Podcasts about Hawaiian

Hawaiian shirts that hide you from robots, pumpkin spice antacid, an toothbrush with a camera on it and more! Dave & Darren are your two best friends who happen to play your favorite music on your favorite radio station. For over 21 years, this award winning (no really) duo has enjoyed waking up the Quad Cities with a mix of irreverence, information, improvisational talk and humor. They have been described as, "your favorite morning show's favorite morning show assuming that your favorite morning show is in fact, Dave and Darren." Dave and Darren are live weekday mornings 6a-10a on Planet 93.9. Like Dave & Darren on Facebook HERE: https://www.facebook.com/daveanddarren

Tim Curry's favorite ending of ‘Clue' has never been seen. Internet fanatics are trying to change that. Scarlett Johansson couldn't talk Colin Jost out of buying the Staten Island Ferry. The joke's on her! It's a comedy club now. Simon Cowell is having another spine operation, so Heidi Klum is returning to America's Got Talent. If you're experiencing nice weather, enjoy it! El Nino is on the way. Screenshot it and forget it! Could you fake your own death and get away with it? Plus, a new Hawaiian shirt might keep you safe from AI.

Hour 1: Bob's Movie Club has its next assignment: Steel Magnolias (1989). Bob's never seen this tear jerker, and it's only fitting to honor Dolly Parton. Speaking of honoring, Sarah pays tribute to Gloria Steinman. The Detroit Tigers just signed a 12-year old for $4 Million. Should Tiger Woods be able to drive a golf cart? ‘Zombies' Disney star, Carla Jeffery, suddenly passed away at 33. Ben Affleck was “caught” defacing Aflac signs. Jared Leto sold his compound and is getting out of Hollywood. Vinnie is stoked for young people. These friends were full of regret after letting AI plan their hiking trip. Hour 2: Tim Curry's favorite ending of ‘Clue' has never been seen. Internet fanatics are trying to change that. Scarlett Johansson couldn't talk Colin Jost out of buying the Staten Island Ferry. The joke's on her! It's a comedy club now. Simon Cowell is having another spine operation, so Heidi Klum is returning to America's Got Talent. If you're experiencing nice weather, enjoy it! El Nino is on the way. Screenshot it and forget it! Could you fake your own death and get away with it? Plus, a new Hawaiian shirt might keep you safe from AI. Hour 3: The new Harry Potter series sparks a lot of conversation. Dancing with the Stars has announced the entire cast for its upcoming season. Julia Stiles, Taylor Hanson, and a husband of a Mormon wife. Sarah and Bob telling each other who everyone is. Plus, a moment to appreciate MMMBop. In the age of Waymo, Tesla is introducing the Cybercab. GLP-1s are truly undeniable. Sarah remembers her days in a coverband. Does she still have those velvet pants? Hour 4: The Taylor Swift law is being implemented in Brazil. Plus, new rules about ticketing platforms. Travis Kelce bought a gorgeous lake house in Ohio. Some lucky people just became neighbors with Taylor Swift. Former Bachelor Clayton Echard says Ronn Owens' daughter is a threat to others. It's a weird time for jobs, ya know, since AI is taking a lot of them. Vinnie is telling us the 13 fastest growing jobs that pay over $100K. Plus, When Did That Happen?!

We couldn't connect with CU Men's Soccer head coach Johnny Torres. Instead, we talk Big Smile and Connor's Hawaiian attire.

Dave Kalama isn't defined by one sport. He's one of those rare athletes who has spent a lifetime mastering the ocean while helping reinvent how the rest of us experience it; I've been watching Dave and his crew and their contributions, in awe, for decades. Born with deep Hawaiian waterman roots, Dave grew up with the ocean in his blood. His father, Ilima, was an early U.S. surfing champion, and his grandfather, Noah, was instrumental in the growth of outrigger paddling on the U.S. mainland. That heritage became the foundation for an extraordinary career built around chasing fun; surfing, towing, paddling, windsurfing, SUP, foiling and more, while experimenting and innovating, in the name of fun and adventure, all along the way. But… believe it or not, Dave started as a competitive skier in California. When that didn't pan out, he made his way to Maui, immersed himself in surfing and windsurfing, and quickly developed into an elite windsurfer competing at the highest levels. And that got the flywheel spinning. Dave and his incredible waterman friends became the legendary “Strapped Crew.” Together, they pioneered tow-in surfing, unlocking massive waves at places like Pe‘ahi (Jaws) on Maui and forever changing big-wave surfing. Dave then became a central figure in the modern development of stand-up paddleboarding, helping transform SUP from its Hawaiian Beachboy roots into an international sport. He went on to win the Molokai-to-Oahu SUP World Championship, proving innovation and elite athleticism could go hand in hand. Then came foiling, and ultra distance paddling adventures, and anything else that got their juices flowing. Dave and his friends continued experimenting with creative new ways to have fun in the ocean and explore what was possible. Dave hasn't just helped innovate these sports, he's competed and excelled across them at the highest levels while helping others master them too. As a long time coach, he developed Kalama Kamps to help others chase their fun on the ocean. In recognition of all of his contributions, exploits, and what he's provided to the ocean community; Dave was inducted into the Hawaii Waterman Hall of Fame in 2018. What a well deserved honor. I think it's safe to say Dave's goal of chasing fun and somehow making a career out of it has worked out pretty damn well. 0:00 – Introducing Dave Kalama & His Life on the Water 7:20 – Growing Up, Ski Racing & Early Athletic Influences 15:40 – Discovering Windsurfing & Moving to Maui 24:10 – The Evolution From Windsurfing to Big-Wave Surfing 32:35 – Pioneering Tow-In Surfing at Jaws 41:25 – Fear, Preparation & Performing in Extreme Conditions 50:10 – The Rise of Stand-Up Paddleboarding 59:05 – Racing, Training & Building Endurance 1:08:15 – Discovering Foiling & Pushing New Ideas Forward 1:17:20 – Designing Equipment Through Experimentation 1:26:10 – Reading the Ocean & Staying Present 1:37:05 – Longevity, Life Lessons & Final Reflections

Moon is back from the Cali Country Cruise, and apparently all it took was several days trapped on a boat with country music, expensive Wi-Fi, questionable pools and enough alcohol to sink a smaller boat to make our resident cruise defender reconsider his entire belief system.Welcome to Episode 146 of The Rizzuto Show, the funny podcast where a perfectly normal vacation recap somehow ends with violent otters, bats trying to enter human mouths, artificial intelligence being defeated by Hawaiian shirts, and Missouri discovering that the rest of America apparently doesn't love our vibes.Moon kicks things off with the full report from the Cali Country Cruise, sailing from Long Beach to Ensenada, Mexico. The lineup included Tracy Lawrence, Gretchen Wilson, Jo Dee Messina, Chase Rice and plenty more, while Moon performed with Sullivan. There were some musical highs, some musical... let's call them learning opportunities... and the revelation that Jo Dee Messina may have discovered the ultimate cruise hack: perform before the ship leaves and then GET OFF THE BOAT.Genius. No notes.Gretchen Wilson, meanwhile, delivered one of Moon's highlights of the entire trip with a killer performance and band. Unfortunately, the actual cruise experience wasn't getting the same review. We're talking pricey Wi-Fi that barely worked, a balcony-room mix-up, limited excursion options, fake Cuban cigars, a stage built over the pool and a tiny backup pool populated by people who apparently had no interest in ever getting out.Nothing makes you rethink vacation choices like sitting in a hot tub in Mexico wondering how much human broth is legally allowed before it becomes soup.And somehow that's not even where the cruise chaos ends. The ship was reportedly delayed while authorities dealt with passengers suspected of bringing meth aboard, while another passenger managed to get cut off from the alcohol package before the ship even left. Imagine getting grounded by a cruise ship while you're still within swimming distance of your car.From there, this funny podcast turns into a tour of America's most overrated attractions. Four Corners gets roasted. Mount Rushmore gets called smaller than expected. Times Square takes a hit. The Las Vegas Strip lands at the top of the list. Lern also reveals she once got emotional seeing Chicago's Bean, proving once again that public art can be powerful when it looks like a gigantic piece of silver produce.Then the animals arrive.A swimmer at Lake Tahoe reportedly gets attacked by an otter and requires 38 stitches, prompting Rafe to immediately begin defending the otter because apparently wildlife now has legal representation on The Rizzuto Show. Then there's a possible shark attack near the Massachusetts location associated with Jaws, followed by the deeply upsetting story of a woman waking from a dream about a mouse crawling toward her mouth... only to discover there was actually a BAT near her mouth.Sleep tight, everybody.We also discover a Hawaiian shirt designed to confuse AI-powered surveillance cameras, which means Weird Al may have been preparing for the surveillance state this entire time.Finally, Missouri and Illinois get dragged into America's "worst vibes" rankings before the crew investigates which states hate each other the most. Missouri's answer? Kansas. Obviously. Centuries pass, civilizations rise and fall, and Missouri will apparently still find time to be annoyed by Kansas.Follow The Rizzuto Show → linktr.ee/rizzshow for more from your favorite daily comedy show.Connect with The Rizzuto Show Comedy Podcast online → 1057thepoint.com/RizzShow.Hear The Rizz Show daily on the radio at 105.7 The Point | Hubbard Radio in St. Louis, MO.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Moon kicks things off with the full report from the Cali Country Cruise, sailing from Long Beach to Ensenada, Mexico. The lineup included Tracy Lawrence, Gretchen Wilson, Jo Dee Messina, Chase Rice and plenty more, while Moon performed with Sullivan. There were some musical highs, some musical... let's call them learning opportunities... and the revelation that Jo Dee Messina may have discovered the ultimate cruise hack: perform before the ship leaves and then GET OFF THE BOAT.Gretchen Wilson, meanwhile, delivered one of Moon's highlights of the entire trip with a killer performance and band. Unfortunately, the actual cruise experience wasn't getting the same review. We're talking pricey Wi-Fi that barely worked, a balcony-room mix-up, limited excursion options, fake Cuban cigars, a stage built over the pool and a tiny backup pool populated by people who apparently had no interest in ever getting out.From there, this funny podcast turns into a tour of America's most overrated attractions. Four Corners gets roasted. Mount Rushmore gets called smaller than expected. Times Square takes a hit. The Las Vegas Strip lands at the top of the list. Lern also reveals she once got emotional seeing Chicago's Bean, proving once again that public art can be powerful when it looks like a gigantic piece of silver produce.A swimmer at Lake Tahoe reportedly gets attacked by an otter and requires 38 stitches, prompting Rafe to immediately begin defending the otter because apparently wildlife now has legal representation on The Rizzuto Show. Then there's a possible shark attack near the Massachusetts location associated with Jaws, followed by the deeply upsetting story of a woman waking from a dream about a mouse crawling toward her mouth... only to discover there was actually a BAT near her mouth.We also discover a Hawaiian shirt designed to confuse AI-powered surveillance cameras, which means Weird Al may have been preparing for the surveillance state this entire time.Missouri and Illinois get dragged into America's "worst vibes" rankings before the crew investigates which states hate each other the most. Missouri's answer? Kansas. Obviously. Centuries pass, civilizations rise and fall, and Missouri will apparently still find time to be annoyed by Kansas.Moon kicks things off with the glamorous realities of modern air travel after seemingly every flight on his trip decided that “on time” was more of a suggestion. A canceled connection, rerouting through Dallas, delays into Los Angeles and another delay getting back to St. Louis gave him plenty of time to catch up on movies. Unfortunately, that included The Mandalorian and Grogu, which gets a very enthusiastic C-minus review. Somewhere, a Star Wars fan just felt a disturbance in the Force.Then we discover that Americans apparently hit an energy wall around 2:48 in the afternoon, which explains basically every email you've ever received after lunch. Rafe's sleep schedule is wrecked, Lern is fighting afternoon cravings with hard-boiled eggs, and that leads to perhaps the most important culinary advice ever delivered on a funny podcast: if you've already hard-boiled the egg, you're halfway to a deviled egg.That discussion somehow turns into stale cereal confessions. Lern admits to eating old strawberry vanilla Chex after band practice while Rafe reveals that he knowingly ate stale Pops AND stale Golden Grahams. This is less a morning show and more four adults slowly admitting things that should probably stay between themselves and their pantries.Then it's time for Crap on Celebrities, where things get appropriately ridiculous. A woman is accused of stealing and crashing an ambulance outside an Avenged Sevenfold and Good Charlotte concert. Sevendust drummer Morgan Rose gets some love. Gibson is releasing an extremely limited Billy Gibbons “Pearly Gates” Les Paul. Sean Ono Lennon welcomes his first child, making John Lennon and Yoko Ono grandparents for the first time. There's also a Matthew Perry documentary on the way, more Tulsa King, and the crew tries to understand the enormous world of people watching other people play video games.Speaking of gaming, Grand Theft Auto gets everybody talking about Twitch, streaming communities, gameplay fandoms, and the strange realization that watching someone else play a game can become an entire entertainment ecosystem. Scott even admits he made “multiple dollars” streaming, so please respect the media mogul.Hollywood keeps the nonsense rolling with Emmy gift bags, Marvel's mysterious Secret Wars casting, Hamnet, and Ridley Scott reportedly having some thoughts about Paul Mescal and Gladiator 2. That opens the floodgates because Rafe and Moon are more than happy to discuss just how much they hated that movie. Sharks in the Coliseum are put on trial. The verdict is not favorable.There's also a live-action Street Fighter movie coming with a completely unhinged cast, including Jason Momoa, 50 Cent, Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes, Eric André and more. Apparently somebody looked at the casting board and selected “yes.”Finally, Journey brings Steve Perry look-alike Hugo Valenti onstage during shows in Japan, causing some fans to apparently wonder whether the real Steve Perry had returned. The crew listens to the results, and that goes exactly as respectfully as longtime listeners would expect.Throw in birthdays, Terry Bradshaw, Keanu Reeves, Salma Hayek, Rafe's increasingly dangerous wordplay, and all the other nonsense that somehow qualifies as broadcasting, and you've got another funny podcast from The Rizzuto Show.Delayed flights. Deviled eggs. Stale Pops. Celebrity fails. Video games. Gladiator sharks. Fake Steve Perry.We accomplished nothing and covered everything.The Cali-Country Cruise7 most overrated US attractionsWoman attacked by otter while swimming says 'it felt like a human'Woman gets potential shark bite off Martha's Vineyard, in the town "Jaws" was filmedWhich US state has the worst vibes?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Watch Us On YouTube! Announcing a new, ongoing benefit for annual subscribers of our Slack community. Annual subscribers receive a free Points Path Alerts subscription OR a 30% discount on Points Path Pro. Google is officially getting deeper into the points-and-miles world, and Ed and Richard have plenty of questions. Google is adding travel functionality to AI Mode that can search for points-and-miles availability directly from participating airlines and hotel programs. Initial integrations include Alaska, Hawaiian, American, Choice, Hilton and Wyndham, with Flying Blue, Hyatt, LATAM and Lufthansa among those expected to follow. And the results can be fast—Richard gets award pricing back almost instantly during the show. But fast doesn't necessarily mean accurate. Ed puts the new functionality through a series of tests and finds incorrect Hilton award prices, missing hotels, problems with dates and days of the week, and incomplete results. Richard gets Google to find an Alaska Mileage Plan redemption on American—but only after specifically asking about it, and even then Google provides the wrong partner booking fee. They also conduct a live experiment looking for Marriott award availability during Atlanta Braves home games, with some interesting results. So, is Google AI ready to replace dedicated award-search tools? Not yet. But Ed and Richard agree that if Google can make the data more reliable, the ability to ask a broad question like "Show me every date in October when I can fly this route for 7,500 miles" could become extremely useful. Richard also breaks down Bilt's new partnership with Blacklane, which allows members to book the chauffeur service directly through Bilt and use Bilt Cash or points toward rides. He explains why a premium airport pickup can be particularly valuable at airports where rideshare pickup is a hassle—and acknowledges that the convenience comes at a price. Plus, a $10 Uber Eats order somehow becomes a $29 order, the guys discuss air traffic controllers reportedly leaving work early before a fatal airport accident, and Ed celebrates a very points-and-miles-specific parenting achievement. Get hydrated like Ed in Vegas with Nuun If you enjoy the podcast, I hope you'll take a moment to leave us a rating. That helps us grow our audience! If you're looking for a way to support the show, we'd love to have you join us in our Travel Slack Community.  Join me and other travel experts for informative conversations about the travel world, the best ways to use your miles and points, Zoom happy hours and exciting giveaways. Monthly access Annual access Personal consultation plus annual access We have witty, funny, sarcastic discussions about travel, for members only. My fellow travel experts are available to answer your questions and we host video chats multiple times per month. Follow Us! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/milestogopodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@milestogopodcast Ed Pizza: https://www.instagram.com/pizzainmotion/ Richard Kerr: https://www.instagram.com/kerrpoints/ ✈️ What We Cover in This Episode ✈️ Google AI enters the award-search game Searching airline and hotel awards through AI Mode Direct integrations with travel programs Near-instantaneous results More airlines and hotels coming soon ✈️ Can you trust the results? Incorrect award prices Missing hotels and flight options Wrong partner-booking fees Google failing to catch contradictory date information Why knowing the right question to ask still matters ✈️ A live Google AI award-search experiment Searching Marriott availability around Braves home games A $700+ hotel room versus 48,000 Marriott points Where Google got the answer right—and where it didn't ✈️ Could Google replace award-search tools? The potential of flexible natural-language searches Why accuracy needs to improve first Where dedicated tools still have the advantage ✈️ Bilt adds Blacklane Booking chauffeur service through Bilt Using Bilt Cash and Bilt Points Airport pickups without rideshare roulette Richard's experiences testing Blacklane Convenience versus cost ✈️ When a $10 food order becomes $29 Uber Eats fees A new marketplace fee Small-order fees The economics of delivery apps ✈️ Air traffic controllers and "early shove" Two controllers reportedly leaving early The difference between scheduled staffing and actual staffing Why aviation accidents rarely have a single cause Building systems that account for human behavior ✈️ Ed's lifetime points-and-miles achievement His daughter gets approved for the Chase Sapphire Preferred Building credit with authorized-user accounts Helping young adults establish credit Using rent reporting as another credit-building tool ⏱️ Episode 452 Timestamps 2:07 – Marriott stays not posting and an MGM booking trick 8:34 – Google brings points-and-miles searches to AI Mode 10:38 – Richard tests Google's award search live 15:05 – Wrong prices, missing results and Google's accuracy problem 18:30 – Live test: finding a Marriott award during a Braves home game 22:49 – Would Ed and Richard actually use Google AI to book travel? 24:14 – Bilt's new Blacklane partnership 28:52 – How a $10 Uber Eats order turns into $29 30:50 – Air traffic controllers, "early shove" and airport staffing 36:06 – Ed's lifetime achievement: his daughter gets a Chase Sapphire Preferred

NECROMANCER EP.147 – A PERFECT GETAWAY The necromancers take a ghoul's trip with Nathan Flynn to Hawaii for his horror pick, A Perfect Getaway (2009). Will Bret and Shira's pupils remain a normal size or have they not yet seen the craziest thing that could happen to Steve Zahn on a Hawaiian vacation? Listen to […]

NECROMANCER EP.147 – A PERFECT GETAWAY The necromancers take a ghoul's trip with Nathan Flynn to Hawaii for his horror pick, A Perfect Getaway (2009). Will Bret and Shira's pupils remain a normal size or have they not yet seen the craziest thing that could happen to Steve Zahn on a Hawaiian vacation? Listen to […]

New numbers just released show how much damage was left by Hurricane Lala. Rescuers are searching for at least one survivor after deadly flooding in the Grand Canyon. Plus, the storms forced a cleanup mission in the northwest Hawaiian islands to lose valuable days dodging the cyclone.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What happens when you finally stop people-pleasing and start trusting your own intuition? How can the confidence you build through dance and cheerleading transform the way you show up in your career, relationships, and even your relationship with your body? And is finding your voice and learning to use it the secret to opening yourself up to love again? In Episode 457 of The Charisma Quotient, "Bathroom Confessions of Former NFL Cheerleaders: Dating Real Talk Secrets," Kimmy is back with part two of her unexpected interview series recorded in the women's bathroom at the National Football Cheerleading Alumni Reunion in Miami. What started as an accidental interview location continues to deliver raw, hilarious, and surprisingly powerful conversations with former NFL cheerleaders about confidence, identity, relationships, and reinvention. One former Miami Dolphins cheerleader opens up about how dance became her joy, helping her navigate toxic environments and eventually recognize the importance of trusting her intuition, setting boundaries, and becoming a recovering people pleaser. She shares the realization that saying yes when you really mean no isn't actually being kind, and why learning that "no" can be a complete sentence changed the way she shows up in her life and relationships. But it doesn't end there. Kimmy sits down with Sarah Martin, who helped break the height barrier for Miami Dolphins cheerleaders after learning the team was finally opening auditions to women under 5'6". Sarah shares how her Filipino upbringing shaped her younger, more submissive self, why her father initially didn't want her to cheer, and how she walked into an audition with more than 500 women convinced she'd be home by lunchtime, only to make the team. She even gives Kimmy an impromptu Hawaiian dance lesson that reveals an unexpected connection between dance, sensuality, feminine energy, and flirting. Then Kimmy meets Terri Gayhardt, who went from an incredibly shy little girl who wouldn't even yell during cheers to becoming a professional Baltimore Colts cheerleader at just 16 years old. Terri shares the historic legacy of the Baltimore Colts cheerleaders, how cheerleading helped her find her voice and become a confident, empowered woman, and what happened when the fairytale of marrying the football player didn't turn out quite as planned. After raising five children and helping raise her grandchildren, Terri gets real about catfishing, matchmaking disappointments, dating later in life, and Kimmy gives her a challenge to start flexing those flirting muscles again. You'll Hear: Why learning to say no and letting go of your people pleasing tendencies can create healthier, more balanced relationships. How body acceptance changes with age and why loving yourself now matters more than waiting until you look different. A live lesson on the art (and empowerment) of hula dance, including its sensual, physical, and storytelling elements The surprising connection between dance, feminine energy, sensuality, body language, and flirting. How Terri Gayhardt went from painfully shy to becoming a professional Baltimore Colts cheerleader at just 16 and eventually finding her voice as a confident, empowered woman. Real talk about divorce, catfishing, matchmaking, dating later in life, and why flirting is a skill you can practice at any age. If you've been feeling disconnected from your confidence, your femininity, or the woman you see in the mirror, Kimmy has some things coming up that you'll want to join… If you're looking for a simple place to start, join her for her live co-ed Flirting Made Easy Workshop, at the end of the month where you'll learn and practice her proven formula to flirting in your 40s, 50s, and beyond!  Go to stophatingdating.com to register! And if you're ready to step up your game in real-life action, check out Kimmy's signature Spark Your Sexy Retreat this September. You'll receive a professional makeover, learn how to dress for the body you have today, flirt, participate in a professional photoshoot, and even step into your own runway energy as you will work on movement, presence, body language, and the art of owning a room.  To register go to https://evolveretreats.co/spark-your-sexy/ or askkimmy.com to book a call to learn more. Hurry spots are going fast!  

This episode explores Dr. Corinne Kratz (Emory University) 's latest monograph, Rhetorics of Value (Duke University Press 2025) "In Rhetorics of Value, Corinne A. Kratz explores how exhibition design creates and conveys values that have the potential to touch, educate, and engage visitors. Drawing on case studies from the Victoria and Albert Museum, museums in South Africa and Kenya, a Hawaiian resort hotel, and the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture, among others, Kratz shows how exhibits help shape and narrate cultural categories, values, and histories while provoking questions and evoking memories and experiences. She crosses contexts to consider ethnographic, history, and art exhibits in national and community museums and other display settings. Through these examples, Kratz traces how exhibition designers combine objects, texts, images, lighting, audio, space, and narratives to craft a complex, multilayered communicative form that visitors experience as they move through museums. By investigating the relationship between audience reception and exhibition design strategies, Kratz contends that through design, exhibits can shape the ways we know, the stories we tell, and our contours of meaning and engagement." Source: Duke University Press   Interviewer: Bukunmi Bifarin (Emory University) Music: Ismaila Lo

Get ready to "hang ten" and do various other surfing things, because this week's episode is about riding the waves on those big ol' boards (surfboards). We discuss surfing's ancient Hawaiian roots, the invention of the surfboard leash, Duke Kahanamoku and all of the Beach Boys' cool surfing songs.For full-length weekly bonus episodes check out the TCGTE Patreon!Like the show? Rate Us on Apple Podcasts Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Roger Edgington is one of the most gifted steel guitarists in Texas. Thanks to his daughter Julie Fredlund (leader at ABC Home Services), we were brought together to celebrate Roger's unique talents and hear his legendary stories. Roger's roots run deep in the steel guitar forum. His Mom was a steel guitar teacher. He learned Hawaiian steel music from Mom and built a love for the genre. Texas Western Swing is Roger's favorite. He played for over 20 years each with Darren McCall and Billy Mata. He performs regularly at the Steel Guitar Convention in Dallas/Ft. Worth each year including Hawaiian classics and All of Me. (check out https://youtu.be/Kcae4GIoKX4?si=cZuUJ8fxoFxXQZwPRoger also supports the steel guitar community by teaching others how to play, as well as building and repairing steels at his hangar in Zuehl. He built a lap steel from scratch, painting it white, and has been collecting signatures on it from all of his favorite steel players, with him Mom's signature front and center.   Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/success-made-to-last-legends--4302039/support.

Narrator: Thomas Jones

Before We Dive InRecording this on August 26th, and I want to say clearly at the start: I am feeling a bit low. The eclipse energy has been personally challenging in a number of ways, and also — Dolly Parton and Tim Curry have both passed, within days of each other. Both around 80 years old. I loved them both, for very different reasons, and I find their passing sitting in me in that particular way that celebrity deaths sometimes do, when someone has been part of the landscape of your whole life.I'm telling you this because it's also very much the energy of this week. This is the come-down after eclipse season. If you're feeling deflated, that's appropriate. That's the astrology. The cards are honest about it — but they end in a place of genuine hope. If you're looking for that hopeful note right now, go and watch the September 10th Virgo New Moon video I just put up. That one has more light in it.This week: do your inner work. Go into the woods. Slow your roll.Subscribe free on Substack for all posts in your inbox. Spiral Weave / Spiral Codex membership — $10/month or $90/year.Venus Retrograde: Heroine's Journey — I'll decide on the final pricing when I'm back from Chicago. For now, it's still open and I'll let you know. Two tiers: the basic Venus Retrograde course, and Dragon Rider (adds a year of Spiral Codex membership, a 30-minute one-on-one with me, and a personal gift). louiseedington.com/VenusRetrograde2026One more small thing: if you enjoy astrology AND music, Chris Brennan did an extraordinary interview with Roland Orzabal from Tears for Fears about his astrology memoir. It's worth your time. I've listened twice and bought the hard copy.The Energy of This WeekWe come off the lunar eclipse on August 28th and begin to wane. The week opens with the Moon in Aries and ends with it in Cancer, waning all the while, heading toward the September 10th new moon. We are in the shedding phase.What makes this week distinctive — and why the message keeps being the same — is the sheer number of retrograde planets in Aries: Neptune, Manwë, Saturn, Pallas Athena, Eris, and Vesta, all moving backwards. When the Aries Moon moves through them, each conjunction or activation is saying: slow down. Go in. Revisit. Review. Do not charge forward. Aries likes action and speed; the retrogrades are applying the brakes.The overall prescription for this week: radical, extraordinary self-care. More than you normally would. The whole week is a churn of inner processing. Let it do its work.Three more things to note:Pluto is out of bounds until December 5th — as it will be for a few months around this time of year until 2035. Going out of bounds to the south, which Rosie Finn's book Persephone's Revolution associates with people rising up and more peaceful collective energy. We are in that window.Sedna stations retrograde this week (Thursday) — her 11,406-year orbit is so slow that her stations are gentler than most, but she's still asking: dig deeper into your perceptions and adaptations. She was last in Gemini at the end of the Great Ice Ages.Venus is entering the shadow of her retrograde — she hits 21°50' Libra at the start of the week, which is the point she'll return to when she stations direct on November 13th. Start paying attention now to what comes up around your values, your relationships, your sense of justice and beauty, your desires. Everything that surfaces in the next few weeks will have something to say when Venus goes retrograde in October.Only Venus, Mercury, and the Sun have passed the South Node and Regulus so far. Everyone else is still coming. Gradually, one by one.The Cards — A First GlanceFrom the Red Seeds Tarot and the Witch Oracle: Two of Bees, Eight of Seeds reversed, Ten of Bees, and The Witch.Tension. Disengagement. Then: revelation. And then the Witch herself — the one in total control of herself — to close. More at the end.Day by DaySunday, August 30 — Moon in Aries. Slow Your Horses. Venus Enters Her Shadow.The Moon is freshly in Aries — and immediately hits all those retrograde planets. A sextile to Sedna (about to station), a sextile to Pluto activating the basket at 4°, then the Moon conjuncts Neptune — stop and smell the coffee. Tune in to your intuition. There is nothing to rush into right now. The Moon then sextiles Uranus — the aha question of this whole period: who am I in this new world we're building? That's worth sitting with.The Moon squares Ceres in Cancer — do your self-care. Take care of yourself first, and then you are able to care for and protect your loved ones. And squares Pholus — the lid is still coming off things.The Moon is being slowed at every turn. Neptune is particularly potent here: the retrograde Aries cluster, every one of them applying the brakes to the Aries Moon's natural preference for speed. Slow your horses. We are not at full speed ahead yet.The Moon conjuncts Pallas Athena (revisiting strategy and pattern recognition), then conjuncts Eris (tables turning, but within — going in to see what you need to overturn in your own life), then squares Juno (renegotiating contracts), sextiles Hekate (the torchbearer is saying: the path forward is through your inner truths), and finally conjuncts Vesta (inner flame — what are you devoted to, really?). Before the day closes, the Moon conjuncts Saturn — a hard stop. Reality check. Put the brakes on.Venus at 21°50' Libra directly opposes Pallas Athena retrograde — the strategist, the pattern-recognizer, looking keenly back at Venus. Slow down. Think through your relationships, your values, your sense of justice. See the patterns before you charge on. Venus is covering ground she will cover again during the retrograde. Pay attention to what surfaces.Black Moon Lilith makes a fire trine to Eris and Vesta, and sextiles Hekate — that inner feminine rage at injustice, in flowing conversation with the table-turners and the inner flame, with the way-shower lighting the path. And Mercury in Virgo trines Pholus — more information coming to light. More things being seen.Monday, August 31 — Saturn Squares Asteroid Lilith. Black Moon Lilith Enters Capricorn. Earth Grand Trine.Saturn at 13° Aries squares Asteroid Lilith in Cancer. Thirteen — the number of the goddess, the witch. Saturn in Aries retrograde is revisiting the rules, the structures, the identities we've been building. Asteroid Lilith — the talk-to-the-hand, we-were-created-equal, original divine feminine — is in the Moon's sign, looking around and asking: how are all our needs being met? How are outsiders' needs being met? It's a hard look, again, before we do anything more. Saturn can bring the “shoulds” — and this week: don't. It will still be there later.Black Moon Lilith reaches the end of Sagittarius and enters Capricorn — the sign of our institutions, structures, and the man-made rules we live under. And the moment she crosses into Capricorn, she trines Regulus at 0° Virgo and Chiron at 0° Taurus — an Earth Grand Trine. The exiled feminine energy, in flowing conversation with the Royal Star that now speaks of future stewards, and with the medicine man shining his light on wounds and healing.The way forward is this world. This experience. Being on this Earth, which is our home.Jupiter at 13° Leo trines Saturn at 13° Aries. Thirteen — the goddess number, the witch number, also a number of creation (Fibonacci, phi). This is the opening trine of the cycle that began at the Great Conjunction in December 2020 — Jupiter and Saturn at 0° Aquarius, the beginning of the Age of Air. Now Jupiter has moved into Leo and this is the first flowering of that seed. We have to change these man-made rules that are not in alignment with the natural laws of the universe. That's what this aspect is saying. In the number of the goddess, no less.The Moon in Aries moves through Pallas Athena (revisiting strategy), opposes Venus (emotions stirred around what Venus is covering in her pre-retrograde territory — feel it, don't push it away), conjuncts Eris (more inner table-turning), squares Juno, sextiles Hekate, conjuncts Vesta.Tuesday, September 1 — Moon Into Taurus. Mars Squares Saturn. Mercury Meets Circe. The Brakes.The Moon finishes its Aries passage by aspecting the Nodes (still at 29° until October 9th — eclipse energy still reverberating) before moving into Taurus at 4:01am Eastern. Immediately, the Moon conjuncts Chiron — the shaman, the medicine man, hands-on healing. Earth. Body. Values. The wound and the medicine.Venus at 23° Libra makes a lovely unbroken flow aspect to Chariklo in Aquarius — the cosmic doula, Chiron's consort, the grace-spinner, holding space for the new story we're weaving. I am here with you. I am helping you weave it.Then the aspect that defines the day: Mars in Cancer squares Saturn in Aries. Mars in Cancer is already uncomfortable — fire in water, drive dampened by sensitivity. And Saturn in Aries is retrograde, in Mars's own sign. One foot on the accelerator, one foot on the brake. Except this week: it is far more brake than accelerator.If you feel the shoulds pressing in — I should be doing this, I should be doing that — this week is not the time. What needs to be done will still be there after you've rested and gone in. The brakes are on for a reason.Mercury in Virgo meets Circe the Sorceress — Circe is also conjunct the upcoming Virgo New Moon, which feels intentional. Mercury saying: get into the details, go in and do some inner sorcery and magic. The craftsmanship here is interior. Mercury then sextiles Asteroid Lilith — she's in there too, having a very good look at what she's going to say no to. Not performing the no yet. Looking clearly.The Taurus Moon Earth-trines the Virgo Sun and Pholus at around 9-10° — a pull to earth, to the somatic, to the body, to roots. Get your bare feet on the ground. Do grounding meditations. Go into the woods. That's why I chose the Red Riding Hood image for this week — the feminine going into the woods, into the inner world, is the heroine's journey. Read those old fairy tales from a different lens.Wednesday, September 2 — Moon in Taurus. Everything Is Within.The Taurus Moon squares Jupiter at 13° Leo — the natural laws of the universe, in the sign of the heart, at the goddess number again. The pattern of all of these 13° aspects this week is unmistakable.Everything is pointing inward. Everything is saying: come into balance and harmony within your nervous system. These eclipses have been nerve-jangling. If you feel your nervous system a bit fried, that's both appropriate and fixable. You have the tools. Use them.The Moon sextiles Mars (still cooling its jets, heading toward Asteroid Lilith), and the Sun trines Black Moon Lilith — with Okyrhoe the seer joining that aspect. This is about uncovering your inner seer. Going to the depth within that knows things before the mind catches up. The inner oracle.Thursday, September 3 — Sedna Stations Retrograde. Moon Into Gemini. Basket Activated.The Taurus Moon makes an Earth trine to Juno — our sacred contracts with each other, held in the flowing earth energy that's been the backbone of this week. This Earth trine has been holding the whole week: pulling inward, pulling down to ground, pulling roots deeper.Sedna stations retrograde in Gemini. Her 11,406-year orbit means she was last in Gemini at the end of the Great Ice Ages. Her stations are slower-burning than closer-in planets, but this is still a turning point: dig deeper into your perceptions, your ideas, your words, your thinking. How do you need to shift? How do you need to adapt?Black Moon Lilith squares Saturn — now in his own sign Capricorn, pressing against the rules and structures of our institutions. More things being seen. More reality checks arriving. This is not the moment to rail at every little thing. It's the moment to take it in, to see clearly, to know what you're looking at before you act.The Taurus Moon reaches 27-29° — the Pleiades degrees. This may feel like a tender, even sad day. The Pleiades carry the grief of endings and the beauty of the in-between. With Dolly and Tim Curry's passing this week, and with so much being released in the collective, let yourself feel what's there. The Moon then squares Hekate, squares the Nodes, and begins moving toward the drain of the South Node.At 7:47am Eastern, the Moon enters Gemini and immediately meets Sedna — who just stationed retrograde, all that adapt-or-transform energy newly concentrated. The Moon then trines Pluto, sextiles Neptune, conjuncts Uranus — the basket, again. The cradle activated. The aha moment: something about letting go. Something about death and rebirth. Something about what's trying to move through.Mars is opposed by Black Moon Lilith at 2:44pm Eastern — a question not about action but about wisdom. Is the action we're taking coming from a wise place? Or are we just acting? Black Moon Lilith is a lunar point, not a physical body — she's the inner voice, the interior knowing. Are we using her wisdom to shape what we do?Friday, September 4 — Last Quarter Moon. Venus Opposes Eris. Inner Tables Turning.The Gemini Moon (out of bounds since late Wednesday or Thursday) squares the Sun — Last Quarter Moon at approximately 11:48am Eastern. Eleven: the master number, the gateway. What are we letting go of before we step through this doorway? Not one big doorway — a series of doorways. That's what this whole period is. Each week, another door. What are we releasing at this one?The Last Quarter Moon is always a crisis in consciousness — the moment of maximum tension before the letting go. In this context, coming off eclipse season, it's the inner churn before the new moon plant.Venus at 25° Libra opposes Eris — more inner tables to turn. Not out there, not yet. Going within, looking at strategy and patterns, recognizing what needs to be overturned within your own relating and your own values before you bring a new version of yourself to the world.The Moon sextiles Saturn (opportunity to let go of self-limiting beliefs, old rules we were taught to live by) and sextiles Jupiter (the curious Gemini Moon trying to make sense of it all through the lens of the natural laws).Mars meets Asteroid Lilith at 15° Cancer — the midpoint of the degree, the middle of Cancer. Mars will move ahead of her after this. But she is right there with him, saying: you are more of a protector and a guardian than you have been portrayed. Right now, at this moment — using the language of internal family systems — you are my inner protector. You are here to help me move within, do more self-care, love myself more. You are the guardian of my interior, not just the warrior taking on the external world.If your inner Mars is feeling frustrated and angry (Mars doesn't love Cancer), you can actually talk to that part of yourself: I know you're here to help me. Right now your job is to protect my inner work, not to attack everything out there.The Moon squares Mercury — information, details, adjustments, what you think. All of it inside.Venus squares Juno — we are rewriting the contracts. With each other, and with ourselves.Saturday, September 5 — Moon Into Cancer. Venus and Hekate. One Last Look at the Toxins.The Gemini Moon finishes its journey — way out of bounds — making last aspects to the retrograde planets in Aries: Pallas Athena, Eris, Vesta. Fire and air. What do I need to burn off? What ideas need to be released? What does the inner flame actually want? Intense, but passing.At 10:30am Eastern, the Moon enters Cancer — her own sign — and sextiles Chiron. The wound and the medicine. The shaman. What's the medicine I've become because of what I've been through?Venus makes a lovely unbroken flow aspect to Hekate — the way-shower, the torchbearer, the triple moon goddess at the crossroads. Venus and Hekate work together beautifully during Venus retrogrades (you'll experience this directly in the class), and this pre-retrograde aspect is a preview: pay attention to your inner voice about which paths to choose. Which direction through the woods of your inner self is being illuminated?The Cancer Moon trines Haumea — pure regeneration, the Hawaiian creatrix, the handle of the basket. She hasn't been aspected much this week, and here at the close she shows up to say: something new is being birthed from all of this. Something is regenerating. And the Moon squares Neptune — Haumea moving forward, Neptune moving back, an aspect of adjustment between the two Mars signs (Aries and Scorpio). We are moving into a more Venusian era. We cannot stay where we were.The last aspect of the week: one more look at the toxins, at what needs to be released, at what we've been carrying that belongs to the past. What more can I let go of to be a better ancestor? (If you want to go deeper on Nessus, there's a beautiful blog post from the Amalthea website — search “Amalthea Nessus” — and the author contributed to Sideways from Saturn, the book on the centaurs that I wrote the foreword for.)The Cards in DetailTwo of Bees (Swords) — I Am Tension:Proverbs: “Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.”This week suggests difficult choices and decisions. Your ideas and opinions may be questioned — by others and, perhaps more intensely, by yourself. You may feel mentally paralyzed as you try to navigate stress, uncertainty, and inner conflict.How do we move forward? Balance the tension of the opposites. Hold the tension of not knowing the outcome for a while. Clarity and a balanced view will make itself known. Positive choices and insightful decisions will arise from the centre of your being, once you've taken time to contemplate and listen to yourself before you act.And remember that quote when you speak to yourself this week: gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones. Including when you are talking inside your own head.Eight of Seeds (Pentacles), reversed — I Am Disengaged:Upright, the Eight of Seeds is productive, diligent, sowing and harvesting. Reversed this week: I feel disengaged. I feel like I've never done enough, like I'm not good enough. The inner perfectionist shows up.This is an Earth card, and its very reversal is the prescription: self-development and inner work. Not productive outer work. The shadow of Virgo — the perfectionism, the not-enoughness — can come through here. Let it be acknowledged and then gently set aside. You don't have to perform productivity right now.Ten of Bees (Swords) — I Am Revelation:Khalil Gibran: “For the bee, the flower is the fountain of life. For the flower, the bee is the messenger of love.”This is the card I was genuinely glad to see at the end of this challenging set. Here it is:We have tripped up and plummeted along the way, and now know what rock bottom feels like. It has challenged us. Self-pity, at times, has heightened our suffering.However, in reality, the rocks actually grounded us, and a relief and an understanding is starting to rise up within us. It is clear that we have been stung into waking up to some hard truths. Our ego may have been battered, and we may feel sore, vulnerable, as we reflect on what appear to be failures and endings that lie behind us.The good news is: the worst is over, for this week. The weight we have carried is finally lifting. We have survived, and our stings will heal. Our wings gently unfurl, and we start to ascend, breathing in the clear air, and dancing into a new beginning.By the end of the week, you will start to feel the call of the new moon. Not quite there yet. But coming.The Witch (Witch Oracle) — I Am Coordinating, Not Dominating:“Control. No woman alive today needs a dictionary to know what control means within a toxic patriarchy. She's experienced it a thousand different ways. It is domination and restraint.But in a balanced psyche and in a balanced culture, control can mean something else entirely.A witch experiences control through cooperation rather than competition. She is engaged with all the parts of her psyche in an attempt to coordinate rather than dominate.You are being asked right now to embrace all the inhabitants of your inner realm, because each deserves respect and a place at the table. Even the unruly, the inconvenient, the ugly. Making space for all under the banner of wild inclusion — giving voice to the shame, malice, and anger, as well as every other outlawed part of the psyche — is the way we create integrity.When your intent is to create rather than compete, you don't have to dominate. Your influence is enough. This is power with, rather than power over.Invite whatever is bothering you today into the realm of inclusion. Assert your inner authority.”Coordinate, don't dominate. Including inside yourself. This is the whole week. This is the whole work.Summing UpPost-eclipse. Waning. Brakes firmly on. The Aries retrogrades slowing everything down, saying not yet, not yet. The Earth Grand Trine pulling us down to roots and soil and body. The 13s showing up everywhere — the goddess number, the witch number — at Saturn and Jupiter and the Moon's aspects. Venus entering her pre-retrograde territory and asking us to start paying attention. Sedna stationing to dig deeper into how we adapt. The Last Quarter Moon at the gateway number, releasing before the new moon.The rocks grounded us. The wings are beginning to unfurl.Go into the woods. Slow your roll. Do the radical self-care. Talk to your inner Mars. Embrace all the inhabitants of your inner realm. And coordinate, don't dominate — inside and out.The new moon is coming on September 10th. We'll get there.— LouiseVenus Retrograde: Heroine's Journey — louiseedington.com/VenusRetrograde2026Subscribe free on Substack. Spiral Weave / Spiral Codex — $10/month or $90/year.Code COSMICOWL20 (20% off) or COSMICOWL30 (30% off $99+) at Otter Spirit. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cosmicowlastrology.substack.com/subscribe

Pen Densham returns to my podcast with a deeply personal conversation about Qualia, his new book of impressionistic nature photography — a collection born from capturing images in the most unlikely places, from Hawaiian surf to shimmering reflections and experimental long‑exposure landscapes. Pen Densham returns to Sci‑Fi Talk with a deeply personal conversation about Qualia, his new book of impressionistic nature photography — a collection born from capturing images in the most unlikely places, from Hawaiian surf to shimmering reflections and experimental long‑exposure landscapes. Densham shares the behind‑the‑scenes story of a key scene in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves — one he passionately defended during production. “Unlock the universe with Sci‑Fi Talk Plus — your home for commercial‑free, uncensored genre storytelling.  

Summary: Justin shares his detailed experiences hunting on the Hawaiian island of Lanai, exploring its unique terrain, logistics, and the challenges of island hunting. Discover insights into hunting Mouflon sheep and Axis deer, and learn practical tips for hunting in remote, rugged environments. - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Leave a Review of the Podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Buy our Wild Fish and Game Spices⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Art of Venison Sausage Making⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Takeaways: Unique terrain and geography of Lanai Logistics of hunting on remote islands Experience hunting Mouflon sheep and Axis deer Weather challenges and how they impact hunting trips Importance of preparation and local knowledge Keywords: Hunting, Lanai, Mouflon sheep, Axis deer, Hawaii, backcountry, hunting logistics, island hunting, outdoor adventure, wildlife Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lani Cran-Petrie runs Kapapala Ranch on the south flank of the Big Island of Hawai'i with her husband, Bill. This episode with Lani begins a series on ranching in Hawai'i. Lani describes the improbable history of cattle in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, from a king's gift of livestock to the hide-and-tallow trade through the sugar plantations that shaped which lands ranches kept, the collapse of in-state slaughter in 1992, the shipping containers and airplane crates that now move Hawaiian calves to mainland grass, and a long relationship with Ellensburg, Washington. She also tells the personal story of ranching for 17 years on thirty-day permits on state land, thirteen years of fighting at the state capitol to keep the ranch, ten million gallons of water storage built on faith, and the herd-breaking of "inexperienced" cattle with dogs, exclosures, and an air horn. The Art of Range is supported by RanchBot Monitoring Solutions. Host: Tip Hudson Music by Lewis Roise Producer: Matt Ziegler, WSU College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resources Communications Visit the episode page at artofrange.com for the transcript of this interview and links to other resources mentioned in this episode.

Headlines and 12th Man News with GREGG BELL The new Seahawks owners were introduced yesterday- how did Gregg feel about what Vinod Khosla had to say? How will Jody Allen be remembered as an owner here in town? The Seahawks have one more preseason game tomorrow night in Kansas City- what is the goal for the final warm-up? :30- ABC's of the Mariners - D is for Dumper: he had fixed his swing… or so we thought. What happened yesterday? - E is for Eugenio: Geno Suarez was waived by the Reds last night; could the Mariners be considering bringing him back and should they? :45- Hawaii- the place where time stands still See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Can you believe we didn’t really discover vitamin C until the 1930’s? Well, Nile Foster, knew what to do with it. Dave Young: Welcome to The Empire Builders Podcast, teaching business owners the not so secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom and pop to major brands. Stephen Semple is a marketing consultant, story collector, and storyteller. I’m Stephen’s sidekick and business partner, Dave Young. Before we get into today’s episode, word from our sponsor, which is, well, it’s us, but we’re highlighting ads we’ve written and produced for our clients. So here’s one of those. [Handyside Ad] Dave Young: Welcome back to The Empire Builders Podcast. Dave Young here alongside Stephen Semple. And Steven has just told me what today’s topic is and made the assumption that it’s probably something from my childhood and sort of… We were more Tang kids than Hi-C. Stephen Semple: Okay. Dave Young: So Hi-C is the topic and I’m probably a little old maybe because it was the little Hawaiian guy, right? Their TV- Stephen Semple: Yeah. Dave Young: … commercials were the little Hawaiian guy with the pow or something like he’d come and I remember what he would do, saki or something, but he was kind of an obnoxious little mascot. But this is a orange drink or a fruit drink for kids that had some vitamin C in it, which made it a health food. Stephen Semple: Basically. Dave Young: Yeah. But I was the Apollo generation, so the fact that the astronauts drank Tang- Stephen Semple: Yeah, that was the- Dave Young: … all I really wanted was some Tang. Stephen Semple: You wanted Tang? Dave Young: Mm-hmm. Stephen Semple: All right. Well, Hi-C is actually kind of a surprising story because it’s actually a story about a company that built a product around a technological constraint and then had to pivot as the technology eliminated that constraint, which is kind of similar to Swiss Miss. Remember when we did Swiss Miss, there was a couple of these technological changes that forced them to pivot. So Hi-C was launched in 1946 and originally as Hi-C orange. And then of course, as they added a bunch of other flavors, things like that, they eliminated the word orange from it. And it was created by Niles Foster in Florida and in 1954, it was acquired by Minute Maid for approximately $40 million. So they did really quite well. And it’s estimated that they were doing $5 million in sales at the time. And then in 1960, Coke buys Minute Maid and Hi-C now finds itself with bigger distribution. So today Hi-C is a Coca-Cola brand. For generations of kids, it was this brightly colored fruit drink that we all grew up with. And frankly, if you ever ate at a McDonald’s, there’s reasonable chance that you had a Hi-C there. But Hi-C started with essentially a problem. And the problem was this, how do you give Americans orange juice when most Americans can’t easily store orange juice? Dave Young: Ah, okay. Stephen Semple: Even though it was launched in 1946, our story actually starts in the 1930s. Here’s the thing that I kind of found interesting is that basically vitamin C had only been identified as a vitamin in the early 1930s. Dave Young: So people are still getting scurvy or? Stephen Semple: Well, people knew that you should be having fruit, but they didn’t identify- Dave Young: Vitamin C. Stephen Semple: … vitamin C specifically. So vitamin C was discovered as a vitamin in the early 1930s. And then in 1941, the National Research Council published the first recommended dietary allowance. So for the first time, Americans were given specific guidance on nutrition, including vitamins. “Here’s how much you should consume.” So nutrition was now something that could be measured and that created interesting marketing opportunity because instead of simply saying, “This is good for you,” we can now say, “This gives you your daily allotment of vitamin C.” Dave Young: Your recommended daily allowance. Yeah, yeah. Stephen Semple: There you go. And this becomes important because along comes Niles Foster who’s working in Florida. Florida has lots of oranges, but there’s a problem. Orange juice is not the breakfast staple we think of today because fresh oranges were seasonal, fresh juice did not travel well, and storing and distributing juice was a huge problem. If you wanted orange juice, what happened in those days, you squeezed it yourself. Dave Young: Okay. So you got to get oranges to people. Yeah. Stephen Semple: Yeah. So he sees this opportunity. Could he create this affordable orange-based drink that tasted good, could sit on a grocery shelf, didn’t need to be frozen, and provided the nutritional benefit as outlined in the guidelines? Dave Young: Gotcha. Okay. Stephen Semple: So essentially what Foster did is he developed an orange drink made from water, sugar, orange juice, concentrate, a bunch of different citrus oils and fortified it with vitamin C. Dave Young: All right. And canned it? Stephen Semple: Well, the other challenge was vitamin C, which is ascorbic acid, is tart. Dave Young: Yeah. It would eat through a can. Stephen Semple: Yeah. So he had to play around a lot with the formulation and also a lot of it was adding certain oils and things like that. So basically you could put it in a can. Dave Young: Gotcha. Okay. Stephen Semple: Yeah. So he created this convenient, inexpensive, shelf-stable orange drink with vitamin C. Dave Young: All right. Then way earlier than I figured. Stephen Semple: Yeah. And what should he call it? He called it Hi-C Dave Young: Because it had high concentration of vitamin C. Stephen Semple: Yeah. Dave Young: Okay. Stephen Semple: And it’s funny because normally having the benefit built directly into the brand name is often not good because if he called it high concentration of vitamin C, Hi-C was kind of, while it’s sort of what it was at the same time, it was such a simplification of the name. I though it was great. Dave Young: Yeah. And it locks in that benefit, so it’s easy to understand, but it also just has a cool feel, like you say it pretty easily. Yeah. Stephen Semple: Yeah. So he knows a product, but he needs to make it. And he’s not a wealthy guy. He couldn’t finance factories and things along that line. So he took a page from Coke and he licensed it. But here’s the problem with taking a canned drink national. America’s big. Shipping heavy cans filled with liquids thousands of miles is expensive. So his expansion model was basically contract packers around the country. Hi-C provided the formulation and the standards, but local and regional processors could produce the product. But the other thing he allowed them to do was produce the product closer, not only closer where the markets could be sold, but he also allowed them to do regional things. So in other words, if you’re a place that had lots of strawberries, you could do a strawberry version of Hi-C. Dave Young: Okay. That’s really interesting because you give up a certain amount of control there. I mean, a lot. Stephen Semple: Yeah. So for example, one of the first ones to do it was a co-packer in Geneva, Ohio, which did, because there’s lots of grapes growing there, did a grape drink one. So Hi-C developed a grape drink. And then there was a Michigan operator who did apples and cherries. So it led to all these Hi-C flavor variations. Dave Young: Well, see, and this is another key point about why I didn’t become a Hi-C fan as a child. Nebraska had corn and beef and nobody wants either of those in a drink. Stephen Semple: Could be. Dave Young: I mean, a warm cup of boullion is all right sometimes. Stephen Semple: Now, here’s what things get interesting. So Foster is building out Hi-C, getting it popular and whatnot, and there’s a technological revolution. Refrigeration ownership explodes. Dave Young: Okay. Yeah. Stephen Semple: So remember, the problem was no refrigeration made, canned juice. But by the 1950s, refrigerators were almost in every household, right? Yeah. So that changed what food companies could sell, and guess what ended up happening? Dave Young: Stay tuned. We’re going to wrap up this story and tell you how to apply this lesson to your business right after this. [Using Stories To Sell] Dave Young: Let’s pick up our story where we left off, and trust me, you haven’t missed a thing. Stephen Semple: In 1950s, refrigerators were almost in every household, right? Yeah. So that changed what food companies could sell, and guess what ended up happening? 1946, along comes Minute Maid shipping frozen concentrated- Dave Young: Orange juice. Yeah. Stephen Semple: Yeah. So now family… Right. And then along comes Tropicana. Anthony Rossi starts processing citrus in Florida and he creates this flash pasteurization and you got Tropicana Pure Premium. So now you’ve got all these competitors coming in competing with Hi-C, and essentially the technology was eliminating the need for Hi-C. Dave Young: Yeah. Stephen Semple: This is a pivotable moment. Hi-C could no longer win by simply saying, “We make orange juice convenient.” Dave Young: All right. Stephen Semple: Right? Dave Young: So what was their next pivot? Stephen Semple: Yeah. Dave Young: Because they’re still around. Stephen Semple: Yes. So what Hi-C leaned into is something that competitors weren’t owning. It wasn’t just simply orange juice. It was fun plus flavor, plus convenience, plus vitamin C. The brand advertised aggressively, aggressively the fun factor, and the other combinations of juices that there were. So in 1954, Minute Maid comes along and acquires the company, and then, as I said, then Coca-Cola came along and acquired Minute Maid, so it’s now all part of the Coca-Cola machine, and it continues to expands flavors. It’s got orange pineapple, pineapple grapefruit, Florida Punch, peach, grape, apple cherry, all these sorts of things. So it’s less reliant on orange juice and it’s really a fruit drink brand. Dave Young: So I want to fact check myself on something I said earlier. That little Hawaiian guy, that was Hawaiian Punch, not Hi-C. Stephen Semple: Oh, that was Hawaiian Punch. Okay. Dave Young: Right? Stephen Semple: Right. Dave Young: But yeah, that’s what popped into my head. Stephen Semple: Right, but one example they did really well on the kids’ flavor, characters, all the other stuff is in 1987, Hi-C created Ectocooler as a promotion tie-in with the real Ghostbusters, and it was supposed to be temporary, but it was loved so much that it ran for quite a while as people are drinking this gobbly, gooey, green looking looking stuff. So Niles Foster started Hi-C to solve a practical problem involving orange juice nutrition and shelf stability that then later got technology, took all that away, but kids are still drinking it because along the way, the product was able to pivot and the brand has continued to survive. Dave Young: I don’t want some orange juice. I don’t want a glass of orange juice. I want something fun as a kid. Stephen Semple: But I think the thing is, the first lesson was the innovation, right? But then the second thing was they didn’t confuse the solution with the business. When refrigerators came along, they couldn’t look at themselves as being, “We’re in the shelf stable orange juice business.” Instead, they’re able to go, “We’re in the fruit drink business.” Dave Young: Well, and then they figured out juice boxes, right? They figured out how to put this stuff into individual servings. Stephen Semple: Yes. Dave Young: That had to be big because now you can put it in a lunchbox. Stephen Semple: Yes. But the product survived. They were able to change their thinking away from the original problem they were trying to solve, and they were able to pivot away from that and do other things. I though it was interesting because it paralleled a lot of the Swiss Miss challenges, right? Dave Young: Sure. Yeah. You have to be able to react and adjust and pivot. I mean, pivot is just, “Hey, conditions have changed. What are we going to do to keep the company alive?” Stephen Semple: Technology in this case, technology has come along and removed the problem that we were originally trying to solve. So what do we do now? Dave Young: Yeah. So what about your childhood? Did you drink Hi-C? Did they have it up in the northern reaches of Canada? Stephen Semple: Oh, yes. Yes, we did. So I definitely remember Minute Maid Orange Juice because I remember making the orange juice and you’d wait for the plop. That plop. Dave Young: Took a long time for that giant frozen chunk of juice, and then you had to use a big wooden spoon to crush it and mash it into the water. Hi-C would be a lot more convenient. Stephen Semple: I definitely remember Minute Maid. And then I remember apple juice being kind of the other thing. I don’t think we had Hi-C around much. We were not big on things that had sugar added in my household when I was growing up. Dave Young: I think what my mom was doing was… I remember chewing a lot of vitamin C tablets. Stephen Semple: Right. Dave Young: So I think she was just getting us our vitamin C in a different way and we weren’t on the Hi-C path. Stephen Semple: Right. But it’s funny, I do remember the odd time when we’re talking about Hawaiian Punch. I do remember the odd time Hawaiian Punch making its way into the household. Dave Young: Yeah, this stuff was always just too sweet for me. I like sweet stuff, but the sweet drinks, a little too much sometimes. Stephen Semple: Yeah. So again, and this is an example of… It’s interesting when we think about technology, and there’s always the obvious things that technology is going to impact, but it’s interesting that we’ve now done a couple of food businesses where these food businesses were created because of either technological challenges or technological changes. It’s very easy when we see technology coming to see the things it’s going to eliminate. It was easy if we’re sitting here in the 1930s, economists in the 1930s at the beginning of what we call the second industrial revolution. At that point, something like 33% or 35%, something like that, of people work directly in the agricultural industry. And so it was very easy for economists to go, “The economy’s screwed because these jobs are going to all disappear.” And they were right, they did, because today it’s what? 5% of people work directly in agricultural industry. Dave Young: Yeah, yeah. Stephen Semple: But what’s often hard to see is what are all the new opportunities that happen? I was reading somewhere that if we go from 1920 and we go from 1920 to the year 2000, something like 60% of the jobs that we do didn’t exist. And some of them are ones that are surprisingly… like heating and air conditioning repairman. That job didn’t exist. We don’t think about that as being an opportunity that was created by the industrial revolution, right? Dave Young: Yeah, for sure. Stephen Semple: And this is the reason why some of these predictions can be hard to call, but also the reason why you’ve got to keep your eyes open to the opportunities. Dave Young: All right. Hi-C. Cheers. Stephen Semple: Hi-C. Dave Young: Cheers to you and may Coca-Cola carry the brand forward proudly or whatever. Stephen Semple: There we go. Dave Young: I don’t know. I don’t know if I… They don’t need our help. Stephen Semple: I’m not feeling the enthusiasm. Dave Young: They’re probably not listening to The Empire Builders Podcast to get their advice on how to manage the Hi-C brand, but it’s fun looking at it. Thanks, Stephen. Stephen Semple: Thanks, Dave. Dave Young: Thanks for listening to the podcast. Please share us, subscribe on your favorite podcast app and leave us a big fat juicy five star rating and review at Apple Podcasts. And if you’d like to schedule your own 90-minute empire building session, you can do it at empirebuildingprogram.com.

She built a $2.5 billion company from nothing, sold at 39, and moved to Paris. On the last day of her celebration trip with her family, she had a panic attack and was rushed to a Caribbean hospital, thinking she was dying. This is a different kind of episode than I usually release. What you'll find is a raw, off-the-record research interview we did for my forthcoming book, The Founders Reckoning: the moment when a founder's identity architecture runs out, and something new has to be reconstructed in its place. Marta agreed to let me share this conversation because, in her words, “what we talked about today was just so potent.” What you'll find is a real conversation, no overproduction or polished setup, but two people diving deep into what happens when you hit every goal and realize it's not enough. We talk about:* the seven years she knew it was time to leave before she did* what it felt like to become an employee of the very company she founded* the identity collapse that followed her exit* why she now says her $2.5 billion company was “nothing”Chapters00:00 — Cold Open“I cannot wait to get the f**k out of here.”00:05 — IntroductionMakhosi frames the episode: a raw research interview for the book on the founder's reckoning, shared with permission.00:38 — The BuildMarta sets the context. Fourteen years, two people and their cell phones, 500 employees, $2.5 billion in revenue. “It was a ride that was intense.”04:09 — The Seven-Year KnowingMarta pinpoints the moment it shifted: 2007, when investors arrived and she had to answer to someone else for the first time. She knew then. She didn't exit until 2014.06:17 — The Gendered ExperienceShe was the face of the company. The investors assumed she was there to order lunch. Her husband became “one of the boys.” The quiet suffocation of being a woman founder in a room full of men who don't see you.08:51 — The MaskTwo realities at once: from the outside, everything looked like success. Inside, she was having secret meetings with the CFO about being $8 million in the hole, unable to make payroll, putting on a Hawaiian shirt and telling everyone “cheap Caribbean.”12:44 — The Identity Crisis“Expansion isn't always the money and the beautiful things. Expansion is always, all the time, how much of the hard stuff can you carry?” Marta on being 39, carrying the load of a $2.5 billion brand, and what happens when the titles disappear.14:00 — The Body Collapse“Hi, remember me? That thing you neglected for three and almost four decades of your life? We're gonna give you a heart condition.” The panic attack on the celebration trip. The Caribbean hospital. The beginning of the reckoning.20:48 — Why She Wouldn't Have ListenedThe honesty most founders never give: “It would have had to be someone who had done something like what I was doing or bigger. Otherwise, a lot of people have very good advice, but no credibility.”25:42 — The Hook ProblemMarta's first offering after the exit was called Soul Care. It was about the inner world. Nobody wanted it. Then she led with “from $80K in debt to $2.5 billion in sales.” Now they listened. But they only wanted the scaling playbook, not the slowing down.28:01 — The UnfoldingHow she navigated the post-exit life: therapy, breathwork, yoga certification, a book, one-on-one work, Dior, Paris. Not a vision. Just step by step, following what showed up.31:02 — The Arrival Emptiness“It's the same, except I have more money in my bank account. That's weird.” What do you do when you hit every mark on your list and you're 39, not 80?36:23 — “That Was Nothing”The one thing she wishes someone had told her: “My beautiful girl, you have just begun to scratch the surface. That was nothing.” People call $2.5 billion incredible. Marta disagrees. “I did that in my 30s. Can you imagine what I can do now?”38:34 — The Golden Cage“What starts as a really exciting thing — my God, I'm a founder — eventually it will enslave you.” On the importance of knowing who you are beyond the title, and allowing the business to evolve as you do.42:15 — Building From AlignmentCan you build a billion-dollar company from alignment instead of wounding? “I think it's possible, but I don't think it was possible for me. I came with tremendous trauma that I had to clean up first.”48:11 — “I Can Have Anything”The reframe on having it all: “It's not that you can have everything. You can. But I can have anything. And what do I choose?” Curation over accumulation.49:00 — Why She Shows Up AnywayMarta volunteers to take the conversation public. On the dehumanization that happens at a certain level of wealth, the brutal comments, and why she keeps showing up online anyway. “Because I care, and also I think I have a lot to say.”55:55 — ClosingA mutual decision to record a full episode together. “I think some of the stuff we talked about today was just so potent.”Show NotesGuest: Marta Hobbs is an entrepreneur, best-selling author, a luxury life coach, and a soul-led business mentor whose work guides high-achieving women back to themselves - authentically, powerfully, and with no apologies. Through private coaching, confidential companionship, her podcast, exclusive events & luxury retreats, as well as a thriving women's community, she creates space for women to stop performing and start fully living.She has built and successfully exited a $2.5 billion company and now guides women to create their legacy brands - or helps them recover from what it actually takes to get there. Marta splits her time between Miami, Paris, St. Barths, and New York with her husband Jim, their toy poodle Daisy, and her two adult children close to her heart.She's published a best-selling memoir, “Unraveling,” a program on wealth embodiment for women called “Luxury Wealth Codes,” and she frequently collaborates with luxury brands such as Dior, Four Seasons, Eden Rock St Barths, Aman, and LVMH. You can learn more on www.MartaHobbs.com and www.LuxuryWealthCodes.com or follow her on social media at @MartaHobbsHost: Makhosi Nejeser Advisor to founders who've hit a ceiling strategy can't fix Founder, The House of Sovereign LegacyWhat changes after success?Makhosi Nejeser advises founders who have built the business, hit the numbers, and noticed that winning doesn't feel the way it used to. Over eight years and hundreds of founders, she's watched one pattern repeat: the person you had to become to build the company eventually becomes the reason the success stops landing.Her perspective comes from an unusual combination: a decade in business, alongside full initiation into a Southern African tradition whose role, for generations, has been advising leaders through transitions of power. She practices publicly through her brand, The Royal Shaman.Inside The House of Sovereign Legacy, she hosts monthly House Briefings, each built around one question worthy of a founder's life, writes Letters from the House, and hosts the Architects of Sovereignty podcast. Her forthcoming book gives founders a name for what they've been living and a picture of what's actually possible on the other side.She advises a small number of founders each year, by application.Featured: CNBC, Business Insider, Entrepreneur, NBC, ABC, CBSFor Makhosi's most up-to-date access points and to follow on social media,Visit: https://www.theroyalshaman.com/linksThis episode was originally a research interview for Makhosi's forthcoming book on The Reckoning. Shared with permission.If this episode resonated, share it with a founder who needs to hear it. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theroyalshaman.substack.com

A convicted killer erupts during his sentencing in a Maui courtroom. His fate and why his lawyer says he shouldn't be put in prison. Outrage as, years after her death, a native Hawaiian activist appears to endorse a candidate for office. But her image was AI-generated. The legal action that can now be taken thanks to a new law. Looking to hail a cab? You may soon need to look up. When and where these air taxis will help get people around. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to Season 6, Episode 34! This might be the world's easiest trivia question, but what multibillion dollar sport began as a fun pastime in Hawaii? If you guessed surfing, you'd be right, and that's our main story this episode.  Long before surf shops, professional competitions, or the Beach Boys songs Surfin' USA and Surfer Girl, people across Polynesia had been riding waves for generations. And Hawaiʻi became the cultural center of surfing. Hawaiians developed surfing, preserved it, and ultimately helped teach much of the rest of the world how to do it.  In this episode we talk about the early history of surfing, how it developed over the years, some of the important people who spread enthusiasm about surfing, and more. In our recurring we discuss what we've been watching and talk about Hadestown in theaters and Beef on Netflix.  If you like what we do, please share, follow, and like us in your podcast directory of choice or on Instagram @AAHistory101. For previous episodes and resources, please visit our site at https://asianamericanhistory101.libsyn.com or our links at http://castpie.com/AAHistory101. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, email us at info@aahistory101.com. Segments 00:25 Introduction 05:08 The Early History of Surfing, From Heʻe Nalu to the World 24:13 What Are We Watching? Hadestown and Beef

A thousand miles south of Hawaii, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, a series of tiny islands form an atoll, called Palmyra. Palmyra Atoll is part of four protected U.S. marine monuments, forming the country's largest environmental conservation area. It is also home to a thriving ecosystem of birds, marine life, and one of the most pristine coral reefs in the world.No people live on Palmyra full time, and it is rare for journalists to be granted access. But the Trump administration is now trying to roll back longstanding protections by opening nearby waters to commercial fishing. NPR's Lauren Sommer was given access to visit Palmyra Atoll. Newly back from her trip, she tells host Ayesha Rascoe about everything she saw. They talk about the wildlife, the ocean, the reefs, and what the islands and offshore waters mean to native Hawaiians, conservationists, and commercial fishers.If you are interested in seeing photos from Lauren's trip to Palmyra Atoll, you can find them here.Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show's perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

Hawaiian Concert Guide – Show 708 Island Time: From Contemporary Hawaiʻi to Timeless Traditions and Classic Sounds Featured Artists: Kalaʻe Camarillo • Ei Nei • Kaleo Phillips • Martin Denny • Elvis Presley This week on the Hawaiian Concert Guide, we take a musical journey through five distinct eras of Hawaiʻi's musical landscape. From today's contemporary island songwriting to the rich traditions of Hawaiian language music, heartfelt songs of ʻohana, the golden age of Exotica, and the unforgettable Hollywood sound of Blue Hawaii, Show 708 celebrates the many voices that have shaped—and continue to shape—the soundtrack of the Islands. Rather than simply presenting ten great songs, this episode tells a story. It begins with modern Hawaiʻi, explores the cultural foundations of the islands, pauses to celebrate family, then looks back at how Hawaiʻi and the Pacific were imagined through mid-century American popular culture before closing with two of the most iconic songs from Elvis Presley's legendary Blue Hawaii soundtrack. Whether you're a lifelong fan of Hawaiian music or discovering these artists for the first time, we hope this episode reminds you why Hawaiʻi's music continues to inspire listeners around the world. Playlist 1. Drifting On Island Time Artist: Kalaʻe Camarillo (featuring Kalaʻe) Album: Drifting On Island Time (2025) We open Show 708 with one of the newest songs in Hawaiian contemporary music. The title track from Kalaʻe Camarillo's latest album immediately sets the tone—not as a tourist slogan, but as a reminder to slow down, appreciate the present moment, and embrace the lifestyle that makes Hawaiʻi unique. The relaxed groove, modern production, and catchy melody perfectly introduce today's generation of Hawaiian musicians. Kalaʻe Camarillo, a third-generation music educator and award-winning singer-songwriter from Maui, has become one of Hawaiʻi's leading contemporary artists. His latest album features ten original songs blending island pop, acoustic influences, and heartfelt storytelling. (Maui News) Length: 3:28 2. Gonna Have A Good Time Artist: Kalaʻe Camarillo Album: Drifting On Island Time (2025) Our second selection keeps the energy flowing with an uplifting celebration of everyday life. Beneath its feel-good chorus lies a simple but meaningful message: after the work is done and the responsibilities are met, life's greatest joy comes from spending time with the people you love. The song showcases Kalaʻe's gift for writing contemporary music that feels authentically local without relying on stereotypes. It captures the optimism and gratitude that define so much of today's island music. Length: 2:58 3. Ka Wā Makahiki Artist: Ei Nei Album: Ei Nei, Look At Us Ei Nei brings us into the heart of traditional Hawaiian culture with "Ka Wā Makahiki." The Makahiki season marked an annual period of peace, harvest, celebration, and renewal dedicated to the Hawaiian god Lono. More than simply a festival, Makahiki represented an entire way of understanding the rhythm of nature and the passing of time. Beautiful vocal harmonies and traditional Hawaiian lyrics remind us that Hawaiian music is deeply connected to history, language, and the land itself. Length: 3:50 4. Star Of Gladness Artist: Ei Nei Album: Ei Nei, Look At Us The title "Star of Gladness" refers to Hōkūleʻa—the "Star of Gladness"—whose name today is inseparably connected with the legendary Hawaiian voyaging canoe and the renaissance of traditional Polynesian navigation. For ancient Polynesian navigators, stars were not simply beautiful lights in the night sky—they were maps, guides, and trusted companions across thousands of miles of open ocean. Ei Nei's rich harmonies honor this remarkable heritage while celebrating Hawaiʻi's cultural renaissance. Length: 4:28 5. My Island Life Artist: Kaleo Phillips Album: E Mama "My Island Life" shifts the focus from Hawaiian history to personal identity. Rather than describing Hawaiʻi as a vacation destination, Kaleo Phillips sings about what it truly means to grow up and live in the islands. Family, community, friendships, and everyday experiences become part of the meaning of "island life." It's an honest portrait of belonging that resonates with anyone who calls Hawaiʻi home. Length: 4:15 6. God Bless My Daddy (Acoustic) Artist: Kaleo Phillips Album: E Mama The emotional centerpiece of Show 708. This beautiful acoustic performance is a heartfelt tribute to fathers and the lasting influence parents have on our lives. Its stripped-down arrangement allows the lyrics to shine, making the song feel intimate and deeply personal. Coming immediately after "My Island Life," the song reminds us that the people who shape us are every bit as important as the places where we live. Sometimes the strongest songs aren't the loudest—they're the most sincere. Length: 3:19 7. American in Bali Artist: Martin Denny Album: Hypnotique (1959) Martin Denny helped create the Exotica genre during the late 1950s. Although not traditional Hawaiian music, his recordings became inseparable from the romantic image of Hawaiʻi and the South Pacific during the tiki era. "American in Bali" blends jazz, lounge music, tropical percussion, and Asian musical colors into a uniquely American musical fantasy of the Pacific. Recorded during the height of the Exotica movement, this selection represents an important chapter in the history of island-inspired music. Length: 2:29 8. Japanese Sandman Artist: Martin Denny Album: Hypnotique (1959) Continuing our journey through Exotica, Martin Denny reimagines the classic popular song "Japanese Sandman" with his signature atmospheric arrangements. Bird calls, vibraphones, bamboo percussion, and Asian-inspired instrumentation create a mysterious soundscape that captivated audiences during the late 1950s. While these recordings reflect American interpretations of Asian and Pacific cultures, they also became an influential part of Hawaiʻi's entertainment history and helped introduce many listeners to tropical-inspired music. Length: 1:35 9. Aloha ʻOe Artist: Elvis Presley Album: Blue Hawaii (1961) One of the most beloved songs ever associated with Hawaiʻi. Originally written by Queen Liliʻuokalani, Hawaiʻi's last reigning monarch, "Aloha ʻOe" has become one of the world's most recognized Hawaiian songs. Elvis' respectful performance introduced generations of moviegoers to this timeless Hawaiian farewell. The song's title means much more than simply "goodbye." It expresses love, affection, compassion, and the hope of meeting again. Its inclusion in Blue Hawaii helped make Hawaiian music part of American popular culture. Length: 1:53 10. No More Artist: Elvis Presley Album: Blue Hawaii (1961) We conclude this episode with another memorable selection from Blue Hawaii. Although many listeners assume it is a traditional Hawaiian song, "No More" is actually adapted from the famous Spanish melody "La Paloma." Its appearance in Blue Hawaii beautifully illustrates how Hawaiian popular culture has long embraced musical influences from around the world. The warm orchestration, romantic vocals, and tropical atmosphere provide a fitting conclusion to our musical journey across five eras of island music. Length: 2:23 Featured Albums Drifting On Island Time — Kalaʻe Camarillo (2025) Ei Nei, Look At Us — Ei Nei E Mama — Kaleo Phillips Hypnotique — Martin Denny (1959) Blue Hawaii (Expanded Edition) — Elvis Presley (1961) (Apple Music - Web Player) This Week's Musical Journey Show 708 follows a deliberate progression through Hawaiʻi's musical heritage: Contemporary Hawaiʻi — Modern island songwriting with Kalaʻe Camarillo Traditional Hawaiʻi — Hawaiian language, history, and cultural heritage with Ei Nei ʻOhana & Island Living — Personal stories from Kaleo Phillips The Exotica Era — Martin Denny's influential tropical soundscapes Hollywood Hawaiʻi — Elvis Presley and the enduring legacy of Blue Hawaii Together, these ten songs span more than six decades of music while demonstrating the remarkable diversity of Hawaiʻi's musical traditions. Mahalo for listening to the Hawaiian Concert Guide. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share the podcast with friends who love Hawaiian music. Until next time—Aloha a hui hou!

The wooden boards made by lifelong surfer and cultural practitioner Tom “Pōhaku” Stone (Kanaka Maoli) are heavy and cumbersome compared to the space-age composite boards most modern surfers prefer, but they are a connection to his father, a master board maker, and the generations of Kanaka Maoli surfers before him. Stone is among a growing number of Native Hawaiians nurturing the cultural significance of the sport at a time when many others are focused on technique, expensive gear, and image. Surfing's rise in popularity means pressure away from the spiritual and healing elements that are so important to Hawaiian culture. We'll talk with Native surfers about the origins of surfing and how that can map a more meaningful path for the sport's future. GUESTS Kaliko Kahoonei (Kanaka Maoli), waterman Tom “Pohaku” Stone (Kanaka maoli), cultural practitioner Sunny Kazama, surfer and college student at the University of San Diego Break 1 Music: He’eia [A Surfing Chant] (song) Halau Hula Ka No’eau [Hawai’i Arts Ensemble] (artist) Break 2 Music: Another Night to Cry (song) Blue Moon Marquee (artist) Scream, Holler, and Howl (album)

When we first dicsussed the Summer of Simulative AI in 2024 we knew it would be a brief summer, but it has recently come back with a vengeance with SimGym in April and now Simile AI's $2B Series B, backed by GreenOaks and Index Ventures with prominent backers like Fei-Fei Li and Andrej Karpathy, running tens of millions of simulations for Fortune 100 clients like CVS and 85–99% accuracy vs human focus groups. Time to catch up on why this Second Summer of simulation is working!From creating Smallville, the landmark 2023 paper on Generative Agents that showed AI characters could remember, plan, socialize, and develop emergent behaviors, to now building foundation models of human behavior, Joon Sung Park is trying to answer a much bigger question: what if we could simulate the world before making decisions in it? In this episode, the Simile co-founder and CEO joins us to unpack the path from generative agents to digital twins, why today's frontier models still fail to capture how humans actually behave, and what it would take to eventually simulate all 8 billion people on Earth.We go deep on Simile's approach to modeling human behavior: long-form interviews, observational and transaction data, randomized controlled trials, population-level and individual-level models, and post-training on the causal mechanisms behind why people make decisions. Joon explains how his research created digital twins that reproduced human behavior and attitudes 85% as accurately as people reproduced their own responses, why models optimized to be rational can be bad simulations of irrational humans, and why understanding “social physics” may require changing model weights rather than simply prompting frontier LLMs.We also explore the much larger ambition behind simulation: testing products and policies before deploying them, finding counterintuitive paths toward desired outcomes, modeling emergent behavior across entire societies, and potentially tackling problems like climate change, democratic instability, and UBI. Joon reflects on scaling laws for simulation, the economics of data-center-scale simulated worlds, the connection to Thomas Schelling and psychohistory, why simulation is surprisingly similar to painting, and whether we might already be living in one.We discuss:* How Smallville and Generative Agents led to Simile* Why Joon's team asked: “What if we can just recreate the world that we live in?”* Why useful personal agents require deep models of their users* Memory architectures, Markdown files, and the limits of prompting* “Social physics” and behavioral foundation models* Why web data captures what people say more than what they actually do* Interviews, transactions, observational data, and randomized controlled trials* Why predicting the future matters less than understanding how to shape it* How Simile creates representative simulated populations* Simulation versus prediction and the connection to Foundation's psychohistory* How to evaluate simulations instead of simply stacking LLM hallucinations* Creating digital twins of 1,000 real people and reaching 85% behavioral accuracy* Why frontier models can struggle to reproduce real human behavior* Why good simulations need to reproduce human biases and mistakes* Post-training models on randomized controlled trials* Population-level versus individual-level simulation* Scaling laws for human simulation* The long-term ambition to simulate all 8 billion people on Earth* Whether simulations could help solve climate change or detect collapsing democracy* Thomas Schelling and the history of agent-based modeling* Why future simulations could require an entire data center* Multi-agent simulations and what happens when simulated people interact* Replacing expensive human panels with synthetic populations* Why market research is only the starting point for simulation* Why Joon sees simulation as surprisingly similar to painting* Using simulation to study questions like UBI* Whether we are already living in a simulation* Why AGI and simulation may be the twin technologies of advanced civilizationsJoon Sung Park* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joonspark* X: https://x.com/joon_s_pk* Website: https://www.joonsungpark.com* Simile: https://www.simile.comTimestamps00:00:00 Introduction and Joon's Path from Art to AI00:01:46 Smallville, Generative Agents, and the Origins of Simulation00:05:03 “Let's Just Create a World” and the Future of Personal Agents00:09:53 Social Physics and Behavioral Foundation Models00:14:08 Prediction vs. Simulation: How Do You Shape the Future?00:16:59 How Simile Models Real People and Populations00:25:35 Evaluating Simulations, Digital Twins, and 85% Accuracy00:30:23 Post-Training Models to Reproduce Human Behavior00:40:04 Scaling Laws and Simulating 8 Billion People00:43:10 From Schelling to Society-Scale Agent Simulations00:46:13 The Cost and Economics of Simulating the World00:52:05 Real-World Use Cases, Synthetic Populations, and the Market00:57:27 The Future of Simulation, Painting, and UBI01:04:23 Are We Already Living in a Simulation?01:06:08 Building Simile and HiringTranscriptIntroduction: Joon Sung Park, Simile, and the Story So FarVibhu [00:00:00]: Today, we have Joon in the podcast. Excited to kick this one off. Very exciting company. I wanna kick off and ask you the question, talk us through the story of your life. How have you gotten here?Joon [00:00:13]: Yeah, for sure. I'm really excited to be here. A story of my life. So I was born in Korea, and I lived there for a good 11 years or so of my life, and then my family moved to Boston. So we moved when I was 11, and my parents were doctors, so they were going through their postdoctoral studies. My dad was a surgeon, so he was doing his sabbatical years at the Boston Children's Hospital. So I grew up there, not too close to tech. I was very much a music and artsy, painting kind of guy.Vibhu [00:00:49]: Painting.Joon [00:00:49]: Exactly. I got into painting a little bit later, in high school, but that's what I used to do. And then I grew up mostly in the East Coast after Korea. So I lived a good number of years in New Hampshire, and then I went to college in Pennsylvania. And I got into more of this tech scene, in college. So I was originally trained to be an artist. I thought that would be my professional career. So it wasn't a hobby. It was like, “Hey, let's make a living out of this.” And then gradually, I got really interested in this idea of, hey, the greatest artist often creates their own medium, and the best medium that we had available today was in computation. So I decided to go deeper into that, and one thing led to another, and we can go deeper into this, but I decided that research was something that I gradually got interested in, and here I am.Smallville, Generative Agents, and the 2023 Breakout PaperSwyx [00:01:46]: So there's a lot that you packed into the research components. You had one of the best papers of 2023, which was the generative agents paper, commonly known as the Smallville paper.Swyx [00:01:58]: Feel free to call back to anything else that you mentioned, but most people would have heard of you from this. Do you have any statistics on how many people have, like, read it? arXiv gives you something, right? Some stats.Joon [00:02:10]: Yeah, it's a good question. How many people have read it, I'm not sure.Joon [00:02:14]: I know we do keep track of citations, and they are going up quite fast.Swyx [00:02:23]: Yeah, Google Scholar has 7,200 citations.Vibhu [00:02:25]: I feel like it made a bigger hit than that, and it was a pretty instrumental paper. It got cited so many times.Swyx [00:02:34]: It is frequently the answer when people ask, “What is the best paper you've read recently?” It's this one.Vibhu [00:02:39]: I thought the memory component was pretty underrated. It was a very good early memory system, and one of the biggest papers.Foundation Models and the Search for Killer ApplicationsJoon [00:02:47]: Yeah, so maybe I can talk a little bit about how this particular paper came together. So when I got into research, it was back in 2020 when I started my PhD program at Stanford, and that was the year, when we were about to get GPT-3 to be available. So we already had GPT-2, and you could sense that there was this new class of models that was just becoming available in the market, and the team got very intrigued. And the general consensus was, “Well, is this model going to be useful for anything?” “It's really strange that these models are not trained to do any particular task.” But we decided to take a bet. So a large group of scholars at Stanford, and it was led by one of my co-founders, Percy Liang, and we came togetherSwyx [00:03:35]: Who coined foundation models.Joon [00:03:36]: Who coined the term foundation models. We wrote this paper, where that term came from called Opportunities and Risks of Foundation Models. And during that process, really the thing that I started to think deeply about was, here is a model that is fundamentally new in our ecosystem. The reason why this was new was it wasn't, again, trained to do anything in particular, but its premise was it could do anything and everything. It was like a stem cell, if you were to take a biology analogy. And I got really interested in this idea that, well, if we were to really think about what are the killer applications that this particular technology would enable, what would that be? Many of my colleagues were using this for simple classification, simple generations. Interesting that these models can do that, but from an interaction perspective, not that interesting. We've known how to do that for many decades. And what we came down to was these models are trained on this very broad data from the web, right? So these are human behavioral data. It's social media, Wikipedia, all these data. So if you poke at the right angle, then you could see human behavior that would just pop out that's quite realistic, and we've never seen that before.The Time Machine Game and Recreating the WorldJoon [00:04:45]: So that got us really interested. The exercise that we decided to do, with this particular group of colleagues, Michael Bernstein, Percy Liang, and myself, who ended up becoming my co-founder at Simile, we sat down and we played this game that we call the time machine game.Joon [00:05:03]: Imagine we were to get on a time machine and fast-forward 10 years and look back. What would have been the single application that will have mattered that would be the most interesting and inspiring? And when we thought, “Well, what if we can just recreate the world that we live in?” it's really hard to get more ambitious than that. Like, let's just create a world.Joon [00:05:24]: And that's where we started. And initially, we had this paper that was a precursor to the generative agents paper called Social Simulacra.Swyx [00:05:32]: Before you go further, were there other candidates for the most ambitious thing in the time machine exercise? What was number two or number three?Personal Agents, User Models, and Why Simulation Came FirstJoon [00:05:44]: There is a close second that we were considering, which ended up becoming more of these automation tools, especially the vision around really personalized agents that would do things for you.Swyx [00:05:59]: That's also happening.Joon [00:06:00]: It's also happening. But it was interesting for us, right, in that the reason why, we decided to go with the idea of simulation, one, I was a huge science fiction nerd, and this idea of creating simulation, I was personally really just fascinated. I loved the idea. It's really cool to see, like, a game town like this and just see these agents live in it. But at the same time, my bet was if you were to create a really amazing personal assistant out of this technology, what you need first is an amazing model of your users. So I told a model, “Hey, can you go buy late dinner for me?” And it orders Hawaiian pizza, and I do not like pineapples on my pizza. Then it totally failed. The way for it to not make that mistake is only by having a deep understanding of who I am. And I gave a very simple and dumb example here, but you can imagine how this core understanding of people is instrumental. This is how, if we have our family and closest friends, they have a good mental model of who we are. That's the basis of our social connection. So our bet also was this technology around simulation, creating accurate representation of people ought to precede the more complex agents that would automate the world that we live in. So that was the bet. But that was a very close second, and I'm still very much fascinated by it. I think there's a lot of interesting work that's going around. My hot take here, though, is I don't think we've seen a true personal assistant that's useful, in ways that meet the ambition of that particular line of work. I think there are early applications that are interesting, and if you talk to even ChatGPT nowadays or Claude, they know a lot about us. So a lot of the generation it's doing, I do think it's much more tailored, but I think the ambition is quite large in that field, and I don't think we quite have all the right ingredients just yet.Swyx [00:08:01]: So OpenClaw and these personal agents, what do you want to see from them that they don't currently have?Memory, Markdown, and the Limits of PromptingJoon [00:08:09]: I do think it's slowly getting there, but I do generally want them to have much deeper understanding of the person. Right now, you look at the models. OpenClaw, what it's leveraging is a Markdown file, and I think it's quite clever, right? So if you look at the generative agents paper, this was the same intuition that we had, where initially when we were creating the memory architecture for the generative agents, and, like, this is, like, back in 2022, so we didn't really quite have the idea of even agentive architecture or the term agent. But the intuition that we shared with some of the work that's coming out today was we initially thought, “Well, do we want to make the memory into, let's say, knowledge graph? Do we want to train a bespoke model?” All of these things. And what we decided to do was, “No. Just forget about all this.” These language models are quite good at modeling text and understanding and reasoning about text. So just put everything in a Markdown file or a text file. You're done. I thought that was quite interesting that we could do that, and there's a lot of strength in doing that. But also, there are limitations. It's the way you retrieve and make sense of data that's extremely large, it takes a lot of work. So I think that technology is getting better. I also do, however, think, there are certain things you just cannot shape just by prompting the model. So to some degree, you do need to touch the parameters of the model itself. So there is this work that I do think does need to happen, and it is happening. The question is, how far can we take it? How do we source data, and how do you also create an ecosystem where people are continuously feeding data to this model so it's learning about you?Vibhu [00:09:50]: What's the intuition between why you need to do it in the model?Social Physics and Behavior Foundation ModelsJoon [00:09:53]: My intuition behind the actual when do you train or even post-train a model versus just prompt a model is if the model has to learn the underlying physics of the world that it's operating in. So it has to learn new social physics. The places where it doesn't have to train are the places where it already has the physics. We trust the physics. It already has the base statistics, but it's just trying to react to an environment. Then I think you can just prompt your way into getting the actions out of it. I don't think the models that are out in the open have yet learned the complete mapping of social physics of humanity. This is one of the core theses of Simile, right? And one of the core reasons why that is the case is if you look at the data that the model was trained on, these models were trained on the web data, like, whatever was available on the web. And these are really interesting data sets, but they are fundamentally the self-exposed attitudinal data with some behavior data that's sprinkled around here and there. And it has yet to learn the really deep behavioral nature of people, not just what people say they do online, but what they do in real life. And this is one of what I would consider to be the dark knowledge of humanity that we haven't quite captured. And it's these data that would also need to get factored into the model creation.Vibhu [00:11:21]: You call it behavior foundation model.Vibhu [00:11:23]: There's a good one-liner here, but outside of that, what type of data do you need? What are you changing on the model level? How do you go about modeling, doing a behavior foundation model?The Three Data Buckets: Interviews, Behavior, and CausalityJoon [00:11:35]: We think about data in three buckets. So one bucket is interview data. It's quite interesting. Rich qualitative data is interesting. It's not behavioral, but we would literally ask people, “Hey, tell me the story of your life.”Vibhu [00:11:53]: It's just what we're doing here exactly.Joon [00:11:54]: The question that you all asked at the beginning of this interview literally is the question we also ask. And we ask our participants to go a little bit deeper, than how far I went. Maybe I can give more of my life story in lieu of this. But the reason why that data is interesting is by learning about this very long-tail information about people, you get a lot of texture around this model, like, this person as a model. So even understanding their childhood memory or even their trauma, their first love, these things, quite informative in ways that's really hard to predict. So that's one. Then there are two tranches of what I would consider to be the behavioral data. One kind of behavioral data is observational. So these might be like transaction data, or these might be data that you can get by scraping the web, right? So you can imagine why these data sets would be interesting, right, because they give you the base statistics of people's behavior.Joon [00:12:55]: But then there is the last category of data, that I personally think is perhaps the most important, which is the data that describes the causal mechanism, the whys of people. Some of this is covered by the interview data, the qualitative, because people talk about why they made certain decisions. But really, where you get to see the most behavioral aspect of this is in randomized controlled trials, like RCTs. Imagine you have the same setup, but you have a few different variables that you are trying to tweak. Can you get realistic human behavior out of it in ways where, imagine you had this particular option. Imagine you're even trying to choose whether you're going to drink coffee or not. The day you drink coffee versus the day you didn't drink coffee, does your behavior change? That's a data set that describes a causal mechanism. This is quite important in modeling people. The reason why this is important is oftentimes when people come to us, or not just to us, but the reason why people are interested in simulation isn't because they want to predict the future. If you're trying to win against the stock market, predicting the future is interesting.Prediction vs. Simulation: Shaping the FutureJoon [00:14:08]: But most people, most decision-makers, what they want to know is, how can we shape the future? It doesn't really help you to hear that your sales are going to tank in two quarters. They're just gonna say, “Wow, that sucks.” What they want to know is, well, what do we need to do now to avoid that future? That's the causal mechanism. And this is also very hard data to come by, right, because the world is our ground truth, but it happens once. So in a very controlled setup where everything is equal except for one variable, this kind of data set rarely happens. So this is a reason why this data set is both hard to come by and quite important if you're trying to model human behavior.Swyx [00:14:50]: So behavior, I think, is the hardest data set to acquire. What is out there? What is even possible? You're not going to know a lot of details about my life. I don't even have data for myself on my own health or habits, and I just don't log everything. So how can you have that data?Joon [00:15:14]: So we run a lot of randomized controlled trials.Swyx [00:15:17]: But you put people in the lab, they watch them sleep, or what?Joon [00:15:20]: We do care a lot about the consent process. People know that we invite them to be a member of this community to both share data and have themselves represented in different forms. But we bring a lot of people to the lab, or virtual lab, where we design experiments that would pose them real behavioral decisions. And often in these experimental setups, what makes the difference between what is attitudinal versus behavioral is whether the stake in your decision is real. That's ultimately what makes it behavioral. So in these setups, we are inspired by our colleagues in social sciences, psychology, and so forth. So when they run studies, the techniques they utilize is imagine there's an online store that you're inviting people to come by. Then whatever they purchase in this experiment, they actually get that item delivered. Like, these are the things that make the stakes real. So we run a lot of these experiments, and we also do partner with firms. Right now, we also have customers who are quite excited to at least give us a glimpse of the behaviors that their users exhibit so that we can get a little bit deeper understanding of how people behave in these different platforms.How Customers Use Simile: Populations, Queries, and ExperimentsVibhu [00:16:39]: I think on the customer side, they have a lot of data about their users, who has bought. They have the action data.Vibhu [00:16:47]: Can you walk us through an example of what someone comes to you for? What questions would they want solved? Do you customize a model for them? Do you have something off the shelf? What does that look like?Joon [00:16:59]: Today, when people leverage our models, it's often to better understand the population of their interest. So usually, the start of the relationship, we come together and hear about what population they want us to model, right? So it might be that if you're a CPG company that's selling to all of the US, then maybe it's fairly straightforward. You want to model the gen pop of the US. But at the same time, if there is a vertical or if there's a market that they're trying to go into, imagine, they want to better understand, let's say, people in their 20s and 30s living in California. That's a much more specific population. So we hear about this population, and we go recruit these people, with consent, and with incentives, and we collect some of their data and create a model of these people. Then what our product allows you to do is query them. So it can take as input a filter that is a description of the population that you want to talk to, just like the one I just mentioned, and an environment. The environment can literally be survey questions, behavioral experiments, It can be A/B testing. Oftentimes, the core use cases are things like concept testing, to start with. But also, people sometimes want to do focus groups or one of the fun use cases that we also serve is even modeling things like earnings calls for public companies.Joon [00:18:21]: So these are the use cases that we often start with.Swyx [00:18:23]: Concept testing, is that an established term? I've never heard of concept testing.Concept Testing, Gallup, and PoliticsJoon [00:18:27]: Yeah. So it has to do with they have, let's say, different messaging, different products, different ideas.Swyx [00:18:32]: It's like a marketing exercise.Swyx [00:18:33]: Okay, got it. Got it. Politics?Joon [00:18:36]: We do, have a strategic partnership with Gallup, and of course, Gallup is deep into policy space and so forth. Right now, we have not worked deeply with politics, like that area just yet, however.Swyx [00:18:49]: I'm curious if there is demand or if they really would have different needs that somehow fundamentally don't mix with your existing, users or people.Joon [00:19:00]: I think there's certainly demand.Joon [00:19:02]: But we are very much mindful of how this technology gets adopted and the societal impact that we'll end up having with this technology. And I do see politics as an area where a company has to be particularly thoughtful about the way they operate and make impact. So this is where we also want to make sure that we form enough of guardrail and perspective on how to leverage this technology before we go on to serve markets like the politics.Swyx [00:19:29]: I'll give people an example. one of my favorite shows is The West Wing. I don't know if people have watched.Swyx [00:19:34]: One of the key storylines is, like, the president has, multiple sclerosis, but they haven't. they need to figure out how to disclose it. So they run a poll with a fake governor and ask people to respond on the poll,Counterfactuals, Polling, and When Simulation Is UsefulSwyx [00:19:47]: They try to make decisions based on the results of that poll on, like, how well they'll be received, like where, how should we play this?Swyx [00:19:54]: And I'm like, well, I think those counterfactual things, I would use a simulation for this if I could trust it.Joon [00:20:01]: For sure.Joon [00:20:02]: In that show, how'd it go?Swyx [00:20:04]: In that show, it was, like a foregone conclusion. They were like, “We know it's bad. We just don't know how bad.” And then the poll came back. It was like, “It's really bad.” And then they just did it anyway.Joon [00:20:14]: Part of it is to show, right? So you're, you're looking at the ideaSwyx [00:20:17]: Maximizing drama.Joon [00:20:18]: How bad could it be? Oh, it's horrible.Swyx [00:20:20]: And to some extent, I think that is part of the trick of the, or the challenge or with being a customer of yours, which is that if I know it's. if I roughly know and can intuitSwyx [00:20:35]: What the effect is going to be, do I need you? What sensitivity of it, of effect do I need in order to make a decision, right? So for example, if I, my approval rating is 50%Swyx [00:20:48]: And I, they have this negative piece, news item comes out, and it drops to 30.Swyx [00:20:52]: If it drops to 20, if it drops to 40, do I care? No. It, I know it drops. It's negative. So when do I care about simulations?Joon [00:21:01]: You do something that's clearly bad, that's not popular, and people don't like you, like, yeah, it's likeSwyx [00:21:05]: You don't need a simulation.Joon [00:21:07]: Yeah. Well, so there are a couple of things. one is, there are use cases where, like every day, developers, designers, policymakers, marketers, every single day, they create assets. They create new products. And turns out, it's many of the decisions in hindsight is obvious. Yes, of course this is bad, but we still run those studies because understanding the magnitude and understanding how acute something is quite difficult, even if, we feel like, of course, like this makes sense. this is the reason why we make so many mistakes. Like, every time somebody goes online and say something that has huge backlash, you look at that and like, “What an idiot.” However, it's tough. That's one. There's also another aspect here, which is, again, this is the reason why simulation is different from prediction. In simulation, in the ideal case scenario. So what simulation is trying to show is it's trying to show each step of the way or each step that we need to take to get to a certain outcome, right? So in the most advanced simulations, sometimes the next step that we're suggesting might be quite counterintuitive. The analogy that I sometimes give, and I ground it in a more realistic example, but, I, as I mentioned, I'm a huge fan of science fiction, and I don't know how, many of the audience members have read, like, things like the Foundation series by Asimov.Simulation as a Path, Not Just a PredictionSwyx [00:22:37]: Oh, yeah. We've mentioned psychohistory a number of times.Joon [00:22:39]: Okay, fantastic. So I might be, talking to the right crew. If you read Foundation series, literally the first act is there's a group of scientists who have found out that, “Oh, our galactic empire is going to collapse, and we're going to have 30,000 years of unrest.” And they run psychohistory, the simulator that tries to teach them, “Okay, how can we keep this unrest to a 1,000 years?” And they plan this out, and the first step of that plan is to get the scientists who say, “Okay, this is coming,” exiled into this random place in this, galax- galaxy.Swyx [00:23:18]: Terminus.Joon [00:23:19]: Exactly. And that's so counterintuitive. Like, what a strange move that you literally sent the group of scientists who was raising voice around this potential collapse of galactic empire into nowhere. How is that the right first move? Well, it turns out in this particular simulation, that was the move.Joon [00:23:40]: It's these things, right? And the reason why these reasoning is possible is because you're showing the step function or each step that results in a particular outcome. So really what simulation allows you to do in its highest form is you give it not a problem or question, like what would people answer to the survey? That's not what we do. What we tell it is, “Here is a goal that we have. In the context of foundation, we want to keep the unrest to a 1,000 years. What is the path that we need to take now to get to that particular future?” And that's what simulation allows you to do. Now, translating that into real market, imagine you're a automobile company and you're about to release a, EV, and you're trying to understand, well, how do we market EV, to make sure that our stock price goes up? But what if the answer comes down that, well, you can market your EV in XYZ way, but that might change people's perception around the cars that's not EV and make your overall sales to go down. Not very intuitive, especially all you're trying to optimize is EV salesss, and that's the only thing that you're tracking, then that might result in a completely wrong solution, or at least different solution than what you would have expected, whether it's right or wrong.Joon [00:24:57]: That's the power of simulation.Swyx [00:24:58]: For listeners, we covered a similar topic with Mikhail Parakhin from Shopify, where they are working on SimGym. I don't know if he ever talked to you about it. it's very similar.Joon [00:25:07]: ISwyx [00:25:07]: The goal is increased conversion, but then the journey is very unusual.Joon [00:25:12]: Journey is unusual.Swyx [00:25:12]: Yeah. The-- He's trying to look for interventions on a shopping trajectory, which is similar to what you're saying. Like, it's not about the attitudinal, is your word for it.Swyx [00:25:24]: It's about behavior.Joon [00:25:25]: It's about behavior.Swyx [00:25:25]: And that's exactly the difference, right? It's, like, not about the near-term direction about-- but it's more about, like, how do you affect multiple turns of interactions.Vibhu [00:25:35]: You had a good quote at the start about this as well. It's not about people wanting to know the outcome. It's about how they can change it, change the way to get there, something like that. But I wanna take it back to how do we know this is grounded? LikeGrounding and Evaluating Digital TwinsVibhu [00:25:47]: How do you run evals? How do you test that simulations come through? if I was to do the same thing that you described with, say, your favorite LLM, Opus, GPT-5.6, have some agent to map out these thingsVibhu [00:26:02]: How different are the answers we would get if I give it the same goal, the same objective, make a decent system? You're saying that you need to change the model weight. You have your own solution to this. But how far off are we, and how do you check if it's grounded? you have some interesting stuff on your site that points to how you run real evals, but if you could take us through that side. I think that's one of the big concerns that people have. They're like, “LLMs hallucinate.”Vibhu [00:26:27]: “You're just hallucinating layer after layer,” right?Joon [00:26:30]: The way we do this, and this is the paper that we worked on after the generative agents paper that really became the, at least for Simile and also the field of simulation and synthetic panels, really became the foundation. Yeah, this is the paper. the paper is called Generative Agent Simulations of 1000 People. Here's what we've done. For this paper, we brought 1,000 people that's representatively sampled from the US to a virtual lab. And what we have done was we spent two hours collecting fairly wide-ranging data. In this particular study, we focused a lot on this interview data, that was, whose script was taken from this project called American Voices Project. And then we would also pair that with a lot of behavior data and so forth, whatever we can collect within two hours. And then we would send these people away for a couple of weeks. And during that time, I would use this data to create their digital twins. And I would bring the humans, participants back after 2 weeks and have them complete a battery of surveys, experiments, behavior studies. So we have the list here, which included things like behavioral economics games. We would run literally, like, Big Five personality test, General Social Survey. We would also go ahead and run the randomized controlled trials that were published on PNAS. And we would have their digital twins predict how the source individuals would have acted in these studies and surveys. And this is where we could replicate people's behaviors and attitudes 85 percent as accurately as people would replicate their own. So that was the first really paper that gave this validated results that we can model individuals in an accurate way. And what we ended up finding now, of course, in AI space, so this paper came out at the end of 2024. AI space, a year and a half, 2 years, that's a lifetime.85% Accuracy and Why Frontier Models Miss Human BehaviorSwyx [00:28:24]: Yeah. Just, for listeners who are not seeing the YouTube, I just wanna say, like, the headline figure is 85 percent accuracy, like, which is a big improvement over all the otherSwyx [00:28:34]: Methods that you showed.Joon [00:28:36]: But the part that was particularly striking to us, especially as we improved this technology even further, was the generative AI models like ChatGPT, Claude that's coming out, it does give you the right foundation. However, what they do not consider is the true attitudinal and behavioral aspect of people, especially in the population that you care about. So what these models are really good at today is they're trying to become the super rational, objective machines, right? So you go get their data from places like Mercor, Scale. You talk to professional programmers, scientists to create model that's amazing at reasoning. That's what they do. Simile doesn't care about any of this. The models that we're talking about here, what we're trying to create are models that are as dumb as I am, right? So if I make some mistakes, the model has to make the same mistake.Swyx [00:29:34]: Oh, that's very hard.Joon [00:29:35]: That's very hard.Swyx [00:29:36]: You're solving Murphy's paradox.Joon [00:29:37]: That's exactly. And this is a completely different data and training objective. This is also where we see quite a bit of discrepancy in the performance in human behavior prediction between the frontier models, Simile's model, and the models being created in this space, where in some cases, the model performance of frontier models go all the way down to 20, 30 percent, especially if you go into that more niche population on topics that our customers would care about. On more gen pop, it might be around 50 to 60 percent. So it's not very robust. Like, you wouldn't want to make your decision off of these and these findings. If you can bring that up to 85 percent, that is ultimately what people end up getting very excited about.Swyx [00:30:20]: Yeah. Do we wanna keep going on the paper, routes?Joon [00:30:23]: Yeah, for sure. So the last one, was an interesting one. So this, paper was the follow-up paper that we had, to the 1000 agents paper, where the idea was now can we augment the models even further and post-train a model based on a lot of randomized controlled trials? So this was an interesting one. The data is always the most interesting part of modeling in many ways. The data that we got here was there's this, there's this platform called Open Science Framework. So some, the audience might be familiar with this. And there has been, especially in the social sciences over the past 5 years or so, there has been this concern around replicability of studies. And so it was a bit of a crisis, the scientists acknowledged, where we rerun the study and we don't see the same finding.Post-Training on RCTs and Replication StudiesVibhu [00:31:12]: Oof.Joon [00:31:12]: It's tough. And the reason why it's there-- that was often the case was there's this survival bias where the papers that get published often need to maintain what we call the value of less than 0.05 in the experiments that we ran. That suggests that only-- there's only 5% chance that the results that we saw is false positive. But the tricky part was all the papers that were not published, and there's still a 5% chance that whatever we publish is totally just randomly generated. Like, there's a 5% chance that, hey, this effect is not real, but it just happened to be real because of the sampling bias. So because of that, what scientists started to do was they started to register their studies. So before running an experiment, they would go to this platform and say, “Here is the data. Here is the population that we're collecting, and here's the hypotheses.” And they would just say, “Here is our hypothesis.” Like, “This is what we believe.” And you cannot retroactively change those hypotheses. This is what gives us more scientific statistical confidence that whatever effect that you ended up seeing is true. So that ended up creating this really interesting platform where there's one platform that has now contains tens of thousands of real-world experiments and hypotheses. And a lot of these are really high-quality, like, professionally designed behavior studies and random- randomized controlled trials. So we got the data and the studies from this platform and used that to make a point. And this particular, model is not, something that we're serving commercially because this was a part of the open science. But this particular data set, helped us make a point that by collecting a lot of these randomized controlled trials, that are really well-designed, we can make significant improvement in model's capability to predict human behaviors. So that's what this paper was about.Vibhu [00:33:10]: Is this stuff done on a individual level? Like, do I need to tune the model per individual, per company? Is there foundation model changes and then some slight post-training? Anything you can share there?Population-Level vs. Individual-Level ModelsJoon [00:33:21]: So this particular model was trained. the data we had at the level of individuals, but this particular model was trained. We experimented with both. And this is what we end up doing at Simile too. We always train 2, distinct model. One is what we call the population-level model. The other is what we call the individual-level model. And both take very similar input, which is the description of a subpopulation or individual and a stimuli. In this particular work, we've done the same. Here, the results that we are reporting are much more geared towards individuals because we do think that is a harder task in many ways, but that's what we have done.Vibhu [00:34:02]: You seen anything on the questions that humans can solve that models can't solve? So likeHuman Biases, Mundane Choices, and What Models MissVibhu [00:34:09]: Currently, it's, I live 5 minutes walk away from a car wash. It's a 10-minute drive. Should I walk or drive?Joon [00:34:16]: Huh.Vibhu [00:34:16]: The model will say, “Oh, walk to the car wash.” And, you don't have your car.Vibhu [00:34:20]: Is anything like this a problem in simulation? You would assume, like, very simple for human to think about, but if the model is saying you should walk to the car wash, anything here?Joon [00:34:32]: It's less, what can we solve, but I think it's more about what biases or mistakes do people make that models miss. Like, imagine that you are, like the. When I was still at Stanford, I lived in Palo Alto. So it's about, I would say, 40-minute walk from the campus. You ask the model, “Okay, let's go home. What can I, what can I do?” It would likely call an Uber or, give me, the bus time. But for the longest time, I really liked walking back. And the reason why I wanted to do that was not for efficiency. It really helped me think. And I like to walk for, half an hour or 40 minutes or so a day, where I just get to, just think about ideas, research, just get lost in my thoughts. That's very human activity. Unless the model has seen that and understands the importance of that activity, it would miss these kinds of features. So that I think, is fundamentally what we're trying to model. Like, what is fundamentally human might not be the most efficient thing to do, might not be the right thing to do, but things that make us who we are.Swyx [00:35:43]: I'm curious if, there are some data sets that you really want that would materially help you. One version of this may be interesting, which is more valuable to you to acquire as a data set, all of LinkedIn, all of Twitter, all of Facebook?What Data Matters: Social Media, Transactions, and FacebookJoon [00:35:57]: It's a little bit hard to rank, in part because, there's, there's this product saying where no feedback is wrong because it teaches you something about your users. Doesn't matter what feedback.Joon [00:36:11]: I think it's a little bit like that.Swyx [00:36:12]: So just whatever is bigger.Vibhu [00:36:13]: What about a different domain? Say it was. What about all of Amazon data?Joon [00:36:17]: Oh, yeah.Vibhu [00:36:18]: Shopping data, right?Joon [00:36:18]: Shopping data. So Amazon data is interesting in that it's very much behavioral, although, like, what people do on social media, you could squint and say that is also behavioral. But the transaction data is always interesting. It is also most commonly available, however.Joon [00:36:33]: If we were to look at purely social media, like if you really, if I were, if I had to really pick, Facebook likely is interesting because I do think it is most a default version of people. Because you go to LinkedIn, it's very much professional environment. So people put up their, they have their guards up, right? And that still is interesting because that is true human attitude and behavior, but it is not your base state. you go to Twitter- Twitter, people have their own crazy personas, or depending on who you are. Like, my Twitter profile and, persona is very much, initially was I was very much an academic. “Hey, I'm here to share my studies.” Now, I share, things that's related to Simile. But Facebook is one of those more private space where people just connect with their friends. In that way, I do think it shows you a little bit more about who that person is. So if I had to pick, I'd likely pick, Facebook.Swyx [00:37:30]: Yeah. And you're interested in, like, the whole person and their background and philosophy. I, is it too clinical or too machine learning-oriented to just say this is just ways to inject variance and biases? The broad question, is, like, is this any better than a randomized, like, combinatorial explosion version? So we have a link to the TencentBillion Personas, Synthetic Demographics, and Bespoke DataSwyx [00:37:54]: Billion persona paper, where they did not do any of the groundwork that you are doing.Swyx [00:37:59]: They just did like a cross matrix of here's all the professions in the world, here's all the people, possible backgrounds in the world, do a dot product across all of them, and that's it. That's your prompt for a billion people.Swyx [00:38:12]: This will do something. I don't know if it'll do what you do, but it gets you some way, some percent of the way there.Joon [00:38:18]: So this was an interesting paper. Like, what I admired about this paper when it came out was the scale. And you do gradually want to be able to simulate really large societies and interactions. So the scale is definitely admirable. it is relying heavily on the known statistics that went into training the model. So to the extent that you believe that statistics is correct, this is not a bad way to go about this. But the thesis here, and this is something that we also have seen in the market, like if this works, then we have solved simulation.Joon [00:38:54]: It,Swyx [00:38:55]: Because I survey, like, okay, 5% of the US population is in construction.Swyx [00:39:01]: The other 5% is in medicine, whatever, right? And then you just keep going down the list, and then you do the other side. 5% has, like, the big 5 personalitySwyx [00:39:08]: Of, like, neurotic or whatever. That's it.Joon [00:39:11]: That's it. So if you believe that the underlying data set and the platform that we're leveraging has all the right statistics, then this will have solved it. you're at that point merely retrieving the knowledge that is already embedded in the model, in the model parameters. That's not, unfortunately, what we see, where there is such detailed and also niche knowledge about people that if you just take one example, it might feel very mundane, but it's quite rich when you put together, that you do need to do a lot of bespoke data collection to better understand people. And this is also, I think what makes this particular, job fun, which you want to deeply understand people, and the process of deeply understanding them requires a lot of attention to the details. And you do need to pay attention to and pay respect to the daily lives that people lead.Scaling Simulation: From Thousands to SocietiesVibhu [00:40:04]: I wanna talk about scaling simulation.Vibhu [00:40:07]: So what can't we simulate, what can we simulate, and how does scaling affect this? So how big are the models? What if we go from, 8B, like, couple 100 billionVibhu [00:40:18]: Like billion000 parameters, billion000? Do we get scaling? Any interesting emergence? Like, at a certain scale, at a certain amount of training, you uncover anything unusual and any learnings from that?Joon [00:40:31]: What we are seeing is at Simile, so we do post-train our own model. The thing that we're seeing is the early glimpse of scaling law in simulations. The more data about humans and more compute you ingest, you start to get predictive and predictable gains of the model performance in simulating it, simulating people.Vibhu [00:40:51]: Ooh. We need a scaling law curve.Joon [00:40:52]: It's scaling law. Whenever you find it's a beautiful thing. And we're starting to see the glimpse of it, which is quite exciting. But if you talk about the ambition of simulation as a whole, it's not merely about building a model. It's about building a model, then creating the agents that become the individuals in a much larger ecosystem. So they're creating this multi-agent simulation. Down the line, you want these multi-agent simulation to also live in a very rich environment, right? What we are really trying to get to at that point is, hey, can we create. All right, let's do a time machine game again, and 5 years, 10 years into the future, can we create a simulation of 8 billion people living on Earth? I think that's quite interesting. And that really is the vision. And once you get to that state, the questions that you can help answer for the society also start to change from my perspective. The answers are fundamentally about emergence of the emergent behavior of society and large groups of people.Joon [00:41:53]: So the questions that I get excited by, and maybe this is a stodgy- a bit. I have my, academic side of me.Joon [00:42:01]: And for me, it's questions like, can we help solve climate change? If you look at climate change as a problem space, this is what we, like social scientists would often call it the wicked problems, problem where you have many actors with competing incentives for trying to make a very complex decision and coordinating that coordination decision. Very difficult to really solve in real life, which is also the reason why we couldn't solve it. Can simulation help us solve that? Another one is, can we understand the signals for collapsing democracy, or can we understand or can we uncover the origin story of the monetary system? These are societal questions that we never really had a good way of answering. If we can create simulations of our society, you have to believe that these are the problems that we can solve. So that's really the ambition of this field. And, I also think, yes, I think there's a Nobel Prize to be won there, which wouldn't be surprising. And I think there's some amazing societal impact that we can have to help people make better decisions.Climate Change, Democracy, and Societal SimulationSwyx [00:43:04]: Nobel Prize in economics?Joon [00:43:06]: In economics.Swyx [00:43:06]: Oh, I see. I see. Rooting for you to write that paper.Joon [00:43:10]: One of these days. But, one of the scholars that I was deeply inspired by, When I was coming into the space of simulation, is this scholar, named Thomas Schelling.Schelling, Agent-Based Models, and the Nobel PrizeSwyx [00:43:23]: Schelling point?Joon [00:43:24]: So the canonical example of the work that he's done was he was one of the creators of agent-based modeling. So this was, like, in the 1970s and 80s. It's very early days, but this was truly one of the first exemplars of simulations. And one of the canonical model from that time, and of course many of these simulations are trying to tackle the societal problems that's most relevant for their era, it was called the model of segregation. So racial segregation was a big topic, that, we cared about. And what they've done was they created this grid world where they had red dots and blue dots. And these dots were, back in the day, like, they were the agents, and they had a simple rule that governed their behavior. If certain percentage of your neighbors are of different color and if that goes above certain threshold, then you move to a new location at random.Joon [00:44:21]: One of the striking finding of this paper or this agent-based model was for the longest time, people thought the segregation within society was caused by explicit and overt racism.Joon [00:44:34]: But if you look at this model, people's preference towards living with people of the same color, that preference can be very minute.Joon [00:44:42]: But the very small difference causes the society to segregate completely over time. This was very counterintuitive for a lot of people. And this particular work ended up informing housing policies. Mixed income housing, got really inspired by this work. And Thomas Schelling ends up winning the Nobel Prize for having laid the groundwork for very early versions of simulations. The opportunity that I do see here in the more scientific terms, is agent-based models for the longest, had impact in the 1980s, 90s, to some extent, early 2000s, but it has now gotten forgotten by the community a little bit. Because as you can imagine, red dots and blue dots is not really a rich description of people.Joon [00:45:31]: But with the emergence of things like generative AI and, in particular, generative agents, we do have an opportunity to create these agent-based models that are high fidelity enough to help us make really complex decisions. And that's the opportunity that I see. If that truly works, then yes, that is the work that will result in a Nobel Prize.Swyx [00:45:53]: Yeah. For what it's worth, and I grew up in Singapore. 80% of Singapore is in public housing, and public housing has, enforced racial quotas for exactly that reason, which is very interesting. okay, so we talk about scaling, we talk about all these, the agent possible applications.Cost, Reuse, and the Economics of SimulationSwyx [00:46:13]: I'm scared about the cost. if you even-- let's just keep it to the US, about 8 billion people.Swyx [00:46:21]: But, how much does it cost to model so many hundreds of millions of people?Joon [00:46:26]: Oftentimes today, we don't start at that scale, this stage of the, of industry and simulation as technology. But we can get our users extremely rich and meaningful insights even by modeling thousands, tens of thousands of people. And today what we do is every week we are collecting data on the scale of tens of thousands people's data, and we have panel partnerships that gets us to tens of millions of people globally. So that's what we do today.Swyx [00:46:55]: And just as a side note once you've collected one person for one studySwyx [00:46:59]: Can you reuse that same person for all the subsequent studies?Joon [00:47:03]: That's exactly right.Swyx [00:47:03]: Okay.Joon [00:47:04]: The beauty of this model and these agents is the fact that they are domain-agnostic.Joon [00:47:08]: That what you're really trying to understand is what is the fundamental nature of these people? What's their social physics? And there are a lot of, a lot of, people that does change over time. Like, even, like, even things like, how many times have you gone have you been to, like, CVS the past week? that will change. But there's so many traits about people that are also known to never change. Like, your risk tolerance doesn't really change over time. It's very consistent. So it's these things that we're trying to learn. But the scale we are operating is right now hundreds or, tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands. And in many of the core use cases that we are deployed in, and this is more than enough population, to cover those. Really, at that point, what you care about is less the number of people, but more do you have the right subpopulation of interest covered? And this is also the reason why people want a larger sample. It's not because they want, stronger statistical guarantees. It's more that can they filter down to any population of their interest. However, you can also imagine in 10 years, if we truly believe that the compute is going to scale, that we'll have much more availability for compute, and our ambition for simulation is also going to scale accordingly, there's definitely a reason for us to create an entire data center worth of simulations.Joon [00:48:35]: Or in my hunch here is I do think in the next some number of years, we will start creating simulations that will cost as much as training a foundation model. But perhaps it's going to be so valuable to the society that it would be a no-brainer. Right now, even today, like, we are training bunch of new foundation model just so we can say we trained one and we spent tens of millions. But if we can create a simulation at the level of society that would solve climate change, I would run that today. I would raise the money right now just to run that.Multi-Agent Simulation and Social InfluenceSwyx [00:49:10]: Amazing. the follow-up question is, does it also compound if you let the simulations talk to each other?Swyx [00:49:18]: Or do they already do that today? They don't, right, as far as I understand?Joon [00:49:22]: It depends on what simulation you're trying to run.Joon [00:49:24]: In the multi-agent simulation setup, the agents do talk to each other.Swyx [00:49:28]: Right, which is exactly Smallville, right?Joon [00:49:29]: That's right.Swyx [00:49:30]: But a lot of times, for example, in commerce, you're just by yourself, so there's no point talking. which is way cheaper.Vibhu [00:49:37]: But they use all these levels, right? Like, you decide what you will buy based on what other people around you buy and talk about, right?Swyx [00:49:43]: It depends.Vibhu [00:49:44]: It depends.Swyx [00:49:45]: Again, I'm, I'm coming at this from a cost point of view. I'm like, “Oh my God.” LikeVibhu [00:49:48]: I thinkSwyx [00:49:49]: If there is, like, some combinatorial thing of, like, thousands of people talking to thousands of people, then that one million X's might cost.Vibhu [00:49:56]: I have a very different view as the cost point aside. Like, running these studies in reality is a lot more expensive, right? Running any study like this is you gotta have people do it, you gotta sign people up. It's very expensive and sometimes, like, not feasible to run the study.Vibhu [00:50:14]: But the outcome or the decisions you make are very expensive on them, right? So spend X million on something that, the overall process costs 100 million might as well, right? There's, there's a lot of value to be had there. It's a small cost, but I'm excited on the cost side.Joon [00:50:33]: To some extent, and when you deploy technology, you often want to deploy in a way where you can replace existing budget or you can make things more efficient, and that is the best way to deploy. However, the way you capture the long-term value of the technology is making the argument that, no, it's the upside, that by making this better decision using simulation, you have saved yourself or made yourself hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars, and that's a case to be made.Vibhu [00:51:06]: Random tangent question. So if you're doing a lot of inference, a lot of model multi-agent stuff, are you at the point where it makes sense to, train a model that' very sparse? You're expecting to do multi-million dollar runs. Are you thinking about this in model architecture standpoint or inference efficiency, or, you're still at the research phase of it works, we're not super there yet?Joon [00:51:34]: Efficiency, we do think quite a bit about. this is technology that is deployed now in some of the largest enterprise companies in the world, and we do process significant number of queries, that are trying to, simulate the populations in the world. So efficiency is a consistent thing. we don't want to over-optimize too early, so I wouldn't say, like, this is the higher bid Right now, but this is definitely something that we think pretty carefully about.Swyx [00:52:05]: Yeah. Are there other case studies? So we, you talked about CVS, talked about Gallup, Deloitte, Wealthfront.Efficiency, Enterprise Use, and Real-World Case StudiesJoon [00:52:12]: Wealthfront is an interesting one, because one of the things they were trying to do, they were one of the first customers that wanted to do product testing that goes beyond just asking people what they think about, let's say, behavior experiments and so forth. So there, really what we had to do was reason about multimodal input, so images, but also you can also imagine, like, these agents traversing through Figma mockups or websites. So some of the things that our agents can also do is it can be given a domain, like, or, like, a website URL and go use it for a while. It's these things. And Wealthfront was one of the first, customers, that was very excited about this possibility.Vibhu [00:52:53]: What have people been asking? Like, is there any demand that we have not covered? Like, UI testing, right?Vibhu [00:52:59]: I wanna try a new. I wanna ship a new feature, test the UI, simulate how people will do it. Any interesting things that you're seeing demand for?Product Testing, Websites, and Synthetic PanelsJoon [00:53:08]: Today, a lot of the demand does come from like, the places where people have historically used human panels, we can now replace with agents, and these synthetic populations. And this is not replacing human panel. in many ways, the simulation that Simile is building is grounded. So the way that I think about this is we are trying to represent humanity at scale. And in that way, the use cases are what we would expect, but it's the scale of deployment that surprises me.Joon [00:53:44]: Turns out there are so many decisions that people make every day in these organizations, groups, and we want to be able to say, “We listen to people. We have consulted our users.” But in reality, that is rarely the case because getting to people and asking them many questions, it's difficult. It's both costly, time-consuming, but most importantly, people are just not available. If I had to answer 1000 survey questions for this one particular, vendor, even if I wanted to do that, like, I would never do it. And that's very much the case. What simulation can do is ensure that the voices of people are always represented in rooms where the decisions for them is made, right? So all the stakeholders of this particular product launch, ideally they're consulted. That's what this technology really is trying to enable.Market Size, TAM, and Human Decision-MakingSwyx [00:54:39]: In my mind, that means it skews towards more consumer focus, right? Like, anything with a wide enough customer base where you do benefit from the diversity that you represent. What are some rough statistics, just for people who are not familiar with this market in general, what's the market size that. I'm sure you have some, like, rough numbers. market size is, like, a vague questionSwyx [00:55:01]: But, like, how much do people spend?Joon [00:55:03]: So market research is a $100 billion industry.Joon [00:55:06]: But the thing about simulation is not a tool for market research. Simulation is a tool for human decision-making. So the question around what is a TAM here is quite tricky, right? Because it's easy to say, “Well, market research TAM is roughly 100 million or 100 billion.” so is it a TAM? And not really, right? Because in many ways, you're trying to inform all human decision-making. You're trying to inform every decision that are made about humans for humans. What is a TAM for that? It's really unclear. And I'll be honest. Like, I have a scientific background, I have a research background, so I didn't come into the field calculating, oh, what is the TAM for human decision-making? But I just had to assume, well, if we can inform every decision that is made about human for human, that has to be big.Swyx [00:55:58]: Some- something valuable.Joon [00:55:59]: Exactly.Swyx [00:55:59]: To some extent, you are a unicorn founder now, and you have to care as a CEO. But, like, I do think, like, yeah, when you go into these boardrooms with people that you're quoting millions of dollars of contracts for, like, you have to say, “Well, here's what you spend on humans-”Swyx [00:56:15]: “. And here's what we save you, and it's 85% similar.”Joon [00:56:19]: And certainly, the value case, is something that we care deeply about. Like, what is the value that we provide to the users and the decision-makers? But this is also where, like, as a founder, I think valuation only tells one very superficial aspect of the story, and I try not to think too much about valuation, in general, because that's not what also motivates a team or certainly doesn't. I'm, I-- Again, the interesting thing about researchers is we are happy living in academia, getting paid next to. we get paid okay. we don't get paid that much, as a researcher here in academia, but it's the impact and it's the, it's the value that we can provide to the individuals and the society that really drives us. And in that way, ultimately what drives us is the impact. Does the simulation we provide have a real impact in people's decision-making in ways that progresses our society forward? If the answer is yes, then yes. that has to be great business, and we see that in numbers, and we do care deeply about that upside story, but that's the heart of it.Where Simulation Goes NextVibhu [00:57:27]: Do you have any timeline predictions? So we talked about scaling laws of simulations.Vibhu [00:57:33]: You brought up, okay, maybe one day we can simulate how to solve climate change.Vibhu [00:57:38]: Where are we now?Vibhu [00:57:40]: If that's not the end state, what is an end state, and what does progress look like?Joon [00:57:45]: So what I sometimes tell people is simulation as industry, it feels a lot like where GPT-3.5, GPT-4 was, for the AGI saga, which is we have now technology that is powerful enough to do real damage on the verticals that we are tackling. At the same time, there's a lot of progress that is yet to come. And that's, I think, where this is. So the way I see it, I do think there will continue to be breakthroughs both in data, in algorithms, and there will be much more aggressive scaling that will also happen over the next few years. But I think that's roughly where we are.Swyx [00:58:27]: I think that was about the ro

What does disciple-making actually look like once people begin showing up?In the final episode of this conversation, Ralph Moore, John Honold, and Ken Makuakane move from vision to practice. They discuss launching Hope Chapel Kealapono, why the church's Hawaiian name was reimagined around the biblical idea of being "the fragrance of Christ," and what it means to create churches that equip people rather than keep them dependent.The conversation is filled with practical stories, from mentoring younger believers through messy relationships to why Ralph believes ministry should produce disciple-makers, not spectators. They also challenge some of the routines many churches take for granted, including why opening and closing every gathering with a ritual prayer can unintentionally diminish the life of prayer itself.If the first two episodes ask whether God is doing something new, this episode asks the next question: What kind of church will be ready when He does?

Gaea Star Crystal Radio Hour #682 was recorded live at Singing Brook Studio in Worthington Massachusetts in mid-August of 2026 and is an hour of visionary acoustic improvised music played by the Gaea Star Band featuring Mariam Massaro on vocals, Native flute, ukuleles, singing bowl and acoustic guitar, Bob Sherwood on piano and bass guitar and Craig Harris on Native drum and congas. Today's show begins with the beautiful, pastoral “Lift Up My Spirit”, a pretty, light song with a classical Neopolitan feel before we move to “Positive No Matter What”, a reverent, celestial prayer with a fine vocal from Mariam. “My Soul Has Wings” begins as a solemn, reverent psalm before lifting off to Dionysian abandon with powerful work from the band. “Singing The Same Song” is a rocking, New Orleans-flavored rocker with tight acoustic guitar rhythm guitar work from Mariam over Bob's barrelhouse piano and “River Of Love” comes from the “Gaea Star Crystal” album with the band taking it up yet another notch with this powerful rocker. “Into The Might Waves”, also from the “Release” album is a rich, complex anthem performed flawlessly by the band and “Celebrate Diversity” is a powerful, fundamental medicine song with a beautiful, jazzy refrain and a driving performance from the band propelled by Craig's powerful conga groove. “Aloha Hey” is a sunny Hawaiian reggae workout played drum-tight by the ensemble and closes today's show with a rollicking bang. Learn more about Mariam here: http://www.mariammassaro.com

Get 15% of on Saily E-SimsThis podcast episode is sponsored by Saily. Saily is an ESIM service app created by the security experts behind NordVPN. Instead of paying absurd daily rates to your home carrier or swapping SIM cards on arrival, Saily gives you flexible prepaid data plans in over 200 destinations worldwide. Download Saily from your app store and use our code FREQUENTMILER at checkout to get 15% off your first purchase. https://saily.com/frequentmilerWith Tim based in Seattle, he's very familiar with the Alaska Atmos Rewards program. Today he's joining Greg to talk about some of the pros and cons of the program.(00:54) - Pro: Free to move points to others with an Atmos Summit card or a Hawaiian card(01:26) - Pro: Free stopover on most one-way awards.(02:14) - Pro: Award changes are free and easy(02:33) - Pro: Excellent award chart sweet spots (short-haul US, US-Oceania/Asia/South America, intra-Alaska).(04:06) - Pro: Relatively easy to acquire elite status(05:39) - Pro: Award flights booked through Alaska can earn status points based on distance flown, including partner awards(09:05) - Pro: Many partners beyond oneworld(11:20) - Pro: Various companion certificates can be very useful(15:34) - Con: Less robust route network than competitors like Delta, United, and American.(15:34) - Con: Atmos still doesn't allow awards with multiple partners outside of American, British Airways, and Finnair (although more are expected to be added this year).(20:25) - Con: $20 Partner award booking fee unless you have Summit cardSubscribe and FollowVisit https://frequentmiler.com/subscribe/ to get updated on in-depth points and miles content like this, and don't forget to like and follow us on social media.Music Credit – “Ocean Deep” by Annie YoderCheck out all of our other travel podcasts from around the worldThis podcast is part of the Voyascape Network, a collection of some of the world's best travel podcasts. Explore more at Voyascape.com. For advertising or sponsorship opportunities on this show and across the network, email advertising@voyascape.com or you can find more information at Voyascape.com/advertsing.

Savor Sonoma at Graton Resort & Casino: Carey Sweet on AYA, Live Fire & Vine & Sonoma County Wine Wine Road: Wine, When & Where Podcast Host: Katie Ambrosi Guest: Carey Sweet — longtime Sonoma County wine and food writer and Public Relations Manager at Graton Resort & Casino Episode Summary What's new at Graton Resort & Casino, and what can wine and food lovers expect from Savor Sonoma Live Fire & Vine? In this episode of the Wine Road: Wine, When & Where Podcast, Katie Ambrosi sits down with longtime Sonoma County wine and food writer Carey Sweet at Graton Resort & Casino in Rohnert Park, California. Carey shares her journey from covering the Sonoma County culinary scene as a journalist to joining the team at Graton, along with an inside look at the resort's major expansion, its growing culinary program, the new AYA restaurant, and the upcoming Savor Sonoma food and wine celebration on August 21–22, 2026. We also dive into the Live Fire & Vine Festival, featuring nationally known chefs cooking over live fire alongside a Sonoma County wine village, plus Graton's on-site farming program, sustainability efforts, upcoming restaurants and entertainment, and what makes Graton an increasingly important part of the Sonoma County food and wine scene. In This Episode Katie and Carey talk about: Carey Sweet's career covering Sonoma County wine, food, restaurants and hospitality and her transition from journalism to public relations at Graton Resort & Casino The major expansion underway at Graton, including a new smoke-free casino space AYA, Graton's new flagship restaurant led by Chef Roy Ellamar Chef Ellamar's California coastal cuisine with Asian, Hawaiian and Filipino influences Savor Sonoma, taking place August 21–22, 2026 The sold-out Friday Headliners Dinner and Saturday's Live Fire & Vine Festival Celebrity chefs including Aarón Sánchez, Marcus Samuelsson, Bryan and Michael Voltaggio, Nyesha Arrington, Charlie Palmer, Dustin Valette and Roy Ellamar The Aarón Sánchez Impact Fund, under the Emeril Lagasse Foundation, and its support of Latino youth pursuing culinary careers Graton's five-acre G5 farm and plans for the new 40-acre G40 farm Sonoma County sustainability, farm-to-table dining, living wages and community investment Graton's Sonoma County-focused wine program and Wine Director James Hernandez New and upcoming Graton restaurants including Revere (which is the rebranded 630 Park Steakhouse), Neon Kitty and Soco DoCo The Playbook's Detroit-style pizza and quesabirria tacos Graton entertainment, including John Legend, Third Eye Blind and plans for a new 3,600-seat theater Carey's favorite West Sonoma County food destinations What makes a great Sonoma County restaurant wine list Savor Sonoma 2026: Event Details Savor Sonoma takes place at Graton Resort & Casino in Rohnert Park, Sonoma County, on Friday, August 21 and Saturday, August 22, 2026. Friday, August 21: Headliners Dinner The Friday night Headliners Dinner is sold out and features a five-course collaborative dinner from acclaimed chefs including Aarón Sánchez, Charlie Palmer, Bryan and Michael Voltaggio and Roy Ellamar. Saturday, August 22: Live Fire & Vine Festival Time: Noon–5:00 PM Location: Poolside at Graton Resort & Casino General Admission: $165 VIP: $245, including the AYA after-party from 7:00–9:00 PM SOLD OUT Dress: Sonoma County elegant / resort wear Live Fire & Vine brings together acclaimed chefs cooking over open fire, Sonoma County and California wineries, live music and a poolside wine-country setting. Featured chefs: Aarón Sánchez, Chef, restaurateur and television personality known for MasterChef and Chopped Nyesha Arrington – James Beard Award finalist, alumna of "Top Chef," "Next Level Chef" and chef/owner of Native by Nyesha Cal-global restaurant in Los Angeles Marcus Samuelsson, Award-winning chef, restaurateur and Top Chef Masters winner Charlie Palmer, Sonoma culinary pioneer and founder of the Charlie Palmer Collective Bryan & Michael Voltaggio, Top Chef alumni and acclaimed restaurateurs Dustin Valette, Michelin-recognized Sonoma chef-vintner and founder of Valette Hospitality Roy Ellamar, Executive Chef of AYA at Graton Resort & Casino Wine Road Wineries at Savor Sonoma Live Fire & Vine We're especially excited to see several Wine Road member wineries pouring at Savor Sonoma. If you're attending Live Fire & Vine, be sure to look for these Wine Road wineries: A. Rafanelli Winery Bricoleur Vineyards Iron Horse Vineyards J Vineyards & Winery Ridge Vineyards Silver Oak Cellars These wineries are part of the Wine Road community representing the wines and wine experiences of Northern Sonoma County and Sonoma County wine country. Live Fire & Vine Chef Menu Aarón Sánchez Grilled Chicken Halves Congri, heirloom tomato and peach salad, Crystal Mojo sauce Marcus Samuelsson Whole Smoked Lamb Roasted pineapple, olive tapenade, roti and Scotch bonnet peppers Bryan & Michael Voltaggio Miso-Mushroom Cedar-Planked Cod Mushroom fideos, maitake mushroom, fennel pollen and Espelette aioli Dustin Valette Whole Pig Porchetta Smoked guanciale and white corn salad, Périgord truffle espuma Roy Ellamar Octopus Tinono & Pork Belly Lechon Sweet onions and Sungold tomatoes Nyesha Arrington Santa Maria-Grilled Tomahawk Ribeyes Kickback potato salad, charred spring onion and beef-fat vinaigrette Graton Resort & Casino Culinary Team G40 Vegetable Paella Pan-Roasted Camembert Local fruit and honey with Della Fattoria bread Cold Fruit Stand House-made chamoy, chili and lime salt Semolina Olive Oil Cake Whipped mascarpone and grilled summer stone fruit Wineries Pouring at Savor Sonoma Live Fire & Vine The Live Fire & Vine wine village features a broad selection of Sonoma County, Napa Valley and California wineries, including: A. Rafanelli Winery Aperture Cellars Bricoleur Vineyards Browne Family Wines Chappellet Hourglass J Vineyards & Winery Ledson Winery & Vineyards Martinelli Winery & Vineyards Ram's Gate Winery Ridge Vineyards Silver Oak Cellars Staglin Family Vineyard The Mascot Truchard Vineyards Turley Wine Cellars Valette Wines Vérité / Anakota Williams Selyem More About AYA at Graton Resort & Casino AYA is Graton Resort & Casino's new flagship restaurant, led by Chef Roy Ellamar, whose background includes working with legendary chef Joël Robuchon. The restaurant highlights California coastal cuisine with Asian, Hawaiian and Filipino influences while drawing ingredients from Graton's own farming program. Carey also talks about Graton's five-acre G5 farm and the planned G40, a 40-acre agricultural project designed to expand the resort's connection between farming, sustainability and its restaurants. New Restaurants & Entertainment at Graton Graton continues to expand its food, beverage and entertainment offerings. Carey gives us a preview of several projects, including: Revere: a reimagined version of the 630 Park Steakhouse with tableside presentations and a dramatic meat program. Neon Kitty: a playful, upscale concept inspired by Japanese convenience-store culture, expected to open in September. Soco DoCo: a brioche-based doughnut concept. The Playbook: serving casual favorites including Detroit-style pizza and quesabirria tacos. Graton is also expanding its entertainment offerings, with concerts including recent performances by John Legend and Third Eye Blind and plans for a new 3,600-seat theater as part of its hotel expansion. Carey Sweet's Sonoma County Food & Wine Picks In our rapid-fire round, Carey shares some of her favorite Sonoma County and West County destinations and discusses places including: Casino Bar & Grill in Bodega Valley Ford Creamery and Estero Gold cheese Rocker Oysterfeller's in Valley Ford Hazel in Occidental Cyrus in Geyserville SingleThread in Healdsburg Dry Creek Kitchen in Healdsburg She also shares her philosophy on Sonoma County restaurant wine programs: start with the wines and build the menu around what you want to drink. Also Mentioned in This Episode Graton Resort & Casino AYA The Playbook Tony's Revere/630 Park Steakhouse Neon Kitty Soco DoCo Douglas Keane and Cyrus SingleThread Dry Creek Kitchen Casino Bar & Grill Valley Ford Creamery Rocker Oysterfeller's Hazel About the Wine Road Podcast Wine Road: Wine, When & Where explores the wineries, winemakers, chefs, restaurants, events and personalities that make Northern Sonoma County wine country such a special place to visit. Follow the Wine Road for more stories and events from Alexander Valley, Dry Creek Valley and Russian River Valley, and subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss our next episode.  

After 25 years of growth, leadership, challenges, and change, what are the things that should never change? Pastor Mike and five Inspire Church leaders sit down for an honest conversation about the lessons behind 25 years of ministry, from leading the next generation and preserving the Aloha Spirit to navigating faith, culture, family, and the future of Hawai'i. Growth changes the organization. Legacy reveals what was worth keeping. What does it take to lead a growing organization without losing the values that built it? In this episode of the Pound for Pound Leadership Podcast, Pastor Mike sits down with five of Inspire Church's pastors and directors. Dan Carranza, Franco Heu, DJ Garces, Randy Kimura, and Clint Chinen for a wide-ranging conversation about faith, leadership, discipleship, Hawaiian culture, the Aloha Spirit, family, and the future of Hawai'i. As Inspire Church approaches its 25th anniversary, Pastor Mike reflects on what he believes must continue to change and, more importantly, what he believes should never change. The conversation explores how leaders can make an impact in society, why discipleship matters, how to navigate questions of faith and cultural identity, and what it means to lead with humility, conviction, and a heart for people. Pastor Mike also shares his vision for Hawai'i, his hope for another great revival and awakening, and why he believes the church must continue reaching people while preserving the welcoming Aloha spirit that has defined its community. The episode closes with a deeply personal look at family, legacy, obedience, surrender, and the fruit that comes from faithfully following God's calling. Watch, listen, and join the conversation. _____ 00:00 — Meet the Leaders: Five Inspire Church Pastors & Directors 00:55 — How Do You Make an Impact in Society? 04:33 — Where Do Leaders Get Their Truth? 06:37 — 25 Years of Inspire Church: What Should Never Change? 10:17 — Shepherding the Next Generation of Hawaiians 18:52 — When Faith & Cultural Identity Collide 19:51 — "God's Heart for Hawai'i Is to Save Hawai'i" 21:30 — Can Hawai'i Recover the Aloha Spirit? 25:03 — The Leadership Legacy That Starts at Home 28:54 — Obedience, Surrender & the Fruit of Faithfulness 30:52 — Closing Thoughts + Inspire Church's 25th Anniversary Featured Guests Dan Carranza — Kapolei Franco Heu — Waikele DJ Garces — Honolulu Randy Kimura — Kailua Clint Chinen — Mililani Inspire Church 25th Anniversary: Join Inspire Church as they celebrate 25 years of ministry and God's faithfulness in Hawai'i. Get your tickets now! Subscribe to the Pound for Pound Leadership Podcast for more conversations on faith, leadership, purpose, culture, and the people shaping Hawai'i and beyond. Join Great Life at mikekai.tv

We sit down with PRCA Bullfighter Judd Napier and discuss how the Hawaiian born cowboy came to the mainland, and what struggles he faced in his move, and discuss life outside of the arena.

Born in 1950, raised on the west side of LA, Craig R. Stecyk III is a multidisciplinary artist whose work spans film, fine art, commercial design, writing, and photography.  He's widely known for the "Dogtown Chronicles," which featured in Skateboarder magazine in the 1970s. In fact, Stecyk co-founded Zephyr, which spawned the hugely influential Z-Boys. During that time, in addition to documenting the scene through his writing and photography, he applied his singular graphic design sensibility to create the Rat Bones and the Dogtown Cross. Later, he co-wrote the award-winning 2001 documentary Dogtown and Z-Boys with Stacy Peralta, which further chronicled the Dog Town scene and its characters. Since the 1970s Stecyk's written many pieces about surfing, most notably "The Curse of the Chumash," which appeared in Surfer in 1976. Focused on Malibu, it blended local history, surf-skate mythology, and a heap of counterculture irony. His art installations include Road Rash, in which he scraped up roadkill, bronzed it, and returned it to the exact spot where he'd found it. In 1989 he made Papa Moana, featuring Hawaiian objects and artifacts. He helped curate Surf Culture: The Art History of Surfing, a 2002 exhibition at the Laguna Art Museum. He's written essays for several surf-related books, among them 1936-1942: San Onofre to Point Dume. A surfboard shaped and painted by Stecyk resides in the permanent archive of the Smithsonian. As filmmaker and artist Thomas Campbell puts it, "Craig's our patron saint of outsiderness, of being creative without bounds. His influence is so omnipresent you don't even see it." In this episode of Soundings, Stecyk sits down with host Jamie Brisick to talk about growing up in coastal Los Angeles, the Dogtown era, the strange artifacts that find their way into an artist's life, the challenge of making something that withstands time, and getting checked out of school by Miki Dora to go surf.  Presented by Rainbow® Sandals Produced by Jonathan Shifflett Music by PazKa (Aska Matsumiya & Paz Lenchantin) Become a TSJ member at surfersjournal.com

Edo Tanas joins the show after an incredible Hawaiian race season capped by his third straight Molokai 2 Oahu victory. We dig into the training, mindset and equipment development behind his season, including his move to Slingshot, how his approach to fitness and recovery has evolved, and the changing technique and gear at the highest level of downwind racing. Edo also tells the wild story of his Hawaiian island-chain project—foiling from the Big Island to Maui, Maui to Oahu and Oahu to Kauai on back-to-back days, including a seven-hour stretch on foil and some genuinely sketchy moments alone in the open ocean. Then we break down this year's brutal M2O, where Edo struggled to even get on foil at the start, watched the field disappear, and methodically worked his way back through the pack to take the win. It's a great conversation about racing, risk, efficiency, confidence, and just how quickly downwind foiling continues to evolve.

Lethal Mullet Podast: Episode #321: Top 5 Action TV Shows of the 1980's TOP 5 ACTION TV SHOWS OF THE 80s - RANKED. No sitcoms. No soaps. Just helicopters, Hawaiian shirts, duct tape, white blazers with no socks, and a bloke who leaps into other blokes. This week on the Lethal Mullet Podcast I'm counting down the 5 shows that raised us: 5. AIRWOLF - Billion dollar chopper held hostage by a bloke in a cabin who plays the cello. Peak 80s negotiation. 4. QUANTUM LEAP - Sam Beckett leaping into everyone's life trying to fix it. The only show where the hero could be a boxer, a mum, and a chimp in one week. 3. MAGNUM, P.I. - Ferrari you don't own, mansion you don't pay for, mustache that has its own ABN. The blueprint. 2. MACGYVER - Refused to carry a gun and became a verb. Stopped a nuke with a paperclip and made every dad think his junk drawer is tactical. 1. MIAMI VICE - MTV Cops. Pastel suits, Testarossa, gator called Elvis on a boat. It didn't just define the 80s, it WAS the 80s. Who did I rob? A-Team? Knight Rider? Tell me your #1 in the comments and I'll fight you respectfully.

Leslie Lopez has the latest at least seven killed after historic flooding with flash flood threats stretching from Ohio to West Virginia; Melissa Adan has details on tropical storm Lala delivering a devastating blow to the Hawaiian islands, with torrential rains and damaging winds leaving dozens of homes damaged and nearly 200 thousand customers without power; Morgan Norwood reports on the dramatic images of a deadly shooting at a crowded park during a concert in Lexington, Kentucky; Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sharai and Michael Varrati (from Midnight Mass) are wearing Hawaiian shirts and drinking tropical things while learning about Swamp Thing.Artwork created by Bri Tippetts. Check out her work at @britippettsart.Music Credits: Composed/Produced by LaRob K. Rafael. LaRob K. Rafael, piano/vocals, Jackson Kidder, bass, and Tiana Sorenson, vocals.Want More Time On Fierce Street? Then check out the links below!Follow all of our social media from our⁠ All My Links⁠.Subscribe to our ⁠Patreon⁠ for exclusive content and merchandise.

In this episode live from Hawaiian Eye 2026, Cathleen M. McCabe, MD, speaks with Allison W. Shuren, JD, MSN, and Lisa M. Re, JD, about their career journeys, having the courage to pivot when it's time to make a change and more. ·       Allison W. Shuren's journey 4:06 ·       Lisa M. Re's journey 14:13 ·       The transition between law specialties 25:20 ·       Mitigating the creation of whistleblowers in private practice 33:24 ·       When things aren't fair at your workplace 39:33 ·       Do you have any advice for women wanting to pivot in their careers? 43:16 We'd love to hear from you! Send your comments/questions to podcast@healio.com. Follow us on Twitter @Healio_OSN.

Ainslie MacLeod spent much of his life as a skeptic and professional illustrator before an extraordinary encounter with his deceased uncle in a Hawaiian bookstore changed the direction of his life. Today, Ainslie works as a psychic and spiritual teacher exploring past lives, reincarnation, purpose, intuition, and what he describes as the soul's journey. In this conversation, we explore Ainslie's belief that some of our unexplained fears, talents, relationships, and deepest callings may have roots beyond our current lifetime. We also unpack why so many people feel an increased urgency around purpose as they approach 40, how overthinking can drown out intuition, why journaling creates space to hear what we already know, and why community and belonging matter deeply during uncertain times. Whether you believe in past lives or simply remain curious about the mysteries behind who we become, this conversation asks a fascinating question: How much of who you are can actually be explained by the life you remember? EXCITING STUFF! My second book now available for pre-order! You're Invited: A Life-Changing Conversation with History's Greatest Wisdom Teachers Get your MENTAL FITNESS BLUEPRINT here! A special thanks to our mental fitness + sweat partner Sip Saunas   Connect with Marc: https://konect.to/marcchampagne   Timestamps: 00:00 — The question that opens every interview: “Who are you?” 05:43 — The bookstore encounter that divided Ainslie's life into “before” and “after” 08:37 — From illustrator and atheist to exploring psychic abilities 12:46 — The eerie coincidence minutes before Ainslie saw his deceased uncle 16:07 — What Ainslie believes past lives can reveal about who we are 17:36 — Could unexplained fears originate in another lifetime? 22:30 — The astral plane, life review, and what happens between lives 24:14 — Young souls, old souls, and the journey from “me” to “we” 28:11 — How Ainslie says his system was revealed to him 29:09 — Ainslie reads Marc's soul age and life pattern 32:59 — The surprising connection between premature death and fear of failure 35:32 — Why purpose can suddenly feel urgent around age 40 37:36 — Past-life talents, healing, creativity, and meaningful work 42:52 — How do you trust an inner knowing when the outside world remains uncertain? 43:25 — Why modern life can make it harder to become who we actually are 49:01 — Is humanity going through another shift in consciousness? 53:29 — How Ainslie navigates uncertainty and what still keeps him curious 57:41 — A practical exercise for strengthening intuition 58:57 — Why journaling clears the mental noise 60:10 — Community, belonging, and navigating a stressful world together 63:22 — The ripple effect of choosing to follow an unexpected calling * Special props

What is hula really communicating beyond the movements you see on stage?For many, hula is something they experience at a luau, but there is a deeper story, tradition, and cultural practice behind every movement, song, and detail.

Kumu Hinaleimoana Wong is a cultural leader from the island of Oʻahu. She is a kumu hula, Hawaiian language and culture practitioner, filmmaker, composer, and community leader who has dedicated her life to preserving and perpetuating the ʻike, values, and traditions of our lāhui.Many know her from the award-winning PBS documentary Kumu Hina, which shared her story with audiences around the world and went on to win the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Documentary, the Independent Lens Audience Award, and the Frameline Documentary Jury Award. She also co-directed, produced, and narrated the Oscar-shortlisted animated short Kapaemahu, bringing the moʻolelo of Waikīkī's legendary māhū healers to an international stage.Along the way, she has been recognized as a White House Champion of Change, received the National Education Association's Human and Civil Rights Award, was named Native Hawaiian Educator of the Year, and was honored by USA Today as one of the Women of the Century for Hawaiʻi. She is also the composer of “Kū Haʻaheo E Kuʻu Hawaiʻi,” the powerful anthem that became connected to the movement to protect Mauna Kea and later earned Hawaiian Song of the Year at the Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards.In this episode we talk story about growing up between two different cultures, her family, going to Kamehameha Schools, finding her identity, the roots of her Hawaiian knowledge, becoming Kumu Hina, what it means to be Hawaiian these days, her future plans, and so much more. Enjoy!Find Kumu Hina here:https://www.instagram.com/sharkgoddess808/Full episodes:

On this episode of the Perfect Cents Podcast, host Alex Becerra sits down with Shawn Kahan, co-owner of Yellow Brick Group and co-founder of the 'Our Street Night Market'. Shawn takes us through his incredible journey—from hustling t-shirts out of his car trunk at 17 after getting kicked out of school, to designing for NBA icons like DeMarcus Cousins, to building a multi-faceted creative agency in the heart of Sacramento. We'll dive into the origin of the 'Our Street Night Market', detailing how an event planned for a few hundred people unexpectedly drew over 11,000 attendees, inspired by his Asian and Hawaiian heritage and night market trips to Taiwan. He also honors the legacy of late developer Ali Youssefi, reflecting on the cultural impact of the Warehouse Artist Lofts (WAL), and offers profound advice for creative entrepreneurs on self-awareness, personal storytelling, and community building. Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes and does not constitute financial, tax, or legal advice. SAFE is federally insured by NCUA and is an equal housing opportunity lender. Community & Local Favorites: Hanai Shave Ice Camellia Coffee Roasters Instagram - @camelliacoffeeroasters Majka Pizzeria Instagram - @majkabakes Southside Super Instagram - @southsidesuper Sacramento Little Saigon To check out the resources highlighted in this episode visit the links below. For more information about the upcoming Our Street Night Market visit: Our Street Night Market Instagram - @ourstreetmarket For more information about Yellow Brick Group visit: https://ybgroup.us/ Instagram - @yellowbrickgroup To learn more about SAFE Credit Union products and services visit: https://www.safecu.org/  To register for an upcoming Financial Wellness webinar visit: https://www.safecu.org/community/events To read the latest edition of SAFE's Beyond Everyday Banking blog visit: https://blog.safecu.org/ To contact the podcast team, email Podcast@safecu.org To watch this episode in video-format and access more financial education tips, subscribe to the SAFE Credit Union YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@SAFECreditUnionCA

Kennedy is back from Hawaii and ready to share every magical, wild, and hilarious detail from her dream wedding in Lanai! From getting hand-sewn into a custom dress to dancing so hard that they literally split the dance floor, Kennedalia takes you behind the scenes of her special day. Kennedy Now Available on YouTube:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://link.podtrac.com/kstw_yt⁠⁠ Follow on TikTok:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@kennedy_foxnews⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Join Kennedy for Happy Hour on Fridays!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWlNiiSXX4BNUbXM5X8KkYbDepFgUIVZj⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week's WeatherBrains episode is all about Hawaii. Joining us tonight as Guest WeatherBrain is the Chief Meteorologist at Hawaii News Now.  She has given over 15 years of service and has provided trusted coverage for the Hawaiian Islands including tropical cyclones, earthquakes, tsunamis, fires, and other natural disasters.  She earned her Bachelor's degree in Atmospheric Ocean Science at San Fransisco State University.  Jennifer Robbins, welcome to WeatherBrains! Tonight's Guest Panelist is the Warning Coordination Meteorologist (WCM) at the NWS office in Honolulu.  He works Statewide with a wide variety of partners and earned his Bachelor of Science in Atmospheric Sciences from the University of Michigan in 1998.  He started at NWS Marquette MI in 1999, and has worked with the NWS Honolulu since 2006, and the WCM since 2017.  John Bravender, thanks for joining us tonight! Our email officer Jen is continuing to handle the incoming messages from our listeners. Reach us here: email@weatherbrains.com. Jennifer's early weather background (10:00) John's early weather background (15:30) What exactly is it like to forecast for the State of Hawaii?  (18:00) Difficulties forecasting with Hawaiian microclimates (20:00) Employee organization at NWS Honolulu (25:30) Torrential rainfall and major flooding in Hawaii caused by Kona lows (33:00) What exactly is a Kona low?  (42:30) What happened to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center? (49:00) 1992's Hurricane Iniki (50:00) Introduction of chickens to Hawaii in the wake of Hurricane Iniki (53:30) Fire weather threats and how it has changed in recent years (58:30) Tsunami risks and concerns in Hawaii (01:07:45) Warning protocol in the State of Hawaii regarding tsunamis and severe weather (01:19:30) The Astronomy Outlook with Tony Rice (01:25:30) This Week in Tornado History With Jen (01:27:30) E-Mail Segment (01:29:00) Sneak peak at future WeatherBrains episodes! (01:31:30) and more! Web Sites from Episode 1073:   Hawaii News Now First Alert Weather Honolulu, HI NWS Forecast Office Alabama Weather Network Picks of the Week: John Bravender - Homeowner's Handbook to Prepare for Natural Hazards James Aydelott - Okie James on Facebook: In 1936, the start of a truly hideous stretch of never-seen-since Summer weather in Tulsa Jen Narramore - Dyer County Historical Society Rick Smith - Out Troy Kimmel - Out Kim Klockow-McClain - Population structure and hybridisation in a population of Hawaiian feral chickens John Gordon - LoriGraceWX Monsoon Photography Bill Murray - Out James Spann - Proposed changes to WPC's Excessive Rainfall Outlook The WeatherBrains crew includes your host, James Spann, plus other notable geeks like Troy Kimmel, Bill Murray, Rick Smith, James Aydelott, Jen Narramore, John Gordon, and Dr. Kim Klockow-McClain. They bring together a wealth of weather knowledge and experience for another fascinating podcast about weather.

Episode 2011  Brought to you by our incredible sponsor: Better Help - Visit Betterhelp.com/HARDFACTOR  and join the 6 million people globally who have spoken with Better Help therapists  00:00:00 Timestamps 00:02:00 Memories of 2011 00:10:56 Japanese woman arrested for placing billions in fake orders on anime site 00:15:37 Hawaii congressional candidate gets KOed for being a drunk menace 00:30:49 Man with history of purposely setting wildfires may have set wildfire 00:39:14 Three lions die at Japanese Zoo… Wes is unaffected 00:42:03 More police using FLOCK Cameras to stalk people 00:43:57 RFK Eating Habits and Gag Reflex For more head over to patreon.com/hardfactor for weekly bonus episodes and most importantly HAGFD! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What happens when tiny GPS trackers and sneaky songbirds collide in one neighborhood? In this episode about animal behavior and bird tracking technology, Mindy and Guy Raz take you on a hilarious mystery-filled avian adventure to uncover a surprising scientific discovery about Hawaiian honeycreepers! Along the way, you'll learn how scientists used miniature GPS trackers to follow these colorful birds, only to discover that some of them were secretly stealing nest-building materials from their feathered neighbors! From outrageous neighborhood accusations to real-world bird burglaries, this episode is packed with laugh-out-loud hijinks, fascinating science, and a mystery that keeps everyone guessing. By connecting laughter to learning, this animal science episode shows how curiosity, observation, and technology help scientists uncover nature's most surprising secrets.At the Neighborhood Snooping Association's annual meeting, Baby Dennis is running the show, Gramma G-Force is stuffing donuts into her purse, and suspicious behavior is everywhere... But when a young neighbor accuses Gramma G-Force of stealing pieces of his backyard blanket fort—and presents GPS tracking evidence to prove it—the meeting erupts into chaos! Before long, the neighborhood mystery transforms into an unforgettable journey into the forests of Hawaii, where scientists used the very same kind of tracking technology to follow one of nature's most surprising nest-building thieves.Get ready for a whirlwind adventure filled with neighborhood snooping, hilarious courtroom-style chaos, scientific detective work, and plenty of bird-sized mischief. From GPS maps covered in mysterious scribbles to daring nest heists high above ancient Hawaiian lava fields, Mindy and Guy reveal how satellites, wildlife research, and a little curiosity can unlock amazing discoveries about the world around us. This is the Who, What, When, Where, Why, How, and Wow in the World of the sneakiest songbirds, the Hawaiian honeycreepers, brought to life with humor, curiosity, and a whole lot of WOW!✨ Don't miss the chance to explore even further with Wow in the World:Grownups can visit tinkercast.com/join-twaaw to join the World Organization of Wowzers (WOW) and unlock exclusive activities, birthday cards, quarterly mailings, first dibs at events, and a welcome kit with an autographed photo of Mindy & Guy Raz! Plus, Grownups help support our podcast and our mission to create content and experiences that connect laughter to learning, curiosity to innovation, and kids to the WOWs in their world!This episode of Wow in the World is a perfect blend of storytelling and science, inviting kids and families to solve a neighborhood mystery, discover how GPS technology helps scientists study wildlife, and uncover why some of Hawaii's most colorful birds have become nature's most unexpected nest burglars—all while laughing, learning, and wowing together.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

There's a jumbie in a jalopy and the spirits are flowing during happy hour on St. Thomas. Plus, young Lopaka meets a mysterious girl hanging by an abandoned pickup. Joyride There's a jumbie in a jalopy and the spirits are flowing during happy hour on St. Thomas. Thanks, Greg, for sharing your story! Produced and scouted by Paulina Creque, original score by Doug Stuart, artwork by Teo Ducot. The Pickup LIVE Young Lopaka meets a mysterious girl hanging by an abandoned pickup in Maui. Thank you to Lopaka for once again taking us with you on a journey to the other side. If you want to hear more stories from Lopaka or learn about his Hawaiian ghost tours – visit his website Mysteries of Hawaii. This story was told at Spooked LIVE in Oakland. Instrumentals by Clay Xavier and Simon Keyser-Petty. Engineering by Miles Lassi. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.