Podcasts about gi bill

Send a textWhat happens when a benefits formula turns healing into a liability. We dig into the VA's now-paused plan to reduce disability pay when medication improves symptoms and explain why that logic clashes with the lived reality of trauma, pain, and long-term earning capacity. Framed as a “clarification,” the proposal sparked immediate backlash because veterans have seen this pattern before: fast budgets for war, slow debates for care.We explore the deeper issue at stake—a covenant, not a calculation. Disability compensation is not a reward for good performance on a medicated afternoon. It is a recognition that service can leave permanent marks, even when treatment helps you function in moments. From the Bonus Army to GI Bill inequities to the Walter Reed scandal, history shows how rhetoric often outpaces responsibility. Policies that penalize progress push veterans into a cruel choice: avoid healing to keep support. That is a moral failure and a policy trap.Along the way, we share clear language for understanding why medication management is not the same as restoration, how incentives shape behavior, and what “no-penalty healing” should look like in a just system. We also step back to talk mental health in an age of alarm—how to limit saturation news, reclaim agency through local action, and build embodied anchors like sleep, movement, sunlight, and real conversation. Calm isn't denial; it's disciplined presence that helps us think and care better.If you care about veteran rights, public ethics, and practical resilience, this conversation offers context, history, and tools. Listen, share with someone who needs it, and leave a review to help more people find the show. Subscribe for future deep dives and join us as we push for policy that honors the people who carried the weight for us. Support the show

In this episode, I break down nine military benefits that are often overlooked but can completely transform your financial future. I share the exact tools and strategies, from credit card fee waivers to GI Bill transfer secrets, that helped me go from a negative net worth to a millionaire in just over five years. Whether you are active duty or a veteran, this is your roadmap to using the military as a legitimate financial launchpad.   Timestamps (00:00) Intro (00:37) Benefit 1: Military Lending Act (MLA) and Credit Card Fees (01:36) Benefit 2: SCRA Interest Rate Caps on Debt (02:47) Benefit 3: Using Space-A Travel for Free Flights (03:38) Benefit 4: State-Specific Benefits and the Hazelwood Act (04:21) Benefit 5: How to Correctly Transfer Your GI Bill (06:50) Benefit 6: Skill Bridge Paid Internships (08:26) Benefit 7: Veteran Preferences in Federal Hiring (08:49) Benefit 8: Veteran Disability Compensation and Healthcare (09:40) Benefit 9: Maximizing the VA Loan for Real Estate (10:39) Bonus: The Military as a Financial Launchpad   About the Show On the Military Millionaire Podcast, I share real conversations with service members, veterans, and their families. Each week, we explore how to build wealth through personal finance, entrepreneurship, and real estate investing. Resources & Links Download a free copy of my book: https://www.frommilitarytomillionaire.com/free-book Sign up for free webinar trainings: https://www.frommilitarytomillionaire.com/register Join our investor list: https://www.frommilitarytomillionaire.com/investors Apply for The War Room Mastermind: https://www.frommilitarytomillionaire.com/mastermind-application Get an intro to recommended VA agents/lenders: https://www.frommilitarytomillionaire.com/va-realtor Guide to raising capital: https://www.frommilitarytomillionaire.com/capital-raising-guide   Connect with David Pere Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/militarymillionaire YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Frommilitarytomillionaire?sub_confirmation=1 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frommilitarytomillionaire/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-pere/ X (Twitter): https://x.com/militaryrei TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@militarymillionaire

Time for another reunion! Sarah Haider, Meghan's co-host on the late, great A Special Place In Hell, has a lot to say about the Epstein files, so she visited the podcast to unload. After opening the episode with an homage to the classic intro from our former podcast, the ladies talk about how everyone's a pedophile now, why Ghislaine Maxwell was drawn to such bad boyfriends, and why Epstein's favorite muffins (yes, literal muffins) were so delicious they inspired poetry. Because it's Sarah, they also discuss the latest in Fertility Crisis Discourse, including new nostalgia about teenage motherhood and Sarah's idea of a GI Bill for mothers. Finally, they reveal the only conditions under which we would revive A Special Place In Hell. The answer may (not) surprise you.

ICE, Noem and The War on Free Elections. Ukraine Won the Olympics. Prince Andrew Arrested in England Over Epstein Ties. Hegseth, Tuberville Continue to Embrace Dumb Ideas. Spring Training a Homerun. The drumbeats of war are growing louder. In this solo episode of Independent Americans, host Paul Rieckhoff reports that President Trump has signaled the U.S. military could strike Iran within ten days — with zero congressional authorization, zero public debate, and zero accountability. Congress is rolling over, America's sons and daughters are in harm's way, and the American people deserve a vote. Meanwhile at home, Paul holds nothing back on DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, who reportedly pulled a Coast Guard search-and-rescue aircraft away from a missing 21-year-old service member to prioritize a deportation flight, and on ICE's escalating cruelty — including a nine-year-old girl detained in San Antonio for eight months and the heartbreaking death of Ophelia Torres, a 16-year-old who fought cancer while her father was held by ICE. These are not statistics. Paul refuses to let their stories disappear. Pentagon Secretary Pete Hegseth's culture war rages on. Paul breaks down Hegseth's move to block military members from enrolling at Harvard, Duke, Johns Hopkins, and dozens more elite universities — followed by the VA's decision to strip veterans of their post-9/11 GI Bill benefits at those same schools. Denmark, one of America's most steadfast NATO allies, now views the U.S. as an adversary, with 60% of Danes saying so. Paul also covers Venezuela strikes without congressional approval, the staggering losses in Ukraine, and a personal word about the courage of Stephen Colbert and the growing chorus of ordinary Americans pushing back. Paul closes on something good: spring training. He was at Yankees practice in Tampa Bay this morning, where his boys got balls signed by Aaron Judge — proof that community, access, and joy are still very much alive. Episode 445 ends with a clear mission: country over party, people over politics. If you're among the 45% of Americans who call themselves independent, this is your show. Stay vigilant. -WATCH video of this episode on our YouTube channel. -Learn more about Paul's work to elect a new generation of independent leaders with Independent Veterans of America. -Learn more about American Veterans for Ukraine here. Connect with Independent Americans: Subscribe on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all podcast platforms Read more at Substack Support ad-free episodes at Patreon  Connect: Instagram  • X/Twitter • BlueSky • Facebook  Follow on social: @PaulRieckhoff on X, Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky -Join the movement. Hook into our exclusive Patreon community of Independent Americans. Get extra content, connect with guests, meet other Independent Americans, attend events, get merch discounts, and support this show that speaks truth to power.  -And get cool IA and Righteous hats, t-shirts and other merch now in time for the new year.  Independent Americans is powered by veteran-owned and led Righteous Media.  And now part of the BLEAV network!  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Josh Perschbacher joins the VET S.O.S. Network to dive into why connection—not duplication—is the missing link in military transition. As a Navy veteran and founder of VetWork, Josh shares how regional ecosystems, mentorship, and smarter coordination help veterans move from service to purpose-driven civilian careers.In this episode, we explore:• Why veterans shouldn't have to choose between jobs, education, and mental health support• How VetWork deconflicts veteran programs to maximize impact• The importance of building skills before transition, not after• Why mentorship and community are critical long after TAP endsIf you're transitioning, supporting veterans, or building veteran-serving organizations, this episode offers clear guidance, lived experience, and practical next steps.Josh Perschbacher is a U.S. Navy veteran, veteran education advocate, and founder of VetWork. With years of experience helping veterans navigate GI Bill benefits and workforce pathways, Josh focuses on connecting people, organizations, and opportunities to create stronger veteran outcomes nationwide.The VET S.O.S. Network connects veterans, spouses, and service members with real resources and real people who want to see you thrive.VET S.O.S. VET S.O.S. – Operation StartupVET S.O.S. – Learning LifelineWebsite: vetsospodcast.comX/Twitter: @vetsospodcastLinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/vetsospodcastYouTube: youtube.com/@vetsospodcastFacebook: facebook.com/vetsospodcastInstagram: instagram.com/vetsospodcastTikTok: tiktok.com/@vetsospodcast#VETSOS #VeteranTransition #VetWork #MilitaryLeadership #VeteranCommunity #ItsOurTurnToServe #TheMilitaryEffect #VeteranResources #Mentorship #GrabTheLifeline

Sergio Alfaro, Army Medic and GWOT veteran, in Episode 234 of the Transition Drill Podcast, his experience highlights the importance of preparing for the mental and emotional side of transition, not just the next job or degree, and building support systems early instead of relying on a single post-service plan. Ultimately, his path reinforces that successful transition preparation requires adaptability, self-awareness, and permission to redefine success when the original mission no longer fits.Sergio talks about Iraq, PTSD, and the long road from wanting to become a doctor to rebuilding a life that actually works. If you're a veteran or first responder trying to figure out who you are after the job, this one's for you.Sergio was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Maywood and Burbank, seeing two very different worlds early on. He joined the Army with a long-term plans of becoming a doctor. In the Army, he became a medic, trained and deployed to Iraq in 2003–2004, based in Hamadi, west of Fallujah. He describes the reality of frequent mortar attacks, watching for IED threats, and the kind of moments that never really leave you. He also shares the loss of his commanding officer overseas, and how survivor's guilt and “why him, not me” thinking followed him home.After one enlistment, that turned into four and a half years because of stop-loss, Sergio struggled with trauma, but was hopeful of getting the option for the Army to send him to college to be a doctor. He wanted to keep serving and also go to school, but he ran into the “ask command” reality of the system, and it changed his outlook on staying in. He got out, determined to chase the goal on his own terms.That drive carries him all the way to acceptance at Harvard Medical School, with the GI Bill and Yellow Ribbon support helping make it possible. But also dealing with PTSD, a medical culture not built for that, and a training path that puts him in a VA inpatient psych ward rotation at the worst possible time. Things spiral, and he shares what it's like when your identity is tied to one mission and you feel it slipping away.The second half of this conversation is about what actually helped: support systems, weekly check-ins, and eventually getting connected with Wounded Warrior Project's Warriors to Work, job fairs, resume feedback, and a shift toward a new career path built around what he always loved most, training and teaching others.CONNECT WITH THE PODCAST:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paulpantani/WEBSITE: https://www.transitiondrillpodcast.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulpantani/SIGN-UP FOR THE NEWSLETTER:https://transitiondrillpodcast.com/home#aboutQUESTIONS OR COMMENTS:paul@transitiondrillpodcast.comSPONSORS:GRND CollectiveGet 15% off your purchaseLink: https://thegrndcollective.com/Promo Code: TRANSITION15Blue Line RoastingGet 10% off your purchaseLink: https://bluelineroasting.comPromocode: Transition10Frontline OpticsGet 10% off your purchaseLink: https://frontlineoptics.comPromocode: Transition10

What happens when addiction, loss, and uncertainty collide with discipline, honesty, and trust. In this episode, I sit down with David Price, a visionary CEO who shares his journey from growing up with addicted parents and battling his own drug addiction to building a multi-million-dollar insurance organization in less than a year. David opens up about hitting bottom, finding clarity through recovery, and learning how mindset, patience, and consistency reshaped his life and business. We explore what it really takes to build trust, lead people well, and stay focused when growth feels uncomfortable. This conversation is about resilience, personal responsibility, and why an Unstoppable mindset is built one honest decision at a time. Highlights: 00:10 – Hear how David Price's early life with addicted parents shaped his resilience and stress tolerance03:18 – Learn how growing up unstable planted the seed for David's drive to become a business owner05:01 – Discover the moment David realized addiction was no longer something he could manage alone15:51 – Hear the unexpected reason David walked into a recovery meeting that changed everything24:16 – Learn how small, achievable habits helped David rebuild his life after getting clean37:50 – Understand the hard business lesson David learned after choosing the wrong partner44:34 – Hear how losing six figures of monthly income overnight forced David to rebuild from zero53:49 – Learn why David believes trust is more valuable than money when building an unstoppable business About the Guest: David Price – CEO & Founder, The Price Group IMO David Price is the visionary CEO and Founder of The Price Group IMO, one of the fastest-rising organizations in financial services. His journey to success was anything but ordinary. Growing up in a broken home and battling drug and alcohol addiction for years, David hit rock bottom more than once. In 2013, he made the life-changing decision to get clean and rebuild his life. That moment of clarity became the foundation for everything that followed, teaching him resilience, grit, and an unshakable drive to create a better future. In 2018, David discovered the insurance industry. With no prior experience, he earned his license and built a simple, scalable system that allowed everyday people—single moms, career changers, and those just looking for a side income—to succeed. Within 36 months, he became a millionaire, and by his fourth year he was generating more than $1 million annually. In October 2024, he launched The Price Group IMO, partnering with top carriers and introducing a superior lead program that created even greater opportunities for people to work from home and build real financial freedom. In less than 350 days, the organization produced over $10 million in sales, cementing itself as one of the fastest-growing IMOs in the country. Today, David's mission extends far beyond personal success. He is dedicated to helping people reinvent their lives, showing them how to earn an income, work flexibly from home, and build businesses of their own. Many of the agents and agencies he mentors are already on track to reach six and seven figures, proving the power of his model. Beyond business, David is a member of the Forbes Business Council and an active voice on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube, where he shares transparent insights, strategies, and motivation for people seeking more freedom, flexibility, and purpose in their careers. Ways to connect with David**:**

Rebecca W. Walston: https://rebuildingmyfoundation.comAt Solid Foundation Story Coaching, we believe that stories shape our lives. Our experiences—both joyful and painful—define how we see ourselves and interact with the world. Story Coaching offers a unique space to explore your personal journey, uncover patterns of hurt and resilience, and gain clarity on how your past shapes your present. Unlike therapy, Story Coaching is not about diagnosis or treatment. Instead, it's about having someone truly listen—without judgment or advice—so you can process your story in a safe and supportive space. Whether you choose one-on-one coaching or small group sessions, you'll have the opportunity to share, reflect, and grow at your own pace.Jenny McGrath: https://www.indwellcounseling.comI am Jenny! (She/Her) MACP, LMHC I am a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner, Certified Yoga Teacher, and an Approved Supervisor in the state of Washington.  have spent over a decade researching the ways in which the body can heal from trauma through movement and connection. I have come to see that our bodies know what they need.  By approaching our body with curiosity we can begin to listen to the innate wisdom our body has to teach us.  And that is where the magic happens! Danielle S. Rueb Castillejo: www.wayfindingtherapy.comDanielle (00:06):Welcome to the Arise Podcast, conversations on faith, race, justice, gender, spirituality. We're jumping here and talking about this current moment. We just can't get away from it. There's so much going on, protest kids, walking out of schools, navigating the moment of trauma. Is that really trauma? So I hope you enjoy this conversation with Danielle, Jenny and Rebecca,Rebecca (00:28):A sentence that probably I'm going to record us. Maybe it's fair, maybe it's not. But I feel like everyone is, is traumatized, and I'm only using the word traumatized because I don't have a better word to say. I think there's very little time and space to give this well reasoned, well thought out, grounded reaction to everything because there's the threat level is too high. So trying to ground yourself in this kind of environment and feel like you're surefooted about the choices that you're making feels really hard. It is just hard. And I don't say that to invalidate anybody's choice. I say that just to say everything feels like it's just difficult and most things feel like there are impossible choices. I don't know. It just, yeah, it's a crazy maker.Jenny (01:45):I agree with you. And I also feel like it's like we need a new word other than trauma, because Bessel Vander Kott kind of came up with this idea of trauma working with veterans who had gone through the war. We are actively in the war right now. And so what is the impact of our nervous system when we're not going, oh, that's a trauma that happened 10 years ago, 20 years ago, but every single day we're in a nervous system. Overwhelmed. Is there a word for that? What is that that we're experiencing? And maybe trauma works, but it's almost like it doesn't even capture what we're trying to survive right now.Rebecca (02:31):Yes. And even when you just said the idea of nervous system overwhelmed, I wanted to go, is that word even accurate? I have lots of questions for which I don't have any answers, like minute to minute, am I overwhelmed individually? Is my people group overwhelmed? I don't know. But I feel that same sense of, it's hard to put your finger on vocabulary that actually taps into what may or may not be happening minute by minute, hour by hour for someone. Right? There might be this circumstance where you feel, you don't feel overwhelmed. You feel like you could see with startling clarity exactly what is happening and exactly the move you want to make in that space. And 30 seconds later you might feel overwhelmed.Danielle (03:35):I agree. It's such a hot kettle for conflict too. It's like a hot, hot kettle. Anytime it feels like you might be at odds with someone you didn't even know it was coming. You know what I mean? Jude, which just amplifies the moment because then you have, we were talking about you got your nervous system, you got trauma, whatever it is, and then you're trying to get along with people in a hot situation and make decisions. And also you don't want to do things collectively. You just want to, and also then sometimes it needs to be all about this long process, but if ice is banging at your door, you don't have time to have a group talk about whistles. It's just like you can't have a group meeting about it. You know what I'm saying? Right, right.Speaker 2 (04:37):I think if you, and I remember us having this conversation in a total other setting about what's the definition of trauma? Is trauma this event that happens or is it the feeling of your system being overwhelmed or any other host of things? But I think if we think about it from the frame of, are the support systems that I have in place either individually or collectively overwhelmed by a particular moment in time or in history, maybe that's a decent place to start. And what I think is interesting about that is that the black community is having this conversation. We are not overwhelmed. This is not new to us. This whether it's true or fair or not. There's a lot of dialogue in the black community about, we've been here before, and so there is this sense of we may not be overwhelmed in the way that someone else might be. And I still don't know what I think about that, what I feel about that, if that feels true or right or fair or honest. It just feels like that is the reaction that we are having as a collective culture right now. So yeah.It means to be resisting in this moment or taking care of yourself in this moment? Just for you, just for Rebecca. Not for anybody else. Honestly,Rebecca (06:25):I have been in a space of very guarded, very curated information gathering since the night of the election back in November of 2024. So part of my selfcare sort of for the last, I don't know what is that, 18 months or something like that, 15 months or something has been, I take in very little information and I take it in very intentionally and very short burst of amount of time. I'm still scanning headlines, not watching the news, not taking in any information that's probably in any more than about 32nd, 62nd clips because I cannot, I can't do this.(07:38):Someone, Roland Martin who is this sort of member of the Independent Black Press, said this generation is about to get a very up close and personal taste of what it feels like and looks like to live under Jim Crow. And I was scrolling to the puppies, I cannot absorb that sentence seriously, scroll on the Instagram clip because that sentence was, that was it. I was done. I don't even want to hear, I don't want to know what he meant by that. I know what he meant by that, but I don't want to know what he meant by that.(08:36):I a lovely neutral grass cloth, textured, right? The way the light lights off of it be the very little imperfections. It does something to make a space feel really special, but it's still very ated it. Yes. And I would say this is like if you want to try wallpaper, if you don't want the commitment of a large scale pattern just is a great way to go. I think if there's here the jaguar off the top.Danielle (09:16):It's interesting when you pose a question, Rebecca in our chat this morning about white America waking up. The people that I've noticed that have been the most aware for me outside of folks of color have been some of my queer elders, white folks that have been through the marches, have fought for marriage equality, have fought for human dignity, have fought as well, and they're just like, oh shit, we're going, this is all happening again.Rebecca (09:59):I think that that comes, again, a lot of my information these days is coming from social media, but I saw a clip of a podcast, I don't even know what it was, but the podcast was a black male talking to someone who appeared to me to be a white female, but she could have been something else. She didn't exactly name it, but whatever it was they were discussing like the dynamic between men and women in general. And the male who is the host of the podcast asked the female, what gives you the authority as a woman to speak about men and how they do what they do. And her answer was, and I'm going to paraphrase it, the same thing that gives you the authority as a black person to talk about white people, if you are the marginalized or the oppressed, everything there is to know about the oppressor, things about the oppressor that they don't know about themselves because you need to in order to survive. And so that is what qualifies. That was her answer. That's what qualifies me as a woman to speak about men. And when the sentence that you just gave Danielle, that's what I thought about. If you've ever had to actually live on the margins, something about what is happening and about what is coming from experience, you've seen it. You've heard it, you've heard about it. AndDanielle (12:00):I was just thinking about, I was just talking about this yesterday with my editor, how for Latinx community, there was this huge farm workers movement that ran parallel to the what Martin Luther King was doing, the civil rights movement and how they wrote letters and solidarity and Dolores Huta, these people in 90, they're in their nineties. And then there was this period where things I think got a little better and Latinos made, it's like all of that memory in large pockets of the United States, all that movement got erased and traded in for whiteness. And then that's my parents' generation. So my mom not speaking Spanish, raised not to speak Spanish, all these layers of forgetting. And then it's me and my generation and my kids we're like, holy shit, we can't tolerate this shit. That's not okay. And then it's trying to find the memory, where did it go? Why is there a big gap in this historical narrative, in recent memory? Because says Cesar Chavez and all those people, they started doing something because bad things were happening for centuries to our people. But then there's this gap and now we're living, I think post that gap. And I think you see that with the two murderers of Alex Preti were Latinos from the Texas border that had come up from Texas and they're the actual murderers and they unli him. And people are like, what happened? What happened?Are they perpetrating this crime? What does all of this mean? So I think when we talk about this current moment, it just feels so hard to untangle. JustRebecca (14:01):I think you said, I think you said that there was this period where there's all this activism that's parallel to the civil rights movement and then all that disappeared in exchange for whiteness, I think is what you said.(14:23):And if I said, if I heard that incorrectly through my cultural lens, please let me know that. But I think that that phrase is actually really important. I think this notion of what whiteness requires of us and what it requires us to exchange or give up or erase it, is something that we need to meander through real slow. And in this moment, we're talking about people of Latino descent in the United States, but we could easily be talking about any other number of cultural groups. And I have to ask that same question and wrestle with those same answers. And I think I saw recently that, again, this probably could have happened anywhere of a dozen places, some part, somewhere in the country, there's some museum that has to do with African-American history and the markers were being taken down.(15:52):But you can watch it in real actual time, the required eraser of the story. You can watch it in actual time. If you lay a clip of Alex Pertti's murder up against the Play-by-play that came out of the Department of Homeland Security, and you can watch in real time the rewriting of what actually happened. So your sense of there's this gap where the story kind of disappears. What has it been 60 years since the timeframe and history that you're talking about 1960s. It makes me wonder what was on the news in 1960? Where were they? Where and how did they intentionally rewrite the story? Did they erase markers? Did they bury information?Jenny (17:16):Where I have a few thoughts. I'm thinking about my Polish great-grandfather who had an engineering degree, and to my understanding of the family's story, because it's not often told, and he worked in a box factory, not because he wanted to or that's what he was trained for, but in the time that my great grandfather was here, Polish people were not considered white. And even my dad spent most, he spent his childhood, his early childhood, his family was the only not black family in his community. And his nickname was Spooks growing up for his first few years in life because he was the only light-skinned kid in his neighborhood. And then with the GI Bill, Polish people got adopted into whiteness. And that story of culture and community and lineage was also erased. And just the precarity of whiteness that it's like this Overton window that shifts and allows or disallows primarily based on melanin, but not just melanin based on these performances of aligning with white supremacy. And we don't tell these stories because I think going back to nervous systems, I do think,And I don't think a lot of white bodies want to contend with them. And so then we align more with the privileges that being adopted into whiteness floor to ceiling.Rebecca (19:47):You had just finished telling the story with the GI Bill that Polish people got adopted in to whiteness. And that story and that sort of culture, that origin story disappeared off the landscape. And you might not have said the word disappear. That might be my paraphrase.Jenny (20:07):Yeah. And I think on a visceral level, on a nervous system level, white bodies, whatever that means, know that story, whether that story is told or not. And so I think white bodies know we could be Renee, Nicole Goode or Alex Prety any day if we choose not to fall in line with what whiteness expects of us. And I think there are many examples through abolition, through civil rights, through current history, it is not the same magnitude of bodies of color being killed. And white bodies know if I actually give up my white privilege, I'm giving up my white privilege. And that the precarity that whiteness gives or takes away is so flimsy, I think. Or the safety that it gives is so flimsy.Rebecca (21:15):I mean, I agree with you times a thousand about the flimsy ness and the precariousness of whiteness. Say more about the sentence, white bodies know this because if the me wants to go, I don't think they do. So yeah, say more.Jenny (21:41):Well, I will say I don't think it's conscious. I don't think white people are conscious of this, but I think the epigenetic story of what is given up and what is gained by being adopted into whiteness is in our bodies. And I think that that's part of what makes white people so skittish and disembodied and dissociated, is that the ability to fully be human means giving up the supposed safety that we're given in whiteness. And I think our bodies are really wise and there is some self-preservation in that, and that comes to the detriment and further harm because we are then more complicit with the systems of white supremacy.(22:46):That's what I think. I could be wrong. Obviously I'm not every white body, but I know that the first time I heard someone say that to me in my body, I was like, yep, I know that fear. It's never been named, but having someone say white bodies probably know, I was like, yep. I think my body does know. And that's why I've been so complicit and agreeable to whiteness because that gives me safety. What do you think, Rebecca?Rebecca (23:32):I am probably I'm that am the ambivalent about the whole thing, right? Partly I get the framework that you're talking about. I've used the framework myself, this idea that what your body knows and how that forms and shapes how you move in the world and how that can move from one generation to the next epigenetically without you or spiritually without you necessarily having the details of the story. And also, I'm super nervous about this narrative that I'm nervous that the narrative that you're painting will be used as an excuse to step away from accountability and responsibility. And because I think this sort of narcissistic kind of collapse is what tends to happen around whiteness, where you're so buried under the weight of everything that we can't continue the conversation anymore. And this is the whole why we cannot teach actual American history because some white kids somewhere is going to be uncomfortable.(25:04):And so I get it. I got it. And it makes me super nervous about what will be done with that information. And I think I also think that, and this could be that my frame is limited, so I don't want this comment to come off a, but I think there's not enough work around perpetrator categories and buckets. And so where we tend to go with this is that we go, that harm moves you to victim status and then victims get a pass for what they did because they were hurt. There's not enough to me work, there's not enough vocabulary in the public discourse for when that harm made you become a perpetrator of harm as a collective group and as a consistent collective narrative for hundreds of years. And so that makes me nervous too. What I don't want is, and this is I guess part of the same sort of narcissistic collapse is that we go from cows harmed, and I do believe there's significant harm that happens to a person and to a people when they are required to be complicit in their own eraser in order to survive that. I absolutely believe there's massive harm in that. But how do we talk about then that the reaction to that is to become the perpetrator of harm versus the reaction to that is to learn to move through it and heal from it and not become the group that systematically harms someone else. And there's some nuance in there. There's probably all kinds of complexities there, but that's what my head is around all that, what I just said.Danielle (27:18):I have a lot of thoughts about that. I think I would argue that it's a moral injury, meaning? Meaning that the conditioning over time of attachment instead of what I wrote to y'all, the attachment isn't built as an attachment to one another. It was reframed as an attachment to hierarchy or system. And therefore for a long time, you have a general population of people that don't have a secure attachment to a caregiver, to people that it's been outsourced to power, basically a church system or a government system that's protecting them versus a family and a community, their culture. And in that you have a lot of ruptures and it leaves a lot of space. If your attachment is to power versus belonging to one another, you're going to do a lot of violent damage. And I would argue that that's a repeating perpetrating wound in the collective white society, that attachment to power versus attachment to community.(28:48):That's what I think. I could be wrong, but that's what I've been writing about.Rebecca (28:56):That's a pretty brilliant application of individual attachment theory to collective identity and yeah, that's pretty brilliant actually.(29:09):That's a very nuanced way to talk about what happens in that exchange of a cultural identity for access to the category. White is to say that you advertise to community and family and you tether and attach yourself to power structures, and then you hold on for dear life.Danielle (29:32):You can see it playing out across the nation. It's not that republicans and evangelicals aren't, they're actually arguing against an attachment to community and belonging and saying, we can do these things because we have power now and we're attached to that power. Jesus. They're not attached, I would argue. They're not attached to Jesus either.Rebecca (30:00):Now you want to start a whole fight. How is that attachment structure that you're identifying? And I'm going to steal that by the way, and I will quote you when I steal it. How is that a moral injury?Danielle (30:18):Well, for me, immoral injury is like someone who goes to war or goes into a battle or goes into a situation and you, at some point, someone consciously violates what they know is right or wrong. And so someone took a whole boat over here, a whole journey to do that. So even the journey itself, there's no way, it doesn't matter if they didn't have social media. It doesn't matter if the pilgrims of whatever we want to call them, colonizers didn't know what was here. They know that on lands there are people, and in that journey, they had a decision that was separating themselves saying, when I get there, I deserve that land no matter what's there. So they had all, I don't know how many months it takes to sail across the sea. It was like a month or a couple months or something. You have all that time of a people becoming another kind of people. I think(31:25):That's what I think. You talk about the transatlantic slave trade and that crossing of the water. I think in some ways white people put themselves through that and there's no way, I don't know a lot of ways to explain a complete detachment from morality, but there's something in that passageway that does it for Yeah,Rebecca (31:51):I get it. I mean, you're talking about maybe even on the pilgrim ship that landed in Jamestown passage. But(32:02):If you read, I saw this in a book written by an author by the name of Jamar Tis. He's talking about the earlier colonial days in the United States, and he's talking about how there's a series of letters that he recounts in the book. And so there's this man that is making the journey from England to the colonies, and he professes to be a missionary of Christianity. And what he's discussing in these letters is sort of the crisis of faith that if I get here and I proselytize someone that I encounter a Native American or an enslaved African I do in their conversion to Christianity, am I compelled to grant them their freedom(33:04):And the series of letters that are back and forth between this man and whoever he's conversing with on the con, and you'll have to read his book to get all the historical details. They basically have this open debate in the governing days of the colony. And the answer to the question that they arrive at both legally and religiously or spiritually is, no, I do not. Right? And whatever it is that you had to do to yourself, your faith, your understanding of people to arrive at the answer no to that question feels to me like that moral injury that you're talking about.(34:07):Cardiovascular system powers, everything we do.Jenny (34:10):I mean, it makes me think, Danielle knows that this is one of the few Bible verses that I will always quote nowadays is Jesus saying, what good is it for someone to gain the world and lose their soul? And I see that as a journey of forfeiting. Whatever this thing we want to call the soul might be for power and privilege.Rebecca (34:42):It reminds me of my kids were young and we were having a conversation at the dinner table and something had happened. I think there might've been a discussion about something in the history class that opened my kids' eyes to the nature of racism in the United States. And one of my children asked me, doesn't that mean that we're better than them?(35:17):And as vehemently as I could answer him, I was like, absolutely not. No, it does not. It does not mean that, right? Because you feel that line and that edge for a kid, a fourth grader who's learning history for the first time and that edge that would push them over into this place of dehumanizing someone else, even if it's the proverbial they and my insistence as his mother, we don't do that and we're not going to do that. And no, it does not mean that. And my whole thing was just, I cannot have you dehumanize an entire group of people. I can't, I'm not raising kids who do that. We're not doing that. Right. Which is back to Michelle Obama saying when they go low, right?Rebecca (36:37):It is that sense of that invitation to a moral injury, that invitation to violate the inherent value of another human being that you have to say, I'm not doing that. I refuse to do thatJenny (37:18):I know I'm a few years late and watching this movie, but I just watched the Shape of Water. Have you ever seen it(37:26):And there's this line in it where they're debating whether or not to save this being, and the man says it's not even human. And she says, if we don't do something, then neither are we. And this really does feel like a fight for my humanity for what does it look like to reject dehumanization of entire people groups as much as I even want to do that with ice agents right now, and things like that that make it so hard to not put people in these buckets. And how do I fight for my own humanity and willingness to see people as harmful and difficult as they may be as sovereign beings, and what potentials can come if we work to create a world that doesn't split people into binaries of victim or perpetrator, but make space for reparative justice? I don't know.Rebecca (38:58):You used the phrase reparative justice, and my thought was like, I don't even know what that is. Trying to even conceptualize any sense of that in this moment is, I mean, again, I heard a podcast of this some white man who I think is probably famous, but it's not in a cultural circle that I run in, not this race, but however he is major Trump supporter publicly in his celebrity is a Trump supporter. And he's talking on the podcast about how watching what has happened with ICE the last couple weeks has changed his perspective that he feels like it's this tipping point in his sentiment that I didn't think things like this were possible in America. And now they are. And the person that he's talking to is a black man who's pissed that you even are saying the sentence, I didn't think this was possible.(40:04):Pissed in a way of, we've been telling you this shit for 400 years, excuse my French, you can edit that out and you didn't listen. And if you had listened, we might not actually be here in this moment. And so even that conversation to me feels like attempting to do something of repair in some capacity. And you can feel the two people that are trying to engage each other just be like, I mean, you can feel how they're trying. They're sitting in the room, they're talking, they're leaving space for each other to finish their sentence and finish their thought. And you still just want to go, I want to beat the shit out of you. And I am sure they both felt that way at different moments in the conversation. So yeah,Danielle (41:12):We were in the I know. Because it's all like, I know there's all that we talk about, and then when we walk off the screen, when we get into the world, I know Rebecca, you mentioned someone got stopped at a checkpoint or my kids marching around town or Jenny, I know you're out in the wilds of Florida or wherever. I just(41:38):Yeah. Yeah. I just think there's all of this we talk about, and then there's the live daily reality too, of how it actually plays out for us in different ways. Yeah. Now I saw you take a breath. Yeah.Rebecca (41:59):Do they feel like really disconnected?(42:19):I actually think this conversation, I think, and I don't mean this one, I mean this sort of ongoing space that we inhabit in each other's lives is actually a pretty defiant response. I think there's every invitation for us to be like, see, when I see you,(43:03):I know that you some stuff going on personally, and you picked up the phone and called me the other night, Danielle, just to say, I'm just checking on you. And I was like, crap. Right. I mean, with everything that I know that you have going on both collectively and personally for you to pick up the phone and call me and go like, I'm just checking on you.(43:41):Right? But there's this swirl of, there's a whole conversation the black community is having with the Latino community right now that is some version of, screw this. And you, we not we're, it's not entirely adversarial, but it's not entirely we're doing this dance around each other right now that you could have easily just have been like, I'll talk to you in 27. You could easily have been like, I have too much going on that can't actually tend to this. Whatever it is that you heard in my voice or read on my face that made you call me, you could have chosen not to and you didn't. And that's not small.Danielle (44:49):Yeah. Thanks for saying that. I really do believe love is bigger than all of what we say is the hate and the crimes against us. I really do believe every day we wake up and we get to be the best. We get to do the best we can. Jenny,Jenny (45:26):I just feel very grateful to know you both. Yeah. I think this to me is part of what fighting for our humanity looks like and feels like in the midst of systems, creating separation of who we should or shouldn't commune with and be with. And I just feel very grateful that I get to commune and be with both of you.Danielle (46:18):Oh, good question. Do you ever feel like you're your own coach? So I have the Danielle that's like sometimes I get into trouble that Danielle, and then there's also the part of me that's like, you can do it. You got this, you got it. You can do it, so you're going to make it. So I got the coach. I had to bring her out a little bit more later lately. Also, just like I just got back from watching my kids do this walkout and man, just hearing them scream the F word and jumping around town, blowing whistles and being wild, it just made me, I feel so happy. I'm like, oh, we're doing something right. The kids, they're going to be okay. They know. So I think just I've really tried to just focus on my family and my off time. Yeah, that's kept me going. What about you two?Jenny (47:31):I have been doing standup comedy, open mic nights in Pensacola.(47:40):And it has been a very nice place for me to release my healthy aggression. Aside from the hosts, I've pretty much been the only woman there. And most of the comedians are racist and sexist, and I get up and give lectures basically. And I've been really enjoying that. It has been a good way of off-gassing and being defiant and giving me some sense of fight, which I've liked to, that has been self-care for me.Rebecca (48:30):I would probably say, actually I had to, I have this elliptical, one of those under the desk kind of pedal thingies that, and the other night I had to get on it. I feel like my whole inside was just racing, but then on the outside, I'm just sitting here, all right. And I was like, I have got to get whatever this is out of me. So there was this moment where, and it took probably 15 minutes for my body to actually start to exhale and for my breathing to kind of normalize. And that isn't because I was exerting so much energy. It took that long of just moving to get whatever it is out of me. And then also, I had this really, really great moment with my son, how you're saying, Danielle, that your kids, and then you feel like, oh, they're going to be fine. He was watching a documentary or he is watching a movie, some movie about black history, what he does. And the movie referenced this written communication between two slave traitors, one of whom was in the United States and the other one who was in the Caribbean. And they were discussing how to basically break the psyche of a person so they would remain in slavery,(50:15):Which is a crazy sentence to say, but literally they're discussing it back and forth. They're talking about how you bake a cake. And my son read it, and then he came and sat next to me and he was like, did you know about this? Not about the letter itself, the letters, but about the content in them. He was like, did you know this is what they think about us? Did. These are the things that they say and do that are purposely designed to mess with our psyche. And it just spawned this really great conversation for an hour about all kinds of things that made me go, he's going to be all right. In the sense of where I ended up, where I ended up going as his mom was like, yes, I knew. And now the fact that I raised you to do this, or I raised you to do that, or I taught you this or that, or I kept you from this or that. Does that make sense now? And then, yeah, it was just actually a very sweet conversation actually.Danielle (51:38):I love that. I do too. It's been real.   Well, first I guess I would have to believe that there was or is an actual political dialogue taking place that I could potentially be a part of. And honestly, I'm not sure that I believe that.

I hear people complaining about how the US treats its service members all the time, so I'm here to set the record straight. In this episode, I breakdown how our benefits stack up against allies like Canada and Australia, and the nightmare reality of serving in countries like North Korea. We might not be perfect, but between the GI Bill and the VA Loan, we have it pretty damn good.   Timestamps (00:00) - Intro (00:27) - Canada's comprehensive vet care (01:12) - Australia's transition support programs (02:18) - The UK's structure and covenants (03:05) - The worst benefits: Eritrea's forced labor (04:00) - North Korea's 10-year mandatory service (05:13) - Where the US stacks up: Education (05:35) - Why the VA Loan is the best mortgage on earth (06:06) - TRICARE and VA Healthcare explained (07:35) - Where allies actually beat the US (Family Support) (09:44) - Sage advice for a better VA experience   About the Show On the Military Millionaire Podcast, I share real conversations with service members, veterans, and their families. Each week, we explore how to build wealth through personal finance, entrepreneurship, and real estate investing. Resources & Links Download a free copy of my book: https://www.frommilitarytomillionaire.com/free-book Sign up for free webinar trainings: https://www.frommilitarytomillionaire.com/register Join our investor list: https://www.frommilitarytomillionaire.com/investors Apply for The War Room Mastermind: https://www.frommilitarytomillionaire.com/mastermind-application Get an intro to recommended VA agents/lenders: https://www.frommilitarytomillionaire.com/va-realtor Guide to raising capital: https://www.frommilitarytomillionaire.com/capital-raising-guide   Connect with David Pere Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/militarymillionaire YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Frommilitarytomillionaire?sub_confirmation=1 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frommilitarytomillionaire/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-pere/ X (Twitter): https://x.com/militaryrei TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@militarymillionaire

Top Stories for January 29th Publish Date: January 29th PRE-ROLL: GCPS From the BG AD Group Studio Welcome to the Gwinnett Daily Post Podcast. Today is Thursday, January 29th and Happy birthday to Tom Selleck I’m Peyton Spurlock and here are your top stories presented by KIA Mall of Georgia. UGA’s online degree programs rank among nation’s best Archer students walk out of school to protest ICE actions State Rep. Scott Hilton files bill to protect kindergarten 'redshirting' Plus, Leah McGrath from Ingles Markets on saturated fats All of this and more is coming up on the Gwinnett Daily Post podcast, and if you are looking for community news, we encourage you to listen daily and subscribe! Break 1: SUGAR HILL ICE SKATING STORY 1: UGA’s online degree programs rank among nation’s best The University of Georgia’s online programs are making waves again, landing several top-10 spots in U.S. News & World Report’s 2026 Best Online Programs rankings. UGA held strong at No. 18 overall, keeping its place among the nation’s top 20. What’s behind the rankings? The annual survey looks at things like student engagement, faculty credentials, tech, and peer reviews. And UGA? It’s shining. The numbers tell the story: UGA’s online retention ranking climbed to No. 4, and its graduation ranking jumped from No. 20 to No. 7. The Mary Frances Early College of Education continues to lead the charge, offering programs that help Georgia’s teachers grow their skills while staying in the classroom. Highlights include: No. 3 in Best Online Master’s in Curriculum and Instruction (up from No. 11) No. 3 in Educational/Instructional Media Design No. 4 in Special Education No. 6 in Educational Administration and Policy UGA’s programs for veterans also earned recognition, ranking No. 11 for making education more accessible through the GI Bill and other financial aid. The Terry College of Business wasn’t left out either—its online master’s in business and technology ranked No. 23 nationally. STORY 2: Archer students walk out of school to protest ICE actions At Archer High School, Sandra Brown-Peraza says immigrant students live with a constant, gnawing fear. Every day, stepping off campus feels like stepping into the unknown. “We’ve seen ICE waiting outside schools—places that are supposed to be safe,” she said. That fear boiled over on Tuesday when hundreds of students walked out, chanting “No more ICE.” Organizer Nehemiah Hamilton estimated 800 students braved the freezing cold to protest. The protest wasn’t just about raids—it was about lives lost. Students spoke of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, U.S. citizens killed by ICE agents in Minnesota. “They’re killing innocent people,” said Sasha Molnar. Not everyone supports the protests. U.S. Rep. Mike Collins dismissed them as “woke indoctrination,” but Hamilton fired back: “We’re not safe. We’re not backing down.” Meanwhile, Gwinnett Board Chairwoman Tarece Johnson-Morgan stood with the students, saying, “Their voices demand our empathy and care.” STORY 3: State Rep. Scott Hilton files bill to protect kindergarten 'redshirting' A new bill could give Georgia parents the final say on when their kids start kindergarten—at 5 or 6. Right now, the law says kids must be in school by 6, but it’s up to local districts to decide if a 6-year-old can start in kindergarten or must go straight to first grade. State Rep. Scott Hilton introduced House Bill 1048 to clear up the confusion. The bill comes after Gwinnett County Public Schools stirred controversy by ending its long-standing practice of allowing “redshirting,” where parents delay kindergarten until age 6. GCPS now sends all 6-year-olds straight to first grade, even if they’ve never been in a classroom. Parents pushed back hard, arguing that some kids—especially younger ones—need that extra year to mature. GCPS has hinted at a compromise, with an “expedited student support team” process to decide on a case-by-case basis if redshirted kids can go to kindergarten. But it’s no guarantee. If Hilton’s bill passes, though? That decision would be in parents’ hands, not the district’s. We have opportunities for sponsors to get great engagement on these shows. Call 770.874.3200 for more info. We’ll be right back Break 2: KIA Mall Of Ga - GCPL Passport STORY 4: Gwinnett Stripers hiring gameday staff for 2026 The Gwinnett Stripers are gearing up for the 2026 season and looking for gameday staff to join the team. If you’re all about creating awesome fan experiences, this might be your shot. You can apply online now at GoStripers.com/jobs, or swing by their in-person Job Fair on Saturday, Feb. 7, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. It’s happening in the Suite Lounge at Gwinnett Field. They’re hiring for part-time, seasonal roles in concessions, fan services, ticket sales, security, parking, gameday production, and even photography. Pro tip: Bring a few printed resumes to the Job Fair. Parking’s free, and you’ll enter through the Main Gate. STORY 5: Nalani Gainey reaches 2,000 career points in Seckinger victory It was a big night for Nalani Gainey—2,000 career points and counting. Oh, and Seckinger’s girls basketball team took down Chattahoochee 47-32 in Region 7-AAAAA action on Tuesday. Not a bad way to celebrate. Gainey was everywhere, racking up 24 points, five rebounds, five assists, five steals, and two blocks. The Jaguars, now 14-8 overall and 6-3 in the region, leaned on her leadership—and she delivered. Savan Johnson chipped in eight points and three boards, while Janyla Reed and Selah Wells dominated the paint with a combined 16 rebounds and four blocks. Titi Makinde added three points to round it out. GLADIATORS: The Atlanta Gladiators edged out the Orlando Solar Bears 2-1 Monday night in a gritty ECHL matchup at the Kia Center. It wasn’t pretty, but it was effective—and it keeps Atlanta rolling. Orlando struck first, capitalizing on a 5-on-3 power play midway through the first. Jack Adams buried a backdoor pass to make it 1-0, and the Solar Bears carried that lead into the second, outshooting Atlanta 9-6. But the Gladiators answered. Jack Matier ripped a power-play rocket from the point to tie it 1-1 in the second, with assists from Mike McNamee and Ryan Francis. Both teams traded chances—power plays, odd-man rushes, you name it—but the goalies stood tall. After two periods, Orlando had a 25-11 shot advantage, but the score stayed deadlocked. Then came the dagger. Early in the third, Alex Young sniped one short side off a slick feed from Isak Walther, giving Atlanta the 2-1 lead. From there, it was all about Semptimphelter, who slammed the door with 31 saves, earning his 12th win of the season. The Gladiators improved to 25-9-1, extending their point streak to five games. Next up? A three-game showdown with the Everblades in Estero. Buckle up—it’s going to be a battle. We’ll be right back. Break 3: EAGLE THEATRE And now here is Leah McGrath from Ingles Markets on saturated fats We’ll have closing comments after this Break 5: Ingles Markets Signoff – Thanks again for hanging out with us on today’s Gwinnett Daily Post Podcast. If you enjoy these shows, we encourage you to check out our other offerings, like the Cherokee Tribune Ledger Podcast, the Marietta Daily Journal, or the Community Podcast for Rockdale Newton and Morgan Counties. Read more about all our stories and get other great content at www.gwinnettdailypost.com Did you know over 50% of Americans listen to podcasts weekly? Giving you important news about our community and telling great stories are what we do. Make sure you join us for our next episode and be sure to share this podcast on social media with your friends and family. Add us to your Alexa Flash Briefing or your Google Home Briefing and be sure to like, follow, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Produced by the BG Podcast Network Show Sponsors: www.ingles-markets.com www.kiamallofga.com Ice Rink – Downtown Sugar Hill Team GCPS News Podcast, Current Events, Top Headlines, Breaking News, Podcast News, Trending, Local News, Daily, News, Podcast, Interviews See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What if everything we've been told about making college "affordable" is actually making it more expensive and worse? Robert Bortins sits down with Dr. Ben Merkle, President of New St. Andrews College and Oxford-educated scholar who wrote the foreword to "Woke and Weaponized." As one of fewer than a dozen colleges that refuse all federal student loan dollars, Dr. Merkle offers a rare insider perspective on how government money has corrupted higher education—and why K-12 schools should learn from their mistakes. Dr. Merkle traces the problem back to the GI Bill after World War II, explaining how federal funding changed the customer of education from students to government. Once colleges became dependent on Title IV money (Pell Grants and student loans), they became subject to Title IX mandates—leading Christian colleges to spend a year teaching students "how to receive consent for fornication" and removing backbones from administrators who now compete to be the most compliant rather than the most excellent. The financial impact is staggering. While other colleges charge $55,000-$60,000 annually (with fake "scholarships" discounting sticker prices), New St. Andrews provides superior classical education for just $18,600 per year—proving that without compliance officers and administrative bloat, quality education is affordable. Dr. Merkle exposes the Bennett hypothesis: every dollar added to federal grants causes reciprocal tuition increases within 18 months, creating a self-perpetuating cycle that makes education more expensive and worse quality simultaneously. Most provocatively, Dr. Merkle warns that classical Christian education—"the single biggest cultural victory for the American evangelical church"—is being handed over to the state through school choice programs. Charter schools aren't pulling kids from public schools; they're pulling families from Christian education into secular classrooms. He challenges administrators: stop serving mammon, define your mission clearly, and understand that funding is authority. The institutions we've sacrificed to build will be wasted if we trade them for government money. Resources: https://nsa.edu/ This episode of Refining Rhetoric is sponsored by:  "Woke and Weaponized: How Karl Marx Won the Battle for American Education—And How We Can Win It Back" – A new book written by Robert Bortins and Alex Newman.  Discover the shocking truth about how current education reform efforts may actually accelerate the destruction of educational freedom. Through meticulous research, Woke and Weaponized traces the philosophical roots of educational corruption from Robert Owen and John Dewey to critical race theory, while offering practical strategies for families ready to pursue genuine educational independence. Join our exclusive list to be notified the moment it becomes available — plus receive special launch updates and insider information.  www.WokeAndWeaponized.com

Tactical Transition Tips Round 108 of the Transition Drill Podcast offers practical guidance and career readiness for veterans and first responders, organized based on how far out your exit is. In this episode, the systems in place to protect you require documentation and use before you're out.Benefits don't fail because they're weak. They fail because they sit there unused.In these careers, it's easy to treat “benefits” like paperwork you'll deal with later, once life slows down. But later is the trap. The system isn't going to chase you down and make sure you're set up. If you don't learn what you're entitled to, document what needs documenting, and use what's available while you still have access, you can end up paying out of pocket, delaying care, or walking into transition with avoidable problems on your back.This episode addresses benefits as protection, not perks. That includes medical documentation, but it also includes education options (like the GI Bill), financial and investing support, home buying programs, and even outside organizations that offer help for you and your family. The point isn't to become a benefits expert. It's to stop treating protection like background noise.Here are the three transition tips covered:Close Range Group (transitioning within a year): Get it on paper before you get outYou're running out of time for “I'll handle it later,” so this is about getting appointments, issues, and records documented now so you're not trying to prove things from memory after you're out.Medium Range Group (transitioning in 3 to 5 years): Fix it while you're still inYou've still got the advantage of structure and easier access, so you use this window to address real issues and use available resources before transition pressure makes everything harder to prioritize.Long Range Group (transitioning in a decade or more): The most important equipment maintenance is youThis is where you build habits and track patterns early so neglect doesn't become normal and small problems don't turn into long-term damage that follows you into any future transition.Get additional resources and join our newsletter via the link in the show notes.CONNECT WITH THE PODCAST:IG: https://www.instagram.com/paulpantani/WEBSITE: https://www.transitiondrillpodcast.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulpantani/SIGN-UP FOR THE NEWSLETTER:https://transitiondrillpodcast.com/home#aboutQUESTIONS OR COMMENTS:paul@transitiondrillpodcast.comSPONSORS:GRND CollectiveGet 15% off your purchaseLink: https://thegrndcollective.com/Promo Code: TRANSITION15Blue Line RoastingGet 10% off your purchaseLink: https://bluelineroasting.comPromocode: Transition10

Welcome to another rousing edition of the Tom Bilyeu Show Live! In this episode, Tom Bilyeu and co-host Drew dive deep into the latest headlines shaking the world—from global politics and economics to heated debates around government spending, immigration policy, and the true cost of regulation. They start by unpacking a flurry of international headlines, including escalating tensions in the Middle East, Trump's controversial “Peace Board” and the rumors swirling around America's military strategy and alliances. The conversation quickly turns to domestic issues, as Tom Bilyeu and Drew candidly discuss California's open approach to healthcare for undocumented immigrants, the fallout from Congress's new budget, and the economic realities most Americans are facing. Expect sharp analysis of everything from ICE's media optics to the politics of meme culture at Davos, Elon Musk's side-eye at Trump, and the age-old debate of how much regulation is too much. You'll hear why overregulation could be strangling Europe's entrepreneurial spirit, and get a no-holds-barred assessment of government intervention—from hotel junk fees to historic examples like the GI Bill and the perils of bureaucratic overreach. If you're looking for unfiltered, passionate, and insightful takes on the forces shaping our world—and a few laughs along the way—this episode promises to bring both the heat and the nuance you crave. Let's dive in! Quince: Free shipping and 365-day returns at https://quince.com/impactpod HomeServe: Help protect your home systems – and your wallet – with HomeServe against covered repairs. Plans start at just $4.99 a month at https://homeserve.com Shopify: Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial period at https://shopify.com/impact Incogni: Take your personal data back with Incogni! Use code IMPACT at the link below and get 60% off an annual plan: https://incogni.com/impact Sintra AI: 72% off with code IMPACT at https://sintra.ai/impact Huel: High-Protein Starter Kit 20% off for new customers at https://huel.com/impact code impact Bevel Health: Visit https://bevel.health/impact and use code IMPACT to get your first month free. Ketone IQ: Visit https://ketone.com/IMPACT for 30% OFF your subscription order Cape: 33% off your first 6 months with code IMPACT at https://cape.co/impact Plaud: Get 10% off with code TOM10 at https://plaud.ai/tom Pique: 20% off at https://piquelife.com/impact What's up, everybody? It's Tom Bilyeu here: If you want my help... STARTING a business: join me here at ZERO TO FOUNDER:  https://tombilyeu.com/zero-to-founder?utm_campaign=Podcast%20Offer&utm_source=podca[%E2%80%A6]d%20end%20of%20show&utm_content=podcast%20ad%20end%20of%20show SCALING a business: see if you qualify here.:  https://tombilyeu.com/call Get my battle-tested strategies and insights delivered weekly to your inbox: sign up here.: https://tombilyeu.com/ ********************************************************************** If you're serious about leveling up your life, I urge you to check out my new podcast, Tom Bilyeu's Mindset Playbook —a goldmine of my most impactful episodes on mindset, business, and health. Trust me, your future self will thank you. ********************************************************************** FOLLOW TOM: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tombilyeu/ Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tombilyeu?lang=en Twitter: https://twitter.com/tombilyeu YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TomBilyeu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After years of studying, tests, and residency, you've finally moved up and the job offer comes with a forgivable loan they're calling a signing bonus. Nate Reineke and Chelsea Jones look at one case where the numbers are huge, meaning a job change for this physician could cost them huge. We break down why saving these bonuses could save you in the long run and some way's we've seen doctors navigate these loans. We also answer your colleagues questions. A Psychiatrist in Maine asks, “If my kids are likely to have much of their college covered through scholarships and unused GI Bill benefits, how should that change the way I approach college savings?” A Psychiatrist in West Virginia says, “When I did my estate plan, the service that I used suggested that I put age restrictions on distributions. I need more education on why the need to divvy it up, when I assume our children would need access to the funds for support as young adults even prior to the age of 25.” A Psychiatrist in Kentucky wonders, “When it comes to life insurance, my husband and I both have several policies with different terms. If I want my parents to get the payout from one of the policies (with my husband still being contingent if my parents have passed), what is the easiest way to do that? Do I change the beneficiary on the policy itself? Should we change the beneficiary to the trust first and then have instructions for the executor to give my parents the money?” Are you ready to turn worries about taxes and investing into all the money you need for college and retirement? It's time to make a plan and get on track. To find out if we're a match visit physicianfamily.com and click get started or, you can ask a question of your own by emailing podcast@physicianfamily.com. See marketing disclosures at physicianfamily.com/disclosures

ChatGPT for Small Business: Sell More, Market Smarter, Communicate Better is covered in this podcast, along with the following subjects:Increase Sales: Write stronger outreach and follow-up emails, prep for sales calls, and brainstorm simple upsell or bundle ideas.Optimize Marketing: Clarify your niche, draft website or brochure copy, and map out a two-week social media plan.Improve Communication: Polish client emails, tighten proposals, and turn rough notes into clear checklists and SOPs.***************************************Join Andrew Frazier and Dr. Dayn Kirksey for a dynamic livestream on "ChatGPT for Small Business: Sell More, Market Smarter, Communicate Better." Dr. Kirksey, a data scientist, AI expert, and founder of Kirksey Financial Health LLC, will share practical ways small business owners can use ChatGPT to generate leads, improve marketing content, and enhance customer communication.Dr. Dayn Kirksey is a data scientist, adjunct professor, and financial-literacy advocate who leverages AI, machine learning, and real-world experience to empower individuals and organizations. He has over 15 years of experience building data-driven solutions across national security, business, and equity-focused applications. As founder of Kirksey Financial Health LLC and a U.S. Army veteran who used the Post‑9/11 GI Bill to overcome financial hardship, he now helps young professionals build financial stability and long-term wealth. His mission is to turn data and financial stress into clarity, resilience, and sustainable growth.

In this episode, I break down Chapter 35 education benefits and explain why they're one of the most overlooked opportunities for disabled veterans' families. I walk through what these benefits actually are, who qualifies, and why they can be life-changing for spouses and children. Unlike the GI Bill, this money is paid directly to the dependent, which creates a lot more flexibility in how it's used. My goal here is to make sure you don't leave money or opportunities on the table simply because no one explained this clearly.   Timestamps (00:00) — Intro (01:12) — Direct payments explained (02:35) — Eligibility requirements breakdown (03:58) — Application and certification steps (05:02) — Monthly payment amounts (06:32) — Stacking benefits strategy   About the Show On the Military Millionaire Podcast, I share real conversations with service members, veterans, and their families. Each week, we explore how to build wealth through personal finance, entrepreneurship, and real estate investing. Resources & Links Download a free copy of my book: https://www.frommilitarytomillionaire.com/free-book Sign up for free webinar trainings: https://www.frommilitarytomillionaire.com/register Join our investor list: https://www.frommilitarytomillionaire.com/investors Apply for The War Room Mastermind: https://www.frommilitarytomillionaire.com/mastermind-application Get an intro to recommended VA agents/lenders: https://www.frommilitarytomillionaire.com/va-realtor Guide to raising capital: https://www.frommilitarytomillionaire.com/capital-raising-guide   Connect with David Pere Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/militarymillionaire YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Frommilitarytomillionaire?sub_confirmation=1 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frommilitarytomillionaire/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-pere/ X (Twitter): https://x.com/militaryrei TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@militarymillionaire

In this episode, I break down VA Chapter 31 benefits and why so many veterans overlook how powerful this program really is. I walk through how VR&E goes beyond the GI Bill by combining career counseling, education funding, and employment support into one end-to-end transition tool. From aptitude testing to identifying civilian career paths, this benefit is designed to help veterans find work that actually fits their skills and limitations. My goal is to give you clarity on what's available and how it can change your post-service trajectory.   Timestamps (00:00) — Intro (01:28) — Career counseling explained (03:02) — Education and training coverage (04:55) — Living allowance and stipends (06:42) — Eligibility and application steps (08:48) — How veterans maximize VR&E benefits   About the Show On the Military Millionaire Podcast, I share real conversations with service members, veterans, and their families. Each week, we explore how to build wealth through personal finance, entrepreneurship, and real estate investing. Resources & Links Download a free copy of my book: https://www.frommilitarytomillionaire.com/free-book Sign up for free webinar trainings: https://www.frommilitarytomillionaire.com/register Join our investor list: https://www.frommilitarytomillionaire.com/investors Apply for The War Room Mastermind: https://www.frommilitarytomillionaire.com/mastermind-application Get an intro to recommended VA agents/lenders: https://www.frommilitarytomillionaire.com/va-realtor Guide to raising capital: https://www.frommilitarytomillionaire.com/capital-raising-guide   Connect with David Pere Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/militarymillionaire YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Frommilitarytomillionaire?sub_confirmation=1 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frommilitarytomillionaire/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-pere/ X (Twitter): https://x.com/militaryrei TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@militarymillionaire

Army combat medic veteran Adam Fluegel talks about answering the call for medics after 9/11, running patrols during the first Iraqi elections, losing a brother-in-arms in his first real trauma case, and coming home with no decompression. To hold it together, he leaned on alcohol, hydrocodone, and Adderall, which fueled anxiety, insomnia, paranoia, and eventually a stay in a psychiatric ward. He then walks through the night, he took his pistol from the safe, and almost ended his life before the thought of his daughters pulled him back. That choice started him on the path of PTSD recovery through journaling, facing memories from Iraq, and using medication as a tool instead of a crutch. Adam and Scott dig into veteran mental health, suicide prevention, therapy dogs and service animals, and the damage of pretending to be fine at work, then pivot to Operation Overwatch, a veteran nonprofit and app that connects vets and veteran nonprofits for community, PTSD support, fly-fishing and skydiving groups, GI Bill-backed scuba therapy, and more. Timestamps: 00:04:45: From Baghdad streets to a calm warehouse floor 00:13:25: The first IED and losing a brother in his care 00:24:30: Adderall, burnout, and a life spinning out of control 00:31:30: Pistol in hand and the thought that saved him 00:40:04: Operation Overwatch and a new way to find your people Links & Resources Veteran Suicide & Crisis Line: Dial 988, then press 1 Follow Adam Fluegel on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1A3KitAG2b/ Follow Adam Fluegel on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fluegeladam Follow Adam Fluegel on LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/adam-fluegel-b14793150 Transcript View the transcript for this episode.

Retired Navy Senior Chief Travis Winfield is a bestselling author and the CEO of Military Operated Real Estate (MORE), the first national real estate brand built specifically for service members and veterans. He went from growing up with almost nothing to building a powerhouse six‑agent team that has closed over 700 homes and more than $350 million in sales, and his mission now is to fix the financial literacy crisis holding military families back from real wealth. On this episode we talk about: How Travis went from bad credit, 25% car loans, and debt to building a multi‑million‑dollar real estate business. Why so many service members leave the military in a worse financial position than when they joined. The blended retirement system, why it's dangerous without financial literacy, and what it means for younger service members. How military families can use benefits like the VA loan, GI Bill, and state education programs to build long‑term wealth instead of selling key assets. How MORE and programs like SkillBridge and GI Bill on‑the‑job training help veterans transition into real estate with a real runway instead of starting from zero. Top 3 Takeaways You do not need to start wealthy to build wealth; understanding budgeting, debt payoff, and compound interest is enough to change your financial trajectory. Military benefits like the VA home loan, education benefits, and the new blended retirement plan can be powerful wealth tools—but only if service members actually know they exist and how to use them. Real estate remains one of the strongest paths to long‑term wealth for veterans, especially when combined with VA loan strategies, house hacking, and guided transition programs into the industry. Notable Quotes "Everybody thinks you need to have wealth to build wealth—but you can come from nothing and still build a multi‑million‑dollar business." "Congress basically banked on the lack of financial literacy with the blended retirement; if you don't understand it, you'll choose spending today over security tomorrow." "Every service member deserves to own a piece of the land they defend—hard stop." Connect with Travis Winfield: Website & book: traviswinfield.com Military Operated Real Estate: militaryoperatedrealestate.com ✖️✖️✖️✖️

In its duration, geographical reach, and ferocity, World War II was unprecedented, and the effects on those who fought it and their loved ones at home, immeasurable. The heroism of the men and women who won the war may be well documented, but we know too little about the pain and hardships the veterans endured upon their return home. As historian David Nasaw makes evident in his masterful recontextualization of these years, the veterans who came home to America were not the same people as those who had left for war, and the nation to which they returned was not the one they had left behind. Contrary to the prevailing narratives of triumph, here are the largely unacknowledged realities the veterans—and the nation—faced that radically reshaped our understanding of this era as a bridge to today. The Wounded Generation: Coming Home After World War II (Penguin, 2025) tells the indelible stories of the veterans and their loved ones as they confronted the aftershocks of World War II. Veterans suffering from recurring nightmares, uncontrollable rages, and social isolation were treated by doctors who had little understanding of PTSD. They were told that they were suffering from nothing more than battle fatigue and that time would cure it. When their symptoms persisted, they were given electro-shock treatments and lobotomies, while the true cause of their distress would remain undiagnosed for decades to come. Women who had begun working outside the home were pressured to revert to their prewar status as housewives dependent on their husbands. Returning veterans and their families were forced to double up with their parents or squeeze into overcrowded, substandard shelters as the country wrestled with a housing crisis. Divorce rates doubled. Alcoholism was rampant. Racial tensions heightened as White southerners resorted to violence to sustain the racial status quo. To ease the veterans' readjustment to civilian life, Congress passed the GI Bill, but Black veterans were disproportionately denied their benefits, and the consequences of this discrimination would endure long after the war was won. In this richly textured examination, Dr. Nasaw presents a complicated portrait of those who brought the war home with them, among whom were the period's most influential political and cultural leaders, including John F. Kennedy, Robert Dole, and Henry Kissinger; J. D. Salinger and Kurt Vonnegut; Harry Belafonte and Jimmy Stewart. Drawing from veterans' memoirs, oral histories, and government documents, Dr. Nasaw illuminates a hidden chapter of American history—one of trauma, resilience, and a country in transition. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

In its duration, geographical reach, and ferocity, World War II was unprecedented, and the effects on those who fought it and their loved ones at home, immeasurable. The heroism of the men and women who won the war may be well documented, but we know too little about the pain and hardships the veterans endured upon their return home. As historian David Nasaw makes evident in his masterful recontextualization of these years, the veterans who came home to America were not the same people as those who had left for war, and the nation to which they returned was not the one they had left behind. Contrary to the prevailing narratives of triumph, here are the largely unacknowledged realities the veterans—and the nation—faced that radically reshaped our understanding of this era as a bridge to today. The Wounded Generation: Coming Home After World War II (Penguin, 2025) tells the indelible stories of the veterans and their loved ones as they confronted the aftershocks of World War II. Veterans suffering from recurring nightmares, uncontrollable rages, and social isolation were treated by doctors who had little understanding of PTSD. They were told that they were suffering from nothing more than battle fatigue and that time would cure it. When their symptoms persisted, they were given electro-shock treatments and lobotomies, while the true cause of their distress would remain undiagnosed for decades to come. Women who had begun working outside the home were pressured to revert to their prewar status as housewives dependent on their husbands. Returning veterans and their families were forced to double up with their parents or squeeze into overcrowded, substandard shelters as the country wrestled with a housing crisis. Divorce rates doubled. Alcoholism was rampant. Racial tensions heightened as White southerners resorted to violence to sustain the racial status quo. To ease the veterans' readjustment to civilian life, Congress passed the GI Bill, but Black veterans were disproportionately denied their benefits, and the consequences of this discrimination would endure long after the war was won. In this richly textured examination, Dr. Nasaw presents a complicated portrait of those who brought the war home with them, among whom were the period's most influential political and cultural leaders, including John F. Kennedy, Robert Dole, and Henry Kissinger; J. D. Salinger and Kurt Vonnegut; Harry Belafonte and Jimmy Stewart. Drawing from veterans' memoirs, oral histories, and government documents, Dr. Nasaw illuminates a hidden chapter of American history—one of trauma, resilience, and a country in transition. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

In its duration, geographical reach, and ferocity, World War II was unprecedented, and the effects on those who fought it and their loved ones at home, immeasurable. The heroism of the men and women who won the war may be well documented, but we know too little about the pain and hardships the veterans endured upon their return home. As historian David Nasaw makes evident in his masterful recontextualization of these years, the veterans who came home to America were not the same people as those who had left for war, and the nation to which they returned was not the one they had left behind. Contrary to the prevailing narratives of triumph, here are the largely unacknowledged realities the veterans—and the nation—faced that radically reshaped our understanding of this era as a bridge to today. The Wounded Generation: Coming Home After World War II (Penguin, 2025) tells the indelible stories of the veterans and their loved ones as they confronted the aftershocks of World War II. Veterans suffering from recurring nightmares, uncontrollable rages, and social isolation were treated by doctors who had little understanding of PTSD. They were told that they were suffering from nothing more than battle fatigue and that time would cure it. When their symptoms persisted, they were given electro-shock treatments and lobotomies, while the true cause of their distress would remain undiagnosed for decades to come. Women who had begun working outside the home were pressured to revert to their prewar status as housewives dependent on their husbands. Returning veterans and their families were forced to double up with their parents or squeeze into overcrowded, substandard shelters as the country wrestled with a housing crisis. Divorce rates doubled. Alcoholism was rampant. Racial tensions heightened as White southerners resorted to violence to sustain the racial status quo. To ease the veterans' readjustment to civilian life, Congress passed the GI Bill, but Black veterans were disproportionately denied their benefits, and the consequences of this discrimination would endure long after the war was won. In this richly textured examination, Dr. Nasaw presents a complicated portrait of those who brought the war home with them, among whom were the period's most influential political and cultural leaders, including John F. Kennedy, Robert Dole, and Henry Kissinger; J. D. Salinger and Kurt Vonnegut; Harry Belafonte and Jimmy Stewart. Drawing from veterans' memoirs, oral histories, and government documents, Dr. Nasaw illuminates a hidden chapter of American history—one of trauma, resilience, and a country in transition. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/military-history

In its duration, geographical reach, and ferocity, World War II was unprecedented, and the effects on those who fought it and their loved ones at home, immeasurable. The heroism of the men and women who won the war may be well documented, but we know too little about the pain and hardships the veterans endured upon their return home. As historian David Nasaw makes evident in his masterful recontextualization of these years, the veterans who came home to America were not the same people as those who had left for war, and the nation to which they returned was not the one they had left behind. Contrary to the prevailing narratives of triumph, here are the largely unacknowledged realities the veterans—and the nation—faced that radically reshaped our understanding of this era as a bridge to today. The Wounded Generation: Coming Home After World War II (Penguin, 2025) tells the indelible stories of the veterans and their loved ones as they confronted the aftershocks of World War II. Veterans suffering from recurring nightmares, uncontrollable rages, and social isolation were treated by doctors who had little understanding of PTSD. They were told that they were suffering from nothing more than battle fatigue and that time would cure it. When their symptoms persisted, they were given electro-shock treatments and lobotomies, while the true cause of their distress would remain undiagnosed for decades to come. Women who had begun working outside the home were pressured to revert to their prewar status as housewives dependent on their husbands. Returning veterans and their families were forced to double up with their parents or squeeze into overcrowded, substandard shelters as the country wrestled with a housing crisis. Divorce rates doubled. Alcoholism was rampant. Racial tensions heightened as White southerners resorted to violence to sustain the racial status quo. To ease the veterans' readjustment to civilian life, Congress passed the GI Bill, but Black veterans were disproportionately denied their benefits, and the consequences of this discrimination would endure long after the war was won. In this richly textured examination, Dr. Nasaw presents a complicated portrait of those who brought the war home with them, among whom were the period's most influential political and cultural leaders, including John F. Kennedy, Robert Dole, and Henry Kissinger; J. D. Salinger and Kurt Vonnegut; Harry Belafonte and Jimmy Stewart. Drawing from veterans' memoirs, oral histories, and government documents, Dr. Nasaw illuminates a hidden chapter of American history—one of trauma, resilience, and a country in transition. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-studies

How do we hold a government accountable when we don't like the outcomes? As citizens, where do we have the greatest influence or impact on the government?In this series on healthcare and social disparities, Dr. Jill Wener, a board-certified Internal Medicine specialist, anti-racism educator, meditation expert, and tapping practitioner, interviews experts and gives her own insights into multiple fields relating to social justice and anti-racism. In this episode, Jill interviews Lindsey Cormack, PhD, an associate professor of Political Science and Director of the Diplomacy Lab at Stevens Institute of Technology. Listen for Lindsey's take on the topic of the importance of engaging in politics at a local and state level, not just the federal level. They also discussed the importance of teaching children the tools to engage in their government in an effective way.Lindsey Cormack is an associate professor of Political Science and Director of the Diplomacy Lab at Stevens Institute of Technology. She has authored two books, How to Raise a Citizen (And Why it's Up to You to Do It) and Congress and U.S. Veterans: From the GI Bill to the VA Crisis. She created and maintains the digital database of all official Congress-to-constituent e-newsletters at www.dcinbox.com. She earned her PhD in Government from New York University. She currently serves as the Secretary for Manhattan Community Board 8.LINKSwww.howtoraiseacitizen.com@howtoraiseacitizen - instagram**Our website www.consciousantiracism.comYou can learn more about Dr. Wener and her online meditation and tapping courses at www.jillwener.com, and you can learn more about her online social justice course, Conscious Anti Racism: Tools for Self-Discovery, Accountability, and Meaningful Change at https://theresttechnique.com/courses/conscious-anti-racism.If you're a healthcare worker looking for a CME-accredited course, check out Conscious Anti-Racism: Tools for Self-Discovery, Accountability, and Meaningful Change in Healthcare at www.theresttechnique.com/courses/conscious-anti-racism-healthcareJoin her Conscious Anti-Racism facebook group: www.facebook.com/groups/307196473283408Follow her on:Instagram at jillwenerMDLinkedIn at jillwenermd

In its duration, geographical reach, and ferocity, World War II was unprecedented, and the effects on those who fought it and their loved ones at home, immeasurable. The heroism of the men and women who won the war may be well documented, but we know too little about the pain and hardships the veterans endured upon their return home. As historian David Nasaw makes evident in his masterful recontextualization of these years, the veterans who came home to America were not the same people as those who had left for war, and the nation to which they returned was not the one they had left behind. Contrary to the prevailing narratives of triumph, here are the largely unacknowledged realities the veterans—and the nation—faced that radically reshaped our understanding of this era as a bridge to today. The Wounded Generation: Coming Home After World War II (Penguin, 2025) tells the indelible stories of the veterans and their loved ones as they confronted the aftershocks of World War II. Veterans suffering from recurring nightmares, uncontrollable rages, and social isolation were treated by doctors who had little understanding of PTSD. They were told that they were suffering from nothing more than battle fatigue and that time would cure it. When their symptoms persisted, they were given electro-shock treatments and lobotomies, while the true cause of their distress would remain undiagnosed for decades to come. Women who had begun working outside the home were pressured to revert to their prewar status as housewives dependent on their husbands. Returning veterans and their families were forced to double up with their parents or squeeze into overcrowded, substandard shelters as the country wrestled with a housing crisis. Divorce rates doubled. Alcoholism was rampant. Racial tensions heightened as White southerners resorted to violence to sustain the racial status quo. To ease the veterans' readjustment to civilian life, Congress passed the GI Bill, but Black veterans were disproportionately denied their benefits, and the consequences of this discrimination would endure long after the war was won. In this richly textured examination, Dr. Nasaw presents a complicated portrait of those who brought the war home with them, among whom were the period's most influential political and cultural leaders, including John F. Kennedy, Robert Dole, and Henry Kissinger; J. D. Salinger and Kurt Vonnegut; Harry Belafonte and Jimmy Stewart. Drawing from veterans' memoirs, oral histories, and government documents, Dr. Nasaw illuminates a hidden chapter of American history—one of trauma, resilience, and a country in transition. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/drugs-addiction-and-recovery

In this episode of Govcon Giants, Eric sits down with Justin Vianello, CEO and equity partner at SkillStorm, to unpack how federal agencies and large integrators can stop recycling the same expensive talent and start building net-new cleared technologists. Justin shares his global journey from chartered accountant at PwC to scaling multiple companies and exiting, and how that experience led him to a "hire, train, deploy" model that develops new talent instead of bidding up the same résumés. He breaks down why traditional degree requirements are outdated, how certifications and apprenticeships are creating better ROI, and where the real opportunities are in cybersecurity, AI, cloud, and platform-specific roles like Salesforce, AWS, and Palantir. You'll hear Justin's take on why big consulting firms and government need to rethink workforce strategy, how SkillStorm pays people during training to focus on learning, and why soft skills—communication, leadership, and presentation—are the real differentiators in an AI-powered world. Eric and Justin also explore the gap between college promises and reality, the power of apprenticeships and military "cool"/GI Bill pathways, and what agency heads must do now if they want lower costs, better teams, and faster delivery on critical missions. Key Takeaways: Upskilling & reskilling are the real moat: certifications + platform skills (cloud, cyber, AI) + soft skills beat generic degrees in today's federal tech market. Custom-built teams > resume recycling: Skillstorm's "hire, train, deploy" model creates new cleared talent, reduces costs, and gets billable teams productive on day one. College is optional, not mandatory: for many roles, apprenticeships, technical certs, and on-the-job training now offer better ROI, especially for veterans and career changers. Learn more: https://federalhelpcenter.com/ https://govcongiants.org/  Encore Funding: https://www.encore-funding.com/  Join the bootcamp: https://govcongiants.org/bootcamp  Justin's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-vianello/  Justin's Twitter/X: https://x.com/justinvianello

Send us a textIn this high-flying episode of The Day's Grimm, Brian Michael Day and Thomas Grimm welcome Navy veteran and commercial airline pilot Alex Trujillo (Senior Alex Trujillo)! Alex, who currently pilots the Boeing 737 (the "scary one" ), takes us on a deep dive through his unique life journey, from growing up on the East Coast to earning his wings in the military.The conversation covers massive topics, including:From Helicopter to Commercial Jet: Alex breaks down his transition from flying helicopters in the Navy to becoming a commercial airline pilot and the intense training (including flying in simulators and recurrent training) required to maintain his expertise.The Naval Academy & Military Life: He recounts how a summer seminar led him to apply to the Naval Academy and discusses the benefits of using the military to get flight ratings, hours, and the GI Bill , as well as using the Skillbridge program for a civilian transition.Cuban Roots & East Coast Elite: Alex shares his background as a first-generation American born to Cuban parents in Fairfax, Virginia (an "East Coast elite" area outside DC).Faith and Football: The guys revisit how they met at a Ruck'n'Rosary event and discuss the profound impact of Alex's small private Catholic school education. They also dive into the simplicity and quiet nature of a Latin Mass.Soccer State Champ: Hear about his serious competitive soccer career, playing travel ball and winning state championships three years in a row!Whether you're interested in the life of a pilot, military service, or the impact of faith and culture, this episode is packed with fascinating stories!TIMESTAMPS 00:49 - Intro & Welcoming Alex Trujillo 02:43 - Alex Trujillo: Navy Veteran & Commercial Pilot Elevator Pitch 03:11 - Flying the Boeing 737 (The "Scary One") 05:55 - Cuban Descent & First Generation American 06:21 - Growing up in Fairfax, Virginia 08:35 - Catholic School Foundation & Faith Journey 10:27 - Explaining the Quiet Simplicity of Latin Mass 13:34 - High School Soccer (Travel Ball & State Championships) 16:44 - The Path to the Naval Academy 18:15 - Flying Helicopters in the Navy 01:26:15 - Military to Civilian Transition (Skillbridge Program) 01:40:37 - 737 Recurrent Training in the Simulator 01:50:08 - Advice for Aspiring Pilots[The Days Grimm Podcast Links]- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheDaysGrimm- Our link tree: linktr.ee/Thedaysgrimm- GoFundMe account for The Days Grimm: https://gofund.me/02527e7c [The Days Grimm is brought to you by]Sadness & ADHD (non-medicated)

What happens when the machinery of war is turned loose on the home front? In this episode of Built to Divide, host Dimitrius Lynch traces how the end of World War II, the GI Bill, and federal housing policy combined to build the largest middle-class expansion in U.S. history—while quietly deepening racial and economic division.Beginning with the surrender in Tokyo Bay and the massive demobilization of Operation Magic Carpet, Lynch follows millions of returning veterans back to a country racing to answer a simple question: Where will they all live? The answer reshaped the nation. FHA and VA loans, the rise of Fannie Mae, and the secondary mortgage market drove homeownership from 43% to nearly 62% by 1960, cementing the single-family house as the centerpiece of the American Dream.But this “great reset” came with a price. Lynch unpacks how zoning laws, redlining, racial covenants, and underwriting standards drew hard lines around who could belong in postwar suburbia. He contrasts the inclusive vision of Case Study Houses and Eichler Homes with the mass-produced segregation of Levittown, where black families were explicitly barred and violence met the first to cross the color line.From John Dean's warning about homeownership “booby traps” to the weaponization of media by business elites like Henry Regnery, this episode reveals how corporate interests used patriotism, racial fear, and Cold War anxiety to roll back New Deal gains and reframe government as the enemy. Along the way, Lynch explores how Fannie Mae's privatization, the birth of American Express credit cards, and the cultural glorification of the nuclear family turned housing into a speculative asset, a consumption engine, and a source of isolation.We end in Roseto, Pennsylvania, where a community's disappearing social bonds literally changed its heart attack rates—proof that how we house ourselves shapes how we live, connect, and survive.If you want to understand how postwar housing policy, suburbanization, zoning, media, and finance fused into a system that still determines who gets stability and who gets left behind, this episode shows how the board was reset—and who it was reset for.Episode Extras - Photos, videos, sources and links to additional content found during research. Episode Credits:Production in collaboration with Gābl MediaWritten & Executive Produced by Dimitrius LynchAudio Engineering and Sound Design by Jeff Alvarez

Keith discusses seven ways to get a lower mortgage rate, emphasizing the historical impact of the 1940s GI Bill on homeownership and wealth creation.  Caeli Ridge, founder of Ridge Lending Group, digs into smart tactics like adjustable rate mortgages, DSCR loans, and down payment options, plus insider tips on boosting your creditworthiness, timing your rate lock, and planning ahead so you can maximize your returns.  They also explore trends like 50-year mortgages and portable mortgages, and the benefits of FHA and VA loans for first-time buyers.  Resources: Want expert guidance on your next real estate investment or mortgage? Reach out to Ridge Lending Group for personalized support and a full range of loan options—whether you're a first-time buyer or seasoned investor. Visit ridgelendinggroup.com or call 855-74-RIDGE to take your next step! Episode Page: GetRichEducation.com/582 For access to properties or free help with a GRE Investment Coach, start here: GREmarketplace.com GRE Free Investment Coaching: GREinvestmentcoach.com Get mortgage loans for investment property: RidgeLendingGroup.com or call 855-74-RIDGE  or e-mail: info@RidgeLendingGroup.com Invest with Freedom Family Investments.  For predictable 10-12% quarterly returns, visit FreedomFamilyInvestments.com/GRE or text  1-937-795-8989 to speak with a freedom coach Will you please leave a review for the show? I'd be grateful. Search "how to leave an Apple Podcasts review"  For advertising inquiries, visit: GetRichEducation.com/ad Best Financial Education: GetRichEducation.com Get our wealth-building newsletter free— GREletter.com or text 'GRE' to 66866 Our YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/c/GetRichEducation Follow us on Instagram: @getricheducation Complete episode transcript:   Keith Weinhold  0:01   Welcome to GRE. I'm your host. Keith Weinhold, seven ways you can get a lower mortgage interest rate. We'll break them down loan types available to you that you never heard of, and learn how the 1940s GI Bill shaped the mortgage that you get today on get rich education   Speaker 1  0:22   Since 2014 the powerful get rich education podcast has created more passive income for people than nearly any other show in the world. This show teaches you how to earn strong returns from passive real estate investing in the best markets without losing your time being a flipper or landlord. Show Host Keith Weinhold writes for both Forbes and Rich Dad advisors, and delivers a new show every week since 2014 there's been millions of listener downloads of 188 world nations. He has a list show guests include top selling personal finance author Robert Kiyosaki. Get rich education can be heard on every podcast platform, plus it has its own dedicated Apple and Android listener phone apps build wealth on the go with the get rich education podcast. Sign up now for the get rich education podcast, or visit get rich education.com   Corey Coates  1:07   You're listening to the show that has created more financial freedom than nearly any show in the world. This is get rich education. You Keith,   Keith Weinhold  1:23   welcome to GRE from the Romanian Black Sea to the Egyptian Red Sea and across 188 nations worldwide. I'm Keith Weinhold, and this is the indefatigable get rich education before we discuss the seven ways that you can get a lower mortgage rate and more in the 1940s before my dad was born, the GI Bill gave veterans returning from World War Two access to cheap home loans, and that single policy decision might have done more to shape the modern American Housing landscape than Anything else in the last 100 years. Think about it, millions of young men, almost kids, really had just spent the better part of their early adulthood in Europe or the Pacific. They came home, married their sweethearts, started families, and suddenly America had this booming demand for housing, but demand alone doesn't build homes. You also need money. You need access to credit, and that's where the GI Bill stepped in. It didn't just thank returning service members for their sacrifice. It handed them something way more powerful, the ability to buy a home with little money down a low interest rate and underwriting standards that would frankly look like a fantasy today, that access to credit sparked one of the biggest housing booms in American history. You had these entire suburbs that sprang up overnight, Levittown in New York, Lakewood in California. These were master planned communities, and they really became a blueprint for Post War America. We had the booming 50s, and this had a lot to do with it. Here's the part that most people don't understand. This wasn't just about housing. This was about wealth creation, because for better or worse, home ownership has been the primary wealth building vehicle for the American middle class these past 100 years, when you give millions of people a subsidized path into property ownership, you're not just giving them a roof. You're giving them equity appreciation, leverage, tax benefits. You're giving them the engine, this flywheel that spins up generational wealth in a lot of ways. The GI Bill is the earliest institutional example of what I at least tell you here on the show, real estate pays five ways. Now they didn't call it that in 1947 but that's exactly what it was. Veterans earned appreciation as suburbs grew. They had amortization working for them, they collected tax advantages. Inflation slowly eroded their fixed rate mortgage balances too. And here's the thing, these weren't even speculative investments. They were homes that they lived in. Now, of course, the GI bill wasn't perfect. It expanded opportunity for millions of people, but it excluded a lot of people too. Lenders and local governments often blocked black veterans and other minorities from accessing the same benefits. That's a whole story unto itself, but the takeaway for today is, when you combine demographic momentum with favorable financing, you can remake a nation, and that's why housing policy still matters today, which we'll get. Two shortly, when you change access to credit or just tweak it, you change the trajectory of families and markets for generations, and the GI Bill proved that. So when we talk about interest rates, affordability, supply shortages, or any of the high frequency housing data that we cover here, remember that the stories aren't just about numbers. They really are about people. They're about giving ordinary Americans the chance to build wealth the same way that those World War Two veterans did through ownership, stability and the quiet compound leverage, not compound interest. Compound leverage that real estate delivers over time.    Keith Weinhold  5:49   I'm bringing you today's show from, I suppose, a somewhat exotic location. I am inside Caesar's Palace, which is right near the very middle of the famed Las Vegas Strip, that's where I'm at. The hotel staff is always accommodative of the show setup. This might seem a little strange to you, because I'm not a gambler. The reason I'm here is that my brother lives 25 minutes away, and I've been with him during Thanksgiving. Next week, I'll bring you the show from Buffalo, New York, and then two weeks from now, I have something heart warming to tell you about that, and it is a real estate story. I'll be broadcasting the show from upstate Pennsylvania. I'll be there to visit my parents. My brother's also coming in from Nevada to be there. That's where the four of us, mom, dad, my brother and I will sit around the same dining room table in the same kitchen of the same home that my parents have lived in since the 1970s nothing has changed, and all four of us know our spots at the table. And actually, it's not even called the dining room table. It is the supper table, as my parents call it so, from flashy Caesar's Palace today to Buffalo and then to Appalachian simplicity in Pennsylvania, the stability and continuity of my parents living in the same home and four wine holds sitting around the table during the holidays, it is so rare. I imagine less than one or 2% of people can do this. I'm just profoundly grateful and proud of Kurt and Penny Weinhold for being the best, most stable parents I could have asked for. It's almost too much to ask, and if you don't have that in your life. Ah, you can do something about that. You can provide the same decency and stability for your children.    Keith Weinhold  7:50   Let's talk about seven proven ways you can get a lower mortgage rate with this week's terrific guest. Though, we'll focus on investment properties. A lot of this applies to primary residences as well.   Keith Weinhold  8:07   We are joined by the founder of the lender that's created more financial freedom for real estate investors than any other mortgage originator in the nation, the eponymous Ridge lending group. And though that sounds impressive, my gosh, she didn't even need that introduction for you the listener, because she's one of the most recurrent guests in show history. Welcome back to GRE Caeli Ridge,   Caeli Ridge  8:30   I am delighted to be here as always, Keith, thank you for your support and acknowledgement. I love what you do, and I'm hoping that I can bring more value today to your listeners in what it is that we do, educating the masses, right?   Keith Weinhold  8:42   You've been doing that here for about 10 years. And yes, we're talking about a woman with a reputation for writing emails in all caps, yet still maintains a great relationship with everybody. I mean, congrats, shaile. I couldn't possibly pull that off myself.   Caeli Ridge  8:58   Thank you, Keith. And you know, I'm going to stay by my all caps, man, it's a speed thing. It all boils down to the number of seconds in the day that I can just move quickly through an email. Yeah, I love my all caps.   Keith Weinhold  9:09   Apparently recipients are still replying, well, you can get a lower mortgage rate in at least seven ways. You can get an adjustable rate mortgage, do a midweek lock in, negotiate seller credits. Have a high credit score. Do a two one buy now, which is kind of old school, but some home builders are using it boost your DTI or buy now, not later. Those are some of the strategies for lowering your mortgage rate. What are your thoughts with regard to that?   Caeli Ridge  9:39   I think all of those are viable. I would just say on the adjust for a mortgage. The pushback I would give there is, is that for residential property, specifically, single family, up to four units, we are not finding that spread between the arm and a 30 year fix. We've been the industry as a whole, secondary specifically been on the inverted yield. Now this gets a little tough. Nickel, and I won't go down that rabbit hole, but 08, 09, the housing and lending crash created an environment within secondary markets where an inverted yield has made a 30 year fixed mortgage more favorable in the rate department. Now that's not always going to be the case. I am a huge fan of the adjustable, but what would work right now is an adjustable with the all in one not to take too much time on that topic, but that would be an adjust rate mortgage that I think would save interest or reduce the rate of which interest is accruing,   Keith Weinhold  10:30   the all in one loan, which we discussed extensively back at the beginning of this year here on the show. Long term, though, I have seen adjustable rate mortgages work for a lot of people, because really, the compelling proposition of the arm is that it guarantees that you get a lower rate in the near term, and yet there's only a chance that you're going to have a higher rate in the long term   Caeli Ridge  10:53   and further. Let's I mean, let's dissect that a little bit. I am a huge proponent. I love an adjustable rate mortgage when the arm is pricing a half or a full percentage point plus over a fixed especially for non owner occupied and the reason for that is, and this is statistically speaking, feel free to look this up, guys, the average shelf life of a mortgage for an investment property is about five years. Great point, right? And we know that if that's the case, right, we're refinancing to harvest equity. We're refinancing maybe to reduce an interest rate from where the market was before, et cetera, et cetera. So that would be the first thing I would say. And then also remember, you guys the first 10 years of an amortized mortgage, 30 year fixed, amortized mortgage, how much of that payment is going to the principal? Because people will often push back by saying, well, either an interest only, or an adjustable and what happens if it changes or it goes up? Most of your payment is going to the interest anyway, and that reset to harvest equity. Borrowed funds are non taxable. We always say that, right? I think it's fully justified. So I love an arm, I just don't know, in comparison to a 30 year fixed today, like a five year ARM versus a 30 year fixed we are in a place that it makes sense, but normally, to your point, absolutely. Fan   Keith Weinhold  12:06   that spread needs to widen for the arm to make more sense. What about doing a mid week rate lock in? Is that a thing?    Caeli Ridge  12:13   Yeah. And you know, I don't have any empirical evidence here. Okay, I don't have any data points that actually prove this, except for 25 years in the business and locking loans every day of my life. There's something about a Monday and a Friday. And I have some conspiracy theories. I don't know that. I it's necessary to share them here, but midweek locks tend to be more favorable in both points and interest rate than you'll find on a Friday and a Monday. I think largely it has to do with, you know, the stock exchanges shutting down for the weekend, right? You got a Friday, you got two days in between. You got foreign markets, and all the things that can explode and happen during that amount of time. So I think they hedge a little bit. So on Friday, going into the weekend, I think that there's something about that and why interest rates are a little less favorable. And then Monday, of course, coming off the weekend, similarly, maybe there's some truth to that too.   Keith Weinhold  13:02   Now, negotiating seller credits has really been a trend to help with affordability. Tell us about specifically what you're seeing there, what's common.   Caeli Ridge  13:11   So we're talking to investors. I can tell you that the loan products you guys are going to have access to are going to cap you, okay, you're going to cap at, per guideline, 2% of the purchase price. Okay, remember that your points that you're paying when you get into locking an interest rate are going to be calculated on the loan size, all right. So the first thing to know is seller paid closing costs, maximum is going to be 2% per underwriting guidelines. That 2% is based on your purchase price. Anything that you're paying points for is going to be on the loan balance, the loan size, so there's going to be a little extra there for you that can contribute or can pay for some other closing costs, right, depending on the numbers. Now, if you're smart enough, or lucky enough, or whatever, the market is viable enough that you can negotiate more than 2% from the seller to pay towards closing costs, you're going to be limited on what you can do on the loan side. But let's say that you go and you've negotiated 4% seller will pay 4% towards your closing costs. Then in that case, you can reduce, you got the two points that you're allowed per guideline. And then you can reduce the purchase price by the difference you don't want to leave that money on the table.   Keith Weinhold  14:15   That's how it's done. And then there's just simply having a higher credit score. What's the highest credit score that really helps you get the lowest mortgage rate for both primary residences and non owner occupied properties. Loan product   Caeli Ridge  14:29   type dependent. But I would say overall, 760 and above is kind of that threshold. There are products that go 780 maybe even on the rare occasion, 800 and above. If I had to pick a number as the absolute pinnacle, I'm going to go 780    Keith Weinhold  14:41   All right, so having a credit score above those thresholds really doesn't help get you a lower interest rate. It's really just a little flex that you've got an 811, credit score, or whatever it is. Now the two, one buy down. That's something that we used to see long ago. A few home builders are bringing it back. And what that does it allow? Homebuyers to pay a lower interest rate for the first two years with the seller covering the difference, and that allows the seller to get their price. They don't have to lower the price of the home at all. But the two one buy down, and you see that written, two, one that has been employed more recently. Tell us about that.    Caeli Ridge  15:18   Well, the builders are struggling in some cases, right? The affordability buzzword is all over the place. So they've had to get creative and find ways in which they can move their inventory. So I think they've done a good job at kind of shaving off some of their margins to satisfy or improve the terms for the consumer. So I like the two. One, if you can get it   Keith Weinhold  15:37   now, one can boost their DTI as well their debt to income ratio and Taylor. When we've talked about that before, we've usually talked about reducing your debts in order to improve your DTI. However, a lot of people don't think about the fact that, oh, well, you can increase your income that lowers your DTI to help you qualify. So tell us what is the max DTI that you can have   Caeli Ridge  16:00   maximum debt to income ratio, in most cases on a full dock loan is going to be 50% now, depending on the type of income that you earn or that you've demonstrated, how you calculate that can get a little bit tricky. But if you're just a straight w2 wage earner, we don't have, you know, commissions or bonuses or anything that we consider variable income, then you just take your gross income times 50% whatever that number is, all of your liabilities on the credit report, we do not count ordinary living expenses like food and gas and utilities and cell phone bills. It's the minimum payments on the credit report. As long as whatever that add up is fits within that 50% you're good to go.    Keith Weinhold  16:37   Now, when it comes to improving our DTI to get a lower mortgage rate, I tend to think it's easier to knock out some debts to improve your DTI. But what about the other side of it? What about increasing your income to improve your DTI, lower your mortgage rate and qualify? Can you talk about some of the strategies for increasing your income with respect to DTI?    Caeli Ridge  17:02   Absolutely. And the biggest one, I think that we probably want to focus on most is going to be on a schedule E, right? That's the one that you're going to have more control over. So when we talk about rental income and how we might be able to boost that first, it might be important to share that there are two ways in underwriting that we will calculate or quantify rental income. The first way is called the acquisition year formula. I'll give you that in just a second. It's very easy, but the way I think we focus on here, because acquisition year is going to be what it is, you're going to have very little ability to manipulate or change that once our rental properties fall on our tax return, specifically the Schedule E of a federal tax return, you as the taxpayer or the borrower are going to have some access to maximize or increase the income, or, let's actually get a little bit more granular there to maximize the gain or minimize the loss, by means of depreciation, maybe a cost seg, maybe we make sure that one time, extraordinary expenses are demonstrated on the tax return in the appropriate way so that underwriting can add those things back. So I know that this sounds technical, but the scheduling is the way that I would say is the easiest for an investor to maximize income, reduce debt to income ratio. And I will close by saying that ridge lending, I think one of our most valued value adds is the ability to help our clients look at their draft tax returns on an annual basis and present them with, Hey, listen, Mr. Jones, if you file this way, this draft tax return, if it files this way, this is what it means to your debt to income ratio. Here's my advice, right? We go into a lot of depth there with our clients.   Keith Weinhold  18:39   That is a smart, long term planning piece that most mortgage companies are not going to give you. They're not going to be forward looking, looking out for your next three years of growing your income property portfolio. And shortly, we'll talk about a way for you to qualify loans where you don't have to show tax returns or W twos or pay stubs. But while we're talking about how to get a lower mortgage rate and some creative ways to do that, I brought up, buy now, not later. And what do I mean by that? What I mean is say, properties appreciate even 3% over time. Buying now, I mean that is going to net you more equity if you buy now rather than waiting, than it would in the savings from a rate drop, when you look at the appreciation run up, however, if rates go up, then you get both the lower price and the lower rate by buying now, not later.   Caeli Ridge  19:32   And I would add to that, we have to remember that in addition to a very modest 3% in the home appreciation, we should be appreciating our rents at even a modest 2% a year, right? Depending on where you are, et cetera. I know that there's exceptions to the rule. And then finally, we got to add in that tax benefit, what you're going to get in your deductions, et cetera, et cetera.   Keith Weinhold  19:51   Yeah, great point. Well, I brought up seven ways that you can get a lower mortgage rate. Can you share a few more with us? Some common ones? Because I know. That almost everyone that calls in there wants to inquire about mortgage rate as well.    Caeli Ridge  20:03   Everybody wants, yep, everybody wants to talk about the rate, despite my vervet opposition to say, do the math. Do the math. Do the math. You know, the easiest one there would be buying down the rate. I'm going to try and formulate an example. Let's say you've got a really high wage earner and in the thick of their earning years, and they're trying to prepare for retirement down the road. It's a longer term burn. They desperately need tax deductions, and the deal that they're looking at, yeah, it's okay, but they want some extra expenses on the Schedule E, maybe they buy the rate down by three even 4% because points on an investment loan transaction are tax deductible, so that might be something, and they obviously benefit from the lower interest rate. Now I may push back on this, and I think again, I know I sound like a broken record here, but we really need to do the math. What are we getting versus what are we giving up to get a 6% or five and a half percent interest rate? What does that mean in real, tangible cost, and what's that? Break even? It's actually a fairly simple calculation. When you just divide the difference in what you're getting versus what you're paying for, and that'll give you the number of months that it takes to recapture the incentive versus the expense. But that would be the easiest one. Keith, I would say buying down points, using paying additional points to get that lower interest rate,   Keith Weinhold  21:20   buying down your rate. It could feel good in the short term, but it's often not the best long term or even intermediate term move when you do the math, as you always like to say, well, you the listener here, you know that you can qualify for mortgage loans, for rental properties without needing a w2 without needing a pay stub and without even needing to show tax returns, because you need all those things for a conventional loan, but for a DSCR loan, debt service coverage ratio, you don't. So talk to us about the pros and cons of a DSCR loan versus a conventional   Caeli Ridge  21:53   loan. Okay? And I've got a hook here too, because I think the listeners are gonna be very, very pleased to hear at the end of this statement, what's happening with DSCR in conjunction or comparison, rather to the conventional so DSCR everybody means debt service, coverage ratio. It's a very simple formula. We are going to take the gross rents and divide it by the principal and interest and taxes and insurance and association. If it applies, that's it.   Keith Weinhold  22:18   $1,000 in gross rents, $800 in p i, t i, that yields a DSCR of 1.25 Correct?   Caeli Ridge  22:25   Yes, you're absolutely right. The one that I use as I, just to keep it simple, is 1000 rents, 1000 piti. That's a 1.0 right? As long as the gross rents are equal or greater than the p i, t i, you're going to be in a position to get the more favorable rates. Now that's not to say that we can't go below a 1.0 ratio. You can actually have a property, we have products that will allow the DSCR to be a point seven five. That would mean, in this scenario, if you had rents, gross rents of 750, and the piti was 1000 you can actually get that loan done. That is allowed. The rate gets a little bit hairy. So more often than not, we're at the 1.0 and above. So this is just a really great way for investors who are either recently self employed, maybe they're adjusted gross, they just write everything off for reasons that you can imagine. Why? Right? They don't want to pay the taxes. It could be 100 different reasons. The DSCR option is such a great solution to provide a 30 year fixed mortgage same same similar leverage, if not sometimes even better than a Fannie Freddie, than a conventional loan, you can usually leverage a little bit more, in some cases, on a DSCR like a two to four, for example, two to four unit residential property, Fannie Freddie, they kind of cut those loan to values a little bit, and the DSCR loans don't care about that. So you can get the same leverage as a single family would in a DSCR. The only other primary difference is these DSCR loans are going to come with prepayment penalties. Typically, the standard is about three years, but we're usually not refinancing in the first 36 months. Anyway, if you know that that's applicable to you, then you'd have to buy the prepay down or out, which you can do otherwise. DSCR is amazing. Oh, and I'll give you the little hook here. So something I have observed this is maybe very recent 4550 ish days, the margin for interest rate difference between conventional and DSCR is really starting to narrow. DSCR products are really performing well, and that interest rate improvements that we've been seeing for those products is not far off from what the Fannie Freddie's are, and I've even seen examples where DSCR beats a 30 year fixed Fannie Freddie rate. Now those are for the higher loan amounts. I can explain if you want, but otherwise, that's good news.   Keith Weinhold  24:36   Okay, this is really good news. It's a time in the cycle where dscrs could very well make sense for you without that huge documentation Shakedown that you need with W twos and pay stubs and everything else. There are a lot of nascent trends in the mortgage industry, and we're trying to separate some of them from being rumors, from being something that can truly happen. We're talking about 50 year mortgages and poor. Affordable mortgages. More on that. When we come back, you're listening to get rich education. Our guest is Ridge lending Group President, Chaley Ridge   Keith Weinhold  25:07   You know, most people think they're playing it safe with their liquid money, but they're actually losing savings accounts and bonds don't keep up when true inflation eats six or 7% of your wealth. Every single year, I invest my liquidity with FFI freedom family investments in their flagship program. Why fixed 10 to 12% returns have been predictable and paid quarterly. There's real world security backed by needs based real estate like affordable housing, Senior Living and health care. Ask about the freedom flagship program. When you speak to a freedom coach there, and that's just one part of their family of products, they've got workshops, webinars and seminars designed to educate you before you invest, start with as little as 25k and finally, get your money working as hard as you do. Get started at Freedom family investments.com/gre, or send a text now it's 1-937-795-8989, yep, text their freedom. Coach, directly, again. 1-937-795-8989,   Keith Weinhold  26:18   The same place where I get my own mortgage loans is where you can get yours. Ridge lending group and MLS, 42056, they provided our listeners with more loans than anyone because they specialize in income properties. They help you build a long term plan for growing your real estate empire with leverage, start your pre qual and even chat with President Chaley Ridge personally, while it's on your mind, start at Ridge lending group.com, that's Ridge lending group.com   Dana Dunford  26:50   this is hemlanes co founder, Dana Dunford. Listen to get rich education with Keith Weinhold, and don't quit your Daydream.    Keith Weinhold  26:58   welcome back to get rich education. We're talking with Ridge lending Group President and Founder, Chaley Ridge about how you can get lower mortgage rates, and also about some trends in the industry, separating what's really a rumor in what could really happen squaring on 50 year mortgages and portable mortgages, those are both things only being discussed by the administration to help with affordability. FHFA Director Bill Pulte created some jarring news recently when he publicized this. What are your thoughts on the 50 year mortgage?    Caeli Ridge  27:39   You know, on a primary residence basis, I'm not so sure I need to maybe put some more thought into that. But for an investment property, I love it. Man, anything to keep that payment down so that, because, remember, we talked about earlier in the show here the percentage of mortgages, let's just use our 30 year fixed for a second that for a rental property that start on day one and then stroke a check 360 times later to pay that to zero. Is a fraction of a percent right? We are refinancing these things. We are selling them and doing 1031 exchanges. So anything that can keep my cash flow higher and my payment lower, I am all for it. Now, the people that push back and say, Well, I want to pay off my mortgage in 15 years. I don't want to pay extra interest, you are welcome to do that. So there's a second piece to this that I think is equally as important as maximizing cash flow, and that is your qualification. All right, if this comes to pass, and right now, it could just be noise, okay, and I'm speaking specifically for investment property, but if this is available to us, the debt to income ratio component, because think about it like this. So I'm going to keep using my 15 year and my 30 year, because that's kind of what we understand. The payment difference between a 30 year 360 month and a 15 year 180 month can be substantial depending on the loan size. I mean, it can be hundreds and hundreds of dollars for the individual that is dead set and say, I don't want to pay the higher interest. I want to pay these things off. We may have arguments about that whole strategy to begin with, but overall, if they still want to do that and that's their decision, Fine, take the 30 year fixed payment. Take the 30 year fixed mortgage. Apply the difference. You can figure out that payment difference very easily. Apply it religiously. Every month. You will cross the finish line in about 15.4 years. Download an amortization calculator online. You can find them everywhere. Plug in your numbers, and you'll see what I'm talking about. If you were to do this, let's say the difference is 200 bucks a month, and you send it in every month with your 30 year fixed mortgage payment, you will cross the finish line to pay that thing off in about 15.4 years. So yes, you'll pay a few extra months of interest. But what have you done to your qualifications, right, your payment now on your debt to income ratio, when we're looking at this thing for a future optimization, never take the shorter term amortization, ever, ever, ever, you won't pay the higher interest that the 30 year or the 50 Year will probably come with because you've accelerated the payoff so long, if that's your choice. Now for everybody else that really wants. To maximize that cash flow. And they get that, they're going to be refinancing this every five, six, whatever it is, years take it, man, I am all for the longer term amortization on a rental.   Keith Weinhold  30:10   I agree with you. I even like the 50 year on a primary residence, but yeah, Chaley, right here on the show, several weeks before Bill Pulte made the announcement, I actually talked about the 50 year mortgage and compared it to the 30 and the reasons that I like it because I knew there was a chance it could be coming, since this administration is trying to do so much to help out with affordability, people buy based on a payment, not a price that lowers the payment. A 50 year mortgage helps you benefit from inflation, and there are a lot of other advantages that have to do with that, although you probably are going to pay a higher interest rate on a 50 than you would a 30. And you know, Chaley, when the 30 year mortgage had its Advent just after World War Two, I'm going to guess 75 years ago, people were having this same conversation like, oh, 30 years, my gosh, you're never going to pay off the home. And really, that's not what it's about.    Caeli Ridge  31:01   Not at all, not at all. And remember, you guys, I would encourage everybody listening to this to actually go get that amortization table and see how much interest is baked in and how it is applied and paid. It is the back end of any of these amortized mortgages where the principal actually starts to get applied in a meaningful way. The 50 year mortgage, or the longer term amortization is a huge advantage. I'm speaking for investors. Mostly. I love it.   Keith Weinhold  31:26   Some people say, are you nuts? Look at how much more interest you're paying over the life of the loan on a 50 year mortgage versus a 30 year mortgage. We already touched on that you're not going to keep that loan for the life of it, and if you just take the difference from the lower payment that a 50 Year gives you, and invest that in 8% return, you are going to crush 2x to 3x oftentimes, what the paltry interest savings are over several decades,    Caeli Ridge  31:26   and somebody else is making that payment right. We have tenants that are responsible   Keith Weinhold  31:47    100% and then there's something that I don't know if portable mortgages would fly. And what this means is that when borrowers move, they could keep the rate, keep their term and keep their lender, presumably for the new home you might have seen it in the news. You the listener that Fannie May remove the minimum credit score requirements from desktop underwriting. And Chaley, I think you let me know elsewhere that those changes don't affect non owner occupied, but of course, it could affect the broader housing market in pricing. What are your thoughts about lowering the credit score requirement   Caeli Ridge  32:28   so similar to the portable stuff, until it really reaches mainstream and it affects the non owner occupied I'm not deep diving into those things. The basis of it, though, is, is that, yeah, they're removing that minimum credit score requirement from a du underwrite that stands for desktop underwriter, as you said, that is Fannie Mae's sophisticated, automated underwriting system, and I think it's just going to give more eligibility to lower income households and people trying to become homeowners that have found the barrier for entry very restrictive because They have credit issues.    Keith Weinhold  33:00   Well, let's talk about FHA and VA loans, something that we have rarely, if ever touched on. Our listeners know that I started out making my first ever property of any kind, an FHA loan with three and a half percent down on a fourplex, living in one unit, renting out the other three. Tell us about some trends there in FHA and VA loans   Caeli Ridge  33:21   we actually just did house hack campaign. We did a webinar on it, co living, all those different ways in which, you know, the younger generation, especially, and this is true for anyone. I don't want to pigeonhole it, can get themselves into home ownership and propel them into the real estate investing as an asset class. I am such a big fan of this model, in this strategy, for anybody that's interested and willing to kind of coal mingle or habitat, like you did a four Plex at three and a half percent down, you've got three tenants that are making your mortgage payment. VA, likewise, any of the Gubby loans, which include VA, FHA, USDA, you can get high, high leverage and up to four units. So I'm a huge fan of that. And then the CO living is another thing that I think is not quite mainstream, but I think it's gaining steam    Keith Weinhold  34:09   for those that don't know what we're talking about, you can use an FHA loan with a three and a half percent down payment, as long as you live in one of the units, your credit score can even be pretty low, and you can do that with a single family home, duplex, triplex or fourplex. You can get those same benefits with a VA loan and zero down   Caeli Ridge  34:29   USDA also zero down if you're in the right zip code. How does one qualify for a USDA loan? You know, there's a website I would have you check out. We don't do a ton of those. We have the ability, of course, but there's income restrictions and all of this. They've got, actually, a pretty slick website where you can go online, type in the zip code, make sure it's in a rural area, what your income is. There's all these inputs, and it'll tell you if you'd be a candidate for it. But yeah, it's good. Rates zero down. I like the product.   Keith Weinhold  34:56   Well, there have been a lot of newsy items when it comes. Comes to mortgages. Caeli and I think we should drop back before we're done here and talk about the basics. Just basically, what does it take to get a non owner occupied loan for residential income property?   Caeli Ridge  35:12   You know, there's so many options for investors today that I would say that if you have access to and even with what we just said, house hack. I mean, listen, if you've got 3% down, three and a half percent down, you can probably assure yourself you can get into a property. And if you can't qualify from a income debt to income ratio perspective, you've got three or four other models, which include DSCR, bank statement loans, asset depletion loans, overall, I would say that this is an individual conversation. Chances are you could probably qualify today, and if you can't, one of the things that I love about Ridge lending is, is that we're going to help you plant the seeds and show you how to qualify. If it takes you three months or six months or a year, that's what we do.   Keith Weinhold  35:56   Yeah, we've definitely noticed the difference here and that you do help that investor with long term planning? I do my own loans at ridge, and my assistant here at GRE she recently got the ball rolling with you in there at Ridge as well.   Caeli Ridge  36:11   Brenda, yes, yes, that was fantastic. We are very looking forward to helping her.   Keith Weinhold  36:16   Well, you know, chili, I've come here with a lot of questions that I had. What's the question No one's asking you, but you wish that they would.   Caeli Ridge  36:25   I think it probably would be for me, planning. You know, we get a lot of questions about interest rates. That's kind of top of mind for everybody. More about planning, having people that are interested in real estate as an asset class and an investment have the conversations to say, this is where I'm at today. This is where I'd like to be in five years. Tell me how to get there, and we can have those high level conversations that really sort of reverse engineer it and say, Okay, this is where you stand today from an underwriting perspective. This is where you need to be, and here's how we're going to get you there. It's always about planting seeds and creating those roadmaps, as I like to say so I would say that that would be top of my list.   Keith Weinhold  37:02   That's exactly what you do in there, and that's really what sets you apart. Well, remind our audience how they can get a hold of ridge.   Caeli Ridge  37:11   Yes, there's a couple ways. Of course, our website, Ridge lending group.com Please email us info at Ridge lending group.com and then call us toll free. 855-747-4343, 855-74-RIDGE  is an easy way to remember.   Keith Weinhold  37:25   It's really been valuable this time. Chaley, thanks so much for coming back onto the show.   Caeli Ridge  37:29    Appreciate you. Keith.   Keith Weinhold  37:36   Oh yeah, good pointed info from Chaley over at Ridge, I think that the important things for you to remember from our conversation is that, gosh, isn't it so glaring like in your face that you have options. All these options when you engage with a lender, you're going to learn that there are probably loan programs that you've never even heard of, some that you might fit into and even if you aren't adding more property, if you're not in that phase, there are ways that you can take your existing loans and consolidate them or refinance them, or use them to produce a tax free windfall for yourself and the US is often the envy of other world nations with the flexibility that we have here in our mortgage market. I've never known anyone that does this better than Chaley and her team. I mean, they are real difference makers. If you learn something on today's show, hey, Don't hoard the good stuff. Engage in the nicest kind of wealth redistribution. Tap the Share button right now and share this on social, or text this episode to one friend who'd appreciate it. That would mean the world to me. I'm your host. Keith Weinhold, don't quit your Daydream.   Speaker 2  38:57   Nothing on this show should be considered specific personal or professional advice, please consult an appropriate tax, legal, real estate, financial or business professional for individualized advice. Opinions of guests are their own. Information is not guaranteed. All investment strategies have the potential for profit or loss. The host is operating on behalf of get rich Education LLC, exclusively   Keith Weinhold  39:25   The preceding program was brought to you by your home for wealth building, getricheducation.com  

Send us a textA university president tells faculty to “keep doing what you're doing” on DEI and critical race theory—just don't get caught. That's the moment Dr. Rick Adante, a cognitive neuroscientist and NASA analog mission lead, decided to blow the whistle. What follows is a rare, unvarnished look at how policy theatre and word swaps can allegedly shield millions in federal and state funds while undermining the very laws and standards meant to protect students, researchers, and the public.We walk through Rick's path from a turbulent childhood to leading-edge work with NASA's HERA and NEEMO missions, where merit and team performance are non-negotiable. He explains how DEI shifted from stopping discrimination to empowering it, why “diversity of what?” is the only honest starting point, and how institutions can weaponize language—changing course titles and catalogs—while preserving the same outcomes in practice. With Supreme Court rulings narrowing race-based admissions and executive orders tying compliance to funding, the stakes are no longer theoretical. They are legal, operational, and ethical.You'll hear the mechanics of an alleged “comply in secret” plan, the risks of decoupling selection from merit, and the downstream impact on defense research, GI Bill dollars, and military training. Rick describes refusing hush money, losing his tenured position, and gaining momentum as donors, journalists, and policymakers take notice. His message is blunt and hopeful: enforce the law, audit for real compliance, define diversity in terms that improve performance, and reward excellence with transparency. Courage is a muscle; use it daily so it's strong when it counts.If this conversation challenged you—or clarified the stakes—share it with a colleague, leave a review, and subscribe for more candid, evidence-driven episodes. Your voice helps bring sunlight to the places that need it most.The stories and opinions shared on Stories of Service are told in each guest's own words. They reflect personal experiences, memories, and perspectives. While every effort is made to present these stories respectfully and authentically, Stories of Service does not verify the accuracy or completeness of every statement. The views expressed do not necessarily represent those of the host, pSupport the showVisit my website: https://thehello.llc/THERESACARPENTERRead my writings on my blog: https://www.theresatapestries.com/Listen to other episodes on my podcast: https://storiesofservice.buzzsprout.comWatch episodes of my podcast:https://www.youtube.com/c/TheresaCarpenter76

In this episode of the Shift AI Podcast, Alvin Graylin, Digital Fellow at Stanford's Institute for Human-Centered AI and creator of the Abundantism framework, joins host Boaz Ashkenazy for a bold and wide-ranging conversation on the future of AI and humanity. With a background that spans investing, international leadership, and advanced academic research, Alvin offers a rare, global lens on how we can — and must — steer AI toward positive societal outcomes.Together, Boaz and Alvin explore three potential AI futures — from Mad Max to Star Trek — and discuss how we can avoid a descent into dystopia by reframing our economic systems, rethinking employment, and redefining human value. The conversation touches on the AI Bill of Rights, the risks of sovereign “gladiator AIs,” and how a new GI Bill for the AI age could help millions transition into a post-labor economy.If you're curious about AI's geopolitical risks, employment disruption, or how we might architect a truly abundant society, this is an essential listen.Chapters[01:55] Alvin Graylin's Background: Stanford, XR, Global Ventures [05:13] Why the Next 5–10 Years Matter for Humanity [08:04] The Three Futures: Mad Max, Elysium, and Star Trek [13:33] “Winning the Wrong Race” — The AGI Race and Policy Pitfalls [17:02] The Real Threat: Bad Actors and Rogue AI Use [18:40] AI and the Collapse of Traditional Employment [20:39] What 15–25% Unemployment Could Mean for Society [23:02] The AI Bill of Rights and the Need for New Protections [27:10] Surveillance, Data, and Manipulation Risks [29:52] From Scarcity to Abundantism: The Shift in Mindset [32:40] Guardian AI vs Gladiator AI: What We Should Be Building [35:04] The GI Bill for the AI Age and the Need for Soft Landings [42:03] Start / Stop / Keep: Alvin's Advice to Tech Leaders [45:49] Redefining Value: The Two Words That Shape the FutureConnect with Alvin GraylinLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/agraylin/ X (formerly Twitter): https://twitter.com/agraylinConnect with Boaz AshkenazyLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/boazashkenazy Email: info@shiftai.fmThe Shift AI Podcast is syndicated by Geekwire and produced by Crumpled Ink Media. Special thanks to Augmented AI Labs and Clause for sponsoring this episode.

How Process Thinking Will Supercharge Your Military to Business Transition On this episode of the Cameron-Brooks Podcast, Senior Vice President Joel Junker sits down with Phil Ranck, founder of Lean Alaska and a retired Army CW4 logistician. Phil shares how Lean Six Sigma helped him shift from “fix the person” to “fix the process. Additionally, he shares why that mindset is critical for junior military officers (JMOs) moving into business leadership roles. More specifically, if you're preparing for interviews or your first role post-military, this conversation is packed with practical takeaways you can apply immediately. In short, developing your process thinking will supercharge your military to business transition. From Warrant Officer to Process Leader Phil joined the Army intending to serve two years—and stayed for 24. Along the way, Lean Six Sigma gave him a language and framework to communicate with commanders, diagnose issues, and drive change. His big lesson: most failures aren't individual—they're process problems. That perspective reshaped his leadership and later inspired Lean Alaska, where he now trains and consults across industry. Additionally, in his role, he translates “military speak” to the terms hiring managers understand. Why Lean & Six Sigma Belong in Your Toolkit Whether you're headed to operations, manufacturing, sales, or project management, Phil argues that a baseline in Lean and Six Sigma helps you see—and explain—value. He breaks it down with DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control). More specifically, he talks about resisting the urge to jump straight to solutions; measuring the baseline; finding root causes; then improving and controlling so changes stick. You've likely been doing parts of this already. Certifications and vocabulary simply give you the framework to tell your story in interviews and in your first 90 days. Reading, Certifications, Funding, and Flexible Learning At a minimum if you are a JMO considering a transition, you will want to familiarize yourself with business concepts like Lean, Six Sigma, Project Management and Change Management. You watch YouTube Vidoes, take classes on Coursera, and read books such as What is Lean Six Sigma, Fundamentals of Project Management, Leading Change and The Goal. If you have time and the financial resources, you can earn certifications. There are numerous organizations and universities that offer official learning at a reasonable cost, or investment. A certification does not ensure transition success, though it does indicate mastery of a subject. A few Cameron-Brooks Alumni have earned certifications through Lean Alaska. Phil emphasizes no out-of-pocket when possible—leveraging Army Credentialing Assistance, Post-9/11 GI Bill, and other pathways. The program also helps you build a portfolio you can bring to interviews to prove real impact. He also partners with bodies like ASQ, PMI, and ACMP, and delivers virtual, recorded, repeatable training focused on doing, not just testing. ConclusionIf you want a practical roadmap to translate your military experience into business results—and speak the language of industry—don't miss this episode. Hear Phil's stories, learn the tools, and discover funding paths that make upskilling attainable. Listen now and turn your transition into a process you can lead. The Cameron-Brooks Mission At Cameron-Brooks, we guide officers through the transition and accompany them along the journey to de-risk the transition and help them reach their goals. We help JMOs transition into leadership developmental roles where they can apply their talents and lead teams and organizations that flourish. If you want to talk more about your options, don't hesitate to reach out. Your transition partner, Joel Junker | jjunker@cameron-brooks.com Want to learn more? Request your free 1-on-1 coaching session: Personal Marketability Assessment | Cameron-Brooks.

In this episode of the Say Hola Wealth Podcast, Luzy sits down with Dr. Christina, a first-generation Latina scientist, veteran, and creator of Running on Science, to discuss how she broke into STEM against all odds.From growing up in La Puente, CA, navigating grief and financial struggles, to joining the military, returning to school with the GI Bill, and cold-emailing her way into a research lab, Dr. Christina shares what it really looks like to pursue a STEM career as a Latina. She also opens up about her work studying traumatic brain injuries, her love for running and travel, and why her definition of wealth is deeply tied to freedom and time.If you're a first-gen Latina thinking about STEM, career pivots, or redefining what's possible for you, this conversation will give you both inspiration and permission to dream bigger.If this episode reminded you that you deserve more options with your money and your career, make sure you're on the Cash Libre newsletter.Join the Cash Libre newsletter to get weekly, culture-centered money tips, and wealth-building tools.www.sayholawealth.com/hola Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The GI Bill fueled America's prosperity — but for Black families, it deepened inequality. I'll explain the racist design of the GI bill and what its connection is to the racial wealth gap.Following the money, we can see how a single policy helped shape the economic divide we still live with today.Click here to support Marie's work and catch up on all the new members-only episodes, which are released weekly. 

As the Shenandoah Valley turns golden with autumn, The Valley Today host Janet Michael, joins Laurel Ridge Community College's Director of PR and Special Events, Brandy Hawkins Boies, and Jeff Sinclair, an Army veteran whose educational journey has inspired many. Their conversation—timed perfectly for Veterans Week—offers a heartfelt look at how one man's post-military path leads from uncertainty to academic success and a future in pharmacy. From Service to Self-Discovery After leaving the Army, Jeff Sinclair admits he needed time to decompress. "The military was all I ever thought about," he shares. With no clear direction, he decides to enroll at Laurel Ridge Community College, initially majoring in cybersecurity because it seemed practical. But reality hit when he realizes his younger classmates had grown up immersed in technology while he struggled to catch up. "I was in deep water," he says. "Math made more sense—it was logical." That realization led him to switch majors, earning an Associate of Science with a specialization in engineering. He wanted a foundation that could "translate into a career" and make the best use of his military benefits. Finding Mentorship and Meaning Jeff credits Dr. Sam Dillender, his chemistry professor at Laurel Ridge, for sparking his passion for science. "He broke down complex material in a way that made it stick," Jeff recalls. "He did a reverse classroom—so we came in with questions ready. It changed everything." That mentorship shaped Jeff's path. After completing his associate degree, he transferred to Shenandoah University, earning a bachelor's degree in chemistry with a minor in biology, and he is now pursuing a Doctor of Pharmacy at Shenandoah's Bernard J. Dunn School of Pharmacy. The Power of Support: Veterans Services at Laurel Ridge Transitioning from the military to civilian life can be daunting. For Jeff, that transition was eased by Sharon Painter, the college's veterans coordinator. "She was phenomenal—one-stop shopping," he says. "She handled everything from class schedules to GI Bill benefits. I thought every school would be like that!" Brandy notes that the Veteran Services Center, led by Painter and Jeanmarie Corrado, plays a vital role for students like Jeff. "They're there to support veterans and their families," she explains. "College can be intimidating, and the paperwork for benefits can be overwhelming. Having experts who can guide you through it is essential." Learning Flexibility in a Changing World Jeff's college career straddled the pandemic, forcing him into online learning—a challenge that turned into an advantage. "COVID prepared me for distance education," he says. "Later, when I was at the University of North Dakota, I was able to attend virtually, review recorded lectures, and manage my studies independently. Laurel Ridge gave me that foundation." Brandy adds that such flexibility is now a hallmark of the community college. "Students can start at Laurel Ridge and transfer anywhere," she says. "Our agreements with universities across Virginia make education accessible without leaving the Valley." "Future Jeff's Problem": Taking Life One Step at a Time When asked where he hopes to be in a few years, Jeff smiles. "That's future Jeff's problem," he laughs. Still, he envisions working as a pharmacist—perhaps near his children in Boise, Idaho. His easy humor and humility reflect a grounded perspective: "One step at a time," he says. "Each degree led to the next." His story underscores the value of community colleges as launchpads for veterans. "Starting at Laurel Ridge was less intimidating," he explains. "Professors were personable, approachable, and patient. It took the stress out of learning." Advice for Fellow Veterans For veterans considering higher education, Jeff's message is simple: "Do it." He acknowledges that going back to school in his late 30s was intimidating at first. "But you take it one bite at a time—like eating an elephant," he says. "Start small. An associate degree gives you something to show for your work and the motivation to keep going." Brandy agrees. "You don't have to have it all figured out," she says. "Just take that first step. We'll help you chart your path." Honoring Veterans at Laurel Ridge During Veterans Appreciation Week, Laurel Ridge celebrates service members through thank-you card stations, memorabilia displays, a luncheon, and even a military-themed trivia game. These events help connect veterans to the campus community, easing that "first day of school" anxiety. "Events like these make walking in the door easier," Jeff reflects. "You meet people who've been through it and can share what they learned." From Cybersecurity to Chemistry: The Full Circle Jeff's winding academic journey—from cybersecurity to engineering to chemistry and finally pharmacy—demonstrates that success rarely follows a straight line. As Brandy sums up: "You're the perfect example of taking it one step at a time. You didn't know where you'd end up—but you kept moving forward." Jeff's humility shines through at the end of the interview. "I just hope I don't let anybody down," he said with a grin. Janet closes with a hopeful smile: "I can't wait to walk into a pharmacy one day and say, 'Hey—I know you!'" Sidebar: Resources for Veterans Laurel Ridge Community College Veteran Services

Senate Democrats are ratcheting up pressure on the White House over artificial intelligence data centers and the surging utility costs that have accompanied their nationwide buildout. In a letter sent Monday to Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Michael Kratsios and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, five senators blasted the Trump administration for the “sweetheart deals” it has made with Big Tech companies on data centers, and its “reckless abandonment” of consumers as their electricity bills soar. The letter, which was led by Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., states: “​​Since his second inauguration, President Trump has cozied up to Meta, Google, Oracle, OpenAI, and other Big Tech companies, fast-tracking and pushing for the buildout of power-hungry data centers across the country.” According to the letter — which was also signed by Democratic Sens. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, Ron Wyden of Oregon, Ed Markey of Massachusetts and independent Bernie Sanders of Vermont — national power consumption from data centers could jump from 5% to 12% within three years, and even the White House noted in its AI Action Plan that “technological advancements of AI are increasing pressures on the grid.” At the same time, the second Trump administration has seemingly traded in the all-of-the-above approach to energy sources pursued during the president's first term for a decidedly anti-renewables bent that the senators said has “supercharged this cost-of-living crisis by making it harder to increase and diversify sources of household electricity sources.” The Department of Veterans Affairs' push to modernize decades-old systems faced a technical issue earlier this year, delaying education benefits payments for tens of thousands of students at the start of the school year. A group of veterans' service organizations, including the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), highlighted the issue this week, telling reporters that the technical glitch occurred in August, when the VA began converting benefits claims from its legacy system to a new processing system for Chapter 35 Survivors' and Dependents' Educational Assistance. The VA launched its initiative to modernize the GI Bill process in 2022, and the Digital GI Bill platform was set to be fully operational by April 2024 but faced its own delays last year. A part of the multi-billion-dollar initiative involves overhauling multiple legacy systems, including those related to the education benefits process. Ashlynne Haycock-Lohmann, the director of government and legislative affairs at TAPS, told FedScoop in an interview that the veterans' service community welcomes the changes to decades-old systems, but the timing around the school year could present risks. 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.

This Day in Legal History: Armistice DayOn November 11, 1918, World War I came to an end with the signing of the Armistice between the Allies and Germany. While not a legal instrument in the treaty sense, the armistice was a binding agreement that had massive legal and geopolitical ramifications. Its terms, including a cessation of hostilities, withdrawal of German forces, and surrender of military equipment, were enforced by military and diplomatic means, laying the groundwork for the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. The legal aftermath of the war led to the creation of new nation-states, redrawn borders, and the first formal attempt at international governance through the League of Nations.November 11 would later be recognized in the United States as Veterans Day, originally commemorated as Armistice Day, reflecting the legal shift from honoring only WWI veterans to recognizing all who served in the U.S. Armed Forces. The legal transition occurred in 1954 when President Eisenhower signed legislation formally renaming the holiday. The legal framework surrounding veterans' benefits also expanded post-WWI, with landmark legislation like the GI Bill of Rights in 1944 and its subsequent reauthorizations, shaping how the U.S. compensates military service.Internationally, the armistice also contributed to legal debates over war guilt and reparations, particularly with Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles—the so-called “War Guilt Clause”—which placed sole responsibility for the war on Germany and its allies. That clause became a flashpoint in both legal and political discussions and was later cited by Germany as a grievance contributing to the rise of Nazism and WWII.The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from Kim Davis, a former Kentucky county clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples following the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges ruling. Davis had argued that her First Amendment right to free exercise of religion shielded her from liability, but lower courts rejected that defense, awarding damages and attorneys' fees exceeding $360,000 to plaintiffs David Ermold and David Moore. The Sixth Circuit found that Davis's actions constituted state action, not protected private conduct, and that she could not invoke her own constitutional rights to infringe on the rights of others while acting in an official capacity.Davis had also asked the Supreme Court to reconsider Obergefell, arguing it rested on the same substantive due process doctrine as Roe v. Wade, which the Court overturned in 2022. However, the justices declined to take up that issue, just as they had in 2020. The Court's refusal to revisit Obergefell signals a reluctance, at least for now, to reexamine established rights to same-sex marriage, even as the bench remains deeply conservative.US Supreme Court rejects bid to overturn same-sex marriage right | ReutersSenior U.S. District Judge Mark Wolf, appointed by President Reagan in 1985, announced his resignation in order to publicly oppose what he describes as President Donald Trump's abuse of legal authority. In an article for The Atlantic, Wolf accused Trump of weaponizing the law against political enemies while shielding allies, a pattern he claims contradicts the principles he upheld over five decades in the Justice Department and on the bench. Wolf cited Trump's direction to Attorney General Pam Bondi to indict political opponents, including New York AG Letitia James and former FBI Director James Comey, as especially troubling.Wolf expressed frustration over the ethical constraints on judges that prevent them from speaking out publicly, saying he could no longer remain silent as Trump undermined the rule of law and dismantled oversight mechanisms such as inspectors general and the FBI's public-corruption unit. His resignation comes amid heightened tensions between the Trump administration and the judiciary, underscored by combative rhetoric at a recent Federalist Society event. Wolf, who had previously criticized the handling of ethics complaints against Justice Clarence Thomas, said he now plans to support litigation and advocacy efforts to protect democratic norms and defend judges unable to speak for themselves.Reagan Judge Says He Quit Bench to Speak Out Against TrumpThe Trump administration has significantly shortened the time between publicly announcing judicial nominees and holding their Senate confirmation hearings, in some cases to as little as two days—far less than the typical 28-day window used by past administrations. While the Senate Judiciary Committee still adheres to its rule requiring 28 days between receiving nominee questionnaires and hearings, the White House now delays public disclosure until much later in the process, often after nominees have cleared internal background checks. Critics argue this reduces transparency and limits public scrutiny of lifetime judicial appointments, while supporters claim the process is efficient and appropriate given the nominees' qualifications.Some nominees, like Louisiana district court picks William Crain and Alexander Van Hook, received swift hearings with little controversy, though others, like appellate nominee Emil Bove, drew public concern during the brief window between announcement and hearing. Observers also criticized the administration's choice to reveal nominees via Trump's Truth Social account, often late at night, bypassing traditional press channels. Legal experts suggest this shift reflects a strategic move to minimize opposition and accelerate confirmations, but it has alarmed advocacy groups who say it undermines public trust and democratic norms.Trump Changes How Judicial Nominees Get Publicly Revealed This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.minimumcomp.com/subscribe

Avoiding feedback to "protect" trust? Bad news. You're breaking it. In this episode, Jeff Hancher hands you the playbook for turning hard talks into trust-building wins. His expectations + feedback + accountability framework takes the mystery out of feedback and replaces it with results. You'll learn why being effective beats being right and how a few smart habits can flip your culture from stressed to strong. If you want to keep your people and grow them at the same time, start here. 00:00 Cold open: Running from poverty, the military, and tin-can car floors   06:00 Being right vs. being effective. Only one wins in feedback   07:00 The nickel story: Poverty to GI Bill to first sales job   14:00 Feedback is gold… and fragile   19:00 The framework: Expectations, Feedback, Accountability   20:45 The mint role-play: Earning the right to give tough feedback   25:00 Picking the right tool: Supportive, Collaborative, or Directive   27:00 F.E.A.R. in leaders: Fallout, Emotion, Amateur moves   Website: www.jeffhancher.com Book: Firm Feedback in a Fragile World Book Release June 17, 2025 www.firmfeedbackbook.com LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-hancher Facebook: www.facebook.com/thechampionforum  Instagram: www.instagram.com/jeff.hancher YouTube: www.youtube.com/@jeffhancher

In this episode, Bret sits down with Kevin Clemons, CEO of Au Technology Solutions and Chamber board member, to explore his journey from Vista native to Navy veteran to tech entrepreneur. Kevin opens up about building his first computers, leveraging the GI Bill to launch his career, and how he turned setbacks into opportunities.Listeners will learn how Microsoft's ecosystem—including Teams and Copilot—helps businesses save money, improve communication, and stay secure. Kevin also shares why his company stays local, hands-on, and security-focused, offering peace of mind for clients.This conversation is packed with leadership lessons, entrepreneurial grit, and practical insights for business owners navigating the digital landscape. Did this episode have a special impact on you? Share how it impacted youCarlsbad Podcast Social Links:LinkedInInstagramFacebookXYouTubeSponsor: This show is sponsored and produced by DifMix Productions. To learn more about starting your own podcast, visit www.DifMix.com/podcasting

Affirmative action and DEI have become lightning rods in today's culture wars, but how much do we really know about where they came from and why they exist? In this episode, Sergio breaks down the long history of systemic racism in America, from slavery and Jim Crow to redlining and modern hiring bias. You'll learn what affirmative action actually is, what DEI really means, and how both have shaped access, opportunity, and fairness for everyone not just a few. This isn't about guilt. It's about awareness. Because when you understand the history, you start to see the patterns. And once you see them, you can't unsee them.1.Intro2. America's Original Construction Project3. The Evolution of Inequality4. Who's Really Getting the Handout?5. Before Affirmative Action, There Was Just...Discrimination6. DEI for Dummies: The Part They Never Told YouSources & References:• Bertrand, M., & Mullainathan, S. (2004). Are Emily and Greg more employable than Lakisha and Jamal? A field experiment on labor market discrimination. National Bureau of Economic Research. https://doi.org/10.3386/w9873• Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (n.d.). EEOC history: 1964–1969. U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. https://www.eeoc.gov/history/eeoc-history-1964-1969• National Park Service. (n.d.). Equal Pay Act of 1963. U.S. Department of the Interior. https://www.nps.gov/articles/equal-pay-act.htm• Pittsburgh Press Co. v. Pittsburgh Commission on Human Relations, 413 U.S. 376 (1973). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pittsburgh_Press_Co._v._Pittsburgh_Commission_on_Human_Relations• University of Washington. (n.d.). Racial restrictive covenants: Enforcing neighborhood segregation in Seattle. Civil Rights & Labor History Consortium. https://depts.washington.edu/civilr/covenants_report.htm• Jones-Correa, M. (2000). Origins and diffusion of racial restrictive covenants. Political Science Quarterly, 115(4), 541–568. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2657609• Urban Institute. (2023). Addressing the legacies of historical redlining. https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/2023-01/Addressing%20the%20Legacies%20of%20Historical%20Redlining.pdf• Nardone, A., Casey, J. A., Morello-Frosch, R., Mujahid, M., Balmes, J., & Thakur, N. (2020). Associations between historical residential redlining and current age-adjusted rates of emergency department visits due to asthma across eight cities in California. The Lancet Planetary Health, 4(1), e24–e31. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9901820/• Pager, D., Western, B., & Bonikowski, B. (2009). Discrimination in a low-wage labor market: A field experiment. American Sociological Review, 74(5), 777–799. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2915472/• Corrigan v. Buckley, 271 U.S. 323 (1926). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corrigan_v._Buckley• ADA National Network. “Timeline of the Americans with Disabilities Act.” adata.org. Accessed October 2, 2025. https://adata.org/ada-timeline• Administration for Community Living. “Origins of the ADA.” acl.gov. Accessed October 2, 2025. https://acl.gov/ada/origins-of-the-ada• U.S. Department of Justice. “Introduction to the Americans with Disabilities Act.” ada.gov. Accessed October 2, 2025. https://www.ada.gov/topics/intro-to-ada/• Section508.gov. “IT Accessibility Laws and Policies.” section508.gov. Accessed October 2, 2025. https://www.section508.gov/manage/laws-and-policies/• BrownGold. “DEI & A: The Effect of Donald Trump's DEI Executive Order on Accessibility.” browngold.com. Accessed October 2, 2025. https://browngold.com/blog/dei-a-the-effect-of-donald-trumps-dei-executive-order-on-accessibility/• Wikipedia. “Architectural Barriers Act of 1968.” Wikipedia.org. Accessed October 2, 2025. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Architectural_Barriers_Act_of_1968• Michigan State University Libraries. “Advancing Accessibility: A Timeline.” lib.msu.edu. Accessed October 2, 2025. https://lib.msu.edu/exhibits/advancing-accessibility/timeline• Duane Morris LLP. “ADA Considerations for Neurodiversity Hiring Programs.” duanemorris.com. August 3, 2023. https://www.duanemorris.com/articles/ada_considerations_for_neurodiversity_hiring_programs_0803.html• Autism Spectrum News. “Neurodiversity Hiring Programs: A Path to Employment.” autismspectrumnews.org. Accessed October 2, 2025. https://autismspectrumnews.org/neurodiversity-hiring-programs-a-path-to-employment/Institute for Diversity Certification. “What Does It Mean to Provide Reasonable Workplace Accommodations for Your Neurodiverse Employees?” diversitycertification.org. Accessed October 2, 2025. https://www.diversitycertification.org/deia-matters-blog/what-does-it-mean-to-provide-reasonable-workplace-accommodations-for-your-neurodiverse-employeesKatznelson, I. (2005). When affirmative action was white: An untold history of racial inequality in twentieth-century America. W. W. Norton & Company. (See summary: History & Policy).• Onkst, D. H. (1998). “'First a negro… incidentally a veteran': Black World War II veterans and the G.I. Bill of Rights in the Deep South, 1944–1948.” Journal of Social History, 32(3), 517–543.• Blakemore, E. (2019; updated 2025). “How the GI Bill's promise was denied to a million Black WWII veterans.” History.com. https://www.history.com/articles/gi-bill-black-wwii-veterans-benefits.• Heller School, Brandeis University. (2023). “Not all WWII veterans benefited equally from the GI Bill” (impact report). https://heller.brandeis.edu/news/items/releases/2023/impact-report-gi-bill.html.• Perea, J. F. (2014). [Law review article on GI Bill and race]. University of Pittsburgh Law Review (available as PDF).• NBER working paper(s). (2024–2025). “Quantifying Racial Discrimination in the 1944 GI Bill” (authors and links in NBER repository). 

Spencer Reese welcomes Lieutenant Commander Webster Felix, a Navy prosthodontist, for an in-depth discussion about maximizing military medicine benefits. Webb's journey from enlisted E6 dental student to O5 prosthodontist showcases the incredible opportunities available in military healthcare. This episode unpacks lesser-known scholarship programs, specialty training funding, loan forgiveness strategies, and GI Bill transfers that enabled Webb and his wife to complete advanced degrees debt-free while building generational wealth for their family. Lieutenant Commander Webster Felix, USN Specialty: Prosthodontist (restorative dentistry expert, full mouth rehabilitations) Current Station: Naval Medical Readiness and Training Command (NMRTC) Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Career Timeline: 14 years active duty, recently selected for O5 Education: Bachelor's in Biology, Temple University (2011) DDS, Columbia University College of Dental Medicine (2015) Master's in Dental Education (completed during dental school using GI Bill) Prosthodontics Residency, USC (2021-2024, funded by DUIN) Instagram: @prosthopapi - Features clinical cases and prosthodontic work Personal Background: Son of Haitian immigrants who arrived in the US in 1987; first-generation college graduate demonstrating how military medicine can transform generational wealth trajectories HSCP vs HPSP - The Scholarship Most People Don't Know About: HPSP covers full tuition but you're not active duty during school HSCP means active duty status (E6/E7 pay + BAH + TRICARE) but you take loans for tuition Webb entered dental school as E6, commissioned directly to O3E in 2015 Critical advice: Apply for BOTH programs simultaneously The $500K Student Loan Forgiveness Strategy: Graduated Columbia dental school with ~$400-500K in loans Enrolled in Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) immediately First payments: $170/month (based on E6 salary) Current payments: ~$800/month (O4E salary) Hitting 10-year mark in October 2025—expecting full forgiveness Must consolidate to federal direct loans or you won't qualify Duty Under Instruction (DUIN) - Free Specialty Training: Navy funded Webb's 3-year USC prosthodontics residency Continued receiving full salary, BAH, and bonuses—zero out-of-pocket costs FTOS (Full-Time Out-Service) allows civilian residency attendance Competitive annual program—check BUMED notices for available slots Strategic GI Bill Transfers: Webb transferred 15 months of GI Bill to his wife She completed UCLA nurse practitioner program debt-free Still has 15 months remaining for kids' education Transfer requires 4-year commitment—sign paperwork strategically Career Highlights: Temple University → Columbia DDS → O3 commission (2015) San Diego (AEGD) → Port Hueneme/Okinawa (Seabees, 2 deployments) → Key West → LA (USC residency) → Pearl Harbor Wife completed NP degree concurrent with his residency while caring for one-year-old Key Takeaways Military Medicine Benefits Add Up Fast: TRICARE coverage during school and career Active duty time counting toward retirement during education PSLF potential for massive loan forgiveness Specialty training fully funded (DUIN) GI Bill transfers for spouse education No pressure to over-treat patients for profit Civilian vs Military Prosthodontist Pay: Civilian side approximately 2X on paper But when factoring TRICARE, BAH, pension, education benefits—much closer Some civilian practices sacrifice autonomy for high volume/pay Military provides genuine patient care without profit motive Critical Actions: Apply for both HSCP and HPSP if pursuing military medicine Consolidate all student loans to federal direct loans immediately Enroll in PSLF and never miss payments Join Facebook group: "Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program Support" (216K members) Sign GI Bill transfers concurrent with existing obligations Resources Mentioned Kate Horrell's episodes - GI Bill expert (new book: "College Planning for Military Families") Dr. Pritish Sahoo episode - Army medicine path MMM Podcast #181 PSLF Facebook Group - "Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program Support" Naval Postgraduate Dental School (Bethesda) BUMED annual DUIN notices Who This Is For Pre-med/dental students considering military service, active duty members interested in medical careers, medical officers with student debt, anyone pursuing PSLF, families planning GI Bill transfers, or those comparing military vs civilian healthcare compensation.

Losing the uniform can mean losing identity, reputation, and even the sense of mission that kept you moving forward. For many, the transition feels like starting from zero. That is exactly what Stephen Bump faced after 12 years in the Air Force. His journey carried him from aerospace engineering to Eli Lilly, through business school, and finally into building his own consulting firm. Along the way, he learned to trust others, embrace humility, protect family time, and make career moves that aligned with his own values, not just someone else's definition of success. This conversation is about facing the uncomfortable reality that no one in your civilian job cares about your rank or medals, and how that is not the end but the beginning. From finding purpose in unexpected industries, to reclaiming fitness and family balance, to using the GI Bill and veteran resources to carve a better future, Stephen lays out a roadmap any veteran can use to transition with clarity and confidence. Timestamps: 00:07:45 - The hardest part of starting over in civilian careers 00:15:45 - Losing fitness and regaining it through entrepreneurship 00:22:15 - The freedom and responsibility of choosing your own clients 00:28:30 - Breaking free from other people's definitions of success 00:39:00 - The veteran resources that made the biggest difference Links & Resources Veteran Suicide & Crisis Line: Dial 988, then press 1 Website: https://www.persperity.net Follow Stephen Bump on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenbump/ Resources mentioned in the episode: Cameron Brooks Headhunter: https://www.cameron-brooks.com/ Syracuse University Institute for Veterans and Military Families: https://ivmf.syracuse.edu/ GI Bill: https://www.va.gov/education/about-gi-bill-benefits/ Transcript View the transcript for this episode.

Prof. David Nasaw comes on to discuss his book, The Wounded Generation: Coming Home After WWII. The GI Bill was the least Washington could do for the returning GIs, not that they were all treated equally. Mr. Nasaw brings stories and lessons that should not be forgotten. Book release-10/14/25. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Department of Veterans Affairs is the second largest government agency. The Secretary of the VA has an operational responsibility to support our Veterans and a moral obligation to ensure that those who defend and protect American interests are returned from service as contributing members of society. To explore what it takes to transform one of America's biggest bureaucracies, Fran Racioppi sat down with the Secretary of the VA, Doug Collins. As a former US and Georgia Congressman, and a Chaplain having served in both the Air Force and Navy, Secretary Collins knows what a Veteran needs and how to navigate Washington to get it done. The Secretary and Fran broke down the pillars of VA support: including the VA Health Care System, the Disability and Pension process, education support programs like the GI Bill and Vocational Rehab, the importance of Veteran-Owned Businesses, and the no down payment VA mortgages. Most importantly the Secretary shared his vision to stop Veteran suicide and why despite spending billions to reduce it over the years, we must forge a path that actually works. Fran has personally leveraged almost every single pillar of support the VA has to offer. And although it hasn't always been perfect, Secretary Collins explains why the VA leads industry in many domains and how under his leadership the VA will be held to a defined standard of excellence. This episode is about bridging the gap between military service and civilian life, the responsibility the VA has in supporting our nation's most important asset, and why Veterans are critical to American strength. Highlights0:00 Introduction1:48 Welcome to the Jedburgh Podcast7:06 Leading the VA11:09 VA Healthcare15:12 Reducing wait times18:20 Partnering with institutions20:20 Addressing Veteran suicide29:45 Disability Benefit Claims Process39:17 Education Benefits43:10 VA Home Loans43:57 VA Reduction in size49:41 Is Veteran Capitalized?Quotes“Everybody's going to have a problem. I'm committed to fixing those problems.” “We're the largest physical department in the government.”“Defense and VA are fraternal twins.”“60% of every time the phone rings at a Congressman's office it's about a VA issue.”“The VA's not gonna be a whipping post for anybody anymore.”“There's some things that the VA does better than private healthcare.”“No other hospital system in the world judges wait time. They judge on quality and how they get it.”“We're the largest trainer of doctors in the country.”“The shorter the service time, the higher the risk for suicide.”“Are we getting them out of the DoD system in a way that we can help them?” “I don't want a day to go by that a Veteran that needs help doesn't feel like they have it.”“If you've just transitioned out, DON'T QUIT.”“The standard is we're going to be excellent.”“I learn every day here and if you quit learning, you're really in trouble.”“If you've been to one VA, you've been to them all. That's the biggest lie that's ever been out there.”“Is the word Veteran capitalized?”The Jedburgh Podcast is brought to you by University of Health & Performance, providing our Veterans world-class education and training as fitness and nutrition entrepreneurs.Follow the Jedburgh Podcast and the Green Beret Foundation on social media. Listen on your favorite podcast platform, read on our website, and watch the full video version on YouTube as we show why America must continue to lead from the front, no matter the challenge.The Jedburgh Podcast and the Jedburgh Media Channel are an official program of The Green Beret Foundation.The opinions presented on The Jedburgh Podcast and the Jedburgh Media Channel are the opinions of my guests and myself. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Green Beret Foundation and the Green Beret Foundation assumes no liability for their accuracy, nor does the Green Beret Foundation endorse any political candidate or any political party.

In this episode of the VinnyRoc Podcast, Vinny sits down with friend and author Zeke Stout to unpack a heavy week in America, the way media narratives get weaponized, and what it takes to keep your head and heart steady when the internet won't let you look away. Zeke also unveils his new fiction novel “Exit to Now”, why he self-published, and how he used AI in the writing process.   They dig into: The aftermath and discourse around the Charlie Kirk assassination and why celebrating violence is a societal dead end How both political sides exploit social media, attention, and emotion—and what “psyops” looks like in civilian life Raising kids with room to choose their own beliefs, while modeling civil disagreement Simple ways to protect your mental health when the feed turns toxic The creative grind, self-publishing on Amazon, and making art under pressure MGS Trade School's distance-learning approach to gunsmithing and GI Bill support   If you value real talk over outrage and want practical ways to decompress, think clearly, and contribute better, this one's for you. Guest: Zeke Stout — author of Exit to Now Sponsor: MGS Trade School (MGS.edu) — distance gunsmithing education, GI Bill approved   Subscribe for more conversations on culture, mindset, resilience, faith, and free speech. Drop a comment with your takeaways or questions for a follow-up episode.  

Welcome back to America's #1 Daily Podcast,  featuring America's #1 Real Estate Coaches and Top EXP Realty Sponsors in the World, Tim and Julie Harris. Ready to become an EXP Realty Agent and join Tim and Julie Harris?  Visit: https://whylibertas.com/harris or text Tim directly at 512-758-0206. ******************* 2025's Real Estate Rollercoaster: Dodge the Career-Killers with THIS Mastermind!

Episode 276: In this interview episode, Nik speaks with Army aviator Vinh Do about his path from military flying to pursuing a civilian aviation career. Vinh shares how he used his GI Bill, earned a fully funded ATP-CTP scholarship, and built flight hours while serving on active duty and in the Army National Guard. He also talks about moving to Alaska, how he found flying jobs by showing up in person, and what it's like to fly in one of the most challenging and rewarding places in the U.S. Vinh's story is a practical example of how hard work, networking, and persistence can open doors in aviation—no matter where you start. What You'll Learn: How Vinh transitioned from Army aviation to civilian flight training How Vinh earned an ATP-CTP scholarship from RTAG Why in-person networking is essential—especially in Alaska's tight-knit aviation community How to stay motivated during slow hiring cycles Why “casting a wide net” and taking chances pays off in this industry CONNECT WITH US Are you ready to take your preparation to the next level? Don't wait until it's too late. Use the promo code “R4P2025” and save 10% on all our services. Check us out at www.spitfireelite.com! If you want to recommend someone to guest on the show, email Nik at podcast@spitfireelite.com, and if you need a professional pilot resume, go to www.spitfireelite.com/podcast/ for FREE templates! SPONSOR Are you a pilot just coming out of the military and looking for the perfect second home for your family? Look no further! Reach out to Marty and his team by visiting www.tridenthomeloans.com to get the best VA loans available anywhere in the US. Be ready for takeoff anytime with 3D-stretch, stain-repellent, and wrinkle-free aviation uniforms by Flight Uniforms. Just go to www.flightuniform.com and type the code SPITFIREPOD20 to get a special 20% discount on your first order. #Aviation #AviationCareers #aviationcrew #AviationJobs #AviationLeadership #AviationEducation #AviationOpportunities #AviationPodcast #AirlinePilot #AirlineJobs #AirlineInterviewPrep #flying #flyingtips #PilotDevelopment #PilotFinance #pilotcareer #pilottips #pilotcareertips #PilotExperience #pilotcaptain #PilotTraining #PilotSuccess #pilotpodcast #PilotPreparation #Pilotrecruitment #flightschool #aviationschool #pilotcareer #pilotlife #pilot

This week, I welcome back Rob Henderson, the social psychologist, author, and commentator who coined the concept of luxury beliefs: ideas that confer status on the upper class while inflicting real costs on lower-income communities. Rob was last here in early 2024 discussing his memoir, Troubled: A Memoir of Foster Care, Family, and Social Class, which chronicles his journey through California's foster system to the Air Force, and onward to Yale and Cambridge. In this conversation, we explore what he's been thinking about since the book's release—particularly the so-called “mating crisis,” why many young people delay or avoid partnerships and family, and what that means for the future. We also dissect the emergence of Zohran Mamdani, the New York City mayoral hopeful who, according to Rob (and I would concur), embodies luxury beliefs in action. Finally, Rob answers questions from Substack readers. Rob will be a speaker at our Unspeakeasy Small Gathering for Big Ideas weekend, October 11-12 in New York City. Programming and ticketing info here. GUEST BIO Rob Henderson is the author of Troubled: A Memoir of Foster Care, Family, and Social Class. He grew up in foster homes in Los Angeles and in the rural town of Red Bluff, California. After enlisting in the U.S. Air Force at the age of seventeen, he subsequently attended Yale on the GI Bill and was then awarded the Gates Cambridge Scholarship to study at the University of Cambridge, where he obtained a PhD in psychology in 2022. He is currently a Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, and his Substack newsletter is sent each week to more than 70 thousand subscribers. HOUSEKEEPING

Newer than a noodle, all fresh and no limp. Crack the cans and start a long drive, or tune out of that tedious spreadsheet and fill yourself with new sounds. Tracks from THE DAMAGE, GI BILL, BARRICADE, TETHERED, IMPRIZON, GRIPPER, ROCKET, URBAN STRIKE, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dave Rubin of “The Rubin Report” talks to Rep. Jim Himes about the evolving identity of the Democratic Party; the importance of government programs like Social Security and the GI Bill in addressing economic inequality; the role of government in uplifting marginalized communities; how identity politics can both help and hinder the party's image; the controversial debate around transgender athletes in women's sports; the balance between cultural issues and economic priorities; if he thinks Zohran Mamdani should be supported by centrist Democrats; what Republicans get wrong about the Big Beautiful Bill and how it will impact people on Medicaid; the effectiveness of government intervention in solving real-world problems; and much more.