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Could eating late at night be hurting your gut health? Are prebiotic and probiotic sodas actually good for your microbiome? And what do GLP-1 weight loss drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy mean for digestion, constipation, and gut bacteria? Dr. Will Bulsiewicz joins Chuck Carroll on The Exam Room Podcast to answer the most Googled gut health questions from listeners.
Carrie Foran Sepulveda, VP of Fraud and Physical Security at Navy Federal, talks romance scams and other top fraud threats facing credit unions today. Also, Michael plays a game with Natasha and Producer Zach he invented based on things he's Googled on a plane, titled "Top Five What??!"
Delta answers some more of the most googled questions about queerness.post of the week: https://www.instagram.com/p/DZIUaIgjJOD/fundraiser: https://gofund.me/3d2e4ed4eshop: https://freakshop-uk-shop.fourthwall.com/all the links: linktr.ee/misfitmediapodsubscribe: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/misfitmedia/subscribe
Delta answers some more of the most googled questions about queerness.post of the week: https://www.instagram.com/p/DZIUaIgjJOD/fundraiser: https://gofund.me/3d2e4ed4eshop: https://freakshop-uk-shop.fourthwall.com/all the links: linktr.ee/misfitmediapodsubscribe: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/misfitmedia/subscribe
It's just so infuriating when you see criminals who are given sentences that in no way reflect the heinous nature of their crime. It would be lovely, well not lovely, but it would be admirable to have faith in a justice system, not simply have to endure a legal system. The Aussies know how to do it. There was a particularly ghastly pack rape of a young woman who had the misfortune to be walking home from a bus stop at the wrong place at the wrong time, and a gang of young men and one woman said, “Let's go and get ourselves a Sheila". And so this pack of homeless kids assaulted her, tortured her, gang raped her and murdered her. And they were sent to prison forever, until such time as they were physically incapacitated to no longer serve as a threat to the community or until they were dead. The UN came galloping in and said you simply can't do that, they were children when they did this. Yeah, no. They were man enough to cause that sort of pain, harm, and damage to an innocent woman, man enough to serve the crime. They can give somebody 36 years for rape and murder because even though they're a teenager, even though they've never done anything like this before, the severity of the crime is such that they pose a threat to society – damn right they do. But what do we do? Here we do it differently. We believe in the inherent goodness of all people and the redemptive power of incarceration, even when there is absolutely no basis to believe that. Around 56.5% of people with previous convictions are reconvicted within two years of release. Nearly 36% end up back in prison over the same period. Now, many people who get sent to prison are unfortunate, many people learn their lesson, but for those who commit the most serious crimes, they simply don't. This week we learned that Carla Cardno's rapist, torturer, and murderer is set to be released from prison and nobody is allowed to know what he looks like at all. Despite the fact a review ordered by the Parole Board in 2009 found he scored highly on the psychopathy checklist measure, he's a psychopath, and his characteristics pointed to the likelihood of serious violent and sexual recidivism. That was in 2009. They said after meeting him in 2014 it was worrying that he acknowledged he had enjoyed the event and the circumstances of his crime and the control he could exercise on the child during his dreadful offending. And so now apparently, he's cured. He's cured of being that sick, cruel deviant that he confessed himself to be and the Parole Board now believes he's only of average risk of offending. Oh cool. Average. Brilliant. How can you go from being that sick, that wrongly wired, to cured? You can't. At least I suppose we can run him through AI and see what he looks like now I guess, have a fair idea. And I guess at least we know what George Starling looks like. He's a Christchurch rapist who drugged two women with sedative laced vodka. These young women were flatmates, they returned back to their flat from a party to find Starling was already at their house, somebody else had invited him round. He offered them a drink. They thought they were having a drink of vodka. When they began suffering the effects of the drugged vodka, they took themselves off to bed. He entered first one room then the other and raped both women over the course of the night. Five months later he raped a third woman. He was found guilty of the rapes in two separate trials. In the first case he was sentenced to five years, served two. In the second he was sentenced to six years, served less than two. Why would you bother going through a court case for that as a woman? I have the utmost respect for the women who went to the Police, who saw that he was charged and made accountable for what he'd done to them, presumably doing so hoping that by their courage they'd be able to prevent him doing it again. But the sentencing just bears no relation to what he did to them. Apparently, he's no longer a risk to the community because he understands he must get consent. Yeah. Drugging women with sedative laced vodka so he can rape them, George, does not count as consent. Shock you and call you confused, but there you go. How could you be confused about consent when it comes to that? Snaps for you George, personal growth. That's right, drugging women so you can rape them isn't consent. How can we have faith in a system? I mean this is just two – you could probably pull two stories from the paper as well. You could probably pull a couple of stories if you just Googled “rapist sentenced New Zealand", you would find farcical, farcical sentences given. At least I suppose he was sent to prison. We've had drunk drivers who've killed people who haven't been sent to prison. How can we have faith in a system where the punishment for serious crimes is so insignificant, so inconsistent with the severity of the crime and the damage that they have caused? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Fourteen months between Eric Richins' death and Kouri's arrest. During that window, she closed a real estate deal the day after finding him dead, hosted a gathering at the home where EMTs had pronounced him, Googled luxury prisons and insurance timelines, published a children's grief book, and went on television to promote it.Most analysis focuses on whether the grief was real or performed. This episode argues the answer is both — simultaneously — in different compartments of a psychology that doesn't process deception the way most people understand it. The lie isn't a mask held in place with effort. It's a migration. The person moves into the new version of events and inhabits it. And in that version, the grief is genuine.The second installment of a five-part psychological series examining every phase of Kouri Richins' decision-making. The 911 call, the Google searches, the book, the TV tour — and a brain that can produce sincere tenderness for children it orphaned.Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.#KouriRichins #EricRichins #KouriRichinsTrial #Psychology #TrueCrime #HiddenKillers #FentanylPoisoning #SummitCounty #TrueCrimeCommunity #Justice
The defense tried to show the jury Blair's 10-out-of-10 sketch of a man who looked nothing like Allen. Excluded. Tried to call an expert to challenge the bullet science the State told the jury was never wrong. Excluded. Tried to play the audio that would show what Allen sounded like while confessing in psychosis. Excluded. Tried to present an expert who would have explained the crime scene as a pagan ritual rather than a lone attack. Excluded. Tried to introduce evidence about suspects who practiced those rituals, were connected to the victim, and whose interviews were lost or destroyed. Excluded. The defense even tried to present evidence about the quality of the investigation itself. Excluded. What the jury did hear: a State phone expert who Googled whether water damage could mimic headphones during the trial and was allowed to testify about what he found on anonymous forums — over the defense's hearsay objection. According to the defense's appellate filings, every meaningful avenue for challenging the prosecution's narrative was closed by the trial court. Allen was convicted in November 2024 and sentenced to 130 years. The State's position on every exclusion is the same: harmless error. The appeal is pending.Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.#Delphi #RichardAllen #DelphiMurders #RichardAllenTrial #HarmlessError #TrueCrime #HiddenKillers #WrongfulConviction #ExcludedEvidence #JusticeForAbbyAndLibby
The defense at Richard Allen's trial tried to introduce Blair's composite sketch of Bridge Guy — a man in his twenties with poofy hair, rated 10 out of 10 for accuracy, who looks nothing like Allen. Excluded. An expert to challenge the State's bullet methodology — excluded. Audio of Allen's psychotic episodes during solitary — excluded. Expert testimony that the confessions were false — excluded. A ritualistic crime expert to explain the crime scene — excluded. Evidence about alternative suspects connected to pagan rituals, the victim, and the crime scene symbolism — excluded. Evidence about the investigation's failures over five and a half years — excluded. The State countered phone data breaking its timeline with a witness who Googled the answer during trial. The defense objected to the hearsay. Overruled. The jury convicted on November 11, 2024, after hearing what the defense calls a fundamentally one-sided presentation. Allen was sentenced to 130 years. Every exclusion, every blocked expert, every piece of evidence the jury never saw — the State calls it all harmless error. The defense argues it was constitutional error that crippled Allen's ability to defend himself. This is the final chapter in a five-part examination of how Abby and Libby's case went from a complex crime scene to a conviction built, in my opinion, on a foundation the full truth would not support. The appeal is pending.Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.#Delphi #RichardAllen #DelphiMurders #RichardAllenTrial #HarmlessError #TrueCrime #HiddenKillers #WrongfulConviction #ExcludedEvidence #JusticeForAbbyAndLibby
On this episode of The Late Night Vision Show, we're discussing the 5 Most Searched Thermal Questions on the Internet. These questions people constantly ask when they first start learning about thermal optics. Questions such as, can thermal see through glass? Can you identify a person with thermal, and more. We cover some of the biggest misconceptions and common questions surrounding thermal technology while giving straightforward answers from years of experience using it in the field.
In this episode, I'm joined by Holly Cardew, an Australian entrepreneur, founder and friend of mine, for a conversation about ambition, self-belief, work, independence and what it means to build a life that actually feels like your own.Holly has always had a very practical kind of confidence. She does not wait until she knows everything before she starts. At 12, she was packing sponges for $5 an hour. At 14, she was working at McDonald's and learning about systems, speed and efficiency. At 18, she moved to Paris, studied in French, and worked out how to get by as she went.That same approach has shaped her life as a founder. When she did not know how to build websites, she Googled it. When she could not afford big teams, she found contractors. When she felt like an outsider in San Francisco, as a non-technical founder without the usual Silicon Valley background, she kept going anyway.What I love about Holly is the way she thinks about life. She does not spend a lot of time worrying about whether the world is fair. Her view is that everyone is dealt a different hand of cards, and the real question is how you play yours.In this conversation, we talk about building companies, raising money, remote work, failure, confidence, asking questions when you do not know the answer, and the emotional stamina it takes to keep going when things are hard.But more than anything, this episode is about mindset. Holly is ambitious, but she is also clear-eyed about the sacrifices that come with ambition. For her, a bountiful life is about being true to what you want, finding the people and places that give you energy, and continuing to build, learn and grow in the direction that feels right to you.Episode HighlightsPlaying the hand you have been dealt, rather than getting stuck on whether life is fairLearning independence early through work, money and figuring things out for yourselfStarting before you feel ready, and learning what you need as you goBuilding confidence as an outsider, especially without the usual Silicon Valley backgroundThe value of asking questions, even when you do not know the technical answerWhy ambition often comes with sacrifice, and how to be honest about thatThe emotional side of building companies, and the pressure founders quietly carryRemote work, team culture and treating people as part of the company, no matter where they areFailure as something to learn from, rather than something that defines youDesigning a life around energy, curiosity, people and places that make you feel aliveChapters00:00 – Playing the hand you have been dealt02:06 – Growing up in Sydney and learning independence early06:17 – Early jobs, McDonald's and learning systems10:37 – Moving to Paris at 1812:20 – What a bountiful life means to Holly13:38 – Learning by doing and building from scratch18:43 – Building ambitious things and solving hard problems26:24 – Raising money and finding the right investors29:25 – The emotional side of building companies31:34 – Feeling like an outsider in Silicon Valley35:08 – Remote work, team culture and designing a life that works37:34 – Ambition, sacrifice and what “enough” looks likeGuest Bio Holly Cardew is an Australian e-commerce entrepreneur who has spent more than a decade building in online retail and technology. She splits her time between Sydney and San Francisco, and has been recognised by Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia for her work in retail and e-commerce.Bountifull Podcast The Bountifull Podcast explores what it means to live a bountiful life through conversations with interesting people from diverse backgrounds. Hosted by Sian Simpson, the podcast brings together voices from psychology, science, business, creativity, health, relationships, spirituality, food, nature and personal growth to explore how we can live with more joy, resilience, connection and meaning.https://www.bountifullworld.com/
On today's Daily Detroit, we start the week with a conversation with State Senator — and Democratic U.S. Senate hopeful — Mallory McMorrow. It's the third in our series of Democratic Senate candidate interviews, and we're focused squarely on what federal power could actually mean for Detroit, Metro Detroit, and Michigan. McMorrow talks about why she first Googled "how to run for office" after the 2016 election, and why she frames governing as a design challenge to build policy that improves people's lives. She talked about an approach to ieconomic development that feels less like "Lucy and the football" and more like real, ground‑up regional growth — including transit as economic development, and keeping young people from leaving the state. From there, the conversation moves to the auto industry and EVs, competition from China, and why she wants incentives that grow talent and clusters of jobs instead of focusing on chasing megaprojects. We also touch on affordability: gas prices, housing, childcare, and McMorrow's push to scale ideas like universal pre‑K, free school meals, more housing production, paid leave, and cracking down on scammy online ads. You'll also hear her vision on healthcare access, expanding Michigan's red flag law approach to the federal level, and supporting Detroit‑grown community violence intervention. And because this is Daily Detroit, they close with some city love — from classic Michigan license plates helping fix roads to her favorite spots around town. We'll be at the Mackinac Policy Conference all week, so be sure to check your podcast feeds and inboxes for updates. Constructive feedback as always: 313-789-3211 or dailydetroit -at- gmail -dot- com. And make sure to follow us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get shows.
The Conscious Edge Podcast: Redefining Wealth as a Whole Human Experience
For a lot of entrepreneurs, sitting still feels wrong. You might even find yourself jumping up to look busy the second you hear someone coming. This episode is about the programming running underneath that, and how to approach productivity with a little more mindfulness. You're Invited to Podcast Club: Starting in June, listeners of The Conscious Edge are coming together on Thursdays at 1pm ET for Podcast Club. Think book club, but for the podcast. We'll talk about the episodes, what landed, where it's challenging us, and how to actually apply it. It's a chance to meet other business owners, get into real two-way conversation, and stop just consuming content. RSVP for the dates you want at consciousedge.com/club. Get full show notes at www.consciousedge.com/ep106 Instagram:@aleciastg In this Mindfulness Matters conversation, Alecia and Jonathan unpack why our culture has trained us to equate busyness with worth, what mindful productivity actually looks like in real life, and why the productivity hacks you keep Googling never seem to stick. They get into the research that says 90 minutes of focused work outperforms six hours of distracted effort, why office workers switch tasks roughly 70 times a day without realizing it, and the 333 method that gives you a usable structure for deep work without the all-or-nothing crash. This is the episode for the entrepreneur who's been operating in summer mode for years, who knows they're depleting themselves, and who hasn't been able to figure out why the focus and follow-through they used to have feels so far away.
FULL SHOW: Monday, May 25th, 2026 Curious if we look as bad as we sound? Follow us @BrookeandJeffrey: Youtube Instagram TikTok BrookeandJeffrey.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Hope Chambers, a mom of two, content creator, and former marketing exec who worked in TV/film in LA and tech startups in New York, gets real about packing up her family and moving to Amsterdam with a six-month-old and a toddler. She talks about growing up with financial insecurity, the fear that motherhood would erase everything she'd built, and why she stopped waiting for the "right time" to go after the life she actually wanted. No sugarcoating, no vision board fluff, just an honest conversation about what it costs to blow up a life that looks good on paper.If you're a mom who's ever Googled "moving to Europe" at 2am, questioned your entire career after having a baby, or felt like you had to choose between being a good mom and being yourself, this one's for you.Why listen:How Hope navigated going freelance and moving abroad with two kids under three, and what the Dutch system is actually like for expat familiesBehind-the-scenes on building a personal brand as an American creator in Europe, why US brand deals still pay better, and her husband Clayton's advice to stop trying to monetize too fastHow motherhood made her realize her corporate career was draining her, and why she compares having kids to an ayahuasca journeyReal talk on the pressure to pick a lane (working mom vs. stay-at-home mom) and why moving to Europe finally let her stop choosingWhy she treats herself like her own client, using a decade of brand marketing experience to build something that's actually hersHow to stay unapologetically yourself abroad when people keep reminding you you're "too American"Find Hope:Instagram: @hope.ss.chambers YouTube: @hope.ss.chambers Find host Laura:Instagram: @laurafama Contact Laura: laura@herwhy.worldThis episode supports BirthFund. Every mom deserves access to quality midwifery care, but not every family can afford it. The BirthFund is a 1:1 community fund that sends 100% of donations directly to families to cover the cost of midwifery care. If this episode resonated with you and you want to support a mom on her own journey, consider donating. Every contribution goes straight to a family who needs it.Donate here
Can we really rebuild our society and achieve total freedom?John Bush has built one of the more grounded blueprints I've seen for exiting the system instead of complaining about it. In this episode, we get into parallel societies, the four horsemen of technocracy, the difference between Bitcoin as a store of value and privacy coins, and why he thinks stablecoins are replacing the CBDC rollout people were warned about.So, what's actually working at the community level? John shares why his first intentional community fell apart, what he learned the hard way about vetting people, and how the Haven Village project is structuring land, trusts, and private membership associations differently.There's a lot here on the practical side too: de-Googled phones, mesh communication, and the trifecta of PMA, trust, and ministry that lets you build outside the system without abandoning everything inside it.If you've been stuck in a cycle of doomscrolling and not knowing what to do next, press play.Visit lukestorey.com/fourhorsemen to sign up for the Escape the Four Horsemen of the Technocracy Webinar.You'll learn:[00:00] Introduction[13:58] Why so many freedom people fell for the Trump thing again[20:49] Larken Rose, false authority, and why belief in government is the real problem[23:15] The Four Horsemen of Technocracy and how energy credits will replace money[33:41] Why your smart meter could become a tool to punish your tweets[41:58] Flock cameras, Mexico's cashless toll booths, and the death of anonymous travel[56:36] The science behind Freedom Cells[1:03:02] Why your homestead falls apart and how to build a communal prenup[1:35:05] Bitcoin's block size war, Epstein's layer-two money, and how Bitcoin lost its cash use case[1:48:51] Why Monero and Zano matter before CBDCs and stablecoins lock everyone in[2:04:03] The trifecta (ministry, PMA, and trust) as a bridge out of the system[2:40:03] How losing everything brought John Bush to JesusResources Mentioned:Read: The Most Dangerous Superstition by Larken Rose | BookThe People's Reset | WebsiteFreedom Cell Network | WebsiteRead: Flourish! An Alternative to Government and Other Hierarchies by Bob Podolsky | BookLive Free Now with John Bush | WebsiteHaven Village | WebsiteExit and Build Land Summit | WebsiteHaven Earth Trade School | WebsiteFreedom Family Fellowship | WebsiteNO, I WILL NOT COMPLY! PERIOD! | YouTubeFull shownotes at lukestorey.com/johnbushRelated The Life Stylist Episodes:Alex Jones: The Mystic Behind the Madman & the Fight for Our Future | PodcastFake Viruses and Parasitic Politicians: How We Win by Thinking Clearly & Opting Out w/ Alec Zeck | PodcastDeath-Free Diet Fantasies vs. Regenerative Farm-To-Fork Food of the Future | PodcastAwakening Spiritual Law: A Bridge from Babylon to the New Earth w/ Michael Joseph & Phil Mederi | PodcastCommon Law School: Escape the Free-Range Tax Slave Matrix Legally | PodcastCommon Law School Part 2: Mastering Money & Dismantling Debt | PodcastThe Truth Shall Set You Free: Quitting the US Corporation & Breaking The Matrix | PodcastAre Trusts the Key to Financial Freedom in the Matrix? The Art of Living Privately | PodcastHow to Divorce Yourself from Government Jurisdiction and Create Your Own | PodcastBreaking Free: State National Status & Sovereignty Made Simple w/ Kenneth Plaster | PodcastFind more from John:John Bush | Website | Instagram | Facebook | X | TikTok | YouTubeFind more from Luke:Luke Storey | Instagram | Facebook | X | YouTube | LinkedInBIOPTIMIZERS | Visit bioptimizers.com/luke and use code LUKE15 to save 15% off
The Guest: Norris Francis BranhamWebsite: www. Turtlegang.nyc YT IG: @turtlegangnyc —This conversation with Norris Francis Branham is one of the most important, eye‑opening, and culturally vital interviews of the season. Viewers will walk away with a deeper understanding of Indigenous history, the erasure of Native narratives in America, and the urgent work being done today to reclaim identity, land, and truth.—Norris is not just a historian—he is a living archive, a cultural protector, and a frontline advocate whose work with Turtlegang.nyc is reshaping how communities understand their origins and their power. This episode is a rare opportunity to hear history from a voice that carries lineage, lived experience, and uncompromising clarity.
What's The Dumbest Thing You've Ever Googled - Part 1 full 242 Mon, 18 May 2026 13:23:58 +0000 8wzk7b3IV5XwArdmtnLSJuaNBT4tJJ8u latest,wbmx,society & culture Karson & Kennedy latest,wbmx,society & culture What's The Dumbest Thing You've Ever Googled - Part 1 Karson & Kennedy are honest and open about the most intimate details of their personal lives. The show is fast paced and will have you laughing until it hurts one minute and then wiping tears away from your eyes the next. Some of K&K’s most popular features are Can’t Beat Kennedy, What Did Barrett Say, and The Dirty on the 30! 2024 © 2021 Audacy, Inc. Society & Culture False https://player.amperwavepodcasting.com?
What's The Dumbest Thing You've Ever Googled - Part 2 full 306 Mon, 18 May 2026 13:26:16 +0000 Kh3WezI80x6jop2HTWo22g1544LkTRcD latest,wbmx,society & culture Karson & Kennedy latest,wbmx,society & culture What's The Dumbest Thing You've Ever Googled - Part 2 Karson & Kennedy are honest and open about the most intimate details of their personal lives. The show is fast paced and will have you laughing until it hurts one minute and then wiping tears away from your eyes the next. Some of K&K’s most popular features are Can’t Beat Kennedy, What Did Barrett Say, and The Dirty on the 30! 2024 © 2021 Audacy, Inc. Society & Culture False https://player.amperwavepodcasting.com?
Episode 290- Warning: Use AI & Lose Your Guns Also Available OnSearchable Podcast Transcript Gun Lawyer — Episode Transcript Page – 1 – of 16 Gun Lawyer — Episode 290 Transcript SUMMARY KEYWORDS AI threat, gun rights, Chat GPT, police intervention, involuntary commitment, extreme risk protection order, privacy concerns, legal implications, AI misuse, mental health, medication monitoring, court hearing, AI development, Second Amendment, New Jersey gun laws. SPEAKERS Teddy Nappen, Evan Nappen, Mike, Speaker 2 Evan Nappen 00:17 I’m Evan Nappen. Teddy Nappen 00:19 And I’m Teddy Nappen. Evan Nappen 00:21 And welcome to Gun Lawyer. We have a very important show for you. This is a critical issue that you probably have never heard about before or even considered as an issue. Yet in this modern age of AI, it has emerged as a threat to gun owners and our Second Amendment rights. Today we have an actual victim of AI and gun rights, and I want this show to be a warning to every gun owner to beware. When you talk to AI, you’re basically talking to the Government. You are talking publicly, and it is a thing that is monitored, that is admitted to being monitored. This is something that can cause immense problems for any gun owner. Today, we have on the show Mike, and Mike is an actual victim of AI. Welcome to the show, Mike. Teddy Nappen 01:36 Hey, Mike. Evan Nappen 01:36 Do you? Hi there. Mike 01:38 It’s great to be here. Thank you. Evan Nappen 01:40 So, Mike, tell me, and tell our listeners, what occurred when you ended up, you were using an AI program, right? What program were you using? Mike 01:55 Yeah, I was doing ChatGPT. Page – 2 – of 16 Evan Nappen 01:59 And what were you doing at the time, speaking with ChatGPT? Mike 02:06 Well, it’s a pretty long story, but to summarize it. My wife and I were having marital issues. So, she left. She said, ‘I’m leaving”, and she left the house. So, I decided I would just vent, because I was very upset. So, I got on ChatGPT, and I started talking to ChatGPT. Evan Nappen 02:30 And ChatGPT is easy to talk to. It’s like a person. You’re essentially venting like you would to a friend, right? Mike 02:39 That’s correct. And so, I was assuming it was private, right? I didn’t think anybody was listening, and so I was telling ChatGPT some very private things, like, you know, I am not.. I don’t have a plan for suicide, but I am very distressed. I don’t want it to get to the point where I’m thinking about suicide and making a plan for suicide. So, I assumed that that was private. But within 15 minutes, 20 minutes or so, there was a severe pounding at the door. I went over to the door, opened the door, and it was the Police. This is Ocean County, New Jersey. And they started asking me questions. They did not have a counselor with them, which they normally would bring to a situation like this. There was no mediator. It was just police, basically. They walked in, and at the time I was in the middle of taking my normal medication. I distribute my medication across different vials, so that I know I’m on track, either taking too much or not taking enough. But the police decided to grab the vial away from me. They sort of took the vial away from me. They started to count the medication, and I said, “Yeah…. Evan Nappen 04:08 And this is prescription medication for you, right? Mike 04:11 That’s correct. I said, “You can’t count that vial. I distribute the medication across multiple vials. You’ll have to go back to the safe and get the other medication. They never bothered to do that. Evan Nappen 04:25 Did they tell you why they were at your door? Mike 04:29 They never did. They never told me. I asked them why they were here, and they said that somebody called 911. I said that I never called 911. Evan Nappen 04:42 Do you know any living person that called 911? Page – 3 – of 16 Page – 4 – of 16 Mike 04:47 No. Nobody called. I was the only one who knew what was going on. Evan Nappen 04:52 Because you were in your home, and it was just you there talking to ChatGPT, right? Mike 04:57 That’s it. Bottom line. So, they were very aggressive. They miscounted the pills. When I went to the hospital, they took me to Kimball Medical Center in Lakewood, New Jersey. There were about five people, six people standing around me, including police and nurses, and they said, “You have to pee in this cup.” I said, I can’t pee with a bunch of people watching me. They said, well, we’ll have to sedate you, and then we’ll have to do a straight cat. So, the sedation didn’t work. They did a straight cat with an untrained nurse. I was screaming my head off, and it caused me to bleed for like two, three hours. I had to keep changing the paper pants. It was a horrible experience. It was really terrible. Mike 05:52 They basically just watched me for three or four hours. Of course, the urine test and the drug work was all negative. Everything came back negative for overdose and use of illegal drugs, use of sleeping pills, whatever. Everything was negative. The only thing that was positive was my normal medication, and it was at normal levels. So, then they decided to commit me involuntarily, which I questioned. I talked to the psychiatrist. I said, why are you committing me involuntarily? Well, just because of some of the things that you said. I said, well, what did I say? And he said, well, I don’t exactly know, but it was reported that you said that you were going to commit suicide, he told me. I said, no. I was talking to ChatGPT, I was venting. Teddy Nappen 06:44 Wow. Mike 06:45 But they committed me involuntarily anyway. So, I went to the involuntary, I went to the behavioral health hospital. They weren’t treating me for anything. They were just letting me float around with everyone else, and there were a lot of people in there that needed a lot of help, serious psychiatric help. I felt bad for these people. There was one woman who was crawling on the floor, saying, ‘I’m not a child molester, just screaming it out. There was another guy who was in there for attempting to kill his brother. So, I was in with a bunch of people, and I didn’t belong there. I finally met up with a district manager that I figured that out, because she saw me writing letters to the management. I took some pieces of paper that I found, and I started handwriting letters saying you’re not treating me. You have to define what my treatment plan is, and what the goals of the treatment plans are. Otherwise, you need to release me by law. Well, that got their attention, because I took the time to hand write two letters. I sent it to the management and to the legal team. So, within a day I was told that I was going to be released. So, the whole thing was a big charade. In the meantime, this police officer goes before a judge and gets a TERPO, and he puts on the TERPO. Page – 5 – of 16 Page – 6 – of 16 Evan Nappen 08:09 A TERPO is a Temporary Extreme Risk Protection Order. Mike 08:13 Correct. Evan Nappen 08:13 And in getting that, they serve this on you when? When were you served the TERPO? When you got home from the hospital? Mike 08:23 Yeah, before I left the behavioral health hospital. I said, did you guys check the blood work and urine analysis? And they never did. So, bottom line is that they put down on the TERPO that I overdosed on prescription pain medicine, and I was abusing my pain medicine because they miscounted the medicine at my house. Evan Nappen 08:48 And that was absolutely not true. Mike 08:50 Absolutely not true, completely false. So, when we got to the FERPO, I defended myself. Evan Nappen 08:57 Okay. So, the FERPO is the Final Extreme Risk Protection Order. There’s a hearing that’s held where the judge has to decide whether the TERPO, which is issued ex parte, where you never had any say, the cops just made whatever statements they made, the judge issues this TERPO with no due process for you. And you’re served with the TERPO and your guns get taken. Then you finally get your day in court, where you’re going to be able to explain yourself. You go there without an attorney, and you have this hearing. What happens at this hearing on whether or not to issue this FERPO. Mike 09:45 Yeah. So, the hearing was on April 8, 2026 in the Superior Court of Ocean County, New Jersey. The prosecutor put the police officer on the stand. I asked him a bunch of questions. Did you do a background check on me? Did you find anything negative? Blah blah blah. The answer was no to everything. So, then I had a chance to cross-examine him, and I said, at the time that you went before the judge to get the TERPO, did you understand at that time, and did you present to the judge that the blood work and the urine analysis all came back negative for overdose? Normal use of my prescription medicine. He said, no. I did not do that. I did not present it. Then I said, can you name a specific person at the behavioral health hospital or the regular hospital that had made a diagnosis of suicide on my part? He said, “No, I can’t name anybody.” So, in other words, they said everything that you wrote on the TERPO, justification for the TERPO, was kind of like hearsay, basically. He said, yeah, I guess so. It’s unbelievable. I couldn’t believe it. I don’t have any legal experience, you know. I’m an engineer, and I do the best I can based on the facts. And here I am doing a cross examination of this guy, and you could see that they never did their homework. Page – 7 – of 16 Teddy Nappen 11:23 I’m more shocked that the guy just answered blatantly. That he would just say, “Yeah, I guess so. It makes sense. Evan Nappen 11:35 So, you were cross-examining the officer at the hearing. You questioned him, and what did you think about his answers? Mike 11:45 I could tell he didn’t do his homework, because the first question, related to the really important stuff, which is, did this guy actually try to commit suicide? So you look at the urine results, and you look at the blood work, and they were all negative. The urine test was negative for any illegal drug and negative for sleeping pills. The only thing it was positive for was the medicine that I normally take, and it was at normal levels. And then he couldn’t name anybody that had diagnosed me as being suicidal. So, basically everything that he presented to the judge for the TERPO amounted to hearsay, pretty much. And you could tell when I was. Evan Nappen 12:33 Ultimately the judge dismissed it. After the hearing, he dismissed the TERPO and did not grant the FERPO. Mike 12:41 Right. The judge dismissed the FERPO, and actually wrote, she wrote in the finding that the defendant does not show any productivity or proclivity to suicidal tendencies. Therefore, there’s nothing to prevent him from owning firearms, in so many words. I’m paraphrasing, but that’s what she said. And then she also said verbally that I could go and retrieve my firearms because the FERPO was denied. You can go and retrieve your firearms from the Lakewood Police. Teddy Nappen 13:19 Wow. Evan Nappen 13:21 Okay. Mike 13:22 So, I filled out the application that they make you fill out. Little did I know it was landing in the lap of this detective that works for the Assistant Prosecutor. I had to provide all kinds of information, including the TERPO, the FERPO. I wrote a lab analysis that I included. I included my white paper, which has the timeline of events, and they just sat on it. It was around April 10 that I submitted all that, and they have just been sitting on it ever since. Page – 8 – of 16 Evan Nappen 13:47 So, even though the FERPO has been dismissed, you still have not gotten your guns back. And that’s what we’re going to be helping you to get your guns back. Even with no FERPO, with a finding of no issue regarding being a threat to yourself or a threat to others, and everything you went through, the stress of the entire situation, the medical procedure, which was extremely painful, Mike 14:31 Horrendous, no less. Horrendous. Evan Nappen 14:33 Horrendous. And then having to be put through this system where there was nothing, and it all was triggered because of you speaking with ChatGPT, right? Mike 14:49 Correct, exactly, exactly. And this is outrageous. Evan Nappen 14:53 It’s outrageous. Mike 14:55 It’s unbelievable. Evan Nappen 14:57 Yeah. Wait, Teddy. Go ahead, go ahead, Mike. Teddy Nappen 14:59 No, I’m sorry, Mike. I’ll leave it to him. Mike 15:01 It’s just unbelievable. You’re sitting there in your office, your home office, and you’re talking to an AI. And then there’s police pounding on the door, walking into your house, grabbing your medication, sending you to the hospital. Then you’re in extreme pain because somebody’s putting a straight catheter through your penis. You’re bleeding for three or four hours. You call for a urologist, and nobody shows up for six hours. I mean, and then when.. and then they had me talk to the psychiatrist. That was like out of, that was like out of The Wizard of Oz. They bring a TV monitor over, and they have me talk to this psychiatrist over this TV monitor. It was so bizarre. He’s just sitting there with his head in his chin, like some arrogant fool determining my future, and he throws me in this place where I didn’t belong. I mean, that’s why I have PTSD. Evan Nappen 15:58 Right. This is, this is what New Jersey? This is what you’re subject to. Gun owners take notice how this got triggered, and what Mike went through. And is still going through. He still hasn’t gotten his guns returned yet. Yeah, this is what happens when you live in the DPRNJ. Take note! Page – 9 – of 16 Teddy Nappen 16:20 Mike, I’m actually kind of curious. Prior to the incident, have you used any other AI’s? What did you use prior? Just do understand the relationship with you and the AI. Like, what you were using it for prior? Mike 16:37 Well, I’m an engineer. I’ve worked for many years for Bell Labs, and then Miter, and other companies. So, I write papers. I’m giving a presentation in July on 6G. So, I use AI’s to help me write papers and do other things that are technical in nature, and I’m trying to build a business. I actually’ve written. Me and a few people that I’ve worked with over the years have developed our own AI system that’s based on a human learning model, and we have a beta version of it. It basically learns like a human being learns, and it can learn any technical specialty and become an expert, a super intellect in that specialty. So, that’s what I’ve been using it for. But that day was a pretty bad day, because, you know, we’ve been married for 44 years. My wife said, “I’m leaving you, because we got into an argument over our grandchildren, without going into the details. It was, that was basically the bottom line, and she decided I’ve had enough. I’m leaving. That’s when I started to vent to ChatGPT, because he’s kind of my friend. Evan Nappen 17:49 And you know that it was not your wife who called, right? Mike 17:54 No, my wife did not call. Evan Nappen 17:55 Right. And that was it. It was you talking to ChatGPT, and here you are. Even working in the area of AI, and you didn’t realize that it’s a conduit out when you speak. Just so you know, I’ve checked. I just Googled about ChatGPT. Do they report? Do they contact police? And they admit it. They say yes, they do. If someone’s talking about, they claim, harming others, which of course you never talked in any way about that. Then it says with suicide, they claim, and this is just what comes up when you search it on a Google search, they claim, oh no, we recommend counseling. We don’t contact the police. Yeah, right. Well, apparently that’s not the case. Mike 18:44 That’s not the case. And listen, you know, being in this business, you can write a back end to any system. So, if they wanted to put it back end into the police. Evan Nappen 18:56 Yeah, well, they admit they do for these issues. I mean, I’m just reading what I see on Google when I asked this about ChatGPT, you know. Evan Nappen 19:10 They do this. They talk about their so-called policies, right on there. So, people need to be aware of it, and Mike, that’s why, isn’t that why you wanted to go public with this? You really wanted to tell people, so they would be aware of it, right? Page – 10 – of 16 Mike 19:29 Yeah, and again, I’m not, I’m not ashamed of going public, you know. Whenever it’s appropriate, people can find out all about me, my last name or whatever, because this is just outrageous, I don’t want anyone else to go through this. Teddy Nappen 19:42 Mike, I’m really curious about regarding your just for your understanding of, with seems like you have a decent amount of knowledge on AI. I know, mine is very limited. But I understand that there’s like closed AI, like for instance, just to give an example. Westlaw is now adding AI to help people do legal research, or even, like, other forms of platforms. Even Adobe now has AI to help you. Evan Nappen 20:10 They say, like, with Claude, it’s supposed to be contained, or can be? I don’t know. Mike 20:18 Any system can have a back end. Evan Nappen 20:20 Right. Mike 20:20 It’s not, it’s not a difficult thing to do, and you just get, you know, even a junior programmer to provide the backend capability. You can call it closed, open, whatever. You can call it anything you want. If somebody wants to put in a back end to a system, it’s not hard to do. It’s relatively simple to do. Most of it’s done through what’s called an Application Program Interface, or an API. You may have heard that term before. So, ChatGPT obviously has an API calls to certain platforms that the police have access to. So, that’s the only thing that could have happened. That has to be the case. Evan Nappen 21:03 Right. It’s really something, and it’s really great that you wanted to share this and let folks know. It is something we’re just not aware of. And with AI being this whole new kind of age we’re entering into, its impact to our rights is well, you’re a shining example of what we have to worry about. It goes further, too, because now there’s great concern about AI, for example, being able to access the illegal gun registry of the billion records that ATF has warehoused, where they claimed, oh, well, you know, it’s something. With AI, that now takes on an even greater dimension for AI use on registration record. Essentially being able to create a dossier of every person and their purchases. And then that can combine with individuals who may be talking, and then knowing what gun, and I mean, the ramifications just go on and on and on. From the global picture right down to someone like yourself, an individual who unsuspectingly is speaking with AI. Mike 22:31 Well, the thing that I want to make sure people are aware of is that you may think you’re alone in your freedom, you may think you have freedom of thought, but in actual reality, when you get online, there’s no such thing. That’s why I wrote that white paper that I attached and I sent to you guys, called Page – 11 – of 16 “Freedom of Thought”. I have since contacted somebody that I know at the NRA, and they’re interested in publishing it. I have to clean it up a little bit, but I really believe in this. I really believe that there’s things beyond the guns. The Second Amendment, of course, is very important. Mike 22:33 But it’s also the stuff beyond it. Evan Nappen 22:33 That’s a great point, too, because it does go beyond. It affects across the boards our rights about privacy. Mike 22:33 Exactly. Evan Nappen 22:33 Oh, without a doubt, and yeah, it’s very significant, and this highlights it. Teddy Nappen 22:48 I will say, from your experience, not only just your background and what you’ve gone through on that, I still see the value in AI as a tool. And it seems like in your field you still see it as that, as a tool to be used, and yes, there are the dangers as clearly seen. Do you still hold that opinion? Do you have any changes from that? Or where are you at now? Mike 23:54 No. I mean, AI is wonderful. I mean, I’ve been doing AI research for a long time, and people think AI is new. It’s not. There’s just new manifestations now, because the hardware is much faster. So, the stuff that we weren’t able to run in the past we can do now, because we have a lot more horsepower. Architectures of the chipsets are better. So, that’s going to even get better. We’re talking about now hybrid chip sets that are part biology and part silicon. And over time, that’s going to, you know, develop further into actual, you know, bio capable chipsets. So, what I’m trying to do is create a super intelligent version in my, I call it Adapt One. It’s based on a human learning model, and this thing will learn in any field you put it in that environment. Let’s say you put it in the law office, you give it a video camera or a microphone, text input, whatever, it’s going to learn whatever gets discussed in that office. And eventually over time, if it has access to electronic media, like books, and so on, like case law, it’ll learn all that. So, it’ll become an expert, become a legal expert, right? Just like I’m trying to use it initially as an expert in the networking arena, because I’m a 6G wireless person using AI. So, what I’m trying to do is use Adapt One in a networking environment where you distribute the Adapt Ones. They learn about what’s going on in their particular segments of the network. Then they discover each other, and they exchange information and learn from each other. So, we’re talking about going forward as AI evolves, you’re talking about super intelligent entities that will achieve superior intellect, the human being. So I’m very gung ho with AI. Page – 12 – of 16 Teddy Nappen 25:57 Yeah, one thing I do find valuable, and people should remember this. When looking at AI, I see it as valuable to make a lot of the institutions, the ones that have been, you see it, the political bias, and have been corrupted, like the education system, what’s going on with media. When it comes to, like, Hollywood, and they’re all terrified of AI, those have been the propagandist arms for the longest time. I see AI making them irrelevant, too. And your program, could you, for someone who wanted to homeschool, have an AI trained to be a teacher in the house to help educate your children. Mike 26:39 Yes! Teddy Nappen 26:39 That’s what I’m looking at, because I do not want to send my child to a propaganda public school and be trained up to be a radical communist. Mike 26:49 Yeah, exactly. I don’t blame you. I mean, so Adapt One will do that, right? Evan Nappen 26:55 Very cool. Teddy Nappen 26:56 And I do see the value, a lot of the creativity, where. I don’t know if you caught Spencer Pratt out of LA. Mike 26:58 Yes. Teddy Nappen 26:58 He’s running for mayor. Did you see his AI ad where he dressed himself up as Batman? He’s bating Karen Bass, and they’re all throwing tomatoes. Hey like, this whole like, what is it? This Marie Antoinette level of just, let them eat cake. Mike 27:23 She is the most incompetent person on earth. I cannot believe she’s the mayor. Why did the people elect her? She’s horrible. Teddy Nappen 27:31 She checked off enough boxes, that’s how it always goes. Mike 27:34 Oh my god, she is so incompetent. All those fires, and I guess they’ve only issued like a handful of permits to rebuild. It’s insane. What’s going on there? Page – 13 – of 16 Teddy Nappen 27:43 Oh, yeah, and it seems like they might even.. in it’s still a toss up, and they may vote in the worst, the socialists who working.. Mike 27:51 I know, Teddy Nappen 27:52 And they’re just like, well, we.. well, you know what? Let’s just further the problem, that’s it. And the other thing I remember, that just a little bit of the abuse by AI. I always laugh at this one. MSNBC was caught photoshopping Alex Pretti, the guy who was attacking ICE, and then was taken down. They used AI to make him look more handsome. Mike 28:21 Oh yeah. I saw that. Teddy Nappen 28:23 They edited his photo so he would look like a more handsome victim, and it’s like, what the heck is wrong with you? Mike 28:31 It’s unbelievable, the propaganda that people want to create, you know. Evan Nappen 28:35 That’s true. Mike 28:36 But there’s too many suckers that fall for it, that’s the problem. I mean, you know, yeah, I’m gonna vote for Karen Bass. She’s wonderful. Or I’m gone vote for Mandami, because he’s promising from Defense Deliver. Yeah. Teddy Nappen 28:47 No, I love the latest thing they’re pushing for, where they’re talking about how Mandami solved the budget crisis. Oh, you mean he took out a massive loan from New York because Governor Hochul handed him the money? Yeah, like, and it still doesn’t solve the budget issue. Although he’s hiking rates and fees up and down, so don’t drive through New York, or you’re gonna get a ticket for something. Mike 29:11 Yeah, I heard he’s gonna try to rob the pensions or something like that. I mean. Teddy Nappen 29:14 Oh yeah, he did. For five years, they’ve done a moratorium on the pensions. I believe that was the number, but I was like, oh, good, that’ll work out. Page – 14 – of 16 Mike 29:24 Oh yeah, that’s gonna be wonderful. Evan Nappen 29:27 Hey, well, let me mention about our friends at WeShoot, because they’re running something very interesting. They’re having a rescue for pewppys, that’s right, pewppys. You might think that a pupae is similar to a puppy because the way their ad is rolling and the way they are promoting this. They have adopt a gun. So, they have a 20% off at WeShoot, which is a range in Lakewood. It’s where both Teddy and I shoot and get our training, and we love it at WeShoot. This is a real fun thing that they’re running. Adopt a gun, and the reason is real simple. They have a lot of guns that need to be adopted, and they need rescue. Evan Nappen 30:23 Their pewppys come in all shapes, all sizes, all calibers. Some are teeny little .22 Chihuahuas with big personality. Some are loyal nine millimeters, everyday companions ready to protect the home. Each one has its own bark bite personality and purpose. So, adopt a pewppy. The rescue shelf at WeShoot is 20% off. They don’t bark unless they get triggered. They don’t shed, other than brass, of course, and they don’t chew your furniture. Although you can perforate a few things with them, so be responsible. They’re looking for responsible, law-abiding owners. Check out WeShoot, and they’re adopt a pewppy, a 20% off program. And don’t forget, they have tremendous training and a great range facility. They are offering this great sale, and WeShoot is a lot of fun. We love it there. Check out WeShoot at weshootusa.com, weshootusa.com. Evan Nappen 31:37 Let me also shamelessly plug my book, New Jersey Gun Law, which is the bible of Jersey gun law. It’s over 500 pages, 120 topics, all question and answer to help you guide your way through this matrix of insanity called New Jersey gun law. And now we have an entire new warning. I’m going to have to incorporate this into a book update, I’m sure. And it is this week’s GOFU. As you know, every show we have a GOFU and that’s the Gun Owner Fuck Up. Where gun owners have made mistakes, errors, problems that end up costing them. Well, as you heard firsthand today, this was a GOFU. It’s something where we’re fortunate enough to have the person who experienced it wanting to go public and warn about this GOFU. With a warning that really has not been put out before. When you’re talking to AI, you just better believe you’re talking to the world. And it is something, particularly in New Jersey, particularly in a state that does not respect our Second Amendment rights and has mechanisms in place to abuse our rights, like the Extreme Risk Protection Orders. You can see how this all comes together into a perfect storm that Mike already has suffered through, and he doesn’t want to see anybody else suffer. Teddy Nappen 33:23 The other thing I was wondering about, because I know some firms are doing like a closed AI, basically, that would, I will, that would take almost like you’d have to have, like, I guess, even like a server, where it’s complete blank slate, and you give it the law of what, and just can do research on that. I don’t know if that, what would be. Page – 15 – of 16 Evan Nappen 33:45 Ethically lawyers can’t use ChatGPT or any open AI. It can’t even. Teddy Nappen 33:50 Correct. Evan Nappen 33:50 Because it goes into the public. We can’t do it. Mike 33:54 Yeah. Teddy Nappen 33:54 But there’s been talk of firms doing that instead, where they have like a closed, their own thing. Mike 34:00 Well, that’s what.. well, that’s what didn’t come across when I said it, but Adapt One, which is based on a human learning model. It will be whatever you want it to be. So, if you want it to be an expert in one particular area and sort of a closed information context, you could use it for that. If you want it to be more open, you can use it for that. Basically, you can put it anywhere. It’ll learn like a human baby learns, but it’ll do it much faster until it gets to the point where it’s super intelligent. So, if you wanted to, if you wanted a tax expert in your office, that would be the way to go, right? I should have a working product soon. It’s in a beta release now, but I should have a production version of it in about eight months. Evan Nappen 34:49 Wow, that’s cool. Teddy Nappen 34:51 Wow. Evan Nappen 34:51 That is really good. Mike 34:53 Yeah. Evan Nappen 34:54 Well, Mike, thanks again for going public and letting folks know. This is going to be really important, and I’m sure it’s going to catch fire to everyone in our community. You know, like I said this hasn’t been revealed before. It hasn’t been discussed in this context. I go through every news feed, every pro-gun site and feed. I am constantly reading and reviewing, and nobody has talked about this issue. Page – 16 – of 16 Teddy Nappen 35:30 The only thing that’s come up that’s even close to it would be the shooter that was shooting up the highway. He was using ChatGPT to plan out his attack. Evan Nappen 35:41 Right! The planning. And the other one is the global, where right now there’s a bill in Congress, they want to stop over that illegal registry because of fears of AI, particularly. Yeah, Ammoland just had an article on that. (https://www.ammoland.com/2026/05/ai-could-turn-atfs-4473-stockpile-into-the-gun-registry-congress-banned/) They talked about that because, what it is, they can read even the handwriting on the 4473s that they have. So, it’s all accessible. And then with AI, it’s very easy to do. They could put the dossier together to have the registration, the confiscation schemes, the monitoring, on, on. You know, it’s very, very dangerous when you combine it with the data that they have. Mike 36:23 Yeah, I mean, AI can be very dangerous, right? Put it in the hands of the wrong people, they’ll use it in a very bad way. Teddy Nappen 36:29 Well, my biggest nervousness is the one where all the nuclear reactors they are building to help power it. They’re like, oh, we’re just gonna put AI in charge of that. I’m like, Mike 36:38 Oh yeah, Evan Nappen 36:41 Haven’t they watched Terminator? I mean, come on. Mike 36:45 Yeah, but listen, I mean, here’s the problem. A lot of the AI systems are a lot of software, okay? It’s not just hardware. What that means is that there’s no.. in this world we haven’t figured out a way to do error-free software. I am an expert on software reliability, and I can just tell you that if you’re putting this thing in very high-risk applications like management of nuclear weapons, you’re making a big mistake. Because at some point there is going to be a severity one MR. or war bug. And it’s going to cause a problem. People are putting too much confidence in AI. We have to realize that a large part of it is software, and software is not bulletproof. Evan Nappen 37:37 This is Evan Nappen and Teddy Nappen reminding you that gun laws don’t protect honest citizens from criminals. They protect criminals from honest citizens. Speaker 2 37:49 Gun Lawyer is a CounterThink Media production. The music used in this broadcast was managed by Cosmo Music, New York, New York. Reach us by emailing Evan@gun.lawyer. The information and opinions in this broadcast do not constitute legal advice. Consult a licensed attorney in your state. Downloadable PDF TranscriptGun Lawyer S5 E290_Transcript About The HostEvan Nappen, Esq.Known as “America's Gun Lawyer,” Evan Nappen is above all a tireless defender of justice. Author of eight bestselling books and countless articles on firearms, knives, and weapons history and the law, a certified Firearms Instructor, and avid weapons collector and historian with a vast collection that spans almost five decades — it's no wonder he's become the trusted, go-to expert for local, industry and national media outlets. Regularly called on by radio, television and online news media for his commentary and expertise on breaking news Evan has appeared countless shows including Fox News – Judge Jeanine, CNN – Lou Dobbs, Court TV, Real Talk on WOR, It's Your Call with Lyn Doyle, Tom Gresham's Gun Talk, and Cam & Company/NRA News. As a creative arts consultant, he also lends his weapons law and historical expertise to an elite, discerning cadre of movie and television producers and directors, and novelists. He also provides expert testimony and consultations for defense attorneys across America. Email Evan Your Comments and Questions talkback@gun.lawyer Join Evan's InnerCircleHere's your chance to join an elite group of the Savviest gun and knife owners in America. Membership is totally FREE and Strictly CONFIDENTIAL. Just enter your email to start receiving insider news, tips, and other valuable membership benefits. 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A decade ago, Anne-Marie and Katrina Anne Willis met inside a small Facebook group that no longer exists — a quiet corner of the internet where women who had Googled "late in life lesbian" found each other. They were both raising kids. Both married to men. Both trying to understand a feeling they didn't yet have language for.This week, they finally meet face to face.Katrina is the author of Hurricane Lessons: A Memoir of Betrayal and Becoming, released April 7th by Sibylline Press. In this conversation, she and Anne-Marie trade their parallel stories — the Pilates instructor, the Catholic upbringing, the husbands who said "if you ever leave me, you'll leave me for a woman" long before either of them understood what that meant. They talk about the catalyst relationship that ripped Katrina's world open, the friend group that quietly disappeared, and the children who grieved in their own ways and on their own timelines.They also talk about what comes after the hurricane. The chosen family. The intentional life. The unexpected softness of a world without raised voices. And the lesson Katrina says took her the longest to learn: that the first betrayal in any coming out story is the betrayal of self, and the becoming begins the moment you stop.If you've ever wondered whether you're the only one who has felt this way — Katrina's answer, and the heart of this episode, is no. You're not. You never were.Where to find Katrina:Hurricane Lessons is available at bookshop.org, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and independent bookstores everywhereSubstack: Surrendering to SapphoInstagram & Facebook: katrina.anne.willisReady to write your own next chapter? Authentically Us is Anne-Marie's private community for women navigating exactly the kind of transition Katrina describes in Hurricane Lessons — the questioning, the becoming, the quiet rebuilding of a life that actually fits. You don't have to figure it out alone, and you don't have to wait until you have language for it. Join us at https://community.annemariezanzal.com
A decade ago, Anne-Marie and Katrina Anne Willis met inside a small Facebook group that no longer exists — a quiet corner of the internet where women who had Googled "late in life lesbian" found each other. They were both raising kids. Both married to men. Both trying to understand a feeling they didn't yet have language for.This week, they finally meet face to face.Katrina is the author of Hurricane Lessons: A Memoir of Betrayal and Becoming, released April 7th by Sibylline Press. In this conversation, she and Anne-Marie trade their parallel stories — the Pilates instructor, the Catholic upbringing, the husbands who said "if you ever leave me, you'll leave me for a woman" long before either of them understood what that meant. They talk about the catalyst relationship that ripped Katrina's world open, the friend group that quietly disappeared, and the children who grieved in their own ways and on their own timelines.They also talk about what comes after the hurricane. The chosen family. The intentional life. The unexpected softness of a world without raised voices. And the lesson Katrina says took her the longest to learn: that the first betrayal in any coming out story is the betrayal of self, and the becoming begins the moment you stop.If you've ever wondered whether you're the only one who has felt this way — Katrina's answer, and the heart of this episode, is no. You're not. You never were.Where to find Katrina:Hurricane Lessons is available at bookshop.org, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and independent bookstores everywhereSubstack: Surrendering to SapphoInstagram & Facebook: katrina.anne.willisReady to write your own next chapter? Authentically Us is Anne-Marie's private community for women navigating exactly the kind of transition Katrina describes in Hurricane Lessons — the questioning, the becoming, the quiet rebuilding of a life that actually fits. You don't have to figure it out alone, and you don't have to wait until you have language for it. Join us at https://community.annemariezanzal.com
A conversation about surveillance, data gathering and advertising targeting at the hands of Big tech and governmental agencies, along with some ways of avoiding the over-reach. We also get into the perils of AI data centres, and Digital ID.Guesting is Hakeem Anwar, the CEO of Above Phone, a conscious technology company that makes devices like de-Googled phones, laptops and tablets.Any listeners ordering through the following link will get $25 off any order placed. This helps all of us out!abovephone.com/djmarkOr use this code at checkout:DJMARK
Jeff Dudan's free digital copy of his book What does it actually take to walk away from a $450K career, build something meaningful, and perform at the highest level without burning out? In this episode of the Unemployable Podcast, host Jeff Dudan sits down with high performance coach Kristy Kuhl - former medical sales executive turned executive coach, speaker, and host of the Keep Rising Podcast. Kristy shares the exact moment Tony Robbins' phrase 'success without fulfillment' changed her life, why she Googled the word 'fulfillment' under a conference table, and how she walked away from a $450,000 income with no plan, no website, and no business cards - and built a thriving coaching practice from scratch. Together Jeff and Kristy unpack the most important frameworks for high performance, including: ✅ The Personal & Professional Scorecard system for daily clarity and decision-making ✅ Why 80% of coaching clients are working on the wrong problem entirely ✅ The Zone of Genius framework and how it eliminates burnout ✅ Why your environment is either fueling or draining your performance ✅ The 'Chicken List' strategy for doing your hardest calls at peak physiology ✅ What a death doula's research on 2,000 deaths reveals about regret and action ✅ How masterminds and peer rooms compress 12 years of learning into 12 hours ✅ The single trait that separates top 5% performers from everyone else ✅ Why radical honesty with yourself is the foundation of every business breakthrough ✅ How to use Human Design to understand how you make decisions Whether you're a franchise owner scaling your business, a corporate executive considering a leap, or an entrepreneur trying to get out of your own way - this conversation is packed with honest, actionable insight that will shift how you think about success, fulfillment, and performance. Guest: Kristy Kuhl Guest YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@kristy_kuhl Guest Website: https://kristykuhl.com/ Guest Socials: https://www.instagram.com/kristy_kuhl/ #HighPerformance #ExecutiveCoaching #BusinessGrowth #Entrepreneurship #Mindset #FranchiseBusiness #LifeCoaching #PersonalDevelopment #UnemployablePodcast #KeepRising Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Jeff Dudan's free digital copy of his book What does it actually take to walk away from a $450K career, build something meaningful, and perform at the highest level without burning out? In this episode of the Unemployable Podcast, host Jeff Dudan sits down with high performance coach Kristy Kuhl - former medical sales executive turned executive coach, speaker, and host of the Keep Rising Podcast. Kristy shares the exact moment Tony Robbins' phrase 'success without fulfillment' changed her life, why she Googled the word 'fulfillment' under a conference table, and how she walked away from a $450,000 income with no plan, no website, and no business cards - and built a thriving coaching practice from scratch. Together Jeff and Kristy unpack the most important frameworks for high performance, including: ✅ The Personal & Professional Scorecard system for daily clarity and decision-making ✅ Why 80% of coaching clients are working on the wrong problem entirely ✅ The Zone of Genius framework and how it eliminates burnout ✅ Why your environment is either fueling or draining your performance ✅ The 'Chicken List' strategy for doing your hardest calls at peak physiology ✅ What a death doula's research on 2,000 deaths reveals about regret and action ✅ How masterminds and peer rooms compress 12 years of learning into 12 hours ✅ The single trait that separates top 5% performers from everyone else ✅ Why radical honesty with yourself is the foundation of every business breakthrough ✅ How to use Human Design to understand how you make decisions Whether you're a franchise owner scaling your business, a corporate executive considering a leap, or an entrepreneur trying to get out of your own way - this conversation is packed with honest, actionable insight that will shift how you think about success, fulfillment, and performance. Guest: Kristy Kuhl Guest YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@kristy_kuhl Guest Website: https://kristykuhl.com/ Guest Socials: https://www.instagram.com/kristy_kuhl/ #HighPerformance #ExecutiveCoaching #BusinessGrowth #Entrepreneurship #Mindset #FranchiseBusiness #LifeCoaching #PersonalDevelopment #UnemployablePodcast #KeepRising Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
From the beginning, the Hermes Family knew they were in the craftsmen business. Making products that last for generations. Dave Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders Podcast, teaching business owners the not-so-secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom-and-pop to major brands. Stephen Semple is a marketing consultant, story collector, and storyteller. I’m Stephen’s sidekick and business partner, Dave Young. Before we get into today’s episode, a word from our sponsor, which is, well, it’s us, but we’re highlighting ads we’ve written and produced for our clients. So here’s one of those. [Wagmore Garage Doors Ad] Dave Young: Welcome back to the Empire Builders Podcast. Dave Young here, along with Stephen Semple. And Stephen, just before he whispered the topic in, this tells you what Stephen thinks about me. He said, “Yeah. I’ll tell you this one, but I don’t think you’re going to know about it because it’s a really high-end fashion.” Yeah. Stephen Semple: It’s not exactly what I said. Dave Young: Not … Well, I’m telling the truth in a more powerful way. And as we call them in Nebraska, Hermès, but it’s Hermès. Say it for me. Stephen Semple: I think it’s Hermès because it’s French. Dave Young: Hermès? Hermès? Stephen Semple: Yeah. Dave Young: Is the H pronounced at the beginning or not? I don’t know. Stephen Semple: I think it would be very soft. Dave Young: Scarves and things like that, that’s all I know. Stephen Semple: Well, the big thing they’re known for is handbags. Dave Young: Things I don’t own is what they’re known for. Stephen Semple: Correct. Dave Young: And I will admit you were absolutely right to think that I probably don’t know a whole lot about these people or this brand. Stephen Semple: The more I looked into this company, the more interested I got on it because I got fascinated by some of the history. Dave Young: I got to share with you just how much I don’t know about them. You see this shirt I’m wearing as we record? Stephen Semple: Yes. Dave Young: This is from the fishing department at Walmart. Not the men’s clothing section. Fishing. And I- Stephen Semple: And, Dave- Dave Young: Here’s the other thing. Stephen Semple: Dave, you don’t fish, dude. Dave Young: I don’t fish. No, I don’t. I don’t fish at all. I stumbled across these shirts one time. I’m like, “I love these shirts.” But yeah, anyway, they’re not Hermès. Stephen Semple: So this is a really interesting company. It was founded in 1837 by Thierry Hermès. And he’s a German-born craftsman. And the company started in Paris. Now, what makes it super rare is here we are, close to 190 years later, and it’s still primarily owned by direct descendants of Thierry. Dave Young: Wow. Stephen Semple: There you go, Dave. Dave Young: Okay. That’s pretty cool. That’s a family business. Stephen Semple: That’s interesting on its own, isn’t it? Dave Young: Mm-hmm. Stephen Semple: So the family owns somewhere between 65 and 70% of the business, and is publicly traded at around a valuation of about $200 billion. Dave Young: That’s a lot of billion. Stephen Semple: That’s a couple of billion, isn’t it? Dave Young: Yeah. Wow. Okay. Stephen Semple: They only have like 70% of that 200 billion, so … Dave Young: Oh. Well, just downgraded their jet. Stephen Semple: Yeah. That’s it. So in 2010, the luxury giant LVMH tried to take the company over, and the family blocked it. There was a time where they tried to take over. And the CEO, Axel Dumas, is a sixth generation member of the Hermès family. So today, they have 300 stores. They do 14 billion EU, which is about 16 billion US in sales, which means they sell $50 million per store. Dave Young: I was going to say that’s not very many stores. Stephen Semple: No. And put in perspective, Gucci does about 25 million. Prada does half of that. Tiffany’s does about 15 million per store. $50 million per store. Dave Young: It’s got to be a front for something else. Stephen Semple: Now, their big product, so we talked about … Is this handbag called the Birkin bag. And the Birkin bag sells for anywhere from $10,000 to $100,000 per bag. Dave Young: Get out of town. Stephen Semple: Yeah. And often sells for more- Dave Young: Is it bottomless? Can you crawl into it? Stephen Semple: Seemingly, it’s a pretty big bag. I personally- Dave Young: Will it transport you to other dimensions? Stephen Semple: I personally have never known anybody who’s had one, so I can’t really comment. Dave Young: No. No. I just want to touch one. Stephen Semple: And here’s the other crazy thing, is they often sell for more on the secondary market. Dave Young: Sure. Stephen Semple: Yeah. Dave Young: Why not? Stephen Semple: They’re super- Dave Young: Because they only make a couple of them, or enough to sell. Stephen Semple: They’re super scarce. You cannot walk into a store and buy one. There’s a waiting list. Dave Young: Wow. Okay. Stephen Semple: Even celebrities, doesn’t matter who you are, have to get on the waiting list. They’ve really leaned into this whole idea of scarcity. Dave Young: Yeah. Stephen Semple: They’ve really leaned into it. Dave Young: How many billion dollars worth of scarcity? Stephen Semple: Oh, in terms of their sales? Dave Young: 300 stores. And how much per store? Stephen Semple: Well, 50 million a store. Dave Young: It doesn’t feel like scarcity, but when the handbags are 10,000 and up … Wow. Stephen Semple: And to this day, the leather bags use the original hand saddle stitching. Every bag is made by one person, beginning to end, handcrafted. Their scarves, which are also really known for, are hand screen printed. The edges are all hand rolled. And the CEO personally signs off on every product. Dave Young: All right. Stephen Semple: So there is this real high level of craftsmanship with it. So Thierry was born in 1801 in Krefeld, Germany. And at the time, that part of Germany was under the control of Bonaparte, which made him a French citizen. So that’s why though he was German-born, French citizen. Dave Young: Oh. Okay. Stephen Semple: And the town was known for textiles and was considered the city of velvet and silk. And in 1821, most of his family had died of famine and disease due to the war. So he moved to Normandy, where he learned the art of saddle and harness making under the Palmieri family. 1828, he married. And in 1837, he moved to Paris and opened an equestrian supply store. I’m going to butcher this. Dave Young: Of course you are. Stephen Semple: Rue Basse-du-Rempart. Dave Young: You said it perfectly. Stephen Semple: Okay. There we go. There, he made bridals, harnesses, carriage fittings using leather and wrought iron, right? And he became famous for a particularly strong saddle stitch that basically uses this opposite stitching. If one of the stitches broke, the other held. Dave Young: Now, here’s what I know about horses in Paris. Stephen Semple: Okay. Dave Young: Ain’t no cowboys over there. So again, this is the rich folk doing equestrian things and pulling carriages. Stephen Semple: That’s it. It was a mode of transportation. Dave Young: Yeah. The average folk are walking around the streets of Paris. Stephen Semple: Correct. Correct. It was the nobility who had horses and carriages. Now, that original stitch is still the stitch that’s being used today. Dave Young: Hey, if it works. Stephen Semple: Yeah. So this stitch is important to the history because to your point, horses and carriages were a mode of transportation. And, look, the roads were rough. Transportation was rough. So durability was really important. And his skill attracted the nobility. People like Eugénie, the wife of Napoleon III. So Thierry went on to win several medals for this design and his work. And he became known because his stitching did not break, the leather aged beautifully, and the workmanship was flawless under stress. So he died in 1878. And his son, Charles-Émile, took over. And like his dad, he was dedicated to this quality. The business expanded. They started creating more products, including these really large bags that could actually carry a saddle and the boots, right? Because- Dave Young: Wow. Okay. That is a big bag. Stephen Semple: Right? Because if you had a horse and you’re showing up, you take the saddle, you take the boots off, right? Dave Young: Yeah. Yeah. Stephen Semple: And it’s really considered the forerunner to this big handbag that they make today. So you’re asking, “Is it big?” It’s a big handbag. So the business growing. Dave Young: Everything but the horse. Stephen Semple: Yeah. Everything but the horse. That’s it. So the business is growing. The prestige is growing. They’re making these products for the horse and carriage industry. Then Charles travels to Canada. Dave Young: Oh. Okay. Stephen Semple: Okay. And he comes across this unique fastening system that’s being used for the canvas roof of the convertible Cadillac. It was a zipper. Dave Young: Oh. Yeah. The zipper. Uh-huh. Stephen Semple: So he took the idea back to France, and he applied for a patent to use the idea, and thus was born the Hermès fastener. It was innovative at the time. Dave Young: Okay. Stephen Semple: By the end- Dave Young: But it was a zipper? Stephen Semple: It’s a zipper. Dave Young: Okay. Stephen Semple: But it’s not a zipper. It’s the Hermès fastener. Dave Young: It’s the Hermès fastener. Yes. Get it right. Stephen Semple: Yeah. So by the end of World War II … This is another important part in terms of innovation because think about how many businesses that served the carriage trade that died. Dave Young: Well, sure. Yeah. Stephen Semple: Right? Dave Young: Because once we started all using cars and … I’m also thinking, man, this German-owned business in Paris in World War II, that’s got to be a tricky road to- Stephen Semple: Well, we’re not at World War II yet. End of World War I. Dave Young: Okay. Into World War- Stephen Semple: Into World War I. Dave Young: Oh, yeah. Okay. Kind of the same. Stephen Semple: He realizes that the car is going to take off. He notices the car. But what he also realizes, it’s a faster form of transportation. So it requires stronger materials and better fasteners because remember, the early cars didn’t have trunks that you put things in. You put a trunk on the back of the car and attached it all with fasteners. Dave Young: Right. So you need a trunk that could withstand being outdoors while a car drives it around. Stephen Semple: Correct. They did a collaboration with Bugatti where Bugatti commissioned a yellow trunk and yellow cowhide to match the first Bugatti Royale. Dave Young: Wow. Okay. Stephen Semple: Right. So this is a interesting thing. They did not change their business for the car. They refocused it. Dave Young: Stay tuned. We’re going to wrap up this story and tell you how to apply this lesson to your business right after this. [Using Stories To Sell] Dave Young: Let’s pick up our story where we left off. And trust me, you haven’t missed a thing. Stephen Semple: So this is a interesting thing. They did not change their business for the car. They refocused it. They leaned into the things they were already good at. And I think this is important because how many companies, again, were unable to pivot to the automobile business? Dave Young: I think of all the things in a car. Yeah. Eventually, we figured out we could actually put a trunk in the car instead of- Stephen Semple: Eventually. Dave Young: … carrying it on top. But you’ve also got all the upholstery, maybe the dashboard, maybe the steering wheel that would be wrapped in leather and need some fine stitching. So there’s lots of things that you could still do that show off your skill and your dedication to this kind of quality. Stephen Semple: Right. They didn’t ask, “What do we need to do differently?” They asked, “Where does their craftsmanship still matter?” Dave Young: Yeah. Stephen Semple: That’s the question they asked. Where does our craftsmanship still matter? Dave Young: And they realized that’s the business they were in, was craftsmanship and making things well. Stephen Semple: This is an important distinction to keep in mind that comes later. So 1922, they added their first handbag basically when Émile’s wife, she was like, “I’d like a scaled down version of this thing that you put boots and saddles in.” Dave Young: Don’t really need to carry my boots, but … Stephen Semple: But travel was also expanding at this time, so the handbags started becoming a needed accessory. 1950s, they added their orange box. So they took probably … And I’m going to guess they probably took inspiration from Tiffany’s Blue Box, and they created this orange box. Now, here’s an important part of the company’s history. It’s 1978. And Jean-Louis Dumas, the great-great-great-grandson of Thierry has taken over the company. And the company was stagnating. They still had loyal customers, but not enough of them. And here’s the advice that was given to them by investment bankers. Cut production costs by outsourcing production. Dave Young: Of course that’s the advice that was given to them by investment bankers. Stephen Semple: How many times we heard that advice? Dave Young: Yeah. Stephen Semple: But what was their DNA? Craftsmanship. Dave Young: Yeah. Stephen Semple: And, look, everybody will say, “Oh, you can outsource it, and you’ll still have the same quality.” He knew that to not to be true. He knew he would never be able to maintain quality the moment he did that. So how many companies would have resisted this? I don’t know of any others. I’m sure there’s others. But that was a big moment. And he said, “No, we’re not doing that.” Instead, what he decided to do was something that they rarely did, advertise. Dave Young: Yeah. Okay. Stephen Semple: But here’s what they did. They decide to advertise something different. It’s 1979. And they launched this campaign showing edgy, young … Remember, ’79. Edgy, young Parisian women wearing silk Hermès scarves, not in haute couture, wearing jeans. Dave Young: Yeah. There you go. Stephen Semple: Fits, but doesn’t fit. Picked a scarf. Expensive, but pretty much anybody could purchase. And all of a sudden, this accessory that made the jeans and everything look awesome. Where did you get that scarf? Dave Young: You could dress down, but people would still know. Stephen Semple: Bingo. Dave Young: I also think … I don’t know if this had a part in it or not, but that’s the era of Robin Leach’s Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. Stephen Semple: Right. There you go. Dave Young: And so people had a fascination with this kind of thing there because of that show, right? That was always an interesting one to watch and to make fun of Robin Lynch, Leach, Robin Leach. Stephen Semple: Yeah. Leach. Yeah. So here’s the thing you could do. You could put on your jeans, you could put on a nice shirt, you could put on that scarf, and you’re looking like a Parisian model. They sold a crap ton of the scarfs. What they also knew is selling the scarves, people are now in their store, they’re going to see other things. Dave Young: Yeah. They’re going to start to want that bag. Stephen Semple: The advertising campaign was shocking. Dave Young: Really? Stephen Semple: Because it was just … Well, it was never done before. It was never this super high-end fashion going there. They were the first to do it. It was shocking, but changed the trajectory of the company. We could do a whole episode just on the scarves and the history of the handbags in terms of the things that they did for promoting it. But what I loved was he looked at it and he said, “There’s another option other than dropping production costs. What we need to do is we need to find new customers. How are we going to find new customers? We’re going to find new customers by reaching down, but we’re not going to reach down by making our products cheaper. We’re going to reach down by finding a product that if somebody really wants, they … Sure, $300, $400 scarf is crazy expensive, but can buy. And we’re going to make it glamorous. And, look, if we sell a whole pile of those scarves, we’re doing well.” Dave Young: So I may be wrong on this, but here’s what my Spidey-sense tells me. Who stole the idea of the DNA of the Hermès ads in the ’70s to repeat that thing where it’s, “We can make this expensive product desirable. And everybody will want it”? Stephen Semple: Ralph Lauren. Dave Young: Now I’m thinking iPods. Stephen Semple: Except he’s not expensive. Dave Young: I’m thinking iPod. The iPod. Stephen Semple: iPods. Interesting. Interesting. Dave Young: Thousand songs in your pocket. And the ads were sort of this every person with the white cord and the AirPods. Stephen Semple: Interesting. Interesting. Dave Young: But that’s the same notion, right? Stephen Semple: It is the same notion. Dave Young: This is the one little expensive thing that you can have and just make your life better. Stephen Semple: Yeah. Dave Young: Yeah. Stephen Semple: Well, it’s that whole idea of an indulgence. Dave Young: Mm-hmm. Absolutely. Stephen Semple: Right? This is an indulgence. I can go and I can treat myself. I will feel better. It’s special. It’s all these other things. And it’s that moment where you’re sort of like … It’s that whole idea of it’s an indulgence. And they figured out how to stay true to what they do. They still make the super expensive stuff, but were able to reach down into more mainstream, which is where you need to be in order to be successful long term. Dave Young: Yeah. You just want the people to really want the one thing. This is a great story. And now I’m wondering what color of Hermès cravat would go well with my Walmart fishing shirt. But here’s the problem. Here’s the problem. Stephen Semple: There’s so many problems. Dave Young: No. No. Well, I don’t even know where one of their stores is. So that’s probably by design. They don’t want me to know where one of their stores is. Stephen Semple: Where they will be- Dave Young: I’d wander around and touch things. Stephen Semple: Yeah. Where they would be would be in, again, the really super high-end malls [inaudible 00:18:49]. Dave Young: If you find a Tiffany store, you’ve found the Hermès store. Stephen Semple: You have. You have. But it’s funny because anytime I’ve known about the company, I’ve never really researched it because it was not- Dave Young: I’ve seen the name before. I’ve seen the name. Wondered how you pronounced it until fairly recently. Yeah. Stephen Semple: And seen the name, know about it. Then I came across a few things. And then literally how I got interested in it, I was researching Tiffany’s, and there was a little book on Tiffany’s that had some information in it that I thought I could use for the Tiffany’s episode. I bought the book, and Amazon said, “Those who have bought that book have also bought-“ Dave Young: Also like. Yeah. Hermès. Stephen Semple: “… this book.” Right? So I was like, “Oh, what the heck? Let’s add that to the cart.” Dave Young: Yeah. There you go. Stephen Semple: So I added it to the cart. And then I started reading through it, and I was like, “Wow. This is actually a really interesting company.” Dave Young: Very cool. Stephen Semple: Yeah. So I sort of stumbled across it kind of by accident. Dave Young: What’s the scarf cost? It’s got to be less than the leather bag. Stephen Semple: Oh, yes. Dave Young: Yeah. Stephen Semple: Yeah. Dave Young: So … Stephen Semple: I’m going to guess they’re three, $400. Dave Young: Okay. I’m just saying for the guys out there, this is one of those sleeper gifts, right? Get her a scarf from Hermès. Stephen Semple: I just Googled it. Canadian. They run from $500 to 750 bucks. Dave Young: Yeah. Yeah. I’m not saying do that instead of jewelry or something, but that’s a nice one you didn’t think of. Stephen Semple: It’s a special thing. Dave Young: Yeah. And she’s going to know more about it than you probably. Stephen Semple: And I remember doing the research on it. I was looking at them. They are beautiful and they’re all hand rolled and they are actually pretty spectacular. Dave Young: Awesome. All right. Hermès. Hermès. Hermès. Hermès. Hermès. Stephen Semple: Let’s go with Hermès. That sounds great. Dave Young: Hermès. Yeah. Stephen Semple: Hermès. Dave Young: It doesn’t sound quite as- Stephen Semple: I actually think if we’re probably going to … I think if we’re going to really do it correctly, it’s Hermès, I bet you. It’s just like … That H is just like- Dave Young: Hermès. Hermès is a diner somewhere, but- Stephen Semple: Just poking it. Dave Young: Hermès. Thank you for bringing us the Hermès story to the Empire Builders Podcast, Stephen. Stephen Semple: All right. Thanks, David. Dave Young: Thanks for listening to the podcast. Please share us. Subscribe on your favorite podcast app and leave us a big, fat, juicy five-star rating and review at Apple Podcasts. And if you’d like to schedule your own 90-minute empire building session, you can do it at empirebuildingprogram.com.
Hakeem Anwar is a technologist, educator, entrepreneur, and privacy advocate. A former software engineer in Silicon Valley — where he built web and mobile applications, including health-related software — he grew disillusioned with Big Tech's surveillance practices and left corporate life in 2019. He then dedicated himself to activist movements, running technology infrastructure for the Freedom Cell Network and The Greater Reset to help connect people globally around freedom and sovereignty. In 2021, Hakeem founded Take Back Our Tech, an educational movement that provides free guides, articles, and resources on using privacy-respecting, open-source technology. At the same time, he launched Above, a privacy-first company where he serves as Founder and CEO. Above develops de-Googled phones, secure Linux laptops, and private communication services (email, encrypted chat, VPN, etc.) designed to make digital sovereignty accessible to everyday users — from tech novices to activists. He is recognized as a leading voice on digital privacy, surveillance resistance, and building technology that empowers rather than exploits people.Watch the Cornerstone Forum 26'https://shaunnewmanpodcast.substack.com/Silver Gold Bull Links:Website: https://silvergoldbull.ca/Email: SNP@silvergoldbull.comText Grahame: (587) 441-9100Bow Valley Credit UnionBitcoin: www.bowvalleycu.com/en/personal/investing-wealth/bitcoin-gatewayEmail: welcome@BowValleycu.com Expat MoneyExpatmoney.com/SNPGet your voice heard: Text Shaun 587-217-8500
Spencer Pratt — yes, that guy from The Hills — lost his $3.8 million Palisades home in the LA wildfires and decided to run for mayor against the people who let it happen. He's crushing debates, winning 88% of post-debate polls, and making the best political content on the internet. Then there's the arsonist who started the Palisades fire: a Luigi Mangione superfan might as well have Googled "how to start a forest fire" before torching a city. Bridget Phetasy breaks down the most American story of 2026 and asks the obvious question — how do you look at Los Angeles right now and vote for more of the same?#LosAngeles #SpencerPratt #dumpsterfire #BridgetPhetasy Topics covered: Spencer Pratt LA mayor race, Karen Bass wildfire response, Palisades fire arsonist, Jonathan Rinderknecht, Luigi Mangione, LA homelessness, pretextual traffic stops LAPD, California politics 2026, LA mayor debate
On this episode of The Ty Brady Way, Ty sits down with Mike Saunders, a marketing strategist, keynote speaker, and the creator of the federally trademarked Authority Positioning Portfolio. The two have history, Ty was a guest on Mike's show years ago, and now the tables have turned for a conversation that is equal parts business strategy, personal philosophy, and hard-won wisdom from someone who built something real the slow and honest way. Mike's journey did not start in marketing. He spent a decade in the mortgage industry at JP Morgan Chase before the 2007 crash effectively wiped out the world he had built. Rather than wait it out, he got his MBA in marketing, launched his own firm, and promptly made every mistake a new entrepreneur can make, chasing every client, offering every service, and spreading himself so thin that nothing stuck. For four to five years he describes it plainly as a desolate and dark time, with a wife, four kids in private school, and the pressure of it all bearing down. But buried inside that stretch of struggle was the moment that changed everything, the day he handed out his first book at a conference and watched the room respond differently than they ever had to a PDF or a blog post. That one moment became the foundation of everything he does today. What Mike built from that moment is a concept he calls the Authority Positioning Portfolio, a done-for-you system that positions independent financial advisors as celebrity experts through podcast interviews, TV placements, press releases, and books, all indexed by Google and working around the clock to pre-frame trust and credibility before a prospect ever picks up the phone. He draws on a principle from 1960s philosopher Marshall McLuhan to explain why this works: the medium carrying your message gives it as much value, if not more, than the message itself. The same insight that might get ignored on a LinkedIn post becomes instantly compelling when it is delivered in a televised interview. It is not about the content changing. It is about where it is seen. One of the sharpest moments in the episode comes when Mike flips the script on the ghosting problem that plagues so many advisors. When leads no-show or disappear without explanation, most people assume it is a follow-up problem or a pricing problem. Mike argues it is a credibility problem, and the terrifying part is that no one ever tells you. They just quietly decide you are not worth their time based on what they found, or did not find, when they Googled you. The solution is not more ads. It is permanent, indexed, trust-building assets that are working even when you are not. Ty and Mike also dig into what separates people who succeed from those who stay stuck, and Mike's answer is simple but unsparing. If you are not moving forward, you are moving backward, because everyone behind you is still moving forward. He shares the story of an advisor who chose the higher-priced package not because it was comfortable but because he had learned that every time he stepped into discomfort and trusted the process, it worked out. That, Mike says, is exactly the mindset of someone ready to grow. He also introduces his daily VIP Three habit, three outreach touches per day to referral sources or strategic alliances, and his end-of-day practice of recording one good thing, a simple discipline that keeps gratitude and momentum running in the same direction. The episode closes with Mike finishing one of Ty's sentences in a way that lands hard. You either win or you lose? Wrong. You win or you learn. It is a phrase that captures the entire arc of Mike's story, from mortgage crash to marketing mastery, and it is the principle he would leave anyone with who is just getting started. Mike can be reached at MikeSaunders360.com, where his full authority hub, interviews, and contact information are all in one place.
If you're typing “Celebrate Recovery near me” into Google because you’re desperate for help after discovering that your husband has been lying to you about his infidelity or his use of inappropriate material, you're not alone. BEFORE GOING TO CELEBRATE RECOVERY NEAR ME, CONSIDER THIS: 1. Recovery Programs Only work If He's Honest A recovery environment only works if your husband is completely honest about his behavior. Even in cases where he’s willing to attend a program, some women discover their husband takes “chips,” confesses slips, or shares breakthroughs in group without ever telling her. Not because he's changing, but because he's using the system to make it look like he's changing. 2. celebrate recovery near me Can't Fix Emotional Abuse When women search “Celebrate Recovery near me,” they often think the program will help heal their marriage by helping their husbands understand the root causes of their addiction and behaviors, especially if he seems willing to go meetings. But the root issue isn't addiction, it's entitlement, control, and dishonesty. Most recovery programs aren't designed to assess or confront coercive control. So instead of getting safer, some women end up feeling more confused. Before you invest your hope in any program, you deserve to understand the full picture. To discover if your husband is emotionally abusive, take this free emotional abuse quiz. 3. Some Men Use Recovery or Language as a Shield Many women report that once their husband joined a recovery group like Celebrate Recovery near me, he just learned to speak the language of recovery without actually changing. Instead of becoming more honest, some men become more skilled at hiding, using the right words, sharing at the right times, and appearing accountable…while the underlying patterns stay the same. This isn't necessarily the program's fault. Recovery culture tends to take disclosures at face value. But for some men, it becomes a stage rather than a mirror. 4. If He Gets Praise in Group but You Get Hurt at Home, Pay Attention The applause of a group like Celebrate Recovery near me can unintentionally reward performance. Your lived experience matters more than his report. If his recovery looks great publicly, but privately you feel scared, confused, dismissed, or blamed, that's a sign to step back and observe what’s happening. You don’t have to announce this to anyone 5. RECOVERY Programs Don't Replace Betrayal Trauma Support A program like Celebrate Recovery near me often uses a model that focuses on his trauma from childhood or his triggers. They may encourage couples to build routines that reduce his stress or triggers, sometimes placing more responsibility on her to monitor or support his progress. These might be good tools for people who genuinely want to heal. But they don't address lying, manipulation and entitlement. A woman in an emotionally abusive marriage needs support that centers her emotional safety, not his recovery timeline. 6. If You Feel Worse After the Program Starts, That Matters Many women assume feeling worse is a sign that they're a part of “the problem,” or they need to be “more supportive.” When his patterns of behavior become a shared problem…something you're both expected to manage…it often creates more emotional chaos for her. Her emotional safety needs to be addressed separately, not tied to how well he's doing or how much effort he appears to be making. Feeling confused, blamed, responsible for his recovery, or pressured to forgive and move forward…is a sign something else is happening. 7. Your EMOTIONAL SAFETY COMES BEFORE HIS RECOVERY STORY If you’re searching “Celebrate Recovery near me” to save your marriage, here's the most important thing: his recovery is not the foundation of your emotional safety. Your clarity is. It’s important to have your own support community in place that is educated in the dynamics of emotional and psychological abuse and can help you decide what you need for emotional safety. If you need support in addressing what's really happening, and whether a recovery program can help, you can start with the Living Free Workshop or BTR Group Sessions. They're designed to give you immediate clarity. Transcript: What Happened When I Googled “Celebrate Recovery Near Me” Anne: I’ve talked to hundreds of women who have typed things like “Celebrate Recovery near me”, or “addiction recovery program” into Google. Especially when their husband said he was an addict and he is willing to go to a program. So if he’s willing and goes to this program, it’s totally normal for a woman to think that things are gonna get better. But over the years, I’ve interviewed countless women who tell me things actually got worse. And I’m interviewing one of those women today. We’re gonna call her. Nancy. Here’s part of her story. Nancy: His coworker called me. She told me she was out with some friends. And he flirted with her and tried to pick her up. We were Going to Celebrate Recovery. He supposedly had been sober for months. Anne: We’re gonna get to her whole story, but before we do, I wanna stress that it’s important to understand that a manipulative man can use anything, a recovery program, therapy, even meeting with clergy to manipulate a woman further, and that causes a lot more harm and trauma. So before you start searching for a recovery program for your husband, it is important to consider what his recovery would be for and how abusers manipulate their victims. Most of the time, the therapist will say something like childhood wounds or addiction recovery. When really what you’re actually experiencing is emotional and psychological abuse. And I’ve even interviewed women who have tried to find an abuse program for their husband, and they still tell me the same things. So as you listen to Nancy’s story, I think it will help put into perspective what’s really going on and what steps you wanna take next. When I met him I thought he was a good guy Anne: That’s why I created the Living Free Workshop. It helps women know what’s going on, if he’s really abusive or not. Some women find out he’s not. And then what steps to take to create emotional safety in your life. It’s much faster to figure that out first, before spending tons of time and money in therapy or a recovery or Celebrate Recovery near me program. Living Free total run time is about two hours and 50 minutes, which is much shorter than three or four years to find out it’s not working. So Nancy, thank you so much for sharing your story today. Welcome, can you tell us how you met? Nancy: When I met him, he went to church. He served on the worship team, and he could talk like a preacher. So I thought he was a good guy. It was confusing, because we were play wrestling, and I wouldn’t have remembered this except I had written in a journal and I read it after everything fell apart. He held me down and said some things like, did you think you were stronger than me? Did you think I would let you go? It really scared me. I was very close to breaking up with him, but he actually cried and apologized. So I thought, he’s sorry. It’s not gonna happen again, and that sort of thing never happened again. He realized he had to be more subtle. He did tell me about his past sexual history. Mirroring my desire to serve missions Nancy: He was in the Navy and with several prostitutes. And he was honest, it felt like to me at the time. That he struggled with porn. I thought after we married, that wouldn’t be an issue. And honestly, I don’t know that anyone would’ve told me anything different. I wanted to serve in medical missions. He didn’t seem interested in this, so I prayed and left the relationship in God’s hands. I told him about how I prayed. And the next time we got together, he said, “He had been thinking and praying, and he really felt God moving his heart to missions. That everyone always thought he should be a missionary. It really blew me away, because I thought God had answered my prayer really fast. He knew that he was not only lying to me, he was also lying about God, and he chose it. Which makes him a really evil person. In pre-marital counseling, I was clear that I didn’t see myself as a housewife. I wanted things to be equal, and I didn’t plan to stop working. He acted like he was on the same page and that he was fine with this. So we married. Things were not good. In less than a year, he turned me down for sexual intimacy. Which was surprising and incredibly hurtful. Especially when I realized he was looking at porn. We went to see the movie Fireproof, and afterwards he admitted he was taking off his ring to flirt with people. I was trying to be very understanding, but I did feel hurt, and he got angry at me. He said this was the thanks he gets for staying away from porn for a couple weeks, which is not funny, but I’m laughing at the audacity. He Pushed Me to Quit Working While Avoiding Any Real Recovery or Celebrate Recovery Near Me Programs Nancy: I think I blocked a lot of it out, because somehow things were good enough back and forth between nice, the Christian thing, and when he would be not so nice. I didn’t recognize abuse. The only thing I could put my finger on was the sexual things. We never could solve how things were to be run. And now that we had children, he could step away and I would be forced to do more house duties, cooking, cleaning, et cetera. Because someone had to do all the things for the children. I would tell him what we had agreed before marriage, and he said, “Yeah, but I thought you would change after we had kids.” Anne: I said the same thing. I said, I’m not gonna cook. And he was like, no problem. Then later told me, I thought you would change. And I’m like, I was so clear. Nancy: Exactly, we’re both honest and open. It’s like, that doesn’t mean I have to change, just ’cause you thought I would change. Well, it did because we had children now that needed to be taken care of. Anne: Right. Nancy: The same thing I said, I didn’t wanna stop working.” And he would constantly try to get me to stop working. I was only working part-time. He wanted me to not have an escape route. We separated, but I was so exhausted and overwhelmed with a baby, 2-year-old, and a 5-year-old. We got back together pretty quickly. Discovering he was flirting with coworker Nancy: A year later, we separated again and went to couples counseling, ’cause I still had not seen how that was harmful. I was really hopeful, which seems funny after just like a week or two of separation. But his coworker called me and told me she had been out with some friends, and he was flirting with her and trying to pick her up. I thought this would be his rock bottom, because he’s almost lost his family. Anyway, we got back together and things were up and down. I was dealing with a lot of anger and depression, social anxiety. At the time, I thought I needed counseling to deal with my issues. We were going to Celebrate Recovery near me. His stated problems in Celebrate Recovery were sex addiction and anger. It’s so crazy knowing that, how could everybody there not believe anything I was saying? He supposedly had been sober for months because of all the addiction model stuff. We agreed that he would tell me if he ever had a slip within a certain amount of time. So at Celebrate Recovery, he went forward for a one-day chip, and that really shocked me because he wasn’t ever gonna tell me. When we agreed that he would. After that we had sex that was definitely, obviously coercive. I don’t think I had the words at the time, but I definitely felt that way because we had an agreement and he didn’t follow it. That was the last time we ever were together. He said he would throw me a 30th birthday party Nancy: I took a step back, and I was observing him because I felt like we were at the best place, and I’m actually an okay person. That means there’s nothing I’ve done wrong, literally. And there’s nothing I can do to change this. It just became increasingly clear to me. So I started looking for more information and came across BTR, but I didn’t listen to the episodes because I saw the word abuse. And thought that doesn’t apply to me. And I found a couple other podcasts. They didn’t fully explain everything, and then a really bad incident happened when I turned 30, a big birthday. Anne: They always do it on birthdays and holidays. Nancy: I know, I had always thrown him birthday parties. He’s an extrovert and that was something that he enjoyed and I didn’t mind, he didn’t throw me anything because I’m more of an introvert. So when I was going to turn 30, I told him that I’d like a birthday party and would like him to throw it for me. I said if he didn’t want to, let me know. ‘Cause it was important enough to me that I would throw it for myself. He said he would throw me the birthday party. But when I wasn’t seeing any preparations, I checked in with him. And the motions he made came across like he was planning a surprise birthday party. Anne: Like, let’s not talk about it. Or you might ruin your surprise. Nancy: Exactly, I had said, “I will throw it for myself.” I repeated that again, that time. He knew. He Claimed He ‘Forgot' My Birthday While Pretending Recovery Through SAA and Celebrate Recovery Near Me Groups Nancy: So my birthday comes up. I expect a surprise party around any corner. I come to the end of the day and nothing happened, nothing. And his excuse was forgetfulness. Anne: I never gave you the impression I was gonna throw you a party. Nancy: Yeah, It was always that gaslighting and blame shifting. I feel like I dissociated a little bit around that time. ‘Cause it was really hurtful, because I would have thrown it for myself. Anne: And he knew that and he gave you the impression that he was throwing you a party on purpose to ensure that you didn’t have a party. Nancy: Exactly, I actually believed him that it was on accident, but that was just as hurtful. Now, I believe it was fully on purpose. At the time I was going to COSA and he was going to an SAA group. Anne: When she says COSA or SAA, she’s talking about 12-Step recovery for pornography addicts or sexual addicts. There are other programs like Celebrate Recovery near me. And the COSA is a co sex addict’s 12-Step for a wife of an addict, where she basically does the same program he does and tries to fix her character defects. Nancy: Yeah, I’d been talking about giving him another chance to throw me a party, and they said if he already didn’t do it, you should not do that. So I ended up throwing myself a party. After that 30th birthday, I would get down around my birthday every year. I ended up telling him that, not in a way to blame him, because like I said, I didn’t think he had done it on purpose. I just thought I should let him know I wasn’t myself. Recognizing Gaslighting in real time Nancy: And it was the first time I recognized what he was doing in the moment, he started to say. “That had not happened. That didn’t sound like something he would’ve done, that my memory must be a little off.” So many different ways he was trying to convince me that it hadn’t happened, and he couldn’t convince me because I knew it had happened. So he switched tactics and said that maybe he should get counseling for being abused. Anne: He’s claiming that you’re abusing him. Nancy: Exactly, I was so confused. I asked him, “Abuse, what are you talking about? Am I being abusive right now?” And he goes, “No, the abuse I’ve had to endure for the last how many years.” And then I realized oh, that was gaslighting. That’s blame shifting, and I ended up leaving the room and cried on my own. It shook me up that he could take something very vulnerable and turn it on me like that. I was talking about that incident and how he was saying I was abusive and I heard myself saying, “It was surprising he would call me abusive when he’s been so much worse.” And that was the first time I thought maybe he is abusive, and that reminded me about BTR. I thought, let me listen to that, ’cause maybe I can get some insight. That brought me back to listening to the BTR podcast. And I vividly remember I was binging all these episodes, hearing women’s stories. It felt like my life. And it just blew my mind to realize I’ve been abused this whole time. Anne: I’m so sorry. You were experiencing Betrayal Trauma and were not aware that recovery or Celebrate Recovery near me programs wouldn’t help you. Addict model says he’s struggling, he’s not in control Nancy: It made sense. It felt like everything clicked into place. Everything else I was told didn’t make sense. I always talked about stuff. I was always looking for answers. And I never felt like I was codependent or that I needed codependents anonymous. None of that stuff seemed to fit. In fact, the advice I was given, “Don’t pay attention to what he’s doing. Only work on yourself.” While they’re also saying, “Don’t be codependent, ignore what he’s doing,” which just doesn’t work. The addict model, like he’s struggling, he’s trying, he’s not in control. I mean, that’s like step one. You’re powerless to control your behavior. He accepted the addiction model early on, and we were in and out of groups the whole time. But I don’t believe now that he’s an addict, and I don’t think he even thinks he’s an addict. It’s a great excuse to keep doing what you’re doing. Because there’s no accountability, and everyone applauds your efforts. Even if you’re not reaching the goal, you actually have a choice. He would say to me that he could not promise that he would never do any of the sexual stuff again. So it was like basically just saying, I’m gonna be doing this my whole life. Anne: My ex wouldn’t promise either. He said if I promised, “I wouldn’t be on my toes. Like I don’t want to think I couldn’t do that, because then maybe I would be in danger of doing it.” Which doesn’t even make sense. Like I can legit say, I will never have an affair. finding BTR helped me wrap my head around the abuse, Celebrate Recovery near me didn’t Nancy: Right, yeah. I found BTR. And the abuse model is they have a choice, and they’re choosing to be harmful and abusive. All these years he had been a liar. I stepped back and observed behavior for me to fully wrap my head around it. I believe he feels entitled to do what he wants. He doesn’t see people as people. Or maybe it’s just women as women. Objectification is a huge thing. I don’t think he ever saw me as an equal partner or a person. And I don’t believe he ever loved me. I was a desirable object he acquired, and that was it. When I started listening to BTR, it helped me understand abuse and the subtleties of it. Because before, I had only been thinking physical abuse or yelling insults, which my ex did not do. Listening to the stories helped me see how this plays out in marriage, even in a Christian marriage. It was helpful to see the ways men could twist faith things, because many of these men and my ex are very manipulative. Like it has to slowly play out over time to see what they’re doing. And a lot of it goes back to intent, and it’s hard to see intent. It was hard for me to imagine my husband is lying to me. So that was a shift too, to start looking at actions instead of words. BTR gave me a lot of insight into what I was living through and what was helpful, especially getting into the BTR groups. Celebrate Recovery near me didn’t do that. It helps build you up so that you can go through the hard stuff. We were going to counseling around the time I started going to BTR group. Going to couple counseling Nancy: Because of BTR, I had the words for it. I was able to express better what was happening. The counselor didn’t help my situation, of course. Individual counseling and couple counseling are unhelpful, because an abuser’s goal, my ex’s goal, was not to get better. His goal is to get whatever he wants. He’ll say whatever he needs to say to get what he needs from the counselor. We’ve gone to quite a few couple counselors. We would go into a new counselor, and he would bring up a new issue. He had never told me about me. Anne: Suddenly you’re a kleptomaniac or something. Nancy: Yeah, things that he thought I did that were hurtful to him, that I had never heard of before. But I felt so bad that I was hurting him without knowing it. What a callous person I am. Anne: Not knowing he was bearing false witness and that he literally made it up. Nancy: Yeah, completely distracted from why we went to counseling in the first place is sexual issues. Like I would have to be a safe person so he could be honest with me. Because I’m an actual caring person, I would feel like this was an actual issue that I needed to fix. And that is the part about the psychological abuse that is hard to describe. Because a lot of it could sound valid, and I thought these things were valid. But later realizing they were lies. They were lies, because he would’ve said them before. Anne: Exactly. creepy experience with new counselor Nancy: We did an in-home separation, At first. His abuse escalated the freer that I was getting. I never completely stopped working. I got a job and started after the in-home separation. He actually shut off the internet. Luckily, I prepared ahead of time. I had my own phone plan with the hotspot, So I could just switch over and just didn’t even engage with him. It has been a process of combing through my life, and I have wondered that how many lies I won’t even know about or remember. Because, I believed him and he was so good at lying. One of the new things he said was I wasn’t being vocal enough in bed. It felt so humiliating for him to say that to the new counselor. When he had never said that before. This male counselor wanted us to do an exercise right then on the sofa in front of him. He wanted my ex to touch like my foot or my leg, and then slowly move closer to my private areas. And as he moved closer. I was supposed to make more and more noise. Anne: No. Nancy: Isn’t that crazy? Anne: That’s so creepy. Nancy: I did feel incredibly creeped out, and I refused to do it. Anne: Good for you. He said there would be no equality in our marriage – Celebrate Recovery near me didn’t help with that Nancy: I wish I had just walked out, But after we left, I said, “I will never go back to that counselor again.” And we never did. I said, “What I would need to continue in the marriage was for him to be seeing his own personal counselor, to have a full disclosure with a lie detector test.” Which he said no to. And I know now it wouldn’t have been helpful. Just like Celebrate Recovery near me wasn’t helpful. Anne: I know, thank goodness. Nancy: Right. Anne: Mine never did that either. And I think I would’ve just been in the abuse for so much longer had he said yes. Nancy: Right, and then the second thing I said is that, “I wanted equality in our marriage.” And he said no. Anne: He said no, he didn’t want equality? Nancy: Correct. Anne: Wow. Nancy: So I was like, then literally that’s the end of it. And I was going to BTR group. I remember one of the coaches said to me, “It was a blessing that he actually had been honest.” At the time, I didn’t understand, now I do. And I’m so glad I asked those questions. I don’t know why he was honest. There are two possibilities. He didn’t think I would leave, because I hadn’t yet. We’d been married for almost 14 years, and he was only saying what was already true. You don’t need to be perfect to be loved Nancy: I just didn’t realize it was true. Or maybe he did want me to leave. I had some conversations with his mom. Because I found BTR, and surprisingly, she said it made her realize she was in an abusive relationship with my ex’s dad. However, she still felt like I should stay. Because she felt like the Lord had taught her so much and she had grown through all these trials. I have sympathy for her, but it’s so wrong. All of a sudden it just became very clear to me that if I stayed for the kids, it was actually putting them more at risk. And honestly, that conversation solidified that I had to leave for the kids. If you’re not sure yet if your partner is abusive, Just listen to some BTR stories and see what jumps out at you. You are a worthy human being that does not have to be perfect to be loved and treated with respect. Reconciliation is not necessary for forgiveness, and you don’t have to forgive anyone. It’s more of a process that can happen on its own time, and no one should force it. Pay much closer attention to someone’s actions over time than the words they say. And it’s never too late to make different choices when you learn or understand new information. I feel like having to make a choice that is wildly unpopular with people around you. Church, that I had to learn in a new way. Maybe for the first time, to not let what people thought about me affect the decisions that I make that part has been really hard because a church we were going to was not supportive at first. Call from somebody in Celebrate Recovery near me group Nancy: Some of them seemed supportive, and even the ones I thought were supportive, in the end weren’t. I actually got a phone call from somebody in my Celebrate Recovery near me group. She called me up to ask me if I was seeing a counselor. Because I still seemed angry. I was speechless, of course I’m angry. Anne: Yeah Nancy: I didn’t even know how to respond to her. I just told her yes, I’m in BTR group and got off the phone. There’s nothing wrong with being angry about the situation. I feel like church tells women they shouldn’t be angry. But Jesus was angry. There’s nothing wrong with being angry. Anne: Yeah, I feel like if you’re not angry, something’s wrong. Nancy: Right. Anne: I mean, nothing is wrong with you. You might be numb, you might be sad. I went through periods where I wasn’t super angry. I was just really depressed, but on the whole oppressed, abused, exploited people, their anger is from God to help liberate themselves from the oppression. But of course, the abuser does not want you to liberate yourself. He said flat out he didn’t want you to be equal. That is infuriating. Nancy: And now he wanted 50/50 custody. It was very upsetting, because my ex had been very non-helpful around the house and with the kids. It was hard to think that he would want 50/50. Anne: But of course he did. Nancy: I didn’t see that coming, and I wish I had been more prepared and could have been more strategic. Listening to him lie in the courtroom Nancy: I could not wrap my mind around that at the time. I had seen more and more abuse as my eyes were open. So I couldn’t wrap my mind around 50/50 custody. I was under the delusion that justice was in the court system. I found out, even though I know he lies, it was a big shock to listen to him lying in the Courtroom. It’s hard to witness. It’s something I wish I had processed before, because I’m sure that was pointed out to me. But I couldn’t process that as a reality back then. The Living Free Workshop was so helpful. And going to group and getting help constantly. The Living Free Workshop is so different than anything you’ve ever been taught. I don’t know how I would’ve made it through this, honestly. That was another thing that was really helpful. There were some scripts in Living Free to get him on Our Family Wizard, and he actually got on it easily. I was surprised. I didn’t think he would get on as easily as he did, and just not responding in any other way. Anne: That’s the thing, they’re desperate to talk to you. With the workshop, everybody says, how am I gonna make him go on OFW? And if you do the script and stick to it and do not deviate. Legit, don’t deviate. Once you’re on Our Family Wizard, literally block him on your phone, so he has no other way of contacting you. He is desperate to get your attention and your belief, like Living Free says, yeah, they’re so transactional. And if you respond through Our Family Wizard, he will find a way to do it. he performs for others in groups like Celebrate Recovery near me and in court Anne: They’re like, well, this is what I gotta do to talk to her, because I’m blocked otherwise. They will move. It might take a month. I’ve had it take the longest six weeks with one woman that I was working with. Every single time he texted, she said, “Hey, I’ve responded on Our Family Wizard.” Nancy: Right. It felt overwhelming, because he kept sending me long, manipulative messages, but I responded on Our Family Wizard. It only took me once for him to switch. Being on OFW was better. Oh, one of the books BTR recommends, The Woman They Could Not Silence. I read it and that was awesome. It helped open up my mind to spiritual abuse. It’s been inspiring to me this whole time. What she went through being separated from her children. That book has been really inspiring. The thought of leaving them with him, terrifying to me. We went through two rounds of court. He would make it sound like I was controlling and not letting him do things. Like why wouldn’t I let him take the kids to half of the doctor’s appointments when he never came to a pregnancy appointment? And same with field trips. He’ll go on field trips now, and I feel like it’s just to keep me from going. It. He never wanted to before. Anne: If he was actually a good dad, he would’ve been doing it before, but since he’s only doing it now, he is just performing. Nancy: Yes, it’s a performance because he’s getting something out of it from other people, like in in celebrate recovery near me, and it’s punishment for me because he knows how much I like being there for the kids. Reluctance to support anything he can’t control Nancy: When we married, he didn’t want us to do extracurricular activities. He didn’t even want free after school activities, much less anything you would have to pay for. He was only okay with youth group attached to his job, not the free after school activities. But since we’ve been divorced, he has them interested in hockey, which is one of the most expensive and time consuming sports there is. It’s very strange from my entire experience with him. He never talked about hockey, and he never wanted them involved. At the same time, he is not wanting to pay half of necessary expenses, like medical or orchestra uniforms. For a long time, I was not asking for half of necessary expenses. Because I didn’t wanna have to deal with him because he makes it such a struggle. Anne: My ex is exactly like that, exactly. When my book comes out, I’m anxious for you to read it, because it was all about control. Like, if I’m paying you anything or if I’m involved in any way, I have to control it. Nancy: Yeah, like my youngest wanted to do karate. His dad would not participate even when I offered to pay the whole thing. Other son was invited to concert band, and his dad said no. Anne: Think about the power trip that gives him that he’s able to manipulate them away from their natural interests. And maybe hockey is something that he wants to do. Like he thinks karate’s dumb, but he thinks hockey’s interesting. Draining my bank account and controlling my time Nancy: It is a huge expense that is very draining. When he won’t even pay half of an AP test. Anne: And that might be part of it. He’s, let’s pick the most expensive thing to drain her bank account. Nancy: Yeah, it was a double bind to drain my bank account and control my time. And at the same time, if I have to back out of it. He’ll say, sorry, kids, Mom won’t let us go to hockey. Anne: He’s calculating ways to set you up to be the bad guy. Nancy: Yes, he is an expert at setting up situations, so my bank account is being drained, and I cover a hundred percent of their insurance. Anne: With a lot of these post-separation abuse situations. They get the benefits, but they don’t have any of the responsibilities, and they can use it against you, but it never works for you. They can bend the rules in order to benefit them, but you can’t bend the rules. Nancy: In the Living Free Workshop. It was helpful to see how to deal with narcissistic abuse in marriage and how it plays out in separation, to find a way out of it. There was one thing you said, and this is when you’re moving away from his harm. You said, “If he escalates, remember that protecting yourself from the harm is not the cause of the harm. Just like evacuating a building was not the cause of the exploding gas lines.” He still wants to get together Nancy: That really hit me. One of the things that keeps haunting me is did I do the right thing? He still tries to get together personally with me. It constantly comes up that he wants to get together for coffee, or would I go to counseling with him, co-parenting counseling. I mostly ignore it at this point because he’s asked so many times. I don’t even answer him. Then if something goes wrong with the money situations or if there’s a point of disagreement, he will say, if you would’ve only met with me like I’ve asked, then this would’ve already been stopped. Anne: Yeah, we could’ve worked it out somehow, no. He would still lie. Nancy: It’s a trap. There’s that little 2% of me left that feels like, well, maybe I should meet with him, but no, it’s a trap. Anne: Yeah, no. Nancy: Because he never intends to do a nice thing. He just wants to get me in front of him again. I don’t think any good would come of it. Anne: A hundred percent, no. It might seem good, ’cause once you get there, it might seem good. He might like to turn on the manipulative lies to make you feel like he cares. I think one of the most abusive things people can say is, I love you or that I care. So manipulating you in that way is actually dangerous, and that’s probably what would happen. Nancy: I don’t think I could keep a straight face. It would skive me out so bad to be around him and hear stuff like that. Everything he says is the opposite of the truth Anne: Well, it’s just further evidence of his controlling nature, because he desperately wants to hang on to control. And so he’s increasing his lies because it’s getting away from him. That’s definitely a sign that he’s been lying the whole time. Nancy: I completely agree. I know that this is better for them in the long run, but in the short run, that sentence helps me right now. That was probably one of the hardest things for me to come to terms with, is that he never loved me. He doesn’t love the children. None of it’s real. It’s all lies, and he still does it. It’s mind-boggling. Everything he says is the opposite of what the truth is. He continues lying as he did in programs like Celebrate Recovery near me. As we were moving through the separation process, the boys did not want to leave and crying and like holding onto the car seats. It was horrible. I knew if I said anything to him, he wouldn’t care. Any altercation would be scary for the kids. So I started getting third party exchange people through a new church. I actually found a church with a woman pastor, which is quite lovely. The new church was helpful and supportive, and there were several people that would help me with exchanges. And things changed, like taking the Living Free Workshop, and suddenly I felt a lot stronger. I had a new understanding and confidence, so I stopped doing the third party exchanges. He actually met with the principal to try to get the principal to agree with him that I’m not allowed to go into the school on his parenting weeks. like in celebrate recovery near me, A clear example of him lying, controlling and abusing Nancy: Which isn’t true. You’re allowed to visit your kid in the school. Anne: Absolutely. Nancy: Unless there’s a restraining order, which there’s not. We have shared custody, but he made it sound like the principal agreed with him. I didn’t think it was the truth, but it scared me at the time. And we were about to have a party, and I signed up to bring food, so I worried I would be kicked out. But the principal didn’t say anything. Isn’t that a clear example of parental alienation? Anne: It’s a clear way of him undermining your relationship with your kids, lying, controlling, and abusing you. This is how he’s literally abusing you and your children. Nancy: Everybody heard about this incident, and it didn’t matter. He made it sound like he had just been concerned for the children’s wellbeing. Anne: Yeah, no. Nancy: My being around them upset them. Anne: Lies. That’s the issue they lie in programs like Celebrate Recovery near me and fool the leaders. Nancy: It’s lies at times it is possible that they might be upset, but it’s not because they’re scared of me. It’s more that they’re sad about the situation. My one son, he told me, it makes him sad to see me when he knows he has to go back to his dad’s. My daughter had a phone before we separated, but he wouldn’t allow communication between the boys and me ever. Once, my son called me using his sister’s phone. He was crying. I was only on the phone for about two or three minutes, and then the phone cut off. And they told me when they came back that he had been mad at them for calling me. Even if there is a court order they will find away around it Nancy: He wouldn’t allow them to have a watch phones either. That’s one of the reasons we went back to court. Anne: That’s the problem with court. You think if we get it in writing, then he’ll do it, but it doesn’t matter. He is not gonna do it no matter what. Nancy: This is what I have learned. I don’t ever wanna go back to court again, because it doesn’t help. No matter what you do, they’ll find a new way to cause harm. So there’s no point in any kind of new order. ‘Cause then they’ll find a new way around it. Anne: Exactly. Nancy: I’m still glad I went, because before I had been worried I had to do everything exactly perfectly or something would go wrong. And then I realized he’s doing wrong things on purpose. He just says stuff to get what he wants and nobody cares. So that has relieved a lot of fear. Anne: What would you share with listeners about what you’ve learned so far about finding help, maybe from Celebrate Recovery near me or elsewhere? Nancy: You know, hearing other people’s stories have meant so much to me, Living Free and the BTR coaches set me up for success. They told me to transfer half of our money to a separate bank account before I even told him that I might be leaving. That was incredibly helpful because I’m not sure if it would’ve been easy for me to get the money. I never used the word abuse or narcissism to him. That played out well, because he would’ve twisted it against me. Anne: A hundred percent. Kids need to know what a safe place feels like Nancy: Getting on the parenting app, super helpful, third parties for switches. Finding people to help with the things you need is just a lifesaver. I do feel like it will be better for the kids in the future, because they can be in a peaceful setting that’s not manipulative. So when they’re making decisions. About how they want to live and their future partners, that they know what it feels like to be in a safe place and being able to have discussions with them about men’s and women’s roles. Anne: Nancy, thank you so much for sharing your story today. And helping others who are searching, to find something truly helpful. Nancy: Thank you.
It's a taboo topic too often overlooked in women's cycling: saddle sores.Dr. Melissa Mauskar, a dermatologist specializing in vulvar health, unpacks the medical science behind saddle sores, debunks common myths, and offers practical advice for prevention and treatment. If you've ever Googled "saddle sore remedies" at 2 a.m., this episode is a must-listen—your comfort on the bike depends on it!Key Takeaways:Understand the different types of saddle sores and their causes, including friction and inflammation.What are effective home remedies and when should you seek professional help?The importance of proper saddle fitting and how anatomy affects saddle sore risksAnd don't be afraid to start open conversations about vulvar health and break down stigmas.Dr. Melissa Mauskar is a dermatologist specializing in vulvar health and the treatment of skin conditions among female cyclists. With her expertise, she aims to empower women to discuss these often-taboo topics openly.Episode resources:Follow Dr. Mauskar on Instagram: @drmelissamauskarLearn more about the Feisty Women's Performance Podcast: Feisty Women's PerformanceIf you found this episode helpful, please subscribe to our podcast for more valuable insights and leave us a review! Your feedback helps us continue to bring essential conversations to the forefront. Share this episode with someone who could benefit from it so we can normalize discussions about women's health together.Watch the episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/KvLxR75DAz0 Join Feisty at the Grand Traverse in Duluth, MN on October 3rd! Use code FEISTY20 for $20 off when you register at https://feisty.co/events/the-grand-traverseSign up to Receive The Feisty Women's Performance Newsletter:https://feisty.co/newsletters/feisty-womens-performance/Follow us on Instagram:@feisty_womens_performanceVisit the Feisty website at https://feisty.co/ for info on all of our events and podcastsSupport our Partners:Eternal: Get 15% off services with code FEISTY15 at https://eternal.co/ Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/ PILLAR Performance: use code FEISTY for 15% off first-purchases at https://pillarperformance.shop/, or https://thefeed.com/ for North American listeners. Wahoo: Learn more about Wahoo Fitness Products at: Wahoo: Learn more at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr
Our royal experts tackle the internet's most searched questions about Prince Harry—from the topical to the truly surprising. In this episode of Talking Royals, our royal experts Chris, Lizzie and Charlene break down viral Google queries and reveal what we actually know about the Duke of Sussex. The episode explores some of the most frequently asked questions about Prince Harry, including why he stepped back from royal duties and whether he could one day return to live in the UK. It also examines his royal titles, his life in California with Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and their children, and the ongoing public interest in his family, finances, and career beyond royal life.The discussion also looks at his relationship with the wider Royal Family, including King Charles and Queen Camilla, while addressing some of the internet's more unusual and light-hearted questions. This is your ultimate guide to the most Googled questions about Prince Harry—answered. Don't forget to like, subscribe, and hit the bell for more royal content. Write your questions in the comments—which royal should we cover next?
What happens when a physician searches her own name online and gets redirected to a billionaire-backed corporate clinic she has no connection to? Stephanie Waggel, a physician and founder of Improve Medical Culture, explains how vertical integration in health care is quietly suffocating independent practices while most doctors and patients have no idea it is happening. Based on her KevinMD article, "The dangers of vertical integration in health care," this conversation unpacks how a single corporate entity can own the insurance company, the pharmacy benefit manager, the drug distributor, the retail pharmacy, and the provider group all at once. Waggel breaks down why this consolidation drives up costs rather than lowering them, how private equity and venture capital firms pressure physician-owned practices into selling, and why the consumer ultimately loses when one entity controls pricing at every step. You'll hear her compare health care models across the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Australia, learn why she believes pharmacists should own pharmacies and doctors should own clinics, and discover the community-based survival strategies independent practitioners are using to stay visible. If you care about the future of the doctor-patient relationship and the survival of independent medicine, this one deserves your attention. Tune into our episode "2026 Cholesterol Guidelines: LDL goals, lipoprotein(a), and coronary calcium scoring," brought to you by Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation. For the first time in eight years, LDL cholesterol goals have changed, and preventive cardiologist Seth Baum says the new guidelines are a long-overdue course correction. He breaks down the new LDL targets for your highest-risk patients, why the LDL hypothesis should be retired in favor of the LDL fact, why lipoprotein(a) screening finally belongs in every patient's workup, what a coronary calcium score over 300 really means for how aggressively you treat, and how to talk to statin-skeptical patients without losing their trust. Listen now at KevinMD.com/cholesterol. VISIT SPONSOR → https://kevinmd.com/cholesterol Partner with me on the KevinMD platform. With over three million monthly readers and half a million social media followers, I give you direct access to the doctors and patients who matter most. Whether you need a sponsored article, email campaign, video interview, or a spot right here on the podcast, I offer the trusted space your brand deserves to be heard. Let's work together to tell your story. PARTNER WITH KEVINMD → https://kevinmd.com/influencer SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST → https://www.kevinmd.com/podcast RECOMMENDED BY KEVINMD → https://www.kevinmd.com/recommended
Our royal experts tackle the internet's most searched questions about Prince George—from the serious to the downright bizarre…In this episode of Talking Royals, our royal experts Chris, Lizzie and Charlene break down viral Google queries and reveal what we actually know about the future king.The video explores whether Prince George could theoretically become king as a child, before taking a closer look at his school life, including security arrangements and efforts to maintain a normal upbringing.It also covers his love of football and connection to Aston Villa, alongside insights from Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales, on parenting, technology, and screen time.The discussion addresses viral AI rumours—such as the claim involving Tom Jones—and looks ahead to questions around his future, including schooling, potential military service, and royal duties.It also offers lighter insights into his hobbies, from video games to music, including learning the electric guitar.This is your ultimate guide to the most Googled questions about Prince George—answered.Don't forget to like, subscribe, and hit the bell for more royal content.Write your questions in the comments—which royal should we cover next?
In this episode of The Life of KG, Katie Godfrey talks about one of the most requested (and most avoided!) topics for business owners, VAT and tax.If you're a salon owner, aesthetic clinic, lash tech, brow artist, nail tech, hairdresser or training academy owner in the UK, this episode is a must-listen, especially if you're approaching the VAT threshold or already VAT registered.As your business grows, your tax responsibilities grow too. And while it can feel overwhelming, VAT registration is often a sign that your business is scaling successfully.Katie shares:· What happens when you hit the VAT threshold in the UK· How VAT registration works with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC)· The impact VAT has on your pricing and profit· Common mistakes beauty business owners make with tax· Why paying more tax usually means you're making more money· The mindset shift required when stepping into CEO mode· Why moving abroad (including to Dubai) doesn't eliminate financial responsibilityThis is an honest, straight-talking episode designed to remove fear around VAT and help you feel more confident managing the financial side of your business.If you've ever Googled:· “VAT for salon owners UK”· “When do I register for VAT UK?”· “How does VAT work for service businesses?”· “Why is my tax bill so high?”This episode breaks it down in simple terms, without jargon, without panic, and with real-life experience from someone who's navigated it herself.Remember: growth comes with new levels of responsibility. Understanding your numbers is part of becoming the CEO your business needs.If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with another beauty business owner who needs to hear it.DM me “RETREAT” to find out more: https://www.instagram.com/kg_katiegodfrey/Get a FREE trial on Salon Success Manager App here: https://salonsuccessmanager.com/
At 27— and without a college degree — she was named chief technology officer of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Today, Marina Nitze is trying to reform the foster care system. She tells Steve how she hacked the V.A.'s bureaucracy, opens up about her struggle with Type 1 diabetes, and explains how she was building websites for soap opera stars when she was just 12 years old. This episode originally aired on March 12th, 2021. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
An Analog Brain In A Digital Age — A Newsletter by Marco Ciappelli On the Internet, Nobody Knows You're Not Human — And Nobody's Asking There was a moment — brief, unrepeatable — when the internet felt like a genuinely open place. No profiles. No algorithms deciding what you deserved to see. No one monetizing the fact that you existed. You showed up, you explored, you talked to strangers in other countries about things that mattered to you, and the whole thing felt less like a product and more like a discovery. Like finding a door to another dimension. There's a cartoon that captured that moment perfectly. 1993. The New Yorker. Peter Steiner. Two dogs, one at a computer, and the line that accidentally defined an entire era of the internet: "On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Internet,_nobody_knows_you%27re_a_dog It was funny. It was also prophetic. And it was optimistic in a way we've completely forgotten how to be about the web. Anonymity as freedom. Identity as something fluid, chosen, playful. You could be anyone. You could be from anywhere. You could reinvent yourself in real time, with no one to contradict you. Then surveillance capitalism arrived and broke the party. Cookies. Behavioral profiling. The algorithmic panopticon. Suddenly everyone knew everything. You weren't a dog anymore — you were a demographic, a data point, a cluster of purchase histories and scroll patterns. The internet that promised liberation became the most precise identity-tracking machine ever built. Anonymity collapsed under the weight of monetization. Nobody knows you're a dog became everyone knows you're a dog, what breed, what you ate for breakfast, and which vet you Googled at 2am. And now we're in the third act. A Buddhist monk named Yang Mun has 2.5 million Instagram followers. He posts silent morning meditations. He has made over $300,000 since October. Three Buddhist scholars reviewed his content and confirmed: his wisdom isn't grounded in any actual scripture. It just sounds like it is. Yang Mun doesn't exist. He was built with ChatGPT, HeyGen — an AI platform that generates realistic synthetic human video, a face, eyes, a voice, moving and breathing and entirely artificial — and a handful of other tools, by a creator operating inside what's being called "Big Slop": a venture-backed industry that manufactures fake influencers, automates their posting, and scales them to millions of followers while platforms, politely, look the other way. Hat tip to Jack Brewster, whose LinkedIn post on Yang Mun is what started this thread of thought. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jackbrewster_a-buddhist-monk-named-yang-mun-has-25-million-activity-7451268378499137537-RPB1?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAD_QZMB_jUr1316NWqo3MgG_iFVSPTfDgY The circle has closed. And inverted. We went from nobody knows you're a dog to everyone knows you're a dog to something far stranger: Nobody knows you're not human. The dog is gone. The human is optional. Here's what interests me — and it's not the outrage part, because the outrage is easy and everyone will do it. What interests me is the McLuhan part. Marshall McLuhan said it in 1964: the medium is the message. Not the content. The medium itself. The form of transmission shapes reality more than anything transmitted through it. Yang Mun's fake wisdom is almost beside the point. The scholars confirmed it's scripturally meaningless. But it sounds right — which is precisely the tell. The content was never engineered for truth. It was engineered for the platform. For the algorithm. For the engagement pattern that rewards the feeling of depth over the presence of it. The medium produced the monk. The monk is the message. And if you zoom out — which is what I keep trying to do from Florence, where the stones beneath my feet are five hundred years old and nobody around me is particularly impressed by disruption — you see something that looks less like a technology story and more like a civilization story. We built an internet that promised connection. We built AI to simulate humans. Somewhere along the way we forgot to ask whether any of it was real — or maybe we never quite got around to asking in the first place. Because here's the thing: this didn't happen slowly enough for us to develop a moral relationship with it. There was no adjustment period. No cultural processing. The fake monk didn't represent a fall from grace. It was a first contact situation. We haven't even named what's wrong yet, let alone decided whether it matters. The analog brain — slow, emotional, context-dependent, stubbornly human — is the one thing that still notices the difference between a conversation that carries weight and one that merely carries words. It's not superior in processing power. It's just that it comes from somewhere. From experience. From loss. From the specific, irreplaceable accident of having lived a particular life in a particular body in a particular place. The monk who wasn't there had none of that. And somewhere — maybe in 2.5 million people scrolling past silent meditations at 7am — some part of us already knows. Will we remember to ask? Are we ever gonna care? Let's keep exploring what it means to be human in this Hybrid Analog Digital Age. Stay imperfect, stay human. — Marco
What is a furry — really?In this episode of The StickyBeak, we dive inside the furry fandom, one of the internet's most misunderstood subcultures.Originally recorded for my Living with Mon series on alternative lifestyles, this conversation features Haruka (Haru), a member of the furry community who shares what being a furry actually means — beyond the stereotypes. We talk about identity, creativity, community, and why so many assumptions about furries simply aren't true.Because there's a lot to unpack, I also recorded a second interview (linked in the show notes) with Rune, a self-described “Scalie” — a member of the furry fandom whose character is reptilian. In that conversation, we explore the more adult side of the community and how it differs from mainstream furry culture.If you've ever Googled “what is a furry?” or wondered what really happens inside the furry community, this episode offers a thoughtful and open-minded look at a world that's often judged before it's understood.As always, go in curious.
Do you ever wonder if you're doing it right as a mother… or quietly fear you're messing it all up? In this deeply honest and powerful episode of YES, WOMAN, Carin Rockind sits down with parenting expert Laura Dawn to talk about what's really going on beneath mom guilt, anxiety, and the pressure to be perfect. This is not about fixing your child. This is about trusting yourself again. From ADHD and emotional regulation to self-compassion and boundaries, this conversation will change how you see parenting—and yourself as a WOMAN. You'll learn why your child's behavior isn't a reflection of your worth… How to stop the cycle of self-blame… And how saying YES to yourself actually makes you a better mother. If you've ever Googled in the middle of the night, "Am I doing this wrong?"—this episode is for you. What You'll Learn Why mom guilt isn't the truth—and how to release it The real reason your child's behavior triggers you How ADHD and "neurodivergent" traits are actually strengths The power of emotional regulation (for you, not just your child) Why self-care alone isn't enough—and what actually works How to say NO to your kids without guilt The concept of the "evolved brain" and the future of parenting Why YOU come first—and how that changes everything Powerful Quotes "You are the perfect mama for your child." "Your child's behavior is not a reflection of your worth." "The things that trigger you about your child… are actually about you." Resources to find Lara Dawn Connect with Lara Dawn: The ADHD Village -> https://www.theadhdvillage.com/ Call to Action If this episode spoke to you, share it with a WOMAN who needs to hear it. Leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts and subscribe on YouTube so more WOMEN can rise. If this episode spoke to you… Subscribe to YES, WOMAN so you never miss an episode. Every week we're saying YES to the lives we actually want to live. And if you loved this conversation, take 30 seconds to leave a review. Your review helps more women find the show and step into their next chapter. And if you want to share what landed for you, we'd love to hear from you. Email us anytime at team@theinstituteofwoman.com We read every message. Until next time… Say YES to yourself.
Is every step you take a "withdrawal" from your joint bank account? In this high-stakes episode, Letty and Ryan tackle the 4 Most Googled Questions of 2026 and burn the old rulebook to the ground.We dive into the mind-blowing MRI research that proves running doesn't thin your cartilage—it can actually make it thicker and stronger. Ryan breaks down the "Thicker Cartilage Paradox" and the "Sponge Effect" that keeps your joints oiled, while Letty discusses the 120g carb-loading revolution and her final preparations for the Boston Marathon.If you've been running in fear of injury or hitting the wall, this episode is your biological wake-up call. Your body isn't a machine that wears out; it's a system that levels up.In this episode:The Hypertrophy Reveal: Why runners' knees often look healthier on an MRI than non-runners'.The 120g Carb Ceiling: the new gold standard of fueling.The 50mm Stack Height Trap: Is your "super-shoe" sabotaging your stability?Heavy Lifting for Speed: Why the strongest runners are becoming the fastest runners.Boston UpdatesStop guessing. Start adapting.Get the full research links and the Boston Marathon event schedule at MarathonJournal.com.
You've probably Googled "how to remove a skin tag at home" at least once. Before you reach for the dental floss, you need to hear this. In this episode of The Skin Real, Dr. Mary Alice Mina covers everything you need to know about skin tags — from what they actually are and why you get them, to what they might be revealing about your metabolic health, and how she safely removes them in her office. In This Episode: 0:00 — Is That Dental Floss Around Your Skin Tag? 0:45 — What Are Skin Tags? 2:00 — Why You Get Skin Tags and Where They Show Up 3:30 — The Genetics Behind Skin Tags 4:30 — Skin Tags and Metabolic Health: The Connection You Need to Know 6:15 — Can You Prevent Skin Tags? 7:30 — At-Home Removal Methods — And Why They're Risky 9:30 — When Skin Tag Removal Gets Dangerous 10:30 — Subscribe to The Skin Real 11:00 — Ligation vs. Destruction: The Two Treatment Approaches 12:15 — When Skin Tags Aren't Actually Skin Tags 14:00 — The Harvard Story: When a Skin Tag Was Melanoma 15:00 — How Dr. Mina Removes Skin Tags in Her Office 16:30 — Post-Removal Care: How to Heal Without Scarring 17:30 — Does Insurance Cover Skin Tag Removal? 18:15 — Final Thoughts and Share This Episode Want a deeper look? Watch the full episode on YouTube for a more visual experience of today's discussion. This episode is best enjoyed on video—don't miss out!
If you've ever Googled symptoms at 2 a.m. and spiraled… this episode is for you!In this conversation, I sit down with pediatrician Dr. Tori Niemynski to talk about what's really happening when parenting turns into panic mode, and how to step out of it without ignoring your instincts.We talk about the pressure parents feel to get everything right, how constant access to information is fueling anxiety, and what it actually looks like to make thoughtful, grounded decisions for your kids.Dr. Tori has stepped away from traditional practice and now focuses on giving parents accessible, ethical guidance online without crossing the line into individualized medical advice.This is not about doing less as a parent. It's about doing it with intention.If you've been stuck in overthinking, second-guessing, or fear-based decision making, this will help you reset.Why parenting anxiety is higher than everThe difference between informed and overwhelmedHow to stop spiraling over every symptomWhat pediatricians wish parents understoodHow to trust yourself without ignoring real concernsConnect with Dr Tori:INSTAGRAMConnect with Ginny:Website: https://www.ginnypriem.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/ginnypriemYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ginnypriemLeave a rating or review and follow the show so you don't miss an episode!Support the show by supporting our sponsors:ine+ nutrition: Get your Super Greens and Collagen for 15% off with code GIN15Thrifty Traveler: Get cheap flight deals in your inbox. Save $20 off your first year with code GINNYPRIEM
Grief doesn't always look the way we expect it to—and sometimes, it's not just about loss, but about unmet expectations, disappointment, and seasons that feel heavier than we thought they would be. In this episode, I'm continuing a really honest conversation about what it looks like to walk through a wilderness season while still showing up in your life, your business, and your calling. I share what's been anchoring me lately—how to hear from God in the middle of grief, how to guard your heart, and how to stay grounded when your emotions feel all over the place. In this episode, you'll discover: ✨ Why getting a personal word from God can anchor your hope in hard seasons ✨ How to navigate grief, healing, and mindset shifts without losing yourself in the process ✨ What it looks like to protect your peace and be intentional about what you're consuming ✨ How “breathing through the pain” can help you stay present with God instead of shutting down If you're navigating faith-based motherhood, leadership, or business in a heavy season, this is your reminder—you're not alone, and you're not off track. Take a moment to listen, slow down, and invite God into what you're feeling. And if this resonated, share it with someone who needs it or leave a review so more women can feel seen and supported
We're back with part two of your burning questions — and we are not holding back! From the weirdest things we've Googled at work to first dates, baby fever, coming out stories, and secret talents, Ryan and Tyler are serving all the tea.Oh, and yes — skincare questions too, because we can't help ourselves. Shop here now: https://www.savannaboda.com
Tim found a site listing the top parenting question googled in each state. He saves the state of Washington, Michael's home state, for last. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The most powerful biohacks on the planet don't cost a dime, and most people have no idea they're already within reach. In this rapid-fire Q&A, I'm answering your most Googled questions and breaking down my top five free, portable biohacks, my exact cold plunge protocol, and the truth about mold toxicity that most physicians won't tell you. If you've been waiting for a no-excuse starting point to upgrade your biology, this is it. CLICK HERE TO BECOME GARYS VIP!: https://bit.ly/4ai0Xwg Thank you to our partners A-GAME: “ULTIMATE15” FOR 15% OFF: http://bit.ly/4kek1ij AION: “ULTIMATE10” FOR 10% OFF: https://bit.ly/4h6KHAD AIRES: "ULTIMATE20 " FOR 20% OFF: https://bit.ly/4a3Duze BAJA GOLD: "ULTIMATE10" FOR 10% OFF: https://bit.ly/3WSBqUa BODYHEALTH: “ULTIMATE20” FOR 20% OFF: http://bit.ly/4e5IjsV CARAWAY: “ULTIMATE” FOR 10% OFF: https://bit.ly/3Q1VmkC COLD LIFE: THE ULTIMATE HUMAN PLUNGE: https://bit.ly/4eULUKp GENETIC METHYLATION TEST (UK ONLY): https://bit.ly/48QJJrk GENETIC TEST (USA ONLY): https://bit.ly/3Yg1Uk9 GOPUFF: GET YOUR FAVORITE SNACK!: https://bit.ly/4obIFDC H2TABS: “ULTIMATE10” FOR 10% OFF: https://bit.ly/4hMNdgg HEALF: 10% OFF YOUR ORDER: https://bit.ly/41HJg6S PEPTUAL: “TUH10” FOR 10% OFF: https://bit.ly/4mKxgcn RHO NUTRITION: “ULTIMATE15” FOR 15% OFF: https://bit.ly/44fFza0 SNOOZE: LET'S GET TO SLEEP!: https://bit.ly/4pt1T6V WHOOP: JOIN & GET 1 FREE MONTH!: https://bit.ly/3VQ0nzW Watch the “Ultimate Human Podcast” every Tuesday & Thursday at 9AM EST: YouTube: https://bit.ly/3RPQYX8 Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3RQftU0 Connect with Gary Brecka Instagram: https://bit.ly/3RPpnFs TikTok: https://bit.ly/4coJ8fo X: https://bit.ly/3Opc8tf Facebook: https://bit.ly/464VA1H LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/4hH7Ri2 Website: https://bit.ly/4eLDbdU Merch: https://bit.ly/4aBpOM1 Newsletter: https://bit.ly/47ejrws Ask Gary: https://bit.ly/3PEAJuG Timestamps 00:00 Intro of Show 01:22 Gary's Top 5 Biohacks 02:59 Gary's Meal Times 05:12 Advice for Mood Disorders 07:18 Cold Plunge Routine and Alternatives 08:11 Mold Detox and Testing 10:21 Join the TUH VIP Community Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only and does not provide medical advice. It is not intended for diagnosing or treating any health condition. Always consult a licensed healthcare professional before making health or wellness decisions. Gary Brecka is the owner of Ultimate Human, LLC which operates The Ultimate Human podcast and promotes certain third-party products used by Gary Brecka in his personal health and wellness protocols and daily life and for which Ultimate Human LLC and / or Gary Brecka directly or indirectly holds an economic interest or receives compensation. Accordingly, statements made by Gary Brecka and others (including on The Ultimate Human podcast) may be considered. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski | True Crime News & Commentary
On January 7th, 2021, Maya Millete called a divorce attorney, came home to Chula Vista, and was never seen again. Her husband Larry sent his last email to a spell caster two minutes before she drove up. A neighbor's camera recorded loud banging sounds from the house that night. Maya's phone went dark around 1:25 AM. No camera ever captured her leaving.What investigators found when they started pulling this marriage apart is unlike almost anything in recent true crime. Larry Millete allegedly paid over $1,100 to people he believed could cast magic spells — starting with love spells, escalating to requests that Maya be injured, made dependent, given nightmares, or given cancer. He placed subliminal audio devices throughout the house — his internet search history included the phrase "subliminal wife training." He Googled Rohypnol and date rape drugs. He allegedly built a physical shrine to the marriage with what appeared to be red wax or blood. Maya's own diary entries suggested she believed he was poisoning her vitamins. A friend told investigators he had choked her until she passed out. A police officer testified in open court that he once punched through drywall to get to her when she locked herself in the bathroom in fear.The morning after Maya disappeared, Larry drove the family Lexus for over eleven hours with his phone turned off and no alibi that has ever held up under questioning. He later asked a neighbor to detail — clean — the vehicle. Every text between him and Maya had been deleted from his phone.Five years later, Larry Millete still hasn't faced a jury. The latest delay came January 28th, 2026, just two weeks before a trial date attorneys had publicly described as final. Defense attorneys cited personal family losses. Maya's sister Maricris stood in court and begged the judge not to grant it — telling him their aging parents wake up every morning still waiting for justice for their daughter. The judge granted it anyway. Trial is now set for May 11th, 2026.Larry Millete has pleaded not guilty. His defense has argued Maya had her own reasons to disappear — a professional situation that could have cost her everything, and an alleged plan to make Larry look responsible. Tony Brueski gives that theory the fair hearing it deserves. Then he lays out everything the prosecution has spent five years building.Maya Millete told her sister, her brother, and a stranger at a law firm: if anything happens to me, it was Larry. Her parents are still waiting for the trial that will decide if she was right.Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.#LarryMillete #MayaMillete #HiddenKillers #TrueCrime2026 #MissingMom #MurderTrial #ChulaVistaMurder #CoerciveControl #NoBodyCase #TrueCrimePodcast
Ivan From Phoenix is recruited as guest host once again, as he interviews Mark Devlin about The Tragedy & The Triumph, his latest novel, and the conclusion of his Oxford-based "truth fiction" trilogy.*You can purchase ‘The Tragedy & The Triumph' paperback on Amazon from here:https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1913438961?ref_=ast_author_dp_rw&th=1&psc=1&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.aNTNI8JR0eAjZoQe9eRPhN9wt1UiOVLkLuqC7e6w31HVpbiek5WC2tJl2EFOMD5SsWGEob1qjZCTF4E3xBY-voEiTkUwmwLeb0_a1ZY886D4tZVRpxn3e2EoXxMLTTpf8uN7hR2uu6GyA5GhmQxiVA.FeSz80Saw5gOUukWIIU6TD1bQZAqfpIXfbXZNFN9Ndo&dib_tag=AUTHOROr, to order a signed copy direct from the author, just e-mail markdevlin2022@protonmail.com*If you have found value in my work and would like to support its continuation, please consider becoming one of my Patreon supporters which gets you access to exclusive content that I don't post elsewhere. You can join up here:https://www.patreon.com/user?u=113137448To support my output through Buy Me A Coffee:https://buymeacoffee.com/markdevlinTo support me via Paypal.com donation, find me at paypal.com under the e-mail address markdevlinuk@gmail.comI've partnered as an affiliate with Above Phone. This lot are a conscious technology company that makes devices like de-Googled phones, laptops and tablets. The emphasis is always on avoiding the Big Tech tracking, surveillance and advertising targeting that comes with conventional suppliers.They also offer VPNs, private file sharing and video conferencing options.If you order any of their products through the following link you'll get a $25-off coupon by entering the code DJMARK, plus you'll be helping to support the continuation of my work in the process:abovephone.com/djmarkReal gold bullion available from this source. (Tax-Free (CGT, VAT), Allocated and Segregated Storage (London/Zurich), Pension (SIPP) Gold, Buy Back Guarantee:https://goldbullionpartners.co.uk/download-our-complimentary-guide-m-devlin/Natural/ organic health solutions from Clive De Carle:https://clivedecarle.ositracker.com/170240/11489Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/good-vibrations-podcast--2594848/support.
Bobby talked about how police in Washington Township, New Jersey, completed a DoorDash order after arresting the delivery driver during a traffic stop. Amy shares the new women only option on Uber and how it works. But the guys have some issues with it that we debate. Bobby also has an easy way to boost your mental health. Bobby reveals the Top 3 questions that get googled about him.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
New DOJ documents reveal one of Jeffrey Epstein's prison guards searched his name minutes before his death and made mysterious cash deposits before the incident. The PBD Podcast panel examines the new details, unanswered questions about Epstein's death, and why the case still fuels suspicion.