Podcasts about The Heights

Narrator: Arif Hodzic

IT'S GAME TIME!! This week OG Switch Head Patrick Knisely of One Frog Games joins to discuss his long-awaited game Monochrome Heights following its release. David, Jordan, and Patrick look back at over 3 years of development and break down the challenges and surprises of indie solo dev. Now that the game is out on Steam what is next? Listen to find out. We also cover all the Nintendo and gaming news such as Xbox raising the price of Game Pass, Super Mario Galaxy 1+2 releasing on the Nintendo Switch 2, Open AI's Sora being a hotbed of IP infringement, and much more. As always, we close with the games we've been playing. Listen to Super Switch Headz on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you enjoy podcasts. 0:00:00 Introduction 0:08:14 News and Rumors 0:41:50 Monochrome Heights 1:37:56 Games We're Playing Buy Monochrome Heights on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2336210/Monochrome_Heights/ Discord: https://discord.com/invite/CWbF4gb Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/switchheadz Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SuperSwitchHeadz/ Website: https://www.switchheadz.com/ Clips Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@SwitchHeadzClips 

This is an exciting episode with a very special guest, thanks to our presenting sponsor Brooks Running! Anthony Ramos seems to have done it all from musicals to movies to music to television and more, but he hasn't run a marathon... yet. Thanks to Brooks and the NYRR, plus some sage coaching from the one and only Des Linden, he will achieve that milestone at the NYC Marathon this year. You might know Anthony as the original actor for the dual role of John Laurens and Philip Hamilton in Hamilton or for playing the lead role of Usnavi in the movie version of In the Heights. He is also starring in the upcoming movie A House of Dynamite to be released in theaters on October 10, 2025, before its streaming debut globally on Netflix on October 24, 2025. This is a fun one because Anthony brings all of the doubts and fears and challenges of a new marathoner to the conversation as Des and Kara coach him up a little bit. He relates the challenges of running to his career and is very blunt about his biggest concern for race day in NYC (to which all of you will relate). This one is for all of the Hamilton fans and for the marathoners, new and experienced, that have ever faced a challenge putting one foot in front of the other. Anthony puts words to the pursuit that are very inspiring!

With the apocalypse rapidly approaching, time is running short for our heroes. With half a plan in place, they head to City Hall, and run into unexpected trouble in ISSUE #08: CHANGE IN THE WEATHER.    Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/unexploredcast Follow us on Tumblr: https://unexploredcast.tumblr.com/ Art by Ben Prevas Music by Andrew: https://andrewperricone.bandcamp.com/ Transcripts: https://unexploredcast.tumblr.com/transcripts Molotov College by W. H. Arthur: https://aryl-ether.itch.io/molotov-college  

Monochrome Heights is a fast-paced, tough-as-nails 2D platformer inspired by games like Super Mario Bros. and Mega Man. It releases on October 7th, 2025 on Steam. In this episode, Dylan interviews the developer Patrick Knisely on his time developing the game. The highs and lows, funny anecdotes, challenges, lessons and everything in between! Steam Page - https://store.steampowered.com/app/2336210/Monochrome_Heights/Developer Twitter - https://x.com/OneFrogGamesWebsite - https://www.monochromeheights.com/Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/geekverse-podcast--4201268/support.

Monochrome Heights on Steam. Demo available. A Spotlight Series Interview: This week on the Spotlight Series Interview, Corey Dirrig sits down with Patrick Knisely of One Frog Games, the creator of the distinctive 2D platformer Monochrome Heights.They dive into Patrick's passion for puppetry, his admiration for Jim Henson's storytelling magic, the influence of classics like Fraggle Rock and The Muppets, and how his love of games inspired him to make his own.The conversation also explores Monochrome Heights itself—its imaginative story, memorable characters, and the unique challenge of designing a game around the color-switching platform mechanic.Monochrome Heights is now available on Steam, with a demo ready to play.Follow our Guest: Patrick Knisely, One Frog Games on Twitter, Bluesky, and the Monochrome Heights website. Join the Boss Rush Community: Join the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Boss Rush Network Community Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow Boss Rush Network: Follow Boss Rush Network on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X/Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Support Boss Rush Network:Support Boss Rush on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and buy merch on our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Store.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Boss Rush on YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and visit our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠website at BossRush.net⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for more great content.Thank you for your Support!Thank you for watching or listening to The Boss Rush Podcast. If you're watching this ⁠⁠⁠⁠episode on YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠, hit the Subscribe button, Like the video, and hit the notification bell so you don't miss an episode! If you're listening on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, consider leaving us a rating and a review as it helps with discoverability and growth. ⁠⁠⁠⁠Support Boss Rush on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠ for exclusive content, early access and audio versions of shows, become a Patreon Producer, and more. Visit our website for all of our content including ⁠⁠⁠⁠reviews⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠news⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠daily Boss Rush Banter⁠⁠⁠⁠ discussion topics, ⁠⁠⁠⁠listicles⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠features⁠⁠⁠⁠, and more. However you support us, it means so much to us. Thank you for your continued support of the Boss Rush Podcast and the ⁠⁠⁠⁠Boss Rush Network⁠⁠⁠⁠. 

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:The Trump administration has offered the University of Texas access to enhanced federal funding - if it agrees to a set of conditions that will accelerate the MAGA-fication of the 40 Acres: https://thedailytexan.com/2025/10/02/ut-system-to-review-proposal-from-trump-administration/...Academic experts see the adoption of this Trump "compact" as a dramatic capitulation to federal control: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/us/politics/trump-college-funding.html?unlocked_article_code=1.qU8.UTOI._IZAaVHmIUAQ&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShareAttorney General Ken Paxton and other GOP types are up in arms about accusations that TCU has cancelled a Turning Point event featuring an anti-trans activist - the school says it was never booked to begin with: https://www.keranews.org/texas-news/2025-10-02/texas-ag-paxton-to-investigate-tcu-over-turning-point-event-school-says-was-not-bookedThe Texas Supreme Court has decided that it will oversee Texas' law schools - instead of the nationally-established American Bar Association: https://www.tpr.org/news/2025-10-02/texas-supreme-court-breaks-with-american-bar-association-over-law-school-credentialsDisgraced megachurch pastor Robert Morris has pled guilty to multiple sex crimes against children - but he'll only serve 6 months in jail: https://apnews.com/article/texas-megachurch-pastor-sexual-abuse-oklahoma-0ca16aa31d9d8e5a810d1e1e3483dce4...Morris' victim says he didn't have the courage to face her and her family in the courtroom: https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/video/victim-speaks-exclusively-to-cbs-news-texas-after-gateway-church-founder-pleads-guilty-to-child-abus/Houston friends! Join Progress Texas in The Heights on Monday October 20 for our H-Town Hits Back live podcast taping event! Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available now: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://act.progresstexas.org/a/houston2025event⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Thanks for listening! Our monthly donors form the backbone of our funding, and if you're a regular, we'd like to invite you to join the team! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://progresstexas.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Xeno Legendium Islamic Folklore The Tales of Al-Araf Divine Border Between Jahannam Hellfire & Jannah Paradiseby Xeno Legendium & Muhammad Hamzah Sakura RyukiIn the time beyond time, when the Reckoning had concluded and the scales of deeds were weighed with precision, a group of souls found themselves neither among the rejoicing in Paradise nor the regretful in Hellfire. They stood upon an elevated realm — the A'rāf, the Heights. This station, described in The Noble Qur'an (Surah Al-A'rāf, 7:46–49), was neither a reward nor a punishment, but a pause between two eternal destinies. From this vantage, they could see both realms: the radiant gardens of Paradise on one side, and the blazing torment of Hell on the other. They recognized the people of both camps, calling out to those destined for Jannah Paradise with words of peace, and turning away in dread from those suffering in Jahannam Hellfire.The scholars of old explained that the People of Al-A'rāf were those whose deeds were evenly balanced— their good not quite enough to admit them into Paradise, their evil not enough to condemn them to Hell. Some narrations added that they were people who had fought in jihad but disobeyed their parents, or those who died before the message of Islam reached them in full. While not authenticated in the sayings of the Prophet ﷺ directly, the companions such as Ibn Abbas and Qatadah passed down deep insights about them.These souls waited, humbled and hopeful, their eyes fixed on the Mercy of Allah SWT. They would not remain forever on the Heights. One day, they would hear the call of their Lord: "Enter Jannah Paradise. No fear will there be upon you, nor will you grieve" (The Qur'an 7:49). But before that final moment came, their story — of faith, suspense, and Divine justice — would unfold.

Mandy Gonzalez is an accomplished film, TV, stage actor. Her Broadway debut was in the musical Aida. Then Mandy brought her talent to Lin-Manuel Miranda's, In the Heights, where she originated the role of Nina Rosario in the Tony Award-winning show on Broadway, where she received a Drama Desk Award. As a proud Latina-American, the story of Nina resonated deeply.  Mandy then soared as Elphaba in Wicked and left an indelible mark in the megahit Hamilton, where she starred as Angelica Schuyler for 6 years. Mandy garnered  an OBIE Award for her performance in the Off-Broadway production of Eli's Comin'. Mandy has been seen in recurring TV roles on such shows as Madam Secretary, BULL, Quantico, Only Murders in the Building. On the big screen, Mandy appeared in Across the Universe, Man on a Ledge, and she can be heard as the voices of Mei in Disney's Mulan 2 and Mother Rose on Disney series Alice's Wonderland Bakery. Mandy has performed with the New York Pops, Boston Pops, The National Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra to name a few. Mandy released her debut album FEARLESS, with Warner Music East/West, which debuted in the top 20 of iTunes pop charts. In her quest to create positive change, Mandy is the proud founder of #FearlessSquad—a social media movement for inclusiveness and positivity. Mandy is also an accomplished author who recently published her Young Adult series, FEARLESS -- a 4-book middle-grade series that follows young thespians whose brushes with the supernatural teach them about theater, friendship and themselves. Mandy serves on the boards of BCRF (Breast Cancer Research Foundation) and BCEFA (Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS), where she actively promotes awareness and fundraising efforts. Mandy is fresh off her guest-starring role as Norma Desmond in Sunset Blvd. and headed back to Carnegie Hall with world-premiere of Everything I Know, a dynamic production that pairs Gonzalez's powerhouse voice and emotive prowess with a full accompaniment, creating an unforgettable celebration of Lin-Manuel Miranda's iconic works. 

visit: ➡️ https://raisingheights.com In this episode Zach and Tori discuss the challenges of modern parenting and ways to let children build self confidence through "fighting their own battles". Additionally, the episode covers current events including Jimmy Kimmel's return, cancel culture, and the significance of Charlie Kirk's memorial viewership. This episode is PACKED! 00:00 Introduction 00:50 Peak and Pit: Highlights and Lows 01:15 NFL Game Experience 02:12 College Football Comparisons 05:10 Upcoming RV Trip 10:14 Current Events Discussion 22:29 Member Highlights and Merchandise 24:35 Listener Appreciation and New Member Welcome 25:36 Parenting Insights: When to Step In for Your Kids 28:22 Teaching Kids to Handle Teasing and Bullying 32:11 Promoting Mental Toughness in Children 33:21 Zocdoc: Making Healthcare Easy 36:10 The Importance of Parental Guidance and Support 37:00 Personal Stories and Reflections on Parenting 43:19 Encouraging Independence and Confidence in Kids 48:06 Final Thoughts and Encouragement SUPPORT THE SHOW - BECOME A MEMBER! visit: ➡️ https://raisingheights.com SPONSOR: https://www.zocdoc.com/heights Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:As the second day of the federal shutdown begins, progressives and Democrats must remind themselves and others that it represents a last stand for affordable healthcare, and a stand against the destructive agenda of Donald Trump: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTM6Wvbc5/...Should the Dems cave, as many as 1 million Texans may find themselves priced out of health insurance altogether: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/10/02/texas-republicans-affordable-care-act-premium-tax-credits-shutdown/...Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer may have recently grown a spine as a result of pressure from the likes of Beto O'Rourke: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas-take/article/democrats-beto-o-rourke-chuck-schumer-21078866.phpEl Paso State Rep. Joe Moody and Houston State Senator Carol Alvarado testified yesterday during the first day of the trial over the new Texas congressional map - while nobody appears to know who drew it? https://www.texastribune.org/2025/10/01/texas-congressional-redistricting-map-federal-court/Houston friends! Join Progress Texas in The Heights on Monday October 20 for our H-Town Hits Back live podcast taping event! Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available now: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://act.progresstexas.org/a/houston2025event⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Thanks for listening! Our monthly donors form the backbone of our funding, and if you're a regular, we'd like to invite you to join the team! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://progresstexas.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Narrator: Thomas Jones

After a Texas school bus crashed and rolled over on Aug. 13, the San Francisco Firefighters Local 798 team decided to help the kids heal by paying them a visit. AND A little boy climbed onto a monorail track at Hersheypark, a good distance above the ground. He didn’t have to fear for long— a veterinarian and dad of three, John Sampson, literally jumped to the rescue. To see videos and photos referenced in this episode, visit GodUpdates! https://www.godtube.com/blog/firefighters-bring-gifts.html https://www.godtube.com/blog/boy-climbs-onto-monorail-track.html Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:Democrats in the U.S. House hold the line against the gutting of healthcare, as Republicans skip town - thus, a federal shutdown has begun: https://apnews.com/article/government-shutdown-democrats-republicans-trump-fight-c4949dace66c18d6099b5e23fd98b049...Reactions from Texas House Democrats, including El Paso's Veronica Escobar: https://x.com/RepEscobar/status/1973094484549177360?t=FQgnQH1kE5xW2fyhKK9JCg&s=03...Dallas' Marc Veasey: https://x.com/RepVeasey/status/1973132078221778992?t=NJdRbi6jJ6LPtRkA7BhVcA&s=03...Houston's Lizzie Fletcher: https://x.com/RepFletcher/status/1973147095885554004?t=aGRrGrJxec393f00LRu6_w&s=03...San Antonio's Joaquin Castro: https://x.com/JoaquinCastrotx/status/1973139890939502813?t=8solSSLz8aNURDhFAiljHQ&s=03...What does a federal shutdown mean for us here in Texas? https://www.texastribune.org/2025/10/01/government-shutdown-texas-congress-benefits-parks-veterans/A federal hearing on whether or not the new Trump-ordered Texas congressional district map is constitutional begins today in El Paso: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2025/09/30/federal-hearing-on-new-texas-congressional-map-begins-wednesday-in-el-paso/...How we got here, starting back in May: https://www.tpr.org/government-politics/2025-09-30/the-texas-gerrymandering-trial-begins-how-we-got-hereHouston friends! Join Progress Texas in The Heights on Monday October 20 for our H-Town Hits Back live podcast taping event! Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available now: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://act.progresstexas.org/a/houston2025event⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Thanks for listening! Our monthly donors form the backbone of our funding, and if you're a regular, we'd like to invite you to join the team! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://progresstexas.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

If Broadway had a heartbeat, Alex Lacamoire might be it. You probably know him as the Grammy, Emmy, and Tony Award-winning musical genius behind Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen, In the Heights, and The Greatest Showman. This week, we are beyond grateful to welcome him to Laugh Lines!Penn and I are lucky enough to call Alex and his wife, Ileana, our friends. In this episode, we go behind the scenes of his journey—from a Miami kid with a hand-me-down piano to a Broadway legend. We talk about how he sees music in colors (yes, synesthesia is real!), why lifting others up matters just as much as creating unforgettable scores, and how he's overcome incredible odds. Born with significant hearing loss, Alex has gone on to orchestrate and arrange some of the most iconic music of our generation.Oh—and did I mention we sing? A lot. From The Muppets to Broadway, Alex graciously humors us as everything turns into a sing-along (and even shares a keyboard with Penn). We adore Alex, and after listening, we think you will too. We love to hear from you, leave us a message at 323-364-3929 or write the show at podcast@theholdernessfamily.com. You can also watch our podcast on YouTube.Follow Alex to keep up on his latest projectsPre-order our new book, All You Can Be With ADHDVisit Our ShopJoin Our NewsletterFind us on SubstackFollow us on InstagramFollow us on TikTok Follow us on FacebookLaugh Lines with Kim & Penn Holderness is an evolution of The Holderness Family Podcast, which began in 2018. Kim and Penn Holderness are award-winning online content creators known for their original music, song parodies, comedy sketches, and weekly podcasts. Their videos have resulted in over two billion views and over nine million followers since 2013. Penn and Kim are also authors of the New York Times Bestselling Book, ADHD Is Awesome: A Guide To (Mostly) Thriving With ADHD and winners on The Amazing Race (Season 33) on CBS. Laugh Lines is hosted and executive produced by Kim Holderness and Penn Holderness, with original music by Penn Holderness (and this week, Alex Lacamoire!) Laugh Lines is also written and produced by Ann Marie Taepke, and edited and produced by Sam Allen. It is hosted by Acast. Thanks for listening! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:Governor Abbott faces multiple issues that could make him vulnerable in 2026, including his inconsistencies related to on-campus free speech: https://www.texasobserver.org/greg-abbott-free-speech-charlie-kirk-universities/...His engineering of attacks on public school teachers who failed to sufficiently grieve the death of Charlie Kirk: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/09/30/texas-investigation-teachers-charlie-kirk-free-speech/?_bhlid=29b43cb8833938b9d33be0c7e1d0dbf7be829e1f...And a growing "pay to pay" scandal, in which Abbott has apparently channeled almost $1 billion (with a B) in no-bid state contracts to companies whose executive have made large contributions to his campaign fund: https://www.newsbreak.com/raw-story-2096750/4254968215000-pay-to-play-donors-to-texas-gov-s-pac-received-nearly-1-billion-in-state-contracts...Could Austin State Rep. Gina Hinojosa be next to throw in to challenge Abbott? https://www.axios.com/local/austin/2025/09/26/gina-hinojosa-austin-democrat-campaign-texas-governorEven as they run ICE recruitment commercials on ESPN, Disney has taken a massive financial hit as a result of the Jimmy Kimmel suspension from ABC: https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/disney-reportedly-lost-17-million-paid-subscribers-in-the-week-after-suspending-kimmel-201615937.html...Disney shareholders and journalists are demanding internal records on how the Kimmel suspension was decided, potentially resulting in lawsuits: https://deadline.com/2025/09/kimmel-disney-shareholders-deadline-legal-threat-1236565674/Houston friends! Join Progress Texas in The Heights on Monday October 20 for our H-Town Hits Back live podcast taping event! Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available now: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://act.progresstexas.org/a/houston2025event⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Thanks for listening! Our monthly donors form the backbone of our funding, and if you're a regular, we'd like to invite you to join the team! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://progresstexas.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Jeffrey Seller, 4-time Tony Award winner, producer of "Hamilton," "Avenue Q," "Rent" and "In the Heights," author of the new memoir "Theater Kid"

Today, we take a peak at how the other side lives. Show Notes Super NPC Radio – Patreon - Discord-  Bluesky – Instagram – Twitch Jeremy Schmidt: Video Games: a Comedy Show - BlueSky July Diaz: Bluesky Nick Costanza: Bluesky Mikey McCollor: YouTube Roxy Polk: BlueSky - Twitch

September 29, 1864. During the American Civil War, the Battle of New Market Heights sees 14 African American soldiers awarded the Medal of Honor for their gallantry under fire. This episode originally aired in 2022.Support the show! Join Into History for ad-free listening and more.History Daily is a co-production of Airship and Noiser.Go to HistoryDaily.com for more history, daily.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:The new Texas congressional district map, ordered by Donald Trump to cut his expected U.S. House losses in next year's election, is set to be considered by federal judges in El Paso starting Wednesday: https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/redistricting-fight-texas-congressional-maps-courtroom-determine-constitutional/Could there be a THIRD special legislative session in Texas? Property taxes could be the excuse this time for Texas Republicans to ramp up their culture war on Texas colleges: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/be-for-real/id1840051875?i=1000729093370...MAGA attacks on Texas higher education has been at a fever pitch in recent weeks, including new orders at the Texas Tech system against any mention at all in classes of gender identity: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/09/26/texas-tech-university-system-transgender-identity-restrictions/Agriculture Commissioner and outspoken DEI opponent Sid Miller wrote a letter to UT Austin on behalf of a Latina student they had denied admission, appealing to their DEI mission: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/09/29/sid-miller-dei-letter-university-of-texas/An Anson man has been jailed for threatening to shoot up a Pride parade in Abilene, out of revenge for the assassination of Charlie Kirk: https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/video/texas-man-accused-of-threatening-to-shoot-at-local-pride-event-arrested-by-fbi/#xDid you notice ICE recruitment ads on ESPN while watching college football this weekend? All the more reason to cut ties with Disney, as they undercut local law enforcement agencies: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-09-06/ice-recruitment-law-enforcement-commercialHouston friends! Join Progress Texas in The Heights on Monday October 20 for our H-Town Hits Back live podcast taping event! Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available now: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://act.progresstexas.org/a/houston2025event⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Thanks for listening! Our monthly donors form the backbone of our funding, and if you're a regular, we'd like to invite you to join the team! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://progresstexas.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Fluent Fiction - Catalan: Conquering Heights: Friendship and Fear in the Pirineus Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/ca/episode/2025-09-29-22-34-02-ca Story Transcript:Ca: El vent suau de tardor acariciava les fulles dels arbres a mesura que Júlia, Enric i Biel posaven inici al seu viatge.En: The soft autumn wind caressed the leaves of the trees as Júlia, Enric, and Biel set off on their journey.Ca: Els tres amics, amb motxilles a l'esquena, caminaven replets d'energia i emoció preparant-se per una aventura a través dels Pirineus.En: The three friends, with backpacks on their shoulders, walked full of energy and excitement, preparing for an adventure through the Pirineus.Ca: La mestra havia organitzat aquella excursió com a part d'un projecte de ciències ambientals, amb la missió d'estudiar la biodiversitat de la regió.En: The teacher had organized that excursion as part of an environmental science project, with the mission of studying the biodiversity of the region.Ca: Júlia, somrient però amb una pregunta constant al seu cap, preparava els seus estris per agafar mostres de terra i plantes.En: Júlia, smiling yet with a constant question in her mind, prepared her tools to collect soil and plant samples.Ca: L'entorn era espectacular, els arbres pintats de groc, taronja i vermell brillaven com un mosaic viu.En: The surroundings were spectacular, with trees painted in yellow, orange, and red shining like a living mosaic.Ca: Enric, amb una càmera penjada al coll, liderava el grup com un guia experimentat, aturant-se sovint per capturar la bellesa al seu voltant amb un clic fidel de l'objectiu.En: Enric, with a camera hanging from his neck, led the group like an experienced guide, often stopping to capture the beauty around him with the faithful click of the shutter.Ca: Biel, com sempre, remugava alguna broma, mantenint l'ànim lleuger i el ritme constant.En: Biel, as always, muttered some joke, keeping the mood light and the pace steady.Ca: "Mireu, quina vista!En: "Look at that view!"Ca: ", cridà Enric mentre apuntava cap a un punt allunyat on els cims de les muntanyes es confonien amb el cel blau pàl·lid.En: shouted Enric, pointing to a distant spot where the mountain peaks merged with the pale blue sky.Ca: Júlia va mirar amb admiració però una sensació d'inquietud començava a créixer dins seu.En: Júlia looked on with admiration, but a sense of unease began to grow inside her.Ca: Havien de passar per un tram estret del camí, on la pujada semblava més empinada del que ella esperava.En: They had to pass through a narrow stretch of the path, where the climb seemed steeper than she expected.Ca: La Júlia ocultava un secret que només ella coneixia: la seva por a les altures.En: Júlia harbored a secret only she knew: her fear of heights.Ca: Les pluges recentment caigudes havien deixat el terra relliscós i una mica humit, donant-li una brillantor traïdora.En: Recent rains had left the ground slippery and slightly damp, giving it a treacherous shine.Ca: Júlia va fer una pausa, notant com el seu cor s'accelerava.En: Júlia paused, noticing how her heart raced.Ca: En Biel va imitar una carrossa de la Mercè amb el seu passeig exagerat, fent-la esclatar en una rialla nerviosa.En: Biel imitated a carrossa de la Mercè with his exaggerated walk, making her burst into a nervous laugh.Ca: Però encara estava preocupada.En: But she was still worried.Ca: "Estàs bé?En: "Are you okay?"Ca: ", li preguntà Enric, percebent el canvi en el seu rostre.En: Enric asked, noticing the change on her face.Ca: Júlia va dubtar, però finalment va dir: "Tinc una mica de vertigen.En: Júlia hesitated but finally said, "I'm a bit afraid of heights.Ca: Aquest tram em fa por.En: This part scares me."Ca: " Els seus amics van intercanviar una mirada de comprensió.En: Her friends exchanged a look of understanding.Ca: "No et preocupis", va dir Enric amb determinació.En: "Don't worry," Enric said with determination.Ca: "Estem junts en això.En: "We're in this together.Ca: Podem anar a poc a poc i t'ajudarem.En: We can go slowly and help you."Ca: " Biel afegí, "Sí, Júlia, podem fer una parada cada vegada que ho necessitis.En: Biel added, "Yeah, Júlia, we can stop whenever you need."Ca: "Amb els seus ànims, Júlia va inhalar profundament i es disposà a seguir endavant.En: With their encouragement, Júlia inhaled deeply and prepared to move forward.Ca: Van avançar lentament, un pas darrere l'altre.En: They advanced slowly, one step at a time.Ca: La seva por seguia present, però amb l'ajuda dels seus amics, va trobar el valor per avançar.En: Her fear remained, but with the help of her friends, she found the courage to continue.Ca: Quan va arribar al final del tram difícil, un alleujament intens la va envair.En: When she reached the end of the difficult stretch, intense relief washed over her.Ca: "Ho vas fer!En: "You did it!"Ca: ", va exclamar Biel amb entusiasme, xocant-li la mà.En: exclaimed Biel enthusiastically, giving her a high-five.Ca: Júlia somreia, no només pel seu èxit momentani, sinó també per la força de l'amistat.En: Júlia smiled, not just for her momentary success, but also for the strength of friendship.Ca: Amb noves mostres capturades i un nou sentiment de confiança, van continuar el seu camí, immersos en la bellesa i tranquil·litat dels Pirineus, arrossegats per l'aventura i les lliçons apreses.En: With new samples collected and a newfound sense of confidence, they continued their path, immersed in the beauty and tranquility of the Pirineus, carried by the adventure and lessons learned.Ca: El viatge havia deixat a Júlia més segura i sense mascares, una lliçó sobre la importància d'admetre les pròpies pors.En: The journey had left Júlia more secure and without masks, a lesson about the importance of admitting one's fears.Ca: I amb això, van tornar a casa, carregats no només de plantes, sinó d'experiències que perdurarien per molt més.En: And with that, they returned home, loaded not only with plants but with experiences that would last much longer. Vocabulary Words:autumn: la tardorwind: el ventleaves: les fullestrees: els arbresjourney: el viatgebackpacks: les motxillesshoulders: les espatllesadventure: l'aventurabiodiversity: la biodiversitatsurroundings: l'entornmosaic: el mosaicguide: el guiashutter: l'objectiumood: l'ànimunease: la inquietudstretch: el tramheights: les alturesrains: les plugesground: el terrarelief: l'alleujamentexaggerated: exageratnervous: nerviosaview: la vistamountains: les muntanyesmission: la missióexcursion: l'excursiódetermination: la determinaciósuccess: l'èxitconfidence: la confiançastrength: la força

Fluent Fiction - Norwegian: Conquering Heights: Sigrid's Journey to Preikestolen Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/no/episode/2025-09-28-07-38-20-no Story Transcript:No: Det var en kald høstmorgen, da Sigrid, Kjetil og Astrid startet sin tur mot Preikestolen.En: It was a cold autumn morning when Sigrid, Kjetil, and Astrid started their journey towards the Preikestolen.No: De tre vennene hadde gledet seg i flere uker til denne fjellturen.En: The three friends had been looking forward to this mountain hike for weeks.No: Luften var skarp, og de fargerike, fallende bladene knaste under føttene deres.En: The air was sharp, and the colorful, falling leaves crunched under their feet.No: "Det blir en flott dag," sa Kjetil, som alltid så det positive i enhver situasjon.En: "It will be a great day," said Kjetil, who always saw the positive in every situation.No: Astrid nikket enig.En: Astrid nodded in agreement.No: Sigrid smilte tappert, men inni seg kjente hun nervene stramme seg.En: Sigrid smiled bravely, but inside she felt her nerves tighten.No: Hun var redd for høyder.En: She was afraid of heights.No: De begynte klatringen oppover den steinete stien.En: They began climbing up the rocky path.No: Skråningen var bratt, men vennene hjalp hverandre.En: The slope was steep, but the friends helped each other.No: De lo og delte historier mens de gikk, men Sigrid var stille.En: They laughed and shared stories as they walked, but Sigrid was silent.No: Hun fokuserte på å sette én fot foran den andre.En: She focused on putting one foot in front of the other.No: Halvveis opp, begynte tåken å omringe dem.En: Halfway up, the fog began to surround them.No: Den kom plutselig, tykt og mystisk, og gjorde det vanskelig å se for langt frem.En: It came suddenly, thick and mysterious, making it hard to see too far ahead.No: Sigrid stoppet et øyeblikk, usikker på om de skulle fortsette.En: Sigrid stopped for a moment, unsure if they should continue.No: Kjetil la en hånd på skuldra hennes.En: Kjetil placed a hand on her shoulder.No: "Vi er sammen i dette," sa han.En: "We are in this together," he said.No: Astrid nikket.En: Astrid nodded.No: "Vi gir ikke opp nå."En: "We won't give up now."No: Sigrid visste at dette var hennes sjanse til å overvinne sin frykt.En: Sigrid knew this was her chance to overcome her fear.No: Hun tok et dypt pust og bestemte seg for å fortsette.En: She took a deep breath and decided to continue.No: Steg for steg kom de nærmere toppen.En: Step by step, they came closer to the top.No: Tåken begynte å løfte seg, og et magisk syn åpenbarte seg foran dem.En: The fog began to lift, revealing a magical sight before them.No: Lysefjorden glitret i det fjerne, og solstråler brøt gjennom skyene.En: The Lysefjorden glimmered in the distance, and sun rays broke through the clouds.No: Da de nådde kanten av Preikestolen, nølte Sigrid.En: When they reached the edge of Preikestolen, Sigrid hesitated.No: Hjertet slo raskt, men hun kjente en sterk trang til å trosse frykten.En: Her heart was pounding, but she felt a strong urge to defy her fear.No: "Sigrid, du klarer det!" ropte Kjetil oppmuntrende.En: "Sigrid, you can do it!" Kjetil shouted encouragingly.No: Astrid smilte stolt mot henne.En: Astrid smiled proudly at her.No: Med skjelvende hender grep Sigrid telefonen sin.En: With trembling hands, Sigrid grabbed her phone.No: Hun gikk forsiktig til klippeavgrunnen.En: She cautiously walked to the cliff's edge.No: Der, med fjorden åpne under seg og solen varm på ansiktet, tok hun et bilde.En: There, with the fjord open beneath her and the sun warm on her face, she took a picture.No: Øyeblikket var mektig.En: The moment was powerful.No: Hjertet hennes roet seg, ikke lenger styrt av frykt, men av en nyvunnet styrke.En: Her heart calmed, no longer driven by fear but by newfound strength.No: Da de begynte nedstigningen, visste Sigrid at hun hadde forandret seg.En: As they began the descent, Sigrid knew she had changed.No: Hun hadde ikke bare nådd toppen av Preikestolen; hun hadde klatret over en frykt som hadde holdt henne nede i mange år.En: She had not only reached the top of Preikestolen; she had climbed over a fear that had held her back for many years.No: Vennene klappet henne på ryggen, stolt over hva de alle hadde oppnådd sammen.En: Her friends patted her on the back, proud of what they all had accomplished together.No: Med et smil om munnen og en følelse av frihet i hjertet, så Sigrid foran seg.En: With a smile on her face and a sense of freedom in her heart, Sigrid looked ahead.No: Hun visste at hun kunne klare hva som helst nå.En: She knew she could achieve anything now. Vocabulary Words:sharp: skarpcrunched: knastebravely: tappertnerves: nervertighten: strammerocky: steinetesteep: brattsilent: stillesurround: omringemysterious: mystiskhesitated: nøltepounding: slo raskturge: trangtrembling: skjelvendecautiously: forsiktigcliff: klippeavgrunnenpowerful: mektigstrength: styrkedescent: nedstigningenovercome: overvinneglimmered: glitretrevealing: åpenbartedefy: trosseencouragingly: oppmuntrendeproudly: stoltaccomplished: oppnåddfreedom: frihetachievement: prestasjonsummit: toppjourney: reise

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:Federal and state authorities, who were quick to characterize Wednesday's shooting that killed or wounded three suspected undocumented immigrants as an attack on the ICE agents who had rounded them up, say they have found writings at the home of the suspected shooter confirming that he was targeting ICE: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/09/24/dallas-ICE-shooting-fatalities/...He is said to have acquired the rifle he used legally last month, and did not expect to survive the shooting: https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/joshua-jahns-handwritten-notes-revealed-plan-of-terror-40600292/...Journalist Ken Klippenstein believes the shooter was a product of a growing "irony bro" culture: https://www.kenklippenstein.com/p/the-ice-shooters-motivePublic Citizen has uncovered a "pay to play" scheme, under which big dollar donors to Governor Greg Abbott were awarded almost $1 billion in no-bid contracts over the last four years: https://www.citizen.org/news/public-citizen-report-abbott-donors-draw-nearly-1-billion-in-no-bid-state-contracts/The Texas Latino vote will be crucial in next year's mid-term election - and Texas Republicans are planning huge spending in pursuit of those votes: https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/politics/elections/2025/09/25/531917/texas-gop-set-to-push-back-on-democratic-organization-efforts-by-targeting-hispanic-voters/Christian Nationalist crusader David Barton has been appointed by the Texas State Board of Education as an expert advisor on new plans to refocus social studies curriculum towards U.S. history: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/09/24/texas-sboe-social-studies-standards-david-barton/Houston friends! Join Progress Texas in The Heights on Monday October 20 for our H-Town Hits Back live podcast taping event! Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available now: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://act.progresstexas.org/a/houston2025event⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Thanks for listening! Our monthly donors form the backbone of our funding, and if you're a regular, we'd like to invite you to join the team! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://progresstexas.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

In the broader society, mistrust increasingly defines the parent-teacher relationship. But it doesn't have to be this way. As a Heights parent and seventh grade core teacher, Kyle Blackmer shares a practical vision for sound parent-teacher relationships. It begins with understanding parents and teachers in their true, cooperative roles for a child's good. And it ends with developing real friendship between parents and teachers as they pursue this good together. Chapters: 1:29 Decline of the parent-teacher relationship 4:51 Parents' true role as primary educators 10:18 How teachers relate to parents 13:40 How parents relate to teachers 18:28 Shared understanding of the goal 20:52 School as a community 26:39 Building parent-teacher relationships Links: We Need to Talk About Parent-School Relationships by Daniel Buck Also on the Forum: Partnering with Parents: Some Implications for Parents as Primary Educators by Michael Moynihan Communicating with Parents by Kyle Blackmer The Role of Parents in the Conspiracy for the Good featuring Alvaro de Vicente Order and Surprise: Lionel Yaceczko on Beauty and the Western Tradition featuring Lionel Yaceczko Humility and Teaching: On Leading While Walking Backward by Joseph Bissex Parents as Primary Educators by Michael Moynihan Featured Opportunities: Headmaster's Lecture on Freedom in the Home at The Heights School (October 4, 2025) Fathers' Conference at The Heights School (November 1, 2025) link coming soon Convivium for Teaching Men at The Heights School (November 13-15, 2025)

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:Donald Trump and MAGA have rushed to blame the latest incident of gun violence in Dallas, in which three ICE detainees were shot and one has died...on the left? https://www.texastribune.org/2025/09/24/dallas-ICE-shooting-fatalities/?_bhlid=0df430cf0996f8c2bbdc882fc4c66808a4e09676...The shooter, who appears to have been much more interested in marijuana and video games than politics, doesn't fit the profile of either a left- or right-wing activist: https://time.com/7320384/ice-shooting-joshua-jahn-sniper-dallas/Thousands and thousands of Texas voter registrations remain unprocessed, just days from the October 6 deadline, due to a statewide software glitch: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/09/25/texas-voter-registration-system-TEAM-county-election-officials/The Texas Republican Party has invited ten of its own elected State Representatives to defend themselves against charges that they have fallen short of the MAGA agenda, ahead of a vote that could remove them from the ballot next year: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/texas-gop-censure-dustin-burrows-21063724.phpHouston friends! Join Progress Texas in The Heights on Monday October 20 for our H-Town Hits Back live podcast taping event! Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available now: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://act.progresstexas.org/a/houston2025event⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Thanks for listening! Our monthly donors form the backbone of our funding, and if you're a regular, we'd like to invite you to join the team! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://progresstexas.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

From Olympic runways to boardroom breakthroughs, Simon Arkel knows how to raise the bar—and clear it. On this episode of The Reboot Chronicles, we're joined by this two-time Olympian and five-time NCAA All-American whose journey is a masterclass in reinvention.  Simon's pole vaulting career was built on grit, resilience, and relentless pursuit—qualities that now define his impact in the healthcare industry. Simon has served as CEO across multiple ventures, most notably steering DeepLens, a pioneering platform for clinical trial patient-matching, through its successful acquisition by Paradigm Health.  Today, he's at the helm of Ryght Inc., where he's harnessing generative AI to revolutionize Biopharma site selection—making it faster, smarter, and more cost-effective.  Simon's journey is one of ongoing evolution from early promise to Olympic excellence, and now a visionary leader reshaping healthcare through technology.  Join us as we unpack the many reboots that shaped his path—and explore what's next on his horizon. 

An ageless episode where Jessica and Camilla discuss the buzzworthy trends on TikTok. Watch out socialites, they're calling out the good, the bad, and the blowouts! Find out the dirt on the mini skirt, who likes to shimmer like a winner, and who thinks it’s time to pack up the pearls. Plus, how to spot a millennial in the wild, and why you won’t run into Jessica at a night spa!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Building successful businesses often requires embracing opportunities that find you rather than forcing predetermined plans. In this episode of Building Texas Business, I sit down with Gregg Thompson, who runs multiple ventures with his brothers including landscape operations, nurseries, and the beloved Tiny Boxwoods and Milk & Cookies restaurants. We talk about how their family business evolved from a high school lawn mowing operation into a diversified enterprise spanning Houston and Austin. Gregg shares how their restaurant concept emerged accidentally when customers kept lingering at their West Alabama nursery, leading to an "accidental" expansion into hospitality. He explains their approach to hiring entrepreneurial people and giving them autonomy, plus how they've built robust back-office systems that support everything from landscape project management to baking croissants. The conversation reveals how measuring margins and sharing financial data across divisions creates a culture where creative people start thinking about gross margins. His philosophy centers on being in the "yes business" rather than automatically rejecting new ideas, combined with the belief that there's no limit to what you can accomplish when you don't know what you're doing. This mindset helped them navigate from municipal bonds to nurseries to restaurants without getting paralyzed by industry expertise they didn't possess. SHOW HIGHLIGHTS Sometimes the best business opportunities come from customers eating sandwiches in your nursery at lunchtime, leading to "accidental" restaurant concepts that nobody planned. Giving employees autonomy to try new things without permission first creates innovation - even when it occasionally surprises leadership with what they're attempting. The difference between a good business and a bad business is the back office - if you can't measure it, you can't fix it. Being in the "yes business" means not automatically saying no to employee ideas, since people bringing suggestions are stepping outside their comfort zones. There's no limit to what you can do when you don't know what you're doing, because you don't see the barriers that "experts" assume exist. Family businesses work when siblings have completely different skill sets that complement rather than compete - finance, construction, and wholesale trading each requiring distinct talents. LINKSShow Notes Previous Episodes About BoyarMiller About Thompson+Hanson GUESTS Gregg ThompsonAbout Gregg TRANSCRIPT (AI transcript provided as supporting material and may contain errors) Chris: Hey Greg, I want to welcome you to Building Texas Business. Thanks for taking the time to come in. Gregg: Yeah, my pleasure. I'm really excited about this. Chris: Well, you've got a great story to tell. I can't wait to hear more of the details. So let's start. Just tell us about your businesses. I know there's more than one and kind of what it is that you're doing out there and what you feel like those businesses are known for. Gregg: So I work with two of my brothers and I work with a great partner on the restaurant side. And we have, I think, an interesting little business. I was asked about a year ago to do a little speaking engagement about our company and landscape architecture. That's how it all started. And they asked me to do a quick recap of our company, the history, kind of like this. And I started jotting down timelines and I thought, this is dry. There's really more to how it started. That's all I thought. What was really the genesis of it? How did we get here? And so I call it my dad's lawnmower story and I'm 61 and I had three brothers and we all grew up just working around the house and mowing yards and doing chores and getting allowance and all that stuff. And I think that's how we evolved to where we are today in terms of just being willing to get out and work. And my older brother Lance officially started our landscape company when he was in high school. We all had Chris: Really, Gregg: We all had jobs and chores and I worked at Baskin Robbins. I had one brother that worked at a gas station and Lance was always the most successful entrepreneur. Mowing yards. Well, yeah. So we all mowed the yard and we all got our little allowance and that was great. You get the satisfaction of mowing the yard and finishing and then you get a little economic reward from your dad In the form of an allowance. But Lance was always just really good at making money When we were kids. He bought a new motorcycle when we were kids and I bought a used one. He bought a brand new car when he was in high school, 10th grade off the showroom floor and then traded that in and bought another one. This was like 1980. And so he just was very scrappy and entrepreneurial and was working at a nursery not too far from here over on a sacket. And a lady came in Mrs. Presler and bought a bunch of plants and asked if he could come by and plant them over the weekend. And so he did it. And that was officially his first client. She lived around the corner from us and I'm sure Lance did a good job and she loved having this guy around planting and stuff. And she told some friends and we just evolved and he was wrapping up high school and started making a little bit of money. And by the time he graduated he had some people that wanted projects and he's a really interesting guy. He had really bad dyslexia when he was growing up, still has it. And so school didn't come easy for him, but he had dyslexia and a DD, all those things can be really secret weapons if you know how to work around them. And he just had the ability to visualize things. He's always been into aesthetics and building. And so I think that really gave him some tools to just keep going with this landscape Chris: Thing. And then you ended up joining them at some point. Gregg: And so I went off and did the whole college finance thing and got into the municipal bond business and did that for a few years and I'd helped him with his books, a little glorified bookkeeper when he was starting. And in the early nineties we had talked about he was still growing and had a few employees and a few trucks and moved to some different locations and we just talked about me coming over or getting somebody else in to be the CFO and operations person. And it really wasn't that big at the time. And so I left my job in 94 and joined them and we were just around the corner over on Edlo. We leased some space over there and started a little bitty nursery as well as landscaping. And it was an accidental nursery. It was really a holding yard, and we would get all these plants delivered, we'd buy direct from growers and get all these plants delivered and put 'em in the holding yard and it looked like a nursery. And so people would stop in and want to buy plants and we thought, you know what? Let's see if we can open a nursery. And so that's how the retail nursery Chris: Started. Sometimes you find the business Gregg: And sometimes they find Chris: You. Gregg: Yeah, I call it the accidental nursery. And it was a great location and we were able to secure the real estate and buy it. And then we had some real estate trades that allowed us to move and grow a little bit. And so that was 94. And then that growth occurred throughout the nineties and in late I think 98, we sold that land and moved to the current location on west Alabama. And then we also moved our crews and our administrative offices over to West Park in six 10. And we opened a wholesale nursery there. We bought about eight acres of land there. And that's become the biggest part of our business on the landscape and nursery side is the wholesale. So we sell to other landscapers and over the years we've just grown and we have these divisions. We opened an office in Austin, Lance lives in Austin now. He moved in about 2000. And so we operate out of both cities. We have nurseries in both cities. And then probably our most visible business to the public is the restaurant side. Tiny box woods and milk and cookies. Chris: It keeps me fed. Gregg: Yeah. Well, I wish I could say it was a master plan, but it's been a fun plan. Chris: So I've always been curious how did you go from a nursery and landscaping into the restaurant business? Gregg: So that's I think a fun story too. So nursery people are kind of like book people, book people go and hang out at libraries and bookstores and they just want to be there around things that they love. Plant people are the same way. And our little retail nursery on West Alabama is a really beautiful place and people would just come and hang out. They would come over and on Saturdays there would be three or four people that were there every Saturday just walking around. They'd buy a few things, but they just wanted to be there. A little bit of an oasis. It is. And a lot of the mom and pop nurseries have gone by the wayside over the years. And so it was just a real pleasant space. It's the best patio in Houston. Well, thank you. And so one day, this lady was over there at about noon and she was walking around and she was eating a sandwich and we'd always joked about how people wanted to just be there and hang out and move in. And we got a lot of comments like that. And I saw this lady eating a sandwich just walking around. And so I just imagined that she was there on her lunch break and just wanted to hang out there. And so I called my brother Lance, and we talked probably six or seven times a day. We're always just calling and checking on things and riffing a little bit. And I said, we need to think about Dale coffee shop or restaurant. We've got this beautiful space and people want to be here, so we've got the captive audience and we have a place where they want to be. Let's sell the sandwich or a cup of coffee. We talked about a coffee shopper and we didn't really have a vision. And he said, that's the worst idea. That's a terrible idea. And I was putting this pitch on him. We've got the land, we had the building where I thought we could do it, and we were just using that for storage and mostly for Christmas trees. We sell Christmas trees once a year and we storm in there for about 30 days and otherwise just building was just storage. And I said, we've got the real estate and we can find somebody to cook. I had no idea what I was talking about. And I said, we've got an HR department, we've got the back, we've got all that stuff that's really hard for first time entrepreneurs. We didn't have to sign a lease, we didn't have to learn about hiring people and firing all that sort of administrative stuff. That can be really challenging if you're just a chef and you don't know all that. So we had that in place and we thought, or I thought there wasn't a lot of downside, give it a whirl and if it doesn't work, it's not the end of the world. And he was like, no, that's a terrible idea. Terrible idea. And so I thought, okay, he's probably right. Little Chris: Motivation to prove him wrong. Gregg: Yeah. And so he called me the next day we were talking about stuff. He said, we could probably figure it out. We could probably find somebody to help with the kitchen. And we've got the back office. So he's putting the sales pitch back on me that I was putting on him. And we just decided we had a place where people want to be and they like being there and we're already selling products. Our products just happen to be plants And we could figure out the food part of it. Again, we're pretty naive about it. And so we just started working on it. We hired an architect, we know how to build things and renovate spaces, and we thought we could make it a real pleasant patio and we thought we could do all that pretty stuff. And then we got just incredibly fortunate and found this. He was a young man at the time. He's still pretty young, but I think he's 25 at the time. He's our partner. His name's Bardo, and he's just been the best partner imaginable. And he came in and he was a little bit like us. He grew up mowing the yard and he had a bunch of siblings, but really had this love of hospitality, really outgoing, loves to cook and loves to feed people. And we met him through a client of ours who would come by our nursery and she asked, what are y'all doing over there? And we told her and she said, I've got the perfect guy for you. Chris: How about that? Gregg: And so we think, we still talk about what a miracle all this stuff is, just how things lined up. But Chris: Well, a lot of entrepreneurs will say that being naive in the beginning was a blessing because had they known what they were getting into and all the reality of it, they probably wouldn't have done it. Gregg: Yeah. I call that there's no limit to what you can do when you don't know what you're doing because you're not. That's a good one. You don't know the barriers that are there and you're naive. And if you knew all the stuff that's involved, you would probably be not always. It's tough to think through everything, especially when you don't know what you're doing Chris: Well, and I say just put your head down if you're passionate about it, which you all clearly are. Put your head down and just keep going and you figure it out as you go. Gregg: Yeah. And we did a lot of that, a lot of problem solving and figuring it out. And Baron was just amazing. He learned a lot of skills as we were building this building and he learned how construction works and he learned how software works and he had a really interesting sort of chefy background, but had never been run a restaurant and built one. So it was great. We all developed great tools and we called Lightning in a bottle with the first restaurant. So that's Tiny Boxwood. That's tiny boxwood. And then, let's see, and then in 2010, another one of those little bitty miracles happened and we were able to buy the old JMH grocery Chris: Store in Gregg: West University just through happenstance. I was out walking my dog one night and ran into this guy and he told me about it might be for sale. And so we opened that restaurant up and turned it on in 2011 and operated that for about five years. And we had this little bitty space in the middle between, there's a bank in there, and then we had the restaurant and then there was about 1700 square feet in the middle, and we just held that We wanted to see how everything worked with the neighborhood. We wanted to be good neighbors and see how the traffic flows. Parking's such a big deal in any retail establishment. And we just wanted to see how everything flows. And we didn't really have a vision for that space, but we spent a lot of time talking about it and we designed different things and had different ideas. And then about not quite, it's coming up on 10 years, I think, eight or nine years, we opened milk and cookies. We designed that around the concession stand over in West University, that little baseball walkup window. We didn't have enough parking to allow us to have a restaurant where you walk in and have seats. So really out of necessity, we did the walkup window that we thought was really charming, But we couldn't even if we wanted to, we didn't have the parking Chris: Right. And everyone loves it. Gregg: And everybody loved it. And so that has really developed into just a really fun and interesting part of our business and very visible. And people love it. It's like a little bitty Disney world. Everybody kind of shows up happy and leaves happy and the tickets aren't big tickets. And we've made some fun connections with people. And we've opened three of those in Houston and one in Austin. And then we're opening one in the Heights right now. It's under construction. Chris: I saw something about that in the little area there in the Heights. And they've got some other shops and things around there. Gregg: Yeah, we've got these Chris: Milking cookies. I was there this morning, so it's too close. It's dangerous. Gregg: Yeah, it's been an interesting business. Chris: I don't know how my youngest daughter would've made it through high school without being able to go to milking cookies on the way. But my biggest question is who came up with the chocolate chip recipe? Chocolate cookie recipe. Gregg: So I would love to take credit for that. I had nothing to do with it. That was my brother, Lance and Baron. And Lance has just always been a cookie guy. He's chocolate chip cookie. The greatest thing. Wasn't a real big cookie guy, but he's like, I want to have the best cookie. It just got to be off the chart. And he's one of those guys that everything's got to be the best. It's like he has these visions of things and he just wanted it to be the best. Chris: Well, he succeeded. If people haven't had it, they need to go try it. Gregg: Yeah, thank you. Chris: Hands down the best. Gregg: They've become popular. They've taken on a life of their own. And so he and Baron worked on just these different iterations of different ingredients and recipes and processes. And I got the benefit of taste testing for about six months and then stumbled into a little recipe and process. It seemed to work. That's great. And we've stuck with it and it's been really fun and successful. And we built the milk and cookies was really born out of the cookie. We sold the cookies of the restaurants and we'd get a lot of people that would come. They would pick up their kids at school and come and have milk and cookies that they'd sit at the bar in the restaurants. And Baron, to his credit, thought we could build a little business around pastries and the cookie. And we started doing ice cream and coffee. And so we made it what it is today, but it was really born out of that little cookie. Chris: Yeah, that's amazing. So three different businesses, you can't do that. You can't even do a business, no alone. Three different concepts without a good team. So what have you learned over the years that's helped y'all hire the right people? What kind of processes? What's been the learning and the journey around that? So critical to Gregg: Success? Yeah, it is. People are everything. It's a cliche, but it's true. People are everything. Hiring is anybody can hire. You need to know when to fire, getting the right people. I'm not a great manager of people, so I tend to delegate a lot. And I like to hire people that are entrepreneurial themselves and I like the back office and the numbers and the analysis, and I like to be involved in a lot of discussions and problem solving, but I like to delegate a lot. Give Chris: 'em autonomy. Gregg: Yeah, I give 'em a lot of autonomy. We have another saying that if you're not making mistakes, you're not trying hard enough. It's like when y'all were doing this, you made mistakes, I'm sure, and you figured stuff out. Oh sure. And you don't repeat and learning what not to do, it's just as important as learning what to do. And so that's how I operate. It's probably not the best form of management. And over the years we've gotten just some amazing people. We've got this one guy that operates our maintenance division. His name's Bill Dixon. He joined us over 30 years ago and he's created a little business within our business and it's great. He's had a great career and it's helped us build our landscape brand. And we've got some architects that are doing the same thing. We've got one coming up on 30 years. And then our back office, I think the back office, I've always said the difference between a good office or a good business and a bad business is the back office. You got to be able to count, you got to be able to report, and you got to be able to analyze and know if you can't measure it, you can't fix it. And so we've got a great back office and it's pretty robust for the, we do a lot of different things too. We do everything from landscape project management, building pools and fences and walls, and then baking croissants. We've got this whole range of accounting needs and back office needs. Chris: And is it all consolidated to kind of in the one back office space? We have Gregg: Space, what we call shared services, and it's really where we consolidate all of our accounting and we have different heads of different departments and different software for the restaurant side and payroll side, and then the landscape retail side. And that's been a lot of optimization and evolution that continues today. We just engaged a company to come and advise us on how AI can work within our existing software platform. Chris: Yeah, let's talk about that, just kind of innovation. What are some of the things you think y'all have done to innovate and keep the business progressive that's helped fuel the success? Gregg: I think a lot of it comes from the back office being able to report to our divisions. We have landscape maintenance, Houston, we have one in Austin. We have construction divisions, we have a retail division, a wholesale division. We have warehouse distribution. So we have all these different divisions. And I like the numbers piece and I like sharing that. And it's fun to see people that aren't real numbers. People look at 'em and make the connection between what they do during the day to how it translates into commerce and what does that mean in margins. And you see these really creative people that don't think of themselves as numbers people, and they start talking about gross margins and vice versa. We have a joke with Cindy Keen, who is our CFO. She's super great accountant and manager and does a lot more than just accounting, but she's pretty creative. And we've got these numbers, people that probably never thought of themselves as creative that really are. And so it's fun to see all that, but we rely a lot on software and accounting and reporting and trying to measure things where we can. And it's just a continual optimization. Chris: It sounds like you created a culture around focusing on the numbers and the margin, the details of how do you drive Gregg: Profitability Chris: In everything you do, right? No matter what role you have, that's part of the culture Gregg: You've created. So at the end of the day, if we're not making a profit, nothing else matters. We can talk about all this Nice pretty stuff, but if you're not retaining earnings and making money, you can't give raises. You can't get bonuses, you can't do the things you want to do. You can't try new things. And so we have a robust reporting and accounting and we keep optimizing. We can just change some tools last two or three months and how we account for labor, not account for it, but how we manage it within the restaurants or the restaurants are. It's funny, I was listening to the p Terry's podcast that you did, and the stories he tells really resonate with me because every day you're getting out and you're managing, you're hyper managing everything from cost to sales to labor to time to percentages. And so we just continue to optimize and haggle and we have a lot of different skill sets in our meetings. And so it's a continual, I like to think of it as just an optimization. Chris: Yeah. So you mentioned just a minute ago that you don't fancy yourself as a manager of people. I probably begged to differ, but when it comes to leadership, how would you describe your leadership style and how do you think that's evolved over the last several decades of you doing this? Gregg: Well, well, thank you for saying that. My style is to be encouraging and be open. I try to be in the yes business, I call it the yes business where I don't just automatically say no to things and be open. And if somebody brings you an idea, they're really maybe stepping out of their comfort zone a little bit, something that they think might be worth it, or they may just try it on their own. It's funny, some people within our organization now just try stuff without even bringing it to me, which I love. And sometimes I'm surprised to hear they're doing it Chris: Within certain Gregg: Boundaries, right? Yeah. There's usually some boundaries. Sometimes they're like, okay, you could have talked to me about that. So I think hopefully my leadership style is encouraging and I've been accused of being too positive. People from my office that are listening to this will know what it's talking about. I'm usually overly optimistic on a lot of projections. And my accounting department has a bad habit of proving me wrong on more than one occasion. But I love the people we work with. I love getting to know 'em and see 'em grow, especially on the restaurant side. It's been really, the restaurant business was so alien to me. I didn't know all the components that would go along with it, but some of the really fun pieces have just been getting to know the people that work there Are, I don't know if you've ever worked in a restaurant, but I have. Yeah, they're hard worker. The back of the house, the dish guys, it's a hard job. And then you have the front of the house where a lot of, for some people it's career and it's hospitality, and that's their mindset and that's their personality and they're wonderful. And then you get a lot of people that are working their way through college or school or just want to work and make a little money. And so we've had people go through college and we've had some come and a couple have come and work in our accounting department. They went to U of H and got a degree in accounting and just had breakfast with a guy a couple of weeks ago that's wrapping up his accounting degree. And he wanted to know if there are any opportunities and just getting to see people grow. And Baron who runs the restaurant side, is really good about developing young people in general around what he wants. Chris: Well, I just know from experience on the restaurant side, your retention is remarkable. The same people, I've been a loyal patriot for years, and it's a lot of the same people there, which says something about what you're doing something really right. Gregg: Well, so what I did was stumble across Barron, and I would love to say that, but I've learned a lot from him and what he expects, he has really high expectations and loves. He would've been a great football coach. He loves to coach people. And he has these meetings where he talks about culture and words to use and how to present yourself and how to stand up, just really blocking and tackling around interpersonal skills and then the culture of service and hospitality. And he just does a tremendous job. And it's been fun for me to see that and see these young people develop and become more confident. And we've been doing it long enough now where some of the people that work for us when we started, or in their thirties and mid thirties and speak very fondly of their work experience. Chris: That's great. Let's switch gears a little bit. It's a family business and those aren't always easy. What have you and your brothers done to get along on video and make sure there's no real conflict? And how have y'all shared responsibilities or divided responsibilities? Because not every family business is really easy or successful. So anything that you can share in that Gregg: Regard? Yeah, that's a great question. And for me, I think it's pretty easy answer. We all do different things. My skill's a lot different than Lance. Lance. He's not intimidated by building anything. I've learned a lot about building and construction, landscaping, even the restaurant side of it, but my skills are more around the office finance management and really administration. And so we don't really step on each other's toes. Hopefully we compliment each other. I think we do, and we talk a lot and every day. And then my younger brother, Brad is really interesting too. He runs our wholesale division, which is really big division that we're not known for because it sells to the trade. And he's got a completely different skillset too. He's buying millions of dollars worth of plants and trees, and he's almost like an oil and gas trader. He's taken positions on these perishable products and moving 'em to other landscapers and manages a lot of people too. And he's doing over the counter sales. And we have salespeople that work with them. So we've all got different skills and we all contribute differently. And that's, I think really been the key to making it work. And we occasionally bristle and step on each other's toes, but it's pretty rare, thankfully. Chris: Well, it'd be odd if you didn't from time to time, but it sounds like one, you have different skill sets that y'all recognize and appreciate, and two, there's no Gregg: Ego Chris: Because that gets in the way of whether it's family or not. If you have partners in a business and there's some egos in the room that can lead to, and we've seen it here. I call 'em business divorces and they get ugly. I can Gregg: Imagine. We just have different skill sets, hopefully. I know Lance and Brad both very humble. Hopefully I am too. And we just love what we do. Lance is he loves to say, and I'm the same way. I'll never plan to retire. I want to be able to retire. I don't want to retire. There's a difference. There's a difference. One's a little more freeing and we've just got probably overuse the word fun, but we've got a fun business and we work with great, creative, scrappy, entrepreneurial, hardworking people and who we admire and respect and it's great. Chris: So you started in Houston, obviously and grown here that you've expanded out. Has having a business based in and expanding within the state of Texas you think been an advantage for you Gregg: Texas? So I listen to this guy, I don't know if you've ever heard a guy named Peter Zhan. He talks about geographics and geography and demographics and why some states and cities are successful and some countries, and it's been fascinating, but he says Texas is the greatest state in the world to do business. He says Houston is the greatest city. And he goes on to explain why. And Austin's right up there too. Texas is just, it has his reputation for being wide open and scrappy and entrepreneurial. That's true. It's a great place to start a business. The barriers to entry are pretty low. They're getting a little more, I say burdensome, but it's still pretty easy to just fire up a business. And there's a good labor force here. There's good distribution in the form of imports and exports from the ports. We've got one of the greatest ports in the world for sure. We've got I 10 running through here so you can distribute in and out of there. We've got low cost of energy, we've got low cost of food, we've got a ton of real estate, so it's a great place to do business. And Austin has exploded over the last 10 years and it's gotten a little more expensive to operate out of there. They've taken over the world too with tech and opportunities, and you've got this intellectual knowledge base there. And so Texas is just a great place to do business. We're looking to expand some of our little stores to other cities in Texas. Chris: That's great. Yeah, I agree with you. I think of Houston, especially as a city of opportunity. You see entrepreneurial spirited people everywhere and other entrepreneurs willing to support those starting out, which is the whole reason we started this podcast is to share knowledge, pass something on. And when you think about that, if you were to say something, one or two tidbits to an aspiring entrepreneur who may be listening, what would be your advice about taking that first step or something to maybe watch out for that may be around the corner? Gregg: Yeah. Yeah. So my overly optimistic personality would say, do it, measure the downside. Can you handle if it doesn't work? Worst case scenario, can you handle that? And if you can, the upside will hopefully take care of itself. But I say, go for it. I love to talk to young people that are thinking about starting a business or want to know how you do it. And I love to talk to them. And it's never too late. I love to had a lot of great conversations with older people that have retired or become empty nesters and started a little jewelry business, and then other people that have started wildly successful, much bigger public companies. And so businesses, it's such a creative endeavor and there's a gillion ways to make a living and to start businesses and to try things. And you never know what you can do until you give it a world. Yeah, I love, Chris: I'm always amazed at how the different things people do to actually have a business or make an income, it's fascinating. Some of 'em are obvious, and then there's so many that you're like, wow, I had no idea that someone would've a business around that. Gregg: It's really remarkable. And the more you drill down and get into it, and the more you discover how people have just built great businesses, wildly successful financially and big and small, and yeah, it's great. I love entrepreneurship and I love people that think about it and want to give it a whirl. Chris: Yeah. Well, it's obvious because y'all have been wildly successful yourself and been cool to see how it's evolved from just a nursery to, like I said, a restaurant. I mean people that are passionate about restaurants and can fail at 'em. And it's cool to see someone knew nothing about it, but have it be so successful. Gregg: Yeah. I'm probably a little too capricious about saying, we got really lucky with some of the people and we went into it not knowing, Chris: Well, no sub super hard work. Right? Gregg: Yeah. Chris: So all that to say, then you got all this going on, what do you do to just rest and recharge and find some time for yourself? Gregg: Well, so when my youngest, who's same age as your oldest went off to college, we became official empty nesters. And I had a couple, a little more time on my hands and I wanted to fill it. I'm not good with time on my hands. And so I was trying to decide between, I used to fly airplanes and I was trying to decide between flying or taking up golf. And thankfully I took up golf. It's a little easier to do every day. Chris: Tends to be safer on life expectancy Gregg: Too. If you fall out of the golf cart, it's not fatal. And so I play a lot. I've just become really passionate about golf. I love golf. And so I enjoy that. And Carol and I are traveling a little bit. We got a little place in Florida where we go to, and I still stay pretty busy with work. We are going back and forth to Austin a lot. Catherine, my youngest is still there, so I stay pretty busy. Chris: Good Gregg: Doing stuff I like to do Chris: And well, they say, right, you love it and passionate about them until work. Gregg: Yeah. Yeah. Chris: That's great. Alright, so last question is, do you prefer Tex-Mex or barbecue? Gregg: Oh, that's so tough because I was just at our little shop and somebody who works there who knows I'm into certain types of foods and ingredients and stuff, she gave me these great, because she knows I love chips. And she's like, oh, I got these, they're seed oil free and all this stuff and you got to try. I'm like, oh man, I'm going to have something to snack on. So I love chips, I love Tex-Mex and I love barbecue. But if I were to choose, I would probably choose Tex-Mex. Okay. Some of my early fondest food memories are Tex-Mex. Chris: Yeah. So it's funny, it's the hardest question that I ask on the podcast for everybody, and it's a hard one for me to answer, but I go to, when I've been gone traveling for a while, what's the first thing I want when I come back? And as much as I love barbecue, the answer text Gregg: Message. Yeah, it's our comfort food. I literally remember the first time I had chips and queso the day I remember where it was, where I was. And it just changed my life. Chris: Well, maybe there's a new restaurant concept for y'all to go after. It could be, yeah. Although there's a lot of competition here, right? Gregg: I know there's good competition. Yeah. Chris: Well, Greg, thanks so much for coming on. Love your story. Congratulations to you and your brothers and your whole team there for what y'all do. And again, from a personal standpoint, I love it. I take advantage of it being just two blocks away more times during the week than I care to admit. Gregg: Yeah. Well thank you and congratulations to you on your podcast. I just love that you're doing this. It's very entrepreneurial. It's like this, the definition of an entrepreneur is Chris: Trying something. Well, I appreciate that. We consider ourselves here. We talk about it all the time within our partnership that we're entrepreneurs. For sure. And to your point, we look for people that have that ownership mindset to work here because we think that's what makes this firm successful. And it helps us with our clients because our clients are entrepreneurs. And so I think we're, those connections help form deep Gregg: Relationships for sure Chris: With the clients that we have. And we think that's part of why we 35 years and going strong. Gregg: Yeah. That's great. Chris: Thanks again for coming. Appreciate you taking time. My pleasure. Take care of Hello. Gregg: I will. Thank you. Alright. Special Guest: Gregg Thompson.

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:Nexstar Media Group joined the Sinclair Broadcast Group in blacking out the return of Jimmy Kimmel Live to ABC last night, denying the show to viewers in both the Lubbock and Midland areas - we encourage you to voice your concerns with the companies that advertise on those stations: https://www.nexstar.tv/stations/...Nexstar and Sinclair control about a quarter of the ABC affiliates across the country - thus, viewers in major cities including Washington D.C., Seattle, St. Louis, Portland Oregon, New Orleans and others were blacked out as well: https://www.axios.com/2025/09/23/jimmy-kimmel-return-sinclair-nexstar-abcJimmy Kimmel's full opening monologue from last night: https://youtu.be/aTZjo42xRH4?si=Td_SK0mWhbHjZn1jLawyers for the state of Texas, looking to undermine the arguments of opponents of the new Trump-ordered congressional map that it was done on a basis of race (as the Trump DOJ has asserted), are now saying that motive was "a mistake" - but that they want to keep the new map anyway: https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/texas-officially-walks-back-justification-for-redistricting-throws-doj-under-bus/The ACLU has sued 14 Texas school districts over the new Ten Commandments law: https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/texas-families-sue-over-ten-commandments-classroom-law/Houston friends! Join Progress Texas in The Heights on Monday October 20 for our H-Town Hits Back live podcast taping event! Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available now: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://act.progresstexas.org/a/houston2025event⁠⁠⁠⁠Thanks for listening! Our monthly donors form the backbone of our funding, and if you're a regular, we'd like to invite you to join the team! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://progresstexas.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

No doubt some Canadian investors were happily eyeing their portfolios yesterday. Truck stops should swap potato chips for microchips to appease their future customers: robot drivers.

Back together as a team once again, our heroes uncover the City's plan to stop the apocalypse, and attempt to come up with a new plan of their own, in ISSUE #07: MISGUIDED GHOSTS.   Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/unexploredcast Follow us on Tumblr: https://unexploredcast.tumblr.com/ Art by Ben Prevas Music by Andrew: https://andrewperricone.bandcamp.com/ Transcripts: https://unexploredcast.tumblr.com/transcripts Molotov College by W. H. Arthur: https://aryl-ether.itch.io/molotov-college

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:Jimmy Kimmel returns to the airwaves tonight, but the Sinclair Broadcast Group says they still won't run his show: https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/22/entertainment/jimmy-kimmel-returning...Find your town's Sinclair station here: https://sbgi.net/tv-stations/Even within Republican circles, the attacks on free speech to avenge Charlie Kirk are becoming too ironic to swallow: https://www.expressnews.com/politics/article/charlie-kirk-free-speech-gop-21053192.php...Similarly, Texas Christian leaders are getting fed up with stories of adultery coming from Ken Paxton's marriage: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/ken-paxton-gop-primary-divorce-21049167.phpMore and more data shows that the Trump-ordered redistricting of Texas may have been designed around faulty assumptions about Latino loyalty to the GOP: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/cnn-harry-enten-trump-texas-republicans-redistricting-latinos_n_68cc06a5e4b0aa8d99fe7dca...Analyst Steven Weintraub is seeing similar signs in the tea leaves: https://stevenweintraub.substack.com/p/did-democrats-actually-win-redistricting?utm_medium=emailHouston friends! Join Progress Texas in The Heights on Monday October 20 for our H-Town Hits Back live podcast taping event! Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available now: ⁠⁠⁠https://act.progresstexas.org/a/houston2025event⁠⁠⁠Thanks for listening! Our monthly donors form the backbone of our funding, and if you're a regular, we'd like to invite you to join the team! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://progresstexas.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

This episode coversFire by House of ProtectionLove Spelled Backwards Is Love by Kerosene HeightsWebsite: https://redcircle.com/shows/two-tunes-podcastInstagram: https://instagram.com/twotunespodcast?igshid=13gpurxc3bf2qDiscord: https://discord.gg/eYMwBuJ6GeRSS Feed: https://feeds.redcircle.com/baeeceec-9527-475d-85b5-d9da2eea19d3E-mail: twotunespodcast@gmail.comSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/two-tunes-podcast/exclusive-content

9/23/2025 PODCAST Episode #3037 GUESTS: John McGuire, Sheriff Clarke, John Eastman+ YOUR CALLS! at 1-888-480-JOHN (5646) and GETTR Live! @jfradioshow #GodzillaOfTruth #TruckingTheTruth

Wall Street holds near its record heights.

Goldylocks Productions presents Enlightened Heights with Marcia ColverMarcia Colver lives in Bridger, Montana. When she is not hanging out in the mountains of Montana fishing or helping with the animals, she can be found bouncing all over the country, empowering people, and spreading joy and love through the sharing of her magical voice.Marcia is certified as a Reiki Master, a massage therapist educated in eastern and western medicine, reflexologist, NeuroMuscular Therapist, and hypnotist. She is further trained as an astrologer, a vibrational medicine practitioner, shamanism, and is a High Priestess. She combines all this training with her psychic abilities to give her clients the most valuable experience possible.Her purpose is to bring to humanity the true power and grace of the sacred feminine through healing with love as a high priestess dedicated to all feminine energies. The many ways of forging a path to healing are understanding and clearing alternate soul lives, generational trauma, and limiting beliefs. She assists the client in helping find these traumas or limitations and transmute the energy around and through them to help them step into their power.https://marciacolver.comGoldylocks Productions: http://www.goldylocksproductions.com Receive links and updates for our Shows, Special Events and Sales! Subscribe to The Goldylocks Zone Blog: https://www.whitesagewoman.me Join us on Telegram: https://t.me/goldylocksproductions Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Goldylocks Productions presents Enlightened Heights with Marcia ColverMarcia Colver lives in Bridger, Montana. When she is not hanging out in the mountains of Montana fishing or helping with the animals, she can be found bouncing all over the country, empowering people, and spreading joy and love through the sharing of her magical voice.Marcia is certified as a Reiki Master, a massage therapist educated in eastern and western medicine, reflexologist, NeuroMuscular Therapist, and hypnotist. She is further trained as an astrologer, a vibrational medicine practitioner, shamanism, and is a High Priestess. She combines all this training with her psychic abilities to give her clients the most valuable experience possible.Her purpose is to bring to humanity the true power and grace of the sacred feminine through healing with love as a high priestess dedicated to all feminine energies. The many ways of forging a path to healing are understanding and clearing alternate soul lives, generational trauma, and limiting beliefs. She assists the client in helping find these traumas or limitations and transmute the energy around and through them to help them step into their power.https://marciacolver.comGoldylocks Productions: http://www.goldylocksproductions.com Receive links and updates for our Shows, Special Events and Sales! Subscribe to The Goldylocks Zone Blog: https://www.whitesagewoman.me Join us on Telegram: https://t.me/goldylocksproductions Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Description First-time guest Joseph Darowski (hi, Dad) joins returning guest John Darowski and Joe to discuss to stories about supernatural dangers faced by humans as they take to the skies. “The Horror of the Heights” is a 1913 short story … Continue reading →

Today, Sun rural reporter Tracy Ross talks about a program in northern Colorado that has teams of people climbing trees to pull pine cones so they can use the seed in reforesting wildfire burn scars.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A troubling number of U.S. House Democrats - including Reps Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez - voted Friday to honor Charlie Kirk, a notorious promoter of racist views: https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/119-2025/h282The same weekend as a large memorial event for Kirk in Arizona, Texas Republicans attended the Texas Youth Summit in The Woodlands, where they attempted to further radicalize Kirk's grieving fans: https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/politics/2025/09/20/531467/republican-representatives-call-youth-to-action-at-charlie-kirk-tribute-in-the-woodlands/...Resistance is building against the push by Governor Greg Abbott and others to silence Texas college students who choose not to lionize Kirk: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/09/22/texas-free-speech-college-campus-charlie-kirk-greg-abbott/?_bhlid=4a9636c9afe8b0572ffda1819115a6e7d1f10ae7...Senator Ted Cruz, in a rare moment of clarity, says FCC Chairman Brendan Carr's threats against ABC resemble those of a mob boss - of course, he's mainly worried about future censorship of the right: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2025/09/19/ted-cruz-says-fcc-chair-sounded-like-a-mafia-boss-in-threats-against-abc-over-jimmy-kimmel/Perhaps surprisingly, a conversation between Joe Rogan and Matthew McConaughey finds Rogan opposing the posting of the Ten Commandments in Texas classrooms, and McConaughey supporting the new law: https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/politics/article/joe-rogan-matthew-mcconaughey-21052729.phpHouston friends! Join Progress Texas in The Heights on Monday October 20 for our H-Town Hits Back live podcast taping event! Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available now: ⁠⁠⁠https://act.progresstexas.org/a/houston2025event⁠⁠⁠Thanks for listening! Our monthly donors form the backbone of our funding, and if you're a regular, we'd like to invite you to join the team! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://progresstexas.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Dominicans comprise the largest immigration group in modern New York City, and Dominican culture has become embedded in the city's rich fabric of immigrant history. And in one place in particular -- Washington Heights.This historic neighborhood of Upper Manhattan is named for George Washington, who led the Continental Army in an early, pivotal battle here during the Revolutionary War. Today, it's also known to some as Little Dominican Republic, home to the largest Dominican neighborhood in the United States (although more Dominicans live in the Bronx overall).Starting in the 1960s, thousands of Dominicans immigrated to the United States -- and most to New York City. Special guest Dr. Ramona Hernandez, the director of the CUNY Dominican Studies Institute, joins the Bowery Boys to discuss the extraordinary circumstances that led to this population influx and details the many reasons why Dominican culture still thrives in the Big Apple.The Bowery Boys Podcast is proud to be sponsored by Founded By NYC, celebrating New York City's 400th anniversary in 2025 and the 250th anniversary of the United States in 2026.Discover the exciting events and world-class institutions that commemorate the five boroughs' legacy of groundbreaking achievements, and find ways to celebrate the city that's always making history at Founded by NYC.This episode was produced and edited by Kieran Gannon Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:Donald Trump has declared war on "Antifa", which isn't an actual organization - so what does his declaration actually mean? https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-targets-antifa-movement-terrorist-organization-2025-09-18/The push by the press to unseal the Ken Paxton divorce records has grown to include a broad array of news media outlets: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/angela-ken-paxton-divorce-seal-21053528.phpAs the school year hits its stride, growing numbers of Texas parents are finally clueing in that Bluebonnet Learning may be teaching their kids Bible lessons - some of questionable theological legitimacy: https://youtu.be/aky6oCEV9sk?si=XGIgibSy_JKPypOpThe Texas GOP's idea to close their primary is a bad move for democracy and a bad look for Texas: https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/editorials/2025/09/18/texas-gops-closed-primary-plan-is-bad-for-our-state/An unusually high degree of turnover is expected to result from the 2026 election - which, regardless of party control, represents a drain of institutional power for the Lone Star State: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/texas/article/texas-congressional-delegation-midst-shakeup-21053185.phpHouston friends! Join Progress Texas in The Heights on Monday October 20 for our H-Town Hits Back live podcast taping event! Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available now: ⁠⁠https://act.progresstexas.org/a/houston2025event⁠⁠Thanks for listening! Our monthly donors form the backbone of our funding, and if you're a regular, we'd like to invite you to join the team! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://progresstexas.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:The suspension of Jimmy Kimmel's show by ABC for criticizing MAGA for politically exploiting the murder of Charlie Kirk proves Kimmel's own point: https://www.vox.com/politics/461887/jimmy-kimmel-suspension-air-abc-charlie-kirk-nexstar...That same outrage machine is ramping up a targeting of transgender Americans - Amarillo Congressman Ronny Jackson believes they should all be rounded up: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/ronny-jackson-newsmax-trans-people-b2828571.html...All while Governor Abbott, who oversees an economy equivalent to the 8th largest in the world, has the time to target a Seguin teacher for calling Kirk's death "karma" - further proving Kimmel's point: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/greg-abbott-teacher-charlie-kirk-21053442.phpTejano star Bobby Pulido, as expected, has announced a run for Congress in CD-15, challenging Republican Congresswoman Monica De La Cruz: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/09/17/bobby-pulido-launches-texas-congress-campaign/Houston families are cowering in fear as ICE raids ramp up in Texas' largest and most diverse city - as public support for immigration has grown significantly: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/editorials/article/houston-ice-raid-police-fear-immigrants-hpd-scotus-21042697.phpHouston friends! Join Progress Texas in The Heights on Monday October 20 for our H-Town Hits Back live podcast taping event! Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available now: ⁠https://act.progresstexas.org/a/houston2025event⁠Thanks for listening! Our monthly donors form the backbone of our funding, and if you're a regular, we'd like to invite you to join the team! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://progresstexas.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Gillian Swearingen meets with Josh and Brandon at Pop's to discuss the Sabrina in Gravestone Heights stories from the 1992 comic series Archie & Friends. Beware spoilers in this episode! If you enjoy this podcast, please consider donating.Follow Archie and Me on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.Podcast cover art by Sacha Jones

Narrator: Heather Foster

Priscilla Lopez is a CLEAR leader for the Michigan Department of Corrections as well community development leader for Heights of Hope, a non-profit serving an underserved neighborhood in Holland, Michigan. Priscilla shares about challenges in her upbringing that led to significant brokenness and ultimately, prison time. Her story doesn't end there, though — Priscilla describes how a renewed faith in Jesus has led to restoration and hope in her life. Links & Episode Notes Priscilla Lopez Personal Mission Statement: To bring a hope that influences breakthroughs. Heights of Hope Enneagram Type 8: The Challenger Alpha CLEAR - Coalition of Leadership, Education, Advice, and Rehabilitation (Michigan Department of Corrections) Engedi Music Made to Advance is a production of Engedi Church and is hosted by Brian Aulick. Send us your feedback at mta@engedichurch.com.

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:Attorney General Ken Paxton's lawsuit against Beto O'Rourke and Powered By People, accusing them of bribery and other campaign finance violations, appears to be near defeat in court: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/09/17/ken-paxton-beto-orourke-texas-democrats-quorum-break-15th-court/?_bhlid=a0e58d7d33f7fdf5a4ed837802f072ff1560ec84Andrew White, son of former Democratic Texas Governor Mark White, is considering a second crack at the job: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/abbott-white-governor-race-21051521.phpHouston residents have been being buzzed by low-flying military helicopters this week in a joint exercise between the Houston Police Department and the Trump-rebranded "Department Of War": https://www.chron.com/news/article/military-helicopters-houston-21050797.phpA second Black Texas college student has been expelled from school for expressing a lack of support for Charlie Kirk on campus: https://www.kvue.com/video/news/state/texas-state-university-student-expelled-mocking-charlie-kirk-death/269-ff2b7021-ccd8-4518-823a-e377dae048ce...The American Freedmen Legal Fund notes that, just as the UT Austin crackdown on pro-Palestinian demonstrators last year did, this wave of Abbott-spurred college expulsions violates the governor's own Executive Order GA-42, which protects unpopular expression on Texas college campuses: https://x.com/realAFLF/status/1968089395074044401/photo/1An important factor to consider for upcoming elections: Texas has been found, for the second year in a row, to be the second-most-diverse state in the country: https://wallethub.com/edu/most-least-diverse-states-in-america/38262...While the new Trump-ordered congressional map appears to rely on low Latino turnout: https://www.ksat.com/news/texas/2025/09/17/texas-gop-may-be-banking-on-low-hispanic-turnout-in-new-map/Houston friends! Join Progress Texas in The Heights on Monday October 20 for our H-Town Hits Back live podcast taping event! Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available now: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/houston2025eventThanks for listening! Our monthly donors form the backbone of our funding, and if you're a regular, we'd like to invite you to join the team! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠https://progresstexas.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Today on the show, Lisa was joined by Chance Smith of Kerosene Heights! Chance shares his first memory of falling in love with music and how the band KISS played a role, the scene in Asheville, response to their latest record 'Blame It On The Weather' , how music is a therapeutic outlet for Chance and so much more.----------------------------------------------------------Find Kerosene Heights : Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/keroseneheightsall LINKS via linktree: https://linktr.ee/kereoseneheightsApple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/kerosene-heights/1602994663Spotify : https://open.spotify.com/artist/0D4NkuZAkjfdm5clMtYYrz?si=bKyWEIpRSzmZadWi-wBvtQ----------------------------------------------------------------Find Stereo Therapy :Insta: https://www.instagram.com/stereo,therapywebsite: https://www.stereotherapypod.com------------------------------------------------------Stereo Therapy Theme Song by Walwin:Insta: https://www.instagram.com/stereo.therapy----------------------------------------------This podcast is a part of the Never A Phase Network:Follow the network belowinsta: https://www.instagram.com/neveraphasenetworkwebsite: https://www.neveraphasenetwork.com

Don and Tom take listeners on a “mountaintop” look at today's frothy markets, exploring elevated valuations, retail trading spikes, and record margin debt. They unpack what these numbers really mean, warn against trying to time the market, and reiterate the need for diversification and a long-term plan. Listener questions include a young investor's Fidelity-heavy portfolio, a 30-something's aggressive allocation and risk score mismatch, and a listener inquiry about “investwithroots.com,” which Don dissects as a private real-estate fund with fees and risks that outweigh its glossy promises. 0:04 Opening from the market “peak” and climbing metaphor 1:38 Market valuation discussion: P/E ratios, concentration in top 10 stocks 3:21 Surge in retail trading, meme stocks, margin debt, Robinhood sentiment 5:13 Economic uncertainty and why market timing doesn't work 6:11 Staying with your plan and portfolio diversification 7:15 Risks of U.S. large-cap concentration in typical portfolios 8:03 The need to include small-cap, value, and international stocks 9:14 Eugene Fama's “trading is like soap” warning and why trading destroys wealth 10:46 Practical advice: stop trying to outsmart the market, build a plan 13:22 Listener Q1: 18-year-old's portfolio—too much large-cap, not enough international or small value 16:15 Listener Q2: 30-year-old with $100K—good diversification but needs bonds for risk profile 19:25 Listener Q3: Investwithroots.com analysis—fees, geographic risk, private REIT red flags 24:16 Why public REITs like Vanguard's VNQ offer better diversification/liquidity Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On a trip to Mexico, Brittany Cartwright discusses her deep fear of heights due to her recurring Santa nightmare. If you enjoyed this teaser, join the Turtle Time Patreon and become a Villa Rosa VIP to hear the full episode and access exclusive bonus content! We'll be recapping the Vanderpump Rules series from the beginning each week. And if you need even more Turtle Time in your life, follow us on ⁠TikTok⁠ or ⁠Instagram⁠. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.