvoices/      MacVoices Group on Facebook:     http://www.facebook.com/groups/macvoice      LinkedIn:     https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckjoiner/      Instagram:     https://www.instagram.com/chuckjoiner/ Subscribe:      Audio in iTunes     Video in iTunes      Subscribe manually via iTunes or any podcatcher:      Audio: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesrss      Video: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesvideorss

MacVoices Audio
MacVoices #25309: Live! - Age Verification, A New Predictive Market, and Another Data Breach

MacVoices Audio

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 10, 2025 37:24


The MacVoices Live! panel touches on Microsoft's warning about a risky experimental AI agent in Windows, raising concerns about big tech pushing features before security is understood. Chuck Joiner, Marty Jencius, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Eric Bolden, Jim Rea, Web Bixby, and David Ginsburg debate age-verification proposals from Roblox and Pornhub, explore Coinbase's new prediction market, and react to a massive WhatsApp data breach affecting billions of phone numbers.  MacVoices is supported by Incogni. Take your personal data back with Incogni! Get 60% off an annual plan at incogni.com/CHUCK and use code CHUCK at checkout.. http://incogni.com/CHUCK Show Notes: Chapters: [0:00] Opening, sponsor mention, and setup for AI security discussion [0:23] Microsoft warns experimental Windows AI agent may expose user data [1:52] Enterprise perspective: why companies won't enable risky AI features [3:29] The broader question: why tech firms ship features before securing them [3:46] Roblox proposes selfie-based age verification [4:49] Pornhub urges device-level age verification by Apple/Google [6:14] State-by-state regulation pressures adult platforms [7:33] Concerns about third-party apps storing user photos and IDs [9:32] The burden of age verification and whether platforms should hold it [11:10] Regulatory inconsistencies, digital IDs, and privacy trade-offs [17:36] Coinbase launches Kaushy-powered prediction market [18:41] Risks of betting platforms built on crypto or "play money" [20:35] Similarities to opaque financial instruments and fairness concerns [21:54] Recommended podcast episodes on betting markets manipulation [24:17] WhatsApp data breach exposes 3.5B phone numbers [26:03] Why WhatsApp's identity model makes leaks so damaging [27:17] Meta's years-long failure to address systemic vulnerabilities [28:22] International reliance on WhatsApp and global impact of breach [29:58] Closing roundtable, Thanksgiving plans, and contact info Links: Critics scoff after Microsoft warns AI feature can infect machines and pilfer data https://arstechnica.com/security/2025/11/critics-scoff-after-microsoft-warns-ai-feature-can-infect-machines-and-pilfer-data/ Roblox demands an AI-verified selfie to prevent kids from chatting to adults https://www.fastcompany.com/91445273/roblox-age-verification-ai-lawsuit Pornhub Is Urging Tech Giants to Enact Device-Based Age Verification https://www.wired.com/story/pornhub-is-urging-tech-giants-to-enact-device-based-age-verification/ Coinbase said to launch Kalshi-powered prediction market https://seekingalpha.com/news/4524123-coinbase-said-to-launch-kalshi-powered-prediction-market Against The Rules podcast https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/against-the-rules * Episode 4: "A Hard Way to Make an Easy Living" — explores how sports betting worked before legalization, the betting sharps, and differences between old-school versus online gambling.   * Episode 7: "Little Big Short" — discusses restrictions on online sportsbooks (for example in California), featuring perspectives from pastors, Native Americans, and short-sellers.   * Episode 8: "The Integrity Landscape" — covers how betting based on inside information hasn't gone away, and the problems this raises for athletes — especially in college sports.   * Episode 10: "Anybody Can Win, but Everybody's Gonna Lose…" — looks at online gambling and the risks to individuals, especially younger people; includes reflection by the host on protecting his son from gambling's lure. " WhatsApp security flaw exposed 3.5B phone numbers – including yours https://9to5mac.com/2025/11/18/whatsapp-security-flaw-exposed-3-5b-phone-numbers-including-yours/ "Wanna bet? Online prediction markets wager that you will" - CBS Sunday Morning https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGx-kqf_840 Guests: Web Bixby has been in the insurance business for 40 years and has been an Apple user for longer than that.You can catch up with him on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, but prefers Bluesky. Eric Bolden is into macOS, plants, sci-fi, food, and is a rural internet supporter. You can connect with him on Twitter, by email at embolden@mac.com, on Mastodon at @eabolden@techhub.social, on his blog, Trending At Work, and as co-host on The Vision ProFiles podcast. Brian Flanigan-Arthurs is an educator with a passion for providing results-driven, innovative learning strategies for all students, but particularly those who are at-risk. He is also a tech enthusiast who has a particular affinity for Apple since he first used the Apple IIGS as a student. You can contact Brian on twitter as @brian8944. He also recently opened a Mastodon account at @brian8944@mastodon.cloud. David Ginsburg is the host of the weekly podcast In Touch With iOS where he discusses all things iOS, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and related technologies. He is an IT professional supporting Mac, iOS and Windows users. Visit his YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/daveg65 and find and follow him on Twitter @daveg65 and on Mastodon at @daveg65@mastodon.cloud. Dr. Marty Jencius has been an Associate Professor of Counseling at Kent State University since 2000. He has over 120 publications in books, chapters, journal articles, and others, along with 200 podcasts related to counseling, counselor education, and faculty life. His technology interest led him to develop the counseling profession 'firsts,' including listservs, a web-based peer-reviewed journal, The Journal of Technology in Counseling, teaching and conferencing in virtual worlds as the founder of Counselor Education in Second Life, and podcast founder/producer of CounselorAudioSource.net and ThePodTalk.net. Currently, he produces a podcast about counseling and life questions, the Circular Firing Squad, and digital video interviews with legacies capturing the history of the counseling field. This is also co-host of The Vision ProFiles podcast. Generally, Marty is chasing the newest tech trends, which explains his interest in A.I. for teaching, research, and productivity. Marty is an active presenter and past president of the NorthEast Ohio Apple Corp (NEOAC). Jim Rea built his own computer from scratch in 1975, started programming in 1977, and has been an independent Mac developer continuously since 1984. He is the founder of ProVUE Development, and the author of Panorama X, ProVUE's ultra fast RAM based database software for the macOS platform. He's been a speaker at MacTech, MacWorld Expo and other industry conferences. Follow Jim at provue.com and via @provuejim@techhub.social on Mastodon. Support:      Become a MacVoices Patron on Patreon      http://patreon.com/macvoices      Enjoy this episode? Make a one-time donation with PayPal Connect:      Web:      http://macvoices.com      Twitter:      http://www.twitter.com/chuckjoiner      http://www.twitter.com/macvoices      Mastodon:      https://mastodon.cloud/@chuckjoiner      Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/chuck.joiner      MacVoices Page on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/macvoices/      MacVoices Group on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/groups/macvoice      LinkedIn:      https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckjoiner/      Instagram:      https://www.instagram.com/chuckjoiner/ Subscribe:      Audio in iTunes      Video in iTunes      Subscribe manually via iTunes or any podcatcher:      Audio: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesrss      Video: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesvideorss

MacVoices Video
MacVoices #25308: Live! - In-Depth on iPads, ChromeBooks, and Low-Cost Macs This discussion dives into the debate over affordable computing for students and families, comparing Chromebooks, iPads, and the possibility of a new low-cost Mac from Apple. Chu

MacVoices Video

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 9, 2025 37:10


This discussion dives into the debate over affordable computing for students and families, comparing Chromebooks, iPads, and the possibility of a new low-cost Mac from Apple. Chuck Joiner, Marty Jencius, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Eric Bolden, Jim Rea, Web Bixby, and David Ginsburg compare performance, device lifespan, security, and management tools, asking how Apple can compete in price-sensitive school markets without sacrificing the user experience that defines its hardware.   MacVoices is supported by CleanMyMac from MacPaw. Get Tidy Today! Try 7 days free and use my code MACVOICES20 for 20% off at clnmy.com/MACVOICES. Show Notes: Chapters: [0:00] Introduction and sponsor mention for CleanMyMac[0:33] Setting up the “cage match” between iPad and low-cost Mac stories[1:20] iPads vs Chromebooks for everyday users and parents[2:09] Pricing out entry-level iPads with keyboard cases[3:27] Classroom realities: Windows, Chromebooks, and grant-funded gear[4:34] Teachers' buying patterns and attraction to Macs and iPads[6:13] Why Apple might pursue a cheaper Mac for education markets[7:36] How far can Apple compromise on specs and price?[9:07] What schools demand: current OS, MDM, and supportability[12:13] Battery life, storage, and modem options in low-cost devices[15:16] Sponsor break: CleanMyMac and holiday “gift of performance”[17:08] Personal experiences with iPads as daily machines[19:20] Re-using M1/M2 chips and parallels to the old eMac[21:09] Chromebook lifespans and e-waste concerns[22:03] Apple vs Chromebook pricing and the 11-inch MacBook wish[28:27] Mi-Fis, cellular management, and school budget realities[31:12] Final thoughts on Apple's education strategy and affordability Links: This $450 iPad setup is a better buy than most Chromebooks, here's why https://9to5mac.com/2025/11/23/ipad-a16-vs-budget-chromebook-sub-500-comparison-black-friday-deal/ Apple Is Planning Cheaper Macs That Compete With Budget Chromebooks and PCs, Report Sayshttps://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/apple-is-planning-cheaper-macs-that-compete-with-budget-chromebooks-and-pcs-report-says/ Guests: Web Bixby has been in the insurance business for 40 years and has been an Apple user for longer than that.You can catch up with him on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, but prefers Bluesky. Eric Bolden is into macOS, plants, sci-fi, food, and is a rural internet supporter. You can connect with him on Twitter, by email at embolden@mac.com, on Mastodon at @eabolden@techhub.social, on his blog, Trending At Work, and as co-host on The Vision ProFiles podcast. Brian Flanigan-Arthurs is an educator with a passion for providing results-driven, innovative learning strategies for all students, but particularly those who are at-risk. He is also a tech enthusiast who has a particular affinity for Apple since he first used the Apple IIGS as a student. You can contact Brian on twitter as @brian8944. He also recently opened a Mastodon account at @brian8944@mastodon.cloud. David Ginsburg is the host of the weekly podcast In Touch With iOS where he discusses all things iOS, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and related technologies. He is an IT professional supporting Mac, iOS and Windows users. Visit his YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/daveg65 and find and follow him on Twitter @daveg65 and on Mastodon at @daveg65@mastodon.cloud. Dr. Marty Jencius has been an Associate Professor of Counseling at Kent State University since 2000. He has over 120 publications in books, chapters, journal articles, and others, along with 200 podcasts related to counseling, counselor education, and faculty life. His technology interest led him to develop the counseling profession ‘firsts,' including listservs, a web-based peer-reviewed journal, The Journal of Technology in Counseling, teaching and conferencing in virtual worlds as the founder of Counselor Education in Second Life, and podcast founder/producer of CounselorAudioSource.net and ThePodTalk.net. Currently, he produces a podcast about counseling and life questions, the Circular Firing Squad, and digital video interviews with legacies capturing the history of the counseling field. This is also co-host of The Vision ProFiles podcast. Generally, Marty is chasing the newest tech trends, which explains his interest in A.I. for teaching, research, and productivity. Marty is an active presenter and past president of the NorthEast Ohio Apple Corp (NEOAC). Jim Rea built his own computer from scratch in 1975, started programming in 1977, and has been an independent Mac developer continuously since 1984. He is the founder of ProVUE Development, and the author of Panorama X, ProVUE's ultra fast RAM based database software for the macOS platform. He's been a speaker at MacTech, MacWorld Expo and other industry conferences. Follow Jim at provue.com and via @provuejim@techhub.social on Mastodon. Support:      Become a MacVoices Patron on Patreon     http://patreon.com/macvoices      Enjoy this episode? Make a one-time donation with PayPal Connect:      Web:     http://macvoices.com      Twitter:     http://www.twitter.com/chuckjoiner     http://www.twitter.com/macvoices      Mastodon:     https://mastodon.cloud/@chuckjoiner      Facebook:     http://www.facebook.com/chuck.joiner      MacVoices Page on Facebook:     http://www.facebook.com/macvoices/      MacVoices Group on Facebook:     http://www.facebook.com/groups/macvoice      LinkedIn:     https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckjoiner/      Instagram:     https://www.instagram.com/chuckjoiner/ Subscribe:      Audio in iTunes     Video in iTunes      Subscribe manually via iTunes or any podcatcher:      Audio: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesrss      Video: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesvideorss

MacVoices Audio
MacVoices #25308: Live! - In-Depth on iPads, ChromeBooks, and Low-Cost Macs

MacVoices Audio

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 9, 2025 37:11


This discussion dives into the debate over affordable computing for students and families, comparing Chromebooks, iPads, and the possibility of a new low-cost Mac from Apple. Chuck Joiner, Marty Jencius, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Eric Bolden, Jim Rea, Web Bixby, and David Ginsburg compare performance, device lifespan, security, and management tools, asking how Apple can compete in price-sensitive school markets without sacrificing the user experience that defines its hardware.   MacVoices is supported by CleanMyMac from MacPaw. Get Tidy Today! Try 7 days free and use my code MACVOICES20 for 20% off at clnmy.com/MACVOICES. Show Notes: Chapters: [0:00] Introduction and sponsor mention for CleanMyMac [0:33] Setting up the "cage match" between iPad and low-cost Mac stories [1:20] iPads vs Chromebooks for everyday users and parents [2:09] Pricing out entry-level iPads with keyboard cases [3:27] Classroom realities: Windows, Chromebooks, and grant-funded gear [4:34] Teachers' buying patterns and attraction to Macs and iPads [6:13] Why Apple might pursue a cheaper Mac for education markets [7:36] How far can Apple compromise on specs and price? [9:07] What schools demand: current OS, MDM, and supportability [12:13] Battery life, storage, and modem options in low-cost devices [15:16] Sponsor break: CleanMyMac and holiday "gift of performance" [17:08] Personal experiences with iPads as daily machines [19:20] Re-using M1/M2 chips and parallels to the old eMac [21:09] Chromebook lifespans and e-waste concerns [22:03] Apple vs Chromebook pricing and the 11-inch MacBook wish [28:27] Mi-Fis, cellular management, and school budget realities [31:12] Final thoughts on Apple's education strategy and affordability Links: This $450 iPad setup is a better buy than most Chromebooks, here's why https://9to5mac.com/2025/11/23/ipad-a16-vs-budget-chromebook-sub-500-comparison-black-friday-deal/ Apple Is Planning Cheaper Macs That Compete With Budget Chromebooks and PCs, Report Says https://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/apple-is-planning-cheaper-macs-that-compete-with-budget-chromebooks-and-pcs-report-says/ Guests: Web Bixby has been in the insurance business for 40 years and has been an Apple user for longer than that.You can catch up with him on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, but prefers Bluesky. Eric Bolden is into macOS, plants, sci-fi, food, and is a rural internet supporter. You can connect with him on Twitter, by email at embolden@mac.com, on Mastodon at @eabolden@techhub.social, on his blog, Trending At Work, and as co-host on The Vision ProFiles podcast. Brian Flanigan-Arthurs is an educator with a passion for providing results-driven, innovative learning strategies for all students, but particularly those who are at-risk. He is also a tech enthusiast who has a particular affinity for Apple since he first used the Apple IIGS as a student. You can contact Brian on twitter as @brian8944. He also recently opened a Mastodon account at @brian8944@mastodon.cloud. David Ginsburg is the host of the weekly podcast In Touch With iOS where he discusses all things iOS, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and related technologies. He is an IT professional supporting Mac, iOS and Windows users. Visit his YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/daveg65 and find and follow him on Twitter @daveg65 and on Mastodon at @daveg65@mastodon.cloud. Dr. Marty Jencius has been an Associate Professor of Counseling at Kent State University since 2000. He has over 120 publications in books, chapters, journal articles, and others, along with 200 podcasts related to counseling, counselor education, and faculty life. His technology interest led him to develop the counseling profession 'firsts,' including listservs, a web-based peer-reviewed journal, The Journal of Technology in Counseling, teaching and conferencing in virtual worlds as the founder of Counselor Education in Second Life, and podcast founder/producer of CounselorAudioSource.net and ThePodTalk.net. Currently, he produces a podcast about counseling and life questions, the Circular Firing Squad, and digital video interviews with legacies capturing the history of the counseling field. This is also co-host of The Vision ProFiles podcast. Generally, Marty is chasing the newest tech trends, which explains his interest in A.I. for teaching, research, and productivity. Marty is an active presenter and past president of the NorthEast Ohio Apple Corp (NEOAC). Jim Rea built his own computer from scratch in 1975, started programming in 1977, and has been an independent Mac developer continuously since 1984. He is the founder of ProVUE Development, and the author of Panorama X, ProVUE's ultra fast RAM based database software for the macOS platform. He's been a speaker at MacTech, MacWorld Expo and other industry conferences. Follow Jim at provue.com and via @provuejim@techhub.social on Mastodon. Support:      Become a MacVoices Patron on Patreon      http://patreon.com/macvoices      Enjoy this episode? Make a one-time donation with PayPal Connect:      Web:      http://macvoices.com      Twitter:      http://www.twitter.com/chuckjoiner      http://www.twitter.com/macvoices      Mastodon:      https://mastodon.cloud/@chuckjoiner      Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/chuck.joiner      MacVoices Page on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/macvoices/      MacVoices Group on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/groups/macvoice      LinkedIn:      https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckjoiner/      Instagram:      https://www.instagram.com/chuckjoiner/ Subscribe:      Audio in iTunes      Video in iTunes      Subscribe manually via iTunes or any podcatcher:      Audio: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesrss      Video: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesvideorss

ChinesePod - Beginner
Newbie | Tone change series #3 好 (hǎo)

ChinesePod - Beginner

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 9, 2025 7:20


In this series, we tackle the most common question in every newbie's mind: "What's with the tone changes?" Along the way, you'll learn the tone change rules for 不, 一, two third tones, and three third tones. Practice and familiarize yourselves with the sounds, and you'll be a tone master in no time. Generally we do not see tone change rules applied in written texts, i.e. we do not see the change of tone mark reflected in written pinyin. Precisely because of this, tone change rules are confusing and burdensome to beginning learners. To help our users to master tone change rules more quickly, we have deliberately marked the changes so that they are more easily recognized and more discernible to learners. So join us in this newly designed tone change series, and let us know your thoughts! Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/4203

MacVoices Video
MacVoices #25307: Live! - Apple Impersonator Scams, CNN Out, and CarPlay Widgets

MacVoices Video

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 8, 2025 35:38


The increase in Apple-themed impersonation scams, CNN's withdrawal from Apple News and shifting news-subscription models, and new CarPlay widget capabilities in iOS 26 are discussed by Chuck Joiner, Marty Jencius, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Eric Bolden, Jim Rea, Web Bixby, and David Ginsburg. They share personal experiences with phishing, explore the evolving media landscape, and consider how AI assistants and in-car widgets may shape future driving and information habits.  MacVoices is supported by Incogni. Take your personal data back with Incogni! Get 60% off an annual plan at incogni.com/CHUCK and use code CHUCK at checkout. Show Notes: Chapters: 00:00 – Apple impersonator scams and holiday phishing risks 01:04 – Light news week and pre-Thanksgiving travel chatter 02:09 – Panel introductions and camera upgrades 04:38 – Squirrels, backgrounds, and early banter 06:06 – Apple named top brand for impersonation scams 06:59 – Fake emails, phishing examples, and scam spotting 10:48 – Holiday shopping season and rising fraud awareness 12:13 – Sponsor segment: Incogni data-removal service 14:04 – CNN quietly exits Apple News; subscription model debate 16:38 – Changing media landscape and streaming news fatigue 20:11 – Value comparisons among news subscriptions 23:38 – Negotiation speculation between CNN and Apple 26:38 – CarPlay widgets in iOS 26 and early user experiences 29:28 – AI assistants in cars and conversational experiments 32:04 – Viewer comments: Overcast and weather widgets 33:27 – AI resource use humor and wrap-up reflections Links: PSA: Apple is the brand scammers impersonate the most https://appleworld.today/2025/11/apple-is-the-brand-scammers-impersonate-the-most/ Apple News just lost a major media partner after a decade https://9to5mac.com/2025/11/24/apple-news-just-lost-a-major-media-partner-after-a-decade/ How to use iPhone app widgets in CarPlay on iOS 26 https://www.idownloadblog.com/2025/11/24/use-app-widgets-carplay/ Guests:   Web Bixby has been in the insurance business for 40 years and has been an Apple user for longer than that.You can catch up with him on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, but prefers Bluesky. Eric Bolden is into macOS, plants, sci-fi, food, and is a rural internet supporter. You can connect with him on Twitter, by email at embolden@mac.com, on Mastodon at @eabolden@techhub.social, on his blog, Trending At Work, and as co-host on The Vision ProFiles podcast. Brian Flanigan-Arthurs is an educator with a passion for providing results-driven, innovative learning strategies for all students, but particularly those who are at-risk. He is also a tech enthusiast who has a particular affinity for Apple since he first used the Apple IIGS as a student. You can contact Brian on twitter as @brian8944. He also recently opened a Mastodon account at @brian8944@mastodon.cloud.   David Ginsburg is the host of the weekly podcast In Touch With iOS where he discusses all things iOS, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and related technologies. He is an IT professional supporting Mac, iOS and Windows users. Visit his YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/daveg65 and find and follow him on Twitter @daveg65 and on Mastodon at @daveg65@mastodon.cloud. Dr. Marty Jencius has been an Associate Professor of Counseling at Kent State University since 2000. He has over 120 publications in books, chapters, journal articles, and others, along with 200 podcasts related to counseling, counselor education, and faculty life. His technology interest led him to develop the counseling profession ‘firsts,' including listservs, a web-based peer-reviewed journal, The Journal of Technology in Counseling, teaching and conferencing in virtual worlds as the founder of Counselor Education in Second Life, and podcast founder/producer of CounselorAudioSource.net and ThePodTalk.net. Currently, he produces a podcast about counseling and life questions, the Circular Firing Squad, and digital video interviews with legacies capturing the history of the counseling field. This is also co-host of The Vision ProFiles podcast. Generally, Marty is chasing the newest tech trends, which explains his interest in A.I. for teaching, research, and productivity. Marty is an active presenter and past president of the NorthEast Ohio Apple Corp (NEOAC). Jim Rea built his own computer from scratch in 1975, started programming in 1977, and has been an independent Mac developer continuously since 1984. He is the founder of ProVUE Development, and the author of Panorama X, ProVUE's ultra fast RAM based database software for the macOS platform. He's been a speaker at MacTech, MacWorld Expo and other industry conferences. Follow Jim at provue.com and via @provuejim@techhub.social on Mastodon. Support: Become a MacVoices Patron on Patreon      http://patreon.com/macvoices      Enjoy this episode? Make a one-time donation with PayPal Connect: Web:      http://macvoices.com Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/chuckjoiner      http://www.twitter.com/macvoices Mastodon:      https://mastodon.cloud/@chuckjoiner Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/chuck.joiner MacVoices Page on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/macvoices/ MacVoices Group on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/groups/macvoice LinkedIn:      https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckjoiner/ Instagram:      https://www.instagram.com/chuckjoiner/ Subscribe:      Audio in iTunes      Video in iTunes      Subscribe manually via iTunes or any podcatcher: Audio: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesrss      Video: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesvideorss

MacVoices Audio
MacVoices #25307: Live! - Apple Impersonator Scams, CNN Out, and CarPlay Widgets

MacVoices Audio

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 8, 2025 35:39


The increase in Apple-themed impersonation scams, CNN's withdrawal from Apple News and shifting news-subscription models, and new CarPlay widget capabilities in iOS 26 are discussed by Chuck Joiner, Marty Jencius, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Eric Bolden, Jim Rea, Web Bixby, and David Ginsburg. They share personal experiences with phishing, explore the evolving media landscape, and consider how AI assistants and in-car widgets may shape future driving and information habits.  MacVoices is supported by Incogni. Take your personal data back with Incogni! Get 60% off an annual plan at incogni.com/CHUCK and use code CHUCK at checkout. Show Notes: Chapters: 00:00 – Apple impersonator scams and holiday phishing risks 01:04 – Light news week and pre-Thanksgiving travel chatter 02:09 – Panel introductions and camera upgrades 04:38 – Squirrels, backgrounds, and early banter 06:06 – Apple named top brand for impersonation scams 06:59 – Fake emails, phishing examples, and scam spotting 10:48 – Holiday shopping season and rising fraud awareness 12:13 – Sponsor segment: Incogni data-removal service 14:04 – CNN quietly exits Apple News; subscription model debate 16:38 – Changing media landscape and streaming news fatigue 20:11 – Value comparisons among news subscriptions 23:38 – Negotiation speculation between CNN and Apple 26:38 – CarPlay widgets in iOS 26 and early user experiences 29:28 – AI assistants in cars and conversational experiments 32:04 – Viewer comments: Overcast and weather widgets 33:27 – AI resource use humor and wrap-up reflections Links: PSA: Apple is the brand scammers impersonate the most https://appleworld.today/2025/11/apple-is-the-brand-scammers-impersonate-the-most/ Apple News just lost a major media partner after a decade https://9to5mac.com/2025/11/24/apple-news-just-lost-a-major-media-partner-after-a-decade/ How to use iPhone app widgets in CarPlay on iOS 26 https://www.idownloadblog.com/2025/11/24/use-app-widgets-carplay/ Guests: Web Bixby has been in the insurance business for 40 years and has been an Apple user for longer than that.You can catch up with him on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, but prefers Bluesky. Eric Bolden is into macOS, plants, sci-fi, food, and is a rural internet supporter. You can connect with him on Twitter, by email at embolden@mac.com, on Mastodon at @eabolden@techhub.social, on his blog, Trending At Work, and as co-host on The Vision ProFiles podcast. Brian Flanigan-Arthurs is an educator with a passion for providing results-driven, innovative learning strategies for all students, but particularly those who are at-risk. He is also a tech enthusiast who has a particular affinity for Apple since he first used the Apple IIGS as a student. You can contact Brian on twitter as @brian8944. He also recently opened a Mastodon account at @brian8944@mastodon.cloud. David Ginsburg is the host of the weekly podcast In Touch With iOS where he discusses all things iOS, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and related technologies. He is an IT professional supporting Mac, iOS and Windows users. Visit his YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/daveg65 and find and follow him on Twitter @daveg65 and on Mastodon at @daveg65@mastodon.cloud. Dr. Marty Jencius has been an Associate Professor of Counseling at Kent State University since 2000. He has over 120 publications in books, chapters, journal articles, and others, along with 200 podcasts related to counseling, counselor education, and faculty life. His technology interest led him to develop the counseling profession 'firsts,' including listservs, a web-based peer-reviewed journal, The Journal of Technology in Counseling, teaching and conferencing in virtual worlds as the founder of Counselor Education in Second Life, and podcast founder/producer of CounselorAudioSource.net and ThePodTalk.net. Currently, he produces a podcast about counseling and life questions, the Circular Firing Squad, and digital video interviews with legacies capturing the history of the counseling field. This is also co-host of The Vision ProFiles podcast. Generally, Marty is chasing the newest tech trends, which explains his interest in A.I. for teaching, research, and productivity. Marty is an active presenter and past president of the NorthEast Ohio Apple Corp (NEOAC). Jim Rea built his own computer from scratch in 1975, started programming in 1977, and has been an independent Mac developer continuously since 1984. He is the founder of ProVUE Development, and the author of Panorama X, ProVUE's ultra fast RAM based database software for the macOS platform. He's been a speaker at MacTech, MacWorld Expo and other industry conferences. Follow Jim at provue.com and via @provuejim@techhub.social on Mastodon. Support:      Become a MacVoices Patron on Patreon      http://patreon.com/macvoices      Enjoy this episode? Make a one-time donation with PayPal Connect:      Web:      http://macvoices.com      Twitter:      http://www.twitter.com/chuckjoiner      http://www.twitter.com/macvoices      Mastodon:      https://mastodon.cloud/@chuckjoiner      Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/chuck.joiner      MacVoices Page on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/macvoices/      MacVoices Group on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/groups/macvoice      LinkedIn:      https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckjoiner/      Instagram:      https://www.instagram.com/chuckjoiner/ Subscribe:      Audio in iTunes      Video in iTunes      Subscribe manually via iTunes or any podcatcher:      Audio: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesrss      Video: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesvideorss

UBM Unleavened Bread Ministries
Great Restoration and Revival (3) - David Eells - UBBS 12.07.2025

UBM Unleavened Bread Ministries

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 7, 2025 117:57


Great Restoration and Revival (3) (audio) David Eells – 12/7/25 Do you know why God speaks to us in parables as in Jesus, the Man-child's day? He said, To hide these things from the wise and prudent that He may reveal them unto babes… I want to share with you some revelations to help you and encourage you to be spiritually prepared for tribulation and the outpouring of the latter rain anointing.   Terrorism, Spiritual Invasion and Apostasy Don Lett - 06/22/2008 (David's notes in red) For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (Eph.6:12) (At first, this appears to be a physical terrorist attack, but the further you read on, the more it is revealed to be a spiritual invasion and attack on the U.S. and Christians.) Somehow, I found out about a terrorist attack that was going to occur on an Air Force base where I was staying. Although this base seemed like a normal civilian area. (The U.S. is the eagle of the “Lion with Eagles Wings” of Babylon. It is called this partially because of its air superiority. I believe the U.S. is the air force base in the “normal civilian area”.) I was in a bathroom hiding, and I could see that a group of Caucasian, American-looking men had captured most of the leadership on the base. (The enemy looks like average Americans but has a foreign ideology and spirit.) I looked behind me and saw that the General of the base was incapacitated and a little bloody. He wasn't able to stop this attack. The terrorists were looking for him but couldn't find him. I decided that he was OK and that he would be safely hidden in this bathroom. (The corporate beast spirit body from the pit has infiltrated and captured the minds of most of the leadership of the U.S. and is using them for their one world order purposes against the saints.) In another room to my rear, I could see a baby being watched by an adult. They were safe for the time being in a glass room, but I had no idea what was getting ready to take place. (The alien terrorist attack is happening to raise up this dragon/beast entity over the U.S. and bring down the freedoms we have known in the past. The baby is the newborn corporate Man-child that the beast entity wants to extinguish, as Herod attempted in the Gospels and the dragon will attempt in the Rev.12 end-time parallel. However, this baby, although visible, is safely caught up to heavenly places in Christ. The beast that is taking over all nations is the real terrorist that will make war against the saints.) I was scared, but I also noticed there was an escape route to the rear. I had to warn the authorities on base. I went straight to the guard shack at the check-in point. When I told the guards that I needed to talk to someone immediately about something that was going to occur, an MP car pulled up. They suggested that I inform the MPs who were in the car. They rolled down their window, and I leaned down to begin to tell them about the terrorists. But then I remembered that part of the plan was to infiltrate the base with other terrorists. I wasn't sure if these were real MPs or terrorists in disguise. I asked the MPs in the guard shack if they had ever seen these individuals before. They said no. (We really don't know who can receive our warning of this invasion. Some whom we think are brethren we find out are really the enemy.) I went and spoke to another MP whom they did recognize. As I was explaining to him about the terrorists, several people from my past were walking by and casually listening with interest, but not alarm, like J____. The MP seemed interested but not alarmed either. But it appeared that he would take someone to investigate these claims. (Most authorities will not take this spiritual alien invasion seriously, and others have already been taken over by it.) Next thing you know, I was sitting at a long table with a group of other civilians who were eating. Most of them, it seems, knew that I had found out about this terrorist attack. Some family members then began to brag about T___, who they said was getting these amazing words from God. The method that she was getting this word was from occult spiritualism or witchcraft-type practice. (Many times masquerading as Christian gifts.) They thought of her as a white witch. When they explained this to me, I told them right away that this is not the way that God works and that she was being influenced by a familiar spirit, but they didn't believe me. Just then, a very old friend from my past, S____, began to tell me what a hypocrite I am because of something I had done to him when I was a teenager (30 years or so ago). I told him that I was sorry and explained to him about forgiveness and how I had completely forgotten about this incident that had held him in captivity for so long. I asked him to let it go. (Many will be taken in because they are turned over to the tormentors for their own unforgiveness.) I turned my attention back to T____. My family members continued to press me about how God was speaking through her and that she was a good witch. And I reiterated that God didn't work this way. I told them that if they would meet with me outside, I would lay hands on her and cast this demon out. They still didn't believe me, but decided to meet with me, probably to prove that she was getting the word from God. (Many today pay no attention to the source of knowledge and power in these fakes since they are infiltrated with the enemy, but if we hold fast to the scriptures, we will know them.) While walking to meet with her, I got mixed up in a Catholic procession. They were singing “Amazing Grace”, but I could not get in tune with the way they were singing it. I tried several times and eventually got frustrated and stopped walking and singing with them. (The righteous will not assimilate into the larger end-time Universal, meaning Catholic, religion of the new world order that turns grace into lasciviousness.) I ended up in a different room. I noticed T____ walking with the group as they were walking in a line up a ramped corridor. The wall between us had an opening about one foot high at the neck so that I could see the faces of those walking. T____ was walking with them. I remembered that she looked pretty, but something was very odd about her countenance. Everyone seemed to be walking in an almost trance-like state. (Those who are into the witchcraft of rebellion to the Word will be assimilated by the alien spirits.) I had to go downstairs to meet with her and found myself on an elevator with a bunch of other people. This elevator was wide open without even a handrail. As I was going down the elevator, I was praying that God could do this work through me. I was concerned that I had not been close enough to God lately to cast this powerful demon out. (Closeness to the Lord enables us to be useful in the deliverance of our brethren.) When I came downstairs, there were a lot of activities. A lot of people I knew were playing basketball. I wanted to join them, but I had to take care of this first. I was still very concerned that I wouldn't be able to cast this demon out. Several people stopped me on the way to that side of the room to say hi. I quickly said hi and continued to move toward my cousin. (Most are caught up in the game of competition and scoring points between the sects of Christianity and are unaware of the spiritual alien invasion in their midst.) When I finally made my way past the basketball court, more acquaintances whom I had not seen in a while wanted to say hi. I gave a friend of mine a hug and said hi, and continued to move on. Finally, I got face-to-face with T___. I told her that I was going to lay hands on her, and just as I began to lay hands on her, a very shapely woman, whom I had never met, dressed in a turquoise stretchy dress that was cut very low at the breasts and high on the thighs, came out of nowhere and approached me to hug me. None of this made any sense to me that such a beautiful lady, whom I had never seen before, would come up to me and decide to hug me. I knew this had to be the work of the enemy. (The harlot of apostate Christianity seeks to seduce those who seek to deliver its adherents.) I thought about some of David Eells' teachings, and I held my hand out and said, “Lord, take this demon away from me”. (Or maybe, “Don't allow this demon to touch me”.) I was astonished by what happened next. This lady was lifted off the ground about an inch or two and slid backward about 10 to 15 feet and landed in a chair. She had her back arched, and you could see spiritual demonic activity above her chest. This startled me so much that I awoke from the dream. (The Word will cause the elect to recognize strong delusions of apostasy.)   My Interpretation: The Air Force base is the U.S. “This building (the Pentagon) will be attacked 3 million times today”. It is protected by the Air Force from cyberattacks. Terrorists are not Muslims; they are ordinary-looking Americans. Christian babies are somewhat protected, but they are totally unaware of the dangers. They are protected for a time, but the room is made of glass. These people have infiltrated a large part of our police forces (and government organizations). People will listen mostly out of interest but not out of concern. People have no problem listening to false prophets, but don't believe the Word of God. Satan will attempt to divert us from our mission by using: False prophets Past wrongs you committed Family members False religions You question your confidence in your walk with the Lord Extra-curricular activities Friends Lusts The Personality Profiles: J____- nominal but professing Christians, with very little biblical knowledge and virtually no relationship with Christ S____ - former Christian having fallen from the faith. Atheist or agnostic at best T____ - little or no biblical knowledge, professing a relationship with God   The Cross Revives the Church  Eve Brast - 10/04/2016 (David's notes in red) I dreamed that my son Elijah and I were making our way through crowds of frustrated people in an airport. (Elijah represents the John the Baptist ministry calling God's people to repentance.) (Without repentance God's people cannot live in heavenly places above this world. (Mal.4:5) Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of Jehovah come. 6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers; lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. The children don't know their fathers in the faith. All they have known is Babylonian false prophets and haven't grown up.) The people were angry and frustrated because an announcement had been made overhead that all flights were "delayed" and no one knew why. (Flights being delayed are representative of earthly bondages continuing.) Why do earthly bondages continue? They don't know their need because they don't know their spiritual fathers. (Eph.1:3) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ... All of our needs are supplied in heavenly places by abiding in Christ, Who is the Word. When we do not depart from the Word, we are a heavenly creation with heavenly benefits. Right behind John's repentance came Jesus and the church fathers.) (I asked Father for a word concerning the announcement of the delayed flights in the airport and received (Isa.1:25) I will turn my hand on you, thoroughly purge away your dross, and will take away all your tin. 26 I will restore your judges as at the first, and your counselors (Fathers) as at the beginning. Afterward you shall be called 'The city of righteousness, a faithful town'.) As we came up to the last terminal (time is running out), an older woman with blonde hair that had streaks of gray throughout, wearing a head covering, came up to us and pleaded with us to come and help her daughter, who was being a rebellious teenager. She was concerned because her daughter would not obey her concerning staying home and helping her clean the house and her bedroom. (Representing sanctification or "holiness without which no man shall see the Lord".) She kept sneaking out of the house to hang out with her friends at the mall and go shopping. (This woman represents the original church whose daughter has gone astray [in immature rebellion]. I believe there is one daughter in this dream because she represents the elect of God who will return to the true church. (Time is running out for the rebels to escape the power of this world before the judgments come. (Rom.2:3) And reckonest thou this, O man, who judgest them that practise such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? (The rebellious teenager/church is about to miss her plane to safety.) (Luk.21:34) But take heed to yourselves, lest haply your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that day come on you suddenly as a snare: 35 for so shall it come upon all them that dwell on the face of all the earth. (Meaning those not in heavenly places in Christ.) 36 But watch ye at every season, making supplication, that ye may prevail to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man. (Heb.2:3) how shall we escape, if we neglect so great a salvation? which having at the first been spoken through the Lord, was confirmed unto us by them that heard. (Heavenly places is to be caught up to the throne of God's authority over this cursed world.) 4 God also bearing witness with them, both by signs and wonders, and by manifold powers, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to his own will. 5 For not unto angels did he subject the world to come, whereof we speak. 6 But one hath somewhere testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? Or the son of man, that thou visitest him? 7 Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; Thou crownedst him with glory and honor, And didst set him over the works of thy hands: 8 Thou didst put all things in subjection under his feet. (To be in the heavens is to have everything worldly and all of the curse under your feet.) For in that he subjected all things unto him, he left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we see not yet all things subjected to him. (Whose fault is that? Jesus said that we have heavenly authority over this earth and its curse in (Mat.16:19) I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. (Rev.3:21) He that overcometh (the teenager rebellion and lust), I will give to him to sit down with me in my throne, as I also overcame, and sat down with my Father in his throne.) While the woman was lamenting to us about the daughter, I noticed an escalator off to the side of the terminal. I noticed that there were many people packed onto the downside (falling away) and only two or three individuals going up on the upside (those ascending to heavenly throne authority) to the next level. (Only one out of the four bore fruit in the parable of the sower.) (We are called to heavenly places, which are in Christ. Much of the church is earth-bound because they have not learned to abide in Christ, Who is the Word.) Then the woman's voice came back into my focus and hearing as Elijah was agreeing that we would go with her to her house and help her daughter. (The Bride will bring repentance to the rebellious church but not before some judgment arrives.) The scene changed as we found ourselves standing at the entrance to the daughter's bedroom from within the house. The mother was opening the door and gesturing for us to enter. Her daughter's room looked like a shop at the mall. (Love of the earthly stops one from receiving love of the heavenly places.) Shoe displays and mannequin torsos were displaying risqué teen clothing. (Many are in idolatry [and lust] with the world.) The mother explained that the daughter was hardly ever home, choosing to be at the mall and with her friends over home life with the family. (The heavenly family has been departed from, for earthly pursuits. We all know people like this who are full of excuses, but they will find out too late that they didn't eat their Word.) Elijah and I (Eve, the Bride) began to walk around the room to get an idea of what to say to the daughter and how to help her. I noticed a white door with glass panes in the top half, and on the other side of the room, which led into the room from the outside. There was a short hall entryway between the room and the door. (The door is Christ and represents salvation.) I noticed some activity going on in the entryway. (This is where most of the Church stops, not bearing the fruit of Christ in their soul and ministry.) David was busy doing something. Then Michael came up to us and began explaining about a project that David had been working on for a while for this girl. Michael showed me a few of the nails that he had helped gather for the project. He had quite a few gathered in a small silver metal bucket near the wall of the entryway. (The nails are to hold our flesh on our cross so that we may have the resurrection life of Christ in heavenly places of throne authority.) (David and Michael are representative of the Man-child ministers who have been prepared and are preparing for this end-time harvest.) Suddenly, a bunch of the Local UBM brethren came into the room in the same direction that Elijah and I had entered. I saw that everyone was cooperating with one another to transform the daughter's room. (The apostate Church will see a role model in the Bride that they never did in their leadership.) I saw M. L. consulting with the other ladies to alter all the clothing into more appropriate things for the daughter to wear. (The mature don't flash flesh, they crucify it. Modesty is a necessity.) The men were discussing how to move around some of the shelves (too many of God's things are on shelves) and bring in appropriate furniture for a bedroom. (To rest in faith in God's promises.) (Being in one accord and one Spirit with body ministry for our little sister.) (It appears a little sister was matured and glorified. (Psa.45:13) The king's daughter within the palace is all glorious: Her clothing is inwrought with gold. 14 She shall be led unto the king in broidered work: The virgins her companions that follow her Shall be brought unto thee. 15 With gladness and rejoicing shall they be led: They shall enter into the king's palace. 16 Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, Whom thou shalt make princes in all the earth. And it appears that she became a spiritual mother to many.) Then the door to the outside opened, and David stepped over the threshold carrying a large, lightweight transparent cross over his right shoulder. (The Davids will first bear the cross to death of themselves so that they may give it to others. (Heb.12:2) looking unto Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising shame, and hath sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.) Michael said excitedly, "There it is. That's the project!" I asked Father for a word concerning David and Michael and the project and received 1 Timothy 2:5 (context: 5,6). (1Ti.2:5) For there is one God, one mediator also between God and men, himself man, Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself a ransom for all; the testimony to be borne in its own times. (Just as Jesus paid the price for us to be freed, so will He do it in the Man-child, and much fruit will be borne. (Joh.12:24) Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a grain of wheat fall into the earth and die, it abideth by itself alone; but if it die, it beareth much fruit.) David knelt down and gently laid the cross down with the foot at the threshold and the head where the room began. He reached over the cross and pulled the bucket of nails toward him as Michael went over and handed him a heavy hammer. As David pulled the nails out of the bucket, they began to light up a beautiful sky blue like neon signs. He nailed them in groups of three at all four points on the cross. (Giving others an example of death to self. There were 12 blue nails representing discipleship. This cross bridges the gap so that those who are without can enter the house. (Representing the now-holy house and place of heavenly provision. No cross, no crown.]) Once David had finished, the daughter came home, and as she stood looking in amazement at the entryway, she couldn't believe that David had cared enough to do that for her. She was so touched that she had to come in and see the rest of the room. (The Church's eyes will be opened through the crucifixion of the Man-child, and they will enter into the Kingdom life.) She was amazed at how we had all worked together to transform her room, and she really liked what she saw. Everything was so new to her as she walked around admiring the transformation. I went over to her as she stood in front of some shelves that the men had restored. I watched her pick up some sort of tool off the shelf, wondering what it was. It had a part of it that glowed blue like the nails in the cross. I began to explain to her what it was and how to use it. Her face was filled with wonder as I watched her transform before my eyes into a young boy with beautiful blonde hair. (The transformation of our little sister into Christlikeness through our witness and examples. Showing her how to use the tools of the Gospel in order to overcome.) Then I woke up. I asked Father for a verse or text for this dream and received by random John 20:19 (context: 19-23). (Joh.20:19) When therefore it was evening, on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. 20 And when he had said this, he showed unto them his hands and his side. (Proofs of crucifixion and resurrection.) The disciples therefore were glad, when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus therefore said to them again, Peace be unto you: as the Father hath sent me, even so send I you. (Through spiritual crucifixion and resurrection.) 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Spirit (The great power of God to lose our life to gain Jesus' life and ministry.): 23 whose soever sins ye forgive, they are forgiven unto them; whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.   Spiritual Food for the Tribulation Janie McManus - 04/30/2009 (David's notes in red) Generally, I wake up early, by 6:00 AM, to pray and read the Word, but this morning when I awoke, I wanted to sleep some more. It was my day off and I had a long list of things to do, and I thought, Oh no, what will happen if I stay in bed? Then I sensed the Holy Spirit say, “Sleep. I want to give you a gift”. I drifted off into sleep and dreamed I was within a group of people being herded along urban streets, and jostling among folks. (This is in the hard times of tribulation when the World Beast will take charge of people's lives.) I realized that I was not among people I knew, but we seemed about the same middle, lower-middle class crowd -- no one too fancy, and basically healthy. So I am standing in the middle of all these sacks of grain, and we have to move, suddenly, like we were being driven, so I asked the ones around me, “Can you help me carry these sacks?” (The Word we need to live by), and they laughed, saying, “No need to drag that along; we get plenty to eat”. (Those who set aside obedience to the scripture.) But I figured, this is perfectly good grain, and I am not going to just throw it away, so I loaded my pack and pockets, and we walked and jogged on. (Revival among the poor, outside the camp of mainstream churchianity, who will “load up” on the grain of God's Word.) Soon we stopped, out on this country road, and long board tables were set out, and we were instructed to line up on the sides, and then plates were put in front of us filled with this mush, which, on closer inspection, was filled with maggots. Looking up and down the length of the table, I saw people just pick up the plates and start shoveling it in. (The Beast and their false prophets will feed their corrupt teachings to the spiritually starving.) Needless to say, I was NOT hungry, so I wandered away from the table and snatched a few grains to chew on.  Immediately, I could hear the boots of these uniformed troops as they rushed up to the table to see if the food was eaten and all the plates were empty, except mine. In a gruff voice, they asked, “Whose plate is this?” and everyone who had been alongside me turned and pointed to me, but the troops just stormed past me, as though I wasn't there. (Martial law will enforce the harlot's wishes on the multitudes, as in Jesus' day. Our site has testimonies of people being invisible to the enemy as they served the Lord. Jesus passed through the midst of those who would kill Him. Peter passed two trained guards as an angel led him out of prison.) This wearying trek of meals and marching kept being repeated, and I just munched on my grain and shared with anyone who asked for some. (The righteous will carry the Word to those hungry for life.) At first, everyone liked the sweet taste, but they didn't like chewing it, so they spit it out, preferring the gruel. (The clean beasts chew the cud until the Word is thoroughly digestible and useful to the body.) The ones who did eat from both sources became sort of shadowy and wispy (spiritual), but also fearful, and they began to hide. (Those who begin to mix the Word in with their traditions become more spiritual, but their corrupt lives are condemned, and they fear the Lord without an understanding of grace.) Then they refused to eat what I offered and they became “solid” (fleshly) again but everyone had sort of an oily, flabby, fleshy muscle tone, and they wheezed in an unhealthy way. (Those who hear the Word and turn back to walk in the flesh will be cursed. (2 Pet.2:20) For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein and overcome, the last state is become worse with them than the first. 21 For it were better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandment delivered unto them. 22 It has happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog turning to his own vomit again, and the sow that had washed to wallowing in the mire.) Eventually, we came to a small strip mall that had already been looted, and all the folks rushed into the ransacked stores to see if there was anything they could yet steal. Some were stuffing CDs and techno things into their packs, which was dumb, since they had no electricity or batteries. (The mall represents the buying and selling of the merchants of Babylonish Christianity. They don't know that they have been plundered of anything useful and what is left is useless and powerless.) In the strip mall, I saw that there was a Christian bookstore and, although the windows were smashed, the shelves had been swept clear (no knowledge of God left) and piles of books were on the floor. (What knowledge was there was on the lowest level. The smashed windows represent no clear vision.) I went and picked up a book off the floor and, when I lifted it, all this ash fell out; I looked at the pages, and they were completely empty. When I sifted through the ashes, I found a few little stones. When I licked one off, it proved to be a tiny diamond, hard and translucent. (The only value in the teachings of Babylon is when they quote the scriptures. Nothing else will endure the fires of tribulation.) I wrestled with whether I ought to pocket the tiny diamonds or leave them behind. I searched for some Bibles but found none. (The Word will not be found in the government-approved churches.) I went up to a full bookshelf and opened a standing book. Instantly, the printed words crumbled and slid off the page -- all of them except some bold-print quotes. Suddenly, these leapt off the page and coiled up like microfilm (hidden treasures) and fell at my feet. I realized these words were direct Bible quotes and they were the tiny diamonds. So I scooped up as many as I could gather before the marching orders were barked out. (The Bible will be treasured by the hungry and destroyed by the wicked.) The people were gathering out in the front parking lot of the mall, so I went out to join them. They saw all the diamonds I had, tackled me and looted me! They were shaking me down and gulping down the diamonds by the fistful, without even chewing them, and then left me on the curb, in the middle of nowhere, and went on. (Those apostates who hear but do not digest the Word of truth will persecute the righteous. (Mat.7:6) Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast your pearls before the swine, lest haply they trample them under their feet, and turn and rend you.) I saw that the back door of the store was standing open, and I dragged myself over to the door. There was an enormous interior space that was floored like a warehouse, and there were people in low wheelchairs scooting back and forth, from one end of the mall to the other. I felt afraid for them, realizing that they were the ones who would be culled from the herd, but I “understood” that these were below the radar: “In their weakness, God's strength is made perfect”; so, even though they were physically handicapped, they were rather healthier than the others. (Those whom the world considers crippled and unworthy of its company, God chooses and protects. (1 Cor.1:26) For behold your calling, brethren, that not many wise after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, [are called]: 27 but God chose the foolish things of the world, that he might put to shame them that are wise; and God chose the weak things of the world, that he might put to shame the things that are strong; 28 and the base things of the world, and the things that are despised, did God choose, [yea] and the things that are not, that he might bring to nought the things that are: 29 that no flesh should glory before God.) On the far end, there was a kindly woman who was feeding the handicapped handfuls of the diamonds. The kindly woman was spry and very old (strength and maturity); she came up and asked me if I was a Christian. I said yes, and then she asked, “How do you know?” I began sobbing and saying, “I was hungry and thirsty” (I felt like a little child who was over-tired). I then said, “Because I only want to eat diamonds” (You know you are a Christian when you hunger and thirst for the pure Word. (Mat.18:3) and said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye turn, and become as little children, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.) This made me cry even more because I felt I had given the wrong answer. I started wailing and weeping and saying, “I gave all the grain I had to the others, and they hate me. I try to walk with them and I share what I have, and I don't make trouble”. (Many “on fire Christians” have had the sad experience of trying but failing to fit in among the apostates and being persecuted for it.) I went on and on about all the stuff I had done, knowing it all sounded so foolish, and I was overcome with exhaustion and was sobbing uncontrollably. (Failure to reach many lost souls with the true Word will be a grief to many saints.) She gently put her hand on my shoulder and said, “You must go on now”. Suddenly, she paused, turned and asked me, “Do you know how to get more diamonds whenever you want?” Before I answered, she held up a single page of NT scripture for me to see. The page was almost sheer, and the lettering was moving like tiny rivulets of water (as “living water”) and she asked me, “Do you recognize any of this?” I began crying and with such intense joy that it hurt, and I could not even see through my tears. I reached up to try and grab the whole page to try to stuff it in my mouth, but she would not let me lay hold of it. (Reading it too fast and missing the details.) Laughing, she said, “No, you sit still and read the words so you can hear what they say and see what they mean”. Calming myself down, I sat to read, and whenever I came to words I knew, they suddenly froze and became like a sticker or label. (As we meditate on the Word, it becomes real to us -- digested into our being.) She said, “Peel them off and eat that,” so I did just that. Some passages I ate 10 or 15 times, but immediately after peeling off the label/passage, they were replaced. So, like a hungry man, I gorged myself and thought I could eat until I fell asleep. She said, “Now, you can keep eating whenever you want, or you can lug the grain sack around”. I was puzzled and asked, “Where will I carry it?” and she said, “It is in your mind and in your heart, but you must stand still and look for it and ask for it; there it will be”. (There is a time when we only carry the Word of God in our hand, but as we digest it, the Holy Spirit is able to bring it up out of our hearts to meet the needs around us.) Then she again said, “You must go on now”. Now I was greatly strengthened, rested and fed. I even began to wake up, ready to conquer the day, but I heard her voice say, “Wait, there is more”, and I fell into sleep again, into the same dream. I was being dragged out of the crowd in the middle of a campground by some of the people I had fed earlier, and they began dragging me toward the troops. I didn't feel a bit afraid and I wasn't resisting. I said to them, “Let's just stand here; they can come over to us”, which they did immediately! (The apostate church will use the beast government to persecute those whose doctrine doesn't please their flesh.) The troops asked, “Where is she?” and the others said, “Right here, between us”, which I thought was odd; they would have had to be blind not to see me. (God will, in some cases, physically blind the wicked to protect His saints. They are “hidden with Christ in God”. The spiritual blindness of the OT law and the letter of the Word “veils” the eyes and mind of apostate persecutors.) So they instructed the ones holding me to restrain me, but I calmly stood up straight and tall, and watched as one of the troops lifted an enormous sword (like in the movie Braveheart) high above his head, and in slow motion watched it drop to the crown of my head. It sliced me right in half, all the way to my ankles, and there at my feet were all my clothes and all around my feet was a pile of these diamonds, like I was some sort of grain sack that had been slit open. (Just as Jesus was “the Word made flesh”, so it will be with His disciples. The persecution will reveal this to those who have eyes to see.) I felt the embarrassment of a dream when you are completely naked, yet no one even saw me, so I stood still. The ones holding my arms let go of me and dove on top of my clothing and started tearing them, eating them, ripping them up, and passing them around. (When Jesus was naked and crucified, they parted His garments. The garments of the righteous represent the “righteous acts of the saints”, as in Rev.19:8,14. The apostates devour the righteous through their denigrating words and accusations. (Gal.5:15) But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.) Oddly, everyone wanted some of the fabric, and everyone was gobbling up the diamonds, but completely forgot about me. (In the same way, they will criticize the truths of the Word that the saints have become, but God will reprobate them.) When they turned away to march on, I noticed that no longer were they people, but almost like half-pig, half-human, and the feces that fell behind them were loaded with the diamonds -- unchewed, undigested, and unharmed -- just dirty. (Like sows that had washed, they return to wallow in the mire. The church world and its greedy leadership have polluted the truths of God's Word. They have not digested the true meaning of the Scriptures. Please read all of Eze.34. Verse (Eze.34:18) Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have fed upon the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pasture? and to have drunk of the clear waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet? 19 And as for my sheep, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet, and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet.) I reached out, hesitant to touch the “stuff” but saw my hand was covered in a white glove, so I looked for something to put the rescued diamonds in and wondered where I would get water to wash them off. I squatted down and saw (to my relief) that my knees were covered in this satiny, sheer curtain-like fabric, and low down I could hear water trickling. (The humble may go to their knees to find wisdom from God to turn the polluted hearts of the deceived to the pure Word. The white glove represents works of righteousness, as you take the clean water of the Word and Spirit.) I noticed then that ALL OVER the ground lay bodies of dead people. I was horrified and astounded. So I stood up and began to sing. The more I sang, the more clearly I could see the bodies. Some were being eaten by grubs, but others were rather like fertile ground, and when I flipped them over, they were filled with earthworms. In those bodies, I “planted” some of the diamonds, just out of curiosity. Suddenly, I watched the diamonds unfurl, and all the letters began sprouting roots and tendrils; they were alive! I became engrossed in putting out the diamonds, like one planting seeds by hand in a furrow. (The true gospel saves, heals, delivers, and resurrects those who are dead in sin.) When I looked back, the field was filling with people coming out of the ground, who immediately turned to begin tilling the ground and planting bodies! We were all quite busy and a multitude was coming alive. (The sowers of the Word will sow the seed and bring forth life in others, who in turn go to work in the field.) I woke myself up, shook off sleep, got out of bed, and went to start a load of laundry, thinking, ‘Now that was weird!' (We have been exhorted by this dream to clean up the garments of our works so that we are not partakers of the defilements of Babylon by their religious spirits. (Exo.19:10) And Jehovah said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to-day and to-morrow, and let them wash their garments... (Num. 8:21) And the Levites purified themselves from sin, and they washed their clothes... (31:24) And ye shall wash your clothes on the seventh day, and ye shall be clean; and afterward ye shall come into the camp.) I have a little box of scripture verses that are about 70 years old, from my grandmother's house, next to my washing machine. So, waiting for the water to fill the tub, I chose a card at random to read; it was (Mat. 7:7) Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.   Wolves and the John the Baptist Revival Eve Brast - 04/27/2016 (David's notes in red) Wolves of all kinds wait to pick off the new believers in this revival before they can mature. Pray for them, brethren, and do spiritual warfare against the demonic enemies. This repentance revival must succeed, or a great curse will come upon this country. John the Baptist came in the spirit of Elijah, according to Jesus. (Mal.4:5) Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of Jehovah come. (6) And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers; lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. Are these apostate leaders the children's fathers? No, the early Church fathers are their fathers. And the Man-child, Bride, and witnesses are their fathers. This revival will point them to these fathers. I dreamed I had just given birth to my son Elijah on top of a large white round table in the center of a cafeteria. My husband was standing to my right and holding my hand. (Her husband represents the Lord.) He was so happy and proud of his new son. We both knew the baby was very special. (I believe this represents the Bride birthing through prayer the John the Baptist revival, which precedes Jesus in the Man-child reformers.) Then, some cafeteria workers posing as hospital nursery employees came to take Elijah to the nursery and asked us if we wanted him circumcised. (Cafeteria workers are they who feed spiritual or, in this case not spiritual food. They are acting as though they are ordained to take care of this revival, to cut away the flesh, but it is they who are flesh. The false leaders always try to hijack any true revival trying to impose their unscriptural foolishness. We must do warfare against this.) My husband emphatically said, “No. That's not necessary anymore”. So they left the room with Elijah. I assumed they would take care of him. (We bind this leaven masquerading as Christianity from this repentance revival.) I then went and got in line with some other people to get a tray of food. The cafeteria workers all had disposable white hair nets. A young, tall, lanky guy and a short woman put various food items on my plate and handed me the tray. I saw that they had put shredded pork on my plate, and I said, “I'm not allowed to eat pork. My husband doesn't allow it”. (This is spiritual. Our Lord does not allow us to partake of their unclean fleshly nature, words, spirits and teachings. Like pigs, their god is their belly.) When my hand touched the tray, I had an open vision. I saw Elijah lying on the floor in pain in another room. The cafeteria workers who had posed as hospital nursery workers had circumcised him and botched the procedure in addition. They had also stuffed pork into his mouth and he was lying there half choked from it. (These apostate ministries cutting off what they call “flesh” from this revival. Their unscriptural, overindulgent lives prove they do not know what flesh is. Adding their pork as a type of their unclean demon doctrines to choke the revival.) When the vision ended, I was back over at the table where I had given birth to Elijah. I was telling my husband what they had done to him, and then the “nursery worker” came up with the dried foreskin in her hand. She had a strange necklace around her neck with many others hanging from it, and she placed Elijah's dried foreskin onto her necklace, too. It was like a bizarre trophy necklace or something. (The demons in the false revival people want to claim this revival as their own for selfish ambition.) My husband was so angry that they did this to his son. I hurried into the room where they had left him to suffer and choke to death. I quickly picked him up and performed the infant version of the Heimlich maneuver on him that I had learned in a CPR class that I took at the hospital. (They must not be cut off from the breath of the Spirit.) I took a white baby blanket and wrapped him up in it, and carried him out of that cafeteria building and walked with him on a white covered concrete walkway over to the large UBM warehouse next door. (Just as John said in (Joh.3:30) He must increase, but I must decrease. The John the Baptist revival will morph into the Man-child revival of the Unleavened Bread and signs and wonders. But for God's people to escape the judgments promised, there must be repentance. This revival must succeed.)   THE CONDITION FOR PROPHECY TO COME TO PASS OR NOT AND THE CURSE (Jer.18:1) The word which came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying, (2) Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. (3) Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he was making a work on the wheels. (4) And when the vessel that he made of the clay was marred in the hand of the potter, he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. (5) Then the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, (6) O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith Jehovah. Behold, as the clay in the potter's hand, so are ye in my hand, O house of Israel. (This pot has to be handled roughly to get the clay back in a moldable form. This remolding of the clay historically has involved judgment until the clay is repentant.) (7) At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up and to break down and to destroy it; (8) if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them. (9) And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it; (10) if they do that which is evil in my sight, that they obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them. (11) Now therefore, speak to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I frame evil against you, and devise a device against you: return ye now every one from his evil way, and amend your ways and your doings. (12) But they say, It is in vain; for we will walk after our own devices, and we will do every one after the stubbornness of his evil heart.   Great Holy Spirit Revival & Escape Eve Brast - 05/04/2016 (David's notes in red) I dreamed I was in the spirit, floating right above the waters of the Red Sea. (This is after the Passover that brought death to the Egyptians and freedom to God's people just before the wilderness tribulation on the other side of the sea.) I was looking toward the bank on the shore, which was dark. (The way of escape from Pharaoh's army or martial law is not clear.) I saw a small tongue of fire come down out of heaven and alight on top of the waters. (The tongue of fire is the baptism of the Holy Spirit. (Act.2:3) And there appeared unto them tongues parting asunder, like as of fire; and it sat upon each one of them. (4) And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. This individual tongue of fire is the anointed Man-child from Heaven. This is the Man-child revival that follows the John the Baptist revival. Like Moses they are to bring the people into and through the wilderness tribulation.) Suddenly, all the waters were set on fire and they parted with great force and power as if Moses himself had struck them with his staff! (Jesus in the Man-child by His Word and anointing will divide the sea and make a way of escape from Pharaoh's army and his FEMA camps, as Moses did. (Exo.14:16) And lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thy hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go into the midst of the sea on dry ground.) They became two flaming walls of fire, and between them, the tongue of fire landed on the dry seabed, and it lit up the shoreline. (The anointed Man-child made the way of escape clear when it looked impossible.) I could then see a set of 12 stone steps (representing the 12 tribes of New Testament Spiritual Israel) leading down from the top of the shoreline to the seabed. Then all these modern-day people from all the different denominations were lit up in the dark, and they began descending the steps to go across. A man who was also dressed in modern-day clothing was the first to descend and was at the head of them to go into the wilderness and on to the Promised Land. Then I woke up. (What would it take to unify all the true people of God to seek Him and spiritually leave Egypt, as a type of the world, and head toward the promises of the Promised Land? The John the Baptist repentance revival would have wised up many to the bondage of the Pharisees and Sadducees and their dead religion by then. Pharaoh had made slaves of the people of God, somewhat like our Pharaoh, and fierce judgments had fallen on the worldly at Passover. Could this be engineered economic collapse, earthquakes, volcanic activity, and martial law? The judgments on Egypt so the people can escape. I asked the Lord, “Will martial law come?” and got two heads for “yes”. I asked, “Can it be overturned by our faith?” and got two tails for “no”. And this was fulfilled for we are in it now. Pharaoh's army was about to bring them into bondage when God divided the Red Sea. At this point, they were unified by the baptism of the Holy Spirit. (1Co.10:1) For I would not, brethren, have you ignorant, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; (2) and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud [baptism of the Holy Spirit] and in the sea [water baptism].) I asked the Lord, if we went the Trump route, would the earthquakes not come and He said, “No”. In other words, the quakes are coming. They are a sign of the coming Man-child reformers.   White Glove Inspection Sandy Shaw - 2/11/18 (David's notes in red) At the beginning of this dream, I am standing in front of an extraordinarily large white house. In real life, there is no way that you would see a house this large on Earth. (At this time, there are no people who this white house can represent but the Bride. Certainly not the larger Church. But the Bride's job is to bring this purity to the Church as did Jesus' early disciples.) The steps leading up to the door were made of gold. (The steps of Gold are the most valuable steps a person could take to go through the door who is Jesus.) But the top step had an adjoining white marble floor that ran throughout the whole house. There are two pillars that start where the gold ends. There were two double doors, bright white (Lampros garment of the Bride) made of a substance that I didn't know. (This entrance represents righteous acts Rev.19:8 And it was given unto her that she should array herself in fine linen, bright [Greek: Lampros] and pure: for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. The gold plates around the door handles had an intricate design around the edges. The handles were of round crystal. I opened the doors and in front of me is a huge room. And I strained my eyes to see how far it goes. Then I looked to the left of me, and there were hundreds of doors to the rooms and the same on the right. I'm wearing a white robe with white gloves to the elbows. (The Bride cleaning her house, representing righteous Works) I went to the first door and went to the upper right-hand corner, and then went diagonally down to the left corner. I opened the door and went into the room and closed the door. And did it again on the opposite side. Then I opened the door. And then I inspected the walls. I took my finger and by my height, I slid it across to the corner. (The white glove inspection. If dirt comes up on the finger, there is unrighteousness in the house of the Bride.) Then, from the wall, I bent down to inspect the floor. It passed inspection, so I walked to the bed, bent down, and put my hand under the bed and then I stood up. Then I looked at the bed. (Representing the rest through faith) It was made up of white satin-like fabric. I can see my handprint from kneeling down, so I took my hands and smoothed out the wrinkle that I had made. (The Bride is the first of the Church to be without spot and wrinkle.) The three white pillows were soft and very inviting. Then I walked to the nightstand and gave it the white glove test. There was a beautiful crystal vase. In it were a dozen white roses all at the perfect stage of openness. (Fruit born through water of the Word – A present from the Groom. Rev. 22:1 And he showed me a river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb, The fragrance of them was throughout the whole room. Then I looked to see the amount of water in the vase. The only color in this dream was the stems. Then I walked to the window and pushed aside the curtain. The window was so clear that you couldn't see it. (Pure of sight) Then I took my finger and went from the upper right corner to go diagonally to the left. There were two windows in the room. They were open an inch each. A slight breeze was coming in. (Breath of the Holy Spirit) Now there was a coolness that blended with the warmness, and you felt it together to make a perfect temperature. I then checked the curtains, and then I walked to the door. I turned around to look at the room for the last time. I noticed that the curtains were barely moving with a slight breeze. Then I remembered to look up at the ceiling. There was no ceiling...just a beautiful deep blue. (Heavenly perspective. Son shining in.) I did this in all the rooms on the right and on the left. In the huge room, I ran my finger over the floor while walking to the kitchen. The kitchen has a white swivel door. Everything is still white. The first thing I saw was a row of ovens. (To bake the pure unleavened Bread of the Word and Body of the Bride.) I know that there are forty ovens. I walk over to give them the test. Then from there I went to the four vintage farmhouse sinks, and they passed inspection. Then I went to the four huge refrigerators, and I opened them. There was no food in them. (To be pure and white, you must have eaten the food of the bread and wine of the life of Jesus.) Inside was only a rectangular glass container that held water with a silver spigot. (Silver kills contaminants in Water. The Water of the Word must be clean of leaven.) All four refrigerators were the same. Then I did the floor test again. There was a door on the right side of the kitchen that went into a very small hall. This led into a big room. At the other end of the room was a huge chair that looked like it was made for a giant. A man was sitting in it with pure white hair and garment. (Rev.1:13 and in the midst of the candlesticks one like unto a son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about at the breasts with a golden girdle. 14 And his head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire.) I walked slowly and said very softly, “Sir,” and he said, “Yes.” The inspection is done.” And he said, “OK.” Then I woke up. My feeling was one of total relief and acceptance from Him, and He was pleased. I received by faith at random this text for this dream: Finger was on vs 26, “he made.” Acts 17:24 The God that made the world and all things therein, he, being Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; 25 neither is he served by men's hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he himself giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; 26 and he made of one every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed seasons, and the bounds of their habitation; 27 that they should seek God, if haply they might feel after him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us: 28 for in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain even of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. 29 Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and device of man. 30 The times of ignorance therefore God overlooked; but now he commandeth men that they should all everywhere repent:   Worldwide Holy Spirit Outpouring  Samuel Paguaga - 09/21/2010 (David's notes in red) I think this dream tops all my spiritual dreams in its intensity and revelation. In it, I was in a small gathering of sorts. We were talking and then praying. A bit more had happened before that, but I think the point of this event is that none of what had happened before this mattered. All of a sudden, it was like when you step out of your home straight into the sun at noon. I was overwhelmed with light/energy, not as much as to blind the eyes, but more of a light/energy that penetrated to every cell and fiber of my body. I felt I was no longer physical or fleshly but a new being. As I looked straight forward in front of me, the physical world began to fade, but not because it was disappearing; it was because I began to perceive it in a new way, with new senses, and everything became almost transparent. I looked up and began to speak words in a new language. I was confessing something. Although I could not understand the words, I could feel them in my being. The words were energizing and vibrating my being, my frequency, my entity, my spirit. It was as if all of me became one: my spirit with my mind and my body. As I began to speak, my perception of my surroundings grew. I could feel, perceive, and see all those around me who were experiencing the same thing. First, the two people beside me; then, outwardly, the people in the place; then the whole block; then the city, and then the whole Earth. We, disciples of Christ, were all one and not because we perceived each other, but because we were confessing the same words and because the same flow of energy and power of the Holy Spirit was flowing through us. Although there was a worldwide outpouring, only the vessels of glory, the vessels of light, were filled to the seal. (This could be the first-fruits outpouring at the beginning of the tribulation.) I could feel the power and energy flowing through me, vibrating every part of my being. I spoke words and feelings became more and more intense, so much so that I could not even begin to describe them. I saw everything as white, yellowish, and orange lights, as if everything was transparent. I felt one with the source, at one with the words, and as one with everyone confessing these words. All these feelings of oneness occurred at three distinct levels. All of this along with a feeling of peace; it was as if this was a new nature, and I knew what it was. I experienced the whole thing even when I awoke. It seemed like I knew what was happening. I knew what the source was, what the energy and power was, and the meaning of the words. I woke up shortly afterward, possibly on the last word spoken, although in the dream it seemed like from that point on things would not be the same. As I awoke, I could almost feel the vibration of energy in my being as it dispersed into the normality of my awakened state. I always wondered, what does it mean to be one with God and His Christ and His Spirit ... and now I know. 

Ralph Nader Radio Hour
The Problem with Plastic

Ralph Nader Radio Hour

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 6, 2025 72:44


Ralph welcomes Judith Enck (founder and president of Beyond Plastics, whose goal is to eliminate plastic pollution everywhere) to discuss her new book “The Problem with Plastic: How We Can Save Ourselves and Our Planet Before It's Too Late.” Then, Ralph reflects on the 60th anniversary of “Unsafe at Any Speed.”Judith Enck is the founder and president of Beyond Plastics, whose goal is to eliminate plastic pollution everywhere. In 2009, she was appointed by President Obama to serve as regional administrator at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and served as deputy secretary for the environment in the New York Governor's Office. She is currently a professor at Bennington College, where she teaches classes on plastic pollution. She is co-author (with Adam Mahoney) of The Problem with Plastic: How We Can Save Ourselves and Our Planet Before It's Too Late.I support recycling…But the sad reality is that plastic recycling has been an abysmal failure. Always has, always will be…You cannot really accomplish high levels of recycling with plastics because you would literally have to do hundreds, if not thousands of different sorting. The people who know this the most are the plastic manufacturers. Yet they have spent hundreds of millions of dollars confusing and deceiving the public into thinking: “Don't worry about all your plastic, just toss it in your recycling bin,” knowing that most plastic never gets recycled.Judith EnckA lot of people feel overwhelmed and that it's hopeless and what can one person do? And that fails to acknowledge that the reason we're not making more progress on climate change is because of the political power of fossil fuel companies. On the plastics issue, we're taking on fossil fuel, chemical, and consumer brand companies and plastics companies. So it's a lot. It's amazing we get anything done. But people around the country are coming together and they're getting victories.Judith EnckI do think if you start paying attention to plastic in your own life, you see that there are alternatives. And then you climb the civic ladder. So you try to reduce plastic in your own home. Then you look at your kid's school. Then you look at your faith community. Then before you know it, you're at your city council asking what can the city do to reduce plastics. You're going to get a couple victories there. And then you find the statewide environmental groups that are working on this. This is for the long haul.Judith EnckThe important thing about [Unsafe at Any Speed] now is: sure, it saved millions of lives and the laws are still on the books, and even Donald Trump can't tear seatbelts and airbags out of our cars. But if we tried to do this again today, it wouldn't happen. And that's because the concentration of corporate power over Congress and the media is so much more intense now. And it's also because the decline of civic institutions and democratic institutions has been very pronounced over the last few decades. And that is sobering us up.Ralph NaderNews 12/5/251. Our top stories this week are on Venezuela. First, the BBCis out with a report on the American military build-up around the Latin American nation, which includes “air and naval forces…a nuclear-powered submarine and spy planes...a range of aircraft carriers, guided-missile destroyers, and amphibious assault ships capable of landing thousands of troops.” So far, the Trump administration has sent mixed messages on whether they plan to launch a full-scale invasion of the Bolivarian Republic, but Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro shows no signs of stepping down without a fight, having declared a “massive mobilisation” of 200,000 military personnel throughout the country. Most ominously, on November 29th, President Trump declared Venezuela's sovereign airspace closed, per the Wall Street Journal.2. However, American bellicosity towards Venezuela is unpopular at home. A CBS poll found that only 30% of Americans would favor the U.S. taking military action in Venezuela, compared to a whopping 70% opposed. Another question in this same poll found that only 13% of Americans consider Venezuela a “major threat” with 48% considering the country a “minor threat” and 39% report they don't think Venezuela is a threat at all. Unfortunately, the lack of popular support for war is unlikely to constrain the Trump administration much, but it is a notable difference from the lead-up to the Iraq War, when 70% of Americans favored an invasion. The American people want peace, even if the government does not. 3. Another key detail from the CBS poll is that “Three in four Americans…say Trump would need congressional approvalbefore taking military action in Venezuela, including just over half of Republicans.” In light of this fact, it is significant that a bipartisan group in Congress is pushing a War Powers resolution to “block strikes on Venezuela,” per the Intercept. This new push in the House is sponsored by stalwart progressive Congressman Jim McGovern and co-sponsored by dissident Republican Thomas Massie along with other progressives like Reps. Ro Khanna, Lloyd Doggett, and Joaquin Castro, among others. As the Intercept piece notes, this resolution must be acted on in the House within 15 days, but by then the administration may have already acted, pre-empting the resolution. A similar resolution has also been introduced in the Senate, primarily backed by Senators Tim Kaine and Rand Paul, with backing from other Senate Democrats, per the Hill.4. Of course, American aggression towards Venezuela is reverberating out into the international community in myriad ways. Generally speaking, while United Nations officials decry the actions, America's European allies have kept quiet – with many speculating that these countries would prefer Maduro's ouster in order to get ready access to Venezuelan oil and decrease their dependence on Russia. China however, has issued a stiff condemnation of American actions. The Iranian Students News Agencyquotes Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian's statement at a Beijing press conference, which where in he stated, “China opposes any action that violates the purposes and principles of the UN Charter or infringes upon the sovereignty and security of other countries…[and] opposes foreign forces interfering in Venezuela's internal affairs under any pretext.” He added, “We urge all parties to keep the Latin American and Caribbean region a peaceful zone and not allow the situation to escalate further.” However, beyond these condemnations, it remains unclear what, if anything, China will do to check American aggression.5. Despite all of this however, House Democratic leadership is typically feckless. In a corollary to the increasing likelihood of strikes against Venezuela directly, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has stepped up the campaign of striking boats off the country's coast. Recently, the Washington Post revealed that after a strike in September which left survivors clinging to life, Hegseth ordered a second strike, directing Admiral Frank Bradley to “kill everybody.” This revelation led to calls for House Democrats to pursue impeachment against Hegseth on charges that he violated the laws of war. However, Axiosreports House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries will not pursue a Hegseth impeachment. While true that such a push would likely be DOA, it sends a dark signal that the administration can do something like this and face virtually zero official condemnation. 6. Nevertheless, Republicans have taken such unpopular actions that it seems Democrats will retake the House, perhaps by a wide margin, in the 2026 midterms – or perhaps before. So far, 31 House Republicans have announced they will not seek re-election, with some retiring and others running for other offices. Still others however are signaling that they will resign their offices before the midterms, shaving the slim House GOP majority ever slimmer. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene has announced she will retire in January 2026. Now, Congresswoman Nancy Mace is reportedly considering resigning early as well, though she has denied such rumors, per KOMO News. Either way, Democrats should be taking this moment to prepare an agenda for if and when they retake control of the chamber. 7. Turning to consumer protection news, Jalopnik reports Senate Republicans are seeking to rollback decades of automobile safety regulations. In a recent hearing held by the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation ostensibly to put the CEOs of the Big Three American car manufacturers, as well as Tesla, on the record as to why cars have become so expensive, Republicans on the committee used the opportunity to blame safety regulations. Jalopnik notes that Republican Senators specifically targeted “automated emergency braking, the requirements for which will not come into effect until 2029 and have no bearing on current car prices…[and] back-seat alarms to remind you if you've left a child or pet back there. According to Kids and Car Safety, since 1990 at least 1,165 children have sweltered to death in hot cars, and another 7,500 survived with varying degrees of injury.” The cost of these sensors will amount to about $50 per vehicle. In short, while there are many reasons cars have become considerably more expensive in recent years – including everything from tariffs to data centers buying up all electronic parts – blaming safety regulations is a tired canard. 8. Meanwhile, RFK Jr. is moving to kill a proposed Food and Drug Administration rule to test for asbestos in talc-based cosmetics, the Guardian reports. As this report notes, cosmetics companies have known about potential asbestos contamination of talc since the 1950s, but that fact, like so many other corporate secrets, was suppressed, only coming to light in the 1970s. Asbestos is a highly carcinogenic substance. It has been banned in over 50 countries and “No…level of exposure is considered safe.” However, attempts to ban the substance in the U.S. have been stymied by industry, beginning with the overturning of the EPA's 1989 ban.9. In more legal news, Reuters reports the British government has announced plans to “remove the historic right to trial by jury,” for defendants in criminal cases carrying potential sentences of under three years in jail. The government argues that this will help alleviate the tremendous backlog of cases before the British courts, despite the fact that the right to a jury trial in Britain dates back to the Magna Carta itself. Barbara Mills, chair of the Bar Council, which represents trial lawyers in the U.K., decried this move, stating ”there is no evidence that [the] removal [of jury trials] would reduce the backlog, nor has it been set out how an alternative system would be resourced…We urge the government to reconsider pursuing radical changes under the mistaken belief that radical equals effective.” 10. Finally, in local news, Washington D.C. Councilmember and Democratic Socialist Janeese Lewis George has officially launched her campaign to be the next mayor of the District of Columbia. Lewis George is the first serious candidate to announce a campaign to succeed unpopular three-term Mayor Muriel Bowser, who is retiring this cycle. Like Zohran Mamdani, Lewis George is prioritizing affordability in the increasingly expensive District as well as an emphasis on fixing city services like traffic safety improvement. According to the Washington Post, “Within hours of launching her campaign Monday morning, Lewis George's campaign said it had received enough money from enough D.C. residents to qualify [for the District's matching fund program], which provides public financing for campaigns that agree not to accept large-dollar donations and corporate contributions.” Within hours, “they had netted more than $110,000 in individual donations from 1,500 D.C. residents,” which after being combined with the matching funds, will total over $750,000.” However, many expect her main challenger to be Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie, an ally of corporate interests and developers in the District, who will likely be bankrolled by those same interests. Whatever the future holds, this will surely be the most competitive citywide race the District has seen in decades. This has been Francesco DeSantis, with In Case You Haven't Heard Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe

Scouting for Growth
Andrei Craciunescu: Redesigning Insurance for the AI-Powered Startup Era

Scouting for Growth

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 4, 2025 35:42


On this episode of the Scouting For Growth podcast, Sabine VdL talks to Andrei Craciunescu, founder and CEO or RiskCube about why the next generation of insurance will be built like software; adaptive, transparent, and embedded into every business platform. They also talk about how AI and data are transforming the role of the broker from middleman to intelligent orchestrator, and what the insurance experience of 2030 could look like when protection becomes invisible and trust becomes the new currency. KEY TAKEAWAYS What companies want from the insurance market is fast underwriting, not to talk with humans so much any more, especially startups, they want a quote in minutes not months. This is how we got into the segment where we offer business insurance for startups – mainly venture backed startups. There are some providers that already offer what we are doing, but there is no comparison. Every founder needs to go to every insurance company separately and ask for a quote, which often vary a lot – sometimes 40% difference between quotes. They spend a lot of time investigating these quotes which is expensive and hard to understand. RiskCube is an AI insurance agency for startups where founders can buy and manage insurance online. We looked at what an agency traditionally does; they have different processes in place like application for insurance, renewal, cancellation and claims. We tried to map out all these processes to see which can be done by AI agents. AI cannot solve the whole insurance value chain, but we see a huge adoption on the claims and applications processes. Generally, most founders don't really care which insurance company they're with, they care that they have somebody that really understand them as a customer. We want startups to come to us because they trust the system which provides a fast experience that works for them. It's not very complicated, what we do for them at the beginning, we provide a smooth process where we can say they have high, medium or low risk then evaluate different quotes for them. BEST MOMENTS  ‘Everybody's pushing on the AI front, but the insurance market is also evaluating if it's really necessary, it's not all in which is impressive.'  ‘We build the firm first and then embedded the technology inside the firm, this will make us defensible in the future because we will own the data in our agency and use it to train our own model.' ‘People are using a lot of AI nowadays, but nobody really understands where the data is going or hosted.' ‘Insurance companies tend to adapt AI for themselves, not for the whole market. We want to bring them all together in one channel.' ABOUT THE GUEST Andrei Craciunescu is redefining risk management with RiskCube, an AI-powered platform revolutionising insurance by streamlining risk assessments, accelerating quote processes, and providing real-time insights to help businesses secure coverage faster and smarter. 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, accelerated 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 This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/

MacVoices Video
MacVoices #25303: Live! - Voices Cloning, Tesla Considers CarPlay

MacVoices Video

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 4, 2025 29:16


The news of AI voice cloning by Michael Caine and Matthew McConaughey met with a mixture of weighing legacy, ownership rights, estates, and the risk of deepfake fraud using celebrities and even podcasters. Chuck Joiner, Marty Jencius, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Jeff Gamet, Eric Bolden, Dave Ginsburg, Mark Fuccio, Web Bixby, and Jim Rea debate legal guardrails, fair use, and how cheap tools empower scams. Later, the discussion shifts to reports that London thieves prefer stealing iPhones over Android devices and how social engineering can defeat Apple's security measures.  This edition of MacVoices is supported by The MacVoices Slack. Available all Patrons of MacVoices. Sign up at Patreon.com/macvoices. Show Notes: Chapters: [0:00] Sponsor mention and pivot to AI voice cloning[0:33] Michael Caine and Matthew McConaughey sign on for AI voice clones[1:59] Creepiness factor and everyday abuse of cloned voices[2:06] Spam callers, family impersonation, and scam risks[3:27] Comparing licensed AI voices to authors licensing their style[4:25] Ownership rights, estates, and posthumous revenue streams[5:43] Al Roker deepfake ad and unauthorized commercial use[8:32] Guardrails to protect voices from misuse[10:47] Illegality vs. cheap, hard-to-police AI impersonation[12:16] Public figures, fair use, and tougher likeness rules[14:51] London phone thieves returning Androids, keeping iPhones[16:00] Resale value, parts markets, and shipped-overseas phones[18:15] Social engineering tactics to get users to remove iCloud locks[18:28] Panel wrap-up, plugs, and where to find each participant[28:00] Closing credits, support options, and contact info Links: Michael Caine and Matthew McConaughey are getting AI voice clones with ElevenLabshttps://apnews.com/article/ai-voice-clones-michael-caine-matthew-mcconaughey-elevenlabs-a906f912c4500bfea35b53f4ad07e846 Al Roker Deepfake Scamhttps://www.today.com/news/al-roker-deepfake-scam-rcna198136 Roblox is requiring 9yo kids to submit a video selfie for age verificationhttps://9to5mac.com/2025/11/18/roblox-is-requiring-9yo-kids-to-submit-a-video-selfie-for-age-verification/ WhatsApp security flaw exposed 3.5B phone numbers – including yourshttps://9to5mac.com/2025/11/18/whatsapp-security-flaw-exposed-3-5b-phone-numbers-including-yours/ London thieves gave stolen phones back when they weren't iPhoneshttps://9to5mac.com/2025/11/18/london-thieves-gave-stolen-phones-back-when-they-werent-iphones/ Guests: Web Bixby has been in the insurance business for 40 years and has been an Apple user for longer than that.You can catch up with him on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, but prefers Bluesky. Eric Bolden is into macOS, plants, sci-fi, food, and is a rural internet supporter. You can connect with him on Twitter, by email at embolden@mac.com, on Mastodon at @eabolden@techhub.social, on his blog, Trending At Work, and as co-host on The Vision ProFiles podcast. Brian Flanigan-Arthurs is an educator with a passion for providing results-driven, innovative learning strategies for all students, but particularly those who are at-risk. He is also a tech enthusiast who has a particular affinity for Apple since he first used the Apple IIGS as a student. You can contact Brian on twitter as @brian8944. He also recently opened a Mastodon account at @brian8944@mastodon.cloud. Mark Fuccio is actively involved in high tech startup companies, both as a principle at piqsure.com, or as a marketing advisor through his consulting practice Tactics Sells High Tech, Inc. Mark was a proud investor in Microsoft from the mid-1990's selling in mid 2000, and hopes one day that MSFT will be again an attractive investment. You can contact Mark through Twitter, LinkedIn, or on Mastodon. Jeff Gamet is a technology blogger, podcaster, author, and public speaker. Previously, he was The Mac Observer's Managing Editor, and the TextExpander Evangelist for Smile. He has presented at Macworld Expo, RSA Conference, several WordCamp events, along with many other conferences. You can find him on several podcasts such as The Mac Show, The Big Show, MacVoices, Mac OS Ken, This Week in iOS, and more. Jeff is easy to find on social media as @jgamet on Twitter and Instagram, jeffgamet on LinkedIn., @jgamet@mastodon.social on Mastodon, and on his YouTube Channel at YouTube.com/jgamet. David Ginsburg is the host of the weekly podcast In Touch With iOS where he discusses all things iOS, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and related technologies. He is an IT professional supporting Mac, iOS and Windows users. Visit his YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/daveg65 and find and follow him on Twitter @daveg65 and on Mastodon at @daveg65@mastodon.cloud. Dr. Marty Jencius has been an Associate Professor of Counseling at Kent State University since 2000. He has over 120 publications in books, chapters, journal articles, and others, along with 200 podcasts related to counseling, counselor education, and faculty life. His technology interest led him to develop the counseling profession ‘firsts,' including listservs, a web-based peer-reviewed journal, The Journal of Technology in Counseling, teaching and conferencing in virtual worlds as the founder of Counselor Education in Second Life, and podcast founder/producer of CounselorAudioSource.net and ThePodTalk.net. Currently, he produces a podcast about counseling and life questions, the Circular Firing Squad, and digital video interviews with legacies capturing the history of the counseling field. This is also co-host of The Vision ProFiles podcast. Generally, Marty is chasing the newest tech trends, which explains his interest in A.I. for teaching, research, and productivity. Marty is an active presenter and past president of the NorthEast Ohio Apple Corp (NEOAC). Jim Rea built his own computer from scratch in 1975, started programming in 1977, and has been an independent Mac developer continuously since 1984. He is the founder of ProVUE Development, and the author of Panorama X, ProVUE's ultra fast RAM based database software for the macOS platform. He's been a speaker at MacTech, MacWorld Expo and other industry conferences. Follow Jim at provue.com and via @provuejim@techhub.social on Mastodon.   Support:      Become a MacVoices Patron on Patreon     http://patreon.com/macvoices      Enjoy this episode? Make a one-time donation with PayPal Connect:      Web:     http://macvoices.com      Twitter:     http://www.twitter.com/chuckjoiner     http://www.twitter.com/macvoices      Mastodon:     https://mastodon.cloud/@chuckjoiner      Facebook:     http://www.facebook.com/chuck.joiner      MacVoices Page on Facebook:     http://www.facebook.com/macvoices/      MacVoices Group on Facebook:     http://www.facebook.com/groups/macvoice      LinkedIn:     https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckjoiner/      Instagram:     https://www.instagram.com/chuckjoiner/ Subscribe:      Audio in iTunes     Video in iTunes      Subscribe manually via iTunes or any podcatcher:      Audio: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesrss      Video: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesvideorss

StarDate Podcast

[3, 2, 1, ignition, and liftoff of SOHO and the Atlas vehicle on an international mission of solar physics.] Generally speaking, staring at the Sun non-stop for decades is a bad idea. But a spacecraft launched 30 years ago this week has done just that. It’s told us about the Sun’s interior, its surface, and its extended outer atmosphere. That’s helped scientists develop better forecasts of space weather – interactions between Sun and Earth that can have a big effect on our technology. The craft is called SOHO – Solar and Heliospheric Observatory. It was launched into an orbit around a point in space where the gravity of Earth and the Sun are balanced. From there, its view of the Sun is never blocked. SOHO watches the Sun in many different ways. It keeps a close eye on the Sun’s magnetic field, which produces outbursts of energy and particles that can have an impact on Earth. That’s revealed shockwaves and “tornadoes” rippling across the Sun’s surface. It’s also revealed the source of the solar wind – a steady flow of charged particles that blows through the solar system. Some of SOHO’s observations block out the Sun itself, showing the space around the Sun. That’s allowed SOHO to discover more than 5,000 comets as they passed close to the Sun – many of which didn’t survive. SOHO’s mission is scheduled to end soon – closing this long-working eye on the Sun. Script by Damond Benningfield

Finding God in Our Pain
The Dating Manifesto: Author, Lisa Anderson offers hope for dating after 40

Finding God in Our Pain

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 3, 2025 83:00


SUMMARY: -Dating is harder today due to digital misrepresentation and added life complexities after 40 (widowhood, divorce, family-of-origin issues); real-life community is essential for discernment and support. -Prioritize meeting and observing potential partners in Christian community and everyday life to see a 360-degree picture (church involvement, service, friendships, parenting). -Four non-negotiables for compatibility: 1) a disciple of Jesus (vibrant, fruit-bearing faith), 2) adult readiness for marriage (responsibility, job, ownership), 3) humility and teachability, 4) generally aligned direction/calling. -Avoid “project” dating and rescuer roles; don't ignore red flags—marry a whole person as you bring your whole self, with ownership and healing underway. -Therapy can be valuable, but vet carefully; seek biblically grounded counseling and community oversight (e.g., Focus on the Family's vetted counselor network). -Lisa's book, The Dating Manifesto, urges intentional, biblically honoring dating, debunks rom-com myths, and equips singles to live with purpose and hope while navigating grief and unmet expectations. -Churches often center on families; singles can be part of the solution by serving, leading, and creating community rather than criticizing from the sidelines. -Treat early dates as exploratory conversations (not instant marital auditions); ask your own questions, keep emotional perspective, and ensure you can remain in community, in a healthy way, if it doesn't work out. -Discuss difficult topics (past relationships, addictions, pornography) as the relationship progresses; look for transparency, accountability, and community verification—humble, teachable responses are key. -Identity in Christ anchors dating and marriage; sexual integrity matters (avoid premarital sex and cohabitation), trust God's timing, and “wait well” by abiding in Christ, engaging community, and pursuing purpose with open hands.   PODCAST INTRO: Dating today can feel like defusing a minefield—especially after 40, when life experience, grief, divorce, or long seasons of singleness shape how we show up. So my guest today, Lisa Anderson is an author, she is the director of Boundless at Focus on the Family, and hosts The Boundless Show podcast. Our conversation is based on a biblical viewpoint of dating. I know many think it too strict but if we're honest, God's ways always bring life, peace, joy, protection and that's a pretty good return on your investment. Lisa lays out some clear boundaries on dating and even sharing how to reflect on our own personal wholeness (meaning in what mental/emotional condition are we showing up, which can also help us know if we're even ready to be dating). She talks about how to find a mate who is healthy themselves and what does healthy even mean. Her point being, if you're dating after 40 then there's been a lot of life that has happened. That's a reality that we must fold into the process and so how can we discern between healthy, a hot mess, a fixer upper? I don't know about you but at my age the thought of a fixer upper is not appealing but Lisa takes the reality of how life takes it toll on us and she breaks down on exactly how to tell if this is someone who has taken responsibility and is moving forward, vs stagnate or a straight up red flag. Oh and then there's the challenges of digital dating. That seems to raise the bar on deception but in all fairness I've had friends who have used digital dating and they had good experiences. So don't be dismayed, Lisa says there's some good news. You don't need perfect conditions to move forward, you need community, clarity, and courage. And that's what Lisa delivers in this conversation. Real quick, Here are 2 of her dating suggestions that I think are solid: Start with real community One of the safer places is to meet someone in an environment where you spend time. Do you have a hobby, do you volunteer, where do you go to church & do you participate/serve at church? Ideally, you're looking for like minded people and they're going to be in the same places you are. Lisa says Community is the safest place to meet people and the wisest place to test new relationships. I thought that smart because you have an environment where people know the both of you. Date with purpose—but keep it simple I personally feel that dating is for marriage so I think that would put a lof of pressure….so Lisa was saying Think “exploratory conversation,” not instant compatibility quiz. It's just coffee. Ask good questions. Just relax and Lisa reminds us… Until there's a ring, you're a brother and sister in Christ—treat each other that way. I'll wrap up after this quick list. Here's 4 non-negotiables to begin with. In our conversation Lisa breaks these down even more with great insight, examples and wisdom. A disciple of Jesus: Not just church attendance—active pursuit of Christ, fruit of the Spirit, repentance, and engaged Christian community. In a position to marry: someone who has done or is doing their homework on their personal healing journey, shows responsibility, forgiveness, financial steadiness, follow-through. Humble and teachable: Open to counsel, not playing the blame game, and receptive to wise instruction. Generally headed in the same direction: Lisa looks at personal callings on their life and rhythms that can realistically unite for a stronger bond. So much good stuff, check the show notes for a link to her book, The Dating Manifesto: A Drama-Free Plan for Pursuing Marriage with Purpose with Author, Lisa Anderson and a link to the Focus on the Family's counseling network. Let's dive in! Lived Loved and Thrive! Sherrie Pilk Podcast Host   CONNECT WITH LISA: Podcast Host: The Boundless Show: Boundless Website Her Book: The Dating Manifesto: A Drama-Free Plan for Pursuing Marriage with Purpose - Amazon Link Focus on the Family Website: Focus On The Family  

Continuum Audio
December 2025 Neuropalliative Care Issue With Dr. Maisha T. Robinson

Continuum Audio

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 3, 2025 21:57


In this episode, Lyell K. Jones Jr, MD, FAAN, speaks with Maisha T. Robinson, MD, MSHPM, FAAN, FAAHPM, who served as the guest editor of the December 2025 Neuropalliative Care issue. They provide a preview of the issue, which publishes on December 2, 2025. Dr. Jones is the editor-in-chief of Continuum: Lifelong Learning in Neurology® and is a professor of neurology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Dr. Robinson is the Chair of the Division of Palliative Medicine and an assistant professor of neurology at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. Additional Resources Read the issue: continuum.aan.com Subscribe to Continuum®: shop.lww.com/Continuum Continuum® Aloud (verbatim audio-book style recordings of articles available only to Continuum® subscribers): continpub.com/Aloud More about the American Academy of Neurology: aan.com Social Media facebook.com/continuumcme @ContinuumAAN Host: @LyellJ Guest: @neuropalldoc Full episode transcript available here Dr Jones: Most of us who see patients with chronic progressive neurologic disease are aware of the value of palliative care. The focus on symptom management and quality of life is a key aspect of helping these patients. But how many of us are comfortable starting the conversation about palliative care or care at the end of life? Today we have the opportunity to speak with a leading expert on neuropalliative care, Dr Maisha Robinson, about how we can better integrate neuropalliative care into our practices. Dr Jones: This is Dr Lyell Jones, Editor-in-Chief of Continuum. Thank you for listening to Continuum Audio. Be sure to visit the links in the episode notes for information about subscribing to the journal, listening to verbatim recordings of the articles, and exclusive access to interviews not featured on the podcast. Dr Jones: This is Dr Lyell Jones, Editor-in-Chief of Continuum: Lifelong Learning in Neurology. Today I'm interviewing Dr Maisha Robinson, who is Continuum's Guest Editor for our latest issue of Continuum on neuropalliative care, and our first-ever issue fully dedicated to this topic. Dr Robinson is an assistant professor of neurology at Mayo Clinic in Florida, where she is Chair of the Division of Palliative Medicine, and she also serves on the AAN Board of Directors as Chair of the Member Engagement Committee. Dr Robinson, welcome. Thank you for joining us today. Why don't you introduce yourself to our listeners? Dr Robinson: Well, Dr Jones, thank you for having me. Really a pleasure to be here. I'm Maisha Robinson at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. I spent my time as a neurohospitalist, a general palliative care physician, and a neuropalliative care physician. Dr Jones: So, this is a topic that at Continuum, we have heard about from subscribers for a long time requesting a fully dedicated issue to palliative care. And we've titled this neuropalliative Care. So, we want to respond to our subscribers and bring them content that they're interested in. I also think that palliative medicine is a big education gap in our specialty of neurology and something that we have room to improve on. So, let's start with the basics, Dr Robinson. Palliative medicine has been around for a long time, but this concept of "neuropalliative care" feels relatively new. What is neuropalliative care? Dr Robinson: That's a great question. Generally, what I would say is palliative care, first of all, is really just a specialty that focuses on trying to improve quality of life for people that have a serious or advanced medical condition. And neuropalliative care is really palliative care for people with neurologic conditions. And you'll see a number of neurologists doing neuropalliative care, but also there are internists as well, and people from other specialties, who focus on patients with neurologic disease and really trying to improve their quality of life. Dr Jones: Got it. And so, it's really the principles of palliative medicine in a specialty-specific context, which I think is important for us given the prevalence of chronic disease in our specialty. And I was obviously reading through these articles in this issue, and in the really wonderful articles, there are some themes that came up multiple times in various different articles. And one of them was obviously the importance of communication with patients and families. I think, and I'm speaking a little bit from personal experience here, many physicians feel uncomfortable bringing up the discussion of palliative care. And I'm sure that is something that reflects on your practice, too. How often do you have a patient who shows up to clinic and they ask you, why am I here? Dr Robinson: It happens all the time, because colleagues who are referring patients are nervous to tell them that they're sending them to palliative care. But we try to tell people it's really just to normalize it, to say that the palliative care team is going to see you, they're going to help with some symptoms, they're going to help you think about big picture, and they're going to be sort of an added layer of support to your team. And I think if people approach it from that standpoint, then patients and family members will say, that sounds great, I need a little extra support. Dr Jones: So, I think most neurologists have a threshold at which they would feel more comfortable having specialty support, having a palliative medicine specialist to help them in symptom management with the patient. For the palliative care that they provide themselves---and we want our subscribers to read this issue and feel more comfortable with delivering some palliative care on their own---how would you encourage them to begin that conversation? How should they initiate that conversation with a patient about working more toward palliative management of symptoms? Dr Robinson: So, one of the things we recommend is really introducing an approach to palliative care very early in the disease process. So, discussions about big picture and goals of care, discussions about who might help make medical decisions if the person can't make them for themselves. Those kinds of things can be discussed very early on. And in fact, that's palliative care. And then they can talk to patients more about the fact that as the disease progresses, there may be an additional team that can help walk along alongside the neurologist in helping you prepare for what's to come. You know, I think it's very important for patients and family members who feel like you're not abandoning them, but you're adding additional resources. And so, I like the way that we often will suggest to people to say partner or collaborate or bring in extra resources with the palliative care team. I think patients and family members will respond to that. Dr Jones: Yeah. So, by talking about it early, you kind of, at least, help to avoid that problem of the patient perceiving the introduction of palliative care as the quote-unquote "giving-up problem." Is that right? Dr Robinson: Correct. Because we also don't want to see people who are just being referred to us for end-of-life care. Palliative care is about much more than that. But if patients will Google palliative care, they may see hospice come up. And so, introducing the concept early and discussing some palliative topics early will allow the patient and family members to think that, okay, this isn't because I'm at the end of life. This is just because my clinician wants to make sure that I have all the bases covered. Dr Jones: This was also mentioned in several of the articles, the studies that have shown how frequently palliative care is initiated very near the end of life, which is usually, I think, perceived as a missed opportunity, right? To not wait so long to take advantage of what palliative care has to offer. Dr Robinson: That's correct. And the benefit of palliative care is that oftentimes we work alongside an interdisciplinary team, a team that could be quite helpful to patients and their support systems throughout the course of the disease. So, we have chaplains, we have nurses, we often have other clinicians, advanced practice providers as well, who work with us. We have spiritual advisors as well. And the patients and family members could benefit from some of those resources throughout the course of the disease. Who they might need to meet with may vary depending on what the disease is and how they're doing. But there's definitely some benefit to having a longitudinal relationship with the palliative care team and not just seeking them out at the end of life. Dr Jones: So- that's very helpful. So, it'll obviously vary according to an individual provider's level of comfort, right, where they're comfortable providing certain palliative management care versus when they need to have some assistance from a specialist. Are there types of care or are there certain thresholds that you say, wow, this patient really should go see a specialist in palliative medicine or neuropalliative care? Dr Robinson: So, I think that if there are, for instance, refractory symptoms, where the neurologist has been working with a patient for a while trying to manage certain symptoms and they're having some challenges, that person may benefit from being referred to palliative care. If patients are being hospitalized multiple times and frequently, that may suggest that a good serious-illness conversation may be necessary. If there are concerns about long-term artificial nutrition, hydration, or functional and cognitive decline, then some of those patients have benefited from palliative care. Not only the patient, but also the caregiver, because our team really focuses on trying to make sure that we're walking through the course of disease with these patients to ensure that all of the needs are managed both for the patient and the family member. Dr Jones: Got it. And that's very helpful. And I know that we talk about a lot of these decisions happening in an ideal environment when there's good access to the neurologist and good access to a palliative medicine specialist or even a neuropalliative medicine expert. In your general sense, I- and maybe we'll talk a little bit here in a minute or two about the growing interest in neuropalliative care. But in terms of access, in terms of availability of really, truly neuropalliative expertise, what is your sense of how widely available that is in the US? Dr Robinson: There's a shortfall of palliative care clinicians in the United States. Everybody who needs a palliative care clinician won't have access to one. And I think your point about the primary palliative care is so important. That's really what we encourage all clinicians, neurologists, neurosurgeons, even, physiatrists, the neurology care team members need to be comfortable with at least initiating some of these conversations. Because, to your point, not everyone's going to have access to a palliative care physician. But by reading issues such as this one, attending some courses---for instance at the American Academy of Neurology meetings---, doing some online trainings, those types of things can be helpful to bring any neurology clinician up to speed who certainly may not have access to a palliative care physician. Dr Jones: So, I know---and this is in part from my own conversations with patients in my own practice---there are a number of fears that patients have when they have a chronic disease, something that's progressive or something that we don't have a curative treatment for. But I think one of, if not the most common fear among patients is pain, and pain that can't be managed adequately during the course of chronic illness or at the end of life. One of the interesting concepts that I saw mentioned in a few of the articles in this issue is this concept of total pain. So, not just the somatic pain that I think we tend to think of as clinicians and patients tend to think of as patients, but a more holistic definition of pain. Walk us through that and how that relates to palliative medicine. Dr Robinson: So, Dame Cicely Saunders, the modern-day founder of palliative medicine, really described this biopsychosocial model for pain. And so, you're right, it's not just physical pain, but it's psychological pain, it's spiritual pain. And oftentimes when we are taking care of patients with neurologic disease, they may have some physical pain, but a lot of them are thinking about, for instance, the things that they will miss, which may cause some internal discomfort. Things that they're grieving, the life they thought they were going to have, the person that they used to be, the life they used to have, and what they anticipated their life as being. And some of that can cause people to have not only the spiritual discomfort, but also some psychological discomfort as well. And so, when we're thinking about how to provide rehensive care to these patients, we have to be thinking about all of these aspects. Dr Jones: It's really helpful. And I guess the more you can identify those, the more you can either help yourself or find the right expert to help the patient. I thought that was an interesting expansion of, of my view of how to think about pain. And another observation that came up in several of the articles was a lack of high-quality clinical trial evidence to inform a lot of the interventions in neuropalliative care. Some of them are common-sense, some of them are based on clinical experience or expert advice. In your own practice, if there was one key knowledge gap to close---in other words, if there was one pivotal trial that we could do to answer one question in helping patients with chronic neurologic disease---what would you say is the main gap? Dr Robinson: I think the real gap is, who needs palliative care and when? That seems very simple. We have tried things such as automatic triggers for palliative care, for instance, in patients with ALS, or we've said that maybe all glioblastoma patients should see palliative care. But is that true? Are we utilizing the resources in the best possible way that we can? We're not sure. And so, you'll see these practices doing things all a little bit different because we don't have a best practice and it's not really standardized about when people should see palliative care, or why, for instance, they should see palliative care, or who should see palliative care. And I think if we could help drill that down, we can provide some better guidance to our colleagues about when and why and who should see palliative care. Dr Jones: It's a really kind of a fundamental, foundational, who needs the service to begin with or who needs to care. Okay, that's- that is a big gap. So, one of the interesting concepts that I read- and it was in Benzi Kluger's article on neuropalliative care for patients who have movement disorders. I think it's a concept that is interesting, really, maybe in the management of patients with a lot of different chronic, progressive neurologic diseases. And it's this idea of stealing victories or bringing joy to patients. In other words, not just managing or trying to minimize some of the negative aspects or symptoms of disease, but looking for opportunities to bring something positive to their experience or improving their quality of life. Tell us a little more about that, because I think that's something patients would appreciate, but I think neurologists would appreciate that, too. Dr Robinson: Dr Kluger loves to talk about sustaining and finding joy in patients who have really serious or advanced neurologic conditions. He likes to talk about stealing victories, which can relate to the fact that patients and their loved ones can find even some benefit despite having a serious or advanced neurologic condition. Neurologists and neurology clinicians also can steal victories in their patients when they notice, for instance, that they've gained a new skill, and they've lost a skill that they used to love because of the advancing disease. And this is just an opportunity for not only the patients and family members, but also the care providers to recognize that in the midst of decline, there are positive things to be found. Dr Jones: I think it gives patients a sense of maybe reclaimed autonomy when they can say, well, there's maybe nothing I can do to cure this disease in the conventional sense, but I can maybe go on this trip with my family, which has been something I've always wanted to do. Or, I can do these things, so I can attend certain events that I want to. And I think that autonomy and independence aspect of that, I think that I think that was really meaningful and something that I'm going to bring back to my own practice in my care of patients who have ALS, for example. When you think about neuropalliative care---and you've been a leader in this area, Dr Robinson---what do you think the biggest change in neuropalliative care has been over the last few years? Dr Robinson: I think there's a growing cohort of people who are recognizing that there is some benefit in having dedicated specialists who focus on palliative care for patients with neurologic disease. When I said I was going to do neuropalliative care, somebody asked me, why would a neurologist be interested in palliative care? Over the last decade and a half, we've seen that shift. And not only are our colleagues recognizing the benefit, but also patients and caregivers are. Some are even asking for palliative care. I think people are recognizing that not only having their primary neurologist or neurology clinician taking care of them, they have this extra layer of support, and this extra team really focused on quality-of-life issues can be beneficial. Dr Jones: So, one of the things that I think you and I have both seen, Dr Robinson, is a growing interest among neurology trainees in palliative medicine. And maybe that's anecdotal, but in my own practice, I've seen more and more trainees express an interest in this. For neurology residents who are interested in this as a component of or maybe a focus of their career, what would you recommend to them? How should they go about this? Dr Robinson: Yes, it used to be that every neurology resident interested in palliative care would call me or email me or send me a message, but now there are so many that I can't keep up. We're excited about the growing number of people interested in neuropalliative care. What I would say to those people is that you can really try to hone your skills by, for instance, doing a rotation with the palliative care team at your hospital, if there is one. If there isn't one, you might even ask to spend some time with the local hospice agency, which may be helpful to you. If you're attending some of the national meetings---for instance, the American Academy of Neurology meeting---you may want to go to a course and learn a little bit about palliative care. There are a couple that are offered every year. There is an education opportunity for education in palliative and end-of-life care as well. And so, there are a number of resources that you can find in addition to this issue of Continuum as well. Dr Jones: I find it gratifying that trainees ask about this. And I'm sorry, I think I've probably sent a bunch of trainees your way for advice about this, and you've been incredibly generous with your time and expertise. So, I find it very gratifying that our neurology trainees are interested in this area, because it's an important area of medicine. It's also probably a challenging practice just from the cognitive load and the emotional load of caring for patients who are moving through a progressive illness. What is your thinking about how to have a sustainable career in palliative medicine? What is your approach to that? Is it for everyone? Dr Robinson: Yeah, the issue with palliative care is that we do see some very challenging situations, and frankly some very sad situations. But I actually love what I do because I think that we're helping patients and their family members during very, very difficult times. I feel like this is why I went to medical school, to try to be there for people when they need me the most. The way that I think about it is, the patients and family members will be going through this anyway. We're trying to help improve their quality of life as they're going through it. And what you might find interesting is that these patients are so grateful. And their loved ones, they're so grateful. Even if they're nearing the end of life, just to have someone who's helping them see that, for instance, the pain could be better, or that they have more resources for the loved ones to be able to take care of them. And so, I think that helps sustain us, realizing that we are really having a positive benefit on the patients and also their family members. Dr Jones: Well, I think that's a great point to end on. And these are patients who need help. Even if we don't have a curative therapy, they do need support. And that's an important service and a function and an important facet of our profession. So, Dr Robinson, I want to thank you for joining us, and I want to thank you for such a great discussion of neuropalliative care. I learned a lot from our conversation today. I've learned a lot reading the articles and the experts that you put together. This is an important topic. I'm really grateful to you to having assembled this team of expert authors and put together an issue that I think will be really important for not only our junior readers, but also our more experienced subscribers as well. Dr Robinson: Thank you, Dr Jones, for the opportunity. Dr Jones: Again, we've been speaking with Dr Maisha Robinson, Guest Editor of Continuum's most recent issue and first issue fully dedicated to neuropalliative care. Please check it out, and thank you to our listeners for joining today. Dr Monteith: This is Dr Teshamae Monteith, Associate Editor of Continuum Audio. If you've enjoyed this episode, you'll love the journal, which is full of in-depth and clinically relevant information important for neurology practitioners. Use the link in the episode notes to learn more and subscribe. Thank you for listening to Continuum Audio.

MacVoices Video
MacVoices #25302: Live! - EU's DMA Failure, Tesla Considering CarPlay

MacVoices Video

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 3, 2025 21:31


The MacVoices Live! panel breaks down Apple's study on EU DMA impacts and why App Store pricing hasn't shifted as expected. huck Joiner, Marty Jencius, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Jeff Gamet, Eric Bolden, David Ginsburg, Mark Fuccio, Web Bixby, and Jim Rea also explore reports that Tesla may add CarPlay, and what that means for Rivian, GM, and the EV market.  This edition of MacVoices is supported by MacVoices Magazine, our free magazine on Flipboard. Updated daily with the best articles on the web to help you do more with your Apple gear and adjacent tech, access MacVoices Magazine content on Flipboard, on the web, or in your favorite RSS reader. Show Notes: Chapters: [0:08] Black Friday sale details from Take Control Books[0:40] Apple's DMA study and App Store pricing debate[1:30] Panel reactions to developer incentives and revenue shifts[3:08] Economist perspectives on the study's findings[4:06] Report: Tesla exploring CarPlay support[4:59] Rivian, Lucid, and broader EV ecosystem reactions[6:51] Anticipated Tesla update timeline and compatibility[9:59] Manufacturers dividing over CarPlay inclusion[11:15] EV market slowdown, discontinued models, and incentives[14:21] Tesla enters rental market; implications for CarPlay demand[17:20] CarPlay licensing questions and Apple's control[20:40] Closing notes and support options Links: Bloomberg: Tesla working to add CarPlayhttps://sixcolors.com/link/2025/11/bloomberg-tesla-working-to-add-carplay/ EU's Digital Markets Act Failed to Lower App Store Prices, Apple-Commissioned Study Sayshttps://www.macrumors.com/2025/11/12/dma-no-lower-fees-study/ Guests: Web Bixby has been in the insurance business for 40 years and has been an Apple user for longer than that.You can catch up with him on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, but prefers Bluesky. Eric Bolden is into macOS, plants, sci-fi, food, and is a rural internet supporter. You can connect with him on Twitter, by email at embolden@mac.com, on Mastodon at @eabolden@techhub.social, on his blog, Trending At Work, and as co-host on The Vision ProFiles podcast. Brian Flanigan-Arthurs is an educator with a passion for providing results-driven, innovative learning strategies for all students, but particularly those who are at-risk. He is also a tech enthusiast who has a particular affinity for Apple since he first used the Apple IIGS as a student. You can contact Brian on twitter as @brian8944. He also recently opened a Mastodon account at @brian8944@mastodon.cloud. Mark Fuccio is actively involved in high tech startup companies, both as a principle at piqsure.com, or as a marketing advisor through his consulting practice Tactics Sells High Tech, Inc. Mark was a proud investor in Microsoft from the mid-1990's selling in mid 2000, and hopes one day that MSFT will be again an attractive investment. You can contact Mark through Twitter, LinkedIn, or on Mastodon. Jeff Gamet is a technology blogger, podcaster, author, and public speaker. Previously, he was The Mac Observer's Managing Editor, and the TextExpander Evangelist for Smile. He has presented at Macworld Expo, RSA Conference, several WordCamp events, along with many other conferences. You can find him on several podcasts such as The Mac Show, The Big Show, MacVoices, Mac OS Ken, This Week in iOS, and more. Jeff is easy to find on social media as @jgamet on Twitter and Instagram, jeffgamet on LinkedIn., @jgamet@mastodon.social on Mastodon, and on his YouTube Channel at YouTube.com/jgamet. David Ginsburg is the host of the weekly podcast In Touch With iOS where he discusses all things iOS, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and related technologies. He is an IT professional supporting Mac, iOS and Windows users. Visit his YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/daveg65 and find and follow him on Twitter @daveg65 and on Mastodon at @daveg65@mastodon.cloud. Dr. Marty Jencius has been an Associate Professor of Counseling at Kent State University since 2000. He has over 120 publications in books, chapters, journal articles, and others, along with 200 podcasts related to counseling, counselor education, and faculty life. His technology interest led him to develop the counseling profession ‘firsts,' including listservs, a web-based peer-reviewed journal, The Journal of Technology in Counseling, teaching and conferencing in virtual worlds as the founder of Counselor Education in Second Life, and podcast founder/producer of CounselorAudioSource.net and ThePodTalk.net. Currently, he produces a podcast about counseling and life questions, the Circular Firing Squad, and digital video interviews with legacies capturing the history of the counseling field. This is also co-host of The Vision ProFiles podcast. Generally, Marty is chasing the newest tech trends, which explains his interest in A.I. for teaching, research, and productivity. Marty is an active presenter and past president of the NorthEast Ohio Apple Corp (NEOAC). Jim Rea built his own computer from scratch in 1975, started programming in 1977, and has been an independent Mac developer continuously since 1984. He is the founder of ProVUE Development, and the author of Panorama X, ProVUE's ultra fast RAM based database software for the macOS platform. He's been a speaker at MacTech, MacWorld Expo and other industry conferences. Follow Jim at provue.com and via @provuejim@techhub.social on Mastodon. Support:      Become a MacVoices Patron on Patreon     http://patreon.com/macvoices      Enjoy this episode? Make a one-time donation with PayPal Connect:      Web:     http://macvoices.com      Twitter:     http://www.twitter.com/chuckjoiner     http://www.twitter.com/macvoices      Mastodon:     https://mastodon.cloud/@chuckjoiner      Facebook:     http://www.facebook.com/chuck.joiner      MacVoices Page on Facebook:     http://www.facebook.com/macvoices/      MacVoices Group on Facebook:     http://www.facebook.com/groups/macvoice      LinkedIn:     https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckjoiner/      Instagram:     https://www.instagram.com/chuckjoiner/ Subscribe:      Audio in iTunes     Video in iTunes      Subscribe manually via iTunes or any podcatcher:      Audio: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesrss      Video: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesvideorss

The Ghost Story Guys
Love: Generally Dangerous | Talk Spooky to Me

The Ghost Story Guys

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 2, 2025 54:54


⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Get ad-free episodes, early release, and bonus shows⁠ North Carolina wood boogers, ghost cars, and yet another psychologically scarring commercial from the British Isles are just a few of the things in the mailbag this week! Our musical guest on this episode is Moonrunner83 with his latest single, "Your Name is Tattooed On My Heart." Full shownotes @ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠GhostStoryGuys.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Supreme Court: Oral Arguments
Cox Communications v. Sony Music Entertainment

The Supreme Court: Oral Arguments

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 1, 2025


Cox Communications v. Sony Music Entertainment | 12/01/25 | Docket #: 24-171 24-171 COX COMMUNICATIONS, INC. V. SONY MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT DECISION BELOW: 93 F.4th 222 CERT. GRANTED 6/30/2025 QUESTION PRESENTED: 1. This Court has held that a business commits contributory copyright infringement when it "distributes a device with the object of promoting its use to infringe copyright, as shown by clear expression or other affirmative steps to foster infringement." Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Inc. v. Grokster , Ltd ., 545 U.S. 913, 919 (2005). The courts of appeals have split three ways over the scope of that ruling, developing differing standards for when it is appropriate to hold an online service provider secondarily liable for copyright infringement committed by users. Did the Fourth Circuit err in holding that a service provider can be held liable for "materially contributing" to copyright infringement merely because it knew that people were using certain accounts to infringe and did not terminate access, without proof that the service provider affirmatively fostered infringement or otherwise intended to promote it? 2. Generally, a defendant cannot be held liable as a willful violator of the law-and subject to increased penalties-without proof that it knew or recklessly disregarded a high risk that its own conduct was illegal. In conflict with the Eighth Circuit, the Fourth Circuit upheld an instruction allowing the jury to find willfulness if Cox knew its subscribers ' conduct was illegal-without proof Cox knew its own conduct in not terminating them was illegal. Did the Fourth Circuit err in holding that mere knowledge of another's direct infringement suffices to find willfulness under 17 U.S.C. § 504(c)? LOWER COURT CASE NUMBER: 21-1168

The Oncology Nursing Podcast
Episode 391: Pharmacology 101: Antibody–Drug Conjugates

The Oncology Nursing Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 28, 2025 35:51


"Antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs) have three basic parts: the antibody part, the cytotoxic chemo, and the linker that connects the two. First, the antibody part binds to the target on the surface of the cell. Antibodies can be designed to bind to proteins with a very high level of specificity. That's what gives it the targeted portion. Then the whole thing gets taken up by the cell and broken down, which releases the chemotherapy part. Some sources will call this the 'payload' or the 'warhead.'  That's the part that's attached to the 'heat-seeking' part, and that's what causes the cell death," Kenneth Tham, PharmD, BCOP, clinical pharmacist in general oncology at the University of Washington Medicine and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, WA, told Jaime Weimer, MSN, RN, AGCNS-BS, AOCNS®, manager of oncology nursing practice at ONS, during a conversation about antibody–drug conjugates. Music Credit: "Fireflies and Stardust" by Kevin MacLeod Licensed under Creative Commons by Attribution 3.0  Earn 0.5 contact hours of nursing continuing professional development (NCPD) by listening to the full recording and completing an evaluation at courses.ons.org by November 28, 2026. The planners and faculty for this episode have no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies to disclose. ONS is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation. Learning outcome: Learners will report an increase in knowledge related to the mechanism of action of antibody–drug conjugates. Episode Notes  Complete this evaluation for free NCPD. ONS Podcast™ episodes: Pharmacology 101 series Episode 303: Cancer Symptom Management Basics: Ocular Toxicities Episode 283: Desensitization Strategies to Reintroduce Treatment After an Infusion-Related Reaction ONS Voice articles: An Oncology Nurse's Guide to Cancer-Related Ocular Toxicities Antibody–Drug Conjugates Join the Best of Two Worlds Into One New Treatment Nursing Management of Adverse Events From Enfortumab Vedotin Therapy for Urothelial Cancer Oncology Nurses' Role in Translating Biomarker Testing Results The Pharmacist's Role in Combination Cancer Treatments ONS Voice drug reference sheets: Belantamab mafodotin-blmf Datopotamab deruxtecan-dlnk Enfortumab vedotin Fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki ONS book: Chemotherapy and Immunotherapy Guidelines and Recommendations for Practice (second edition) ONS course: ONS Fundamentals of Chemotherapy and Immunotherapy Administration™ Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing articles: Antibody–Drug Conjugates and Ocular Toxicity: Nursing, Patient, and Organizational Implications for Care Nurse-Led Grading of Antineoplastic Infusion-Related Reactions: A Call to Action Other ONS resources: Antineoplastic Administration Huddle Card Biomarker Database Chemotherapy Huddle Card Monoclonal Antibodies Huddle Card Association of Cancer Care Centers (ACCC) antibody–drug conjugates page Drugs@FDA Hematology/Oncology Pharmacy Association (HOPA) National Cancer Institute cancer drugs page Network for Collaborative Oncology Development and Advancement (NCODA) clinical resource library ACCC/HOPA/NCODA/ONS Patient Education Sheets website To discuss the information in this episode with other oncology nurses, visit the ONS Communities.  To find resources for creating an ONS Podcast club in your chapter or nursing community, visit the ONS Podcast Library. To provide feedback or otherwise reach ONS about the podcast, email pubONSVoice@ons.org Highlights From This Episode "The mechanism of action of the chemo itself depends on what agent or what 'warhead' is attached. Generally, [ADCs] have some kind of cytotoxic mechanism related to many of the chemotherapies that we use in practice, without attachment to the antibody. Some of them can be microtubule inhibitors, vinca alkaloids like vincristine. Some of them can be topoisomerase I (TOP1) inhibitors like irinotecan. Some can be alkylating agents that cause DNA breaks. So, again, looking back at the arsenal we have of cytotoxic chemo, these can all be incorporated into the ADCs." TS 5:54 "I want to talk about a case where the biomarker is being tested, but the biomarker isn't the target that you're looking for. One good case of this is a newer agent that was approved called datopotamab deruxtecan. The datopotamab portion is specific to a target called 'trophoblast cell surface antigen 2' (TROP2), which is expressed on the surface of many epithelial cancers. This agent was first approved in hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer, and received accelerated approval in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with an EGFR mutation. ... The antibody looks for a target, TROP2. But in both of these cases—in the breast cancer and the NSCLC—you're testing for expression of different mutations or lack thereof. You're not looking for expression of TROP2. There's more research that needs to be done about the relationship between TROP2 expression and the presence or absence of these other biomarkers, but until we know more, we're actually testing for biomarkers that aren't the target of the ADC." TS 10:22 "There are common adverse advents to antibodies and chemo in general. Because we have both of these components, we want to watch out for the adverse effects of both of them. Antibodies, as with most proteins, can trigger an immune response or an infusion reaction. So, many ADCs can also cause hypersensitivity or infusion reactions. The rates of that are really variable and depend on the actual antibodies themselves. Then you have the cytotoxic component, the chemotherapy component, which has its own characteristic side effects. So, if we think of general chemo side effects—fatigue, nausea, bone marrow suppression, alopecia—these can [occur] with a lot of ADCs as well." TS 15:34 "The rate of ocular toxicity in [mirvetuximab soravtansine] is quite high. The manufacturer reports that this can occur in up to 60% of patients. With rates so high, the manufacturer recommends a preventive strategy. For this particular agent, [they] recommend patients have required eyecare. ... This ocular toxicity is something we do see in other ADCs that don't have the same target and don't necessarily have the same payload component. For example, tisotumab vedotin and again, datopotamab deruxtecan, can both cause ocular toxicities and both would have required ocular supportive care." TS 20:08 "Overall, I feel like the future is incredibly bright for these agents. There have only been around a dozen therapies approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) despite this idea—the first agent came out in 2000. So, 25 years later, there are only around a dozen FDA-approved treatments. But there are so many more that are coming through the pipeline. And as we're discovering more biomarkers and developing more specialized antibodies, it's only natural that more ADCs will follow." TS 26:50

The John Batchelor Show
S8 Ep114: The Fall of Communism: Top-Down Collapse and the Legacy of Violence in Modern Russia Professor Sean McMeekin The final segment discusses the collapse of communist regimes in 1989, contending that these regimes generally did not fall because of

The John Batchelor Show

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 23, 2025 7:57


The Fall of Communism: Top-Down Collapse and the Legacy of Violence in Modern Russia Professor Sean McMeekin The final segment discusses the collapse of communist regimes in 1989, contending that these regimes generally did not fall because of a rising from the bottom. Instead, the collapse was largely top-down, driven by the disappearance of Soviet coercion or inside palace coups, such as the one that overthrew the Ceaușescus in Romania or the mutiny that lined the armed forces up behind Yeltsin in Russia. In modern Russia, there is a hybrid system that includes statism, control of media, and nostalgia for the Soviet period and Stalin's legacy as a "builder" and "conqueror," but it has jettisoned Lenin and full communism. The core thesis reaffirmed is that extreme violence is the predicate for the communist vision.