Podcasts about Herold

Jon Herold comes in Friday with the most material he has had all week, starting with Tulsi Gabbard's first round of declassification on US-funded biolabs. The release is four pages confirming what Russia disclosed back in 2022 and what the community has been saying for years while getting called conspiracy theorists for it. Jon uses the moment for some honest self-reflection: if this is true now, was it not equally true four years ago, and what does that say about how these stories tend to play out? Buried in the documents is a repeated mention of Black and Veatch, which Jon traces directly to Hunter Biden's Rosemont Seneca investments in Metabiota, adding a fresh wrinkle to Hunter's current media tour. The Iran deal saga continues its now-familiar whiplash: bombing threats, then cancellation, then Trump calling the leaked terms completely fake while JD Vance pushes back on the reporting. FISA 702 failed in the House with real Republican defections that Mike Johnson conveniently left out of his floor speech. The FBI raided an Ohio voter registration group, and Jon's live dig into their tax filings turns up a board stacked with Jim Mattis, John Kerry, and Dave McCormick paying themselves enormous consulting fees. Also, Elon Musk is now the world's first trillionaire and Jon is still working on it.

Jon Herold comes in Thursday on a slow news day that gets spectacularly un-slow mid-show. Trump posts a detailed plan to bomb Iran and take Kharg Island, Jon raises a Sun Tzu objection, and then within the hour Trump posts again canceling everything because a peace deal has been approved by every party in the region. Chris Paul had predicted the reversal in the Badlands private Telegram chat before it happened, and Jon finds that deeply satisfying. Jon also spends significant time on the New York Times Epstein book video and arrives at the opposite conclusion the Times intends: the entire narrative confirms the Epstein story was a coordinated op against Trump, not evidence of a coverup. MTG going on CNN to call Trump a traitor over the files does not help his read on her. Federal prosecutors issued subpoenas to JPMorgan, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo in a criminal political debanking investigation, and Jon says expand it immediately to PayPal, YouTube, Instagram, and every platform that kicked people off for political speech. The USPS just proposed new ballot tracking standards tied directly to Trump's election integrity order, and Jon connects it to the USPS blockchain voting patent that has been sitting quietly for years. Senate Democrats are apparently wargaming how to stop Trump from stealing the midterms, and Jon calls it the most telling projection he has seen in months.

Jon Herold comes in Wednesday on a lighter news day and makes the most of the material he has. Trump himself just debunked the June 30 Tulsi decode by announcing Pulte takes over on June 19, and Jon asks the obvious question: do any of the people who built entire posts around that date plan to retract them? Trump also signed the Secure America Act and made live comments claiming the reason Steve Hilton got approved quickly in California while Spencer Pratt got bumped is because he put enough heat on them. Jon reads that as an interesting but incomplete theory about how the fraud system responds to pressure. FISA 702 is expiring this week, Trump is posting that it must pass for World Cup and America 250 safety, and Jon's read is simple: the intelligence community does not need a law to surveil people and will continue doing so regardless. Jon also plays a Tim Pool 2021 clip where Pool calls election fraud talk voter suppression and warns it could get him demonetized on YouTube, then looks at Pool's current viral California fraud posts and has some thoughts about the consistency. The Save America Act hit 50 votes on a Mike Lee amendment with Susan Collins, SpaceX goes public Friday, and LA County voters are allegedly voting to raise their own taxes.

Jon Herold comes in Tuesday on primary day with a show that keeps arriving at the same uncomfortable destination. Iran shot down a US Apache helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz last night and Trump posted the US must respond, which Jon notes creates an interesting tension with his earlier request that Israel not respond to Iranian attacks. Nithya Raman has officially bumped Spencer Pratt from the LA runoff, and Jon asks the audience directly: how many of you actually believe any of the ongoing California investigations are going to produce outcome-altering accountability rather than one arrested ballot harvester? Todd Blanche's DOJ nomination is in genuine trouble with Tom Tillis as the pivotal vote, and Jon has been saying Blanche was not getting confirmed since the day it was announced. He also spends time debunking the viral EBS color decode from the UFC White House event setup, demonstrates that every jumbotron in history displays those same colors during calibration, and finds 2015 UFC examples to prove it. Trump called for Thune to fire the Senate parliamentarian, and Jon says the real problem is Thune. India just deployed nuclear warheads for the first time. The Lindsey Graham primary in South Carolina is today and Jon does not love the situation regardless of who wins.

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Jon Herold comes in Monday on a show that keeps circling back to the same unresolved problem: the people who benefit from election fraud are not going to fix election fraud, and nobody on the side that wants to fix it has an answer for how to make that happen anyway. Spencer Pratt is being slowly bumped from the LA mayoral runoff, a former CIA officer's thread explains exactly how it is done and why it leaves no fingerprints, and Jon asks the question that has no clean answer: what do you actually do when you can prove the fraud but the system has no mechanism to correct itself? Trump's appointment of Pulte as acting DNI inadvertently killed the FISA 702 reauthorization, and Jon reads that as entirely intentional. NSPM 11 on AI and national security dropped over the weekend, and buried in it is confirmation of two classified NSPMs numbered 9 and 10 that nobody knew existed. The Antares micro reactor hit first criticality under Trump's 2025 nuclear executive order, becoming the first privately developed non-light water reactor to reach the milestone in 40 years. The Iran-Israel missile exchange is described as behind us for now, DOGE.gov is back up with still no savings counter update, and Jon has strong feelings about the Department of War maintaining an official list of approved religions.

In this special bonus episode, Morgan had the honor of speaking with Steph Herold, MPH, a Research Analyst and lead researcher of the Abortion Onscreen team (AHSIRH) who is featured in the upcoming documentary, "Hollywood Does Abortion." Premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival, “Hollywood Does Abortion” interrogates how abortion is depicted and discussed in film and on television. Steph has over 15 years of experience in the reproductive health rights and justice fields. She has won several awards including the Rosie Jimenez Award from the Women's Medical Fund. On top of that, Steph has co-authored numerous peer-reviewed publication and grey literature papers focusing on abortion onscreen, abortion stigma, and self-managed abortion. Steph is a subject matter expert featured in “Hollywood Does Abortion.” Morgan and Steph discuss the research Steph has worked on and talk about depictions of abortion in media. “Hollywood Does Abortion” premieres on Sunday, June 7th with additional screenings on June 8th and June 10th. For more information, check out the website HERE. You can follow Female Gaze: The Film ClubInstagramBlueSkyWebsite

Jon Herold comes in Friday on a show that starts with a funeral. DOGE.gov has been taken down after five months of no updates, and Jon is in genuine mourning over the loss of his reliable eight-second daily segment. Then things get more serious: Spencer Pratt is being slowly and obviously bumped from the LA mayoral runoff by late-arriving ballots while everyone watches, federal prosecutors confirm multiple California election fraud investigations, and Trump is posting about it in real time. Jon delivers his funniest and most logical takedown yet of the "just vote them out" solution to election fraud, complete with a mock ballot system for whether the audience should vote. The Save America Act was rejected 48-50 in the Senate with four Republicans opposing it, and Jon asks Elon Musk and others to explain how voting out people in a fraudulent system fixes the fraudulent system. Trump also told the Wall Street Journal he wants Pulte to shrink or possibly terminate the ODNI entirely, which Jon and Chris Paul have been saying for a long time. Seven Senate Republicans including Rand Paul, Josh Hawley, and Mike Lee joined Democrats to kill the FISA renewal. The US and Russia signed a Bering Strait tunnel design agreement today. Trump endorsed Lindsey Graham. Jon has thoughts.

Jon Herold comes in Thursday with a healthy amount of righteous indignation and Phil Scarborough's best news in years. Anna Paulina Luna filed assault charges after a Code Pink activist tapped her arm in a Capitol hallway, and Jon plays the video, compares it to Savannah Hernandez's actual assault, and asks the obvious question: what does calling that an assault do to people who have been genuinely assaulted? Phil Scarborough's Hines County, Mississippi story reaches its conclusion: a judge voided the 2023 Democratic primary after finding missing ballot boxes, missing voter registration forms, missing ballot books, and missing machine tapes, and ordered a new special election in 45 days. Jon calls it one of the first times since 2020 he has seen an election actually thrown out over fraud. John Bolton is expected to plead guilty to illegally retaining national security documents and pay over $2 million. Todd Blanche is being nominated as permanent attorney general and Jon does not think he has the Senate votes. Trump posted in real time calling out California's slow ballot counting as theft and saying the US attorney's office in Los Angeles is already investigating. The House also voted to rein in Trump's Iran war powers with a few Republican crossovers, and Jon sees a potential constitutional fight coming.

Jon Herold comes in Wednesday frazzled from summer kid logistics and ready to make sense of a busy primary night. Spencer Pratt made the LA mayoral runoff against Karen Bass, California's results are still trickling in as expected, and Jon is not confident November goes any better in a system he considers terminally compromised. Trump confirmed on camera that he did call Netanyahu crazy and curse at him for bombing Lebanon, calling himself a wartime president in the same breath, and Jon finds the wartime president framing notably worth paying attention to. The SPLC got a superseding indictment adding detail on $4.1 million paid to informants who participated in cross burnings and KKK activities, and Jon wants to know if anyone in the truth community is on that payroll. Kurt Olsen just joined the DOJ grand conspiracy probe under DiGenova, and Jon has a mixed reaction he is saving for an upcoming Ash conversation because she has reservations he respects. Todd Blanche told the Senate the anti-weaponization fund is simply not moving forward, period, and Jon makes the principled argument he has been making all along: taxpayer-funded payouts without personal accountability for the people who committed the crimes does not fix anything. Trump's Iowa endorsement also just lost.

Jon Herold comes in Tuesday on a chaotic summer schedule and immediately starts doing homework on a name nobody was floating. Trump just named Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, as acting DNI, and Jon pulls his background live: no intelligence experience, but a track record of going after Leticia James, Eric Swalwell, and Adam Schiff, a role in the Fulton County files raid, and a management style so disruptive that Scott Bessent allegedly threatened to punch him at a dinner. Jon does not know if this is a great pick and says so out loud, which puts him in roughly the same honest position as everyone else. Trump also posted that Iran talks have been happening every single day this week regardless of what the media is reporting, Rubio told the Senate the war is over, and Jon notes this is approximately the seventeenth time someone has declared it over. Spencer Pratt's LA mayoral primary is happening today and Jon does not expect him to win, but is watching closely to see whether a stolen race finally gets mainstream people in California asking the question the rest of the country has been asking for years. The Trump-Netanyahu story from Axios is almost certainly planted narrative warfare and Jon explains why.

Jon Herold comes in Monday light on prep and heavy on chat, which is exactly how a slow Monday should go. Tina Peters walked out of prison today after 606 days, and Jon gives it the credit it deserves while flagging that her clemency comes with probation conditions, not a pardon, and he wants to watch how the op around her story unfolds before getting too comfortable. The Iran situation spent most of the show in a confusing standoff: Iran claiming talks are fully suspended because of Israel's attacks on Lebanon and Hezbollah, and Trump posting mid-show that all troops heading to Beirut have been turned back and a fresh Hezbollah ceasefire is already in place. Jon notes the contradiction and lets the audience sit with it. A former Obama-era intel official submitted a memo calling the 51 intel officials' Hunter Biden laptop letter a coordinated deception operation, which Jon acknowledges is correct and calls five years overdue. California's primary is drowning in undisclosed AI slop and paid influencer campaigns, and Jon makes a clean argument for full public disclosure on both sides of political ad spending. Spencer Pratt is probably losing tomorrow. And Jon would like one straight white guy month.

June 1, 2026 | Season 8 | Episode 17AI is moving faster than most of us can comfortably process, and markets are pricing that speed in real time. We take a sober look at the artificial intelligence boom, the surge in chip stocks, and what happens when portfolios quietly tilt too far toward one story. Along the way, we anchor the excitement to something investors can actually use: historical perspective, market structure, and practical asset allocation decisions.We rewind a full century to the Roaring 1920s and the wave of disruption from cars, mass electrification, and radio. The lesson isn't that change is painless, it's that new technology tends to build entire ecosystems of jobs, businesses, and productivity, even while it wipes out older industries. That same push-pull is showing up today as AI tools rewrite workflows, data centers scale up, and regulators scramble to catch up.Then we zoom back into the present: why market leadership rotates, how narrow market breadth can be a warning sign, and why IPO hype can distort fundamentals. We dig into bubble talk with SpaceX-style valuation math, track key headlines around NVIDIA's push toward the AI PC, and highlight an “AI adjacent” opportunity in energy through SLB's digital strategy and its partnership with NVIDIA. We close with a global reality check: the UK bond market and rising gilt yields as a reminder that debt, confidence, and politics can move interest rates fast.If you want clearer thinking in noisy markets, listen now, then subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave a review so more investors can find it.** For informational and educational purposes only, not intended as investment advice. Views and opinions are subject to change without notice. For full disclosures, ADVs, and CRS Forms, please visit https://heroldlantern.com/disclosure **To learn about becoming a Herold & Lantern Investments valued client, please visit https://heroldlantern.com/wealth-advisory-contact-formFollow and Like Us on Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn | @HeroldLantern

Jon Herold comes in Friday on a light news day and makes the most of what he has got. Aliens.gov finally went live and turned out to be an immigration enforcement tracker showing arrest statistics by zip code, not a UAP disclosure portal. Jon explains why the rug pull was entirely predictable and why people need to stop letting a website name set their expectations. Trump's Truth Social post from the Situation Room lays out his final Iran demands in detail: no nuclear weapons, open Strait immediately, all mines removed, and no money exchanged until further notice. Iran's response was that Trump's statement reflects his wishes, not reality, which Jon says is exactly where this has been for weeks. The DOJ probe is now targeting Reid Hoffman's nonprofit American Future Republic, not Carroll herself, and Jon explains the distinction. John Solomon appeared on War Room promising a novel mechanism to speed transparency next week, and Jon notes this is the fourth time in two months he has made a version of that claim. A judge blocked the anti-weaponization fund while legal challenges proceed, Pam Bondi blamed Todd Blanche for the Epstein redaction errors in closed-door testimony, and Scott Bessent confirmed Congress would need to pass legislation before Trump can appear on a $250 bill. Also Jon found his old baseball articles. He is proud of them.

Jon Herold comes in Thursday with a show that touches his own legal situation more than usual. The DOJ just opened a criminal perjury investigation into E. Jean Carroll after revelations that she denied receiving outside funding while Reid Hoffman was secretly covering her legal fees. Jon sees it as a template for what should happen when people fabricate cases for money and attention, and notes he has a slam dunk case of his own he is now likely to pursue. Jill Biden's Atlantic book tour produced a gem: she claims she never saw Joe like that before or since the debate, floats the possibility he accidentally took codeine, and reveals his own advisers blocked a cognitive test. Jon connects it directly to Biden suing the DOJ to stop the Robert Hur audio from dropping on June 15. John Solomon dropped a clip predicting Tulsi Gabbard will release extraordinary 2020 election interference evidence before she leaves, and Jon gives it cautious credit while asking the same timing question he has been asking for two weeks. Trump's mail-in voting executive order got through a federal judge the same day Gavin Newsom signed a law blocking law enforcement from touching ballots, then threatened to tax Carroll fund recipients at 100%. Former CIA officer David Rush was charged after the FBI found 300 gold bars and $40 million in cash in his Virginia home.

Jon Herold comes in Wednesday on a slow news day that gets genuinely interesting when a chat member drops a link and Jon discovers 98,000 AI-powered Flock surveillance cameras mapped across the United States, run by a private company that shares data freely with law enforcement and ICE. He had never heard of them. Now he has feelings. Trump's cabinet meeting produced two notable moments: a detailed fraud task force update from JD Vance with Steven Miller claiming that stopping government fraud entirely could balance the federal budget, and Trump's tribute to outgoing DNI Tulsi Gabbard, which Jon uses as another reminder to temper expectations about her upcoming reports. On Iran, Trump said the country is negotiating on fumes with 250% inflation and an economy in free fall, and added that he does not care about the midterms, which Jon connects directly to the hibernation theory. Ken Paxton crushed John Cornyn in the Texas senate primary, making Cornyn the first Republican senator from Texas ever to lose his own party's nomination. SpaceX just received a $2.29 billion contract to build a military satellite network and Jon plays a 2022 Kash Patel clip that makes the whole thing feel less surprising. Joe Biden is suing the DOJ to stop the Robert Hur audio recordings from dropping on June 15.

Jon Herold comes in Tuesday on a slow news day that gets more interesting as it goes. Tim Burchett posted a video referencing a podcast where someone asked him whether Jews have too much control in Washington, and Jon is pretty sure he knows which podcast Burchett is talking about. He watches it twice, compares it to the actual question he asked, and lands on a point that matters more than the drama: if AIPAC money runs to Congress in the tens of millions while nobody asks tough questions, that is a foreign influence problem regardless of which country it comes from. The Iran ceasefire is wobbling after the US military conducted self-defense strikes on IRGC launch sites and boats around the Strait of Hormuz, Iran is threatening retaliation, and the deal is stalled over nuclear language and sanctions. James Comey's trial just got pushed from July to October 21, with the defense planning constitutional dismissal motions in July, and Jon is not surprised. Ken Paxton and John Cornyn are finishing the most expensive senate race in history, Jon puts zero stock in Kalshi's predictions, and a new internal DOJ email story about the Mar-a-Lago raid turns out to be a probable rerun of something John Solomon wrote two years ago.

Jon Herold comes in on Memorial Day a little lighter than usual, kids are in the backyard on the slip and slide, and the news is slow enough to get real about some things that need saying. The biggest one: everybody is getting very excited about the reports Tulsi Gabbard is expected to release before she leaves, covering Havana syndrome, COVID origins, and 2020 election fraud. Jon is asking the questions nobody wants to sit with: why are these reports being rushed out because she is leaving, were they always going to come on this timeline, and is a report released under these circumstances going to be complete or a limited hangout? Trump posted a lengthy Memorial Day Truth Social mandating that Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, and Jordan all sign the Abraham Accords simultaneously with any Iran deal, calling it the most historic document ever signed. Jon reads every word. Orange County had a cracked chemical tank threatening 40,000 residents before stabilizing. Jon is skeptical Spencer Pratt can overcome LA County's election system regardless of how well he campaigns. A former federal prosecutor was just indicted for allegedly trying to steal sealed Jack Smith documents, and Jon gives it measured credit while pointing out it is not quite the accountability he is actually waiting for.

May 26, 2026 | Season 8 | Episode 16SpaceX is finally nearing the public markets and the hype is already loud, but we're not treating it like a fairy tale. We walk through what a SpaceX IPO could look like at an enormous valuation, why mega IPOs often behave differently than classic “ground floor” listings, and what history says about first-day pops versus the next three years. We also dig into the mechanics that can move the stock after the opening bell, including lockup expirations, insider supply, and the buying pressure that can come later when major indexes and index funds need to add shares.From there, we widen the lens to the daily drivers behind today's tape: Middle East negotiations, oil sliding, Treasury yields easing, and why that combination can lift equity futures even when the geopolitical backdrop feels unstable. We preview key US economic releases like consumer confidence and the PCE inflation report, and we talk about how inflation expectations and deficits feed into the bond market and, ultimately, stock valuations.If bonds still make you uneasy after 2022, we offer a clearer way to think about risk now that starting yields are higher. We cover practical ideas like shorter-term bonds, preferred stocks, and TIPS, then discuss higher-yield options like business development companies (BDCs) with a frank look at the tradeoffs. We also share why Japan is back on the radar for global investors and wrap with a quick scan of a few “unloved” US stocks outside big tech.Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, share this with a friend who's watching SpaceX, and leave a review telling us: are you buying day one or waiting for volatility to settle?** For informational and educational purposes only, not intended as investment advice. Views and opinions are subject to change without notice. For full disclosures, ADVs, and CRS Forms, please visit https://heroldlantern.com/disclosure **To learn about becoming a Herold & Lantern Investments valued client, please visit https://heroldlantern.com/wealth-advisory-contact-formFollow and Like Us on Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn | @HeroldLantern

Jon Herold comes in Friday expecting a relatively calm show and discovers live on air that Tulsi Gabbard has just resigned as DNI. Her husband Abraham has been diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer, her last day is June 30, and Erin Lucas, a CIA operations officer and former Grinnell chief of staff, will serve as acting director. Jon reads Trump's statement, looks up Lucas's background live, and gives an honest reaction: this matters, and we should not pretend it does not. New Fed chair Kevin Warsh is confirmed with his first meeting set for June 16, and Jon is watching for the Powell investigation to quietly reopen. Jon also spends real time on the viral Fox News mask story, demonstrates live that studio lighting creates neck shadows, and asks the one question nobody has answered: what was the motive? Then chat member Phil Scarborough calls in with first-hand documentation of the 2022 Hines County, Mississippi election: 21 missing precincts, missing thumb drives, twelve hours of chaos, a candidate who could not afford the audit, and a Democratic commissioner who went public saying the machines were used to steal his own race. New UFO files dropped from the Department of War and Jon is still not impressed.

Jon Herold comes in Thursday admittedly light on show prep and heavy on improvisation, which turns out to be a feature not a bug. Colorado Democrats just censured their own governor at a 90% vote for having the audacity to commute Tina Peters' sentence, and Jon asks whether this is a genuine internal party revolt or a coordinated effort to rehab Polis as a future national candidate. Former Biden deputy attorney general Lisa Monaco is now facing a DOJ referral alleging she shielded Microsoft from cybersecurity enforcement actions that her own office pursued against other, smaller contractors. Jon also picks up Joshua Bittle's thread on the $1.776 billion anti-weaponization fund: the real story is not the political optics, it is whether Trump used the Judgment Fund to bypass standard congressional appropriations, and what that means for executive power going forward. The American Reserve Modernization Act would authorize the US Treasury to acquire up to one million Bitcoin over five years and codify Trump's strategic Bitcoin reserve into law. Jon is skeptical Congress will pass it and loves the idea anyway. Trump also appeared somewhere with a man whose belly button demanded and received the full attention of the show for approximately fifteen minutes. Jon has no regrets.

Jon Herold comes in Wednesday with a show that starts where yesterday's interview left off. Massey lost in Kentucky, Gallerian won with $15 million in AIPAC money, and Trump's endorsement record stays spotless. Jon uses the moment to ask the question that actually matters: if the election system is fraudulent and the voters do not determine the winner, what does a Trump endorsement actually mean? Is he swaying voters or does he already know who the system is going to pick? He also replays the Burchett clip that has Ashe fired up, pushes back on the blame the voters framing, and asks a pointed question nobody wants to answer: name one grassroots-activated candidate who got into Congress and stayed solid. Trump's Coast Guard speech included a casual reference to being around in 2032, which Jon flags as another devolution-adjacent hint. Two new executive orders dropped: one targeting Chinese money laundering networks and a second that formally integrates digital assets into the US financial regulatory framework, which Jon thinks crypto holders should be paying close attention to. Trump also posted a lengthy Truth Social calling out Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth McDonough and warning that without killing the filibuster Republicans will never win another presidential election.

Jon Herold comes in Tuesday with his best show prep in weeks and a live guest. Representative Tim Burchett of Tennessee joins for a fast-moving fifteen-minute interview covering the most expensive House race in history, foreign money in Congress, dark money and NGO corruption, and Jon's favorite question: given the fraud, waste, and abuse, why should Americans keep paying taxes? Burchett's answer is the best Jon has gotten from any representative yet, and the moment where he tells Jon Congress is crooked as a dog's leg is going to be clipped by someone. Before the interview, Jon reads Trump's overnight Truth Social post announcing a planned military strike on Iran was called off at Gulf allies' request, and immediately wonders whether the attack was ever actually scheduled or whether this is another negotiating tactic. Trump also posted about 500,000 illegal mail-in ballots being sent in Maryland and called for a DOJ investigation. The DOJ is now exposing a two-decade-long California election fraud scheme, but Jon flags that none of the exposure touches voting machines. The 30-year treasury yield climbed to 5.2%, Elon Musk lost his OpenAI case in under two hours, and the Department of War just paused its defense board with Canada.

Jon Herold comes in Monday with his kids officially on summer break and a show that starts with economic warning signs nobody wants to talk about. The US 30-year treasury yield hit 5.16% this morning, the highest level since the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis, and Jon walks through exactly what that means for mortgage rates, housing, and stock prices. Student loan defaults just hit a new all-time high of $171 billion. Then Jon turns to the Kentucky primary circus: the Thomas Massey vs. Ed Gallerian race has degenerated into a Laura Loomer-driven psyop featuring unverified sexual allegations, $25 million in outside money, and a Trump endorsement post Jon reads in full and fact-checks in real time. He does not like Massey and still refuses to participate in the hit campaign against him, and explains exactly why that principle matters more than the outcome. Trump also settled his $10 billion IRS lawsuit and created a $1.776 billion anti-weaponization fund, which Jon cautiously questions: who decides who qualifies, and why are taxpayers footing the bill instead of the people who committed the crimes? Plus: Tina Peters is eligible for parole June 1, US-Greenland Arctic talks are quietly continuing, and Venezuela just deported Biden pardon recipient Alex Saab to the US.

Jon Herold comes in Friday on a lighter show day. A post claims Trump purchased up to a million dollars of NVIDIA stock on January 6, one week before the commerce department approved NVIDIA chip sales to China. Jon pulls the disclosure live and confirms the purchase is real, then asks the harder question: if the stock did not actually go up right after the sale, is it even insider trading? He also plays Trump's comments from Beijing defending the 500,000 Chinese students in American universities on the grounds that the university system needs the money to survive, and Jon does not love it. The Trump-Xi summit produced trade and investment oversight boards, a Boeing commitment that could grow to 750 jets, and up to $50 billion in farm and energy purchases. The DOJ, DHS, and USPS are now in active interagency talks to expand federal voter verification and mail-in ballot rules under the March citizenship executive order, which Jon calls a good start while remaining cautious about the midterms. Ratcliffe just showed up in Cuba with reform demands and a $100 million aid offer that Jon finds immediately objectionable, and the Minnesota House released a report accusing the Walz administration of enabling billions in fraud. Jon also announces the fall GART: St. Pete Beach, Florida, November 12 to 15.

Jon Herold comes in Thursday a little bruised from the Wild's overtime collapse and ready to sort out what actually happened with yesterday's viral story. Half of the infowar space spent Wednesday sharing breaking news that the CIA raided Tulsi Gabbard's office and seized JFK and MK Ultra files. Jon traces the story back to its actual source in the CIA whistleblower testimony, explains how the word "raid" got invented along the way, and names the people who fell for it hard including General Flynn, Jesse Watters, and Anna Paulina Luna, who then tried to walk it back without admitting she used the story for clicks. The real news from the whistleblower is that Fauci allegedly pressured the CIA to flip its lab leak assessment between August 12 and August 17, 2021, which Jon points out is genuinely significant and already being buried under the clickbait. The Trump-Xi summit produced real results: China commits to not arming Iran, agrees the Strait of Hormuz must stay open, and commits to 200 Boeing jets and major energy purchases. The DOD wants $1.5 trillion next year and is calling it an investment, which Jon finds personally offensive as a matter of vocabulary. The DOJ is also suing the DC Bar to protect Jeff Clark from politically weaponized attorney discipline.

Jon Herold comes in Wednesday with a full show and a story that has him reaching for the electoral college map. The FBI has opened a preliminary investigation into Wisconsin's 2020 election, and Jon walks through the math live: flip Georgia, flip Wisconsin, flip one more state, and the "not enough fraud to change the outcome" argument collapses entirely. The Arctic Frost memos reveal that Biden's FBI secretly preserved all Trump prosecution evidence until 2030, explicitly leaving the door open to revive charges the moment a Democrat takes the White House again. Trump is in Beijing with a delegation of A-list CEOs for the Xi summit, and Jon breaks down why Bill O'Reilly's source claiming a Taiwan-for-Iran deal is in play actually makes strategic sense regardless of whether you like Bill O'Reilly. Inflation is getting worse with the producer price index up 6% over the past year, Operation Epic Fury just got renamed Operation Sledgehammer, and Jon explains why that name change is a War Powers Resolution technicality designed to reset the congressional authorization clock. He also plays his own tax accountability compilation clip and explains why asking your elected representatives to justify taxation is not a radical act.

Jon Herold comes in Tuesday energized and with receipts. The FBI is now actively interviewing CIA officials as part of the Brennan investigation into the 2017 Russian intelligence assessment, and Jon plays a recent Brennan clip where the man openly admits to knowing about a "legion" of professionals inside the government still working against Trump. Jon flags it as potential RICO furtherance on tape. The DOJ also officially warned reporters they should expect subpoenas in the classified Iran war leaks investigation, with the Wall Street Journal already having received them. Jon reads newly released Senate committee documents showing Hunter Biden Mann Act evidence including text messages, goes live down a rabbit hole when he notices the name "Robert" in one exchange, and arrives somewhere interesting. Kari Lake is being sent to Jamaica as ambassador and Doug Mastriano to the Slovak Republic, and Jon sees a familiar template: Trump takes big election integrity figures, parks them in ambassadorships, and they disappear from the conversation. Also: the California mayor who just pleaded guilty to being a Chinese spy is named Wang, Stacey Abrams has been subpoenaed in Georgia, ODNI is reviewing 120 US-funded foreign biolabs, and Trump wants Wall Street banned from buying houses.

Jon Herold comes in Monday on a slow news day and makes it work. Today is apparently the last possible day to charge Anthony Fauci under the standard statute of limitations, and Jon marks the occasion with the appropriate level of fanfare before explaining why the grand conspiracy angle might make the whole conversation moot. Trump announced a temporary suspension of the federal gas tax, and Jon immediately asks the obvious follow-up: once you take it away, how do you put it back? The Trump-Xi summit is set for Thursday and Friday this week, with a delegation that reads like a Forbes 400 reunion, and Iran is calling the current ceasefire proposal unacceptable while Trump calls it a very stupid response. Jon also dismisses the hantavirus hysteria in under sixty seconds, connects Hakim Jeffries calling for Supreme Court age limits directly to the Virginia redistricting loss, and reads a Trump Truth Social post tying Fox News to election failures that Jon has been saying for years. The second half of the show turns into an open chat discussion on election reform, redistricting, money in politics, and Jon's genuinely interesting draft lottery idea for congressional representatives.

May 11, 2026 | Season 8 | Episode 15Oil is back near the center of everything, and it's forcing investors to hold two ideas at once: geopolitical risk is rising while U.S. stocks keep notching record highs. We walk through the morning's market setup, from strong earnings and nonstop AI demand to the way higher crude can sneak into inflation expectations, bond yields, and Fed decision-making.Then we go backward to go forward. John D. Rockefeller is often remembered as a monopolist, but the more useful investing lesson is how he built a system: rigorous bookkeeping, manufacturing-like refinery discipline, relentless waste reduction, and a supply chain he controlled end to end. That mindset helps us ask a better question about any company we own or want to own: what's the durable process advantage that competitors can't easily copy?From there we hit the week's biggest narratives: Barron's bullish case for the S&P 500 moving toward 8,000, the post-Spirit Airlines reality that “ultra-cheap” airfare is fading, and why Delta and United increasingly look like loyalty and credit card businesses that happen to operate airplanes. We also cover Moderna's pop on hantavirus headlines, what to look for in private credit through Ares Capital's portfolio choices and payment-in-kind income, and what a Kevin Warsh-led Federal Reserve could signal on rates, the balance sheet, and a steeper yield curve.If this helped you think more clearly about markets, share it with a friend, subscribe, and leave a review so more investors can find the show.** For informational and educational purposes only, not intended as investment advice. Views and opinions are subject to change without notice. For full disclosures, ADVs, and CRS Forms, please visit https://heroldlantern.com/disclosure **To learn about becoming a Herold & Lantern Investments valued client, please visit https://heroldlantern.com/wealth-advisory-contact-formFollow and Like Us on Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn | @HeroldLantern

Jon Herold comes in on a Friday ready to be amazed by the most anticipated document dump in history. The Trump administration released the first tranche of UAP and UFO files to the public, and Jon goes through them live: a grainy dot over Iraq, a slightly less grainy dot over Greece, a letter from a 1965 housewife in New Hampshire, and a document buried on page 53 that describes a directed energy mind control weapon used to induce fake UFO visions. Jon's verdict: same energy as the JFK files and the Epstein dump, with about the same amount of revelation. On more grounded news, the Virginia Supreme Court struck down the Democrat-backed redistricting referendum that was going to hand them four House seats, which Jon calls a genuine win in a situation where wins are rare. The Federal Trade Court blocked Trump's global tariff plan, which is headed to SCOTUS. The FBI is now probing Senate Intelligence Committee Democrats for classified leaks after an NSA criminal referral connected to the Tulsi Gabbard Hezbollah smear. And Jon reads through the DOJ Brennan investigation story, calls it pre-indictment narrative positioning, and explains why weak charges getting brought before strong ones is still his biggest concern.

Jon Herold comes in Thursday fired up about a document, which means it is a good day. Trump's new National Counterterrorism Strategy names the intelligence community itself as a domestic threat actor, calling it out for being weaponized against Catholics, school board parents, members of Congress, and Trump's own administration. Jon calls it a Badlands boop and encourages everyone to watch last night's Devolution Power Hour for the full breakdown. He also flags that John Solomon appeared on Bannon today with nearly the exact same election interference story he ran two months ago, and wonders out loud whether Solomon has been cut off from new source material. A federal judge ruled the DOJ gets to keep all 600 boxes of Fulton County 2020 election records, which Jon cautiously calls a good sign. Jeffrey Epstein's alleged suicide note was just unsealed, and Jon has questions about why it took this long and which suicide attempt it is actually from. Spencer Pratt is running for LA mayor with viral campaign ads, the national debt just crossed 100% of GDP with almost no coverage, and the DOJ is asking the Supreme Court to pause the $83 million E. Jean Carroll verdict using the Westfall Act.

Jon Herold is skeptical today, and he has a list. Kash Patel confirmed the FBI delivered its first tranche of UFO documents to Congress, pastors are allegedly being briefed to prepare their congregations, and Jon is already dreading the clickbait tsunami that follows. He has real questions: why is every government on earth keeping this secret simultaneously, and is this disclosure a genuine revelation or the latest thing to pull a burned-out audience back in? On the Iran front, the White House says it is closer to a breakthrough than ever, with a one-page memorandum of understanding being drafted and Tehran expected to respond within 48 hours. Jon notes we have been on the verge of a breakthrough several times before. Trump's endorsements swept Indiana and Ohio primaries, and Jon raises the question nobody wants to sit with: what does winning endorsements mean when the man endorsing also says the elections are rigged? Trump also posted that the White House ballroom has doubled in size and cost, and Jon still wants to know what is going underneath it. Plus: the DOJ predicts the Supreme Court will declare AR-15s legal nationwide, the FBI raided a Virginia Democratic senator's office in a cannabis corruption probe, and Ted Turner has died.

Jon Herold is doing his best to stay optimistic today and the DOJ is making it easier than usual. A federal grand jury subpoena dated April 17 demands the names, addresses, and personal phone numbers of every single person who worked in Fulton County during the 2020 election, and Jon thinks that is a very good sign. Trump also reinstated the Presidential Fitness Test that Obama killed in 2013, Jon reads the benchmarks out loud, and immediately commits to earning the award on camera. The UAE just withdrew from OPEC after 58 years, and Jon breaks down what that means for oil prices post-Iran war, including the possibility of $2 gasoline if the cartel collapses entirely. Trump went on record saying Democrats have to cheat because their policies are too unpopular to win any other way, and Jon asks the logical follow-up question nobody wants to answer: so what does it mean if the midterms happen without fixing the cheating? Also: Elon Musk paid a $1.7 million SEC settlement that is genuinely peanuts to him, the DOJ is going after the ABA's law school accreditation monopoly, and a Michigan judge dismissed felony charges against a 2020 election clerk in a case that mirrors Tina Peters almost exactly.

Jon Herold comes into Monday a little roughed up from the Wild giving up nine goals, but he has receipts. Trump's latest Truth Social post says elections conducted unconstitutionally simply cannot stand, and Jon thinks that combined with praising Louisiana for suspending primaries, that is as close to a midterm cancellation signal as anyone has put on the record. Project Freedom kicked off over the weekend with the US Navy escorting stranded ships out of the Strait of Hormuz, Iran fired on vessels anyway, and the ceasefire Jon was told was over is apparently still being tested. Jon also plays back his own April 24 prediction that the Jerome Powell probe would reopen the moment Kevin Warsh is confirmed, because Jeanine Pirro just said the exact same thing on Fox. The DOJ announced an antitrust settlement with the Big Four meat packers controlling 85% of US beef processing, with more protein pricing settlements coming this week. Rudy Giuliani is in critical condition in the hospital, Ukraine is still being funded despite what social media is saying, the Tucker for president op is in full swing, and Jon explains in about thirty seconds why it is the same playbook as DeSantis 2023.

May 4, 2026 | Season 8 | Episode 14The market is trying to do two hard things at once: price a flood of earnings season signals while also digesting real geopolitical risk in the Middle East. We start by zooming out on what actually moves portfolios when tensions rise between the United States and Iran, especially with the Straits of Hormuz sitting at the center of global energy flows. My north star for making sense of it is simple: incentives drive outcomes, and history leaves clues if we're willing to look at it honestly.From nuclear deterrence to sanctions to uneasy alliances, we walk through why the Iran nuclear question is so hard to “solve” and why other countries are watching closely. That sets up a forward-looking investing conversation about the industries and technologies that may grow if proliferation pressures increase, and how investors can think about risk without getting trapped in the day's headlines.Then we pivot to the economic knock-on effects you can measure: oil prices, energy insecurity, and the global push for energy independence. We talk about electric vehicles gaining traction well beyond the US, why China's dominance in EV and solar components matters, and we highlight renewable energy stocks discussed in Barron's, including Iberdrola, Enel, and Brookfield Renewable. We also hit the tape: the S&P 500's strong April, the “sell in May” debate, a low VIX and complacency risk, Rick Rieder's bullish AI productivity thesis, Bill Ackman's PSUS IPO drop, and Alphabet earnings with Google Cloud profitability improvements.Subscribe for more market and investing analysis, share this with a friend who follows geopolitics and stocks, and leave a review with the one theme you think will matter most next: AI, energy, or security.** For informational and educational purposes only, not intended as investment advice. Views and opinions are subject to change without notice. For full disclosures, ADVs, and CRS Forms, please visit https://heroldlantern.com/disclosure **To learn about becoming a Herold & Lantern Investments valued client, please visit https://heroldlantern.com/wealth-advisory-contact-formFollow and Like Us on Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn | @HeroldLantern

Jon Herold comes into Friday with a full show and a guest. Cybersecurity expert Skip Holt joins to break down two massive data breaches: the Medtronic ransomware hack locking down 9 million patient records and the Conduent breach now affecting 100 million Americans. Jon then connects those stories to something nobody is discussing: the US Election Security Group has not been activated for the midterms, and Jon thinks that silence might be telling. Louisiana just suspended its House primaries after the SCOTUS redistricting ruling, Trump called it tremendous vision and leadership, and Jon is connecting the dots to a potential nationwide midterm cancellation template. The DOJ is now weighing a second Comey indictment over the classified Daniel Richmond documents that John Durham mysteriously declined to prosecute years ago. Trump is also trying to reset the 60-day War Powers clock by arguing the ceasefire paused hostilities, which Jon finds legally creative. Oil prices stubbornly refuse to spike the way analysts predicted despite the biggest supply disruption in history, and Jon thinks that story reveals something important about Trump's economic strategy. Plus the national debt hits $39 trillion and Jon does math that nobody wants to hear.

Jon Herold comes in Thursday with plenty to chew on and no shortage of opinions. He doubles down on his Comey skepticism after Trump himself posts confirming 86 is a mob term for kill, which Jon says actually makes the legal case harder, not easier, since it removes the noncriminal interpretation that the First Amendment requires. The House quietly passed a three-year renewal of FISA Section 702 with barely a whisper of public debate, and Jon is not thrilled. Trump and Putin held a 90-minute call where Putin offered a Victory Day ceasefire and Trump said both the Ukraine and Iran wars are on similar timetables, calling Ukraine militarily defeated. Q1 GDP came in at 2% despite the Iran oil shock, inflation is still running hot, and Jerome Powell apparently wants to stick around at the Fed, which Jon finds predictably annoying. Mike Johnson is calling to suspend Louisiana elections after the Supreme Court voided the state map, and Jon sees it as a potential template for pausing midterms altogether. Trump also nominated Dr. Nicole Safier as Surgeon General. Jon closes with an extended, honest meditation on information war fatigue, the Santa Claus metaphor for Hopium, and why grounded expectations are not the same thing as blackpilling.

Jon Herold is not celebrating the Comey indictment, and he wants to explain why. While everyone else is popping champagne over a seashell Instagram post, Jon is asking the harder questions: is a charge this weak actually good for the accountability movement, or does it hand the media exactly the political persecution narrative they need to muddy the waters before treason charges arrive? Judge Napolitano agrees the case is legally frivolous, and Jon points out the Jack Posobiec consistency problem nobody wants to touch. He also covers Trump rejecting Iran's latest proposal and maintaining the naval blockade while US intelligence quietly studies how Tehran would respond to a unilateral American victory declaration. The Supreme Court handed down a six to three ruling striking down Louisiana's racial gerrymander, and Jon is watching closely for what it signals about Virginia. A Fox News executive got caught on O'Keefe hidden camera bragging about charging strip club tabs to the corporate card, and the House Oversight Committee is now hunting records after finding DC crime data was being manipulated to look better than it was. Shorter show today, bigger questions.

Jon Herold is excited today and has the documents to back it up. Newly declassified FBI records released by Senator Grassley lay out the Clinton Foundation investigation in detail, and Jon finds the timeline revelation that has him reaching for his mind map. The FBI opened the Clinton Foundation investigation in January 2016, and then on August 1, the very day after Crossfire Hurricane was opened against Trump, FBI HQ shut down the Little Rock field office investigation and quietly transferred it to New York to die quietly. Jon also calls his shot on the DiGenova subpoenas: he said they were headline theater, and now they have been walked back. A former Fauci adviser, David Morens, has been charged with conspiracy, records destruction, and concealment of federal documents tied to COVID origins, and Jon is cautiously encouraged. The FBI also raided more than 20 Minneapolis childcare locations tied to Somali-owned businesses billing for services never delivered. The UAE is withdrawing from OPEC, Iran says it is in a state of collapse, Trump is pushing the Save America Act hard on Truth Social, and Rand Paul says his ballroom bill uses zero taxpayer money. Jon will believe it when he sees it.

Jon Herold comes in calm on a Monday that is anything but. There was an alleged assassination attempt on Trump at the White House Correspondents' Dinner over the weekend, and Jon is less interested in whether it was real than in watching what it does to the online truth community in real time. Spoiler: it is not pretty. Camps are forming, influencers are having emotional meltdowns, and the Q community is eating itself alive on Twitter while Jon watches with a bowl of popcorn and mild personal satisfaction. He also demonstrates just how terrifyingly good AI voice cloning has gotten by playing a fabricated Matt Walsh clip that is nearly impossible to identify as fake. Trump's 60 Minutes interview gets a brief but pointed review, Melania is calling for Jimmy Kimmel's firing over a pre-recorded "expectant widow" joke, and the Supreme Court just approved Texas's congressional redistricting, raising questions about what happens next in Virginia. Iran also floated a new Strait deal after Trump canceled the Pakistan envoy trip, and Jon has one recurring request: please stop going on 60 Minutes and call Badlands instead.

It is a slow Friday, so Jon Herold opens the phones and the conversation gets real fast. Trump posted a middle-of-the-night Truth Social calling for the 2020 presidential election to be permanently wiped from the books with no further force or effect, and Jon unpacks why that kind of rhetoric matters even if nobody knows exactly what it means yet. Then the callers come in hot: a wide-ranging discussion on blackpilling, burnout, hopium addiction, and why Chris Paul keeps getting misrepresented by people who cannot sit still long enough to hear a full sentence. A special forces soldier just got arrested for betting on his own Maduro operation on Polymarket, and Jon finds it hard to be outraged when Congress has been doing the same thing forever and walking free. The DOJ also quietly dropped its criminal probe of Jerome Powell, which Jon finds very Tillis-shaped. Plus: the firing squad is officially back as a federal execution method, Todd Blanche made a significant speech at the NRA on embedding second amendment protections into regulatory infrastructure, and Wickoff is heading to Pakistan for Iran talks without Vance, which is apparently a thing now.

Jon Herold is sleep-deprived, mildly cranky, and working with a slow news cycle today, which means you get the unfiltered version. The Navy Secretary was just fired over clashes with Trump on shipbuilding and fleet deployment, and Jon tries to make sense of why that name keeps showing up everywhere this week. He also digs into a quiet but potentially significant Department of Defense directive that rescinds a key surveillance designation from the DCSA, asking whether the timing, right in the middle of the FISA reauthorization fight, is a coincidence. Jon reads through a piece on Joe DiGenova as the new Russiagate czar and gives an honest take on whether this time actually feels different or if it is just another iteration of the same stop-start accountability cycle. Trump's Truth Social posts on Iran continue to escalate, with orders to shoot at boats placing mines and a full Strait of Hormuz lockdown. Plus the DOJ watchdog is now reviewing Epstein document compliance, SOUTHCOM just stood up a new autonomous warfare command, and Trump settled with Carter Page. Jon also has feelings about NHL officiating.

Trump is apparently running a one-man roast special on Truth Social, and Jon Herold is here for every second of it. On today's Daily Herold, Jon breaks down a frenzy of Trump posts targeting Tucker Carlson, Joe Kent, Candace Owens, and cable news host Jessica Tarlov, while also making sense of what is actually happening with the Iran deal, the Strait of Hormuz, and the curious case of the ultra-fortified White House ballroom. Jon also digs into John Solomon's bold prediction of a coming "Hypersonic Clarity" mass declassification event, potential John Brennan indictment news, and whether the Florida grand jury is finally close to dropping the hammer. And in a moment of real talk, Jon asks the uncomfortable question: are more people going back to sleep than waking up? Featuring chat banter, Badlands media updates, and the ongoing Rumble vs. YouTube saga.

Jon Herold returns with a more laid-back but candid episode, reflecting on a slower news day while still unpacking key developments. He covers the announced Israel–Lebanon ceasefire and questions whether it will actually hold. The discussion shifts to skepticism around political promises, including renewed talk of the Weiner laptop and Epstein-related narratives, highlighting a pattern of attention without follow-through. Jon also dives into the growing push for a national popular vote compact, breaking down why it could fundamentally reshape elections. A major portion of the episode focuses on a blunt economic reality check, asking whether Americans are truly better off financially than they were four years ago. Throughout, he emphasizes the importance of critical thinking and resisting narrative manipulation in a constantly shifting information landscape.

On Tax Day, Jon Herold dives into frustration surrounding government spending, arguing that taxpayer money is largely wasted or misused. He breaks down the heated debate over FISA reauthorization, questioning why surveillance powers that have been abused in the past are being pushed again, even with known risks to civil liberties. The episode also explores how AI is rapidly expanding government surveillance capabilities, raising new concerns about data collection and privacy. Jon touches on Trump's latest interview, including comments on the Federal Reserve, NATO, and the economy, while also highlighting a new initiative to deploy nuclear power in space. He closes by examining how algorithms and incentives shape public narratives, often limiting access to truthful perspectives.

Jon Herold opens with a candid discussion on info war fatigue, questioning whether constant noise and conflicting narratives are intentionally designed to wear people down. He breaks down the growing divide between Trump and major influencers, pushing back on claims that they made him politically relevant and arguing the opposite. The episode explores early moves by Democrats to lay the groundwork for another impeachment using the 25th Amendment, alongside broader speculation about how midterm election narratives are being shaped in advance. Jon also touches on ongoing uncertainty surrounding Iran, as well as economic concerns like rising housing costs and surging gold prices. Throughout, he emphasizes the importance of staying grounded and learning to separate signal from noise.

Jon Herold returns from GART with reflections on the surprisingly stagnant news cycle before diving into the latest media frenzy around Trump's controversial post depicting himself in a religious light. He breaks down the reaction, arguing it's another example of narrative warfare and intentional provocation. The episode also covers ongoing uncertainty around Iran, including ceasefire tensions and blockade developments, while questioning the consistency of official messaging. Jon then explores newly declassified documents tied to Trump's first impeachment, highlighting concerns about hearsay, bias, and the credibility of the original whistleblower. Throughout the show, he emphasizes how narratives are constructed, manipulated, and weaponized in modern politics.

If you've ever avoided saying yes to something meaningful because you were waiting to feel less anxious or more “ready,” this episode is for you.Cohosts Yael and Michael Herold sit down for a chat about his confidence-building online course and the misconceptions that keep people stuck, especially the idea that motivation and the “right mindset” must come first. You'll hear how acceptance and commitment therapy reframes anxiety as a passenger you can bring along while you drive toward your values, why rigid social scripts don't work, and how low-stakes “comfort zone challenges” (like lying down in public) help you practice courage, defuse unhelpful thoughts, and tolerate discomfort without real-world consequences.Join Michael and Yael for lots of practical insight, humor, and a preview of tools that can help you step into the life you want.Listen and Learn: Why confidence isn't built by fixing your mindset first, but by taking action on what mattersWhy you can't learn confidence from scripts or perfect phrases, and confidence only develops through practice, not preparationHow to step outside your comfort zone by practicing small, low-stakes challenges that reveal how thoughts and emotions create avoidance, and how to disarm them so you can act on what matters instead of defaulting to fear-based reactionsWhy worrying about annoying others can hold you back from confidence, and learning confidence means acting respectfully on what matters, even when that fear is presentComfort-zone challenges to expand confidence and even meaningfully change the direction of your lifeBuilding confidence through practical, real-world exercises with Michael's courseResources: Michael's Course: herold.coach/courseLilly and the Wildflowers:www.instagram.com/lilyandthewildflowerswww.lilyandthewildflowers.comAbout Michael HeroldMichael (he/him) is a confidence trainer and social skills coach, based in Vienna, Austria. He's helping his clients overcome their social anxiety through Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and fun exposure exercises. (Though the jury is still out on whether they're mostly fun for him). He is also a certified therapeutic game master, utilizing the Dungeons&Dragons tabletop roleplaying game to train communication, assertiveness, and teamwork with young adults. Or actually, anyone ready to roll some dice and battle goblins in a supportive group where players want to level up (pun!) their social skills. Michael is the head coach of the L.A. based company The Art of Charm, running their confidence-building program “Unstoppable” as well as workshops on small talk, storytelling, vulnerability, and more. He is the scientific advisor and co-producer of their large podcast with more than 250 million downloads. As a member of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science (ACBS), Michael is the current President of the ACT Coaching Special Interest Group with nearly 1,000 coaches worldwide, and the co-founder of the ACT in Austria Affiliate of ACBS, a nationwide meetup for ACT practitioners in Austria. He's a public speaker who has spoken at TEDx, in front of members of parliament, universities, and once in a cinema full of 500 kids high on sugary popcorn. In a previous life, he was a character animator working on award-winning movies and TV shows such as “The Penguins of Madagascar” and “Kung Fu Panda”. That was before he realized that helping people live a meaningful life is much more rewarding than working in the film business – even though the long nights in the studio allowed him to brew his own beer in the office closet, an activity he highly recommends. Michael grew up with five foster kids who were all taken out of abusive families. His foster sisters showed him how much positive change is possible in a person if they have the love and support they need.Related Episodes173. Confidence, Self-Doubt, and Overcoming Limitations with Michael Herold313. ACT-Informed Exposure for Anxiety with Brian Pilecki and Brian Thompson195. ACT Daily with Diana Hill and Debbie SorensenSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.