Podcasts about GP

Dr. Tarryn Kawalsky came on to talk about something I've been thinking about constantly since becoming a mother: the massive gap between what women experience in their bodies and what the medical system actually addresses. She's a GP, co-founder of The Ovarian Club podcast, and she spent her community service year in obstetrics and gynecology at a top South African hospital where she witnessed firsthand how women get dismissed. The statistics are wild. Women weren't required to be included in clinical trials until 1990. One in ten women has endometriosis, but doctors aren't taught to ask about painful periods during routine visits. Tarryn talks about patients coming in with completely unrelated complaints, and when she asks basic questions about their menstrual cycle or perimenopause symptoms, suddenly there's this whole other picture. Women reporting crippling pain every month but thinking it's normal. Women put on antidepressants in their forties without anyone checking if it might be perimenopause first. Hormone replacement therapy that could prevent bone density loss and cardiovascular problems isn't even available in the public sector. What landed for me is how Tarryn had to actively unlearn her male-centric medical training. She's teaching herself to treat symptoms even when biomarkers look "normal," to believe women when they say something's wrong, to actually listen instead of just checking boxes. We talked about postpartum care being basically nonexistent after six weeks, about how chewable Viagra exists while ovarian cancer gets a fraction of the research funding, about the difference between doctors who listen and doctors who don't. Her message to women: know your symptoms, don't let yourself be gaslit, seek second opinions. Your body is yours and you know it better than anyone else. Connect with Tarryn: The Ovarian Club - https://linktr.ee/theovarianclub Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/theovarianclub/ Follow Carly on: Website: https://onthecouchwithcarly.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfBi56xQookfRGL3zvWVzCg Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onthecouchwithcarly/?hl=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/onthecouchwithcarly/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@onthecouchwithcarly Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/za/podcast/on-the-couch-with-carly/id1497585376 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3t7A2FMnISQ2fz9D5p0Xuw

GP:s idé och kritikredaktör Jenny Högström recenserar litteraturåret 2025 och kommer med ett gäng boktips för den som vill passa på att läsa under julledigheten. Dessutom: Hur många böcker har Jenny läst i år? Vad läser hon "for fun" och hur många sidor ska man läsa innan man ger upp på en bok?Jennys boktips:En magisk man av Maria Maunsbach Tusen och ett liv – kurragömma med döden av Rasoul NejadmehrsSmultronstället av Jesper HögströmEtt år av apokalyptiskt tänkande av Linda SpåmanEn rysk roman av Emmanuel CarrèreMarockotriologin av Leïla Slimani Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's a full mailbag episode as we answer listener questions from across the country — mixing college basketball history, current storylines, and a little chaos along the way. We dive into coaching “almost took the job” stories, the future of early-season conference events, the most intriguing teams right now, and how many programs can actually win the national championship. Plus: Michigan State's contender case, ACC tourney math, blue blood debates (hello, Florida), and Virginia's Ryan Odom era. There's also plenty of fun: hypothetical matchups, travel routines, airport rankings, Memphis tips for an 8-year-old, linguistic debates we probably shouldn't have, and more. We close with the Final Four and 1, previewing Winthrop–Texas Tech, UL-Monroe–Kansas State, Saint Mary's–LMU, Gonzaga–Pepperdine, and a sneaky San Francisco–Seattle game. Mailbag chaos, college hoops insight, and classic GP & Norlander — all in one episode. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

12.26.25 Hour 4 1:00- GP doesn't understand hashtags so Lynnell explains why he uses them and more! 22:00- Do we believe that the Commanders should bring back Daron Payne? They have a potential out this offseason, but they may want to keep him around.

Roma, la pasión por Roma es el tema que nos une en torno a la radio en la torre de Babel, con tres géneros diferentes que abordan la historia del imperio desde diferentes puntos de vista, un ensayo, una novela súper ventas y un cómic publicado en Aragón. Sobre nuestra mesa, la nueva entrega de Santiago Posteguillo en su monumental proyecto de contar la vida de Julio César, una nueva novela que narra la guerra de las Galias como nunca nos la habían contado. La Roma más cercana, la que construyó la ciudad desde la que les hablamos es nuestra segunda propuesta, “De salduie a Caesar augusta” es el título del ensayo que sobre la presencia romana en el valle del Ebro publica el profesor de la universidad de Zaragoza Francisco Beltran. Y de postre, “Roma Derrotada”, la primera parte de una trilogía “Celtiberia en Guerra”, que publica GP ediciones y resume, en forma de cómic las tres guerras celtibéricas.

Check if your dental practice qualifies for capital allowances here >>> https://www.dentistswhoinvest.com/chris-lonergan———————————————————————UK Dentists: Collect your verifiable CPD for this episode here >>> https://courses.dentistswhoinvest.com/smart-money-members-club———————————————————————What if the fastest way to grow a dental practice is not a new scanner, but a new agreement? We sit down with Lisa, a former dental nurse who became a practice stakeholder, to unpack how equity, trust, and smart systems turn a busy clinic into a resilient, two-site business that serves patients better and performs stronger.Lisa shares the early lessons she took from running operations in a GP super centre: finance visibility, team training, and the simple truth that people remember how you make them feel. Those foundations shaped a strategy that moved a three-person team into a private-led model with an NHS arm ring-fenced in a nearby site for stability and optionality. We talk openly about when equity for a practice manager makes sense, why it should be a cherry not a carrot, and how small ownership stakes can unlock the discretionary effort owners quietly hope for but rarely earn.We dive deep on incentives that work—like sharing a slice of verified stock savings—and why owners who cling to cash starve growth. The numbers matter: monthly KPIs, white space costs, staffing ratios, and fee calibration can add six figures without longer clinical hours. And then there's the biggest lever of all: communication. Lisa breaks down the ten-second phrases that de-escalate complaints, the reception scripts that convert more enquiries into appropriate appointments, and how AI call reviews help front-of-house master tone, empathy, and listening.If you're an owner or manager who wants fuller diaries, fewer fire drills, and a team that thinks like partners, this conversation hands you the blueprint: align incentives, measure what matters, and coach the words that win trust. Subscribe, share this with your practice lead, and leave a review telling us one change you'll make this week.———————————————————————Disclaimer: All content on this channel is for education purposes only and does not constitute an investment recommendation or individual financial advice. For that, you should speak to a regulated, independent professional. The value of investments and the income from them can go down as well as up, so you may get back less than you invest. The views expressed on this channel may no longer be current. The information provided is not a personal recommendation for any particular investment. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and all tax rules may change in the future. If you are unsure about the suitability of an investment, you should speak to a regulated, independent professional. Investment figures quoted refer to simulated past performance and that past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results/performance.Send us a text

Confira a reportagem sobre o GP da Holanda de F1 de 2025.

It's Christmas and Commanders (and Czaban) this week! Grant & Czabe look at Commanders offseason questions and wonder if Sam Hartman should play against Dallas, and then discuss their favorite Christmas movies before GP teaches Czabe the McDonald's app! Plus, show favorite Tress Way checks in to talk about his Pro Bowl nod, and a talk about DK Metcalf's suspension?

In this episode, I'm diving into a topic that comes up all the time with my clients and listeners: vaping and nicotine addiction in adults with ADHD. I'm joined by Dr. Marc Picot—GP, health coach, former vaper, and founder of Vape Escape—who brings both clinical expertise and lived experience to this conversation. Together, we unpack why ADHD brains are especially vulnerable to nicotine, how vaping can feel like self-medication, and what's really happening with dopamine, focus, and emotional regulation behind the scenes.Dr. Marc also shares practical, compassionate insights for anyone who's tried to quit (and maybe relapsed more than once), including what withdrawal can look like for ADHDers, how vaping can interfere with ADHD medication, and why shame has no place in the quitting process. Whether you're thinking about quitting, actively trying, or supporting someone who is, this episode is packed with clarity, validation, and hope—without judgment or quick fixes.Dr. Marc Picot is a vaping cessation expert, GP (family physician), health coach, and former vaper. After becoming addicted to vaping during a period of depression, he turned his personal experience into a passion for helping others quit. He is the founder of Vape Escape, a digital support service for people struggling with vaping addiction, and the author of The Last Puff. Dr. Marc now works with individuals worldwide, combining medical expertise with compassionate, practical guidance to support long-term recovery from nicotine dependence. Episode Highlights:[0:36] – Welcoming Dr. Marc Picot and why vaping is such a big issue for adults with ADHD [1:52] – The brain chemistry connection: dopamine, norepinephrine, and ADHD [4:58] – Vaping as self-medication and why it “works” in the short term [7:02] – How nicotine peaks and crashes worsen ADHD symptoms over time [8:29] – Why vaping can make ADHD medication feel less effective [11:06] – Dr. Marc's personal story: depression, withdrawal, and fear of relapse [12:57] – Different ways to quit: cold turkey vs. gradual nicotine reduction [18:45] – Cravings, dopamine, and finding healthier pattern interrupts [22:39] – What the first week without vaping is really like [26:01] – Relapse, shame, and why most people don't quit on the first try [29:37] – Common mistakes when quitting and the power of education [32:07] – Dr. Marc's book The Last Puff and who it's for [33:59] – Final advice for ADHDers struggling with vaping Links & ResourcesVape Escape: https://vapeescape.org.ukThe Last Puff by Dr. Marc PicotThank you for tuning into "SuccessFULL with ADHD." If this episode has impacted you, remember to rate, follow, share, and review our podcast. Your support helps us reach and help more individuals navigating their journeys with ADHD.

Winter storms affecting holiday travel. Venezuela seeks UN meeting as Trump's oil crackdown intensifies. NORAD Santa Tracker. Mike Lyons, military analyst, talks the next steps between the US and Venezuela. A Chadmark Christmas. GP-1 drugs now approved in pill form. Barry Manilow diagnosed again with cancer. New batch of Epstein files released. 

This week on Swimming with Allocators, it's a bonus episode as Earnest talks about the "Best of Season Three" on the show, highlighting memorable moments and insights from the year's most popular shows. Topics include building intentionally diverse venture portfolios, the value of connecting distinct networks in the VC space, and innovative approaches to GP seeding and strategic partnerships for fund managers. Key takeaways for listeners are the importance of focusing on quality and flexibility over rigid investment categories, embracing discomfort to foster impactful professional connections, and looking beyond the largest funds to find unique opportunities and generate true alpha in venture capital. Don't miss a look back at some of the best moments on the podcast in 2025. Highlights from this week's conversation include: Welcome and Introduction to the Best Of Episode (0:02) Honorable Mention: Joshua Berkowitz on Venture Portfolios (3:43) Embracing “A Mess by Design” in Portfolio Strategy (4:03) Kevin and Raudline on Network Building and Connectivity (9:41) The Value of Bridging Networks and Network Effects (12:36) Capital Concentration and Middle-Market Allocators (14:33) Trends in Venture Capital for 2025 and Beyond (17:35) Jason Howard on GP Seeding and Strategic Partnerships (22:25) Partnership Benefits and Advisor Roles for GPs (27:02) Final Thoughts and Takeaways (35:57) Swimming with Allocators is a podcast that dives into the intriguing world of Venture Capital from an LP (Limited Partner) perspective. Hosts Alexa Binns and Earnest Sweat are seasoned professionals who have donned various hats in the VC ecosystem. Each episode, we explore where the future opportunities lie in the VC landscape with insights from top LPs on their investment strategies and industry experts shedding light on emerging trends and technologies.  The information provided on this podcast does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials available on this podcast are for general informational purposes only. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How Did H2O Innovation Build a Water Empire Through 18+ Acquisitions (M&A) and What Happens Now Under Private Equity?More #water insights? Get my free mapping of 267 water investors here: https://investors.dww.show

Nollaig chridhiel dhuibh! A very merry Christmas to you! This episode is a conversation with Dr Jennifer Jack of Tobermory. Jennifer comes originally from West Kilbride in Ayrshire. She moved here in the late 1980's to take up a role within the medical practices in the North End of the island. Our conversation goes into her childhood in Ayrshire, her studies, musical and sporting interests and how she found the island when first she came to live here and what the role of a local GP is and what it means to a community. Episode notes and more can be found at whatwedointhewinter.com Thanks for listening!

Het is tijd om terug te blikken op het Formule 1-jaar van 2025. Met Lando Norris als nieuwe wereldkampioen, de ineenstoring van Ferrari en het beste jaar ooit van Max Verstappen (toch?!). In de podcast hoor je onze terugblik en hoor je fragmenten uit de theatershow van 19 december in Eindhoven. Inclusief een grote F1-quiz en het interview met Claire Dubbelman, de plaatsvervangend wedstrijdleider van de FIA. Veel luisterplezier en namens Joost, Moeke, Ho-Pin en Bas: fijne feestdagen! Vragen? Voor vragen of opmerkingen over De Boordradio kan je ons altijd mailen op podcast@nu.nl of je kan reageren via NUjij of X. Je kunt je ook gratis abonneren op de De Boordradio-podcast. Dat kan via Apple Podcasts, Spotify of jouw favoriete podcast-app. Video's Wil je de gezichten achter de stemmen van De Boordradio zien? Dat kan nu op TikTok, Instagram en YouTube. De podcast wordt gefilmd en elke aflevering komen er korte clipjes op sociale media. Volg ons ook daar! GP-spel Denk jij meer verstand van Formule 1 te hebben dan Joost, Patrick, Ho-Pin en Bas? Doe mee aan het het leukste GP-Managerspel van Nederland! Daag de mannen en de rest van de luisteraars uit in het De Boordradio GP-spel. Zie het privacybeleid op https://art19.com/privacy en de privacyverklaring van Californië op https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

 Quaranteam - Dave In Dallas: Part 3 Houses Belsus bonds over pain. Based on a post by RonanJWilkerson, in 12 parts. Listen to the Podcast at Explicit Novels. Becca took a small sip of her drink. Her eyes flared lightly, but she didn't cough or choke. "Dave, tell me a story from when you were younger. Something stupid you once did." Dave's head fell back against the couch. "Oh boy. I didn't do any of the usual stupid stuff. Far too insular for that, no group of friends to drag me into wild, hilarious mistakes." Dave thought for a minute, trying to decide if he should tell this particular story. Or if he could. Hell, they were stuck living with him, they deserved to know. "Okay, so this happened in my second summer of college. I was tutoring a lot, and one lady in particular met with me at least once a week. Really nice person, pretty too. Her name was Kim Dawson. She'd gone all in on the late 80's media image of what pretty looked like; dyed blonde hair, boob implants, blue contact lenses. That helped her professionally of course; she worked as a stripper and did well enough to pay her tuition out of pocket, plus a small but nice rent house for her and her son." "You went to her house?" Dave nodded while swallowing the sip he'd just taken. "After the first several sessions, we got comfortable with each other, and it was helpful to her for me to come over on days she didn't have classes, especially if she had to go to work after our tutoring session." Dave paused for a moment, gathering the courage to continue. "So, about two months after we started working together, I'm at her house, sitting at her dinner table. It's a small round table to one side of her kitchen. Like I said, it's a small house, but good condition and she kept it well. Big enough for her and a six year old. Anyway, she gets up to take a brain break and decides she's going to change. She wasn't heading to work, and had come back from running errands, so she wanted to put on something more comfortable." Dave noted the ladies exchanging glances amongst themselves. "Just,; don't judge okay?" He paused again for a moment. "She left her bedroom door open, but the table was well away from the door, like a big angle away." Another look shared. "I didn't follow her with my eyes or anything, but she started talking to me through the open door, so naturally I turned my head towards the door. There was a mirror on the wall that I could see. Now, no, no she wasn't visible in the mirror. At least not from the angle and distance I was at." The looks passing among the ladies were both cryptic in the specifics and utterly obvious in the general meaning. "Oh, I forgot to mention that earlier we had discussed payment. She said this might have to be the last session for a while because she didn't think she could afford to pay. I had told her we could work something out." Three sets of eyebrows raised. "No, not like that. I just assured her I'd let her pay it out if she needed to. I was trying to be accommodating. She needed the help, she put in the work, I was just trying to be helpful." "Oh, baby." Jan said sympathetically. Dave winced. "So then she says she can't hear me well and asks me to come to the door to talk to her." He sighed. "I didn't. I told her I couldn't, I didn't want to violate her privacy. I don't think those were the actual words I used, but it was something like that." Dave couldn't even look at the others, just stared up at the ceiling. "She insists, says she strips to a G-string multiple times a night and she's already in a bra and shorts, she's just looking for a shirt, so it's no big deal." Another sigh. "Then she finally says she wants me to come back there; to; be with her. She; she said I could sleep with her in exchange for tutoring." "Oh my god, David you didn't did you?" Lupie asked. "No, no of course I didn't. And that was the problem. I couldn't. I felt frozen. What she was asking me to do was against everything I'd been taught about being a good guy. And I had nothing against her, but I'd been taught that all the guys at the strip club were abusing her, and I didn't want to do the same, so I stayed put and told her I couldn't do that to her, we can work something else out. After a bit more back and forth, she got pissed and told me to leave. My legs had been frozen the entire time, locked up. I finally managed to force myself up and walked out." All three ladies were absolutely silent. "That wasn't the end of it. After waiting a week, I tried calling a few times to see if she wanted a tutoring session. She never answered." More silence. "Two semesters later, I take organic chem, and one of my classmates and study partners is a friend of Kim's. I didn't know that at first, she waited until we had been working together awhile. She finally told me it was a ruse. Kim made enough in two or three nights to pay rent for a month, and another four covered all the groceries for a month. Mind you, this was early 90's so a lot of things were cheaper. Hell, gas was barely over a dollar a gallon. Kim had set it up to make a fantasy play and I blew it. According to Beth, Kim felt hurt. That was absolutely mind boggling to me. I just couldn't accept the idea that I could mean enough to a woman to hurt her in anyway, certainly not by not having sex with her." Becca shifted against him, turning toward him. "Yeah, I know. I'm an idiot." "You really had no idea?" Jan queried. "Not a bit. I just didn't want to hurt her. I didn't want to be the jackass. Turns out I was anyway." "David," Becca asked, "could I get some help with my math?" She kept her tone even, but her face belied her joke. "Oh hush." Becca worried about missing out on college, so Jan suggested she work through some of Dave's history and biography books as a substitute for a history course. The two were downstairs in the library, reading and talking. This left Lupie and Dave alone in bed. Both were certain it was not a mere coincidence. Lupie curled into Dave's side, her head resting on his chest. She wore a light camisole. He wore his usual; nothing. "David, I wanted to thank you for backing me up the other morning with Esme." "You're welcome. I just thought it was important she not get the idea she can play me against you." Lupie snuggled him tighter. "Still, I think it fair you know what she was about to say." "Only if you think it necessary." "It's a little embarrassing. I thought she was asleep. And I thought I was being quiet." Lupie paused, blushing. "Still it has been several years since I've,; um;” "Gotcha." "Yes, so, um, there have been times when I've; taken care of certain needs. And I was thinking of you. She must have been awake and heard me call your name." Lupie's head was buried as hard into his chest as possible without breaking ribs. "Well, now you don't have to imagine. You have me, and I have you." "You're not upset?" "More like flattered. And frustrated with myself. If I'd picked up on some signs, maybe;” "Let's not go down the 'what if' road David. You're right. We have each other now. We'll build from here." Dave tightened the hug for a moment. "You know, I passed by when you were on your computer earlier. It's kinda cool to see you work. You have this penetrating gaze, like you're dissecting everything you read, weighing each word in a balance and jettisoning the unworthy." "Hmm, must have been when I was working on that memo about handover protocols. Those details can give anyone a headache." Lupie kissed his jawline. "But I don't want to talk about work now. Just hold me, David." September 23, 2020. "What do you want to make for dinner tonight?" Dave asked as he and Janice entered the kitchen. "Not sure just yet. Tell you what, you check the fridge, I'll go into the pantry and check the shelves. Let's see what we come up with from what we see." "Okay." Dave started scanning the fridge shelves for ingredients when a thought occurred to him. The pantry was private. It had been a day or so for Jan. He walked over and opened the door. "Oh good, I was wondering if I'd have to play damsel in distress needing my big strong man to help me find something in this tight little space." "Well, I do have a probe made especially for tight spaces." He kissed her, balancing hunger with tenderness. Jan hummed into the kiss. She wrapped her arms around Dave's neck and pulled her body against his. "Umm-hmm, and that probe is so very good too." She nibbled lightly on his lower lip. Knowing they had little time, and Jan was up for a quickie, Dave took hold of her slacks and panties at the waist band and pulled them down to her knees. Jan emitted a delighted squeak. Her eyes shone with excitement as he stood and picked her up, carrying her to a bare patch of wall between shelves. He shoved his cargo shorts and boxers to his ankles, then hooked his hands under her thighs and lifted and folded her in one motion as he pressed her to the wall. She gasped and moaned, giving her approval and yielding herself to his power, confident that he would meet her needs as he saw to his own. Dave drove himself into her, the serum effects having made her fully wet already. He slid full length on the first thrust. She groaned happily, hungrily and gripped his shoulders. They were pressed for time, so he pounded into her hot wet tunnel with fervor. Such was her excitement that she reached her first climax in just a few minutes. Desperately trying to contain her enjoyment, Jan bit Dave's shoulder as he accelerated his thrusting, pounding more vigorously than he ever had, racing Jan to a second climax a minute before he burst inside her, kicking her over the orgasmic abyss a third time. Dave stopped, holding her in place as both panted for air. The enclosed pantry suddenly felt hot and muggy. His legs felt wobbly. He carefully lowered her legs to the ground, allowing himself to fall outside of her as he did so. Jan pouted for a moment, then dropped to her knees to clean off his cock. "Can't make a mess in here now can we?" She said with a wink. She pulled his shorts up before drawing her own pants into place. Then she sauntered out the door. Dave followed, but nearly ran into her when she stopped short two steps out the door. Lupie and Becca stood there, smirking and clapping. Jan blushed and turned, burying her face in Dave's chest. "Get over it girl, we're all gonna catch each other like that once in a while." Becca said. "I'll remind you of that when it's you," Lupie razzed. Dinner was only a little late, but it was good. Lupie winkingly attributed the good taste to the fact it was made with love. September 24, 2020. Dave looked into the kitchen and saw Lupie at the counter, her back to him, working away. He walked carefully up behind her and gently placed his hands on her hips. She started for a second, then settled into him, allowing her back to rest on his chest. She laid her work down and lay her head on his shoulder. "Hmm. This, this right here." Dave turned his head to hers and they shared a slow, soft kiss as he brought his hands around to her abdomen. They rocked slowly together, swaying to unheard music. What Dave had intended as a happy little moment escalated when Lupie started grinding her rear against his crotch. A moment later, she brought his hands up to her tits. Dave was caught between excitement and control. He very much wanted to paw at her lovely mounds. A wonderfully medium size, Lupie's tits were just barely less than a handful. About as pert as could be natural for a woman in her early thirties. She moaned as he groped. Lupie spun in his arms, kissed him, grabbed his hand, and took off to the bedroom. Dave kept up easily, grinning and laughing the whole way. He stopped her twice to pull her in for a kiss. Once the door closed, they each ripped off their own clothes and sprinted to the bed. Lupie pulled Dave on top of her, her legs apart, insistently rubbing her body against him. "Hungry much?" "What's going on is a tragedy of epic proportions, but I also feel more free than I have in ages. Since I was a teen. Now fuck your bitch in heat David." She snagged his head in her hands and kissed him passionately. Her legs wrapped around him, leaving him enough room to maneuver himself to her entrance. Her own thrusting and abundance of lubrication had him sinking deep into her the moment he lined himself up. She kept up her pelvic motions, timing them with Dave's thrusting. They fucked frantically, frenetically, neither pausing or relenting until Dave burst into Lupie, shooting several thick ropes into her warm, waiting depths. Lupie shuddered with his emissions, griping him tightly with her arms, legs, and inner muscles. They lay panting for a few moments and then looked at each other and laughed. September 25, 2020. Friday mid-morning found Dave on the couch, debating a point of fandom with Becca. "Picard was way wilder than Kirk. They just seem the other way around in contrast with their first officers." "That's crazy talk, Becca. Picard is the staid diplomat that negotiates treaties. Kirk is the bar-room brawler that fought every alien in the sector, or bedded them." "Kirk was the A-student that cheated on the big final exam but got a pass afterward since he was a teacher's pet. Picard was an athlete and got into a bar fight with Naussicans. And got stabbed through the heart." "How dare you speak so insultingly of Jean-Luc the great?" Dave mock-scowled. "Because he's good but not great." Becca giggled. "Blasphemy! I'll shall exorcise the demon from your mind young one!" "And just how to do you plan on doing that?" The grin was the same, but her eyes had picked up a hungry glimmer. Dave did not answer. He lunged at her, hands reaching for her ribs. And then he began tickling her. Becca let out an "Oh!" As Dave barreled into her, pressing her against the couch arm. As soon as he began tickling her, she let out a loud happy shriek, followed by a series of cackles. Dave relented briefly and she caught her breath. Becca gave him a quick kiss, then slipped from under him, heading for the stairs with a look over her shoulder. With a huge grin, Dave shot after her, catching her at the top of the stairs and tickling her again. Her legs gave out from under her during the pleasant bombardment on her sides. He scooped her up and carried her the rest of the way to the bedroom. He kicked the door shut, then walked over and tossed her on the bed before jumping atop her, kissing and groping. She responded in kind, hungry and happy. They started shedding clothes wildly, paying no heed to where they landed. Mutually nude, mutually aroused, hands roaming they rolled on the bed. Dave slipped his hands to her ribs again. Becca squealed in anticipation just as he began to tickle her. Laughing and cackling she wiggled about, half-heartedly trying to escape his grasp. In the commotion, Dave still managed to align himself with her entrance, and pushed himself partially inside. He stopped his assault on her ribs just as he penetrated. A cross between a gasp and a sigh ushered from Becca. Eyes closed, she grinned wildly. Dave drove himself slowly, methodically within her. She draped her hands around his back and her legs around his waist. A look of blissful contentment blazed forth from her. He coaxed her to climax three times before finally allowing himself to spill into her. Afterward, they lay spooning in bed, Dave's chest against Becca's back, his right arm draped over her side, hand resting on her tummy. Breathing, just being close. Until Dave heard soft sobs from her. "Becca?" "I'm sorry. It felt so great, and then I thought about telling my Aunt Teresa about how my life is changed, how good I feel in bed with you, having you in my life like this." She shuddered with grief. "She's; she's; I'll never get to talk with her again. She's the one; I could talk to. When mom was stuck on rote doctrine, Aunt Teresa talked to me. Even if she echoed mom's position, she talked to me. Now they're all just gone." Dave held her firmly, letting her cry, letting her know he was there with her. After several minutes of silence, he spoke. "We live in dark times, beloved. For now anyway, happiness comes in bursts, sadness in buckets." He paused to compose himself. "We cling together to weather the storm. Separately, we may all drown." She placed her hand on his, reassuring herself he was there, as she cried herself to sleep. She never noticed his tears falling in her hair. September 28, 2020. Dave opened the door, half-expecting a National Guardsman with a woman to add to his house. He wasn't wrong. The lady in question stood ready, with a bright smile. A telegenic smile. And Dave recognized her after a moment. "Holy crap. You're Shawna Cooper! How the hell did you wind up here?" "Well, according to Oracle, you were my best match at 93%" with that same rich, assuring voice he'd come to appreciate from the TV. "Wow, okay." Dave paused to sign the form. He hadn't paid too much attention the first two times so he scanned the document quickly. He burst out laughing. The soldier grinned. "Yeah, some chairborne ranger had a little fun with that one." Shawna looked at him funny. "Something I should know?" "I'll tell you inside, with the others. They should hear this too." Dave waved as the military truck pulled away, then lead Shawna into the living room. The rest of the house must have heard the door. All three ladies currently bonded to Dave were already in the living room. "Hello" said Shawna, cautiously attempting to engage the other women. "Hey aren't you; " "Shawna Cooper, Senior Meteorologist at WFAA. Although, I may get promoted to Chief Meteorologist soon." A short round of congratulations circulated for the next minute. "Wow, Dave, you're accumulating a real smorgasbord of women. A blonde, a Latina, an Asian woman, and now a black woman." Jan smirked. Dave shook his head and closed his eyes. Shawna chuckled. "If she hadn't said it, I would have." "I'm surrounded by smart alecks." "Each of whom was selected by a computer especially for you." Apparently, the new arrival wasn't giving a holiday on sass. The playful smile on her face was already enchanting Dave's heart. "God help me." "He did David, He sent you us." Lupie punctuated her statement with a quick kiss. The others laughed. "Okay, what was that at the door about the form?" Shawna inquired. "And something about an airborne ranger?" Dave smiled. "No, a chairborne ranger. It's the army version of a desk jockey. Someone that works an army office job, but probably has a bunch of military memorabilia. They think they're a badass, but they've never been in the field without a GP medium and a heater." "You served?" Jan asked. "No, but I had a good friend that was special forces. Taught me a lot." A grey cloud of uncertainty fell across Dave's face. He shook it off. "Anyway, desk jockeys handle the paperwork and sometimes make new forms. All government forms are identified by letters signifying the department that created it, followed by some numbers. The form I have to sign when y'all get dropped off must have been created by an army guy because it's Form DA-6969-R." After a two count, the meaning of the numbers sank in and everyone burst out laughing. "Hmm, now that's giving me ideas" purred Shawna, her eyes slightly hooded. "I try to give each of you some time to get used to me and the house before making that last leap." Lupie piped up, "But we do have precedent for no delay." Becca blushed. "Oh, poor baby," Shawna teased, "did the pretty little blonde jump your bones before you were ready?" "There were some extenuating circumstances, which you will learn in time. I'm sure it will be part of the family story as we go forward. We did know each other before she got vaxxed, so I had some comfort level that she wanted this without the serum effects." "Could I get a quick thumbnail description?" "I'm Dave's next door neighbor." Lupie pointed through the wall towards her house. "Becca was my babysitter," Becca gave a shy smile and a head nod "who was watching Esme, my daughter when the lockdowns hit. We all worked together, staying isolated to get through all this. When the CDC guy came, Becca and I asked Dave to request us. Jan," the lady mentioned waved her hand "was delivered the next morning to Dave's house as we were picked up to get the shot. Something bad happened at the vax center that I don't want to go in to fully at the moment, so Becca was adamant about not waiting when we arrived. Our tender loving man didn't get to be as tender with Becca's first time as he intended." "Sounds like I have a lot to catch up on later." A look of sorrow settled on Shawna. "I'm sorry to ask but where is Esme?" "Oh, she's upstairs reading. We didn't want her down here in case the conversation got a little; risqué." Lupie replied. "She's nine. According to the CDC people, she'll be safe when she reaches eleven. I didn't understand the full explanation, but the important part is she is safe and will remain safe from this thing." "Got it, so no mounting Dave on the couch." "Preferably not." Lupie's Cheshire cat grin matched Shawna's. "Then I think it's time we headed upstairs, tender loving man." In the bedroom, with the door firmly shut, Dave and Shawna stood before each other, gazing at each other's face, eyes roaming across the other's body. "Nervous?" Shawna asked. "Never been with a black woman before?" "My lifetime dance card is a little short, so yeah, still working through the nerves somewhat." Dave temporized. "And no, actually, I've never been with a black woman, but I suspect all the parts work the same." That made her laugh. "See, I can be a smart ass too. Actually, until the last week, I'd never been with a Latina, and Asian woman, or a blonde. Well, not a natural blonde. And I've dated a Latina, but it never went that far." Shawna kissed him. Dave gratefully accepted the interruption of his babbling and joined her. Lips gently merging, pressing. Slowly probing with tongues. Twirling against each other. Mutual tongue stroking turned to suckling on each other's tongue. Hands rubbed backs, pulling insistently. Her soft upper body sandwiched between them. His hands roamed to her sides, then to her bosom. Dave began unbuttoning her blouse. Shawna pulled Dave's t-shirt over his head. "Hmm, nice. Fit without being gross. I like a man that finds balance. Huh." Dave kissed Shawna's neck at the clavicle, suckling and licking. His hands finished with her buttons, he shucked her shirt over her shoulders and she shrugged to drop the shirt off. Cupping her bra-clad bosoms from below, Dave dove into Shawna's cleavage, reveling in the feel of her ample tits surrounding his face. "Yeah baby. Feast on these boobs. You lovin' the size or the taste baby? I'm different than the others in both respects." "Infinite diversity in infinite combination." Dave lifted his head to speak. He brought his hands around to the back to unclasp her lacy orange bra, but couldn't find the mechanism. He pulled his head back from her chest to focus his eyes. Shawna just chuckled as his hands came back to the front, in the center of her bra to release the imprisoned twins. Her hands roamed his back and tousled his hair as he dallied with her chest. With her bra tossed away, Dave took a nipple in his mouth and suckled. Shawna gasped and hummed appreciatively. Her hands moved down his sides, seeking his waist band. She caught hold of his shorts, hooked her fingers beneath them and his boxers, and shoved both to his ankles. One hand grasped his shaft, the other massaged his testicles. Dave groaned from the stimulation of her efforts. "Yeah baby, that's it. You and me, we're gonna give each other a lot of happy." Shawna cooed into his ear before nibbling on it. Dave switched his attention to the other nipple. One hand teased the wet nipple, while the other dropped to the waist band of her slacks. One handed, he unbuckled her belt and unsnapped her pants. He worked the zipper a few inches down one handed also, until they loosened. Then he tugged downward, revealing her lacy orange panties. Dave caught her under the curve of her rump in both hands and lifted her to his body. Shawna squeaked and then hummed her approval as he continued to nibble her neck. She wrapped her legs around his waist. In two steps, he had them at the edge of the bed. Dave crawled onto his knees on the bed and brought his hands under her shoulder blades before lowering their torsos to the bed. Dave hooked his fingers through the thigh straps of Shawna's panties and slipped them from her. Her naked essence now exposed, Dave brought his face to her core and inhaled deeply, reveling in the scent of an aroused woman. He pressed in, his lips and tongue investigating his new partner, caressing her most intimate area. "Hmm, baby that feels so nice, but I need you in me." Shawna tugged at Dave's head. "Dock that thing in the shuttle bay captain." Dave crawled up over top of her with a huge grin on his face. She was sloppy wet below, so he slid in easily as he moved up her body. They were instinctively in sync so that they aligned themselves without discussion or fumbling. Dave was aroused as well, of course, to the point he already had a few beads of precum at the tip of his cock. As he entered, Shawna's body stiffened, then shook. She let out a loud groan as all the air left her lungs. Dave held her until the shaking stopped. "Damn," she said when she caught her breath, "they weren't lyin'." Hunger dominated her features as a wicked smile spread over her face. She rolled them, still connected, taking the top spot. "Ride 'em cowgirl." Shawna laughed as she began rolling her hips, her body writhing sinuously with the motion. Her bounteous tits swayed rhythmically, hypnotically. Dave grasped them, curling his torso up to bring his mouth to her pec pillows and feasted greedily upon the supple flesh. Shawna moaned louder with the attention. Her hips moved faster, beginning to hop an inch or so with each swish of her hips. "Let's kick this to Warp 10 baby." Shawna braced her hands on Dave's shoulders, pushing him flat to the mattress. Using him as an anchor, she began lifting and lowering herself along his rod, riding him hard and fast. Immediately her vocalizations were louder, more primal. Dave could feel the tremors rising in her body just as his own arousal raced to the peak. Dave held off for several minutes before letting loose. As she received his load, Shawna's body shook like she had gripped a live electrical wire. Her torso collapsed on to him like a marionette with the strings cut. Dave heard her chant "Imprinting;” twice before the room started to spin and everything went black. September 29, 2020. When Dave awoke, he was alone in bed. For a moment, by the light level, he thought it had only been a few hours. Then he noticed the angle of the shadows and realized it wasn't later that afternoon, it was several hours past the following daybreak. On the plus side, he felt great. And,; something was wrong. He couldn't place it. No, was something right? It'd be easier to concentrate if Esme's giggles from the kitchen weren't punctuating his thoughts. He couldn't hear any words, but the background sounds sure made it seem like she was helping someone in the kitchen. What? How the hell could he hear them that far away? He hadn't heard that well since his early twenties. And Where The Hell Was His Tinnitus? Ho-lee shit. The high-pitched whine that filled his days and haunted his nights was gone. Shit, now it would be easier to hear women and kids again. Dave barely remembered to throw on shorts and a shirt before sprinting downstairs. He picked up Esme and spun her around. "I hear you! I hear you! All the way up in the bedroom and I could hear you!" He hugged her close. She giggled, once she realized he wasn't mad. Dave set her down and gave her a big kiss on her forehead. "You are officially my favorite stepdaughter." This apple didn't fall far from the tree. She narrowed her eyes and grinned. "I'm un-officially your only stepdaughter." "Still my favorite." He said, his voice receding with him. Dave went upstairs to his office. He had a Zoom call to make that he'd been putting off. "Hi, Uncle Dave." The deep brown eyes, framed by pale skin and equally brown hair of Olivia Barnes stared back at Dave from the screen. Her father's hawkish features softened by the influence of her mother's rounder ones. Except the skin around her eyes was reddened, and somewhat puffy. Dave feared he knew why his goddaughter had been crying. It had been more than a month since he'd heard from his best friends, Carter and Janelle Barnes. "Hey Livy Bean." Maybe his longtime nickname for her would be comforting, of a sort. She did brighten slightly. Like a slightly less dim twilight. "Sorry I haven't called in a while. Things have been changing a bit around here." "Oh, that's fine." She couldn't have sounded more like Eeyore if she tried. "I just; " Olivia was cut short by the playful screech of Esme rocketing into the room, obviously being pursued. She hid behind Dave's chair as Becca entered. "Hey, you two, settle down, I'm on a Zoom call." "Oh, sorry." Both said. "Dave?! What the hell are people doing in your house! Why aren't you quarantining!?" "Yeah, that's part of the busy." Dave looked to Becca and Esme, starting to leave. "Don't go just yet. I should introduce you. Liv, this is Esme, she's the daughter of Lupie, my next door neighbor. Becca was Esme's babysitter doing a long-term babysit when the lockdowns started. We quarantined in separate houses, but worked together to make sure we each had what we needed." They each waved as their names were mentioned. "I recognize the names from earlier conversations. So how are they in your house now Dave?" Energized by questions that needed answering, Olivia strangely seemed more alert than at the beginning of the call. Dave shooed Esme out, Becca following after her and shutting the door. "About two weeks ago now, a guy came to my door, telling me they had a vaccine for this virus. But it has some weird effects." "What kind of weird effects?" Olivia's redheaded roommate Melanie Ustanich popped her head into view. "Well, they can't give the vaccine to men at all. At least not directly." This is not the way he had intended this conversation to go, but here they were. "Women can take the vaccine, and then; transmit the immunity to a man." "How?" Melanie asked with a scowl. "Oh boy. That's were this gets surreal." Dave temporized. "Giving the vaccine directly to a man is 100% fatal. But, a woman can share her immunity with a man directly, through, um,; intercourse." "Okay, I'm calling bullshit." Melanie huffed out of frame. By her footstep sounds, she left the room Olivia was transmitting from. "That's crazy Uncle Dave." "Yeah, that's what I said. But then I red all the documentation, I took the survey. And I have four partners." "Four?" "The effects of the vaccine only partially transmit to the man, and have to be reinforced by frequent; contact. In order to keep a man; safe; he should have multiple partners." Dave winced. "Last I heard, the ultimate goal is twelve to fifteen women per man. And it's permanent. Once a woman gets the vaccine and; sleeps with a man, sleeping with any other man would be dangerous, even fatal." Dave paused while Olivia absorbed what he'd just said. "It's for a lifetime, Liv. Look, if you know someone you think you can make it work long-term with, you should find him and talk to him. The people doing the vaccination should be getting out to Stephenville in another week or so. Maybe you can find someone suitable by then." Dave squirmed in his seat. "I don't have to look anywhere Dave. I know who I'd want to bond with for the rest of my life. The same man I've yearned for; for years." "Good, you should call him immediately. And tell your roommate to think about who she'd want to partner with. And she might want to consider the same guy." With a small smirk Liv replied. "Not a bad idea. This guy likes redheads. But he has a blind spot though. Has trouble noticing when women like him. Especially younger women. He keeps passing it off as infatuation. 'Just a crush'." "Well maybe you need to; " Dave stopped with his mouth hanging open, frozen. He had to remind himself to blink. "Dave, you ok? Do I need to turn you off, then turn you back on?" The sarcasm snapped him out of it. "Very funny Liv." He gathered his thoughts, or tried to. They kept scattering like cats at bath time. "I'm more than twice your age Olivia. I changed your diapers for god's sake! I helped raise you. You came to me when you were afraid to talk to your parents. Biologically it's not incest, but damn." "It's not the same David! Please; " a knock at the door interrupted them. Shawna slipped in. "Is everything okay in here?" She brought herself into the camera's field of view. "Uh, hi. I'm Olivia, David's goddaughter. Who are you?" "I'm his newest partner. I just imprinted yesterday." Shawna settled gently on Dave's thigh, keeping part of her weight on her feet. "Imprinted?" "That's what they call the binding process that happens when the vaccine serum mixes with a man's semen inside a woman's body." "Huh." Olivia looked pensive. Melanie had come back into view. Presumably, she'd been in hearing range for a minute or so. Olivia squinted at the screen, as if trying to pick out an important detail. "Anyone ever tell you that you look like the weather lady on channel 8?" "It's been known to happen." Shawna said coyly. "You may have noticed I wasn't on the air last night. And I won't be for two more nights. Vaccination leave. Some places give longer, but there's only so much staff at the station these days. I couldn't drop that much load on the rest of the weather room staff." "Oh wow. Wow. Just. Okay. This is a lot all at once." Behind Olivia, Melanie typed furiously on her phone. When the site she searched for came up she held the phone out, as if beside Olivia's laptop screen, her eyes scanning back and forth between the two. "No fucking way. Your uncle is banging the channel 8 weather chick?" Shawna's eyes narrowed. "I have a master's degree in meteorology. I have five years' experience storm chasing, another four years' experience at NSSL, and six years' experience at the station. I am a scientist as well as a broadcaster. I am not a weather chick. Hell, I have three scientific papers as the PI." Melanie looked cowed. "I'm sorry. I got a little caught up in the moment. You're right that was out of line." She paused. "Wait, you're a detective too? How does that work?" "No," Shawna said with a hand to the bridge of her nose, "PI is principal investigator; it's the polite term on a scientific team for the HMFC; head motherfucker in charge." Dave stroked her thigh, keeping his face blank. He wasn't going to laugh at her phrasing, nor admonish her harshness. "Yeah, now I need to dial it back. Sorry girls." "Don't. It's fine. Kinda funny actually." Melanie's face began receding from its earlier attempt to match her hair color. "I apologize for being brusque, but can we get back to the topic at hand?" Olivia pleaded. "David, have you ever noticed or wondered why all my relationships never lasted longer than three months?" "I just figured they weren't good enough for you." "Well, you're not wrong there. I measured them; all of them; against you and they came up wanting." "I would have thought a better comparison would be your dad. I mean, let's face it, he's a much more manly guy than me." Dave hoped he'd kept the bitter tone out of his voice. No one showed any hint it registered with them. "I never wanted to fuck dad." Olivia stared at him like she could bore holes in the screen. "Damn girl." Shawna chuckled. Melanie turned her head to Liv with her eyes wide. "When I first heard about how babies were really made and what those parts of me were for, I thought about doing that with you. When I started feeling the desire to have sex, you were the one I wanted to be with. All of you said it was just a girlish crush. I tried dating other guys. I threw myself into relationships with, nice guys, good men, but none of them were you." She paused to catch her breath. Her argument was turning into an emotional plea. "I can't give you my virginity David, but I can give you all of me forever." "Olivia, I; I just; " "David, how about you let us girls talk for a bit. After all, she's been an important part of your life for many years. I'm your brand new partner. I'm sure she has some juicy stories to tell." Shawna winked at the screen. Dave nodded and left. Dave spent some time in the greenhouse, tending the plants and 'smelling the green'. A few grow beds had separated at the corner so he repaired them. He checked the time to find it had been almost two hours since he'd left Shawna on the Zoom call with Olivia. He went back in to discover the ladies all gathered in the library. They shooed him out the moment he opened the door. "Yeah, they wouldn't let me in either. I finished my last book and wanted a new one, but they have some important discussion going on, so here I sit, rotting my brain with TV," Esme said, with air quotes for emphasis. "You could always choose a documentary instead of anime." "You could always eat a tofu burger instead of red meat." Esme giggled. "Blasphemy." Dave said, ascending the stairs. That brought a full chuckle from his nine-year old housemate. Dave sat at his computer, working out a reasonable set of instructions for a physics lab students could do from home, with materials they already had. It was maddening to think they'd gotten a sizable grant only two years ago for some great equipment, which would now sit unused in a storeroom because everything was moving online. His focus was broken by Esme's voice. "Hey Dave, they're in the living room waiting for you. I'll be reading in my room." "Thank you, my sweet Esmeralda." Esme rolled her eyes, but accepted the hug. Entering the living room, Dave found all four of his partners smiling, but serious. In just a moment's read of the resolve written there, he knew which way this was going to go. Huh. Maybe he was getting better at this. He chose a seat that could easily view everyone else's and lowered himself. Then he realized, they probably chose their spots so he'd be in this spot. "So, what's up?" Lupie spoke up. "We think you should accept Olivia, David. Her roommate Melanie is interested, and we think you should accept her as well." "I spoke with both of them for about an hour and a half, David." Shawna added. "Olivia's earnest in her feelings for you. I work beside media types, onscreen talent and production executives. I have a good feel for when someone's bs ing me. If Olivia isn't in love with you, she's very close to that. My bet is, she madly in love with you. She'd be unhappy anywhere else." Dave stared at Shawna. That last bit hit home. Olivia's happiness meant a lot to him. He suspected that last sentence was calculated, not just a lucky shot. He swallowed once and looked away. "You don't understand. I've known this girl since before she was born. I changed her diapers. She's stayed over at my house. I helped her understand boys as she got older. I've watched over her while camping or at the pool. Hell, I've seen her in bikinis since the time she started developing tits and I've never allowed myself to think of her in; lascivious terms." "Do you think she's pretty?" Jan prompted. "Absolutely. She's as lovely as her mother." A very quiet ripple ran through the room. Dave realized he'd left an opening for another tale. One he did not want to get into. "And that's just the wrapping paper. She's got a hell of a lot more than her looks going for her." All the ladies grinned. "David, do you hear yourself?" Lupie prodded. "Not just what you've said, but how you say it?" "Yes, she is dear to me. I'd do anything for her." "Then do the one thing she needs you to do right now. Love her as a woman. Allow your love for her to grow to encompass the physical." Dave breathed heavily. A whole host of emotions welled up within him. "I held her in my hands; hand; when she was only a few hours old. I cleaned her boo-boos when she fell off her bike." He chuckled through tears. "You've given her unconditional love her whole life, David. Is it any wonder she fell in love with you?" "I just worry I'd be betraying their trust." "Who?" Shawna asked. "Carter and Janelle. Livy's parents." "So ask them." Shawna suggested. Dave replied with a pained expression. "I haven't heard from them in over a month. And when we started the Zoom call, Olivia's eyes were red and puffy." A sobering silence held the room in its grasp. "David, wouldn't that mean you're all she's got left?" Lupie asked tenderly. "Yes." Dave sighed. Well, he did know walking in how this would go. "Okay. Okay. I'll contact the vax center and see what it takes to put in a request." "And you need to include Melanie, Olivia's roommate in the request." Shawna added. "I know nothing about her." "We took the time to talk. Olivia told her enough about you she said she would be willing." "That's an awfully thin data set for a life altering decision that you can't take back!" Dave objected. "David," Lupie said in her most soothing tone, "when you requested Becca and me, we still got a sheet of information about you, our match percentage in Oracle, and the chance to say no. If we said no, we'd be given a list of ten other men with their data and match percentages." "This is a lot to take in." Dave paused. "You said a bio and a match percentage?" "Yes." "And she can refuse?" "Yes. "Okay. Hell, I like redheads anyway." Dave smirked. "And she's doing something in computers. That could be very handy. And if she can share a small off-campus house with Livy, she's probably reasonably compatible anyway." "So we're resolved on this?" Becca asked. She'd been quiet during most of the conversation, although she nodded in agreement with some of the points made by the other women. "Yes, Becca, I'll request both of them. I'll call them tomorrow to confirm, then I'll call the vax center." "David, when we finished the call today, I made sure to get a clear answer from each of them." Shawna said. "Go ahead and call the vax center first, then call them to let them know the request is in." Dave stared at her for a moment. "On something like this, I want to ask them myself. Hell, there's a chance with a night to think it over, they may have decided this is a bad idea. But I will call them a second time after I call the vax center." Becca "Um, Dave, so, a friend of mine from school has been talking to me." October 3, 2020. When Dave opened the door he was greeted by an enthusiastic "Woof!" and two paws immediately planted on his chest. "Roscoe!" Dave rubbed the large Rottweiler's flanks and dipped his head to kiss Roscoe's forehead, then quickly back to dodge the dog's tongue. "Oh look, you brought Livy and her roommate with you. Good boy." Dave signed the form, thanked the soldier, and led the ladies and Roscoe into the living room where most of the house waited. Roscoe spotted Esme and bolted to her. She let out a squeak, then giggled as he licked her face. "Roscoe, down! Heel!" The happy canine trotted back to sit beside Olivia's feet as she sat on one end of the couch. "He sure is friendly. I thought Rotts are supposed to be mean, like guard dogs." Becca said. "If you train 'em mean, or abuse 'em sure. Or if they are seriously inbred. You treat 'em like family they will love on you like nobody's business. And rip the head off anyone that hurts the family. So, Esme, you play with Roscoe anytime you want. He'll love it. He's great with kids." Lupie grinned appreciatively at Livy's suggestion. She'd clearly understood Livy's implied meaning of acclimating Roscoe to see Esme as family for the purpose of defending her. "Yeah, when we go to the park for walks, it can be a real job to keep him from running and frolicking with the kiddos." Melanie chimed in. "So where's Shawna?" Liv asked. "Work. Her new partner leave was up. She has the five and six o'clock broadcast, so she won't be back until this evening." "And she's the only one Mel and I have met, so to speak." Liv said dryly. Her big toothy grin capturing attention of everyone. "Although, I've heard bits and pieces about Lupie and Esme over the past few years." Olivia introduced herself, telling everyone she had been a junior studying horticulture at Tarleton State University when lockdowns started. She's into shooting and hunting, and lots of outdoor activities. Becca looked pensive. "Oh, but don't worry," Liv assured her, "I'm usually down for group games and such. I take it your more of an indoor person?" "Mostly. I mean, I like going to the pool, and sometimes the park." Becca's spoke in soft tones. "Great. You show me some games you like, and I'll show you how fun hiking and camping can be. Maybe even teach you how to shoot." "You can do that? I mean, teach me?" "Liv manages to hit the target once in a while." Dave chuckled. "Hey, I'm a better shot than you! I've taken a deer, first shot, every season I've gone out." "I was teasing Liv." Dave temporized. "I'm still working to wrap my head around; this." "Well for me this is the realization of a dream I couldn't let go of and didn't think I'd get." The room fell quiet for a moment. "Oh, one thing about Roscoe, I almost forgot. He has some hearing loss. He's still got some hearing and a great sense of smell, so he won't get jittery when surprised as long as there aren't any unfamiliar scents." "So give him time to sniff us and adjust for a few days before walking up behind him?" Jan smiled. "Sure. That would work. And if he does get spooked, just hold still and let him sniff. By the end of today, he might not register everyone here as family, but he will understand you're all accepted by Dave and me." Another moment of quiet, and all eyes turned to Melanie. "Oh, hi. I'm Melanie Ustanich. I'm Olivia's roommate. I was a senior last year at Tarleton. I'm working on a four plus one degree in cybersecurity and network administration." Melanie's green eyes and hair balanced between coopery and auburn accented the face set in a perpetual impish smile to tell of the Irish part of her ancestry. "Four plus one?" Becca asked. "It means I began working on my master's while I was still an undergraduate. Instead of four years for a bachelor's and then two or three years for a master's, I get both done in five years." "Oh cool." "It should have helped me get into the workforce faster with less student loan debt." Melanie rolled her eyes. "I think we're going to find the financial sector changes a lot with what's going on." Lupie supplied. "Hi, I'm Lupie, Dave's neighbor; well used to be. I also used to be an investment advisor until our firm shutdown." "Oh wow. So like stocks and bonds and shit?" Lupie nodded in reply. "Do any day trading?" "Yeah, it's been handy. The market tanked, but if you know what you're doing you can still manage something positive out of it." "Good to know. And thanks about the loan info. That's something I've been worrying about. Not in school means I have to start paying my loans, but I have no job so I can't, and there's no one answering the phone lines to set up a deferment." "I thought President Pelosi suspended all debt payments and interest accrual until Congress could get together and pass something permanent." "I wish." "I'll check into that later today. You shouldn't have to worry about debts in all this mess." "Thank you, that would be a huge relief if true." "So, Tarleton isn't holding any classes?" Jan asked. "Not this semester. They said they might hold some online classes in the spring, but wouldn't commit to it. They emptied the dorms too, but Liv and I had an off-campus apartment and a trickle of income to cover the basics. We still cut into some savings. The landlord was happy to still have some income, so she cut our rent in half since; May? June?" "June." "Yeah, so that helped." Everyone talked a bit about interests, hobbies, and happenings but eventually the suitcases loomed large and we decided it was time to get Olivia and Melanie's things put away in a dresser like they lived here. They each carried their own up the stairs, only using the roller wheels as they got to the upstairs hallway. "What happened here? Why is the wall patched? Dave?" Olivia curious expression evaporated when she looked at Dave. His face twisted in pain. His heart exploded with repressed mourning. "Eddie." That one word, spoken in anguish, struck Olivia like a poleax. She fell towards Dave in faltering steps as he thumped backwards against the wall and slid down, coming to rest in a wailing mess, his precious Livy Bean clinging to him, sobbing her heart out. Janice looked bewildered. Melanie furrowed her brow. "Liv has a friend named Eddie. They even tried dating, but decided to just stay friends. Really good friends." Lupie came flying up the stairs, having heard the heart-rending cry from below. "What happened?" Melanie and Jan both shrugged, trying to catch up still. "We don't know," Janice replied, "Olivia asked why the wall had been patched. Dave looked like his heart was being ripped out and said 'Eddie' and collapsed. Olivia collapsed with him." Lupie's eyes watered and her hand flew to her mouth. "Oh, David." She squatted beside the weeping pair and placed a hand on Dave's shoulder. The other three looked at each other, mildly frustrated. More mourning and no explanation. Lupie glanced up at the confused trio. "Eddie is David's son." Chapter 5: Healing Begins. October 3, 2020. House Belsus was in mourning. Lupie and Jan got an arm under Dave's armpits and lifted him up, guiding him to the bedroom once he got his feet under him. Becca and Melanie did the same for Olivia. Together, the quartet removed the shoes and socks of the weeping pair and draped a blanket over them. Roscoe trailed behind the troupe, whimpering and trying desperately to get in close to Olivia. He planted himself firmly against her in the bed once she was positioned. The pent-up pain manifested itself in force. Edward, Carter, Janelle. Three faces Dave and Livy would never see again. Three laughs they would never hear again. Three hearts they would never touch or be touched by again. It was just too much to hold in any longer. As he wept, Dave could hear a rustling sound off to the side of the room. He knew one of the women of the household was sitting there, ready if he or Livy needed anything. It was one small reassurance as images of a happy little towheaded boy played through his mind. The boy he barely got to see after the divorce. More images of the angry young man, full of his mother's twisted commentary, coming to him, beginning to realize he may have been lied to. That may be the most painful memory. After years of trying to be a dad, and being rebuffed, his boy had sought him out. They'd rebuilt slowly from there, starting on Edward's fifteenth birthday. Eight years. Eight years he'd had with his son as he grew from his mid-teens into a young, twenty-three year old man. A damn good man. And now he was gone. A memory, frozen in time. Forever young, static and unchanging. Never to find love. Never getting to be a father himself. Eddie would have been a great dad. No more Carter either. His friend from college. The man that taught him the value of being prepared. Guided him to take a martial arts class. Taught him how to use a gun. Taken him hunting and fishing. Without that time with Carter, he never would have been able to take Eddie fishing in those early years before his ex began denying visitation. And sweet Janelle. That lovely face seemed so soft. Most would think she'd never keep up with Carter's active outdoorsy life. They were wrong. She would much rather do nearly anything in the city or suburbs, but the guy she'd fallen for was an avid hiker and camper. She took to it with a borrowed passion that never relented. Janelle did everything with so much energy you'd think she could power a city with her smile and peppy personality. She managed to stay just this side of sickening bubbly though. Thanks to his newly healed hearing, Dave picked up the telltale sounds of two people working in the kitchen. Dinner? How long had he lain here, whimpering like a little bitch? It was time to get up. Dave tightened his hug on Olivia briefly, then released her and went to the bathroom to wash up and take care of needs. And wash from the elbows down. Roscoe had taken to nuzzling and licking his hands and arms in an attempt to soothe. When he returned, Lupie sat on the bed speaking soothingly to a quiet Olivia. Roscoe's head briefly turned from Olivia to give Dave a baleful look as he re-entered the room. A quick whisper brought Olivia's head up and around, rolling slightly to see Dave. She sat up and rose shakily to meet him. He hugged her again, and they each steadied themselves to stave off another crying jag. Liv slipped around Dave to enter the bathroom. Lupie met him where he stood. She placed her arms loosely around his neck, bringing their foreheads together. "I love you, David. I wish you had shared this with me earlier, but I understand why it hurt too much to address." She kissed him softly on the chin, then looked into his eyes. "I'm here for you David. Even if all you can handle is a hug, I'm here for you." She hugged him tightly. Olivia emerged, her face cleansed of tear streaks and make up. She chose not to apply new makeup. Why bother when she's liable to start crying again? Her loose black blouse and the large ruffle attached to the neck showed creases and wrinkles from lying in bed. Her work-style jeans showed no such effects, having been made to take more punishment than lying in bed could dish out. As they passed Esme's room enroute to the stairs, they heard a shout of "Dave!" just before 80 pounds of love bug smacked into the man so named and wrapped her arms around him tightly. Esme had met Eddie a few times, had a few memories of him. More than that, she wanted to console Dave in his grief. He was a figure in her young life and he was hurting. The outpouring was almost enough to set Dave off crying again, but he choked it back. Lupie gave Esme a short time to show her support, then shooed her back to her room with a hug and a kiss. "Did you get something to eat mija?" "Yes, mama. And I have a few good books in my room. I'm good for awhile." The trio continued to the stairs and emerged into the living room. Becca sat on the couch fidgeting, not really watching an anime. When she looked up, she immediately rushed to Dave and hugged him fiercely. Their height difference left her cheek bone pressed against the top of his sternum, the top of her head nestled under his chin. Dave stroked her back softly. "All those times you comforted me about my family, and you never once mentioned Eddie was gone?" She said as she pulled her head back, looking up into his eyes. Her arms remained firmly encircled around his chest, not budging a millimeter. "If I wasn't hurting for you so much, I'd be peeved at you." "Wow, didn't take you long to start talking like a wife." "Better believe it buster." "Yes dear." Her eyes laughed as she pulled him down for a comforting kiss. Their eyes stayed locked for a moment after they broke the kiss. Shawna, Janice, and Melanie slipped in from the dining room after each dropped off an item from the kitchen. Shawna still wore her on-air clothes. Today it was a stylish, breezy blouse in a vibrant shade of orange that contrasted beautifully with her dark skin. A long, loose, tan skirt below it reached to mid-calf at its lowest point, the bottom cut at an angle that exposed her right knee when she walked. She typically wore short heels at work, but had already ditched them somewhere downstairs, her feet bare but for her sheer pantyhose. Without her heels, she was barely an inch shorter than Dave, the tallest among his household. She came straight to him and wrapped him up in a warm hug. In his ear she whispered, "Anytime you need me baby, whatever it is you need, just tell me." Dave nodded and she peeled away. Jan came to him next, gently leading Mel along with her. Jan gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek, her eyes conveying her sorrow and support as eloquently as words or a hug. "I knew you may not be hungry David, but if you are so inclined, I asked Mel to make bruschetta for the grazing meal we've prepared." A week or so ago, Jan's culinary journey had turned to a discussion of favorite appetizers and finger foods. Dave's number one favorite was bruschetta. "Hey now, I just made the olive tapenade and the tomato topping, you assembled it, including toasting the bread." Melanie took Dave by the hand and led him to the table decked out with several offerings, from of course, bruschetta, to deviled eggs, pigs in blankets, and a charcuterie board assembled from things Dave knew they'd had on hand this morning. Except for the bowl of fresh rolls beside it. The aroma of fresh bread permeated the air. "It looks and smells wonderful. Thank you." He gave them each a soft kiss on the cheek. He stepped back to the living room. "Shawna, I take it you are also partly to thank for tonight's spread?" "Oh, they were well along in the making when I got in from work. I just slapped some canned dough around some smokies and baked 'em." He kissed the top of her head and hugged her from behind as she sat in one of the soft chairs. "Thank you." She patted his arm lightly before he pulled away. Not hungry, but wanting to show appreciation for Jan's thoughtfulness, Dave went back to the table and snagged a piece of bruschetta before returning to the living room. The only empty spot was on the couch, with Becca on one side, Olivia on the other and Mel between the arm and Olivia. Dave settled in before taking a bite. "Oh, wow. This is great ladies." Dave said after savoring for a moment. "And Jan, before you try to turn all of it aside to Mel, proper presentation is important. Besides, the toast is perfect. Just the right amount of olive oil, nicely crisp with just a little give. Those are important parts of getting bruschetta right. And; I really appreciate the thought and the effort." "Thank you," Jan beamed. The others took turns getting plates in pairs while everyone engaged in chit chat. To be continued in part 4, Based on a post by RonanJWilkerson, in 12 parts, for Literotica.

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Tiff and Trish discuss the need-to-know info for the buyer of a practice, including team member transparency, new patient inflow, software use, and more. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: The Dental A Team (00:01) Hello Dental A Team listeners. We are back again I have Trish with me because I freaking adore her and I the we just recorded a podcast We record a few at a time. You guys know that I batch them It's called efficiency and that will be on my tombstone per Kiera. She tells me that every day It will it will if it's any vision. I'm like, oh my gosh, this is like grating cheese by hand like come on anyways   We are here today and we just recorded a podcast. So these are kind of serendipitous that they're back to back and it ended up this way in a weird way. So I don't have to go down that rabbit hole, but we just recorded a podcast on this seller's perspective of how to ensure that you're always ready and prepped to sell no matter where you're at in your journey, making sure that 10, 20, 30, five, two years down the road, you can sell your practice and that it's not as...   as stressful an event as it would be if you were unprepared. So I can't say we can remove all the stress. I can say that we can remove some stress that is just unnecessary. So today, now, I really wanted to look at the buyer's perspective. And we kind of hit on both a little bit on the last one, but this one's gonna be a little bit different. So make sure that you listen to both. Doesn't matter which order, I don't think. We'll find out by the end and I'll tell you if you should have listened to the other one first.   I know, I know, inefficient, but it's okay. So Trish and I are here today. You guys know I adore Trish. If you just listened to the Sellers one, which you should, ⁓ you heard me just rave about Trish. And Trish, love, I realized when I was recording with Monica a couple of weeks ago, which those were fantastic, you guys, if you need information and ⁓ ideas on training your team and operations manual, et cetera, all those pieces, Monica has some stellar ideas over there. But I realized Trish, while I was   Recording with Monica, I love podcasting. I love this aspect. I'm just a weirdo like that. But I love podcasting with you guys. And I realized in the beginning ⁓ with Monica, it was our first time podcasting together. And it was the first time that I got to rave about Monica and just really say all of the things that I love about her and I think is just so incredible about her with her consulting and just who she is as a human.   And I get to do that with you guys here in this platform. And Trish, you're one of my favorite people to rave about. love all of our consultants. You guys hear me rave about them, but Trish is such an incredible human being. It is impossible to describe you. You're just multifaceted. And I realized this is my brag session time. And I'm like this, I love it. It makes me so happy inside.   DAT Trish Ackerman (02:37) Thank   I that.   The Dental A Team (02:49) to just watch you guys thrive and to get to just tell the dental community how amazing you guys are and how special it is for them to get to hear from you and to get you guys in person with them and working with their teams and the leadership that changes the profitability that I've seen come out of everyone's work is so cool. And I realized with Monica, I'm like,   this is why I love podcasting with them because I love getting to love on you guys. It's just so cool. So thank you for, I hope so. Dana's over there. just always like ask her about workout stuff, you know, and I'm like, she's, I love on her too, but I'm always like, what's your hair product? What's your, what's your workout? It's fine. It's fine. ⁓ so thank you for letting me have this space Trish and for, ⁓ always being open to all of the things that I need. ⁓ your,   DAT Trish Ackerman (03:19) We'll take it.   Thank   The Dental A Team (03:43) one of those people that I know I can trust to just be myself. So thank you for that. Thank you for being here today. Of course, of course. I love my job. So with that said, number one piece of suggestion that I have before we get into this buyer side, Kiera and I, have been at this for a little while with the Dental A Team and   DAT Trish Ackerman (03:46) You're welcome to attend, thank you.   The Dental A Team (04:06) Carers Dental Consulting and Dental Masters and whatever name we decide it's been the Dental A Team for a long time and it's going to stick the Dental A Team, it's not changing. But we have had a couple of renditions and one piece that I know we have gotten really, really good at, but that we've really had to work hard at. And from a buyer's perspective, a seller's perspective, I think this is insanely relative, the people. We have worked really, really hard at the people aspect and   pouring ourselves into the people and figuring out that that's actually what we love to do. We love to consult. We love to be with the teams and the doctors and we love to see all of those pieces. I love being on stage. I do. But pouring into our team and creating a business that's not solely dependent on Kiera and I and a company that could thrive if we're on the road, if we're on vacation, that has been a massive transition in our company.   And once we realized that and we got really good at it, we started attracting some really, really cool people. And Trish, you're one of those people and you do not shy away from letting us know that it's working ⁓ or letting me know when I'm not on my best A game of that. And I love that about you. And I love that about our team. think I can count on any one of you ladies to be that person for me. thank you.   And doctors and business owners out there, think this is a huge piece of selling or buying a practice. And Trish, you mentioned that towards the end of our sellers one is the team and really making sure that the team is there for the longterm, but they're really supportive. know if, you know, we built this company to be a sellable company. That's a known fact. It would be wild for us not to do that. It does not mean that Kiera is selling the company tomorrow, but she could.   if she needed or wanted to. And Trish, from a team perspective, just real quick to hit on that, as a team perspective, how does that make you feel ⁓ for the doctors and practice owners out there to kind of hear?   DAT Trish Ackerman (06:13) You know, this is a hot topic. I won't go down bunny holes, but I have seen many, I've been with a lot of doctors that have purchased a practice and they have acquired that team. And I've seen the bright side of it and I've seen the dark side. The bright side is what I'd like to share today because we'll put the light on that. And I also do want to, I want to add something to what you just said, Tiff, about how you and Kira are also feeling like   The Dental A Team (06:26) Yeah.   DAT Trish Ackerman (06:42) you're in a different space now in the company because of the people. But I also want to remind you that that is something that you and Kira, you built that. You built, it didn't just happen. You guys built that. you do have to, like for Kira, there is a level of trust that has to take place. And I'm sure it's really difficult. I mean, this is a livelihood. And this is the same for these dental practices. So when a buyer is coming in,   Typically they do acquire a team and it is the responsibility of the selling doctor to be very transparent. We can't leave team members out when they get shocked and just told I sold and there's a buyer coming in there. could we I've seen I've seen entire teams walk out like, okay, we're out. We're not we're not dealing with it. But when there is a lot of transparency introduction to the incoming potential buyer, sometimes they haven't even bought yet.   The Dental A Team (07:30) Yeah, thumbs up.   Yeah.   Yeah.   DAT Trish Ackerman (07:41) ⁓   and just letting the team, ensuring that the team knows that they're going to be safe. They're to be safe. There's change coming, but they are going to be okay. And if they value and adore their doctor, which many of these team members do obviously, and if they've been there for a long time, then they also want to be part of that support. So being a part of this whole process is, I always say number one, like start there.   The Dental A Team (08:07) Yeah, I totally agree. I love that. So taking that to the next layer, right, as a buyer, I think that would be a a great inquiry when looking at practices, right of what is the team's knowledge on this situation? Do they know that you're selling? How far into those conversations argue how prepared is the team? And really like, what am I walking into? I think is massive. think if you were dating,   and you are on whatever dating platform, because that's where you're finding people these days, right? And it's like, yeah, I have three kids. It's like, cool, what am I walking into? You would not just walk blindly into a family and expect everything to be just fine. It would be, you know, there's a, yeah, yeah. Like there's a courting period for both, for the parents, right? For the...   DAT Trish Ackerman (08:53) no family.   The Dental A Team (09:03) boyfriend, girlfriend, whatever it is, right? And the kids, there's a courting period for all of it. And they think that we devalue that in the buying and selling situation. I think, that was great perspective. If I'm a buyer, that's definitely a great question and inquiry to ask. And I think when you're adding additional practices, we have a lot of dentists, a lot of doctors who want to, they have their flagship and they want to expand and they want to reach more communities. And so they're adding,   another family and now we're the Brady Bunch and we're meshing these two families together, but not having that knowledge of who am I meshing into the family I already have. There hasn't been a courting period. Could be really, really dangerous.   DAT Trish Ackerman (09:44) Yeah, I can. And like, where is this new practice going to be? Like, there's so many things to look at here, but we can cover that today. And I'm so happy that we started with the team piece though, because I just want to have that all over. If you're wanting to buy a practice, where's the team, team, team? Who are you adopting?   The Dental A Team (09:45) Yeah.   Yeah,   yeah, yeah, who are you adopting? love that. And who are you expecting your current team to befriend? They've got to, you know, even if your practices are, they're never, they're never going to quote unquote work together. Not how, if you've got multiple practices that don't communicate, that don't have anything to do with each other, that's a lot of, in my opinion, that's a lot of stress. I think that's like, if we're gonna continue the dating theory, right? That's like having your family.   And then you start a second family. And you have a wife, kids, a dog, and you have a wife, kids, and a dog, and you're trying to keep these two lives separate from knowing each other. That's a lot of stress. That's a lot of work, and it's just completely unnecessary. You can adopt this practice as team and welcome them into the family that you have, as long as you already have worked on that culture. And I think if you're expanding...   Practices you're buying additional practices that culture piece has to be intact your systems have to be intact So I think buying additional practices is a fantastic idea if that's your journey That's the the road the path that you want to take and you've been called for it do it But look at those pieces so from we talked the seller's perspective earlier And I think sellers and buyers perspective is super similar just like we we had said it's like buying a house so if you're buying a house or you're selling a house you're kind of   Selling a house, you're thinking what's the buyer looking at? And as the buyer, you're looking at these pieces and how is it valuable to you? And Trish, some things that you had mentioned before was the patient base, making sure it's a healthy patient base. I think from a buyer's perspective, it's active patient base, but also then new patients coming in. Are they still getting new patients? Because that's where a lot of your diagnosis is going to come from. And then healthy profit and collections.   are huge. We've already talked about the courting of the team. What does the team know? How are they going to support the cell? I think is a great question. How is your team prepared to support the cell and making sure they're on board? But Trish, when it comes to the, I think the profit in the AR is probably for most buyers, a massive question mark. And when it comes to that as a   a doctor coming in, even if they're going to partner maybe, but buying that additional practice to come on board with yours, what are some pieces that you really look for within the profit or the collections and maybe even down to like software if you're adding an additional practice, what are some pieces you would advise your teams and your doctors to look up?   DAT Trish Ackerman (12:36) Before I even would go there, would first need to know what, like, what is the philosophy of this dentist? What kind of dentistry is he wanting to do? And there's, you know, we could, anybody can find a profitable practice somewhere close to them even. But if you're a, if you're a doctor that like wants to do heavy surgeries and you're all on fours and the big time stuff, but you find a practice that has a great patient base, good profit and all that stuff by a college.   then that might not be the right demographics for you. So like that is something that you even have to look at first. What type of patient base are you trying to attract? And what type of patient base, if you find the one that is Purcell, okay, good profit, team's healthy, accounts receivable is on point, but it's a patient base that is not going to be super open to your philosophy of dentistry, then that could be painful.   So that is also something, it might be a great deal, but that we'd be very careful about what's actually inside that patient base and if it's gonna align with the type of dentistry that we're looking to do.   The Dental A Team (13:36) Agreed.   Yeah.   I think that's like buying, you've found your perfect house. You're like, my gosh, this is the elevation that I want. It is white with black trim. It's got an acre of land, which is impossible to find and all the upgrades inside, right? This literally happened yesterday. I'm like, this is the house, but exactly, right? Like it's like backing a busy street and it's.   DAT Trish Ackerman (14:06) They a train track above it.   The Dental A Team (14:13) almost 20 minutes away from where we need to be. Right. So it's like, it's like finding your perfect home and you're like, this is the one, but it's completely outside of our school district or our, know, it's adding 20 minutes of Camille. I've done that. I have literally done that. And you guys, it was hard and it was unnecessary stress because there are more out there. So I love that you mentioned that because it's shiny objects syndrome, right?   Like that shiny object comes and it looks perfect. It's packaged beautifully, but underneath that shiny exterior is hiding something underneath that is gonna cause a lot of pain in the end. And I think that is the perfect statement there. Like watch for what it is that you want to do. Know what your philosophy is. What is it that you want to do with your dentistry?   DAT Trish Ackerman (15:08) Yep. And you can get there. It's not that they can't, but in order to get there, it's going to take some remolding of yourself temporarily. again, I'm going to use the high surgical doctor that wants to do lots of surgeries, lots of implants, but these patients have only seen one tooth dentistry and they've been patients for 20 years. We can introduce that after a couple of re-care cycles.   We need to kind of mesh with the selling doctor and the dentistry that he did and build the relationship first. So as long as the buyer can be patient, can accept that, then it can work. It can work. And it's not that difficult to do. I do think that that's when we come in very handy because that requires a lot of coaching. That does require accountability on their philosophy, behavior change.   And that's again, I mean, I don't want to totally toot our horn, but I will when it comes to that piece, because I think we do an excellent job coaching the doctors through situations like that.   The Dental A Team (16:14) Yeah, I totally agree. I've worked with a practice similar to this that came on board after purchasing the practice and ⁓ high aspirations and wants so much CE and wants to do all of these things within his dental philosophy that I am totally on board with. Although the purchase of the practice was a practice that just isn't, it wasn't ready yet. And there were a massive amount of patients, honestly, thriving.   on patient base 3000 patients within their database and very healthy active patient base. So the reactivation, the re care, like it was, it was easy to get that thing turning, but it took two to three re care cycles before he gets really start diagnosing the things that he wanted to diagnose. And just purchasing, this was a brand new practice first, you know, first time he's owned a practice. And I was like, you, you want to go in.   and you want to ramp up marketing and you want to replace the patients with the patients that you want. I hear you. I hear you. But financially and profit wise, that's not the way. And that's where, like you said, Trish, the coaching really came in handy because it was an easy space to gently add in the things that.   that he wanted and that he needed with the patient base, weeding out the patients that weren't gonna be okay with it, keeping the patients that were and now being ready to implement some marketing in a few months. know, it's still about a year and a half out from original ownership of this practice. Now we're ready to start marketing, but we had to get there because the finances had to make sense. And so I love that you say that, because I think a lot of people think it's totally fine. Like I can fix him.   Yeah, those things bother me, but we'll train it out of them. it's not really the patient base that I want, but I can replace it with new ones. Can you? Because if you're next to a college, like Trish said, you might not be able to do it as quickly as you need to. And honestly and truly, you may not be able to do it. So I love that analogy.   When it comes to profit in the AR, I think that's an easy space for doctors to look at that they kind of freak out about. But again, Trish, like you said, when you've got somebody behind you, you've got a coach. I know we've helped a lot of practices purchase their, not helped them purchase their practice, but really helped look at the pieces of it. It is an easy space for us to see healthy, not healthy when it comes to finances.   pulling the reports and kind of like going in and getting all the pieces, not our jam. That's not the type of consultants that we are, but we are the type of consultants that will walk you through step by step on what to look for. We will help look at P &Ls. We will help look at the overhead costs and the ⁓ health of the AR and credits like Trish mentioned, and really help to advise and give opinions. ⁓ But outside of that, for a buyer who's adding that practice,   I think you nailed it saying, what's your philosophy? Cause we're adding this practice. this going to be, is your philosophy that you want one of them to be GP and like bread and butter and you want the next one to be, you know, cosmetics. And is that the philosophy that we're going for? Like, what is that going to look like as a buyer? You've got to make that decision first, not while you're looking at practices. I think that would be really dangerous to not really know what you want and then go into it be like, well, this could be.   Well, is that what you want? So I love that. Something I think Trish that's kind of like simple that is often missed is software. What software are they using? Is this a software we know? Is it, is it one we're using? Is it one that we want to use? You know, Eagle soft compared to Dendrix or open dental compared to curve, like very, very different systems. Um, and this is wild. It's 2025, but there are still   Practices out there. I love them dearly. I love you guys. I love you so much all of you that are using paper They're not chartless and in this day and age the practices the doctors who own practices that are growing They're purchasing additional practices. You guys are like you're with it. The technology is there you've got CBT CT scans. You've got scanners. You've got Mobile everything you you're pulling up x-rays on your phone from your dental software and these   practices that you're purchasing, these practices that are out there are typically not gonna be super in alignment with that. So what is that reinvestment going to look like? And again, I think, Trish, back to the team aspect, can the team support it? Are they going to support it? Are they prepared to support it? ⁓ What do you think, Trish? What's your opinion on that?   DAT Trish Ackerman (21:07) Well,   I'm actually going through something similar right now. And here is my coaching around that. they're not paper, they're not paper, but they are dentrics and they have been dentrics for forever. I mean, honestly, think one of the team members has been there 20 years and this is all she knows. And that's okay. Okay, dentures is great. However, the new doctor who's been there 60 days   The Dental A Team (21:28) That's what you think. Yeah.   DAT Trish Ackerman (21:37) is ready to transition to either fuse or curve, one of the two. And we had a long discussion about this yesterday and I begged him, please pump the brakes on that. Because if you're buying a practice and you're acquiring the team and they're going through so much change as it is, and if you throw too much onto them and we go through a massive software shift like that, that could actually drive team members   to leave. I mean, I could. That's a huge shift or just a huge change. It's difficult. It doesn't mean that they don't get through it, but that's just another, that's just something else to really look at. Now, if it's paper, I kind of, would almost, I mean, that's a toughie, but I would almost say hold off for at least 90 days. Like just get in there, build the relationship with the team. I know that the Biden doctor would be chomping at the bit. We've got to some.   The Dental A Team (22:08) Absolutely.   DAT Trish Ackerman (22:36) some new technology in there when it comes to software. But when we're buying, those are still things that we do. Either we need to be super slow with and or have such a bond with the team and spoil them right out of the gate that they become our partners quickly. And that is also possible. It truly is possible. But again, building the relationship with the team. If you're going to throw a software change in there like that, then we need to be strategic on how and when.   The Dental A Team (22:39) Yeah.   Yeah. And I think that I agree and what is massive. agree. And going from Dentrix, you guys, like people who use Dentrix, I'm a Dentrix girl. ⁓ I used Dentrix for almost 20 years in practice and it is, yeah, Dentrix is like iPhones. I, in my opinion, Dentrix is like Apple. Once you're in it, you're just, you're sold. You're like, Dentrix is life. Apple is life. Right? Like I know my phone, the capabilities of my phone is so much more than what I have.   DAT Trish Ackerman (23:07) and what.   Good stuff.   The Dental A Team (23:35) but I am so infused and integrated into the Apple web. I can't imagine being out of it and not having an iPhone. Dentrix is very similar. So if you can relate, relate. ⁓ But I think Tresh what you mentioned that I agree. I totally agree. Waiting timeline, you guys. And we're really good at timelines. We are really great.   at taking all of the ideas that you want and being like, fantastic, let's build you a timeline. Let's get this charted for you. And then you know the path that you're going down. So reach out to us. Hello@TheDentalATeam.com. If you are a client, like talk to your consultant, that's what we are really, really good at that. But what you made me think of again is that courting process. Because if you're courting the team and the selling doctor and you're building a relationship with the selling doctor and the team ahead of the purchase,   you're already ahead of the game when it comes to that because they are ready to welcome you and support you. And if you've done it right, right, like I know that my boyfriend's kids will know that a dish goes in the dishwasher, right? It drives them nuts. A dish goes in the dishwasher, right? But that's already gonna be a known fact because there's a courting process, right? So what are the quirks? What are the things that   A team really needs to get to know about you. So it's not a complete shock when you come in. So anyways, I loved this. I, I loved the seller's perspective, but I love the buyer's perspective too. And really being able to see that. Yeah. Thank you Trish for all of that. If you were to pick say three action items for ⁓ someone who's thinking about adding a practice or buying a practice, what would the top three action items be for them?   DAT Trish Ackerman (25:04) I did so.   Really know your demographics. How far away is it from your other practice? If you're adding an additional practice, how far away is it? And what is the team going to do when you come in? How can you establish that team prior? And how can you get the trust and the buy-in from that team first? Because what you don't want is to buy a practice and then the team leave.   The Dental A Team (25:40) Yeah, yep, I love that. Demographics, location, team. Those are fantastic places. Yeah.   DAT Trish Ackerman (25:45) And then we look at everything else. But those   are the time I would start there and make sure that the demographics are good, the team is good, and then everything else we can work out and coach through.   The Dental A Team (25:49) Yeah.   okay.   Yeah, I totally agree with you. It makes me think of, of interviewing. always say, get the demographics out of the way first, because if your practice is too far for someone to drive, they're not willing to drive there. All of those other questions that you asked before you got there are null and void. They mean nothing. So save yourself some time, check the demographics, the locations you want patient base demographics, location base, and then you want team. So I love that. Thanks Trish.   DAT Trish Ackerman (26:23) Yep.   The Dental A Team (26:24) Okay, that's a wrap   guys. I hope you enjoyed this. You do not need to necessarily listen to the sellers first. So you're welcome. We wait until the end. I told you I would tell you. You can listen to them in whatever order you want to. But listen to them both. So that was your buyer's perspective. Trish, I love ⁓ bantering with you. Thank you so much for your perspectives and your wit. you guys, drop us five star review. Let us know what you loved. Let us know any other ideas you have or if you have purchase practice.   practices put them in the notes you guys because people again they really do read those if you have tips and tricks we want to hear them too we Learn these things from you guys as well. It's not just knowledge. We were born with this is from experience So go do the things Hello@TheDentalATeam.com You can head over to our website TheDentalATeam.com and you can actually schedule a free consultation with our team and we will be happy to help you in whatever ways we can and As Trish loves to say go be amazing   DAT Trish Ackerman (27:21) Thanks, Tiff.

12.23.25 Hour 1 1:00- GP took his kids to the movies this morning... How much do you think he spent? 27:00- Do you think Sam Hartman should play vs Dallas?

GP took his kids to the movies this morning... How much do you think he spent?

FREEDOM - HEALTH - HAPPINESSThis podcast is highly addictive and seriously good for your health.SUPPORT DOC MALIK To make sure you don't miss any episodes, have access to bonus content, back catalogue, and monthly Live Streams, please subscribe to either:The paid Spotify subscription here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/docmalik/subscribe⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ The paid Substack subscription here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://docmalik.substack.com/subscribe⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Thank you to all the new subscribers for your lovely messages and reviews! And a big thanks to my existing subscribers for sticking with me and supporting the show! ABOUT THIS CONVERSATION: Please see my substack as I have written a lot more that I didn't cover in this video. LoveDocIMPORTANT INFORMATIONCONSULTATION SERVICEIn a world of rushed 7-minute consultations and endless referrals, I offer you something rare: time, context, and clear guidance.As your health advocate, I can help you:Understand your diagnosis and decode medical jargonDecide who to see: GP, specialist, osteopath, physio, accupuntcurist, homeopath etc?Break down treatment plans in plain, easy to understand non jargon EnglishPrepare for surgery, understand your risks, obtain true informed consent, and optimise yourself pre-op Recover from surgery, advise you how to heal faster and quicker and minimise post-op complicationsManage chronic illness with lifestyle, mindset, and dietary changesExplore holistic options that complement conventional careImplement lifestyle changes like fasting, stress reduction, or movementAsk better questions, and get real answersGet an unbiased second opinionReady to Take Control?If you're navigating a health concern, preparing for a big decision, or simply want to feel more confident in your path forward, I'd love to support you.Book here ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://docmalik.com/consultations/ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Because it's your body, your life, and your future. Let's make sure you're informed and heard.SeagreenIf you want to support your health naturally, I highly recommend trying Sea Greens, a rich source of bioavailable iodine and trace minerals that nourish thyroid function, balance hormones, and provide a clean daily boost from wild ocean plants. Use the code DOCMALIK⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://seagreens.shop/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠WaterpureI distill all my water for drinking, washing fruit and vegetables, and cooking. If you knew what was in tap water, so would you!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://waterpure.co.uk/docmalik BUY HERE TODAY⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hunter & Gather FoodsSeed oils are inflammatory, toxic and nasty; eliminate them from your diet immediately. Check out the products from this great company⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://hunterandgatherfoods.com/?ref=DOCHG BUY HERE TODAY⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Use DOCHG to get 10% OFF your purchase with Hunter & Gather Foods.IMPORTANT NOTICEIf you value my podcasts, please support the show so that I can continue to speak up by choosing one or both of the following options - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Buy me a coffee⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ If you want to make a one-off donation.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Doc Malik Merch Store⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Check out my amazing freedom merch

For the fourth in our series on 2025's newsmakers, we return to talk to Dr Catherine Sweeney, a GP based in Dunmore, County Galway. Dr Sweeney provided a medical service to sick and vulnerable patients left without power or communications.

In the inaugural VC10X LP Roundtable, we bring together experienced allocators Matt Curtolo & Anurag Chandra to unpack the state of venture capital as we close out 2025 and look ahead to 2026.⭐ Sponsored by Podcast10x - Podcasting agency for VCs - https://podcast10x.comTopics covered:- How the recent Fed rate cut does and does not change venture capital- Why DPI pressure has become the dominant LP concern- Venture vs private credit and when the comparison actually matters- Fundraising realities and why it now takes 18 to 30 months to raise a fund- The changing role of secondaries, continuation funds, and engineered liquidity- Why M&A, not IPOs, has historically driven most venture exits- AI as a structural opportunity or capital concentration risk- Generalist vs specialist funds and what real differentiation actually looks like- Why some LPs are staying committed to venture despite short term underperformance- The biggest mistakes allocators made in past cycles and what they won't repeatTimestamps:(00:00) - Preview(01:08) - Introduction to the LP Roundtable(03:15) - The impact of the macro interest rate environment on venture capital.(03:55) - The limited direct effect of interest rates on early-stage innovation.(06:00) - How interest rates negatively impact SaaS company valuations and exits.(09:35) - How "higher for longer" interest rates are changing LP expectations for returns.(11:13) - The LP perspective: Balancing DPI, MOIC, and IRR in venture investing.(14:09) - The role of the exit environment and secondaries in meeting DPI pressure.(16:38) - The risks of LPs over-focusing on short-term DPI.(18:44) - The emergence of the secondary market for later-stage companies.(20:30) - Future outlook for the M&A and IPO markets as exit paths.(21:02) - Why M&A is the historical bread and butter of venture exits, not IPOs.(23:37) - Underestimating the potential scale of venture-backed exits in the new tech era.(27:35) - How early-stage funds can engineer liquidity through secondary sales.(29:24) - Gross vs. Net Returns: The difference between a good investor and a good fund manager.(30:50) - Why is it so difficult to raise a VC fund today?(31:45) - The fundraising bifurcation: Brand names vs. emerging managers.(35:10) - Career risk and structural barriers for LPs investing in smaller funds.(38:01) - Why institutions often prefer to invest in Fund III and beyond.(40:38) - How can fund managers differentiate themselves? Generalist vs. specialist.(41:46) - Differentiating as a "hustle fund" with a functional specialty (e.g., go-to-market).(45:25) - It's not about being different, it's about being better: The importance of GP-thesis fit.(48:08) - VCs should "take their own medicine" when pitching to LPs.(49:17) - Outlook for 2026: Will the venture market get easier for funds and startups?(50:05) - An optimistic outlook for 2026 driven by technological acceleration.(55:18) - The growing importance of global and emerging markets in venture capital.(55:45) - A closer look at India's booming IPO market and its contrast with the US.(57:15) - Conclusion and final thoughts.---Links to connect:Matt Curtolo - https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-curtolo-caiaAnurag Chandra - https://www.linkedin.com/in/anchandraPrashant Choubey - https://www.linkedin.com/in/choubeysahabSubscribe to VC10X newsletter - https://vc10x.beehiiv.comSubscribe on YouTube - https://youtube.com/@vc10x Subscribe on Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/vc10x-investing-venture-capital-asset-management-private/id1632806986Subscribe on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/7F7KEhXNhTx1bKTBFgzv3k?si=WgQ4ozMiQJ-6nowj6wBgqQVC10X website - https://vc10x.comFor sponsorship queries, reach out to prashantchoubey3@gmail.comSubscribe for weekly conversations on venture, private markets, and investing.

Shannondoc is set to be more resourced than ever before, for the Christmas period. The out-of hours GP service will be providing 24 hour cover from Christmas Eve until New Years Day. The organisation is, however, expecting a high increase in patient volumes and is advising that some may face slight delays. Shannondoc CEO Peter Clarke has been telling Clare FM's Daragh Dolan they're confident of handling any and all challenges over the next week.

Nokukhanya Mntambo speaks to Dr. Pfunzo Machimana, GP & Family Physician Specialist, about how appetite-suppressing drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy are reshaping weight-loss approaches in South Africa, with growing interest in their role beyond diabetes management and implications for diet and health. The Money Show is a podcast hosted by well-known journalist and radio presenter, Stephen Grootes. He explores the latest economic trends, business developments, investment opportunities, and personal finance strategies. Each episode features engaging conversations with top newsmakers, industry experts, financial advisors, entrepreneurs, and politicians, offering you thought-provoking insights to navigate the ever-changing financial landscape.    Thank you for listening to a podcast from The Money Show Listen live Primedia+ weekdays from 18:00 and 20:00 (SA Time) to The Money Show with Stephen Grootes broadcast on 702 https://buff.ly/gk3y0Kj and CapeTalk https://buff.ly/NnFM3Nk For more from the show, go to https://buff.ly/7QpH0jY or find all the catch-up podcasts here https://buff.ly/PlhvUVe Subscribe to The Money Show Daily Newsletter and the Weekly Business Wrap here https://buff.ly/v5mfetc The Money Show is brought to you by Absa     Follow us on social media   702 on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TalkRadio702 702 on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@talkradio702 702 on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talkradio702/ 702 on X: https://x.com/CapeTalk 702 on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@radio702   CapeTalk on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CapeTalk CapeTalk on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@capetalk CapeTalk on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ CapeTalk on X: https://x.com/Radio702 CapeTalk on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CapeTalk567 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Christmas, among its joy and happiness, is also a time of health concern. Early next week we are set to reach the peak numbers of what is a severe Flu season. More than 1,000 people expected to spend Christmas in hospital as a result of the flu. As well as this, we must account for lesser injuries like cuts and burns commonly associated with the festive period. Dr Diarmuid Quinlan, GP and Medical Director of the Irish College of General Practitioners joined Pat on the show this morning.

GP opens on the Grizzlies losing to the lowly Wizards on Saturday night and why we'll never count our chickens before they hatch again. (20:00) Michael Eaves joins to discuss the NFL and CFB Weekend including DK Metcalf punching a fan and Caleb Williams massive play to beat the Packers. (49:40) Memphis MBB loses to Mississippi State, Highest rated QB recruit it Memphis history will transfer, Ole Miss blasted Tulane in the CFB Playoff, Kenny Dillingham wants somone to cut a massive check, and Anthony Joshua knocked out Jake Paul on Friday night(1:38:00) GP's Carry Out with what we're watching tonight 

In June, Jacqui Browne from Tralee and Fenit, disability rights advocate and campaigner, passed away. Jacqui was born with physical disabilities as a result of the drug Thalidomide. Jerry spoke to her sister Sharon Browne, GP and advocate Dr Austin O’Carroll who lives with the effects of Thalidomide, and Damien Walshe, CEO of Independent Living Movement Ireland.

Flu cases are expected to peak this week as Ireland enters the Christmas period amid already intense pressure on hospitals and emergency departments. The HSE is urging caution as influenza, RSV and COVID-19 circulate.Joining Ciara to discuss is GP, Dr Maire Finn and Dr Marc-Alain Widdowson, Team Lead for Communicable Diseases at the WHO.

FREEDOM - HEALTH - HAPPINESSThis podcast is highly addictive and seriously good for your health.SUPPORT DOC MALIK To make sure you don't miss any episodes, have access to bonus content, back catalogue, and monthly Live Streams, please subscribe to either:The paid Spotify subscription here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/docmalik/subscribe⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ The paid Substack subscription here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://docmalik.substack.com/subscribe⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Thank you to all the new subscribers for your lovely messages and reviews! And a big thanks to my existing subscribers for sticking with me and supporting the show! ABOUT THIS CONVERSATION: In this long overdue conversation, I sit down again with Thomas Binder, one of my earliest podcast guests, to talk about COVID, medicine, truth, and power.We explore the inner state of the individual, the pandemic of testing, the moral collapse within large parts of the medical profession, and what Thomas called a pandemic of cowards. We discuss inversion of language, ethics, and medicine, the age of narcissism, censorship, and why authentic human connection has become a quiet form of rebellion.Thomas also speaks openly about being arrested, forcibly psychiatrised, and medicated against his will for speaking out during the COVID years. He remains, in my view, one of the unsung heroes of that era.A deep, honest conversation about fear, authority, integrity, and why truth still matters.See substack for more information.LoveDocLinksX https://x.com/Thomas_Binder⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠IMPORTANT INFORMATIONCONSULTATION SERVICEIn a world of rushed 7-minute consultations and endless referrals, I offer you something rare: time, context, and clear guidance.As your health advocate, I can help you:Understand your diagnosis and decode medical jargonDecide who to see: GP, specialist, osteopath, physio, accupuntcurist, homeopath etc?Break down treatment plans in plain, easy to understand non jargon EnglishPrepare for surgery, understand your risks, obtain true informed consent, and optimise yourself pre-op Recover from surgery, advise you how to heal faster and quicker and minimise post-op complicationsManage chronic illness with lifestyle, mindset, and dietary changesExplore holistic options that complement conventional careImplement lifestyle changes like fasting, stress reduction, or movementAsk better questions, and get real answersGet an unbiased second opinionReady to Take Control?If you're navigating a health concern, preparing for a big decision, or simply want to feel more confident in your path forward, I'd love to support you.Book here ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://docmalik.com/consultations/ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Because it's your body, your life, and your future. Let's make sure you're informed and heard.SeagreenIf you want to support your health naturally, I highly recommend trying Sea Greens, a rich source of bioavailable iodine and trace minerals that nourish thyroid function, balance hormones, and provide a clean daily boost from wild ocean plants. Use the code DOCMALIK⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://seagreens.shop/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠WaterpureI distill all my water for drinking, washing fruit and vegetables, and cooking. If you knew what was in tap water, so would you!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://waterpure.co.uk/docmalik BUY HERE TODAY⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hunter & Gather FoodsSeed oils are inflammatory, toxic and nasty; eliminate them from your diet immediately. Check out the products from this great company⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://hunterandgatherfoods.com/?ref=DOCHG BUY HERE TODAY⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Use DOCHG to get 10% OFF your purchase with Hunter & Gather Foods.IMPORTANT NOTICEIf you value my podcasts, please support the show so that I can continue to speak up by choosing one or both of the following options - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Buy me a coffee⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ If you want to make a one-off donation.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Doc Malik Merch Store⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Check out my amazing freedom merch

My Story   Talk 34   Overcoming New Challenges Welcome to Talk 34 in our series where I'm reflecting on God's goodness to me throughout my life. Last time I was mentioning some of the health challenges I faced in India and today I will be describing how these continued for some time once we were back in England. I will also be talking about the serious health challenges Eileen faced during the last ten years of her life. I take no pleasure in recording all this, but an honest account of my life must include the hard times as well as the good, and, of course, the Lord has brought me through. Challenges following India Fortunately, there was little in my diary for the first few weeks after our return from India and I soon began to feel better. I thought I was back to normal and in April we set off for two weekends of ministry in Essex. We would stay with Eileen's sister Joan in Billericay and the first weekend I would preach in Witham and a week later in our old church in Colchester. On the first Saturday we drove from our home in Paignton straight to Witham, a journey of about 250 miles, and I preached in the afternoon and evening meetings. We then made our way to Billericay, returning to Witham for the Sunday morning service. I had felt fine on the Saturday, but on Sunday I suddenly started to feel unwell again shortly before I was due to preach. The symptoms were like those I had had in India, and I went outside to get some fresh air. However, I managed to get through the preaching but was grateful to get back to Billericay. The next day Joan arranged an appointment for me with her GP who, hearing that I had been bitten by a mosquito in India and suspecting that I might have malaria, sent me for tests at the hospital in Basildon. Although these tested negative, I was still worried that there was something seriously wrong with me and just wanted to get back home to Paignton. Apologising profusely, I asked our friends at Colchester to release me from my commitment to preach the following weekend and we drove home later that week, unsure of what the future might hold. The next two years proved to be extremely difficult. I continued to experience similar problems every time I preached. In May 2010 I drove up to Huddersfield for the AoG conference but was so stressed that I returned home without attending a meeting. I immediately arranged an appointment with my GP, Mark Thompson, a good Christian man, and told him my whole story. He reminded me that as Christians we are not immune to such things and recommended some books that might help explain my condition. It appears that my experience in India, caused by extreme heat, dehydration, and overwork, triggered a rush of adrenalin which produced the symptoms I was struggling with. I learnt that worrying about the symptoms only made matters worse because that causes a further rush of adrenalin. I was caught in a vicious circle, and the only way out was to embrace the symptoms, tell myself that they would not harm me, and gradually I would get better. And that's what happened, although it did take a long time. Following my visit to the doctor I cancelled my two-week trip to teach at the Bible College in Finland in May. We did go to Madeira for a three week holiday in June, but this turned out to be disappointing because of my recurring symptoms. However, in September I did manage to teach for two weeks at Mattersey, preach for a weekend in Pocklington, and assisted by Bob Hyde, teach a course at CTS in Brussels for a week. I was still experiencing the symptoms but managing to cope with them – at least most of the time. But there were still occasions when I felt unable to preach. In October I cancelled a weekend in Poynton and in November I was unable to complete a weekend's ministry in Aston. I began to wonder if the time had come for me to give up. But less than two weeks later the Lord suddenly intervened. Eileen and I were in Exeter at a meeting for Assemblies of God ministers and their wives. The guest preacher was John Glass, the General Superintendent of the Elim Churches. He was preaching on Jeremiah 1 when he came to verses 11-12: The word of the LORD came to me: "What do you see, Jeremiah?" "I see the branch of an almond tree," I replied. The LORD said to me, "You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled." He explained the play on words that we find in these verses – the Hebrew word for almond is very similar to the word for watch. The almond tree is among the first to blossom in spring. It's something you watch for as a sign that spring has come. Winter will be followed by spring because God watches over his word to see that it is fulfilled. Now in England most of us don't see an almond tree too often, so John likened it to crocuses. In his garden they're the first flowers to bloom in spring. They're the sign or guarantee that winter won't be forever. Then John broke away from his notes and said something like this: There are some of you here who are feeling that your ministry has come to an end. You have been experiencing a bleak winter, but the Lord wants you to know that it will not be forever. You will experience a new springtime. Eileen and I looked at each other. Was this for us? Surely it must be. But there were a lot of other people in that meeting. Could it be that John's prophetic word was for them and not for us? We drove home after the meeting hoping, rather than believing, that this really was a word from the Lord for us. And then, that evening, Jill Cooper, one of our friends from church, arrived on our doorstep and said, I've brought you a little present. To be honest, I had bought it for someone else, but then I felt the Lord tell me to give it to you instead.  What was the present? A bowl of crocuses! How good God is! He gave us the assurance that I would emerge from this dark period of winter into a new springtime of ministry. We sometimes have to go through a valley of shadow, but he is with us in it all the way. So in 2011, whenever the symptoms reoccurred, I pressed through them, knowing that this condition wouldn't last forever. In March I flew to Scotland to speak to the AoG ministers, in May we went back to Finland to teach at Iso Kirja for two weeks, in September I taught for two weeks at Mattersey, and in October I was back at CTS again. None of these occasions was easy. In fact, I often felt really unwell, but everyone always said that, if I hadn't told them, they would not have known anything was wrong with me! I'm not quite sure how much longer it took to get back to normal. In fact, I'm not really sure what 'normal' is! We all deteriorate physically as we get older and our energy levels are not what they were. When I look back at what I was doing in the years before Mattersey and throughout my time there, I wonder now how I possibly managed it all. What was normal for me then is far beyond my capabilities now, but I have moved into a new springtime in my ministry and people tell me that at 87 I'm not doing badly for my age, for which I am grateful. Challenges to Eileen's health But my health challenges were nothing compared with those faced by Eileen in the last ten years of her life. On Sunday 21st December 2014 quite unexpectedly at about 9am Eileen started to experience severe pain in her stomach as she was getting ready for church. As the pain was unrelenting, causing Eileen to pass out a couple of times, by 3pm I decided I needed to call 999. I accompanied Eileen in the ambulance while Jonathan followed by car. After waiting with her a few hours, Jon and I were advised to go home and await the results of an MRI scan.  At about 10.30 that evening the surgeon phoned to ask us to go in to discuss options for Eileen. It was clear that the situation was very serious. On arrival at the hospital, we were told that the scan had revealed that the blood supply had been cut off from Eileen's bowel and that her smaller bowel had died. Without an immediate operation she would die. There was even the possibility that the condition was already too far advanced for them to be able to save her. Furthermore, even if they were able to save her, there was a strong possibility that she would need to have a permanent colostomy. Eileen agreed with us that we should agree to the operation and trust God for the best possible outcome. We prayed with her, of course, but as you can imagine, for the next few hours we were on an emotional roller-coaster, experiencing all the ups and downs from fear to faith, but with a determination to trust God, come what may. We simply could not believe that it was God's time for Eileen to go to Heaven and kept praying that he would spare her. Imagine our relief when at one o'clock on Monday morning the surgeon phoned to say that she had the best possible news for us. Eileen's bowel was alive! What had been causing the pain was an internal hernia which they had been able to fix. None of her bowel had needed to be removed and the blood supply had been restored.   Now bearing in mind the certainty with which the surgeon told us that Eileen's bowel had died we were convinced that this was not just a case of faulty diagnosis, but that God had worked an amazing miracle in restoring Eileen's bowel to life. God had allowed man to do what he could but intervened to do what man could not do – restore a dead bowel to life! We were so grateful for the prayers of the many people who interceded for Eileen throughout this difficult time and to God for his miraculous intervention. I never cease to be amazed at his wonderful grace and goodness to us. But the operation had been very invasive and left Eileen severely weakened for months. And she never fully regained the strength and energy she had lost, but that, of course, may have been partly caused by the fact that she was not getting any younger. And neither was I! In April 2015 we had a few days' break in the Lake District and neither of us felt like walking very far. It was much the same in September when we went to the Isle of Wight, but on both these holidays we contented ourselves with driving around in the car, visiting old haunts, marvelling at the beauty of God's creation, and, of course, enjoying the food. We planned two short holidays for 2016, the first in Longtown, a village in Herefordshire close to the Welsh border in May. After preaching in Rugby on the Sunday morning, we drove there in the afternoon and spent a few delightful days in a charming cottage on the banks of the River Monnow, returning to Brixham the following weekend. The second holiday, planned for a week in September at the southern end of Coniston Water, never happened. In June I flew to Ireland to preach for a weekend in Sligo where Daniel Caldwell, one of our former students, was leading a church. On Sunday morning I preached on Jesus calming the storm in Matthew 8 and I remember saying that sometimes unexpected problems suddenly arise in our lives, but Jesus is well able to see us through them and get us to the other side. Who knows what might happen this week? But whatever happens Jesus is with us. And I flew home that afternoon. I have preached that message many times, but little did I know what was to happen just two days later. On Tuesday evening, sitting in her armchair Eileen had a severe stroke and was rushed into Torbay Hospital. From head to toe she had no feeling down the right side of her body. The next Sunday, still in hospital, she suffered another stroke and we were told that the outlook was extremely bleak. She was rushed to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth and underwent surgery to relieve the pressure on her brain. Her life had been saved. After eleven days she was transferred back to Torbay where she remained for eight days until a bed was available at Newton Abbot where she began a course of rehab. Throughout this time we were all looking to the Lord for a complete healing, whether instantaneous or gradual, but her progress was extremely slow, and it was becoming increasingly clear that she needed a miracle if she would ever walk again. And although the healing miracle we were praying for never happened, we could see the hand of the Lord at work in other ways. Firstly, on July 28th when we were sitting in the hospital day room and eating cake to celebrate our wedding anniversary, the Torbay doctor who had told us that the outlook was extremely bleak approached us and said, I'm looking for Eileen Petts. And when he saw her he said, I can't believe it. Which was something he repeated more than once during the fifteen minutes he was with us. He clearly had not expected Eileen to survive, and this encouraged our faith that God was at work in the situation. On 10th August, after eight weeks in three different hospitals, Eileen finally came home. And that, in itself, was a miracle. We had been told just a few days earlier that Eileen would have to be discharged as her bed was needed for someone else. To continue her rehab she could either go into a care home if we could find one that would take her, or the NHS would provide rehab workers to come to our home, but we would need to find a home care company to take care of Eileen's other needs. The problem was that at the time there were over 70 people in Torbay on a waiting list! I needed an answer – quick! And just in time the answer came. Just a day before Eileen had to be discharged, Trude Hyde came to me and said that she and her twin sister Sylvia would take care of Eileen if we would like them to. How wonderful! I didn't need to ask Eileen because I knew she would love it, but for the sake of all concerned, I felt I needed to ask the Lord for his guidance. And I did foresee one possible problem. I didn't know if I would be allowed to choose Eileen's carers or if they would require certain recognised medical qualifications. I needed an immediate answer to that question, and I didn't know where to find it. I was just going off to visit Eileen, and I didn't want to mention the twins' kind offer until I knew the answer in case it led to her being disappointed. And then I remembered that Katie, the daughter of our next-door neighbour, Sue, was the lead carer for the whole of Torbay. She would certainly know the answer. I was just about to go and knock on Sue's door when I changed my mind and said, Lord, if this is of you, before I get into the car, please let Sue come out without me knocking on her door. And that's what happened. No sooner had I prayed that prayer than Sue came out of her house. In less than five minutes Katie was on the phone and told me that I could choose whom I liked. Eileen was overjoyed, and Trude and Sylvia took care of her visiting our home four times a day for the next four years until we moved to a bungalow on the other side of town, when workers from Abide Care, Brixham, took over.  Eileen finally went to be with the Lord in February 2024 almost eight years after that awful stroke. She was always grateful that her condition was not physically painful, but frustrated at her inability to walk and do all those things we normally take for granted. And we both naturally wondered why the Lord had allowed this to happen. One Bible passage that Eileen found particularly helpful was 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 where Paul says: Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. And the comfort and strength our Father gave to Eileen certainly did overflow to others, not least as a testimony to the dozens of carers from Abide who came into our home over the final four years of her life. Throughout this whole very difficult period both Eileen and I had been sustained by our Christian faith and by a particular word received from the Lord through Barrie Taylor, our daughter Sarah's father-in-law. Barrie and Sandra live some distance away and we normally only saw them once or twice a year. On one such occasion when Eileen seemed to be making little progress after her stroke we were all having a meal together at Berry Head Hotel, when Barrie said the Lord had given him a word for us: My Father is at work in your lives and situation which He is using as a platform to display his sustaining grace. God sometimes uses amazing miracles of healing to display his power and love, but it is often the sustaining grace that he gives his people in times of suffering that brings others to faith. Through Eileen's suffering the lives of many were touched, people who might never have otherwise heard the good news about Jesus. And since she died there have been many opportunities to share the gospel. The funeral staff at the crematorium were visibly moved and said they had never experienced a service like it and neighbours said the same thing about the church service that followed it. As Christians we know where we are going, and the knowledge that our loved ones are with the Lord is a source of great comfort and even joy. Although I still miss her every day, I sometimes weep for joy at the thought of how happy Eileen must now be in Heaven! And one day we shall meet again! But until then there is still work for me to do down here. But that's the subject of our final talk.

FREEDOM - HEALTH - HAPPINESSThis podcast is highly addictive and seriously good for your health.SUPPORT DOC MALIK To make sure you don't miss any episodes, have access to bonus content, back catalogue, and monthly Live Streams, please subscribe to either:The paid Spotify subscription here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/docmalik/subscribe⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ The paid Substack subscription here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://docmalik.substack.com/subscribe⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Thank you to all the new subscribers for your lovely messages and reviews! And a big thanks to my existing subscribers for sticking with me and supporting the show! ABOUT THIS CONVERSATION: In this episode, I sit down with Meredith Miller, author of Becoming Whole, for a deep and challenging conversation about captivity, trauma bonding, and the psychological and spiritual dimensions of abuse.We explore Stockholm Syndrome as a state of consciousness, how perceived threat and kindness can reinforce compliance, and why so many people feel disconnected, trapped, and unable to break free. We also talk about healing, reclaiming agency, spirituality, and the inner work required to become not just free, but whole.This is an uncomfortable but profoundly important conversation.See substack for more information.LoveDocLinksBook ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.innerintegration.com/about_perspectives⁠⁠⁠⁠IMPORTANT INFORMATIONCONSULTATION SERVICEIn a world of rushed 7-minute consultations and endless referrals, I offer you something rare: time, context, and clear guidance.As your health advocate, I can help you:Understand your diagnosis and decode medical jargonDecide who to see: GP, specialist, osteopath, physio, accupuntcurist, homeopath etc?Break down treatment plans in plain, easy to understand non jargon EnglishPrepare for surgery, understand your risks, obtain true informed consent, and optimise yourself pre-op Recover from surgery, advise you how to heal faster and quicker and minimise post-op complicationsManage chronic illness with lifestyle, mindset, and dietary changesExplore holistic options that complement conventional careImplement lifestyle changes like fasting, stress reduction, or movementAsk better questions, and get real answersGet an unbiased second opinionReady to Take Control?If you're navigating a health concern, preparing for a big decision, or simply want to feel more confident in your path forward, I'd love to support you.Book here ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://docmalik.com/consultations/ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Because it's your body, your life, and your future. Let's make sure you're informed and heard.SeagreenIf you want to support your health naturally, I highly recommend trying Sea Greens, a rich source of bioavailable iodine and trace minerals that nourish thyroid function, balance hormones, and provide a clean daily boost from wild ocean plants. Use the code DOCMALIK⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://seagreens.shop/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠WaterpureI distill all my water for drinking, washing fruit and vegetables, and cooking. If you knew what was in tap water, so would you!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://waterpure.co.uk/docmalik BUY HERE TODAY⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hunter & Gather FoodsSeed oils are inflammatory, toxic and nasty; eliminate them from your diet immediately. Check out the products from this great company⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://hunterandgatherfoods.com/?ref=DOCHG BUY HERE TODAY⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Use DOCHG to get 10% OFF your purchase with Hunter & Gather Foods.IMPORTANT NOTICEIf you value my podcasts, please support the show so that I can continue to speak up by choosing one or both of the following options - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Buy me a coffee⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ If you want to make a one-off donation.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Doc Malik Merch Store⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Check out my amazing freedom merch

The end of the year can feel overwhelming, especially when it comes to fitness, food, and staying consistent over the silly season. In this episode, I'm joined by PT and creator Soph Allen from Train With Soph to chat end of year burnout, holiday fitness myths, and how to stay grounded without the all or nothing pressure.We chat about enjoying Christmas without the guilt, what actually happens when you miss workouts, protecting your energy in December, and how movement can support you. We also reveal Better You, our upcoming collaboration challenge focused on strength, confidence, and consistency.If you want to head into the new year feeling supported, calm, and already one step ahead, this episode is for you.Follow Soph on IG, TikTok, or join the Better You Challenge and use the code ADELE to save!

On today's show, we preview a big weekend in college basketball, starting with an early look at the CBS Sports Classic. We break down Kentucky-St. John's and North Carolina-Ohio State, and discuss what the spotlight could mean for Jayden Quaintance IF he takes the floor in a showcase event he grew up watching ( ... or so GP says). After the break, we dive into a Dribble Handoff focused on the SEC, debating who's best positioned to win the league, whether Vanderbilt is a legitimate title contender, and which SEC teams—if any—have a real chance to make a run at the national championship. We wrap things up with The Final Four And 1 presented by FanDuel Sportsbook, breaking down four of the weekend's biggest games, including St. John's vs. Kentucky, Ohio State vs. North Carolina, Houston vs. Arkansas, and Duke vs. Texas Tech. Plus, the And 1 spotlights a key Mountain West matchup as Colorado State visits Utah State on CBS Sports Network. 0:00 Intro 1:00 CBS Sports Classic Preview 26:00 SEC Check-In 32:15 St. John's-Kentucky 37:00 Ohio State-UNC 39:45 Houston-Arkansas 45:00 Duke-Texas Tech 55:15 Colorado State-Utah State 59:00 More games to watch  Theme song: “Timothy Leary,” written, performed and courtesy of Guster Eye on College Basketball is available for free on the Audacy app as well as Apple Podcasts, Spotify and wherever else you listen to podcasts. Follow our team: @EyeonCBBPodcast @GaryParrishCBS @MattNorlander ⁠@Boone⁠ @DavidWCobb @TheJMULL_ Visit the ⁠⁠betting arena on ⁠⁠CBSSports.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ for all the latest in ⁠⁠sportsbook reviews⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠sportsbook promos⁠⁠ for ⁠⁠betting on college basketball⁠⁠. You can listen to us on your smart speakers! Simply say, “Alexa, play the latest episode of the Eye on College Basketball podcast,” or “Hey, Google, play the latest episode of the Eye on College Basketball podcast.” Email the show for any reason whatsoever: ⁠ShoutstoCBS@gmail.com⁠ Visit Eye on College Basketball's YouTube channel: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeFb_xyBgOekQPZYC7Ijilw⁠⁠⁠⁠ For more college hoops coverage, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/⁠⁠⁠⁠ To hear more from the CBS Sports Podcast Network, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.cbssports.com/podcasts/ To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Get access to metatrends 10+ years before anyone else - https://qr.diamandis.com/metatrends   Emad Mostaque is the founder of Intelligent Internet ( https://www.ii.inc )  Read Emad's Book: https://thelasteconomy.com Salim Ismail is the founder of OpenExO Dave Blundin is the founder & GP of Link Ventures Dr. Alexander Wissner-Gross is a computer scientist and founder of Reified – My companies: Apply to Dave's and my new fund:https://qr.diamandis.com/linkventureslanding      Go to Blitzy to book a free demo and start building today: https://qr.diamandis.com/blitzy   Grab dinner with MOONSHOT listeners: https://moonshots.dnnr.io/ _ Connect with Peter: X Instagram Connect with Emad:  Read Emad's Book  X  Learn about Intelligent Internet Connect with Dave: X LinkedIn Connect with Salim: X Join Salim's Workshop to build your ExO  Connect with Alex Website LinkedIn X Email Listen to MOONSHOTS: Apple YouTube – *Recorded on December 18th, 2025 *The views expressed by me and all guests are personal opinions and do not constitute Financial, Medical, or Legal advice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you've spent any time in European venture lately, you've probably noticed two things:Everyone says they “do AI now.”Almost nobody wants to touch consumer.That's exactly where Michael Sackler and Supernode Global are leaning in.Michael started his career not in venture, but in film. He founded and ran Rook's Nest Entertainment in London, producing and executive producing 12 feature films, including cult horror hit “The Witch”, which still makes the rounds every Halloween.As the streamers rose in the early 2010s, he watched technology companies steamroll the media value chain. At the same time, he began angel investing around the edges of content and tech. It didn't take long before it was obvious where the real leverage was.Today, Michael runs Supernode Global, an early-stage fund focused on application-layer software that people use every day at home and at work. Fund I proved out the model. Fund II is where it scales.This episode is essentially Michael's Fund II pitch and it's a good one.Here's what's covered:02:40 | Fund I → Fund II — expanding from “content + tech” to technologies that enhance daily personal and professional life03:55 | The thesis shift — six themes across wellbeing, productivity, vitality, life-ops, community, and creative/pro-work augmentation05:27 | The unifying thread — application-layer software + UI/UX obsession (consumer-grade experiences applied to enterprise)07:50 | Fund II in motion — 13 companies already deployed and why the portfolio itself tells the story10:36 | Sourcing edge — 50/50 inbound/outbound, a gender-balanced team, and why that drives deal flow from overlooked founders12:57 | Speed as a superpower — winning competitive deals through fast conviction, aggressive execution, and deep consumer focus14:42 | Value add in practice — growth support, fundraising pathways, and SuperNode's “connector” identity (with a shoutout to Naomi)15:33 | 34% GP commit — why Michael and Gina put unusually large personal capital into the fund (and what it signals to LPs)18:51 | The AI elephant — where AI enhances work vs. where it risks erasing human craft (with the Graswold example)21:56 | Human creativity vs. automation — why AI will reshape the menial, not the art, and why stories still anchor value23:32 | AI art, authenticity & meaning — when fully AI-generated output loses emotional value, and where hybrid human–AI creation wins

Bootstrapping to a $4.2B Global Powerhouse: Inside G-P with Founder & CEO Nicole Sahin What does it take to turn a complex, “impossible” idea into a multi-billion-dollar global infrastructure company — without raising a dollar of venture capital for the first eight years? On this episode of The Jess Larsen Show on Innovation & Leadership, Jess sits down with Nicole Sahin, Founder & CEO of G-P (Globalization Partners), the company that pioneered the global Employer of Record model and grew it into a $4.2 billion category leader serving companies in 180+ countries. Nicole's story is both unconventional and deeply intentional. Before launching G-P, she helped companies like Tesla and NetSuite expand internationally — witnessing firsthand the pain, delays, and cost of setting up entities around the world. Her solution? Build the entire global legal infrastructure once, then let customers plug into it instantly. What followed was a masterclass in conviction: —turning down venture capital until G-P was already thriving, —scaling through explosive growth (30 employees → 200 → 1,100+), —reengineering the company during the pandemic as global hiring transformed overnight, —and launching Gia, a fully AI-powered global HR and compliance platform built on 13 years of proprietary data. Nicole opens up about the truth behind her success: the spiritual practices that kept her grounded, the brutal decisions required to scale leadership, the moments of doubt, the “dark night of the soul,” and the discipline of following intuition even when her entire team disagrees. Her approach blends operational rigor with mindset mastery — a rare balance in a founder who has built a category-defining global company. This conversation is both entrepreneurial strategy and personal philosophy — a blueprint for founders who want to build massive companies without sacrificing integrity, clarity, or themselves. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

GP opens on the Grizzlies getting a big road win in Minnesota last night against the Timberwolves and Jaren Jackson Jr continuing his strong play. (21:00) Mike Wallace joins to continue the Grizz discussion (40:00) Memphis MBB loses to Vanderbilt in OT, CFB coaches on how they think the playoff will unfold, Knicks won't hang a banner, Chicago Bears considering move to Indiana, and Mahomes expected to be back early next season(1:04:00) GP's Carry Out 

GP opens up on the Grizzlies game tonight in Minnesota and discusses the team being without Cam Spencer tonight due to personal reasons + if we'll see Ja Morant and Brandon Clarke tonight.Chris Vernon joins the show in-studio to talk about the Grizzlies tonight against the Timberwolves and the Knicks win over the Spurs in the NBA Cup Championship (23:45)GP's 5 Things on Tigers/Vandy, Tennessee's win over Louisville, Curt Cignetti being named AP Coach of the Year, if this is Tua's last season in Miami and Bud Crawford retiring (1:01:08)GP's Carryout (1:34:28) 

FREEDOM - HEALTH - HAPPINESSThis podcast is highly addictive and seriously good for your health.SUPPORT DOC MALIK To make sure you don't miss any episodes, have access to bonus content, back catalogue, and monthly Live Streams, please subscribe to either:The paid Spotify subscription here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/docmalik/subscribe⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ The paid Substack subscription here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://docmalik.substack.com/subscribe⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Thank you to all the new subscribers for your lovely messages and reviews! And a big thanks to my existing subscribers for sticking with me and supporting the show! ABOUT THIS CONVERSATION: It was great to have Andrew Zywiec back on the podcast. He was last on for episode 364.In this conversation, we discuss difficult and uncomfortable topics including abortion, medical ethics, and what many now sense as a deep spiritual rupture running through modern society. We talk about how evil rarely arrives all at once, how it is reframed as compassion, convenience, and progress, and how societies often recognise atrocities only in hindsight. The discussion also explores Christianity, gender ideology in medicine, societal apathy, and the personal cost of resisting pressure to conform.We do not claim to have all the answers. While Andrew is a Christian and I am not, we share a concern that beneath politics and policy we are living through a spiritual and moral reckoning, and that the outcome ultimately depends on individual choices.LoveDocLinksWebsite links ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.zywiecandporter.com/⁠⁠IMPORTANT INFORMATIONCONSULTATION SERVICEIn a world of rushed 7-minute consultations and endless referrals, I offer you something rare: time, context, and clear guidance.As your health advocate, I can help you:Understand your diagnosis and decode medical jargonDecide who to see: GP, specialist, osteopath, physio, accupuntcurist, homeopath etc?Break down treatment plans in plain, easy to understand non jargon EnglishPrepare for surgery, understand your risks, obtain true informed consent, and optimise yourself pre-op Recover from surgery, advise you how to heal faster and quicker and minimise post-op complicationsManage chronic illness with lifestyle, mindset, and dietary changesExplore holistic options that complement conventional careImplement lifestyle changes like fasting, stress reduction, or movementAsk better questions, and get real answersGet an unbiased second opinionReady to Take Control?If you're navigating a health concern, preparing for a big decision, or simply want to feel more confident in your path forward, I'd love to support you.Book here ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://docmalik.com/consultations/ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Because it's your body, your life, and your future. Let's make sure you're informed and heard.SeagreenIf you want to support your health naturally, I highly recommend trying Sea Greens, a rich source of bioavailable iodine and trace minerals that nourish thyroid function, balance hormones, and provide a clean daily boost from wild ocean plants. Use the code DOCMALIK⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://seagreens.shop/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠WaterpureI distill all my water for drinking, washing fruit and vegetables, and cooking. If you knew what was in tap water, so would you!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://waterpure.co.uk/docmalik BUY HERE TODAY⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hunter & Gather FoodsSeed oils are inflammatory, toxic and nasty; eliminate them from your diet immediately. Check out the products from this great company⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://hunterandgatherfoods.com/?ref=DOCHG BUY HERE TODAY⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Use DOCHG to get 10% OFF your purchase with Hunter & Gather Foods.IMPORTANT NOTICEIf you value my podcasts, please support the show so that I can continue to speak up by choosing one or both of the following options - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Buy me a coffee⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ If you want to make a one-off donation.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Doc Malik Merch Store⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Check out my amazing freedom merch

As we wrap up 2025, this final episode of The Fertility Podcast is a heartfelt reflection on the year we've had and a look ahead to what's coming. I'm joined by Katie Rollings, founder of Fertility Action, for a candid chat about the emotional toll of trying to conceive at this time of year, what has changed in the support landscape, and why we need more trust, better information, and continued compassion in the fertility space.If this time of year feels like a gut punch, you are not alone. Whether you are grieving a loss, recovering from a failed cycle, or quietly carrying the weight of infertility, I hope this episode reminds you that your experience matters and that support is out there.What we discuss in this episode:Why it is okay to feel conflicted or overwhelmed during the festive seasonCreating your own boundaries, traditions, and safe spaces during the holidaysWhat Fertility Action's support groups are hearing most including pregnancy announcements, TTC burnout, relationship issues and intimacy questionsHow the groups are structured (TTC versus positive test and beyond) and why that mattersThe rise in patients feeling confused by medical advice, conflicting information online and social media rabbit holesFertility as both emotional and transactional and how clinics need to do better at meeting patients with empathy and psychological safetyThe importance of honest, regulated medical guidance and why peer support should not replace professional adviceProgress on fertility education and policy change and why 2026 is shaping up to be a big year for advocacyKatie's hopes for empowering patients and reaching earlier stages in the fertility journey through GP education and accessA note on the mental load this season:If you have found yourself thinking “I really thought this would be our year”, you are not alone. That sense of grief, reflection, and uncertainty can be especially heavy during the holidays. But you are allowed to set limits. To say no. To opt out of conversations or events. You are not selfish for protecting your peace.Whether it is preparing a few phrases for difficult family questions, giving yourself permission to decline invites, or joining a support group for the first time, do whatever helps you feel grounded.And if you need a glimmer of hope, plan something just for you. Something small, comforting, or creative such as making a Christmas bauble while you chat with others who get it.Let's keep the conversation going:Follow me on Instagram: @fertilitypoddyEmail your thoughts or guest ideas: natalie@thefertilitypodcast.comLearn more about support groups and resources at fertilityaction.orgSubscribe on your podcast app to stay updated for 2026Leave a review or share this with someone who might need itThank you again for listening this year. However you are ending 2025, I wish you peace, space to breathe, and a gentle start to whatever comes next.Until next time.

This week on For The Love Of MotoGP:Tim and Steve return to the mics to take a look back at the predictions they made at the start of the 2025 season.The pair also touch on a couple of news items from December. Talking points for this episode include:- Dan Rossomondo Leaving MotoGP- The results from the 100km Dei Campioni - PredictionsEnjoy the show!DiscordPatreonYou can also find us on Instagram @fortheloveofmotogp or you can reach us by email at fortheloveofmotogp@gmail.comReference material for this episode came from: https://www.motogp.com/ | https://www.the-race.com/ | https://www.wikipedia.org/ | https://oxleybom.com Thanks for listening!

In the constantly shifting landscape of private credit secondaries, diversification and strategic alignment play crucial roles as navigational aides.In this episode of Cloud 9fin, Josie Shillito, head of private credit at 9fin, delves into the burgeoning market of private credit secondaries with experts Daniel Roddick and Francois Bouillon from Ely Place Partners.They set the scene by highlighting the explosive growth in GP-led secondaries. This has been driven by a pressing need for liquidity amidst subdued M&A and IPO activity. The conversation explores how investors can strategically position themselves to capitalize on this market, emphasizing the importance of understanding the nuances of both LP-led and GP-led transactions.Have any feedback for us? Send us a note at podcast@9fin.com.

参与讨论的澳洲急诊医生介绍说，周末GP休息、急诊病谱广，加上有人滥用急诊资源，澳洲公立医院急诊室人满为患，急诊医生还得边看病边带教，常常很难知道自己能几点下班。欢迎点击收听，并在SBS中文社交媒体平台留言。

Get access to metatrends 10+ years before anyone else - https://qr.diamandis.com/metatrends   Mustafa Sulyman is the CEO of Microsoft AI Dave Blundin is the founder & GP of Link Ventures Dr. Alexander Wissner-Gross is a computer scientist and founder of Reified – My companies: Apply to Dave's and my new fund:https://qr.diamandis.com/linkventureslanding      Go to Blitzy to book a free demo and start building today: https://qr.diamandis.com/blitzy   Grab dinner with MOONSHOT listeners: https://moonshots.dnnr.io/ _ Connect with Peter: X Instagram Connect with Dave: X LinkedIn Connect with Alex Website LinkedIn X Email Connect with Mustafa X Linkedin Listen to MOONSHOTS: Apple YouTube – *Recorded on December 5th, 2025 *The views expressed by me and all guests are personal opinions and do not constitute Financial, Medical, or Legal advice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Become the FEARLESS entrepreneur you dream about: https://www.findingpeak.com Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/6HogwYeVQfo They're lying to you. Your doctor, the health gurus, the whole system. They tell you feeling like crap is just “part of getting older.” That the brain fog, the belly fat, the rock-bottom energy, and the non-existent sex drive is just your “new normal” now that you're 40. It's a lie. And it's a lie that's not only killing your quality of life—it's killing your business. In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Tracy Gapin, a former surgeon turned men's health optimization expert who is pulling back the curtain on the catastrophic decline in men's health. We expose the truth about why testosterone levels have plummeted 45% in the last 20 years, why your GP's advice is dangerously outdated, and how you can stop the slow decay and reclaim the energy, focus, and drive you thought you'd lost forever. This isn't about a few diet tips or another useless supplement. This is the blueprint to rebuilding yourself from the cellular level up. Stop accepting mediocrity. Your peak is still ahead of you. This is the way. Guest: Dr. Tracy Gapin Website: https://gapininstitute.com/ Free Resources (Book, Handbook, Peptide Guide): https://gapininstitute.com/launch - --Recommended Tools for GrowthOpusClip: #1 AI video clipping and editing tool: https://link.ryanhanley.com/opusRiverside: HD Podcast & Video Software | Free Recording & Editing: https://link.ryanhanley.com/riversideWhisperFlow: Never waste time typing on your keyboard again: https://link.ryanhanley.com/whisperflowCaptionsApp: One app for all your social media video creation: https://link.ryanhanley.com/captionsappGoHighLevel: It's time to take your business workflow to the Next Level: https://link.ryanhanley.com/gohighlevelPerspective.co: The #1 funnel builder for lead generation: https://link.ryanhanley.com/perspective--Episodes You Might Enjoy:From $2 Million Loss to World-Class Entrepreneur: https://lnk.to/delkFrom One Man Shop to $200M in Revenue: https://lnk.to/tommymelloIs Psilocybin the Gateway to Self-Mastery? https://lnk.to/80upZ9 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

GP opens on the Grizzlies win over the LA Clippers last night where Jaren Jackson Jr snapped out of his mini slump and led the Grizz in scoring + the Legend of Cam Spencer continues to grow. (25:00) Penny Hardaway discusses Vanderbilt matchup, Ole Miss QB Chambliss speaks on his future, Michigan interim coach on Sherrone Moore situation, Cooper Flagg makes history, and the Steelers eliminated the Dolphins from playoff contention last night. (1:08:00) GP's Carry Out with what we're watching tonight 

Become the FEARLESS entrepreneur you dream about: https://www.findingpeak.com Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/6HogwYeVQfo They're lying to you. Your doctor, the health gurus, the whole system. They tell you feeling like crap is just “part of getting older.” That the brain fog, the belly fat, the rock-bottom energy, and the non-existent sex drive is just your “new normal” now that you're 40. It's a lie. And it's a lie that's not only killing your quality of life—it's killing your business. In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Tracy Gapin, a former surgeon turned men's health optimization expert who is pulling back the curtain on the catastrophic decline in men's health. We expose the truth about why testosterone levels have plummeted 45% in the last 20 years, why your GP's advice is dangerously outdated, and how you can stop the slow decay and reclaim the energy, focus, and drive you thought you'd lost forever. This isn't about a few diet tips or another useless supplement. This is the blueprint to rebuilding yourself from the cellular level up. Stop accepting mediocrity. Your peak is still ahead of you. This is the way. Guest: Dr. Tracy Gapin Website: https://gapininstitute.com/ Free Resources (Book, Handbook, Peptide Guide): https://gapininstitute.com/launch - --Recommended Tools for GrowthOpusClip: #1 AI video clipping and editing tool: https://link.ryanhanley.com/opusRiverside: HD Podcast & Video Software | Free Recording & Editing: https://link.ryanhanley.com/riversideWhisperFlow: Never waste time typing on your keyboard again: https://link.ryanhanley.com/whisperflowCaptionsApp: One app for all your social media video creation: https://link.ryanhanley.com/captionsappGoHighLevel: It's time to take your business workflow to the Next Level: https://link.ryanhanley.com/gohighlevelPerspective.co: The #1 funnel builder for lead generation: https://link.ryanhanley.com/perspective--Episodes You Might Enjoy:From $2 Million Loss to World-Class Entrepreneur: https://lnk.to/delkFrom One Man Shop to $200M in Revenue: https://lnk.to/tommymelloIs Psilocybin the Gateway to Self-Mastery? https://lnk.to/80upZ9 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Origins host Beezer Clarkson,  LP at Sapphire Partners and co-founder of OpenLP, and Nick Chirls, GP at Asylum Ventures, dig into their recent conversation with Micah Rosenbloom, Managing Partner at Founder Collective. They discuss the EQ and self-awareness required to switch from operator to investor, how to separate signal from noise in venture cycles, and how the speed of iteration is now such that a window of one or two days can change the entire calculus of an investment.Learn more about Sapphire Partners: sapphireventures.com/sapphire-partnersLearn more about OpenLP: openlp.vcLearn more about Asylum Ventures: asylum.vcLearn more about Founder Collective: foundercollective.comFor a monthly roundup of the latest venture insights, including the newest Origins episodes, subscribe to the OpenLP newsletter – delivered straight to your inbox: subscribe.openlp.vcCHAPTERS:0:00 Welcome to Origins0:34 How Involved Should Operators Be With Their CEOs?2:16 VCs and Trends Are Seven Years Too Late3:19 Repeat Portfolio Companies: Courageous Or Insane?5:42 How Do VCs Handle the Speed of Iteration?

Everybody thinks they need money, partners, a track record, or some perfect résumé before they can start in multifamily. That's the lie. The truth? You need credibility — and credibility can be BUILT from nothing. In this episode, I break down exactly how to go from "nobody knows me" to "brokers take me seriously." No fluff. No theory. Just the real steps I used to become a lead GP with zero money, zero experience, and zero connections. We get into: • The mindset shift every beginner must make • How to position yourself like a professional even if you're brand new • The exact tools you need: buy box, one-pager, email scripts, team setup • Why brokers don't care about your money as much as they care about your clarity • How to leverage mentors or experienced operators • Why showing up consistently matters more than your background • How to talk to brokers so they listen • How to avoid the rookie mistakes that kill your credibility You don't need a million dollars. You don't need a 20-unit portfolio. You don't need a fancy title. You need direction, systems, and execution — and that's what this episode gives you. If you've been sitting on the sidelines thinking, "Who am I to reach out to brokers? Who am I to chase deals?" this episode will change the way you see yourself. This is how you build multifamily credibility when you have nothing. Links & Resources: BBBE Course Pre-Sale ($297) Deal Analyzer (Deal Blade) January Cohort Enrollment ($500 – limited seats) Free Tools + Scripts

Get access to metatrends 10+ years before anyone else - https://qr.diamandis.com/metatrends   Salim Ismail is the founder of OpenExO Dave Blundin is the founder & GP of Link Ventures Dr. Alexander Wissner-Gross is a computer scientist and founder of Reified – My companies: Apply to Dave's and my new fund:https://qr.diamandis.com/linkventureslanding     Go to Blitzy to book a free demo and start building today: https://qr.diamandis.com/blitzy   Grab dinner with MOONSHOT listeners: https://moonshots.dnnr.io/ _ Connect with Peter: X Instagram Connect with Dave: X LinkedIn Connect with Salim: X Join Salim's Workshop to build your ExO  Connect with Alex Website LinkedIn X Email Listen to MOONSHOTS: Apple YouTube – *Recorded on December 12th, 2025 *The views expressed by me and all guests are personal opinions and do not constitute Financial, Medical, or Legal advice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices