Podcasts about George Mason University

In a first for MMM, today's episode is a debate. Discussing the question “should we encourage our daughters to be feminists?”, we have Bryan Caplan (professor of economics at George Mason University) and Holly Lawford-Smith (professor of political philosophy at the University of Melbourne). This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.louiseperry.co.uk/subscribe

Markets: Taxes are not an answer, higher or lower.   Veronique de Rugy, MERCATUS CENTER, GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY 1941 LUZERNE COUNTY, PA.

After two days of hearings, the D.C. Council took a first vote on the much-anticipated multi-billion-dollar RFK Stadium deal. WAMU's Senior D.C. Politics reporter Alex Koma joined us live from the Wilson building to give us the latest. He also broke down this week's final vote on the budget, which included a controversial compromise on the future of the tipped minimum wage.The Trump administration has opened multiple investigations into George Mason University over alleged discriminatory policies, including into actions by the school's faculty. We asked Virginia Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell to weigh in. Sen. Surovell also explained why the General Assembly is mulling a return to Richmond for a special session next month, and we got his thoughts on Virginia's 11th Congressional District race to replace Rep. Gerry Connolly, who passed away unexpectedly this spring.  The Montgomery County Council recently approved a "missing middle" housing plan. It's drawn backlash from some residents, as well as from County Executive Marc Elrich. He shared his take on the zoning change that will allow developers to build more types of housing in certain areas of the county.County Executive Elrich also discussed the county's efforts to manage the increasing instances of flash flooding. Maryland has had 51 flash food warnings to date this year, already the most since 2020. Elrich warned that current systems won't be adequate for what's coming, and the county is researching fixes, including stormwater retention areas. "This, for us, is going to be challenging because these are capital expenses that no one thought we were going to be making," he said. "So this, in my mind, alters the trajectory of future budgets."Elrich said the county has already installed dozens of flood sensors to help warn when water is rising. Send us questions and comments for guests: kojo@wamu.orgFollow us on Instagram: instagram.com/wamu885Follow us on Bluesky: bsky.app/wamu.org

Roger welcomes Dr. Donald J. Boudreaux, professor of economics at George Mason University and longtime TFAS senior scholar who teaches the economics for the citizen course, for a conversation about the enduring value of economic freedom and the importance of correcting common myths that cloud public understanding of capitalism.They discuss how misconceptions about economic history — the Industrial Revolution, the Great Depression and the New Deal — have shaped misguided policies and narratives; why free markets, not government planning are responsible for the unprecedented rise in global living standards; and why economic literacy is essential for preserving that progress. They also reflect on the power of clear, engaging economics education in helping students see the world more clearly.Donald J. Boudreaux is a senior fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. He has authored numerous books, including his new title, “The Triumph of Economic Freedom: Debunking the Seven Great Myths of American Capitalism,” co-authored with Senator Phil Graham. He writes widely on trade, liberty and economic growth, and is the longtime editor of the blog “Café Hayek.”The Liberty + Leadership Podcast is hosted by TFAS president Roger Ream and produced by Podville Media. If you have a comment or question for the show, please email us at podcast@TFAS.org. To support TFAS and its mission, please visit TFAS.org/support.Support the show

The Cognitive Crucible is a forum that presents different perspectives and emerging thought leadership related to the information environment. The opinions expressed by guests are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of or endorsement by the Information Professionals Association. During this episode, Matthew Canham discusses agentic AI's potential to boost productivity by automating tasks and its anticipated influence on user interfaces, potentially creating new security vulnerabilities and opportunities for user manipulation. Matthew emphasized the importance of robust security measures to counteract such threats. He also touched on the "meaning crisis" in modern society, attributing it to increased free time and mental bandwidth, and its connection to rising rates of drug overdoses and suicides. As executive director of the Cognitive Security Institute, Matthew discusses the Institute's growth since 2023, now with over 550 members, and its focus on community engagement and education. He highlighted initiatives like the Cyber Talent Exchange program, connecting job seekers with cybersecurity roles, and addressed AI's significant impact on the job market, leading to overwhelming application numbers. Recording Date: 22 July 2025 Resources: Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned #89 Ajit Mann and Paul Cobaugh on Narrative #138 Matthew Canham on Cognitive Security #212 Libby Lange on Algorithmic Cognitive Warfare #223 Paul Buvarp on the Demand-side of Disinformation #224 Jake Bebber on Cognitive Warfare #221 Carrick Longley on Influence Automation Cognitive Security Institute NYTimes: A.I. Sludge Has Entered the Job Search The Cognitive Attack Taxonomy (CAT) Crisis of Meaning John Vervaeke Youtube Series Link to full show notes and resources Guest Bio: Dr. Matthew Canham is the Executive Director of the Cognitive Security Institute and a former Supervisory Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), he has a combined twenty-one years of experience in conducting research in cognitive security and human-technology integration. He currently holds an affiliated faculty appointment with George Mason University, where his research focuses on the cognitive factors in synthetic media social engineering and online influence campaigns. He was previously a research professor with the University of Central Florida, School of Modeling, Simulation, and Training's Behavioral Cybersecurity program. His work has been funded by NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology), DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), and the US Army Research Institute. He has provided cognitive security awareness training to the NASA Kennedy Space Center, DARPA, MIT, US Army DevCom, the NATO Cognitive Warfare Working Group, the Voting and Misinformation Villages at DefCon, and the Black Hat USA security conference. He holds a PhD in Cognition, Perception, and Cognitive Neuroscience from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and SANS certifications in mobile device analysis (GMOB), security auditing of wireless networks (GAWN), digital forensic examination (GCFE), and GIAC Security Essentials (GSEC). About: The Information Professionals Association (IPA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to exploring the role of information activities, such as influence and cognitive security, within the national security sector and helping to bridge the divide between operations and research. Its goal is to increase interdisciplinary collaboration between scholars and practitioners and policymakers with an interest in this domain. For more information, please contact us at communications@information-professionals.org. Or, connect directly with The Cognitive Crucible podcast host, John Bicknell, on LinkedIn. Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

Send us a textPaul Matzko is a historian and senior program manager for AI and emerging technology at the Institute for Humane Studies at George Mason University. He is also an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute and host of the Unintended Consequences podcast. Today, he joins me to discuss how Christian nationalism differs from citizen engagement with politics. Often Christian nationalists complain that they are simply living out their faith in the public square. However, Paul teases out the differences between policies which benefit the common good and those which are designed to benefit mainly or only Christians affiliated with the regime in power. This is part one of a two-part interview. Next week, I will have the conclusion where Paul talks about the bitter consequences of Christian nationalism and addresses the question: Has Christian nationalism ever worked?Topics today:What is Christian nationalism?Christian nationalism and the ideology of South African apartheidChristian nationalism and Geralf L. K. SmithBilly Sunday and the KlanMAGA as the modern America First movementChristian nationalism is a different faith than orthodox ChristianityChristian nationalism and public schoolsand much more...Music today is provided by Earl's Taco Shack, Jonus Fair, and Dustin Blatnik.Hosted and produced by Warren ThrockmortonArtwork by Sarah Eshelman

The FCC just approved a lucrative merger between Paramount and Skydance. Weeks earlier, Paramount settled a lawsuit with the president by paying him 16 million dollars. On this week's On the Media, hear how that money is being funneled to Donald Trump's future presidential library. Plus, how conservative outlets are coordinating attacks on universities.[01:00] Host Brooke Gladstone speaks with Tim Naftali, a Senior Research Scholar at the Columbia School of International and Public Affairs, about how President Trump has raised millions of dollars from lawsuit settlements with media companies for his future presidential library, and why this matters. [19:23] Host Micah Loewinger speaks with Katherine Mangan, a senior writer at The Chronicle of Higher Education, about the recent investigations launched into George Mason University by the Trump administration, and the media campaign that followed suit.[32:43] Micah sits down with Elizabeth Lopatto, senior writer at The Verge, to dissect the ‘violently racist' background of the hacker who allegedly stole admissions data from five universities, leading to the leak of Zohran Mamdani's Columbia application to the New York Times. Plus, the consequences of the Times omitting any mention of the hacker from their coverage of the leak.Comment from Patrick Healy, Assistant Managing Editor for Standards and Trust at the New York Times: "Our reporters obtained information about Mr. Mamdani's Columbia college application and went to the Mamdani campaign with it. When we hear anything of news value, we try to confirm it through direct sources. Mr. Mamdani confirmed this information in an interview with The Times. Mr. Mamdani shared his thinking about the limitations of identity boxes on forms like Columbia's, and explained how he wrote in “Uganda,” the country of his birth – the kind of decision many people with overlapping identities have wrestled with when confronted with such boxes. We believe Mr. Mamdani's thinking and decision-making, laid out in his words, was newsworthy and in line with our mission to help readers better know and understand top candidates for major offices. We sometimes receive information that has been hacked or from controversial sources. The Times does not solely rely on nor make a decision to publish information from such a source; we seek to confirm through direct sources, which we did with Mr. Mamdani. Sometimes sources have their own motives or obtain information using means we wouldn't, like Trump's taxes, Wikileaks or Edward Snowden. It's important to share what we can about sourcing, but we always independently assess newsworthiness and factual accuracy before publishing. On sourcing, we work to give readers context, including in this case the initial source's online alias, as a way to learn more about the person, who was effectively an intermediary. The ultimate source was Columbia admissions data and Mr. Mamdani, who confirmed our reporting. We heard from readers who wanted more detail about this initial source. That's fair feedback. We printed his online alias so readers could learn more about the person. The purpose of this story was to help illuminate the thinking and background of a major mayoral candidate." Full version here.Further reading:“The Death of Nonpartisan Presidential History,” by Tim Naftali“George Mason Is the Latest University Under Fire From Trump. Its President Fears an “Orchestrated” Campaign,” by Katie Mangan“This ‘violently racist' hacker claims to be the source of The New York Times' Mamdani scoop,” by Elizabeth Lopatto“The Columbia hack is a much bigger deal than Mamdani's college application,” by Elizabeth Lopatto“Mamdani Identified as Asian and African American on College Application,” by Benjamin Ryan, Nicholas Fandos, and Dana Rubinstein“Columbia Cyberattack Appears Politically Motivated, University Says,” by Sharon Otterman“Columbia University Applicants' Personal Data Stolen by Hacker,” by Cameron Fozi On the Media is supported by listeners like you. Support OTM by donating today (https://pledge.wnyc.org/support/otm). Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

This week, Columbia University reached a $200 million settlement with the Trump administration to resolve multiple federal civil-rights investigations. The deal—which the White House characterized as the largest anti-Semitism-related settlement in U.S. history—will also release hundreds of millions of dollars in suspended federal grants that had been withheld from Columbia as the administration sought to guarantee the rights of Jewish students and faculty at an institution that has become, since October 7, a hotbed of anti-Jewish and anti-Israel activism. Since taking office, the Trump administration has acted aggressively against anti-Semitism and anti-Americanism at America's elite universities—taking aim at some of the most storied names in higher education: Harvard, Penn, Brown, Columbia. And this effort shows no signs of slowing down. What are the legal tools that the executive branch departments and agencies—especially the Departments of Justice and Education—have at their disposal to protect the rights of Jews on campus? Is there a tension between the protection of Jewish civil rights, on the one hand, and the free speech of students and the academic freedom of faculty, on the other? Last December, just before the new administration took office, Mosaic published an important essay by the lawyer Tal Fortgang, asking how the incoming Trump team could vigorously protect Jewish civil rights. Later that month, Tal joined the legal scholar David E. Bernstein of George Mason University for a conversation about his essay, which was originally made exclusively available to Mosaic subscribers. Today, as the Trump administration implements some of the very principles and strategies that Tal raised in the pages of Mosaic, we are pleased to share that discussion with you. You can also read the transcript here. Musical selections in this podcast are drawn from the Quintet for Clarinet and Strings, op. 31a, composed by Paul Ben-Haim and performed by the ARC Ensemble.    

S5:E5 Leading with Values: How Naturepedic Builds a Better Brand, with Arin SchultzWhat does it take to lead growth at the forefront of a movement for safer, healthier sleep? In this episode of The Retail Razor Show, we sit down with Arin Schultz, Chief Growth Officer at Naturepedic, a pioneering brand in certified organic mattresses and bedding. With over eleven years in the organic sleep industry, Arin shares how he's helped Naturepedic expand its market share, launch innovative products, and build a trusted brand committed to health, sustainability, and safety. We talk about the evolution of the organic mattress category, how purpose-driven growth strategies translate to retail success, and the balancing act of leading multiple departments—sales, marketing, retail, R&D, and more. Whether you're in retail, health-conscious consumer products, or looking to build a values-based, mission-led brand, this episode delivers sharp insights from one of the industry's most committed and capable leaders!Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://retailrazor.substack.comSubscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTubeAbout our GuestArin Schultz is Chief Growth Officer at Naturepedic, the leading organic mattress brand. As the lead on all Naturepedic marketing efforts, Arin develops and implements strategies that support the company's business growth, customer retention, product innovation, consumer education initiatives and sustainability goals. Working for the certified organic, non-toxic mattress pioneer opened Arin's eyes to the dangers of harmful chemicals and their pervasive presence in households across the globe. This knowledge has added a deeper purpose to his relentless push to help transform the brand's vision into reality. A father of four and an empathetic listener, Arin's success at Naturepedic is centered on his authentic understanding of the Naturepedic customer and his genuine desire to help families make the safest, healthiest sleep choices.00:00 Preview 01:45 Show Intro 07:21 Arin Schultz, Chief Growth Officer, Naturepedic - The Mission 08:43 The Founding Story of Naturepedic 12:09 Challenges and Growth in the Mattress Industry 17:13 Retail Expansion and Customer Engagement 19:30 Product Innovation and Sustainability 23:10 Industry Environmental Impact and Continuous Product Improvement 35:20 Customer Experience and Meeting Their Needs 38:21 Replacing Your Mattress & Customer Service Excellence 43:20 Sourcing and Tariffs Impact 49:53 Embracing AI in Marketing and Operations 56:28 Advice for Growing a Values-Based Brand 59:23 Final Thoughts 01:00:38 Show CloseMeet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech:Ricardo Belmar is an NRF Top Retail Voices for 2025 & a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert from 2021 – 2025. Thinkers 360 has named him a Top 10 Retail Thought Leader, Top 50 Management Thought Leader, & Top 100 Digital Transformation Thought Leader, plus a Top Digital Voice for 2024. He is an advisory council member at George Mason University's Center for Retail Transformation, and is the director partner marketing for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft.Casey Golden, is CEO of Luxlock, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert from 2023 - 2025, and Retail Cloud Alliance advisory council member. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech!Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Overclocked, and E-Motive from the album Beat Hype, written by Heston Mimms, published by Imuno.

The Trump administration has been pressuring elite universities, like Harvard and Columbia, with widespread demands, and threats of federal funding cuts. So why are they now investigating George Mason University? ProPublica education reporter Katherine Mangan tells us why GMU's president thinks it's driven by a backlash to DEI efforts. Also, jazz historian Kevin Whitehead reflects on a James Moody release. He would've been 100 this year. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Angel Studios https://Angel.com/ToddJoin the Angel Guild today and stream Testament, a powerful new series featuring the retelling of the book of Acts. Alan's Soaps https://www.AlansArtisanSoaps.comUse coupon code TODD to save an additional 10% off the bundle price.Bioptimizers https://Bioptimizers.com/toddEnter promo code TODD to get 10% off your order of Berberine Breakthrough today.Bizable https://GoBizable.comUntie your business exposure from your personal exposure with BiZABLE.  Schedule your FREE consultation at GoBizAble.com today.  Bonefrog https://BonefrogCoffee.com/toddThe new GOLDEN AGE is here!  Use code TODD at checkout to receive 10% off your first purchase and 15% on subscriptions.Bulwark Capital https://KnowYourRiskPodcast.comHear directly from Zach Abraham as he shares insights in this FREE “Halftime” Webinar, THIS Thursday, July 24th at 3:30 Pacific.  Register now at Know Your Risk Podcast dot com. Renue Healthcare https://Renue.Healthcare/ToddYour journey to a better life starts at Renue Healthcare. Visit https://Renue.Healthcare/ToddLISTEN and SUBSCRIBE at:The Todd Herman Show - Podcast - Apple PodcastsThe Todd Herman Show | Podcast on SpotifyWATCH and SUBSCRIBE at: Todd Herman - The Todd Herman Show - YouTubeI'm afraid Joe Rogan is choosing the wide road of almost-Christianity. The wide road takes many forms, but the road to salvation is narrow and clear. The wide road is ambiguous…Episode Links:Am I hearing this right?! They are screaming “WE ALL HATE COPS” at the “family friendly” Portland Pride Parade? Wow…Presbyterian Texas state rep James Talarico tells Joe Rogan there's nothing in the Bible against homosexuality or abortion, and that it was "pro choice" for the Blessed Virgin Mary to agree to conceive by the Holy Ghost. Because heresy makes you stupid.Pastor John MacArthur's purported last words, which he took between gasps for air as his mind drifted to 1 Corinthians 15:55 ("O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?") - ‘I feel no sting. I feel no fear.'The president of George Mason University says that public universities should select leaders on the basis of "racial diversity," rather than merit, and that his job is to promote "the five pillars of social justice," rather than to pursue the truth. He should resign.Hunter Biden goes on a profanity laced rant about illegals being deported: "People are really upset about illegal immigration? Fuck you. How do you think your hotel room gets cleaned? How do you think you have food on your fucking table? Who do you think washes your dishes?"Hunter Biden suggests his father was drugged up before the infamous CNN debate: "He flew around the world. He's 81 years old. He's tired. They give him Ambien to be able to sleep and he gets up on the stage and looks like a deer in the headlights." - PS: The FigureHead was at Camp David for SEVEN DAYS before the debate. 

The Trump administration has been pressuring elite universities, like Harvard and Columbia, with widespread demands, and threats of federal funding cuts. So why are they now investigating George Mason University? ProPublica education reporter Katherine Mangan tells us why GMU's president thinks it's driven by a backlash to DEI efforts. Also, jazz historian Kevin Whitehead reflects on a James Moody release. He would've been 100 this year. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

It is our pleasure to welcome, Bryan Caplan to The Hamilton Review Podcast! Bryan Caplan, is a Professor of Economics at George Mason University and a New York Times Bestselling author. In this conversation, Bryan and Dr. Bob talk about why having children is such a rewarding experience in addition to discussing his compelling book, Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids. Parents! Bryan breaks down parenting into bite size chunks, including the tiny details that we stress about are not as important as we think they are. This episode will open up the possibilities of thinking of parenting in a different way - put this conversation at the top of your queue! Bryan has written The Myth of the Rational Voter, named "the best political book of the year" by the New York Times, Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids, The Case Against Education, Open Borders (co-authored with SMBC's Zach Weinersmith), Build, Baby, Build (co-authored with Ady Branzei), Labor Econ Versus the World, How Evil Are Politicians?, Don't Be a Feminist, Voters As Mad Scientists, You Will Not Stampede Me, Self-Help Is Like a Vaccine, and Pro-Market and Pro-Business. He is now finishing Unbeatable: The Brutally Honest Case for Free Markets. Bryan Caplan is the editor and chief writer for Bet On It, the blog hosted by the Salem Center for Policy at the University of Texas. He has published in the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, TIME, Newsweek, Atlantic, American Economic Review, Economic Journal, Journal of Law and Economics, and Intelligence, blogged for EconLog from 2005-2022, and appeared on ABC, BBC, Fox News, MSNBC, and C-SPAN. Bryan is an openly nerdy man who loves role-playing games and graphic novels. He lives in Oakton, Virginia, with his wife and four kids.   How to contact Bryan Caplan:   Bryan Caplan website   Bryan Caplan Substack   Bryan Caplan on X     How to contact Dr. Bob: Dr. Bob on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChztMVtPCLJkiXvv7H5tpDQ Dr. Bob on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drroberthamilton/ Dr. Bob on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bob.hamilton.1656 Dr. Bob's Seven Secrets Of The Newborn website: https://7secretsofthenewborn.com/ Dr. Bob's website: https://roberthamiltonmd.com/ Pacific Ocean Pediatrics: http://www.pacificoceanpediatrics.com/  

Welcome to RIMScast. Your host is Justin Smulison, Business Content Manager at RIMS, the Risk and Insurance Management Society.   Justin interviews Major General (Ret.) Robert F. Whittle, Jr., RIMS Texas Keynote speaker, about his experience as Deputy Commanding General of Operations for U.S. Army North, responsible for homeland defense and coordination with civil authorities, about his experience with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and its work in water resource management, and the lessons he can share for flood preparedness. Justin and Robert (Bob) discuss risk management training that engineers receive and how it applies to combat operations and domestic situations. Bob talks about building trust in different cultures. Finally, he shares some of what he will cover in his closing keynote on August 6th for the RIMS Texas Regional in San Antonio, Texas, from August 4th through 6th.   Listen to learn military lessons that apply to risk management in industry.   Key Takeaways: [:01] About RIMS and RIMScast. [:15] To our friends and RIMS members in Texas, it has been heartbreaking to witness the devastation caused by the floods in the Lone Star State. [:23] Your RIMS community extends its heartfelt thoughts and wishes for your health, safety, and well-being during this challenging time. [:30] The floods are a stark reminder of the critical role that risk professionals play in a crisis. The RIMS Hurricane and Storm Risk Management Resource Center offers several informative articles and resources about flood and storm preparedness and recovery. [:45] As you navigate through your recovery efforts, please know that you have the support of RIMS.  [:50] About this episode of RIMScast. Our guest today is Major General (Retired) Robert F. Whittle, Jr. He will be the closing keynote speaker at the RIMS Texas Regional Conference on August 6th. We will talk about his military career and flood risk and leadership. [1:23] RIMScast is a proud nominee of the 20th Annual People's Choice Podcast Awards. I'm hoping I can count on you to help us bring this win home! Vote by going to PodcastAwards.com and the link in this episode's notes.  [1:40] Sign up with your email, find RIMScast under Government and Organizations, and save your nomination. Every vote counts! Thank you so much for your support! [1:50] RIMS-CRMP Workshops! The next Virtual RIMS-CRMP exam prep, co-hosted by Parima, will be held on September 2nd and 3rd. [2:00] The next RIMS-CRMP-FED virtual workshop will be held on November 11th and 12th, in conjunction with George Mason University and led by Joseph Mayo. Links to these courses can be found on the Certification Page of RIMS.org and through this episode's show notes. [2:17] RIMS Virtual Workshops! We have a day-long course on July 24th, “Risk Taxonomy for Effective Risk Management.” On August 5th, we have a day-long course about “Emerging Risks.” [2:30] RIMS has launched a new course, “Intro to ERM for Senior Leaders.” This is a two-day course. The first two-day course will be held on August 12th and 13th and will be led by former RIMS President, Chris Mandel. [2:45] The course will be held again on November 4th and 5th and will be led by Elise Farnham. RIMS members enjoy deep discounts! [2:54] The full schedule of virtual workshops can be found on the RIMS.org/education and RIMS.org/education/online-learning pages. A link is also in this episode's notes. [3:05] If you tuned in to the recent episode featuring James Lam, you will know he is hosting a new six-module workshop for us, the “RIMS-CRO Certificate in Advanced Enterprise Risk Management”. [3:19] The inaugural summer course is completely sold out! We are filled to the virtual capacity! Don't worry, in the Fall, the bi-weekly course will begin on October 9th. Registration closes on October 2nd. A link is in this episode's notes. Check it out and register today! [3:38] Mark your calendars for November 17th and 18th for the RIMS ERM Conference 2025 in Seattle, Washington. The Call for Nominations for the ERM Award of Distinction has been distributed. There is a link in this episode's show notes. The nomination deadline is August 16th. [3:59] If your organization's ERM program or one you know of has generated and retained value and led to the growth of your organization, consider nominating that ERM program and manager for the ERM Award of Distinction 2025. [4:13] RISKWORLD 2026 will be in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 3rd through May 6th. RIMS members can now lock in the 2025 rate for a full conference pass to RISKWORLD 2026 when registering by September 30th. [4:27] This also lets you enjoy earlier access to the RISKWORLD hotel block. Register by September 30th, and you will also be entered to win a $500 raffle. Don't miss out on this chance to plan and score some extra perks. [4:40] The members-only registration link is in this episode's show notes. If you are not yet a member, this is the time to register at RIMS.org/membership. [4:50] On with the show! Robert F. Whittle Jr. was a Major General of the U.S. Army. He retired in 2023 as the Deputy Commanding General of Operations for the U.S. Army North. He is also Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff to the CEO at USAA. [5:06] On August 6th, he will deliver the closing keynote at the RIMS Texas Regional, providing highlights from his 33 years in the Army, including years as the Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Great Lakes and Ohio River Division. [5:20] I'm so glad he's here to provide a preview of his keynote and also discuss flood risk and leadership. Let's get to it! [5:28] Interview! Retired Major General Robert F. Whittle Jr., welcome to RIMScast! [5:35] Joining us now is one of the RIMS Texas Regional's keynotes, Major General (Retired) Bob Whittle. [5:46] Major General (Retired) Bob Whittle, Jr. asks Justin to call him Bob. [6:03] This is the inaugural Texas Regional event. Bob is excited about it. He loves Texas, and he knows people are coming from all over the country to attend. Justin adds that it's a big deal for the Texas chapters, which are some of the most active and voluminous RIMS chapters. [6:27] Bob's keynote will close out the Conference on August 6th.  [6:31] Today's discussion will be about flood risk and then about leadership. [6:47] Bob's bio is on the RIMS Texas Regional page. [6:52] Bob was Deputy Commanding General of Operations for the U.S. Army North, responsible for Homeland Defense and coordination with civil authorities. One major event occurred domestically while he was there. [7:17] That was the integration of 70,000 refugees from Afghanistan to the United States. When the U.S. left Afghanistan, a lot of interpreters, their families, and other key players were able to come to the United States. They needed help integrating into U.S. society with jobs and homes. [8:05] Bob says there was never an expectation that we would have to move 70,000 people here. We thought that Afghanistan would continue to move forward after we left, but it fell pretty rapidly. Some Afghan interpreters and officers who were under threat were brought to the U.S. [8:52] One of the challenges in any kind of operation like that is that it involves Federal, state, and local officials, and non-governmental organizations. Within the Federal side, we have FEMA, the State Department, and the Department of Defense. [9:14] These agencies worked together to build a framework and partner with the other authorities. The first risk is that politics or ego get in the way of accomplishing the mission. [9:28] The mitigation for that is trying to build relationships well ahead of the crisis, so people trust each other and can work together. They constantly emphasized the unity of the mission. [9:41] It's not unity of command, as there's no chain of command with all the partnerships, but there must be unity over the mission of resettling the Afghan refugees. [10:06] Justin asks if Bob is as easygoing as he seems. Bob says, you'd have to ask the people he worked with to get a solid understanding of who he is, versus how he self-reports. He says he is known for being cool, calm, and collected. When he needs to step it up, he can do it rapidly. [10:35] Bob found that projecting a calm personality helped him build trust. From years in the military, Bob learned that you succeed by making your peers successful. The more you help your peers, the more likely it is that you will earn a promotion or the assignment that you want. [11:37] Bob was in the Corps of Engineers for 33 years. He's a Licensed Professional Engineer in the State of Virginia. He led the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Great Lakes and Ohio River Division. The civilian side of the Corps of Engineers deals with infrastructure. [12:13] Bob speaks of dam safety. The Corps of Engineers is responsible for the dams in Federal Navigation channels. They work through the inherent risks of the dams, making sure they have the right controls in place and testing to ensure that the controls are there. [12:42] There are so many other dams in the U.S. Some of them are private. While Bob was at the Great Lakes and Ohio River Division, two private dams failed in Michigan, the Edenville Dam and the Sanford Dam. The Corps went up there to assist and help determine the root cause. [13:07] It was a lesson in making sure you are doing all the right things from a risk perspective. Controls weren't in place. Some issues had been identified but not mitigated. The State of Michigan stepped in and worked with the private company to mitigate the issues. [13:35] The dams had failed, and there was a lot of flooding in that area. It was unexpected as it had not happened before. It was in May 2020, a month after COVID-19 started hitting. [13:53] When things happen, you have to look forward. The Corps of Engineers is key. If the Ohio River drops too low for barge traffic to go through, eventually, Nashville starts to have a lot of trouble with power. It's very important to keep the Corps of Engineers running. [14:15] During COVID-19, the Secretary of Defense stated, “I want everybody in the Defense Department to stop moving. Stay where you are.” Bob was the Acting Deputy of the Corps of Engineers then. He immediately communicated to the 37K in the Corps, Don't stop moving. [14:32] If the Army Corps of Engineers had stopped, it would have been a huge issue. There were repair shifts at work, making sure things were running. In Michigan, when those two dams failed, the Corps put their masks on and moved out to help solve issues. [15:03] The risk framework the Corps of Engineers uses for dam safety is similar to what Bob has seen in industry and similar to what the Army does, even at a small unit level. The Army has a risk document that they use for training or going into combat. [15:26] The Army's risk document covers inherent risk, the probability of an issue, mitigation and controls, residual risk, and what the impact would be. The controls are the most important thing. They help ensure a low probability of a huge issue. The risk document is simple, and it works. [16:17] On the topic of the tragic recent Texas floods, how should leaders be thinking about flood risk mitigation? Bob knows that everyone involved in the situation is doing the absolute best that they can. If you want to be prepared for any disaster, it starts with simple planning. [17:24] You have to look at what the disaster may be, what the probability of it may be, and if it does occur, the key things that will need to happen on the ground in response, the people who will need to be involved, the resources they will need, and the timing of those activities. [17:46] It's like deliberate project management. You have to make assumptions in the beginning about what will happen. The next thing is getting funding for the resources, the people, and the tasks that have to occur. [18:01] There's a lot of deliberate planning and, for any domestic emergency in the U.S., the planning has to be done at the Federal level, the State level, the local level, and with non-governmental organizations that will be involved.  [18:15] The first step is building relationships ahead of time. Step two is to have rehearsals. The rehearsals can be with a map and some key leaders on site. Rehearsals help to validate the planning you've done. [18:51] In a disaster, one of the first steps is to allocate resources. There were decisions about resources when COVID-19 hit all over the U.S. They couldn't just send money to one area. The Federal government, states, local governments, and NGOs decided how to allocate resources. [19:23] Bob points out that you can decide with no information or with 100% of the information. In an emergency, you don't have time to get 100% of the information out there, so you need to determine if you have enough information to make this decision and if you need to act now. [19:46] It's about risk. Do you take a chance? Risk is all about the probability of success. It's achieving an objective. [20:04] After the disaster is over, a lot of people evaluate those decisions and take two years to study whether the right decision was made. You've got to be in the shoes of the person making the decision, with the same timing, to understand how they did it and why. [20:24] You do want to review the decisions, to learn from them, but you have to know that these leaders are making decisions based on the time available and the necessity of moving things forward. [20:36] Plugs with Roma Rishi, Sr. Sales Executive, Origami Risk! Origami Risk is excited to be a sponsor at the RIMS Texas Regional Conference. Origami Risk will have a booth there to demonstrate their products. They will also speak at one of the sessions. [21:17] They will be talking with Roy Hock, the Director of Excess Insurance at Valero Energy, about leveraging technology to manage your captive. See Origami at its table, at its session, or both! [21:30] Origami Risk will be at the RIMS Texas Regional Conference from August 4th through August 6th. Origami Risk will also be at the tenth Chicagoland Risk Forum, on September 18th at the Old Post Office in Chicago. [21:44] Origami Risk will have a booth there, and Roma's colleague, Gina Rothweiler, is going to be speaking. Come find Origami Risk at the Chicagoland Risk Forum! [21:54] Registration is complimentary for members of risk management departments in the nearby area. A link to the registration page is in this episode's show notes. You can visit ChicagoRIMS.org as well. [22:15] On October 1st through the 3rd, Origami Risk will be in the Bay Area, California, for the RIMS Western Regional Conference. They will have a booth and will speak at a session with the Risk Manager of Sprouts about leveraging data and technology for proactive risk management. [22:44] Origami Risk will be at RIMS ERM, on November 17th and 18th in Seattle, Washington. That agenda is being built. Origami Risk will have a kiosk and hope to speak, too. [22:59] Origami Risk will have a presence at the 2025 Florida RIMS Educational Conference from July 29th through August 2nd. Connect with Roma's colleague Alex and Origami Risk there. [23:19] Roma, it's always great to see you and the Origami Risk team. Connect with Roma and Origami Risk online at LinkedIn and OrigamiRisk.com, in the Contact Us area on the website. [23:34] Let's Return to the Conclusion of My Interview with RIMS Texas Keynote Speaker Major General (Ret.) Robert F. Whittle Jr.! [23:44] What's the vibe at a Bob Whittle keynote? Bob focuses on the lessons he's learned over his career. A lot of the lessons are from mistakes that he has made, or vicariously from mistakes others have made. [24:00] Bob's goal is to make it humorous with some anecdotes; people remember anecdotes. He plans for an enjoyable session. Bob feels that when you're speaking to an audience, it's a hostage crisis. You owe it to them to entertain them a bit while providing valuable information. [24:34] Bob says it's not a hostage crisis if people are glad they went. [24:44] At the end of his keynote, Bob takes questions from the audience. He says it's the most enjoyable part because it's a free flow of information. [25:01] Bob has led troops in combat and peacekeeping missions across multiple continents. Bob says he learned a lot about cultural risk and adaptability in leadership. He says the Armed Forces learned a lot during that process, and the U.S. government did, as well. [25:22] After major combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and moving into a stability effort, Bob says they learned about human terrain, the culture of the people. The culture can vary from place to place and village to village. [25:58] An American isn't ever going to understand the cultures as well as the interpreters (many of whom had emigrated to the U.S. and had come back to interpret) and the NGOs in place. Have them help you learn the culture. [26:34] Bob talks about how these experiences shaped his strategies. He became more of an active listener to gain situational awareness. To develop a relationship with an Afghan officer, you visit him at least three times and have tea with them. [27:11] Bob speaks of vision. Afghanistan, for thousands of years, had not been a democracy. Are you going to make it a democracy in a year or even in one generation? You have to know the human terrain. What is the best governance for the people to make the country not a threat? [27:55] Within the culture, how do you make that as benign as possible and effective, the way that they like to do it? [28:17] Bob talks about decision-making under pressure. It is harder in some ways and easier in others than your regular decisions. You're not going to get to 100% of the information under pressure. [28:33] You have to accelerate the decision-making. The more you know about your environment and the probability of different things happening, the more comfortable you can be with that.  [28:50] A leader has to stay as cool, calm, and collected as possible in that environment. Everyone who works for you or with you, whom you want to influence, is looking to you for how they should feel. How bad is it? If you can keep that posture, they're going to perform better. [29:18] It's easier to do that when you're a leader because you know people are counting on you. If you focus on that, the cool calmness just comes. [29:31] Bob was Commandant of the U.S. Army Engineers School. Bob talks about preparing the next U.S. Army Engineers. The key is training. If you know your job well and you've trained as much as possible, then you'll be more apt to take the right actions and be cool and calm. [30:05] The Army does a great job of investing in training for its people. An Engineer Officer goes to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, for seven months right after they're commissioned. They come back, four years later, for a year. [30:19] They'll come back again as they get different promotions and constantly sharpen their edge. They are trained in every task that they're going to do, domestically in the U.S., or combat. [30:37] The training is repeated so the officers will gain good instincts and be able to take action without having to think long and hard about it; at the same time, being able to realize that every situation is different; How do they need to make this decision? [30:53] The U.S. Army Engineers School specifically teaches risk management. When the Army goes into a new nation for combat operations, they have to assess the bridges there. The bridges won't be in a U.S. database. A lot of the bridges are small. There may be many streams. [31:15] Bridges over streams may be small, and the Army has huge tanks. The Army has float bridges that they assemble in streams. The speed of the river and the types of banks affect how much material those bridges can handle. [31:51] They need engineers to go out there and evaluate the load classification for each bridge. When the Army went into Bosnia, they crossed the Sava River, which was in flood stage at the time. That takes a much longer bridge. It took a lot of ingenuity and more resources to cross. [32:34] When it comes to risk management, it's important to look at all the different controls. For bridges, one control is that one vehicle crosses at a time. You don't need three tanks on the bridge. Engineers need to decide if a float bridge can handle two tanks or limit it to one. [32:55] They could limit it to day crossing only, with people guiding the tank. There are all kinds of things to make sure they get right. [33:04] Justin looks forward to hearing more about Bob's experience on August 6th at 11:00 a.m. at the RIMS Texas Regional Conference 2025 in San Antonio. [33:17] Bob is a graduate with a Master's Degree in Environmental Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, so a little Texas accent comes through. He loves Texas, and he got there as soon as he could. [34:23] Special thanks again to Retired Major General Bob Whittle for joining us here on RIMScast. Visit RIMS.org/TexasRegional to see the full agenda and register. I've got a link to the opening keynote's RIMScast episode. Huw Edwards joined us recently to discuss his address. [34:41] Huw will present “Your Insurance Policy for Success: Eight Mental Toughness Lessons I've Learned from Running 100 Miles through the Mountains.” Be sure to check that out. We look forward to seeing you August 4th through the 6th in San Antonio, Texas! [35:01] Plug Time! You can sponsor a RIMScast episode for this, our weekly show, or a dedicated episode. Links to sponsored episodes are in the show notes. [35:28] RIMScast has a global audience of risk and insurance professionals, legal professionals, students, business leaders, C-Suite executives, and more. Let's collaborate and help you reach them! Contact pd@rims.org for more information. [35:46] Become a RIMS member and get access to the tools, thought leadership, and network you need to succeed. Visit RIMS.org/membership or email membershipdept@RIMS.org for more information. [36:04] Risk Knowledge is the RIMS searchable content library that provides relevant information for today's risk professionals. Materials include RIMS executive reports, survey findings, contributed articles, industry research, benchmarking data, and more. [36:21] For the best reporting on the profession of risk management, read Risk Management Magazine at RMMagazine.com. It is written and published by the best minds in risk management. [36:35] Justin Smulison is the Business Content Manager at RIMS. You can email Justin at Content@RIMS.org. [36:42] Thank you all for your continued support and engagement on social media channels! We appreciate all your kind words. Listen every week! Stay safe!   Links: 20th Annual People's Choice Podcast Awards! Vote for RIMScast (Gov't & Organizations) To vote for RIMScast, please sign up with your email, then select RIMScast on the pulldown under Government and Organizations. Thank you! RIMS Risk Management Magazine 2025 Awards Edition RIMS Texas Regional 2025 — August 3‒5 | Registration open. RIMS-CRMP In-Person Workshop in Texas Aug. 6 & 7 RIMS 2025 Florida Educational Conference | July 31‒Aug 2 | Registration open. RIMS Canada 2025 — Sept. 14‒17 | Registration open! 10th Annual Chicagoland Risk Forum — Sept. 18 | Registration open! RIMS Western Regional — Oct 1‒3 | Bay Area, California | Registration open! RISKWORLD 2026 — Members-only early registration! Register through Sept 30! RIMS-Certified Risk Management Professional (RIMS-CRMP) The Strategic and Enterprise Risk Center Spencer Educational Foundation 2025 Funding Their Future Gala — Sept. 18, 2025 in NYC! Spencer Education Foundation — General Grants 2026 — Application Deadline July 30, 2025 RIMS ERM Conference 2025 — Nov 17‒18 in Seattle! [Save the Date!] RIMS-CRO Certificate in Advanced Enterprise Risk Management — Featuring Instructor James Lam! Summer course sold out! | Next bi-weekly course begins Oct 9. RIMS Diversity Equity Inclusion Council RISK PAC | RIMS Advocacy | RIMS Legislative Summit SAVE THE DATE — March 18‒19, 2026 RIMS Risk Management magazine | Contribute RIMS Now RIMS Rocky Mountain Chapter RIMS Webinars: RIMS.org/Webinars   Upcoming RIMS-CRMP Prep Virtual Workshops: RIMS-CRMP Exam Prep Virtual Workshop — Sept 2-3, 2025 | Presented by RIMS and PARIMA RIMS-CRMP-FED Exam Prep Virtual Workshop — November 11‒12 Full RIMS-CRMP Prep Course Schedule “Risk Taxonomy for Effective Risk Management” | July 24 | Instructor: Joe Mayo “Emerging Risks” | Aug 5 | Instructor: Joe Mayo “Intro to ERM for Senior Leaders” | Aug. 12‒13 | Instructor: Chris Mandel “Intro to ERM for Senior Leaders” | Nov. 4‒5 | Instructor: Elise Farnham See the full calendar of RIMS Virtual Workshops RIMS-CRMP Prep Workshops   Related RIMScast Episodes: “Risk and Clarity with Huw Edwards, RIMS Texas Keynote” “James Lam on ERM, Strategy, and the Modern CRO” “ERM, Retail, and Risk with Jeff Strege” “Bigger Risks with the Texas State Office of Risk Management | Sponsored by Hillwood”   Sponsored RIMScast Episodes: “The New Reality of Risk Engineering: From Code Compliance to Resilience” | Sponsored by AXA XL (New!) “Change Management: AI's Role in Loss Control and Property Insurance” | Sponsored by Global Risk Consultants, a TÜV SÜD Company “Demystifying Multinational Fronting Insurance Programs” | Sponsored by Zurich “Understanding Third-Party Litigation Funding” | Sponsored by Zurich “What Risk Managers Can Learn From School Shootings” | Sponsored by Merrill Herzog “Simplifying the Challenges of OSHA Recordkeeping” | Sponsored by Medcor “Risk Management in a Changing World: A Deep Dive into AXA's 2024 Future Risks Report” | Sponsored by AXA XL “How Insurance Builds Resilience Against An Active Assailant Attack” | Sponsored by Merrill Herzog “Third-Party and Cyber Risk Management Tips” | Sponsored by Alliant “RMIS Innovation with Archer” | Sponsored by Archer “Navigating Commercial Property Risks with Captives” | Sponsored by Zurich “Breaking Down Silos: AXA XL's New Approach to Casualty Insurance” | Sponsored by AXA XL “Weathering Today's Property Claims Management Challenges” | Sponsored by AXA XL “Storm Prep 2024: The Growing Impact of Convective Storms and Hail” | Sponsored by Global Risk Consultants, a TÜV SÜD Company “Partnering Against Cyberrisk” | Sponsored by AXA XL “Harnessing the Power of Data and Analytics for Effective Risk Management” | Sponsored by Marsh “Accident Prevention — The Winning Formula For Construction and Insurance” | Sponsored by Otoos “Platinum Protection: Underwriting and Risk Engineering's Role in Protecting Commercial Properties” | Sponsored by AXA XL “Elevating RMIS — The Archer Way” | Sponsored by Archer   RIMS Publications, Content, and Links: RIMS Membership — Whether you are a new member or need to transition, be a part of the global risk management community! RIMS Virtual Workshops On-Demand Webinars RIMS-Certified Risk Management Professional (RIMS-CRMP) RISK PAC | RIMS Advocacy RIMS Strategic & Enterprise Risk Center RIMS-CRMP Stories — Featuring RIMS President Kristen Peed!   RIMS Events, Education, and Services: RIMS Risk Maturity Model®   Sponsor RIMScast: Contact sales@rims.org or pd@rims.org for more information.   Want to Learn More? Keep up with the podcast on RIMS.org, and listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.   Have a question or suggestion? Email: Content@rims.org.   Join the Conversation! Follow @RIMSorg on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.   About our guest: Major General (Retired) Robert F. Whittle, Jr., Senior Vice President and CEO, Chief of Staff at USAA   Production and engineering provided by Podfly.  

The latest local news impacting D.C., Maryland and Northern Virginia. Man armed with a crossbow shot by police at a local mall, DOJ investigates employments at George Mason University, and new information about a deadly crash involving a Postal Service truck.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Another Virginia university is in the crosshairs of the Trump administration. Michael Pope and Radio IQ Politics Analyst Jeff Schapiro discuss that and the week that was in state politics and government.

What It's REALLY Like To Be A Habesha Man In Todays World In this episode, I sit down with Mikias, a psychology student at George Mason University, to talk about what it really feels like to be a Habesha man today.What starts as a conversation about mental health turns into an honest discussion about the pressure to always be strong, where that pressure comes from, and how we've learned to hide our emotions.We talk about the expectations placed on us as sons, the silence we carry, and the fear of being seen as weak. Mikias shares his own story of unlearning what it means to be a man, and why vulnerability may be the strength we've been avoiding.If you've ever felt the pressure to hold everything in — this one's for you.SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST: https://www.youtube.com/@thebriefdivepodcast/videos?sub_confirmation=1LISTEN ON:SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/show/2cPd9uVZqjmEmM9VF0zuGg?si=ef2246bd89c34b4APPLE PODCASTS: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-brief-dive/id1551664039ADD ME ON:INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/thebriefdive?igsh=cm5iaWEyazRvMnpySNAPCHAT: https://snapchat.com/t/zzap27fGTIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@thebriefdive?_t=8qIJLtOvM0l&_r=1DISCLAIMER: "The Brief Dive" Podcast represents the opinions of Filimon and his guests who are also not licensed professionals. The content provided should not be taken as medical advice, diagnosis, or any sort of medical treatment. This content is meant for informational and entertainment purposes only.Timestamps00:00 Preview00:30 Intro7:30 The Expectation Of Being Strong & Silent13:00 Did The Culture Hinder Your Identity?16:30 Self- Inflicted Pressures18:40 Every Habesha Grad Party Be Like...20:15 Fear Of Being 'Too Expressive'28:18 Hiding Yourself Because It's 'Not Manly'32:00 Is There A Manly Way Of Letting Your Emotions Out?37:30 The Ultimate Measure Of A Man38:54 The 'Provider' Mindset42:47 Biblical View As A Man pt.245:22 Does Being A Man Being Mean Being Perfect?49:50 Why Most Men Aren't Good With Emotions53:50 Being The Pillar Of Your Family56:15 What Do We Expect From Habesha Men?1:00:00 Are We Diluting Our Culture?1:04:35 Biblical View As A Man pt.21:15:45 The Last Vulnerable Conversation With A Man1:19:15 How Can Habesha Men Support Each other?1:27:39 What We Wish We Knew About Manliness1:33:56 What Emotional Legacy We Want To Leave1:39:16 Last Advice1:41:53 Outro

200 years later, Joseph Smith, Jr. continues to draw popular and scholarly interest within the American imagination. But how can modern historians navigate diverse and controversial religious perspectives to offer a fair record of such a man's life?John G. Turner, Professor and Chair of Religious Studies at George Mason University, is the latest historian to undertake such an endeavor in his 2025 biography, Joseph Smith: The Rise and Fall of an American Prophet (Yale University Press). Dr. Turner sits down with host Nicholas Shrum on today's episode of Scholars and Saints to discuss his methodological approaches to studying Joseph Smith outside of denominational polemics. He also analyzes key moments in Smith's life and the lasting legacies they have left for America's religious and political conscience.To find out more about Dr. Turner, click here.

Join us this month as we talk with author Denise S. Robbins who has a new book out called The Unmapping; the Washington Writers Publishing House co-president Caroline Bock and Jona Colson, who are celebrating WWPH's 50th anniversary; author Rion Amilcar Scott who reads from his book, The World Does Not Require You; and indie lit legend Brian Allen Carr, author of Bad Foundations, Opioid, Indiana, Short Bus, and others.  Denise S. Robbins is from Madison, Wisconsin, the city where she grew up and to which she returned after sixteen years of living and working in climate activism on the East Coast. In Madison, she lives with her husband in a yellow house circled by oaks and pines and two owls, and works as a consultant for several climate advocacy groups. She is a Pushcart Prize–nominated author whose stories have been published in literary journals including The Barcelona Review, Gulf Coast, and many more. Her debut novel, The Unmapping, was published in June 2025 from Mareas at Bindery Books. It is number 2 on People Magazine's top reads for the summer.  The Unmapping is on order at DCPL. You can place a hold for when it arrives.  Caroline Bock's short story collection, Carry Her Home, received the 2018 WWPH Fiction Prize. She is the author of two critically acclaimed young adult novels, LIE and Before My Eyes, from St. Martin's Press. In addition to her role as co-president, she is the prose editor at WWPH Writes, our bi-weekly literary journal, and the co-editor of our 2021 anthology This Is What America Looks Like Fiction and Poetry from D.C. Maryland, and Virginia. Her new novel, THE OTHER BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE. (Regal House Publishing) will be published on June 2, 2026.Jona Colson's poetry collection, Said Through Glass, won the 2018 Jean Feldman Poetry Prize from WWPH. He teaches English at Montgomery College. Notably, in addition to his role as co-president, he is the poetry editor of WWPH Writes, our bi-weekly literary journal, and the co-editor of This Is What America Looks Like: Poetry and Fiction from D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. He is also the translator for Aguas/Waters by Miguel Avero, our first work in translation, published in May 2024. Rion Amilcar Scott was born in Washington, D.C. and grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland. His parents are from Trinidad and came to the United States to study at Howard University. He graduated from George Mason University and teaches at The University of Maryland, College Park. His book Insurrections: Stories is available from DCPL2019:The World Doesn't Require You  is available from DCPL Brian Allen Carr is an Aspen Words Finalist and two time Wonderland Book Award winner.His books include Opioid, Indiana, Bad Foundations and several others.He is from Texas and lives in Indiana.His novel Sip is available through DCPL.His novel Opioid, Indiana is available through DCPL.*********************************************************************************************************************************************Credits Dream Pop by HoliznaCC0 is licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal License.https://freemusicarchive.org/music/holiznacc0/only-in-the-milky-way-part-3/dream-pop/Dark Ambient Music (Death And Forever) by TheBoseDeity is licensed under the Attribution NonCommercial 3.0 License.https://freesound.org/people/TheBoseDeity/sounds/395691/ Java Pop by Spires That in the Sunset Rise is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Spires_That_in_the_Sunset_Rise/Curse_the_Traced_Bird/Java_Pop/ Washington, DC by The Nighttime Adventure Society is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 International License.https://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_Nighttime_Adventure_Society/Chapter_One_The_First_Chapter/The_Nighttime_Adventure_Society_-_Chapter_One-_The_First_Chapter_-_01_Washington_DC/ kalas by Uncle Milk is licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal License.https://freemusicarchive.org/music/microSong_Challenge/2015021275957958/kalas_1886/ Function! by junior85 is licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal License.https://freemusicarchive.org/music/microSong_Challenge/2015021275957958/junior85_-_07_-_Function/  Re-Function! by junior85 is licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal License.https://freemusicarchive.org/music/microSong_Challenge/2015021275957958/junior85_-_08_-_Re-Function/ Tipping Point by Ellennerv is licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal License.https://freemusicarchive.org/music/microSong_Challenge/2015021275957958/Tipping_Point/ Pasty Cline “I'm Gonna Walk Some Dog” is in the public domain and is an official record of the United States Army. Armed Forces Radio Service.  Arkansas Traveler by ecfike is licensed under a CC0 licensehttps://freesound.org/people/ecfike/sounds/135127/All audio comments are consented to by the The Labs Consent and Release form.  Chorale by Andrew Christopher Smith is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.Orbiting A Distant Planet by Quantum Jazz is licensed under a Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 International License.Palimpseste by Iliaque is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.SOLO ACOUSTIC GUITAR by Jason Shaw is licensed under a Attribution 3.0 United States License.Times square 1700.m4a by olofguf is licensed under CC0. https://freesound.org/people/olofgud/sounds/639703/ 

In this episode, ACTA President Michael Poliakoff discusses solutions to our nation's civic education crisis with distinguished jurist Douglas Ginsburg and his wife, Dorothy “Deecy” Gray. Judge Ginsburg previously served as chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and is currently a professor at George Mason University's (GMU) Antonin Scalia Law School. A former member of the GMU Board of Visitors, Deecy Gray is a strong advocate for civic education. Together, they created Civics Fundamentals, a free online civics course for those studying to take the U.S. Citizenship Test and for the many students who have never been exposed to these basic, foundational lessons.

Send us a textDr. Seth Parsons talks to us about the power of the teacher, the value of good curriculum, and motivation and engagement in learning. Seth is known for his work in the areas of elementary literacy instruction, student engagement and motivation, adaptive teaching, and metacognitive strategy development. His research has been published in many of the field's top journals, including the Journal of Literacy Research, Review of Educational Research, Educational Researcher, Reading Research Quarterly, Elementary School Journal, The Reading Teacher, and Literacy Research and Instruction. In addition to journal articles, he has co-authored and edited several practitioner-facing books, including Principles of Effective Literacy Instruction, Grades K–5, and Accelerating Learning Recovery for All Students (both co-authored with past Classroom Caffeine guest Margaret Vaughn) and Becoming a Metacognitive Teacher. He has served as President of Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers (ALER) and currently serves as Executive Editor of The Journal of Educational Research, and Co-Editor of the Literacy Research Association's Journal of Literacy Research, and Associate Editor of Reading and Writing Quarterly. Dr. Seth A. Parsons is a Professor of Literacy in the Sturtevant Center for Literacy at George Mason University. You can connect with Seth on Instagram @sethaparsons or by email at sparson5@gmu.edu. To cite this episode: Persohn, L. (Host). (2025, July 15). A conversation with Seth A. Parsons. (Season 5, No. 12) [Audio podcast episode]. In Classroom Caffeine Podcast series. https://www.classroomcaffeine.com/guests. DOI: 10.5240/E135-3828-6E19-4385-B8E5-YConnect with Classroom Caffeine at www.classroomcaffeine.com or on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Today, we're really grateful to share a conversation with historian John Turner about the brand new biography he's just published: Joseph Smith: The Rise and Fall of an American Prophet.John is a professor of Religious Studies and History at George Mason University. While  not a member of the the Latter-day Saint faith, he has had a particular fascination with the early history of Mormonism, and wrote an earlier biography of Brigham Young. Some of the interpretations and conclusions John draws in his book may differ from our own, but we found this new biography on Joseph to be meticulously researched and engagingly written.In this book, John doesn't aim to settle all debates between Joseph Smith's supporters and his detractors, but with more primary sources available than ever before, he hoped to provide a fuller picture of a figure who continues to shape who we are today. John says that while the question of “Whether God actually spoke to [Joseph] Smith is a matter of faith… there is no question about his prophetic self-conception.”We assume most listeners are familiar with the general contours of Joseph's life, so in this conversation we talked with John about some topics we felt needed more exploration: his family's early hardships and how they might have shaped his resilience as a spiritual leader; what the historical record tells us about the gold plates and Joseph's visions; and whether Joseph truly instigated and lived plural marriage.What struck us most was John's portrayal of Joseph's constant evolution—his willingness to revise, to explore, and to ask better questions. It made us wonder if Joseph's boldness and openness to change could serve as inspiration to us in today's church.We know that talking openly about Joseph—his humanity, his complexity, even his mistakes—can be challenging. But we hope this episode helps create more space for recognizing the humanity of our leaders, both past and present.

In a culture obsessed with fixing weaknesses, Whitney Hopler invites us to shift our focus to our God-given strengths. Drawing from Romans 12:6-8, this devotional encourages believers to identify, celebrate, and use their unique spiritual gifts and talents instead of dwelling on flaws. Embracing your natural strengths not only aligns you with God’s design but also empowers you to serve more confidently and effectively in your personal and professional life. Highlights Many people spend too much time trying to fix weaknesses, losing sight of the powerful strengths God has given them. Formal strength assessments or simple reflection can help you discover your unique spiritual gifts and natural abilities. Romans 12:6-8 encourages using your strengths faithfully rather than obsessing over weaknesses. God’s purpose for you is best fulfilled when you lean into what you’re naturally good at, making a greater impact for His kingdom. Focusing on your strengths leads to greater confidence, wise decisions, and freedom to be your true self in Christ. Strengths-based living helps overcome weaknesses without becoming paralyzed by them.

AP correspondent Mike Hempen reports a second Virginia university faces a Trump administration investigation.

New data shows companies are not leaving the defense industrial base as often as many believe. Research from the Baroni center for government contracting at the George Mason University suggests that the defense industrial base is healthy, that competition remains strong, and companies are, in fact, not exiting the market, but shifting their approaches to ensure success. For more on the new research, Federal News Network's Jason Miller joins me now. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this episode, Nathan Goodman speaks with Abby Hall on the "boomerang effect," where U.S. military tools and tactics used abroad—like drones—are repurposed for domestic border enforcement. Hall discusses how restrictive immigration policies, such as the Secure Fence Act and Operation Streamline, often lead to unintended consequences like increased migrant deaths and overwhelmed asylum systems. She advocates for more open immigration pathways to improve both humanitarian outcomes and resource allocation. The conversation also highlights how past U.S. interventions in Latin America have contributed to current migration patterns and emphasizes the importance of humility and flexibility in policy research.Dr. Abigail R. Hall is an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Tampa and a Senior Affiliated Scholar at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. She has published numerous books, including her most recent satirical book, How to Run Wars: A Confidential Playbook for the National Security Elite co-authored with Christopher J. Coyne (2024). She holds a PhD in Economics from George Mason University and is an alum of the Mercatus PhD Fellowship.Show Notes:Hall's article, "Border Fencing, Migrant Flows, and Crossing Deaths"Hall's article, "The Unintended Consequences of U.S. Asylum Policy"If you like the show, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and tell others about the show! We're available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you get your podcasts.Virtual Sentiments, a podcast series from the Hayek Program, is streaming. Subscribe today and listen to season three, releasing now!Follow the Hayek Program on Twitter: @HayekProgramLearn more about Academic & Student ProgramsFollow the Mercatus Center on Twitter: @mercatusCC Music: Twisterium

CONGRESS: GOOD BAD UGLY OF THE BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL, NOW ACT. VERONIQUE DE RUGY, MERCATUS CENTER, GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY. 1892 SCOTUS

Associate Professor and Founding Director of The Race, Politics, and Policy Center at George Mason University, Dr Michael K. Fauntroy shares his thoughts about the impact of Trump's big bill on Black America and other trending political topics.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tavis-smiley--6286410/support.

S5:E4 Empowering Women in Retail Tech: A New Era of LeadershipIn Season Five, Episode Four of The Retail Razor Show, hosts Ricardo Belmar and Casey Golden engage in a captivating conversation with Shannon Flanagan, a seasoned retail leader and founder of Retail Women in Tech (RWIT). Shannon shares her journey from folding jeans at 18 to leading billion-dollar business transformations and emphasizes the importance of embracing change and innovation in retail. The episode underscores the critical role of diversity and inclusion in driving the industry forward, touching on the challenges and opportunities for women in tech and retail. Shannon discusses her vision for RWIT, a community aimed at fostering connections, mentorship, and leadership among women and allies in the retail tech space. With insights on change management, the impact of AI in retail, and the power of allyship, this episode offers valuable perspectives for retail professionals and tech enthusiasts alike.Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://retailrazor.substack.comSubscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTubeAbout our GuestShannon Flanagan, founder of Retail Women in Tech, https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannon-e-flanagan/ - Retail Women in Tech, https://retailwomenintech.orgShannon Flanagan caught the retail bug at 18 and never looked back. A retail strategist, AI enthusiast, and career change practitioner, she brings a 360-degree perspective on retail transformation—from product creation to customer experience—shaped by her work with hyper-growth startups to Fortune 500 retailers, consulting firms and tech companies. As a strategic partner and top industry voice, she collaborates with RETHINK Retail, RetailWire and the RetailAICouncil to drive conversations that shape the future of the industry.As the founder of Retail Women in Tech, Shannon has built a global community dedicated to creating life-changing connections for women and allies who share a passion for retail and technology. As social as retail is, there are surprisingly very few communities representing every facet of the industry. Shannon is on a mission to change that—stay tuned for more to come!00:00 Preview 00:51 Show Intro 05:26 Welcome Shannon Flanagan 06:14 Shannon's Retail Journey Begins 08:47 Insights on Change Management 10:21 The Importance of Diverse Perspectives 15:03 Challenges in Hiring for Innovation 24:00 The Birth of Retail Women in Tech (RWIT) 34:42 Addressing the Leadership Gap 38:39 The Challenge of Asking for Help 40:36 The Harsh Reality for Female Founders 45:08 The Importance of Allies 49:01 Building a Supportive Community 59:32 The Future of Retail Women in Tech 01:06:22 Final Thoughts and Call to Action 01:08:53 Show CloseMeet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech:Ricardo Belmar is an NRF Top Retail Voices for 2025 & a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert from 2021 – 2025. Thinkers 360 has named him a Top 10 Retail Thought Leader, Top 50 Management Thought Leader, & Top 100 Digital Transformation Thought Leader, plus a Top Digital Voice for 2024. He is an advisory council member at George Mason University's Center for Retail Transformation, and is the director partner marketing for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft.Casey Golden, is CEO of Luxlock, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert from 2023 - 2025, and Retail Cloud Alliance advisory council member. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech!Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Overclocked, and E-Motive from the album Beat Hype, written by Heston Mimms, published by Imuno.

Welcome back to another episode of the Online Warriors Podcast! This week, we have a very special episode in store for you. We have a special guest interview featuring Daniel Greenberg, Professor of Game Design at George Mason University and founder of Winterion Game Studios! Daniel came on the show today to chat about all things gaming (and root beer)! Some quick hits from our interview: Daniel's background and start in game design academia  Gaming as a staple in today's society When gaming evolved into an art form instead of a fun "diversion" Transmediation and how we interact with various forms of media The "importance of storytelling vs. gameplay mechanics" debate Game design elements that are fundamental for a really good game The story of Winterion Game Studios and the IONGAMING project "Must-play" retro games Daniel's personal game development plans/experience Daniel's favorite board game recommendations Daniel's thoughts on the future of gaming and VR's place in that future  Daniel's history as a root beer aficionado Daniel answers: "If you could be a superhero, what would be your superpower?"  Thanks again to Daniel Greenberg! Check him out at: Twitter: https://twitter.com/winterion  Winterion Game Studios on Youtube: http://watch.winterion.com  Winterion Game Studios Website: https://winterion.com/index.html  George Mason University: https://www.gmu.edu/  Daniel Greenberg at GMU: https://www.gmu.edu/profiles/dgreenb2  Special shoutout to our Patreon Producers: Steven Keller and Loyd Weldy! We'd like to thank each and every one of you for listening in every week. If you'd like to support the show, you can drop us a review on your favorite podcast platform or, if you're feeling extra generous, drop us a subscribe over at Patreon.com/OnlineWarriorsPodcast. We have three tiers of subscriptions, each of which gives you some awesome bonus content! As always, we appreciate you tuning in, and look forward to seeing you next week! Stay safe and healthy everyone! Find us all over the web: Online Warriors Website: https://www.onlinewarriorspodcast.com Online Warriors Twitter: https://twitter.com/onlinewarriors1 Illeagle's Twitter: https://twitter.com/OWIlleagle86 Nerdbomber's Twitter: https://twitter.com/OWNerdbomber Techtic's Twitter: https://twitter.com/OWTechtic Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/onlinewarriorspodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onlinewarriorspodcast/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwOwzY6aBcTFucWEeFEtwIg Merch Store: https://onlinewarriorspodcast-shop.fourthwall.com/

On today's episode of the Illumination by Modern Campus podcast, podcast host Shauna Cox was joined by Janette Muir to discuss the integration of continuing and professional education with traditional academic programming alongside the evolving role of faculty and governance in advancing short-cycle, skills-based learning pathways.

A conversation with historian Jason Heppler about their book Silicon Valley and the Environmental Inequalities of High-Tech Urbanism   (University of Oklahoma Press, Environment in Modern North America Series, 2024)     Dr. Jason A. Heppler is a historian and digital historian, currently working as Senior Developer at the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media and an adjunct professor of history at George Mason University. He earned a BA in history from South Dakota State University and an MA and PhD in history from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Prior to his current positions at George Mason he held posts at Stanford University's Center for Spatial and Textual Analysis, Dept. of History, and Center for Interdisciplinary Digital Research, and the University of Nebraska at Omaha's Sustainability program, Libraries, and history department. He co-edited a 2020 University of Cincinnati Press volume with Rebecca Wingo, Digital Community Engagement: Partnering Communities with the Academy, which won the 2021 National Council on Public History Book Award. His first monograph, which we talk about today, Silicon Valley and the Environmental Inequalities of High-Tech Urbanism (University of Oklahoma Press, Volume 9 in the Environment in Modern North America Series, 2024).   The Writing Westward Podcast is produced and hosted by Prof. Brenden W. Rensink for the Charles Redd Center for Western Studies at Brigham Young University. Subscribe to the Writing Westward Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Play, and other podcast distribution apps and platforms. Follow the BYU Redd Center and the Writing Westward Podcast on Facebook, Bluesky, or X/Twitter, or get more information @ https://www.writingwestward.org.  Theme music by Micah Dahl Anderson @ www.micahdahlanderson.com  

Roger welcomes Dominic Pino, the Thomas L. Rhodes journalism fellow at the National Review Institute, for a wide-ranging conversation on why both political parties are drifting away from free-market principles—and what that means for the United States' economic future.They discuss the growing embrace of industrial policy, the return of tariffs and subsidies, and the bipartisan belief that government should play a bigger role in steering the economy. Pino breaks down why this approach has historically failed, why politicians are often poor at picking winners and losers, and why market-driven growth remains the most effective path to prosperity. They also touch on entitlement spending, the misunderstood nature of trade deficits, and how public skepticism of economic expertise is shaping policy debates.Dominic Pino hosts the “Econception” podcast and is a former William F. Buckley Jr. Fellow in Political Journalism and a National Review editorial intern. He also was a 2020 Political Studies Fellow with the Hertog Foundation and has held internships with ALEC, the Heritage Foundation and the Tax Foundation. He holds both a bachelor's and master's degree in economics from George Mason University. While at Mason, he served as an opinion editor of Fourth Estate, the university's student paper.The Liberty + Leadership Podcast is hosted by TFAS president Roger Ream and produced by Podville Media. If you have a comment or question for the show, please email us at podcast@TFAS.org. To support TFAS and its mission, please visit TFAS.org/support.Support the show

British Americans' unquenchable thirst for tea and a looming financial disaster for the East India Company leads to a new crisis in North America when seven tea-laden ships are sent to the colonies in 1773, inspiring Bostonians to dump much of the cargo in Boston Harbor.  Featuring: Benjamin Carp, James Fichter, Deepthi Murali, and Mary Beth Norton. Voice Actors: Craig Gallagher, Margaret Hughes, Grace Mallon, Norman Rodger, Annabelle Spencer, and John Turner. Narrated by Dr. Jim Ambuske. Music by Artlist.io This episode was made possible with support from a 2024 grant from the National Endowment of the Humanities.  Help other listeners find the show by leaving a 5-Star Rating and Review on Apple, Spotify, Podchaser, or our website. Follow the series on Facebook or Instagram. Worlds Turned Upside Down is a production of R2 Studios at the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media at George Mason University.

Sacred Remembrance: In this episode St Luke's Executive Director John Ericson interviews Chadra Pitman about her work in remembering the victims of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. The discussion covers the many slave codes of the 17th century Virginia Colony and how they divided the labor class according to skin color thus creating the social construct of race. Chadra Pitman is an Anthropologist, Human Rights Advocate, Remembrance Celebration Coordinator, Public HIstorian and the Executive Director of the Sankofa Project. Chadra holds a B.A. in Anthropology from George Mason University and a Masters of Anthropology of Peace and Human Rights from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Chadra's publications include; “Mother of the Movement: Remembering Bambara and the ‘African Bones' in the Briny Deep,” and “If Bones Could Speak.” 

The US Court of International Trade ruled last month that President Trump does not have the authority to unilaterally implement this year's tariffs under emergency powers, throwing the president's newest trade levies into legal limbo. As the case winds its way through the appeals process, the international trade environment hangs in the balance. In this episode, we talk with Ilya Somin, Professor of Law at George Mason University and co-counsel in the recent tariff case at the US Court of International Trade, about the legal pathways for enacting tariffs, last month's ruling, and his predictions for trade policy once the dust is settled.

What are the pre-political grounds of property rights? What are the just uses of property according to natural rights and the natural law? In this Anchoring Truths Podcast episode, Prof. Eric Claeys, presents his research on these questions inspired by his new book Natural Property Rights. Claeys, discusses the ways a natural right to property is justified and limited, drawing on sources from ancient, medieval and contemporary analytic philosophy. Claeys also describes the history of how a natural right understanding of property has influenced American positive law and jurisprudence. Eric R. Claeys is Professor of Law at the Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University. In his scholarship, Professor Claeys studies theories of natural law and natural rights and their implications in property law. Professor Claeys is a member of the American Law Institute, he serves on the ALI's Members' Consultative Group for the first Restatement of Copyright, and he also serves as an adviser to the Restatement (Fourth) of the Law of Property.Professor Claeys received his AB from Princeton University and his JD from the University of Southern California Law School. After law school, Professor Claeys clerked for the Hon. Melvin Brunetti, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and the Hon. William H. Rehnquist, Chief Justice of the United States. He has also taught at Saint Louis University, the University of Chicago Law School, and Harvard Law School, and he is a member of the Princeton Politics Department's James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions.  

About one month ago, the House passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a massive bill aimed at advancing President Trump's domestic policy agenda. Now, the bill is with the Senate.Included in the bill are huge changes to student lending. In particular, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act would make drastic changes to loan limits, repayment plans, and the rules for which programs are eligible to participate in the student loan program.What is the rationale behind these changes? How would these changes affect students and schools? And will the One Big Beautiful Bill Act become law?On this episode of The Report Card, Nat Malkus discusses these questions, and more, with Preston Cooper.Preston Cooper is a senior fellow at AEI, where he studies higher education policy. He also serves on the Board of Visitors for George Mason University.Show Notes:Senate Embraces “Do No Harm” for Higher EducationThe Senate's Higher Education Reforms Are Strong (But Could Be Stronger)How The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” Would Hold Colleges Accountable For Outcomes

On January 17, the Biden-Harris Administration added 15 new drugs, including Ozempic, to the list of drugs covered by the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Now there are a total of 25 drugs that are covered by the IRA’s requirement that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) pays only a “fair price” for selected drugs covered by Medicare Part D. The new prices are set to take effect on January 1, 2027. What implications does this have for patients and for drug research and development? Join the discussion on the 'fair price' mandate and its impact on pharmaceutical innovation. Featuring: Lisa Ouellette, Deane F. Johnson Professor of Law at Stanford Law School Dan Troy, Managing Director at the Berkeley Research Group Brad Watts, Senior Vice President at the Global Innovation Policy Center, U.S. Chamber of Commerce [Moderator] Adam Mossoff, Professor of Law at Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is looking to hire a company to help it mine through data sources including social media, international trade data, blockchain information, property records, and the dark web — the latest example of the agency looking to beef up the tools and platforms it uses in its enforcement operations. In a government procurement posting published late last month, ICE said it was interested in deploying a service that can continuously monitor a million people or entities of interest — and analyze trends for the purpose of “identifying potentially criminal and fraudulent behavior before crime and fraud can materialize,” among other goals. In a request for information for “Data Analytics” shared by ICE's investigations and operations support office in suburban Dallas, the government component outlined a range of requirements that it might seek from a contractor, like staff support, data analytics, and access to proprietary data. As the General Services Administration looks to form direct relationships with IT manufacturers to bring better value to agencies through governmentwide deals under its OneGov strategy, it's going to disrupt a staple of the federal IT acquisition ecosystem: value-added resellers. A significant portion of federal IT contracting traditionally goes through resellers that provide software services on behalf of original equipment manufacturers that often don't have the experience navigating or selling to the federal government. Those resellers, like Carahsoft, CDW-G and Iron Bow, however, specialize in that and provide additional services like integration, customization and support for commercial IT products. Lawrence Hale, assistant commissioner of the Information Technology Category in GSA's Federal Acquisition Service, said Wednesday during a webinar hosted by George Mason University's Baroni Center for Government Contracting that what GSA is trying to do by working directly with the manufacturers is flip that relationship. In going straight to OEMs for IT contracts — as GSA has done now with several vendors like Microsoft, Google, Adobe and Salesforce under its OneGov strategy announced in April — resellers won't be eliminated. Instead, they can still serve as authorized partners or subcontractors to those IT manufacturers, Hale explained, whereas the opposite is often true today. The Daily Scoop Podcast is available every Monday-Friday afternoon. If you want to hear more of the latest from Washington, subscribe to The Daily Scoop Podcast  on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Spotify and YouTube.

Jason Frazier of Minds Eye Radio announces a partnership with George Mason University to bring a new exciting beepball destination qualifier to our regional competitive circuit.

Joseph Smith was the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, known by those outside the church during his life and today as the Mormons. But Joseph Smith was many things besides: the child of a struggling family gradually moving westward in search of opportunity, a day laborer, visionary, seer; treasure hunter; translator; revelator; prophet; elder, banker, prisoner, wrestler, real estate speculator, polygamist, Lieutenant General, Master Mason, Mayor, and martyr.“America,” wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson in 1844, “is the country of the future…[a] country of beginnings, of projects, of vast designs and expectations.” My guest John Turner observes that Joseph Smith might not have been what Emerson had in mind when he spoke of new beginnings and bold projects. But those were part of his life, in addition to vast designs and great expectations. Indeed, it is not too much to say that few nineteenth century Americans have an enduring legacy that can compare to Joseph Smith's.Yet John Turner's new book Joseph Smith: The Rise and Fall of an American Prophet also describes how this very untypical man was yet absolutely typical of his times. From his religious awakening among the religious revivalism of western New York, to his founding of utopian communities in the midwest, to his dietary concerns, and even to his experience of brutal mob violence that amounted to religious pogroms against his church, Smith's experiences–and those of his followers–were far from atypical. John G. Turner is professor of religious studies and history at George Mason University. His previous book was They Knew They Were Pilgrims: Plymouth Colony and the Contest for American Liberty, which we talked about in Episode 157.For Further Investigation In Episode 181, Sara Patterson and I discussed the practice of Mormon pilgrimage.For a conversation about a very different but equally charismatic and controversial 19th century American, see my conversation in Episode 198 with Bob Elder about John C. Calhoun, whom Elder describes as the "American heretic"; a nice pairing with an American prophet.The Joseph Smith Papers

Israel's strike on Iran. Assassination of a Minnesota politician. Economics of aging.  Find us on YouTube. Mike and Clarissa discuss the complex backdrop of Israel's strikes on Iran, the assassination of a Minnesota politician, and a Christian response to political violence. Then, Clarissa sits down with economist Sita Slavov to discuss economic issues related to aging, including social security policy and wisdom for retirement.  GO DEEPER WITH THE BULLETIN: Join the conversation at our Substack. Find us on YouTube. Rate and review the show in your podcast app of choice. ABOUT THE GUESTS:  Sita Slavov is a professor of public policy at the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University, a faculty research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research, and a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. She specializes in public finance and the economics of aging. Sita has served as a senior economist specializing in public finance issues at the White House's Council of Economic Advisers, and she has testified before Congress. Her work has appeared in peer-reviewed journals such as the Journal of Health Economics and the Journal of Public Economics. She also has work published in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, RealClearPolicy, and US News & World Report. ABOUT THE BULLETIN: The Bulletin is a twice-weekly politics and current events show from Christianity Today moderated by Clarissa Moll, with senior commentary from Russell Moore (Christianity Today's editor in chief) and Mike Cosper (director, CT Media). Each week, the show explores current events and breaking news and shares a Christian perspective on issues that are shaping our world. We also offer special one-on-one conversations with writers, artists, and thought leaders whose impact on the world brings important significance to a Christian worldview, like Bono, Sharon McMahon, Harrison Scott Key, Frank Bruni, and more. The Bulletin listeners get 25% off CT. Go to https://orderct.com/THEBULLETIN to learn more. “The Bulletin” is a production of Christianity Today Producer: Clarissa Moll Associate Producer: Alexa Burke Editing and Mix: Kevin Morris Music: Dan Phelps Executive Producers: Erik Petrik and Mike Cosper Senior Producer: Matt Stevens Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How did a non-Mormon who teaches in Virginia get interested in Mormon History? John Turner has written the newest biography of Joseph Smith. He is a professor of History at George Mason University and has written not only the pre-eminent biography of Brigham Young, but has a new biography called "Joseph Smith: The Rise & Fall of an American Prophet." We'll discuss both of these amazing biographies and why he chooses to write about these important Mormon figures. Check out our conversation... Don't miss our other conversations with John: https://gospeltangents.com/people/john-turner/ Copyright © 2025 Gospel Tangents All Rights Reserved Except for book reviews, no content may be reproduced without written permission https://youtu.be/szj5SYdO0wA Dive Deep into Joseph Smith and Brigham Young with Historian John Turner! Are you a fan of Mormon history, science, and theology? Then you won't want to miss the latest interview on Gospel Tangents, featuring renowned East Coast scholar Dr. John Turner. Rick sat down with Dr. Turner to discuss his brand-new book, "Joseph Smith: The Rise and Fall of an American Prophet," which is set to release on Amazon on June 17th. Meet the Historian: Dr. John Turner Dr. John Turner is a professor at George Mason University in Northern Virginia. Turner's academic journey is quite interesting: He completed his undergraduate degree in History and German at Middlebury College in Vermont. He then pursued his PhD in US History at the University of Notre Dame. Interestingly, he took a detour during his PhD to earn a Master of Divinity at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, an experience he found helpful for writing about religious experience and doctrine with more information and sensitivity. Turner's interest in Latter-day Saint history was sparked by meeting "extremely winsome and engaging personalities" like Patrick Mason and Matt Grow while at Notre Dame. He also realized that the Latter-day Saint story was a bit of local history for him, having grown up near Palmyra, New York, "where it all began." Although his dissertation focused on American evangelicalism, he sought to learn new things for his second project and found the Joseph Smith and Brigham Young eras "so fascinating.” Non-Mormon Scholar's Perspective on Mormon History Dr. Turner has authored multiple books on Mormonism, including "Brigham Young: Pioneer Prophet" and "The Mormon Jesus," in addition to his new Joseph Smith biography. As a non-Mormon (he identifies as Trinitarian), Turner notes a key difference in his approach: he can express his conclusions and share his findings without worrying about "an ecclesiastical reaction" or "getting excommunicated," which might be a concern for Latter-day Saint scholars. He is "pretty single-minded" when working on a book, focusing on one project at a time. Inspiration Behind the Joseph Smith Biography Turner found it "a really good time to take on a Jo Smith biography"11. His primary motivations for writing about Joseph Smith, especially after his Brigham Young book, were twofold12: Engaging Foundational Questions: Writing about Brigham Young allowed him to largely "take for granted" core beliefs and events, but with Joseph Smith, it was an "opportunity and a challenge to return to that... foundational time period" and "engage some hard questions". These include questions about golden plates, divine messages, and Joseph's motivations for plural marriage. Joseph Smith as a Biographical Subject: Turner describes Joseph Smith as a "great biographical subject" – a "mirthful, colorful man" who is "energetic and dynamic." His public life, spanning essentially 15 years, was "packed" with events, demanding a "fast-paced story". Turner also lavishes praise on the Joseph Smith Papers project, calling it "fantastic" and an "enormously useful" resource that provided a "huge head start" due to its accurate transcriptions, images,

Across America, protests against Donald Trump's immigration raids are popping up, a week since the unrest in Los Angeles began. Protesters are incensed that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents continue to enter workplaces to round up undocumented immigrants. But it's Donald Trump's decision to send California National Guard troops and Marines to LA to protect federal agents and property that's really causing a stir. Today, Ilya Somin, a law professor at George Mason University, on why it's an authoritarian move Trump has long wanted to take and the risks of normalising troops on the streets. Featured: Ilya Somin, Professor of Law at the George Mason University in Virginia and the B. Kenneth Simon Chair in Constitutional Studies at the Cato Institute

In this episode of Positive Philter, I'm joined by Professor Jennifer Victor from George Mason University's Schar School of Policy and Government. We explore her path in political science and how the discipline helps foster understanding and informed dialogue. At a time when thoughtful conversations are more critical than ever, Professor Victor shares how data and research can bridge divides and support meaningful civic engagement. Shout Outs and Plugs Dr. Jennifer Victor LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifernvictor/ Schar School of Policy and Government Website: https://schar.gmu.edu/ Schar School of Policy and Government Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scharschool/ Schar School of Policy and Government LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/school/gmu-schar/posts/?feedView=all If you have a question for the podcast call 571-336-6560 or leave a question via this Google Form. Five Minute Journal by Intelligent Change Affiliate Code: https://www.intelligentchange.com/?rfsn=4621464.017186 Tappy Card “Electronic Business Card” Affiliate Code:  https://tappycard.com?ref:philip-wilkerson Please leave a rating/review of the Podcast https://lovethepodcast.com/positivephilter Intro music provided by DJ BIGyoks. Check out his Instagram and Soundcloud channel can be found here:  https://www.instagram.com/beats.byyoks/ https://soundcloud.com/dj-bigyoks Outro music provided by Ryan Rosemond. Check out his Soundcloud channel here: https://soundcloud.com/brothersrosemond/albums  Purchase "Forty Years of Advice" by Philip Wilkerson: https://a.co/d/2qYMlqu Leave Your Feedback by filling out this audience survey: https://forms.gle/ncoNvWxMq2A6Zw2q8 Sign up for Positive Philter Weekly Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/g-LOqL Please follow Positive Philter: Positive Philter Facebook Page Positive Philter Twitter Positive Philter Instagram  If you would like to support the podcast, please consider donating to the Positive Philter Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/positivephilter Positive Philter was selected by FeedSpot as Top 20 Positive Thinking Podcasts on the web. https://blog.feedspot.com/positive_thinking_podcasts/ Jeff's Anti-Hunger Fund The Positive Philter Podcast is dedicated to Jeff Kirsch. A long-time supporter of the show and a major influence on this show's growth. Please support the careers of future advocates by donating to the Jeff Kirsch Fund for Anti-Hunger Advocacy. This fund was named after Jeff Kirsch for his decades of service in fighting hunger and inequality. Link to fund: https://frac.org/kirschfund Pats for Patriots  If you are a member of the #MasonNation, please consider sending a Pats for Patriots. Pats for Patriots are a free and easy way to thank, recognize, show appreciation for a Mason colleague or student who has taken the time to do something kind, generous or thoughtful towards others. For more information, visit: https://forms.office.com/r/HRZGvhdJEA We have received more than 2,000 nominations from the Mason community so far. Keep those nominations coming in!  

Since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, capitalism has unleashed unimaginable growth in opportunity and prosperity. And yet, at key points in American history, economic disruption has led to a greater role for government, ostensibly to protect against capitalism's excesses. Today, government regulates, mandates, subsidizes and controls a growing share of the American economy. Today on the show, retired U.S. Senator Phil Gramm, one of America's premier public policy advocates, and noted economist Donald J. Boudreaux look at the seven events and issues in American history that define, for most Americans, the role of government and how the 21st century world works. To many, these 5 periods of American history—the Industrial Revolution, Progressive Era, Great Depression, decline of America's postwar preeminence in world trade, and the Great Recession—along with the existing levels of income inequality and poverty, represent strong evidence for expanding government in American life. Gramm and Boudreaux argue that the evidence might point to a contrary verdict. Phil Gramm served six years in the U.S. House of Representatives and eighteen years in the U.S. Senate where he was Chairman of the Banking Committee. Gramm is a Visiting Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. He was Vice Chairman of UBS Investment Bank and is now Vice Chairman of Lone Star Funds. He taught Economics at Texas A&M University and has published numerous articles and books. Donald J. Boudreaux is an American economist, author, professor, and co-director of the Program on the American Economy and Globalization at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. His writings have appeared in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Investor's Business Daily, The Washington Times, and many scholarly publications. Their new book is The Triumph of Economic Freedom: Debunking the Seven Great Myths of American Capitalism.

George Mason University religious studies department chair John Turner teaches a class on the history of Islam and Judaism in America. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Donald Trump's advisers are raging over a court ruling that temporarily blocked many of Trump's tariffs. Stephen Miller called it “judicial tyranny.” Another top adviser called the judges “globalist.” And press secretary Karoline Leavitt seethed that “unelected judges” have grown “dangerous.” While an appeals court did put a stay on the court ruling, letting the tariffs proceed for now, it's now overwhelmingly clear the tariffs are extremely vulnerable legally, and the whiplash in the courts only underscores what a fiasco of uncertainty Trump unleashed. Our trading partners now think their hand has been strengthened in trade talks, revealing more weakness. We talked to George Mason University's Ilya Somin, a lead lawyer for the challengers, about why the ruling is crushing for Trump's case, what it reveals about his broader abuses of power, and how he still can be stopped. Looking for More from the DSR Network? Click Here: https://linktr.ee/deepstateradio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is a rebroadcast. The episode originally ran in August 2021. Jenny Reeder is a historian and writer, currently the nineteenth-century women's history specialist at the Church History Department in the publications division, and was one of the first historians hired to specialize in women's history. She holds a PhD in American history from George Mason University, specializing in women's history, religious history, memory, and material culture. She also holds degrees from Brigham Young University, Arizona State University, and New York University. Jenny served a mission in Italy and has served three times as a ward Relief Society president, including when she was in graduate school and fighting leukemia. Jenny has collaborated on several books about Latter-day Saint women's history and is the author of First: The Life and Faith of Emma Smith. Links First: The Life and Faith of Emma Smith A Place to Belong: Reflections from Modern Latter-day Saint Women The Witness of Women: Firsthand Experiences and Testimonies from the Restoration At the Pulpit: 185 Years of Discourses by Latter-day Saint Women Share your thoughts in the Leading Saints community Read the transcript of this podcast Get 14-day access to the Core Leader Library Highlights 2:50 Writing her book about Emma Smith. Her goal was to write about her as a pillar of the Restoration and a significant founder of the Church with Joseph, and to make her a real woman and show how complicated her life was, her commitment, and her heartbreak. 5:20 So many members of the Church have been influenced to believe she was a fallen person because she did not come west with the other pioneers, but she retained her testimony and hers is a story of redemption. 7:45 Jenny's experience with cancer while serving as a Relief Society president during her time in graduate school at George Mason Participating in ward council from her hospital bed Visiting with less-active people and learning to receive service Sending emails and physical cards to people as she was prompted Finding her purpose outside of "not dying" 15:15 Serving is an opportunity to learn, serve, and receive revelation in way you haven't before, and this can be a blessing in a difficult time. 19:00 The goals of RS were to provide relief and save souls. She found relief for herself as she provided relief to others, and came to understand the Atonement on a deeper level. 21:00 Developing relationships that continue: maintaining relationships from her old ward has been powerful for everyone as they have rallied together to support each other through difficult times. 23:00 The Church was never really organized until the Relief Society was organized. Having women involved is significant and they have Priesthood authority in their stewardship. The most beneficial experience is when they are recognized for that leadership and allowed to do what they can. 27:00 Emma's instructions in Doctrine and Covenants Section 25 Emma struggled with her role to teach and had to learn how to lead In Nauvoo Relief Society, you had to apply for membership. It was a step toward being able to participate in temple ordinances. Emma's role in creating the hymnbook, and being the first woman to receive her endowment She was called to be a support for Joseph: significance of the words "comfort" and "office", and of leaving her family to go with him and to stay with him 36:50 The Relief Society was told to create offices to expand what they needed 39:00 Speaking up to have your voice heard: It was not normal for women to speak publicly in the 19th century, and even now women can be unaccustomed to speaking and leading Eliza R. Snow was asked to assist bishops and to instruct the sisters, but she was not accustomed to speaking out, but she learned how to do this and taught others how Relief Society was shut down and Eliza became the de facto Relief So...