Podcasts about gi bill

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 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

Jamie Moraga, CEO of Franklin Revere, hosts a special edition of the "Spotlight on the Community" podcast at the Mount Soledad National Veterans Memorial. Nathaniel Donnelly, a Marine Corps veteran and trustee of the Mount Soledad Memorial Association, shares his journey from joining the Marines to founding the student veteran organization at San Diego State in 2006. Donnelly discusses the creation of the Post-9/11 GI Bill and his role as a trustee since 2016. He emphasizes the importance of community support through donations and memberships to maintain and expand the memorial, which honors over 6,000 veterans, many of whom are still living.About Spotlight and Cloudcast Media  "Spotlight On The Community" is the longest running community podcast in the country, continuously hosted by Drew Schlosberg for 20 years.  "Spotlight" is part of Cloudcast Media's line-up of powerful local podcasts, telling the stories, highlighting the people, and celebrating the gravitational power of local.   For more information on Cloudcast and its shows and cities served, please visit www.cloudcastmedia.us. Cloudcast Media | the national leader in local podcasting.   About Mission Fed Credit Union  A community champion for over 60 years, Mission Fed Credit Union with over $6 billion in member assets, is the Sponsor of Spotlight On The Community, helping to curate connectivity, collaboration, and catalytic conversations.  For more information on the many services for San Diego residents, be sure to visit them at https://www.missionfed.com/

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.

A recent decision by President Trump may re-qualify a number of soldiers who were discharged for anti-vaxxer actions.

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.

The Cape York Partnership wants to balance personal responsibility with an actual fair go - and it wants governments to legislate a radical new national plan to lift a million Australians out of poverty. Read more about this story, plus see photos, videos and additional reporting, on the website or on The Australian’s app. This episode of The Front is presented and produced by Claire Harvey and edited by Lia Tsamoglou. Our team includes Kristen Amiet, Lia Tsamoglou, Tiffany Dimmack, Joshua Burton, Stephanie Coombes and Jasper Leak, who also composed our music. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.

On this episode of The Scoop from the VET S.O.S. Network, host Kingsley “Kings” Scott sits down with two veterans who turned their service experience into stories of impact and creativity.

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.

BIO:The Reverend Dr. Starlette Thomas is a poet, practical theologian, and itinerant prophet for a coming undivided “kin-dom.” She is the director of The Raceless Gospel Initiative, named for her work and witness and an associate editor at Good Faith Media. Starlette regularly writes on the sociopolitical construct of race and its longstanding membership in the North American church. Her writings have been featured in Sojourners, Red Letter Christians, Free Black Thought, Word & Way, Plough, Baptist News Global and Nurturing Faith Journal among others. She is a frequent guest on podcasts and has her own. The Raceless Gospel podcast takes her listeners to a virtual church service where she and her guests tackle that taboo trinity— race, religion, and politics. Starlette is also an activist who bears witness against police brutality and most recently the cultural erasure of the Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, D.C. It was erected in memory of the 2020 protests that brought the world together through this shared declaration of somebodiness after the gruesome murder of George Perry Floyd, Jr. Her act of resistance caught the attention of the Associated Press. An image of her reclaiming the rubble went viral and in May, she was featured in a CNN article.Starlette has spoken before the World Council of Churches North America and the United Methodist Church's Council of Bishops on the color- coded caste system of race and its abolition. She has also authored and presented papers to the members of the Baptist World Alliance in Zurich, Switzerland and Nassau, Bahamas to this end. She has cast a vision for the future of religion at the National Museum of African American History and Culture's “Forward Conference: Religions Envisioning Change.” Her paper was titled “Press Forward: A Raceless Gospel for Ex- Colored People Who Have Lost Faith in White Supremacy.” She has lectured at The Queen's Foundation in Birmingham, U.K. on a baptismal pedagogy for antiracist theological education, leadership and ministries. Starlette's research interests have been supported by the Louisville Institute and the Lilly Foundation. Examining the work of the Reverend Dr. Clarence Jordan, whose farm turned “demonstration plot” in Americus, Georgia refused to agree to the social arrangements of segregation because of his Christian convictions, Starlette now takes this dirt to the church. Her thesis is titled, “Afraid of Koinonia: How life on this farm reveals the fear of Christian community.” A full circle moment, she was recently invited to write the introduction to Jordan's newest collection of writings, The Inconvenient Gospel: A Southern Prophet Tackles War, Wealth, Race and Religion.Starlette is a member of the Christian Community Development Association, the Peace & Justice Studies Association, and the Koinonia Advisory Council. A womanist in ministry, she has served as a pastor as well as a denominational leader. An unrepentant academician and bibliophile, Starlette holds degrees from Buffalo State College, Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School and Wesley Theological Seminary. Last year, she was awarded an honorary doctorate in Sacred Theology for her work and witness as a public theologian from Wayland Baptist Theological Seminary. She is the author of "Take Me to the Water": The Raceless Gospel as Baptismal Pedagogy for a Desegregated Church and a contributing author of the book Faith Forward: A Dialogue on Children, Youth & a New Kind of Christianity.  JennyI was just saying that I've been thinking a lot about the distinction between Christianity and Christian supremacy and Christian nationalism, and I have been researching Christian nationalism for probably about five or six years now. And one of my introductions to the concept of it was a book that's based on a documentary that's based on a book called Constantine Sword. And it talked about how prior to Constantine, Christians had the image of fish and life and fertility, and that is what they lived by. And then Constantine supposedly had this vision of a cross and it said, with this sign, you shall reign. And he married the church and the state. And ever since then, there's been this snowball effect of Christian empire through the Crusades, through manifest destiny, through all of these things that we're seeing play out in the United States now that aren't new. But I think there's something new about how it's playing out right now.Danielle (02:15):I was thinking about the doctrine of discovery and how that was the creation of that legal framework and ideology to justify the seizure of indigenous lands and the subjugation of indigenous peoples. And just how part of that doctrine you have to necessarily make the quote, humans that exist there, you have to make them vacant. Or even though they're a body, you have to see them as internally maybe empty or lacking or less. And that really becomes this frame. Well, a repeated frame.Jenny (03:08):Yep. Yeah. Yeah. And it feels like that's so much source to that when that dehumanization is ordained by God. If God is saying these people who we're not even going to look at as people, we're going to look at as objects, how do we get out of that?Danielle (03:39):I don't know. Well, definitely still in it. You can hear folks like Charlie Kirk talk about it and unabashedly, unashamedly turning point USA talk about doctrine of discovery brings me currently to these fishing boats that have been jetting around Venezuela. And regardless of what they're doing, the idea that you could just kill them regardless of international law, regardless of the United States law, which supposedly we have the right to a process, the right to due process, the right to show up in a court and we're presumed innocent. But this doctrine applies to people manifest destiny, this doctrine of discovery. It applies to others that we don't see as human and therefore can snuff out life. And I think now they're saying on that first boat, I think they've blown up four boats total. And on the first boat, one of the ladies is speaking out, saying they were out fishing and the size of the boat. I think that's where you get into reality. The size of the boat doesn't indicate a large drug seizure anyway. It's outside reality. And again, what do you do if they're smuggling humans? Did you just destroy all that human life? Or maybe they're just fishing. So I guess that doctrine and that destiny, it covers all of these immoral acts, it kind of washes them clean. And I guess that talking about Constantine, it feels like the empire needed a way to do that, to absolve themselves.Danielle (05:40):I know it gives me both comfort and makes me feel depressed when I think about people in 300 ad being, they're freaking throwing people into the lion's den again and people are cheering. And I have to believe that there were humans at that time that saw the barbarism for what it was. And that gives me hope that there have always been a few people in a system of tyranny and oppression that are like, what the heck is going on? And it makes me feel like, ugh. When does that get to be more than just the few people in a society kind of society? Or what does a society need to not need such violence? Because I think it's so baked in now to these white and Christian supremacy, and I don't know, in my mind, I don't think I can separate white supremacy from Christian supremacy because even before White was used as a legal term to own people and be able to vote, the legal term was Christian. And then when enslaved folks started converting to Christianity, they pivoted and said, well, no, not all Christians. It has to be white Christians. And so I think white supremacy was birthed out of a long history of Christian supremacy.Danielle (07:21):Yeah, it's weird. I remember growing up, and maybe you had this experience too, I remember when Schindler's List hit the theaters and you were probably too young, but Schindler's listed the theaters, and I remember sitting in a living room and having to convince my parents of why I wanted to see it. And I think I was 16, I don't remember. I was young and it was rated R and of course that was against our values to see rated R movies. But I really wanted to see this movie. And I talked and talked and talked and got to see this movie if anybody's watched Schindler's List, it's a story of a man who is out to make money, sees this opportunity to get free labor basically as part of the Nazi regime. And so he starts making trades to access free labor, meanwhile, still has women, enjoys a fine life, goes to church, has a pseudo faith, and as time goes along, I'm shortening the story, but he gets this accountant who he discovers he loves because his accountant makes him rich. He makes him rich off the labor. But the accountant is thinking, how do I save more lives and get them into this business with Schindler? Well, eventually they get captured, they get found out. All these things happen, right, that we know. And it becomes clear to Schindler that they're exterminating, they're wiping out an entire population.(09:01):I guess I come to that and just think about, as a young child, I remember watching that thinking, there's no way this would ever happen again because there's film, there's documentation. At the time, there were people alive from the Great war, the greatest generation like my grandfather who fought in World War ii. There were other people, we had the live stories. But now just a decade, 12, 13 years removed, it hasn't actually been that long. And the memory of watching a movie like Schindler's List, the impact of seeing what it costs a soul to take the life of other souls like that, that feels so far removed now. And that's what the malaise of the doctrine of Discovery and manifest destiny, I think have been doing since Constantine and Christianity. They've been able to wipe the memory, the historical memory of the evil done with their blessing.(10:06):And I feel like even this huge thing like the Holocaust, the memories being wiped, you can almost feel it. And in fact, people are saying, I don't know if they actually did that. I don't know if they killed all these Jewish peoples. Now you hear more denial even of the Holocaust now that those storytellers aren't passed on to the next life. So I think we are watching in real time how Christianity and Constantine were able to just wipe use empire to wipe the memory of the people so they can continue to gain riches or continue to commit atrocities without impunity just at any level. I guess that's what comes to mind.Jenny (10:55):Yeah, it makes me think of, I saw this video yesterday and I can't remember what representative it was in a hearing and she had written down a long speech or something that she was going to give, and then she heard during the trial the case what was happening was someone shared that there have been children whose parents have been abducted and disappeared because the children were asked at school, are your parents undocumented? And she said, I can't share what I had prepared because I'm caught with that because my grandfather was killed in the Holocaust because his children were asked at school, are your parents Jewish?(11:53):And my aunt took that guilt with her to her grave. And the amount of intergenerational transgenerational trauma that is happening right now, that never again is now what we are doing to families, what we are doing to people, what we are doing to children, the atrocities that are taking place in our country. Yeah, it's here. And I think it's that malaise has come over not only the past, but even current. I think people don't even know how to sit with the reality of the horror of what's happening. And so they just dissociate and they just check out and they don't engage the substance of what's happening.Danielle (13:08):Yeah. I tell a friend sometimes when I talk to her, I just say, I need you to tap in. Can you just tap in? Can you just carry the conversation or can you just understand? And I don't mean understand, believe a story. I mean feel the story. It's one thing to say the words, but it's another thing to feel them. And I think Constantine is a brilliant guy. He took a peaceful religion. He took a peaceful faith practice, people that literally the prior guy was throwing to the lions for sport. He took a people that had been mocked, a religious group that had been mocked, and he elevated them and then reunified them with that sword that you're talking about. And so what did those Christians have to give up then to marry themselves to empire? I don't know, but it seems like they kind of effed us over for eternity, right?Jenny (14:12):Yeah. Well, and I think that that's part of it. I think part of the malaise is the infatuation with eternity and with heaven. And I know for myself, when I was a missionary for many years, I didn't care about my body because this body, this light and momentary suffering paled in comparison to what was awaiting me. And so no matter what happened, it was a means to an end to spend eternity with Jesus. And so I think of empathy as us being able to feel something of ourselves in someone else. If I don't have grief and joy and sorrow and value for this body, I'm certainly not going to have it for other bodies. And I think the disembodiment of white Christian supremacy is what enables bodies to just tolerate and not consider the brutality of what we're seeing in the United States. What we're seeing in Congo, what we're seeing in Palestine, what we're seeing everywhere is still this sense of, oh, the ends are going to justify the means we're all going to, at least I'll be in heaven and everyone else can kind of figure out what they're going to do.I don't know, man. Yeah, maybe. I guess when you think about Christian nationalism versus maybe a more authentic faith, what separates them for youAbiding by the example that Jesus gave or not. I mean, Jesus was killed by the state because he had some very unpopular things to say about the state and the way in which he lived was very much like, how do I see those who are most oppressed and align myself with them? Whereas Christian nationalism is how do I see those who have the most power and align myselves with them?(16:48):And I think it is a question of alignment and orientation. And at the end of the day, who am I going to stand with even knowing and probably knowing that that may be to the detriment of my own body, but I do that not out of a sense of martyrdom, but out of a sense of integrity. I refuse. I think I really believe Jesus' words when he said, what good is it for a man to gain the world and lose his soul? And at the end of the day, what I'm fighting for is my own soul, and I don't want to give that up.Danielle (17:31):Hey, starlet, we're on to not giving up our souls to power.The Reverend Dr.Rev. Dr. Starlette (17:47):I'm sorry I'm jumping from one call to the next. I do apologize for my tardiness now, where were we?Danielle (17:53):We got on the subject of Constantine and how he married the sword with Christianity when it had been fish and fertile ground and et cetera, et cetera. Yeah, that's where we started. Yeah, that's where we started.Starlette (18:12):I'm going to get in where I fit in. Y'all keep going.Danielle (18:14):You get in. Yeah, you get in. I guess Jenny, for me and for you, starlet, the deep erasure of any sort of resemblance of I have to look back and I have to be willing to interrogate, I think, which is what a lot of people don't want to do. I grew up in a really conservative evangelical family and a household, and I have to interrogate, well, one, why did my mom get into that? Because Mexican, and number two, I watched so slowly as there was a celebration. I think it was after Bill Clinton had this Monica Lewinsky thing and all of this stuff happened. My Latino relatives were like, wait a minute, we don't like that. We don't like that. That doesn't match our values. And I remember this celebration of maybe now they're going to become Christians. I remember thinking that as a child, because for them to be a Democrat in my household and for them to hold different values around social issues meant that they weren't necessarily saved in my house and my way because they hadn't fully bought into empire in the way I know Jenny muted herself.(19:31):They hadn't fully bought into empire. And I slowly watched those family members in California kind of give way to conservatism the things that beckoned it. And honestly, a lot of it was married to religion and to what is going on today and not standing up for justice, not standing up for civil rights. I watched the movement go over, and it feels like at the expense of the memory of my grandfather and my great-grandfather who despised religion in some ways, my grandfather did not like going to church because he thought people were fake. He didn't believe them, and he didn't see what church had to do with being saved anyway. And so I think about him a lot and I think, oh, I got to hold onto that a little bit in the face of empire. But yeah, my mind just went off on that rabbit trail.Starlette (20:38):Oh, it's quite all right. My grandfather had similar convictions. My grandmother took the children to church with her and he stayed back. And after a while, the children were to decide that they didn't want to go anymore. And I remember him saying, that's enough. That's enough. You've done enough. They've heard enough. Don't make them go. But I think he drew some of the same conclusions, and I hold those as well, but I didn't grow up in a household where politics was even discussed. Folks were rapture ready, as they say, because they were kingdom minded is what they say now. And so there was no discussion of what was going on on the ground. They were really out of touch with, I'm sending right now. They were out of touch with reality. I have on pants, I have on full makeup, I have on earrings. I'm not dressed modestly in any way, shape, fashion or form.(21:23):It was a very externalized, visible, able to be observed kind of spirituality. And so I enter the spaces back at home and it's like going into a different world. I had to step back a bit and oftentimes I just don't say anything. I just let the room have it because you can't, in my experience, you can't talk 'em out of it. They have this future orientation where they live with their feet off the ground because Jesus is just around the corner. He's right in that next cloud. He's coming, and so none of this matters. And so that affected their political participation and discussion. There was certainly very minor activism, so I wasn't prepared by family members to show up in the streets like I do now. I feel sincerely called. I feel like it's a work of the spirit that I know where to put my feet at all, but I certainly resonate with what you would call a rant that led you down to a rabbit hole because it led me to a story about my grandfather, so I thank you for that. They were both right by the way,Danielle (22:23):I think so he had it right. He would sit in the very back of church sometimes to please my grandmother and to please my family, and he didn't have a cell phone, but he would sit there and go to sleep. He would take a nap. And I have to think of that now as resistance. And as a kid I was like, why does he do that? But his body didn't want to take it in.Starlette (22:47):That's rest as resistance from the Nat Bishop, Trisha Hersey, rest as act of defiance, rest as reparations and taking back my time that you're stealing from me by having me sit in the service. I see that.Danielle (23:02):I mean, Jenny, it seems like Constantine, he knew what to do. He gets Christians on his side, they knew how to gather organically. He then gets this mass megaphone for whatever he wants, right?Jenny (23:21):Yeah. I think about Adrian Marie Brown talks a lot about fractals and how what happens on a smaller scale is going to be replicated on larger scales. And so even though there's some sense of disjoint with denominations, I think generally in the United States, there is some common threads of that manifest destiny that have still found its way into these places of congregating. And so you're having these training wheels really even within to break it down into the nuclear family that James Dobson wanted everyone to focus on was a very, very narrow white, patriarchal Christian family. And so if you rehearse this on these smaller scales, then you can rehearse it in your community, then you can rehearse it, and it just bubbles and bubbles and balloons out into what we're seeing happen, I think.Yeah, the nuclear family and then the youth movements, let us, give us your youth, give us your kids. Send us your kids and your youth to our camps.Jenny (24:46):Great. I grew up in Colorado and I was probably 10 or 11 when the Columbine shooting happened, and I remember that very viscerally. And the immediate conversation was not how do we protect kids in school? It was glorifying this one girl that maybe or maybe did not say yes when the shooters asked, do you still believe in God? And within a year her mom published a book about it. And that was the thing was let's use this to glorify martyrdom. And I think it is different. These were victims in school and I think any victim of the shooting is horrifying. And I think we're seeing a similar level of that martyrdom frenzy with Charlie Kirk right now. And what we're not talking about is how do we create a safer society? What we're talking about, I'm saying, but I dunno. What I'm hearing of the white Christian communities is how are we glorifying Charlie Kirk as a martyr and what power that wields when we have someone that we can call a martyr?Starlette (26:27):No, I just got triggered as soon as you said his name.(26:31):Just now. I think grieving a white supremacist is terrifying. Normalizing racist rhetoric is horrifying. And so I look online in disbelief. I unfollowed and blocked hundreds of people on social media based on their comments about what I didn't agree with. Everything he said, got a lot of that. I'm just not interested. I think they needed a martyr for the race war that they're amping for, and I would like to be delivered from the delusion that is white body supremacy. It is all exhausting. I don't want to be a part of the racial imagination that he represents. It is not a new narrative. We are not better for it. And he's not a better person because he's died. The great Biggie Smalls has a song that says you're nobody until somebody kills you. And I think it's appropriate. Most people did not know who he was. He was a podcaster. I'm also looking kind of cross-eyed at his wife because that's not, I served as a pastor for more than a decade. This is not an expression of grief. There's nothing like anything I've seen for someone who was assassinated, which I disagree with.(28:00):I've just not seen widows take the helm of organizations and given passion speeches and make veil threats to audiences days before the, as we would say in my community, before the body has cooled before there is a funeral that you'll go down and take pictures. That could be arguably photo ops. It's all very disturbing to me. This is a different measure of grief. I wrote about it. I don't know what, I've never heard of a sixth stage of grief that includes fighting. We're not fighting over anybody's dead body. We're not even supposed to do it with Jesus. And so I just find it all strange that before the man is buried, you've already concocted a story wherein opposing forces are at each other's throats. And it's all this intergalactic battle between good and bad and wrong, up and down, white and black. It's too much.(28:51):I think white body supremacy has gotten out of hand and it's incredibly theatrical. And for persons who have pulled back from who've decent whiteness, who've de racialize themselves, it's foolishness. Just nobody wants to be involved in this. It's a waste of time. White body supremacy and racism are wastes of time. Trying to prove that I'm a human being or you're looking right at is a waste of time. And people just want to do other things, which is why African-Americans have decided to go to sleep, to take a break. We're not getting ready to spin our wheels again, to defend our humanity, to march for rights that are innate, to demand a dignity that comes with being human. It's just asinine.(29:40):I think you would be giving more credence to the statements themselves by responding. And so I'd rather save my breath and do my makeup instead because trying to defend the fact that I'm a glorious human being made in the image of God is a waste of time. Look at me. My face is beat. It testifies for me. Who are you? Just tell me that I don't look good and that God didn't touch me. I'm with the finger of love as the people say, do you see this beat? Let me fall back. So you done got me started and I blame you. It's your fault for the question. So no, that's my response to things like that. African-American people have to insulate themselves with their senses of ness because he didn't have a kind word to say about African-American people, whether a African-American pilot who is racialized as black or an African-American woman calling us ignorance saying, we're incompetence. If there's no way we could have had these positions, when African-American women are the most agreed, we're the most educated, how dare you? And you think, I'm going to prove that I'm going to point to degrees. No, I'll just keep talking. It will make itself obvious and evident.(30:45):Is there a question in that? Just let's get out of that. It triggers me so bad. Like, oh, that he gets a holiday and it took, how many years did it take for Martin Luther King Junior to get a holiday? Oh, okay. So that's what I mean. The absurdity of it all. You're naming streets after him hasn't been dead a year. You have children coloring in sheets, doing reports on him. Hasn't been a few months yet. We couldn't do that for Martin Luther King. We couldn't do that for Rosa Parks. We couldn't do that for any other leader, this one in particular, and right now, find that to beI just think it just takes a whole lot of delusion and pride to keep puffing yourself up and saying, you're better than other people. Shut up, pipe down. Or to assume that everybody wants to look like you or wants to be racialized as white. No, I'm very cool in who I'm, I don't want to change as the people say in every lifetime, and they use these racialized terms, and so I'll use them and every lifetime I want to come back as black. I don't apologize for my existence. I love it here. I don't want to be racialized as white. I'm cool. That's the delusion for me that you think everyone wants to look like. You think I would trade.(32:13):You think I would trade for that, and it looks great on you. I love what it's doing for you. But as for me in my house, we believe in melanin and we keep it real cute over here. I just don't have time. I think African-Americans minoritized and otherwise, communities should invest their time in each other and in ourselves as opposed to wasting our breath, debating people. We can't debate white supremacists. Anyway, I think I've talked about that the arguments are not rooted in reason. It's rooted in your dehumanization and equating you with three fifths of a human being who's in charge of measurements, the demonizing of whiteness. It's deeply problematic for me because it puts them in a space of creator. How can you say how much of a human being that's someone? This stuff is absurd. And so I've refuse to waste my breath, waste my life arguing with somebody who doesn't have the power, the authority.(33:05):You don't have the eyesight to tell me if I'm human or not. This is stupid. We're going to do our work and part of our work is going to sleep. We're taking naps, we're taking breaks, we're putting our feet up. I'm going to take a nap after this conversation. We're giving ourselves a break. We're hitting the snooze button while staying woke. There's a play there. But I think it's important that people who are attacked by white body supremacy, not give it their energy. Don't feed into the madness. Don't feed into the machine because it'll eat you alive. And I didn't get dressed for that. I didn't get on this call. Look at how I look for that. So that's what that brings up. Okay. It brings up the violence of white body supremacy, the absurdity of supremacy at all. The delusion of the racial imagination, reading a 17th century creation onto a 21st century. It's just all absurd to me that anyone would continue to walk around and say, I'm better than you. I'm better than you. And I'll prove it by killing you, lynching you, raping your people, stealing your people, enslaving your people. Oh, aren't you great? That's pretty great,Jenny (34:30):I think. Yeah, I think it is. I had a therapist once tell me, it's like you've had the opposite of a psychotic break because when that is your world and that's all, it's so easy to justify and it makes sense. And then as soon as you step out of it, you're like, what the what? And then it makes it that much harder to understand. And this is my own, we talked about this last week, but processing what is my own path in this of liberation and how do I engage people who are still in that world, who are still related to me, who are, and in a way that isn't exhausting for I'm okay being exhausted if it's going to actually bear something, if it's just me spinning my wheels, I don't actually see value in that. And for me, what began to put cracks in that was people challenging my sense of superiority and my sense of knowing what they should do with their bodies. Because essentially, I think a lot of how I grew up was similar maybe and different from how you were sharing Danielle, where it was like always vote Republican because they're going to be against abortion and they're going to be against gay marriage. And those were the two in my world that were the things that I was supposed to vote for no matter what. And now just seeing how far that no matter what is willing to go is really terrifying.Danielle (36:25):Yeah, I agree. Jenny. I mean, again, I keep talking about him, but he's so important to me. The idea that my great grandfather to escape religious oppression would literally walk 1,950 miles and would leave an oppressive system just in an attempt to get away. That walk has to mean something to me today. You can't forget. All of my family has to remember that he did a walk like that. How many of us have walked that far? I mean, I haven't ever walked that far in just one instance to escape something. And he was poor because he couldn't even pay for his mom's burial at the Catholic church. So he said, let me get out of this. And then of course he landed with the Methodist and he was back in the fire again. But I come back to him, and that's what people will do to get out of religious oppression. They will give it an effort and when they can. And so I think it's important to remember those stories. I'm off on my tangent again now because it feels so important. It's a good one.Starlette (37:42):I think it's important to highlight the walking away from, to putting one foot in front of the other, praying with your feet(37:51):That it's its own. You answer your own prayer by getting away from it. It is to say that he was done with it, and if no one else was going to move, he was going to move himself that he didn't wait for the change in the institution. Let's just change directions and get away from it. And I hate to even imagine what he was faced with and that he had to make that decision. And what propelled him to walk that long with that kind of energy to keep momentum and to create that amount of distance. So for me, it's very telling. I ran away at 12. I had had it, so I get it. This is the last time you're going to hit me.Not going to beat me out of my sleep. I knew that at 12. This is no place for me. So I admire people who get up in the dead of night, get up without a warning, make it up in their mind and said, that's the last time, or This is not what I'm going to do. This is not the way that I want to be, and I'm leaving. I admire him. Sounds like a hero. I think we should have a holiday.Danielle (38:44):And then imagine telling that. Then you're going to tell me that people like my grandfather are just in it. This is where it leaves reality for me and leaves Christianity that he's just in it to steal someone's job. This man worked the lemon fields and then as a side job in his retired years, moved up to Sacramento, took in people off death row at Folsom Prison, took 'em to his home and nursed them until they passed. So this is the kind a person that will walk 1,950 miles. They'll do a lot of good in the world, and we're telling people that they can't come here. That's the kind of people that are walking here. That's the kind of people that are coming here. They're coming here to do whatever they can. And then they're nurturing families. They're actually living out in their families what supposed Christians are saying they want to be. Because people in these two parent households and these white families, they're actually raising the kind of people that will shoot Charlie Kirk. It's not people like my grandfather that walked almost 2000 miles to form a better life and take care of people out of prisons. Those aren't the people forming children that are, you'reStarlette (40:02):Going to email for that. The deacons will you in the parking lot for that one. You you're going to get a nasty tweet for that one. Somebody's going to jump off in the comments and straighten you out at,Danielle (40:17):I can't help it. It's true. That's the reality. Someone that will put their feet and their faith to that kind of practice is not traveling just so they can assault someone or rob someone. I mean, yes, there are people that have done that, but there's so much intentionality about moving so far. It does not carry the weight of, can you imagine? Let me walk 2000 miles to Rob my neighbor. That doesn't make any sense.Starlette (40:46):Sounds like it's own kind of pilgrimage.Jenny (40:59):I have so many thoughts, but I think whiteness has just done such a number on people. And I'm hearing each of you and I'm thinking, I don't know that I could tell one story from any of my grandparents. I think that that is part of whiteness. And it's not that I didn't know them, but it's that the ways in which Transgenerational family lines are passed down are executed for people in considered white bodies where it's like my grandmother, I guess I can't tell some stories, but she went to Polish school and in the States and was part of a Polish community. And then very quickly on polls were grafted into whiteness so that they could partake in the GI Bill. And so that Polish heritage was then lost. And that was not that long ago, but it was a severing that happened. And some of my ancestors from England, that severing happened a long time ago where it's like, we are not going to tell the stories of our ancestors because that would actually reveal that this whole white thing is made up. And we actually have so much more to us than that. And so I feel like the social privilege that has come from that, but also the visceral grief of how I would want to know those stories of my ancestors that aren't there. Because in part of the way that whiteness operates,Starlette (42:59):I'm glad you told that story. Diane de Prima, she tells about that, about her parents giving up their Italian ness, giving up their heritage and being Italian at home and being white in public. So not changing their name, shortening their name, losing their accent, or dropping the accent. I'm glad that you said that. I think that's important. But like you said though, if you tell those stories and it shakes up the power dynamic for whiteness, it's like, oh, but there are books how the Irish became White, the Making of Whiteness working for Whiteness, read all the books by David Broer on Whiteness Studies. But I'm glad that you told us. I think it's important, and I love that you named it as a severing. Why did you choose that word in particular?Jenny (43:55):I had the privilege a few years ago of going to Poland and doing an ancestry trip. And weeks before I went, an extended cousin in the States had gotten connected with our fifth cousin in Poland. We share the fifth grandparents. And this cousin of mine took us around to the church where my fifth great grandparents got married and these just very visceral places. And I had never felt the land that my ancestors know in my body. And there was something really, really powerful of that. And so I think of severing as I have been cut off from that lineage and that heritage because of whiteness. And I feel very, very grateful for the ways in which that is beginning to heal and beginning to mend. And we can tell truer stories of our ancestry and where we come from and the practices of our people. And I think it is important to acknowledge the cost and the privilege that has come from that severing in order to get a job that was not reserved for people that weren't white. My family decided, okay, well we'll just play the part. We will take on that role of whiteness because that will then give us that class privilege and that socioeconomic privilege that reveals how much of a construct whitenessStarlette (45:50):A racial contract is what Charles W. Mills calls it, that there's a deal made in a back room somewhere that you'll trade your sense of self for another. And so that it doesn't, it just unravels all the ways in which white supremacy, white body supremacy, pos itself, oh, that we're better. I think people don't say anything because it unravels those lies, those tongue twisters that persons have spun over the centuries, that it's really just an agreement that we've decided that we'll make ourselves the majority so that we can bully everybody else. And nobody wants to be called that. Nobody wants to be labeled greedy. I'm just trying to provide for my family, but at what expense? At who else's expense. But I like to live in this neighborhood and I don't want to be stopped by police. But you're willing to sacrifice other people. And I think that's why it becomes problematic and troublesome because persons have to look at themselves.(46:41):White body supremacy doesn't offer that reflection. If it did, persons would see how monstrous it is that under the belly of the beast, seeing the underside of that would be my community. We know what it costs for other people to feel really, really important because that's what whiteness demands. In order to look down your nose on somebody, you got to stand on somebody's back. Meanwhile, our communities are teaching each other to stand. We stand on the shoulders of giants. It's very communal. It's a shared identity and way of being. Whereas whiteness demands allegiance by way of violence, violent taking and grabbing it is quite the undoing. We have a lot of work to do. But I am proud of you for telling that story.Danielle (47:30):I wanted to read this quote by Gloria, I don't know if you know her. Do you know her? She writes, the struggle is inner Chicano, Indio, American Indian, Molo, Mexicano, immigrant, Latino, Anglo and power working class Anglo black, Asian. Our psyches resemble the border towns and are populated by the same people. The struggle has always been inner and has played out in outer terrains. Awareness of our situation must come before interchanges and which in turn come before changes in society. Nothing happens in the real world unless it first happens in the images in our heads.(48:16):So Jenny, when you're talking, you had some image in your head before you went to Poland, before it became reality. You had some, it didn't start with just knowing your cousin or whatever it happened before that. Or for me being confronted and having to confront things with my husband about ways we've been complicit or engaged in almost like the word comes gerrymandering our own future. That's kind of how it felt sometimes Luis and I and how to become aware of that and take away those scales off our own eyes and then just sit in the reality, oh no, we're really here and this is where we're really at. And so where are we going to go from here? And starlet, you've talked from your own position. That's just what comes to mind. It's something that happens inside. I mean, she talks about head, I think more in feelings in my chest. That's where it happens for me. But yeah, that's what comes to mind.Starlette (49:48):With. I feel like crying because of what we've done to our bodies and the bodies of other people. And we still can't see ourselves not as fully belonging to each other, not as beloved, not as holy.It's deeply saddening that for all the time that we have here together for all the time that we'll share with each other, we'll spend much of it not seeing each other at all.Danielle (50:57):My mind's going back to, I think I might've shared this right before you joined Starla, where it was like, I really believe the words of Jesus that says, what good is it for someone to gain the world and lose their soul? And that's what I hear. And what I feel is this soul loss. And I don't know how to convince other people. And I don't know if that's the point that their soul is worth it, but I think I've, not that I do it perfectly, but I think I've gotten to the place where I'm like, I believe my interiority is worth more than what it would be traded in for.(51:45):And I think that will be a lifelong journey of trying to figure out how to wrestle with a system. I will always be implicated in because I am talking to you on a device that was made from cobalt, from Congo and wearing clothes that were made in other countries. And there's no way I can make any decision other than to just off myself immediately. And I'm not saying I'm doing that, but I'm saying the part of the wrestle is that this is, everything is unresolved. And how do I, like what you said, Danielle, what did you say? Can you tune into this conversation?Jenny (52:45):Yeah. And how do I keep tapping in even when it means engaging my own implication in this violence? It's easier to be like, oh, those people over there that are doing those things. And it's like, wait, now how do I stay situated and how I'm continually perpetuating it as well, and how do I try to figure out how to untangle myself in that? And I think that will be always I,Danielle (53:29):He says, the US Mexican border as like an open wound where the third world grates against the first and bleeds. And before a scab forms it hemorrhages again, the lifeblood of two worlds. Two worlds merging to form a third country, a border culture. Borders are set up to define the places that are safe and unsafe to distinguish us from them. A border is a dividing line, a narrow strip along a steep edge. A borderland is a vague and undetermined place created by the emotional residue of an unnatural boundary is it is in a constant state of transition. They're prohibited and forbidden arts inhabitants. And I think that as a Latina that really describes and mixed with who my father is and that side that I feel like I live like the border in me, it feels like it grates against me. So I hear you, Jenny, and I feel very like all the resonance, and I hear you star led, and I feel a lot of resonance there too. But to deny either thing would make me less human because I am human with both of those parts of me.(54:45):But also to engage them brings a lot of grief for both parts of me. And how does that mix together? It does feel like it's in a constant state of transition. And that's partly why Latinos, I think particularly Latino men bought into this lie of power and played along. And now they're getting shown that no, that part of you that's European, that part never counted at all. And so there is no way to buy into that racialized system. There's no way to put a down payment in and come out on the other side as human. As soon as we buy into it, we're less human. Yeah. Oh, Jenny has to go in a minute. Me too. But starlet, you're welcome to join us any Thursday. Okay.Speaker 1 (55:51):Afternoon. Bye. Thank you. Bye bye.Kitsap County & Washington State Crisis and Mental Health ResourcesIf you or someone else is in immediate danger, please call 911.This resource list provides crisis and mental health contacts for Kitsap County and across Washington State.Kitsap County / Local ResourcesResourceContact InfoWhat They OfferSalish Regional Crisis Line / Kitsap Mental Health 24/7 Crisis Call LinePhone: 1‑888‑910‑0416Website: https://www.kitsapmentalhealth.org/crisis-24-7-services/24/7 emotional support for suicide or mental health crises; mobile crisis outreach; connection to services.KMHS Youth Mobile Crisis Outreach TeamEmergencies via Salish Crisis Line: 1‑888‑910‑0416Website: https://sync.salishbehavioralhealth.org/youth-mobile-crisis-outreach-team/Crisis outreach for minors and youth experiencing behavioral health emergencies.Kitsap Mental Health Services (KMHS)Main: 360‑373‑5031; Toll‑free: 888‑816‑0488; TDD: 360‑478‑2715Website: https://www.kitsapmentalhealth.org/crisis-24-7-services/Outpatient, inpatient, crisis triage, substance use treatment, stabilization, behavioral health services.Kitsap County Suicide Prevention / “Need Help Now”Call the Salish Regional Crisis Line at 1‑888‑910‑0416Website: https://www.kitsap.gov/hs/Pages/Suicide-Prevention-Website.aspx24/7/365 emotional support; connects people to resources; suicide prevention assistance.Crisis Clinic of the PeninsulasPhone: 360‑479‑3033 or 1‑800‑843‑4793Website: https://www.bainbridgewa.gov/607/Mental-Health-ResourcesLocal crisis intervention services, referrals, and emotional support.NAMI Kitsap CountyWebsite: https://namikitsap.org/Peer support groups, education, and resources for individuals and families affected by mental illness.Statewide & National Crisis ResourcesResourceContact InfoWhat They Offer988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (WA‑988)Call or text 988; Website: https://wa988.org/Free, 24/7 support for suicidal thoughts, emotional distress, relationship problems, and substance concerns.Washington Recovery Help Line1‑866‑789‑1511Website: https://doh.wa.gov/you-and-your-family/injury-and-violence-prevention/suicide-prevention/hotline-text-and-chat-resourcesHelp for mental health, substance use, and problem gambling; 24/7 statewide support.WA Warm Line877‑500‑9276Website: https://www.crisisconnections.org/wa-warm-line/Peer-support line for emotional or mental health distress; support outside of crisis moments.Native & Strong Crisis LifelineDial 988 then press 4Website: https://doh.wa.gov/you-and-your-family/injury-and-violence-prevention/suicide-prevention/hotline-text-and-chat-resourcesCulturally relevant crisis counseling by Indigenous counselors.Additional Helpful Tools & Tips• Behavioral Health Services Access: Request assessments and access to outpatient, residential, or inpatient care through the Salish Behavioral Health Organization. Website: https://www.kitsap.gov/hs/Pages/SBHO-Get-Behaviroal-Health-Services.aspx• Deaf / Hard of Hearing: Use your preferred relay service (for example dial 711 then the appropriate number) to access crisis services.• Warning Signs & Risk Factors: If someone is talking about harming themselves, giving away possessions, expressing hopelessness, or showing extreme behavior changes, contact crisis resources immediately.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. 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.

Tom Brokaw famously described America's World War II servicemen as the “Greatest Generation”. But according to the historian David Nasaw, the Americans who fought in the Second World War are better understood as The Wounded Generation. His eponymous new book describes the pain and hardships that 16 million veterans endured upon their return home - a tragic story of PTSD, racism and family breakup. Brokaw celebrated the nobility with which these ex-soldiers got on with civilian life without either complaining or even talking about the war. But for Nasaw, this silence wasn't just stoicism—it was often undiagnosed and sometimes even untreatable trauma.1. WWII Was America's Longest and Most Brutal War The average soldier served nearly three years in uniform (compared to less than one year in WWI), with 75% deployed overseas. Combat on the European front was relentless, especially in the final year, with severe manpower shortages keeping GIs on the front lines for weeks or months without relief.2. Millions Returned with Undiagnosed PTSD Veterans came home with what we now recognize as PTSD, but it was neither diagnosed nor treated. Unable to talk about their experiences, many self-medicated with alcohol. The silence wasn't stoicism—it was trauma. Writers like Salinger and Vonnegut could only process their experiences through fiction years later.3. The GI Bill Excluded Most Black Veterans While celebrated as transformative legislation, the GI Bill's benefits were distributed by local officials. In the South, this meant Black veterans were systematically denied college access (segregated schools were full) and unemployment benefits (they were told to return to sharecropping). Only Northern Black veterans like Harry Belafonte, John Coltrane, and Tito Puente could fully access their benefits.4. America Faced Its Worst Housing Crisis Ever No homes had been built during the Depression or the war years, creating unprecedented shortages when 16 million servicemen returned. This housing crisis, combined with fears of renewed economic depression, added to veterans' anxiety about rebuilding their lives. Politicians like JFK and Jacob Javits fought hard for veterans' housing subsidies.5. The War's Aftermath Lasted Decades 1946 saw record divorce rates and increased lynchings as racial tensions exploded. Veterans who liberated concentration camps or survived POW camps (especially in the Pacific) carried lifelong trauma. Nasaw's central message: wars don't end with peace treaties—the harm to soldiers and civilians lasts for generations.Keen On America is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe

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

What does real veteran support in higher education look like? At the University of Missouri–St. Louis, Veterans Center Manager and Missouri Army National Guard Sergeant Martina Meng is leading the way.In this episode, she shares how UMSL serves over 523 military-connected students with personalized benefits support, hands-on learning, and a community that feels like home. She explains why starting 60 days early matters, how veteran-inclusive differs from veteran-friendly, and why camaraderie is the key to retention.Highlights:One-on-one GI Bill & State Tuition Assistance help.Student workers trained to guide peers.Partnerships with Veterans United, Northwestern Mutual & more.A safe, welcoming community that reduces isolation.Why UMSL is a top choice for veterans seeking belonging.

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.  

Is the wrong strategy for your GI Bill costing you over $100,000?! Today's guest is Kate Horrell, author of the new book "College Finances for Military Families," reveals why the "fair share" approach to education benefits might be the most expensive mistake military families make, GI Bill basics, and all the things to know about college for your military kids. Key Topics: GI Bill Transfer Strategy Why transferring your GI Bill at exactly 6 years of service is important The one-time 4-year service obligation that trips up many service members How to add dependents and redistribute benefits after initial transfer Documentation tips to protect your family's benefits Beyond Equal Distribution Real case study: How strategic planning saved one family $110,000 Why thinking "flexibly" about family resources beats rigid equal splits When to give one child the entire GI Bill and another child all the 529 funds 529 Plans and Military Families State residency confusion solved for military families Qualified expenses include K-12 private school, technology, and more How grandparents can contribute while maximizing tax advantages Why "it's too late to start" thinking costs families money Yellow Ribbon Program Essentials The motorcycle and sidecar analogy that clarifies everything (Yellow Ribbon always goes along with the GI Bill- can't be separate) How "full Yellow Ribbon" schools eliminate out-of-pocket tuition costs Maximizing Benefits for Veterans Why veterans aren't optimizing their benefits like military families do Strategic timing for undergraduate vs. graduate school usage Location arbitrage opportunities with Military Housing Allowance Links mentioned today: Kate's website: katehorrell.com Kate's book: "College Finances for Military Families" (available on https://www.katehorrell.com/books/ or Amazon) Kate's amazing resources include:  Military Family Confidently Prepared Life Binder katehorrell.com/confidently-prepared-life-binder/ Military Separation Checklist katehorrell.com/military-separation-checklist/ Military Retirement Checklist katehorrell.com/military-retirement-checklist/ Kate's LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/katehorrell Kate's Facebook facebook.com/KateHorrellFinanceExpert/ Kate's Instagram: instagram.com/realkatehorrell/ Kate's coaching services and free consultations at katehorrell.com/work-with-kate/ Bottom Line: Stop thinking about education benefits as individual entitlements and start thinking about them as family resources to be strategically deployed. The difference could save your family tens of thousands of dollars.   Spencer and Jamie offer one-on-one Military Money Mentor sessions. Get your personal military money and personal finance questions answered in a confidential coaching call. militarymoneymanual.com/mentor Over 20,000 military servicemembers and military spouses have graduated from the 100% free course available at militarymoneymanual.com/umc3 In the Ultimate Military Credit Cards Course, you can learn how to apply for the most premium credit cards and get special military protections, such as waived annual fees, on elite cards like The Platinum Card® from American Express and the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card. https://militarymoneymanual.com/amex-platinum-military/ https://militarymoneymanual.com/chase-sapphire-reserve-military/ Learn how active duty military, military spouses, and Guard and Reserves on 30+ day active orders can get your annual fees waived on premium credit cards in the Ultimate Military Credit Cards Course at militarymoneymanual.com/umc3 If you want to maximize your military paycheck, check out Spencer's 5 star rated book The Military Money Manual: A Practical Guide to Financial Freedom on Amazon or at shop.militarymoneymanual.com. Want to be confident with your TSP investing? Check out the Confident TSP Investing course at militarymoneymanual.com/tsp to learn all about the Thrift Savings Plan and strategies for growing your wealth while in the military. Use promo code "podcast24" for $50 off. Plus, for every course sold, we'll donate one course to an E-4 or below- for FREE! If you have a question you would like us to answer on the podcast, please reach out on instagram.com/militarymoneymanual.

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!

Keys to the Future: Navigating Today's Housing Market Together In this Keep It Simple Podcast episode, host Joey Badinger joins advisors Adam Morse and Tommy Williams at AssetBuilder's Plano HQ to unpack what's really going on in today's housing market—and how families can work together to help Gen Z and Millennials become homeowners. They trace the arc from early 20th-century mortgages to post-WWII suburbia, the 1970s rate shock, 2000s subprime bubble, post-COVID surge, and today's challenging mix of higher rates, compressed affordability, insurance spikes, student debt, and constrained supply. What You'll Learn Housing history in a hurry: From 5-year loans and big down payments to the 30-year mortgage, GI Bill suburbs, the 1970s rate peak, the subprime crisis, and COVID-era price jumps. Why affordability is strained now: Home-price-to-income ratios, higher mortgage rates vs. locked-in low-rate owners, insurance costs, and student debt. Supply vs. demand realities: Aging-in-place, building restrictions, private investors in starter homes, and why listings can rise even as affordability falls. Programs that help first-time buyers: Where to look for down-payment assistance, reduced-rate programs (e.g., HomeReady, Home Possible), and local buyer education courses. Family strategies that work: How grandparents/parents can gift earlier, reframe big-ticket events (e.g., weddings) vs. down payments, and coach smart savings habits. Episode Highlights Rates matter—but so does the price base. A 6–7% mortgage is tough; the bigger problem is prices outpacing wages. Locked-in effect: Owners with 2–3% mortgages aren't moving—tightening the starter-home pipeline. Costs beyond the mortgage: Insurance premiums and maintenance have significantly outpaced wages. Education pays: City/county first-time buyer classes can prevent costly surprises (inspections, foundation/piping, etc.). Timing gifts can change trajectories: Front-loading support (within a plan) can beat waiting for inheritances. Chapters 00:00 – Disclaimer & intro 00:18 – Welcome from Plano HQ + today's topic 01:02 – Why this matters to Gen Z & Millennials 02:04 – Housing history in 5 minutes (setup) 03:02 – Early 1900s: short loans, big down payments 03:40 – Post-WWII & GI Bill: the suburban boom 04:48 – 1970s shock: inflation & 18% mortgage rates 06:20 – 1990s–2000s: innovation → subprime bubble 08:08 – 2006–2012: crash, foreclosures, recovery 10:40 – 2020–2022: ultra-low rates, 40% price surge 11:50 – Today's landscape: rates ~6–7%, slower demand 12:35 – Affordability math: price-to-income has doubled 13:45 – “Locked-in” owners with 2–3% mortgages 14:38 – Insurance & maintenance costs outpacing wages 15:28 – Student debt + wages: the squeeze on buyers 16:35 – Supply constraints, regs, and investor buyers 18:10 – What helps first-time buyers (overview) 18:38 – Down-payment assistance: HomeReady & Home Possible 19:30 – City/county first-time buyer education (why it matters) 20:28 – Family strategies: earlier gifting, matching, trade-offs 22:05 – Process over outcome: SMART savings goals 23:10 – Weekly money check: kill leaks, automate saving 24:12 – Build a “buy box”: price, payment, area, size 25:06 – Portfolio & plan check for parents/grandparents 26:02 – Action checklist (6 quick wins) 27:05 – Closing thoughts & how we can help 27:40 – Contact: assetbuilder.com to meet with an advisor. SEO Keywords & Hashtags Keywords: housing market 2025, first-time homebuyer tips, home affordability, mortgage rates vs prices, down payment assistance, HomeReady, Home Possible, starter homes shortage, budgeting for a house, Gen Z home buying. Hashtags: #HousingMarket #FirstTimeHomebuyer #HomeBuyingTips #MortgageRates #Affordability #PersonalFinance #WealthBuilding #GenZ #Millennials

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

Think your military career ends with active duty? Think again. Sam Lewis reveals how Guard and Reserve service can unlock financial freedom, career flexibility, and long-term stability...without sacrificing family life or future goals Guest: Sam Lewis, CFP®, ChFC®, MQFP Founder of SJL Financial | Delaware Air National Guard | Member of Military Financial Advisors Association Key Topics Covered: Transitioning from active duty to Guard/Reserve service Flexibility in career paths, retraining, and deployment options AGR (Active Guard Reserve) positions and lifestyle benefits Retirement points system and pension planning VA disability eligibility and pay coordination Healthcare options: TRICARE Reserve Select vs. civilian plans GI Bill usage, transfer strategies, and state-level tuition assistance Dual-income household stability and homeownership advantages Civilian employer benefits during military service (e.g., double-dipping, 401k match) State-level Guard benefits: education, emergency relief, childcare subsidies Managing TSP and 401k contributions across military and civilian careers Importance of understanding retention vs. accession standards for reentry Strategic use of military leave and maximizing compensation Resources Mentioned: Sam Lewis's website: https://wecanplanforthat.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samlewisfinancial Military Financial Advisors Association (MFAA): https://militaryfinancialadvisors.org Friendly Forces employer benefits directory: https://friendlyforces.org Childcare Aware through NACRA: https://www.childcareaware.org Remember: Your military career doesn't have to end (or begin) with active duty. Guard and Reserve service offers flexibility, financial stability, and continued access to valuable benefits, often with fewer disruptions to family life and career goals.   Spencer and Jamie offer one-on-one Military Money Mentor sessions. Get your personal military money and personal finance questions answered in a confidential coaching call. militarymoneymanual.com/mentor Over 19,000 military servicemembers and military spouses have graduated from the 100% free course available at militarymoneymanual.com/umc3 In the Ultimate Military Credit Cards Course, you can learn how to apply for the most premium credit cards and get special military protections, such as waived annual fees, on elite cards like The Platinum Card® from American Express and the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card. https://militarymoneymanual.com/amex-platinum-military/ https://militarymoneymanual.com/chase-sapphire-reserve-military/ Learn how active duty military, military spouses, and Guard and Reserves on 30+ day active orders can get your annual fees waived on premium credit cards in the Ultimate Military Credit Cards Course at militarymoneymanual.com/umc3 If you want to maximize your military paycheck, check out Spencer's 5 star rated book The Military Money Manual: A Practical Guide to Financial Freedom on Amazon or at shop.militarymoneymanual.com. Want to be confident with your TSP investing? Check out the Confident TSP Investing course at militarymoneymanual.com/tsp to learn all about the Thrift Savings Plan and strategies for growing your wealth while in the military. Use promo code "podcast24" for $50 off. Plus, for every course sold, we'll donate one course to an E-4 or below- for FREE! If you have a question you would like us to answer on the podcast, please reach out on instagram.com/militarymoneymanual.

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

In this engaging episode of #StillServing, Rob Couture and co-host Brittany Dymond Murray sit down with Tammy Barlet, Jennifer Ross, and Kristina Keenan for a deep dive into the partnership between the VFW and Student Veterans of America (SVA). Together, they explore how SVA chapters support student veterans on campus, the impact of the GI Bill, and the opportunities created through the VFW–SVA Legislative Fellowship. From personal journeys to national advocacy, the conversation highlights how the next generation of veterans is shaping policy, building community, and carrying forward the VFW's legacy of service. From the campus lounge to Capitol Hill, today's student veterans are tomorrow's leaders — still learning, still leading, and still serving. Featured Guests: Tammy Barlet – Vice President, Government Affairs, Student Veterans of America; VFW Legacy Life Member (PA) Jennifer Ross – VFW–SVA Legislative Fellow Alum; VFW Life Member Kristina Keenan – Director, VFW National Legislative Service Brittany Dymond Murray – Co-host & Associate Director, VFW Public Affairs & Strategic Outreach Episode Highlights: 0:00 Welcome 2:15 Spotlight on Student Veterans of America and VFW partnership 4:54 Tammy Barlet's journey from student veteran to national advocate 10:01 What SVA chapters offer on campus vs. VFW posts in the community 13:43 SVA's 1,600+ chapters worldwide and their role in student success 18:33 The VFW–SVA Legislative Fellowship: purpose, process, and impact 20:19 Jennifer Ross shares her fellowship experience and advocacy on Guard/Reserve GI Bill parity 22:47 Application process, mentorship, and building a community action plan 25:18 Preparing student veterans to brief Congress alongside the VFW 27:02 Advocacy paths for introverts and extroverts alike 29:25 Fellowship open to all fields of study — passion drives impact 31:16 Balancing school, SVA, VFW, and fellowship commitments 1:06:54 Afghanistan War Commission session 1:08:27 Historic election of Carol Whitmore as the VFW's first female Commander-in-Chief 1:11:01 Good of the Order: Tammy on how SVA modeled claims clinics after the VFW convention 1:14:13 Kristina Keenan previews the upcoming Fall Legislative Conference and expanded grassroots advocacy 1:17:22 Call to action: Afghanistan veterans encouraged to share experiences with the Afghanistan War Commission   For more information or to continue the conversation, please visit: Veterans of Foreign Wars Website VFW Podcast Page @VFWHQ on Twitter VFW on Facebook @RobCoutureVFW on Facebook Call 1-888-JOIN-VFW Text “NEEDS” to 20222 to donate to the Unmet Needs Program. Today's VFW — Share Your #StillServing Story Sports Clips Help A Hero — Text HERO to 71777 to donate online

J.C. and Bev Webber's late-starter journey is proof that resilience + innovation can outrun even a Great Financial Crisis. J.C. gives us his real numbers and how he sprinted from a net worth of ~$120k (age 51) to $1.5M (age 57)—only to see it crash to ~$864k in early 2009. But that didn't derail their plans because he and his wife Bev still retired early and hit the road in their RV. You could say they reached FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) before it was hot! In this episode they walk us through all the twists and turns, giving us the excruciating details that you rarely hear about, including: J.C.'s brother-in-law bailing him out of credit-card debt by loaning him money J.C.'s military service and using the GI Bill hack college Ditching dead-end jobs for higher paying tech careers and eventually retiring from Apple Weathering multiple divorces and proving that it doesn't have to ruin your finances The unshakeable confidence in their human capital  Plans to live out their later years in Mexico   ===    VOTE FOR US: PLUTUS AWARDS  === We need your vote for the 2025 Plutus Awards! You can now vote for your hosts behind "Catching Up to FI” - Bill Yount & Jackie Cummings Koski.   ✅ WHAT IS THE PLUTUS AWARDS? The Plutus Awards recognize excellence in independent financial content. That's the best podcasts, books, video channels, blogs, and more.     ✅ VOTE  If you've gotten value from our content and think we are worthy of recognition,  please support by casting your votes here > >>  https://plutus.awardsplatform.com/. There's a short registration needed to vote and you'll be in and out in just a few minutes.    ✅ DEADLINE The deadline to vote is August 30th, 2025. Winners will be announced in October.   ✅ CATEGORIES Below are the categories we have been nominated for and we'd love your vote in each of them.  Catching Up to FI Best New Personal Finance Content Creator - Audio Content Creator of the Year: Audio People's Choice: Audio Best Financial Advisor Content/Jackie Cummings Koski, CFP Plutus Storyteller Award Best Traditional Retirement Content Best Personal Finance Content for Underserved Communities Best Personal Finance Content for Women   Other categories  Best New Personal Finance Content Creator - Written (F.I.R.E. for Dummies) Best New Personal Finance Book (F.I.R.E. for Dummies) Plutus Resilience Award (Jackie Cummings Koski) Best Financial Independence or Retire Early Content (F.I.R.E. for Dummies)  

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. Want to hear the whole conversation? Upgrade your subscription here. HOUSEKEEPING

Rob Henderson is the best-selling 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. Rob's writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and the Boston Globe, among other outlets, and his Substack newsletter is sent each week to more than 70 thousand subscribers.FOLLOW: @robkhendersonhttps://substack.com/@robkhenderson?utm_source=global-searchIn this thought-provoking episode, Kelsi Sheren sits down with Rob Henderson to explore the concept of "luxury beliefs"—ideas and opinions that confer status on the affluent while imposing costs on the less fortunate. Delve into how these beliefs shape societal norms and policies, often leaving the most vulnerable to bear the consequences. Through engaging dialogue, Rob shares insights from his personal journey and research, challenging listeners to reconsider the impact of their own beliefs. Tune in for a compelling discussion on the intersection of privilege, policy, and social responsibility.Substack: https://substack.com/@kelsisheren - - - - - - - - - - - -SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS - - - - - - - - - - - -RHO Nutrition - Code: KELSI20 -  https://rhonutrition.com/KELSIKetone IQ- 30% off with code KELSI - https://ketone.com/KELSIGood Livin- 20% off with code KELSI - https://www.itsgoodlivin.com/?ref=KELSIBrass & Unity - 20% off with code UNITY - http://brassandunity.com - - - - - - - - - - - - -SHOPB&U Jewelry & Eyewear: https://brassandunity.com - - - - - - - - - - - - -Follow #thekelsisherenperspective- - - - - - - - - - - - -CHARITYHeroic Hearts Project - https://www.heroicheartsproject.orgAll Secure Foundation - http://allsecurefoundation.orgDefenders of Freedom -https://www.defendersoffreedom.usBoot Campaign - https://bootcampaign.org

Travis Winfield takes us on a powerful journey from his 24-year Navy career to becoming a successful real estate entrepreneur with a mission to revolutionize how military families experience real estate transactions nationwide.The conversation begins with raw honesty as Travis shares the profound impact of traumatic experiences during his military service, including losing a sailor under his command and the subsequent suicide of his commanding officer. These events shaped his understanding of mental health challenges facing veterans—a critical issue with 22 military members taking their lives daily. His vulnerability in discussing his PTSD and healing journey provides rare insight into the unseen battles many veterans face after service.Travis's entrepreneurial path perfectly illustrates the ancient wisdom "he who chases two rabbits catches none." After attempting to juggle multiple businesses simultaneously—a real estate team, brewery ownership, non-profit leadership—he experienced complete burnout compounded by personal losses. This breaking point became the catalyst for his most important business lesson: the power of singular focus.The heart of our conversation centers on Travis's visionary creation—Military Operator Real Estate (MORE)—addressing a critical gap in the veteran experience. While military-focused financial institutions like USAA command 92% market share among veterans, no trusted national brand exists in real estate. MORE's mission creates a network of military-affiliated agents who understand the unique challenges of military life, while also tackling employment challenges for military spouses and transitioning service members through innovative GI Bill-approved training programs.Travis's story brilliantly demonstrates how entrepreneurship can solve systemic problems while creating sustainable business models. Whether you're a veteran considering your next chapter, an entrepreneur seeking clarity, or simply someone who appreciates stories of reinvention with purpose, this conversation will leave you inspired to find the place where your experience, passion and opportunity intersect.Welcome to the ATLG podcast I am your host Ken Joslin, former pastor turned coach & host of CREATE, the #1 Faith-based Entrepreneur conference in America. My mission is to help faith-based entrepreneurs become the best version of themselves by growing in our Core 5: Faith, Health, Relationships, Business & Finances. You can get more information as well as join our FREE Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/676347099851525

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.