Podcasts about Hyderabad

Episode 74 - Martin Stoehr turns hidden opportunities into global impact, building resilient networks from Leipzig to Hyderabad. Dr. Christian Schmierer shares mindset hacks, growth strategies and keys to transformative impact. Disclaimer: Please note that all information and content on the UK Health Radio Network, all its radio broadcasts and podcasts are provided by the authors, producers, presenters and companies themselves and is only intended as additional information to your general knowledge. As a service to our listeners/readers our programs/content are for general information and entertainment only.  The UK Health Radio Network does not recommend, endorse, or object to the views, products or topics expressed or discussed by show hosts or their guests, authors and interviewees.  We suggest you always consult with your own professional – personal, medical, financial or legal advisor. So please do not delay or disregard any professional – personal, medical, financial or legal advice received due to something you have heard or read on the UK Health Radio Network.

Gayatri Kalyanaraman is in conversation with Sunil David, Digital Technology Consultant |Ex-Regional Director(IOT)- AT&T  we discuss What does it take to evolve from installing multiplexers in the 90s to becoming one of India's most respected IoT evangelists and startup mentors? In this episode, Sunil David shares his three-decade journey across telecom, IoT, and digital transformation. Early Career FoundationsSunil began his professional journey in 1994, right after completing his Electronics and Communication Engineering. Unlike many peers who shifted to unrelated fields, he was one of the “lucky few,” as he puts it, to continue working in his chosen discipline for decades.First role – Multiplexers & Railway Networks His very first assignment was with a small company where he installed multiplexers across India's railway network. These devices connected mainframe computers to remote terminals, ensuring reliable communication across long distances. This hands-on experience with infrastructure and connectivity became the bedrock for his later work in telecom.CMS Computers – Networking Era He then moved to CMS Computers, focusing on LAN and WAN networking solutions. This gave him exposure to enterprise IT and network integration, skills that were highly relevant when India's telecom sector was on the cusp of privatization.Telstra Wecom (1996) – Entering Telecom's Liberalization Phase A pivotal career move came in 1996 when Sunil joined Telstra Wecom, a joint venture between Telstra Australia and VSNL (later Tata Communications). This was just two years after India opened its telecom sector to private players—a historic shift.AT&T and Passion for IoTAfter short but formative experiences in networking, VSAT installations, and enterprise software, 2000 marked a turning point when Sunil joined AT&T. What began as a role in sales grew into a 14-year career where he rose to become Regional Head for South India, handling enterprise connectivity services.Focused on telecom and enterprise connectivity, including mobile, landline, and data services for large enterprises.Built strong CXO-level relationships, gaining insight into how enterprises viewed technology not just as infrastructure, but as enablers of business growth.Developed a strategic mindset: learning how to sell not just technology, but business outcomes—a skill that would become vital in his IoT work. After a short return to Telstra, Sunil came back to AT&T in 2017—this time with a completely different mandate: to lead AT&T's IoT business in India and ASEAN.This was when IoT adoption globally was still nascent, and in India it was just taking shape. Sunil recalls that he had been personally fascinated by IoT since 2011–2012, when the idea of “things being connected to the internet”—from cars to machines—caught his imagination.Technology Evangelism & MentorshipSpeaking engagements became not just a platform to promote AT&T's services, but also a way to educate enterprises and build credibility in the ecosystem.At AT&T, Sunil saw how business and technology intersect—sparking his next chapter as a technology evangelist with a focus on strategy, startups, and purpose-driven innovation.His first keynote was on 9th August 2017.From there, he went on to speak at 400+ industry forums, covering IoT, AI, metaverse, cybersecurity, and digital transformation. He transitioned from corporate leader to solopreneur and mentor, working with startups in AI, IoT, sustainability, and climate change.His contributions to CII, NASSCOM, and initiatives like Women Wizards Rule Tech, where he has mentored thousands of women in digital skills.How he manages his time, creates content for 32,000+ LinkedIn followers, and leverages tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity to boost productivity.Practical advice for professionals: continuous learning, attending industry forums, building a legacy, and balancing financial, physical, and spiritual well-being.At this time Sunil David, works on immersing himself in a specific set of fields to be a thought leader, and fully dedicate himself to mentorship, sustainability, and giving back. Quotable Moments from Sunil David“Imagine the value you can unlock when billions of assets—from machines in a factory to vehicles on the road—start generating data. The opportunities to monetize and transform industries are humongous.”“We are clearly seeing the move from being reactive to predictive. Thanks to AI and IoT, enterprises can act proactively before something causes damage—whether it's a machine on a shop floor or even human health.”“Optimizing energy usage is not just good for the environment—it makes business sense. Lower energy bills mean direct savings, while reducing carbon emissions benefits the planet.”“Learning never stops. We are in a lifelong journey of learning and unlearning. The day you stop learning is the day you stop growing.”“It's not just about financial success. You have to ask yourself—what legacy am I leaving behind? Will people remember the impact I created?”“My forte is B2B, especially AI and IoT for manufacturing and sustainability. Staying focused allows me to truly add value to startups, rather than spreading myself thin.”About Sunil DavidSunil David is an Independent Digital Technology Consultant with over 30 years of experience in the IT and Telecom Industry . He's spent almost 20 years with AT&T India. In his last stint with AT&T held from March 2017 until April 2022 , he was the Regional Director – IOT( India and ASEAN ). He's had extensive experience in Business Strategy , Sales , Business Development and Alliance & Partnership building during my AT&T stints .Sunil is associated as a Gold Mentor with T-Hub ( Telangana Hub) based in Hyderabad one of India's largest startup incubators supporting some of India's most innovative technology startups specifically focused on areas around Smart Manufacturing and ESG.Sunil is a much sought after speaker in several industry forum on topics related to IOT, AI, 5G, Digital Transformation , Industry 4.0 and 5.0 , Gen AI, Metaverse, Future of Technology , Future of Work , Digital Marketing , Cyber security , Quantum Computing, ESG etc. He has also authored a number of articles for various technology websites, B2B Tech and telecom related publications and a few prominent media houses like Fortune India, Indian Express, Moneycontrol, ET Edge , Communications Today, Voice and Data, etc.Sunil is actively engaged with Industry bodies like CII, NASSCOM , IET, IACC etc working on a number of National initiatives around Digital Transformation advocacy and awareness for Enterprises especially SMEs, Digital Skilling for Women, Startup-Corporate connect , ESG awareness etc.Sunil is an alumnus of Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies, Pune ( Post Graduate Diploma in Business Administration with specialization in Marketing )Sunil can be reached at https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunil-david-8165971/

Link for FRIDO AEROMESH CHAIR:Embark on a delicious journey into the history of Biryani — one of India's most iconic dishes. In this episode of India Unveiled, we uncover the story of how biryani traveled through centuries, from the royal kitchens of the Mughals to the bustling streets of Hyderabad, Lucknow, Kolkata, and beyond.Discover how this fragrant blend of rice, spices, and meat (or vegetables) became a cultural symbol, deeply rooted in the history of food in India. Along the way, we explore fascinating legends, regional varieties, and the global love for biryani.Perfect for food lovers, history buffs, and anyone curious about the origins of Indian cuisine. Keywords: History of Biryani, History of Food, Indian Food History, Hyderabadi Biryani, Lucknowi Biryani, Mughal Food, Indian Cuisine, Food CultureCREATOR AND HOST: RAKESH SONIINSTAGRAM: @ https://www.instagram.com/me.rakeshh?igsh=eTB5bDdhb3IzMjBsWRITING HELP: SHRITI ROYlisten,follow,share,rate

De Nederlandse vliegbelasting gaat vanaf 2027 explosief omhoog, de stakingsgolf bij KLM is voorlopig niet voorbij, oorlog op de grond zorgt voor turbulentie in de lucht, en Hyderabad zet zichzelf op de kaart als nieuwe KLM-bestemming. Dat en meer in de Luchtvaartnieuws Podcast, met Klaas-Jan van Woerkom en Maarten Veeger.

We have something new / different for you in this episode. My guests are Leo Arouca, General Manager, Australia for Corporate Governance Risk (CGR) and Brett Palmer, one of my business partners at ABM Risk Partnership.In this first of three episodes, listeners will hear about CGR's journey - from humble beginnings in 2010 in the suburbs of Perth, Australia to its present-day status as a leading risk management software provider, operating in over 70 countries with offices in London, Ottawa and Hyderabad.You'll hear from Leo about the things that make CGR such a compelling offer and if you listen closely, you'll also find out about the role Brett had to play in its evolution.Stay tuned for episodes two and three to find out more!Send us a textContact ABM Risk Partnership to optimise your risk management approach: email us: info@abmrisk.com.au Tweet us at @4RiskCme Visit our LinkedIn page https://www.linkedin.com/company/18394064/admin/ Thanks for listening to the show and please keep your guest suggestions coming!

In an online meeting with a group of Bhagavan's devotees in Hyderabad, Michael James discusses self-surrender as taught by Bhagavan. This episode can be watched as a video on YouTube and a more compressed audio copy in Opus format can be downloaded from MediaFire. Songs of Sri Sadhu Om with English translations can be accessed on our Vimeo video channel. Books by Sri Sadhu Om and Michael James that are currently available on Amazon: By Sri Sadhu Om: ► The Path of Sri Ramana (English)  By Michael James: ► Happiness and Art of Being (English) ► Lyckan och Varandets Konst (Swedish)  ► Anma-Viddai (English)  Above books are also available in other regional Amazon marketplaces worldwide. - Sri Ramana Center of Houston

A full founder's arc: starting small, building global SaaS companies from Hyderabad, taking one to IPO, another to a billion-dollar exit, and then choosing to begin again (and again).Kiran Darisi began at Zoho, founding team member of Freshworks at 25, and stayed twelve years till the company went public. Today he is building Atomicwork, reinventing service management in the AI era. Sreedhar Peddineni started with Host Analytics back when SaaS was still called application service provider, went on to create the customer success category with Gainsight, and is now on his third venture with GTM Buddy.In this episode, we talk about what it takes to build companies that last for decades. We discuss how startups can find the “Goldilocks zone”,why smaller teams are creating more value than ever, and the mistakes founders often make when moving from SMB to enterprise.Both founders share how AI is reshaping every layer of SaaS, why it's both eating the pie and expanding it and what's left for entrepreneurs when the biggest AI companies are chasing every vertical.This conversation looks back at some of India's iconic SaaS companies, shares lessons from two decades of building, and looks ahead to the future of SaaS from India.0:00 — Atomicwork x GTM Buddy1:17 — Why They Chose to Be Founders Again8:27 — How to generate pipeline predictability at a startup?16:46 — Becoming Freshworks' Co-Founder at 2519:43 — How Atomicwork Co-Founders Connected & Chose Their Problem23:25 — Building Companies That Last for Decades27:18 — Why Smaller, High-Quality Teams Win30:21 — 1st vs 2nd Founders: What They Get Wrong31:56 — Scaling: SMB → Mid-Market → Enterprise33:36 — Category Creation at Gainsight40:03 — Disrupting vs Expanding Large Categories44:08 — How to Choose the Right Market49:08 — Why Atomicwork Chose This Category53:11 — The 'Goldilocks Zone' for a Startup Category57:11 — Can Salesforce Be Replaced?58:26 — Neon Fund x Atomicwork1:01:27 — Neon Fund x GTM Buddy1:03:44 — If Big AI Goes Everywhere, What's Left for B2B SaaS?1:07:36 — What to Build in the AI Era?1:10:35 — Is AI Expanding the Pie While Eating It?1:17:03 — How Useful Are Custom GPTs for Companies?1:20:34 — Workflows vs AI Workforce-------------India's talent has built the world's tech—now it's time to lead it.This mission goes beyond startups. It's about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.What is Neon Fund?We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that's done it before.Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we're doing it all at Neon.-------------Check us out on:Website: https://neon.fund/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShowwConnect with Siddhartha on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7-------------This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.Send us a text

In this episode of Flavors Unknown, I sit down with Chef Bhavin Chhatwani, the visionary Executive Chef behind Tamasha Modern Indian in Raleigh, North Carolina. Recognized as a James Beard Foundation “Emerging Chef” semifinalist, Bhavin is boldly reshaping the narrative around Indian food in America.We explore his journey from the bustling streets of Udaipur to the refined kitchens of luxury hotels and two-MICHELIN-starred restaurants. Along the way, Chef Bhavin shares how he's bringing depth, nuance, and regional authenticity to modern Indian cuisine—while making it approachable and unforgettable for American diners.From tamarind-glazed pork belly to street food-inspired desserts, you'll get a behind-the-scenes look at the stories, philosophy, and intention behind Tamasha's most memorable dishes—and the broader movement to elevate Indian cuisine on the global stage. What you'll learn from Chef Bhavin Chhatwani The Origins➤ Childhood food memories from Udaipur, Rajasthan➤ His first cooking experiment at age 6 (3:17)➤ Family influences and early fascination with street food and restaurants (4:30)Culinary Education & Regional Immersion➤ Four years of culinary school in India (5:15)➤ Selection to the elite Taj Group Management Training Program (5:45)➤ Working in Lucknow, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, and Hyderabad (7:00–9:30)➤ How cuisine shifts dramatically every 50 miles in India (8:30)➤ Why chefs must work in different regions to understand true Indian cuisine (7:30)Philosophy of Cooking & Evolution of Authenticity➤ His take on "authentic vs. modern" Indian cuisine (11:30)➤ Cooking with memory, instinct, and precise technique (17:55)➤ The story behind Tamasha's name and vision—“a grand performance on the palate” (12:56)Signature Dishes & Innovation➤ The three-day process behind his pork belly using French techniques (21:23)➤ Street food tributes like Dahi Bhalla and Pani Puri (21:50, 32:05)➤ North Carolina ingredients reimagined: collard greens, purple sweet potatoes (23:30)➤ Sweet potato & cardamom gelato, butter chicken elevated (24:30, 27:30)➤ The challenge of convincing Indian and American diners that Indian food belongs in fine dining (25:09)Hospitality, Culture & Leadership➤ How he builds a joyful, respectful kitchen culture (27:45)➤ Offering staff meaningful work-life balance—including month-long breaks (28:10)➤ Creating guest experiences that feel like personal celebrations (18:30)Personal Favorites & Advice➤ Favorite guilty pleasure foods: chicken kathi rolls & biryani with fried chicken (29:46)➤ The one ingredient he can't live without (30:33)➤ Advice for young chefs: balancing hard work with smart work (33:08)➤ The biggest misconception about Indian food in America (35:00) Beyond the Mic: My Stories in Print A Taste of Madagascar: Culinary Riches of the Red Island invites readers to join me on his unforgettable journey across the island of Madagascar, where a vibrant culture and stunning ecosystem intertwine to create an extraordinary culinary experience. Explore the unique ingredients and traditions that define Madagascar and discover their profound impact on the global culinary landscape. Alongside the captivating stories, the book presents a collection of exciting recipes that showcase the incredible flavors and ingredients of Madagascar.Publication date: Tuesday, January 27, 2026Pre-order the book here! "Conversations Behind the Kitchen Door” is my debut book, published in Fall 2022. It features insights from chefs and culinary leaders interviewed on the Flavors Unknown podcast, offering a behind-the-scenes look at creativity, culture, and the future of the hospitality industry.Get the book here! Links to most downloaded episodes (click on any picture to listen to the episode) Chef Sheldon Simeon

Dr. Rajetha Damisetty explains how the entry of unqualified practitioners and a lack of regulatory oversight is impacting patient safety when it comes to skin and hair procedures being performed in India. The wellness sector is booming in India. Aesthetic, skin and hair clinics are everywhere, social media feeds are filled with advertisements and procedures such as hair transplants, skin lightening, botox and others are becoming increasingly common. In a few cases that have been reported in the news however, some of these treatments have gone horribly wrong – in May this year, two men from Kanpur died after botched hair transplants and another man in Kerala contracted a serious bacterial infection. Experts say that the problem is the lack of regulatory oversight – who is supposed to be able to perform these procedures and who is actually performing them in India? Are clinics where these procedures take place fully licensed and equipped to deal with emergencies? Are misleading claims and exaggerated advertisements contributing to the problem? And what is being done to ensure patient safety? Guest: Rajetha Damisetty, a senior dermatologist based in Hyderabad and national chairperson of the Indian Association of Dermatologists, Venereologists and Leprologists (IADVL) Anti-Quackery, Legal and Ethics Committee. Host: Zubeda Hamid Edited by Jude Francis Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is brought to you by Barnowl Adventures. Barnowl creates supported cycling tours across India, south east Asia and beyond — blending beautiful routes,authentic cultural experiences, and memorable stays. I had the chance to ride with them on the Mae Hong Son Challenge in Northern Thailand back in 2024, and it was simply unforgettable — the roads, the stays, and the support they provide make it really special. And honestly, some of the best Thai food I've ever had was on that tour — these guys make sure local cuisine is central to the whole experience. Check out their upcoming tours at www.barnowladventures.com.This episode is brought to you by www.thebikeaffair.comIf you are in search of a one-stop destination that caters to all your cycling needs, our today's sponsor, The Bike Affair, is the perfect place to check out! With over 14 years of experience, The Bike Affair has established itself as a trusted source offering honest advice and exceptional service. They are offering a special treat for the listeners of this podcast. You can enjoy a 10% discount on your first order by using the code 'BIKEYVENKY' on their website. Visit their bike store in Hyderabad or shop online by using the link www.thebikeaffair.com In this episode I talk to Ashish Sood. Ashish is a mountain biker and the organizer of MTB Himalaya and MTB Shimla races. In this episode he shares the behind the scenes aspects of organising such races in the unforgiving terrain of the Himalayas. He also shares his insights on the MTB riding landscape and how it evolved over the years in his view. It was a fascinating conversation. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. 00:00:00 - Introduction00:03:38 - Ashish's Relationship with Sports Growing Up00:04:29 - How Ashish Got Into MTB Cycling00:06:04 - The Origin Story of MTB Himalaya00:07:33 - The Early Years & Growth of the Race00:10:56 - The Race Evolves: Arrival of Pro Riders & Hero Cycles00:13:01 - Experience Racing the Transalp in Europe00:14:23 - Key Differences: Racing in Europe vs. India00:20:06 - What Goes Into Organizing MTB Himalaya?00:23:57 - The Logistical Nightmare of Remote Camping00:28:17 - Safety & Rescue in the Unforgiving Himalayas00:31:06 - A Pro Rider's Terrifying 200-Foot Fall00:33:30 - Why Manual Rider Tracking is Best00:38:01 - Funny Story of a "Lost" Rider00:40:41 - The Toughest & Best Editions of the Race00:47:12 - How Race Routes Are Selected in the Himalayas00:53:05 - "Mission Smile": Giving Back to the Local Community00:55:06 - MTB Himalaya vs. MTB Shimla: What's the Difference?00:58:33 - Developing the Next Generation of Indian Athletes01:06:03 - The Current State & Future of MTB in India01:10:47 - The Myth: Is Mountain Biking More Dangerous Than Road Cycling?01:14:33 - Positive Signs for the Future of the Sport01:21:08 - Final ThoughtsAbout the podcast:The working athlete podcast is a podcast with and for working athletes from all walks of life and various sports. The goal is to provide inspiration, training tips, mental hacks, time management and life-style advice through conversations with some of the best in sport, from athletes to coaches. If you think you can benefit from this, please consider subscribing and hitting the bell icon so that you don't miss the weekly episodes in future. Who is a working athlete? Someone working fulltime/part-time, entrepreneur or anyone who has to work to make ends meet and doesn't let being busy to stop him/her from pursuing an active lifestyle is a working athlete. I consider stay at home moms/dads who pursue a sport, as working athletes because homemaking is a full-time job.If you like this, please hit the like button and share with friends who could be interested.

First, we talk to The Indian Express' Shubhangi Khapre who talks about Maharashtra, where the government has invoked a 1918 Hyderabad-era gazette to address the long-standing Maratha reservation demand.Next, The Indian Express' Nikhila Henry explains how a family rift within the Bharat Rashtra Samithi has escalated into a full-blown political crisis as K Kavitha, daughter of party chief K Chandrashekar Rao, was suspended and later resigned, accusing her cousins of a conspiracy. (11:48)And in the end, we go to Kerala, where a 61-year-old farmer has stalled one of the state's largest mall projects by challenging the conversion of protected paddy land. (24:19)Hosted by Ichha SharmaWritten and produced by Shashank Bhargava and Ichha SharmaEdited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

  Urdu is the language of about 12 per cent Muslim population of Hyderabad. By selectively restricting access to the regional press, the Congress government is denying information to minorities.  

కాళ్లకు స్కేటర్స్ కట్టుకొని అలా అలా ముందుకు కదులుతూ ఉంటే చూడ్డానికి ఎంత బావుంటుందో కదా! మనం కూడా అలా ఎప్పుడో ఒకసారి ఖచ్చితంగా స్కేటింగ్ చేయాలి అనుకుంటాం. కానీ ఆ విన్యాసాలు చేసే వారికి ఎంతో నైపుణ్యం, శిక్షణ అవసరం. ఎన్నో గాయాలను ఓర్చుకోవాలి… అప్పుడే గానీ ఆ ఆటలో నైపుణ్యం పొందలేరు. ఇటువంటి అన్ని ఒడిదుడుకులను దాటుకొని మన హైదరాబాద్ కు చెందిన కాంతి శ్రీ అనే అమ్మాయి స్కేటింగ్ లో ఆరి తేరి, ఎన్నో విజయాలను, మెడల్స్ ను సాధించింది. మరి ఈమె గురించిన స్ఫూర్తిదాయకమైన మరిన్ని విషయాలను గురించి తెలుసుకోవాలనుకుంటున్నారా? అయితే ఆమెతో నిర్వహించిన ఈ ప్రత్యేక ఇంటర్వ్యూను తప్పకుండా వినండి!Kanthi Sri from Hyderabad overcame struggles and injuries to master skating, winning many medals and inspiring others. Watch this special interview to know more about her journey.Host : Nikhitha NellutlaGuest : Kanthi Sree#TALRadioTelugu #InspiringJourney #SkatingChampion #HyderabadTalent #SportsMotivation #WomenInSports #TouchALife #TALRadio

This episode is brought to you by www.thebikeaffair.comIf you are in search of a one-stop destination that caters to all your cycling needs, our today's sponsor, The Bike Affair, is the perfect place to check out! With over 14 years of experience, The Bike Affair has established itself as a trusted source offering honest advice and exceptional service. They are offering a special treat for the listeners of this podcast. You can enjoy a 10% discount on your first order by using the code 'BIKEYVENKY' on their website. Visit their bike store in Hyderabad or shop online by using the link www.thebikeaffair.com In this episode I talk to John Lal Gwite. John is one of the strongest Ultra cyclists we have in India. In this episode he shares his experience of completing the Race Around Poland and the experience of London Edinburgh London(LEL 2025). Even more impressive than his ultra cycling abilities are his positive attitude, his humbleness and his hunger to keep pushing his limits to know the limits and expand them. 00:00:00 - Intro00:03:59 - The Race Around Poland: 3600 km with 32,000 meters of climbing00:05:12 - Training for an epic race: The Kashmir to Kanyakumari ride00:07:48 - Key learnings on what to carry for ultra-endurance events00:11:32 - John's strategy and goals for the Race Around Poland00:12:27 - The self-supported nature of the race00:15:53 - A major setback: A broken pulley 1200 km into the race00:18:17 - The determination to finish: "I have to finish this no matter what"00:20:42 - Pushing through exhaustion and hallucinations00:23:21 - When the organizers force you to take a 12-hour rest00:27:12 - The final push: Battling heavy rain 150 km from the finish00:31:04 - An ingenious solution for the unexpected cold00:33:14 - Final result and lessons learned from the race00:38:03 - Back-to-back challenges: The London-Edinburgh-London (LEL) race00:39:52 - Facing extreme weather at LEL00:42:29 - Reflecting on the shortened LEL and personal satisfaction00:45:48 - The mental game: "The more tougher it is, the better it is"00:46:56 - Conclusion

Welcome to Paisa Vaisa In this incredibly insightful episode, we sit down with a true titan of the Indian retail sector, BS Nagesh, the founding employee (not founder, as he humbly corrects) of the iconic Shoppers Stop. From being the first employee in 1991, even before the economic reforms came in, Mr. Nagesh takes us on a fascinating journey of how he helped shape how India shops. He shares the incredible story of launching the first Shoppers Stop in just 90 days before Diwali from a converted theater in Mumbai. Learn about the crucial early focus on experience with self-service and the challenges of convincing both customers and suppliers. Discover how the Indian consumer has evolved, the aspirations behind their choices, and the surprising lessons learned during the expansion across metro tier two three cities like Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Jaipur. Mr. Nagesh also delves into the impact of e-commerce, revealing that Shoppers Stop was one of the first ecom companies in India. He shares his perspective on the future of omni channel retail, the role of shopping malls, and the crucial metrics for evaluating retail companies, emphasizing cash flow and margin per square foot. Beyond his legendary role at Shoppers Stop after 34 years, Mr. Nagesh passionately discusses his current venture, TRAIN (Trust for Retailers and Retail Associates of India), and his mission to give back by empowering retail associates and persons with disabilities. This is a must-listen episode packed with invaluable business wisdom, personal anecdotes, and a deep understanding of the Indian market.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this revisited episode, we have a very special show because we are celebrating the anniversary of Independent India, which fell on August 15th. Our special guest is Shukla Lal, a writer based in New Delhi, who has recently written a book detailing her personal experience from the partition that led to India's Independence. We hear the amazing story of her father's incredible escape in the midst of the violence and mayhem of the partition. Later in the episode, Shukla's daughter, Sonia Kullar, reads an excerpt from Shukla's book, Rano and Phulo.  IN THIS EPISODE: [01:50] Shukla and her new book on the 75th Anniversary of the Partition of India are introduced. [05:39] We hear about Shukla's family's experience before the partition and how her father escaped. [11:45] We learn how her true events are interwoven into her short story. [14:30] We explore how Shukla's story captures an India frozen in time. [18:50] Has India grown into the identity it desired after the partition? [21:16] We hear about the future of India and more about Shukla's written work. [24:57] An excerpt from Rano & Phulo written by Shukla Lal, and read by Shukla's daughter, Sonia Kullar  KEY TAKEAWAYS: Shukla and her family left for Shimla on holiday, never believing that they would not return to their home due to rising political and religious tensions, now known as the partition of India. Her book is based on her family's experience during this time. Following the partition, there was a renewed sense of nationalism and patriotism. It was also a time where women were leading out in entrepreneurship and contributing as business women.  India continues to rise and be recognized for its culture and ethics. Since the 60s and 70s it has grown from being a developing and poor nation to being a globally recognized and self-respecting nation.  Subscribe to Reenita's Storytelling Den on Substack for free! You will also be eligible for other extras, such as exclusive content from podcast guests, short stories, exclusive fiction, and more! https://substack.com/@reenitahora  Fiction Credits:  Excerpt taken from Rano & Phulo, a book written by Shukla Lal Shukla Lal's website Shukla Lal's Facebook Link for further research Excerpt read by: Sonia Kullar, Shukla Lal's daughter Sonia's email BIO: Shukla Lal was born in Amritsar. As a child, she imbibed the beauty and diversity of this beautiful land – India, as her family moved from Amritsar, Lahore, Shimla, to the Central and Southern cities of Madras (now Chennai), Nagpur and Hyderabad and eventually found their anchor in Calcutta (now Kolkata) in the early-1950s. Over 40 years later, she moved to New Delhi to retire. Since catching the literary bug on her 80th birthday, Shukla has written two historical romance sagas, Floating Logs set in Kolkata (published by Notion Press in December 2019), and Rano and Phulo set in Undivided and then partitioned India (published by Goya Publishing in March, 2019), and a collection of poems, Meri Nazmon ka Ehsaas (soon to be published) all captured gamely on her iPad Notes App. She has finished the first draft of her third historical novel, Soul's Rapture, a mystical romance set in Lahore and Mumbai. She has also written several short stories. She was invited to write for the Chandigarh Tribune, and has been interviewed for the Reader's Digest, the Times of India, the Telegraph (Kolkata), and www.womensweb.com. Her deep spiritual practice and sense of wonder for the beauty of the world around her find expression in her storytelling. Her own lived experience adds luster and authenticity to her stories. Joyful wit and multilingual expressiveness is a family trait she inherited from her parents and shares with her accomplished siblings. Her choice of stories and writing style could best be understood from her own words “I am a romantic and an idealist by nature and find true romance scattered everywhere irrespective of class, creed, religion, nationality or age”.  Shukla Lal Website Shukla Lal on Facebook (personal) Shukla Lal on Facebook (business) Shukla Lal on Instagram  Good Reads - Shukla Lal  If you would like to purchase any of Shukla Lal's books, follow these links:: Amazon India Flipkart Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/true-fiction-project/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

We are very excited this week to release a first-of-its-kind Mormon Stories episode! Born and raised in Hyderabad, India, Sirisha Shumway converted to Mormonism at the age of 14, against the wishes of her family. She quickly became a very devout member of her LDS community, served a mission, and even worked for the church as a translator.After moving to the US to completer her education, Sirisha faced increasing pressure to marry and raise a family in the LDS faith. But when her husband began questioning church history, she embarked on her own faith crisis, uncovering disturbing truths about Joseph Smith, polygamy, and other deceptions about church history.Topics include:-Sirisha's upbringing in India-Structure of the LDS church in India-Church interfetance in family relationships-And the long-lasting impact of high-demand religions on personal identityWe are grateful to Sirisha for sharing her story with us, and hope you enjoy this very unique episode.___________________Show NotesYouTubeMormon Stories Thanks Our Generous Donors!Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today:⁠⁠One-time or recurring donation through Donorbox⁠⁠⁠⁠Support us on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠PayPal⁠⁠⁠⁠Venmo⁠⁠Our Platforms:⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠Social Media:⁠⁠Insta: @mormstories⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok: @mormonstoriespodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠Join the Discord⁠⁠Contact us:MormonStories@gmail.comPO Box 171085, Salt Lake City, UT 84117

When magazines first emerged, they were the preserve of an elite who could afford to pay for them. But as time went on, the cost of paper fell, printing technology became more streamlined, literacy improved and would-be publishers spotted an opportunity to connect with audiences hungry for information and entertainment.Magazines found a place to appeal to all types of interest, in the same way that the internet does today. In their heyday they attracted some of the best writers such as Charles Dickens and Ernest Hemingway, sometimes acting as a vehicle to establish literary careers. Later magazines were to become the go-to place for quality photography and design.Falling advertising revenues have largely contributed to the decline of printed magazines, as well as editions moving online. However some titles have found a way of reinventing themselves in the 21st century.Iszi Lawrence is joined by a panel of guests to discuss the rise and evolution of magazines. Usha Raman is a professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Hyderabad in India, who began her career in magazines, writing and editing a variety of publications. She's also the owner and editor of a specialist magazine for teachers.Samir Husni is the founder and director of the Magazine Media Centre in the United States. He's also written many books, including Inside the Great Minds of Magazine Makers.And Tim Holmes is a former magazine editor, writer and until his retirement, leader for many years of the magazine journalism course at the University of Cardiff in the UK. We'll also hear from a variety of Forum listeners from around the world, who share their thoughts on magazines.Produced by Fiona Clampin for BBC World Service.(Photo: Newspapers and magazines on display at a newsstand on January 31, 2010 in Khan Market New Delhi, India. Photo by Rajkumar/Mint via Getty Images)

Ashok Atluri founded Zen Technologies in 1993, bootstrapping from Hyderabad at a time when India was importing 70% of its defence equipment and private players contributed just 5% of procurements. It took Zen five years to win its first contract from the Indian Army in 1998.Today, the company builds simulators and anti-drone systems, and has grown its market cap from ₹40 crore to over ₹13,000 crore.Ashok shares that India needs to make it easier for private, self-funded R&D companies to succeed in defense tech and why the focus should be in building technology with India's own IP. We also discuss the policy shifts he has seen in India's defense tech over the last 32 years, and how policies like IDDM and Make-II have reshaped India's defense manufacturing.This is an episode with a founder who has spent over three decades turning India's defence technology from an import-dependent sector into one that can build defense tech with its own IP.0:00  – Trailer  1:18  – Why entering defense tech must be easier  8:48  – Building simulators for the army  10:53 – Zen's entry into anti-drone systems  12:26 – 400x growth in 12 years  13:41 – Policy shifts in defense tech  15:42 – How Indian-owned IP can transform defense?  19:24 – How big is India's defense simulations market?  22:06 – From ₹60 Cr to ₹930 Cr in 4 years  25:27 – How are simulations built for future weapons?  29:15 – India's defense budget (foreign tech vs. local tech)  30:23 – The entry barriers in the 1990s and even today  31:43 – Is doing business with the government harder for some sectors?  36:06 – Surviving 32 years being financially conservative  37:29 – How Indian government is pushing exports in defense tech  40:35 – Zen's anti-drone systems used in Operation Sindhoor  42:31 – Will there be an India–China conflict?  43:15 – Where does China stand in defense tech?  44:08 – How India should back its wealth creators  49:12 – Policies that are enabling Indian defence companies today  49:37 – Parrikar's influence on private sector role in defense tech-------------India's talent has built the world's tech—now it's time to lead it.This mission goes beyond startups. It's about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.What is Neon Fund?We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that's done it before.Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we're doing it all at Neon.-------------Check us out on:Website: https://neon.fund/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShowwConnect with Siddhartha on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7-------------This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.Send us a text

pWotD Episode 3026: Coolie (2025 film) Welcome to popular Wiki of the Day, spotlighting Wikipedia's most visited pages, giving you a peek into what the world is curious about today.With 550,309 views on Thursday, 14 August 2025 our article of the day is Coolie (2025 film).Coolie is a 2025 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film co-written and directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj and produced by Kalanithi Maran under Sun Pictures. The film stars Rajinikanth, Nagarjuna, Soubin Shahir, Upendra, Shruti Haasan, Sathyaraj, Rachita Ram, Kanna Ravi and others with Aamir Khan. In the film, a former coolie union leader investigates the death of his friend which leads him to a crime syndicate.The film was officially announced in September 2023 under the tentative title Thalaivar 171 as Rajinikanth's 171st film as a lead actor and the official title was announced in April 2024. Principal photography commenced the following July in Chennai, which was followed by sporadic schedules held in Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Jaipur and Bangkok, and wrapped by mid-March 2025. The film has music composed by Anirudh Ravichander, cinematography by Girish Gangadharan and editing by Philomin Raj.Coolie was released worldwide on 14 August 2025 to mixed and positive reviews from critics.This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 02:07 UTC on Friday, 15 August 2025.For the full current version of the article, see Coolie (2025 film) on Wikipedia.This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes.Follow us on Mastodon at @wikioftheday@masto.ai.Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast.Until next time, I'm long-form Danielle.

 Hyderabad Runners Society and Hyderabad Marathon hold a very special place in our hearts. Today, we sit down with Rajesh Vetcha - the founder of the Hyderabad Runners Society and the race director of the NMDC Hyderabad Marathon. In the conversation, we discuss how the Hyderabad Runners Society was formed, its growth, and how it has reached its popularity today. It is a journey of passion, hard work, and the entire community coming together, and this conversation will take you down memory lane.  About Vikas:Vikas, an MBA from Chicago Booth, worked at Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, APGlobale, and Reliance before coming up with the idea of democratizing fitness knowledge and helping beginners get on a fitness journey. Vikas is an avid long-distance runner, building Fitpage to help people learn, train, and move better.  For more information on Vikas, or to leave any feedback and requests, you can reach out to him via the channels below:Instagram: @vikas_singhhLinkedIn: Vikas SinghTwitter: @vikashsingh1010Please don't forget to Like, Share & Subscribe.Our Social Media Handles:Facebook:   / fitpage.in   LinkedIn:   / fitpage   Instagram:   / fitpage   Youtube:    / fitpage  Twitter:   / fitpage  Website: https://fitpage.in/ Subscribe To Our Newsletter For Weekly Nuggets of Knowledge!

Meet Tricia Copeland. She is an award-winning author of books for youth and young adults. Mostly she writes fantasy books, but as we learn during this episode, she also does write some romance books.   Tricia says that as a child she hated writing. Even so, she went to school and eventually she went to college where she received a degree in Microbiology. She also attained a Master's degree. She then went to work for a chemical company. After four years she found herself beginning a journey of technical writing and writing patterns and supporting materials.   After a few years Tricia became a stay-at-home-mom for a time. She tells us how she loved to tell stories and entertain her children.   We learn how she wrote her first fiction book series in 2015-16 about her time facing anorexia. In real life, she faced this and overcame it. She then began writing fantasy youth books and realized not only that she could write, but that she did not hate writing at all. She has written several series and has plans for more.     About the Guest:   Tricia Copeland is the critically acclaimed and award-winning author of Kingdom of Embers, To be Fae Queen, Lovelock Ones, and Azreya, Aztec Priestess, and dozens of other titles. She is the host of the Finding the Magic Book Podcast who weaves magical stories about love, courage, and finding your passion.   Tricia began her author journey with a women's fiction series, the Being Me series, which is an adaptation of her experience with anorexia. Afterwards she quickly pivoted to her favorite genre, fantasy. Her young adult fantasy series highlight themes including resilience, perseverance, faith, loyalty, trust, friendship, family, and love. They include the Kingdom Journals and Realm Chronicles series that find witches, vampires, and fae fighting an evil spirit determined to end them all. She tempers the high stakes drama in these books with her fun rom coms in the Perfect romance series.   Tricia Copeland believes in finding magic. She thinks magic infuses every aspect of our lives, whether it is the magic of falling in love, discovering a new passion, seeing a beautiful sunset, or reading a book that transports us to another world. An avid runner and Georgia native, Tricia now lives with her family and four-legged friends in Colorado. Find all her titles including contemporary romance, now penned under Maria Jane, young adult fantasy, and dystopian fiction at www.triciacopeland.com.   Ways to connect with Tricia:   https://triciacopeland.com https://www.facebook.com/TriciaCopelandAuthor/ https://www.instagram.com/authortriciacopeland/ https://twitter.com/tcbrzostowicz https://www.tiktok.com/@triciacopelandauthor https://www.youtube.com/@triciacopelandauthor https://www.amazon.com/stores/Tricia-Copeland/author/B00YHN5Q4G https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14055439.Tricia_Copeland https://www.bookbub.com/authors/tricia-copeland     About the Host:   Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog.   Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards.   https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/   accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/       Thanks for listening!   Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!   Subscribe to the podcast   If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset .   Leave us an Apple Podcasts review   Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.       Transcription Notes: Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.     Michael Hingson ** 01:17 Well, hello everyone. We're really glad to have you here, wherever you may happen to be listening in from. We're really glad that you're listening to unstoppable mindset. I'm your host, Michael hingson, and our guest today is Tricia Copeland. Tricia is a prolific author. I use that word absolutely without any any concern, a prolific author of children's books, especially in the fantasy world. So she has been doing this a while and and also has an interesting story just of her life to tell. So we're going to go into all of that and delve in and see where we go. So Tricia, I want to welcome you to unstoppable mindset. We're really glad you're here.   Tricia Copeland ** 02:05 Thank you, Michael, I appreciate you having me, and I do want to make a little edit to that intro. Okay, go ahead. My books are young adult to New Adult books, so ages 13 plus mostly, all right,   Michael Hingson ** 02:19 so young adult to new adult. All right, that's fair. So how do you feel that your books fall into the range of things like the Harry Potter series and so on, sort of the same age groups,   Tricia Copeland ** 02:40 right? Genre adjacent, I have a series, The Kingdom Journal series, which includes three witches that have to break a curse on the witch lines. So the witches have to find each other as well as figure out how to break the curse using various forms of magic. So not really the same as Harry Potter, but definitely with with the witches, and the kind of contemporary world that Harry Potter is. But actually, I won't say that, because I haven't I think Harry Potter is mostly in the contemporary world, right? I didn't read all the books. I have to admit that he's   Michael Hingson ** 03:18 somewhat in the contemporary world, but, but I was thinking more of from a standpoint of the same type of age group.   Tricia Copeland ** 03:25 Yes, I think a younger reader. I think people started reading Harry Potter maybe around 10 or 11. And these books have older teenagers to start, age 1718, so 13 Plus is a good indicator. I think the other   Michael Hingson ** 03:42 thing I would observe about Harry Potter is that there are a lot of people who aren't necessarily teenagers or young adults, including me, who have read them and enjoyed them. I think that that Harry Potter certainly brought an interesting dimension to reading for teenagers especially, and hopefully young adults, because a lot of people did catch on to them, and they they had a great theme, and you do some of the same sorts of things by virtue of the fact of what you're writing and who you're writing it for,   Tricia Copeland ** 04:17 right? They definitely caught adult eyes and hearts and minds too   Michael Hingson ** 04:23 well, tell us somewhat about the early Trisha growing up and so on. Love to learn a little bit more about you, and then we can talk about whatever we feel is relevant to talk about the early Tricia,   Tricia Copeland ** 04:35 right? Well, I grew up in rural South Georgia, small town in south Georgia, and always loved reading and hiking and the outdoors, and very quickly, knew that maybe I didn't want to be in a small town forever. So I went to college in Atlanta, and I got a degree in microbiology, and from there, I got a master's. Degree, and I started my career in Central Research and Development at a chemical company, a large chemical company. So I was looking at making chemicals from microbes. And that was very exciting. That was my dream job that I'd always wanted. So that was very cool to be able to achieve that goal, and I actually didn't like writing until I started doing more technical writing with papers and patents.   Michael Hingson ** 05:29 Technical writing can be boring, but people could make it more exciting than oftentimes they do. I would say I've had to do some of it. I understand   Tricia Copeland ** 05:39 well, you have to like the topic, right? If you don't like the topic, you're not going to like the paper,   Michael Hingson ** 05:45 right? But also, I think that a lot of technical writers write and it's all very factual, but I think even in technical writing, it would be better if writers could do some things to draw in readers. And I've always felt that about textbooks. For example, my master's degree and bachelor's degree are in physics, and I've always maintained that the the physics people who write these books, who are oftentimes fairly substantial characters in in the genre, if you will, or in the field, could do a lot more to interest people in science and physics by rather than just doing these technical books, telling some stories along the way, and bringing people in and making people relate more to the topic. And they don't do that like I think at least that they should.   Tricia Copeland ** 06:36 I guess that can be said, maybe for every technical Yeah. Area,   Michael Hingson ** 06:43 yeah, it would be nice if technical writers spend a little bit of time, but of course, then the other side of it is that the industry doesn't want that. So what do you   Tricia Copeland ** 06:54 do? It may be a catch 22 on that one   Michael Hingson ** 06:56 might be, but that's okay. So how long did you stay working at the tech at the chemical companies and so on?   Tricia Copeland ** 07:06 I was in the lab for four years, and then I moved into the patent Legal Group. So I began my career as a Patent Agent, and now that's what I do for a living. My day job is that I help clients draft and file their patent applications.   Michael Hingson ** 07:22 So you have your own business doing that. I do, yes, oh,   Tricia Copeland ** 07:28 well, I write by day and I write by night.   Michael Hingson ** 07:32 Yeah, well, that can be pretty exciting, though. You get all sorts of interesting things to write about. I   Tricia Copeland ** 07:40 do I meet a lot of cool people that are inventing cool things.   Michael Hingson ** 07:44 So here's the question, do you ever find that what you write about during the day influences you, and you want to use some of that, or the general concepts of some of that, at night, when you're doing your your fiction writing?   Tricia Copeland ** 07:58 I haven't done that yet, I did write one dystopian fiction about a viral pandemic, and that touched on a little bit of my background in microbiology and genetics, but not anything that my clients have done   Michael Hingson ** 08:19 well. So you got into the patent field when you when you started doing that initially, were you doing it for a company, or did you just leap out on your own and start to have your own business?   Speaker 1 ** 08:30 Yes, I was doing that for a company. Okay? And how long did you do that? I was at that company   Tricia Copeland ** 08:35 about a year and a half. And at the time, we lived in Pennsylvania and outside of Philly. So then we had a job change, and we moved to Denver, so I took a little time off to be with my kids before I started my business.   Michael Hingson ** 08:53 So how long ago did you start the business?   Speaker 1 ** 08:57 In 2012 so 13 years doing it a while? Wow,   Michael Hingson ** 09:01 okay, and obviously you're having some success because you're still doing it.   Tricia Copeland ** 09:05 I am. Yes, I love helping my clients, and feel like I can definitely give them a value add   Michael Hingson ** 09:14 if you're not giving something away. What's probably the most interesting patent that you helped somebody work on attaining   Tricia Copeland ** 09:24 I will say, I worked with an inventor a year ago, and amazing man, he had had his career in education and teaching, and he developed a set of blocks to help people or Help kids. I should say, learn the parts of speech so you could put the together, the blocks, whether it was a subject, verb, pronoun, noun, adjective, adverb, and I learned parts of speech that I never knew existed from helping them with this application, and I was very excited. To help him get his patent. That's kind of cool.   Michael Hingson ** 10:04 Yeah, I am fair. I'm not sure I know all the parts of speech, but I remember being involved in high school well and in elementary school and diagramming sentences and learning a lot about the different or a number of the different parts of speech. Not sure I necessarily remember all of them extremely well, so I probably split infinitives and well, what do you do?   Tricia Copeland ** 10:28 Yes, I hated sentence structures.   Michael Hingson ** 10:35 Well, so what got you started then, since you were writing patents for people and so on, and helping people in securing patents. What got you then started in dealing with fiction writing, right?   Tricia Copeland ** 10:49 Well, when my kids were very young, I was a stay at home mom, and most of my days were spent chasing them around, occupying them, entertaining them, shuttling them from one place to another. So I realized in the evenings I was bored. I did my mind didn't have enough to occupy it. And I was about, I think it was about 38 and, you know, looking at my 40 year old birthday and thinking, huh, well, and I maybe it was like my 20 year high school reunion. I don't know why it coincide coincided, but I started thinking about my early college years I developed anorexia, and thinking about that time in my life and how poignant it was that I was able to recover from that disease and really gain some life skills from that experience. So I started a story that was a fictionalized account of my experience with anorexia and recovering for anorexia. So my first series, called the being me series, is a four book series about a character named Amanda who develops anorexia and then is able to recover.   Michael Hingson ** 12:01 So what caused if you understand, or, man, I don't know a lot about anorexia, Anorexia, and probably have some misconceptions about what I'm about to ask, but what, what caused it? Why did you develop that condition?   Tricia Copeland ** 12:16 Well, there's a lot of I mean, it happens differently for a lot of people, I think anorexia is a lot about control and having control over your environment. And I got there was a number of factors that I was depressed and not happy about not feeling like I was achieving, maybe what I should be achieving, and instead of someone might have turned to alcohol or drugs to alleviate those stressful feelings. I channeled all that into Okay? Well, if I'm just thin and if I just look good enough, then everything will be fine. And obviously, once your brain starts to get in that cycle, it just compounds on itself. You can't stop yourself from thinking that way. Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 13:05 and what helped you get out of doing that? Was it writing or what? What really caused you to realize that ain't the way to go?   Tricia Copeland ** 13:16 Yeah, I almost died. That was it very it was a low point. And really, you know, if I didn't do something different, if I didn't let people help me do something different, I would not have made it. So really, you know, a lot of that is like educating people how serious eating disorders are, as well as how helpless sometimes the person that is experiencing them is in being able to help themselves.   Michael Hingson ** 13:48 And you said that this happened somewhat in your your college years.   Tricia Copeland ** 13:53 Yes, I was 20.   Michael Hingson ** 13:56 Were there a lot of pressures were, were people criticizing you in any way that helped contribute to it, or was it sort of really   Tricia Copeland ** 14:04 internally? Part of it was internally. Part of it was, you know, what I thought people's expectations I was in. I was at a engineering school and I was a biology major, so maybe that wasn't the best place for me. Everybody was very high in performing. Yeah, yeah. There are many, many factors, I think, and just my my brain that was not processing things, maybe as realistically as they could have been processed.   Michael Hingson ** 14:33 But what you eventually did about it was to write a series about it, so clearly you were able to move beyond it, and then, if you will, talk about it,   Tricia Copeland ** 14:45 right, right? So I went into inpatient recovery, and then was able to get the help that I needed with therapist and psycho psychiatrist and support groups, and that was a big help. And then, yes, 20 years later, I. Wrote a series about it.   Michael Hingson ** 15:02 Well, that's pretty cool. And again, it's I'm always one who admires people who are able to and willing to talk about things. I went to an event last year was the Marshfield, Missouri Cherry Blossom Festival, and the Cherry Blossom Festival, which happens every April, is a celebration of American history, and they'll bring people in who have some relationship to an historic event, or who have relatives who were so for example, the great grandson of President Grant was at this event, but one of the people who was there was a former secret service agent who rode in the car behind John Kennedy when he was in Dallas and assassinated, and it took him 45 years to get to the point where he could come out of his experiences enough to start to talk about it, and I just have always admired people who do that. For me, being in the World Trade Center on September 11 and getting out, I never really viewed it as all that traumatic, but I guess it was, but my way to deal with it was, and I realized it much later, but we had so many newspaper reporters who wanted to know about the blind guy who got out of the World Trade Center. I talked about it, I mean, answered everyone's questions. And that was ironically, I love to pick on the media, but ironically, it was the media that really probably helped me move forward from September 11 the most.   Tricia Copeland ** 16:41 Yeah, I can imagine that was a lot of processing that you were able to do, as you talked about it.   Michael Hingson ** 16:48 People asked all sorts of questions, some really good questions, some not so good questions. And we got to observe all sorts of different types of press people. We had one Italian film crew who came to our house, there were 13 people, most of whom didn't really seem to do a whole lot, but they were there. And then there was a Japanese crew that came. And I think there were two people. It's just amazing what you see and what you learn. And for me and my wife, both now my late wife, but both, both of us love to observe and study and really think about what all these people are doing and how they do it, and we use it as ways to help us learn more about things, if you will, studying and being a student. I think of life as always an important thing,   Tricia Copeland ** 17:39 right, yeah, and I guess everybody reacts different to trauma and how you can process that everybody needs a little bit different. But yes, if you could look at things through a learning lens, that can definitely help too.   Michael Hingson ** 17:52 So you wrote the being me series. How many books are in that series? Four books, four books. Okay, and so, how long ago did you write those?   Tricia Copeland ** 18:03 I published them between 2015 and 2016   Michael Hingson ** 18:07 Okay, did you self publish or I do? Yes, you still do. Okay, great. Well, all right, and then what? What made you decide to then continue and start going into sort of teenage and so on, fiction and fantasy and so on, right?   Tricia Copeland ** 18:31 I realized that I just loved writing, and it was something that I didn't want to stop doing. So when I looked around for my next genre to write in, it was very obviously fantasy. For me. I read fantasy from a very young age. I loved Merlin and King authors legends and the Lord of the Rings and all of those books as a young person and a young adult, and that's just what I wanted to write. So my first book, interestingly enough, my editor sent it back to me and said, This is not fantastical enough. You need to make it more paranormal. So it took a minute to make that switch. What   Michael Hingson ** 19:15 book was that   Tricia Copeland ** 19:16 that is drops of sunshine and it is mirrored off an experience I had. I was a camp counselor at a camp for the blind when I was in I guess after my freshman year of college, and the campers in my story have these extra sensory skills where they can read people's minds. That was the paranormal aspect of my book, and that's not known in the beginning the story to our main character, and then she discovers that these kids have this special talent, and that was how my fantasy books started out. Mm, hmm.   Michael Hingson ** 20:00 Then where did it go from   Tricia Copeland ** 20:01 there? Then I jumped into the witches with the kingdom Journal series. I developed a character that was a vampire or is a vampire witch hybrid, and so she has a vampire mother and a witch father, but she doesn't know who her father is. She's never met him. And to make things a little bit harder, vampire witch Hyderabad are not allowed, but either the witch lines or the vampires, so both the vampires and the witches got together and said, these beings are too dangerous. We're not going to allow them in our society. And if she's discovered, then she'll be killed. That was the first character, Alina, and she's and to give her just a little more stress, I put her in a human High School, so now she pretends, you know, can't pretend to be a witch. Can't pretend to be a vampire. She needs to be human too. And, yeah, so that was a really fun book to write, and that's the series where the trinity of witches has to come together, so she has to find the other two witches of the Trinity, and they each get to tell their story in the books too. So that's why it's called the kingdom journals. It's a little bit of a journal format, so each character gets to tell their own story as well as telling the overall plot line of the series. How   Michael Hingson ** 21:19 do you come up with these characters and create these stories? I mean, it's very imaginative. I wouldn't have thought of it. How do you, and I'm sure other people say that, but how do you create the characters? How does all that   Tricia Copeland ** 21:32 work? Yeah, I set out, funny enough, I set out to write a vampire series that was my vampire is my favorite fantasy characters. And I thought, Okay, I'm gonna write a vampire series. It's not you don't want to do it too far out from what most people write or most people think of vampires. But I wanted my vampires to be a little bit different from the other vampires and other series. So I had this idea of making the vampire witch hybrid and her set in a human High School, and what would that look like? And then the challenge? I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with the challenge, but somehow I came up with this curse, and the curse was on the witch line, so it very quickly morphed into more of a witch book and the magical side of things, but the vampire characters are still there, and I explore them a little bit, although not as much as the witches.   Michael Hingson ** 22:27 Do you find that the characters essentially tell you what they want to be and who they are and why they do what they do. How much are the characters involved in your writing process? I've heard other authors say that that in some of the fiction things, the characters really create the story   Tricia Copeland ** 22:47 they do. I feel like my books are very character driven. So how I usually start with the idea for a character and think of their personality, their challenges, what I want, what themes I want to show with that character and then build the world sort of around that character. So it shows those themes and those character traits and what they're overcoming, either in their personal life or in their their physical life, right? But I do have characters that go off script. In the second book, kingdom of darkness. I have a character who we're not sure if he's a good guy or a bad guy. The main character thinks that he may be trying to delude her into thinking he's good when he's not really good. But I wrote him so well, like he was so nice that I couldn't make him a villain. So he became, I rewrote the story a little bit. I'd written it in my mind, I guess, but I rewrote it a little bit. So he did end up being a villain. And then somehow he got his whole own book, so he gets to star in his whole book after that.   Michael Hingson ** 23:54 And does he stay a villain? No, he   Tricia Copeland ** 23:57 didn't stay. He didn't was never, I mean, I kind of wrote it so the main character thought he was a villain, but in the end, I didn't make him a villain.   Michael Hingson ** 24:06 Well, I like books like that. I yeah, I think that most creatures are generally pretty nice.   Tricia Copeland ** 24:14 We would hope so,   Michael Hingson ** 24:16 although I don't know that that bears necessarily are overly generally nice to people, but, you know, who knows? Yeah, that doesn't mean they're evil either. Well, no, yeah.   Tricia Copeland ** 24:27 I mean, they're just living their life, right? That's they need their food sources. Is just like we need our food sources. So   Michael Hingson ** 24:35 I'd rather not be their food source, though, but that's okay, right?   Tricia Copeland ** 24:39 Yeah, and I don't know. I do struggle with, like, evil or antagonistic characters, because I'm, I don't like the idea that there's a character that is purely evil for no reason. So that is, that's always a grapple in an author's mind. I think,   Michael Hingson ** 24:56 well, and you know, I'll go back to Harry Potter. Modern Of course, we have Lord waldemart, who was definitely evil. But even so, the way she created the characters and the way she crafted the books, which probably in some ways, are similar, just in a process of what you do, it's not necessarily overly graphically evil. Even if there's evil, it isn't so graphic that you you you become totally adverse or against it. Evil or bad things are there, but it's all on how you present it. That's why I like books that are essentially puzzles, if you will, because they leave a lot of things to your imagination, and they give you the ability to as a reader, think about it, but as a writer, you also are essentially drawing the reader in to where you want the reader to go, but, but they're puzzles, rather than just some graphic thing, talking about all these horrible, mean, nasty things that a character may do.   Tricia Copeland ** 26:08 That's true, and it's all perspective, right? So the quote, unquote villain in my series is out to destroy all the vampires. But then you meet vampires that are good vampires, right? And you think, Huh, well, maybe this one vampire shouldn't be destroyed, because this vampire is not acting in a mean or hurtful way. So many sides to those questions,   Michael Hingson ** 26:33 yeah. Well, so the Kingdom series. How many books are in that one?   Tricia Copeland ** 26:38 There are four books in the main series, and there's a prequel to that series, okay?   Michael Hingson ** 26:45 And then what happened? What happened after that series?   Tricia Copeland ** 26:48 So in the finale, kingdom of war, my witches were going to have this huge battle against a vampire army that the evil witch created to, you know, battle the good witches. Yeah, she put which souls in the vampires. So that made them sort of like super vampires. But anyway, my witches needed an army, and I thought who would be a good character to be, to have an army that can come help the witches. So, yeah, the beings I thought of were fairies, and I created a queen Titania, is her name, who had an army who would come help the witches battle these vampire witch soul hybrid be. And when I created her, she just kind of took on her own character, and I quickly morphed that into what was her backstory, what were struggles? Where was she living? Where would the spay army come from? And that is what kind of launched my realm chronicle series, that the finale is coming out next month. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 28:10 that's that's pretty cool, and that that answers, again, the question we talked about earlier. The character actually took over, if you will, the writing, which is always cool, because that really shows how deeply you're invested in the characters and you let them have their voices, right?   Tricia Copeland ** 28:26 And I couldn't really give up the characters from my kingdom Journal series. They not, you know, not to give too much away, but they do complete their first quest and but this evil witch who's trying to destroy the vampires is still out there somewhere, so I couldn't completely let them go. So the witches from my kingdom Journal series come into the round Chronicles series, and the fairies and the witches are continuing to help each other.   Michael Hingson ** 28:56 Well, that's cool. Well, it's kind of neat to even though it's a new series, and I assume you can read one without reading the other, but still, it's neat that you, you follow on and help to craft and expand the world.   Tricia Copeland ** 29:11 It's been a lot of fun. And I, you know, selfishly, I didn't want to let go the characters. I felt like they had a little bit of story left in them, and I was able to do that through the round chronicle series. And yeah, it it was a lot of fun for me to   Michael Hingson ** 29:26 write. And now, of course, the question is, will there be a lot more story with them, which is part of the adventure that will come next? Right?   Tricia Copeland ** 29:33 Yes, I'm, I'm thinking of that. I put my characters through a lot. So after I finished the finale, I felt like I just had to let them rest. I'm not really sure if I will continue with those same characters or or either pull out some different characters from that book to have their own stories. Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 29:54 well, it's, it's going to be an adventure. No question about. It   30:00 definitely so   Michael Hingson ** 30:04 with your books. Do you have themes in your books? That is, are you? Are you trying to convey messages? Do you have themes and things that you want people to think about as they go through reading your books?   Tricia Copeland ** 30:16 I do. I feel like I like that in the book, and so I kind of embed that in my books too, but it's really more about what is the character grappling with. Not only, like I said in their physical world, maybe Queen Titania is the first female queen in her realm, and some of the old guard, other monarchs are not sure that a female should be able to rule, So that's sort of an out, outside challenge. But she also has inner conflict and challenges where she's not really trusting that she really can do it and she's really supposed to do it, and should she, you know, hand the crown to someone else who may be older or wiser or and so it does she have faith in herself. You know, would sort of be that theme there. And so each of the books have, I mean, it's not like I say, hey, the theme of this book is you need to believe in yourself, yeah, but just showing that the character arcs and how they overcome their challenges.   Michael Hingson ** 31:22 How do you again create those? How do you work those in what? What's the process that allows you to to put those themes in and and add them to the book and bring that value out? Right?   Tricia Copeland ** 31:37 I guess it's just how, the way I the challenges I choose to put in front of my characters and showing them fail at times, and showing them I do write first person, so you're getting a very up close view of what the character is thinking and feeling at all times. So I think that helps with a little bit of that, knowing that the character is struggling with whatever their um, XYZ, inner, inner turmoil that they're struggling with. And then, you know, just having other characters bounce things off of them, because the character themselves might not realize, hey, I I get anxious when I'm not in control of situations. So, you know, somebody might say, Hey, you're doing this again, stop.   Michael Hingson ** 32:29 That's why we have editors,   32:30 right,   Michael Hingson ** 32:33 and other people to help well, so you are you, but you clearly talk with your characters and you let them have a voice, which is, I think, something that adds a really great dimension to the writing that you do. And I think it's very important to do that.   Tricia Copeland ** 32:51 I hope so. I have very detailed character sheets for each of my characters. I create much bigger back stories than, probably, than really makes it into the books, just to be able to know, like, how my characters will react in situations, what their growth needs to be, where areas that I want to show that growth, and what's most important in their values, And how would they react to all the different challenges?   Michael Hingson ** 33:24 What caused you to bring fairies into it again? I think that's pretty imaginative. You were writing about witches of vampire. Fairies are are different. How did that come about?   Tricia Copeland ** 33:34 Honestly, I was at a book event, and a person was walking around with these postcards, and they were trying to get authors to write a short story for an anthology, and it had to be a fantasy genre, and it had to be a character with a mental health challenge. But the image on the postcard was of a fairy, and she was hunched in a meadow in these grasses, and she looked kind of anxious or scared, maybe even a little timid or worried. And I thought, Oh, that's a cool image. It was very striking with the green grass and her fairy wings and just her eyes were like had just a lot of feeling behind them. So it caught my eye. I never thought I'd write about fairies. I was looking for the Army for my witches, and I thought, well, you know, the fairies could be like the characters the witches go to. So it was just kind of happenstance that I happened to see this fairy character on a postcard and think, Huh, I could, you know, the fairies could be the answer.   Michael Hingson ** 34:44 And turns out, they were, they were Yes. So are all fairies girls? No, okay.   Tricia Copeland ** 34:51 I mean, fairies are much like humans in my world, except that my fairies have wings. They in. Middle Earth, which is just below earth. So they share our same bedrock. It kind of mirrors our Earth in my world. And they have rings where they can come back and forth between the fae and the human realm, and they live in our contemporary times. I like those themes of there might be witches, there might be vampires, there might be fairies that walk alongside us every day, and we don't know it.   Michael Hingson ** 35:24 And do they know Bill Bo Baggins, since we're talking about Middle Earth, just   Tricia Copeland ** 35:29 they do, well, they might have read the book. I don't know that they met him personally.   Michael Hingson ** 35:35 Yeah. Well, that's, you know, another, another story, but it's but it's cool. What other kinds of characters are you thinking of for maybe future books, outside of witches, vampires and fairies,   Tricia Copeland ** 35:49 right? So I won't give too much away, but no, in order to perform some of the spells that they need to perform in, I guess in two of my books in this series, to be a Fae legend, which is the third book of the series, and to be a Fae which is the finale, The last book of the series. My witches and fairies need to perform these spells. So they need a great amount of power or energy, and they have to assemble different kinds of beings. And in the finale, they have to assemble 12 different kinds of beings. If you try to make a list of different kinds of being, you actually in ones that the witches and the fairies could find in the human realm, like so I had an elf and the werewolves and nicks and selkies like so the Nicks are shape shifters that shift into fish, and then the selkies are shape shifters that shift into now I'm blanking not walruses seals, sorry. So yeah, I had to go find all these different characters. So all of those characters are in this final book, and I I'm thinking of maybe some of those characters that can form a new series.   Michael Hingson ** 37:11 So are all trolls, mean, nasty creatures, or, do you know yet,   Tricia Copeland ** 37:16 in my series, they are depicted as that? Yes,   Michael Hingson ** 37:21 how about gnomes? I don't have any gnomes. Well, there's another one for you to look at down the line. Might be. It might be interesting to see where that goes. Of course. Yep, so you but you have a variety of characters, and I think it's it's great when you have a rich culture of a lot of different characters. And of course, there are all sorts of potentials for conflict or for different creatures to work learn to work together too,   Tricia Copeland ** 37:56 right? The Fay historically have not worked with other beings or creatures. They very much kept to themselves and had primary purpose. They think their primary purpose is to protect the humans from all the evil spirits. So that has been their focus historically, and they've shunned other groups of beings based on whether they thought they were descended from the Creator, who's sort of like their god or the creator or the evil one, right? So the Fae believed that the vampires and werewolves, for instance, were created by the evil ones, so they shouldn't associate with those types of beings, and there's a lot of learning in there. I guess you could say it, are we going to partner with these beings, and how? What does that look like? And is that really okay? And can we choose a different path than what our predecessors have chosen?   Michael Hingson ** 38:59 And I guess it's sort of pretty clearly, is that they somewhat do that.   Tricia Copeland ** 39:06 Yes, they do. And Titania, our main character, is very much the Herald for that type of behavior and that type of community and that type of acceptance   Michael Hingson ** 39:23 well. So your next year, your book will be out in July, and then where do you go from there?   Tricia Copeland ** 39:31 Yes, so like I said, I'm tossing around ideas for fantasy characters. I also write in the romance genre, so generally, I'll write a fantasy, and then I'll write a romance. I'll switch back and forth between writing those. The past year and a half, I guess I've been focusing on finishing this fantasy series, so I have two romances now queued up that I'm excited about writing, and we'll get to those first. I   Michael Hingson ** 39:58 think, hmm. What romances Have you written already?   Tricia Copeland ** 40:03 So after the being me series, I started the perfect romance series, which the first book was a little bit different from a typical romance. It has five parts, and it's the same main character, but based on decisions at different times in her life, her life goes off in a different way. So you see her go to France and fall in love with the French man, or you see her take a job in New York City and fall in love with a investment banker. And so you see her in different stages of her life, having made different decisions, but still finding happily ever after. So that kind of kicked off that. And somebody, somebody called it speculative romance at one time, and it's more like make your own story or choose your own ending type of book. But from there, I initially thought I would write like a full book showing each of the happily ever afters with that same character, but I wrote one book showing one happily ever after scenario, but then decided that I would look at all of her friends lives so they all met in college, and they were in this one sorority together. And so I write different books showing the different friends love stories. So I've written perfect. Was the first one perfect, always with Chloe. And then Brie book is a close as close to perfect. And this is still set in Lexington, Kentucky. And then the last one is perfect office pack, which is a enemies to lovers, office romance.   Michael Hingson ** 41:51 Now, do you put a lot of sex in your books? I   Tricia Copeland ** 41:54 don't know. My books are what's called closed door or fade to black, so you'll see some kissing, but not much more than that,   Michael Hingson ** 42:03 and that's fine. And the reason I asked that question was to get to the whole issue of so many people when they're writing, just have to make everything so graphic. There's got to be all this sex and all this other stuff that they put in them. And my view has always been, is that really necessary? And I gather you, you're essentially saying the same thing. And again, it's like detective stories. I love to read a lot of detective stories, but I like the detective stories most that are puzzles. That is, I want to figure out who done it. I don't need all the graphics of how somebody got murdered, or what happened. It happens. You don't need to put all that graphic stuff in to get to dealing with the puzzle. And it's the same thing with sex. You really need all that. Like a lot of comedians, it's all the shock stuff. They got to have all these horrible words, swear words, and everything else but the best comedians, I think most people, if they really study it, will agree, are the ones that tell stories without all that dirty and sex stuff in it.   Tricia Copeland ** 43:12 And that's what I like to read and what I like to watch, too. But there are definitely people that enjoy different types of books. Yeah, there are, yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 43:21 yeah, I hear you, but I, I would prefer to be able to use my imagination in various things. So one of my favorite detective stories or Characters of All Times is Nero Wolfe, written by Rex Stout, because he he writes in a way where you don't see all the graphic and don't need to see any of the graphic to get the entire picture. He describes enough so you know what's going on, but he doesn't deal with it in a way that would How do I put it? Offend anyone?   Tricia Copeland ** 43:59 Right? And I would probably argue that mystery books are would be the hardest to write, I think, because you have to give enough clues throughout so that the reader doesn't think, Oh, I would have never thought that was the villain, but you don't want to put too much in. So it's so obvious who the villain is, right? So I think it's the ways those authors weave those stories are very intricate and thought out and multi layered and impressive to me   Michael Hingson ** 44:34 well. And the reality is that sometimes, and again, I'll use Rex Stout as an example, when you find out who did it, or who the bad person was, and Wolf explains it clearly, all the clues were there, but it would be really hard for you to put it together. Now, there have been a few times where there were things that he didn't tell you, that if you if he had said those. Because during the book, you might have figured it out, but mostly the clues are somewhat there, but it is so subtle that I doubt very many people would figure it out, which   Tricia Copeland ** 45:14 is, yeah, definitely.   Michael Hingson ** 45:17 It makes it so much fun. When that happens, it is. So you're, you're still deciding what you want to do for your next series of books, or what, what the next realm will be, if you will,   Tricia Copeland ** 45:31 in the fantasy genre, yes, I'm still deciding which way to go with my next characters.   Michael Hingson ** 45:38 Yes, right, but you're going to probably do some romances before you go into those. I   Tricia Copeland ** 45:43 am, yes, I was just writing a newsletter to my subscribers. In the last book, I had subscribers pick names for my characters. And so in this book, I thought, You know what? I don't like this character has has only been introduced and very briefly in one of the books, and so she doesn't have a lot of backstory. And I thought, You know what, I can just ask my readers, where do you think she should live? What are her hobbies? What does she like to do? What's her favorite book genre? I thought that would be a lot of fun for my readers to direct some of that.   Michael Hingson ** 46:18 And what kind of answers did you get? Did you get a lot of feedback?   Tricia Copeland ** 46:22 Like I said, I Well, with the names one when? So I'm just sent out the poll today, new one, but for the name ones, yeah, I would. I got like 100 answers. And then I thought, you know, next time, I won't do the names, because sometimes names are so personal and can vote like a lot of emotion that people get very heated about people's names.   Michael Hingson ** 46:47 Now, do mostly women answer? Do you get both sexes answering your questions? It is   Tricia Copeland ** 46:52 mostly women, but definitely, maybe 10% male, I would think. And actually, I feel like I have more interaction, and that's mostly on the fantasy side, but I feel like I actually have sometimes more interaction. Maybe, I don't know, maybe this get more passionate about fantasy?   Michael Hingson ** 47:13 Yeah, probably so. But you know, there's, there's something to be said for reading a good romance book. I like cozy mysteries as well, and a lot of those are really combinations of mysteries and romance, and the mystery part is oftentimes more straightforward, but it's just the whole book and the putting the entire book together that makes it so much fun.   Tricia Copeland ** 47:41 Yeah, those can be a quick, you know, kind of feel good read. I yeah for that genre, yeah, and   Michael Hingson ** 47:49 there's nothing wrong with that. It's good to have feel good books occasionally,   Tricia Copeland ** 47:54 too. I am all for feel good everything, yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 47:58 Well, when I travel, I like to read on airplanes, and I like not to work and do reading that's really related to work, because going and coming from events is really the time that I get to have the most down time once I get somewhere I am on until I am on the airplane coming home. And so it is the way to relax. So I enjoy reading things that will allow me to relax when I'm going and coming from trips or from events, which is so important, I think, to be able to do and I think people should do more of that. It's always worth slowing down some and really letting your mind just wander.   Tricia Copeland ** 48:38 Yeah, plane trips are my favorite, because that's I do the same thing. I read on the plane, and I listen to audio books mostly if I'm home, when I'm exercising or when I'm doing chores. But to be able to sit down and read doesn't happen that often.   Michael Hingson ** 48:56 What do you like to read most from audio books? What? What genre?   Tricia Copeland ** 48:59 Um, exactly what I write, fantasy and romance.   Michael Hingson ** 49:03 What's your favorite fantasy books   Tricia Copeland ** 49:06 I just finished, and I'm so behind because I don't read fantasy when I'm writing fantasy. So I just finished Holly Black's, the folk of the air series, the cruel prince, I think the cool prince, the wicked king and the queen of nothing. I think they're the three books in that series. So that was really good series. And I'm writing Emily's wild encyclopedia fairies right now. So I just started that get   Michael Hingson ** 49:33 a little bit more information on those fairies for a future book. Right? That's that's kind of important to do. So do you produce with I've asked a number of people this, and I'll ask you, do you arrange for audio books to be produced from your series?   Tricia Copeland ** 49:53 I do both my fantasy series, The Kingdom journals, as well as the realm Chronicles. I have audio books. Four. I'm a little bit behind in the realm Chronicles. My Narrator had some health problems, so I'm switching narrators. But my new narrator, Tina walls, wolsen craft, yes, I think that's how you pronounce her last name, she will be working on the fourth book in the realm Chronicles series in September. So I'm hoping that will come out in October, and that will be my, my eighth audio book.   Michael Hingson ** 50:23 And where can people get the audio books?   Tricia Copeland ** 50:26 So the kingdom Journal series is on all platforms, and then the realm chronicle series, the newest series, is on Audible. Okay,   Michael Hingson ** 50:37 so and again under your name for the author?   Tricia Copeland ** 50:42 Yep. Tricia Copeland, author, the Kingdom Journal series. The first two books are female character, so and now I'm blank. I can't believe I'm blanking on her name. It'll come to me in a minute. Yeah. So I had a female narrator for the first two books, and then the second two books are male Lee main characters. So Dan Delgado did the narration on those and then Jillian Yetter, who was the most amazing narrator for Titania. She even had pink hair, just just like Titania does, a hold of the the cover of the book has Titania is pink hair. So that was really fun to work with her, and we won an award for the second book in that series, to be a fake guardian   Michael Hingson ** 51:26 in audio book. Oh, cool. What was the award? It   Tricia Copeland ** 51:29 was independent book publisher Association, young adult fantasy, Silver Award.   Michael Hingson ** 51:35 Oh, cool. That's exciting. It's always good to have awards. Have you run other awards along the way?   Tricia Copeland ** 51:40 I have several Colorado independent book Publishers Association for the first book, kingdom of embers, in the kingdom Journal series, as well as several the global Book Awards for to remember it to be, to be a fake queen, which is the first book in the kingdom journals and as Ray at my Aztec mythology.   Michael Hingson ** 52:06 So how many books have you written all together?   Speaker 1 ** 52:08 Next month's book will be 23 Wow.   Michael Hingson ** 52:13 That is really exciting. Well, I know we're putting in the show notes, the picture of the book cover for the next book. And as I mentioned earlier, if you want to send us other books that you think people ought to read, we'll put those pictures in the the notes as well. I'm glad to have all the pictures you want to share.   Tricia Copeland ** 52:31 I will definitely share them. Thank you. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 52:34 so is there anything else you'd like all of our listeners and viewers to know or to think about going forward,   Tricia Copeland ** 52:42 right? Well, if you go to my website, which is triciacopeland.com,   Michael Hingson ** 52:47 and Tricia is T, R, i, c, I A, Copeland, C, O, P, E, L,   52:53 a n, d, l, a n, d.com.com,   Tricia Copeland ** 52:56 yes, if you go there, and if you just want to get a trial of my books. If you subscribe to my newsletter, then you can read a free short story fantasy as well as a free short story romance.   Michael Hingson ** 53:07 Oh, okay. If people want to reach out to you, what's the best way to do that,   Tricia Copeland ** 53:13 they can reach out on direct message, on social media, or my email is Tricia T, R, i, c, I a@triciacopeland.com   53:21 too. Okay,   Michael Hingson ** 53:24 then people can, can reach out and and they'll, I'm sure, have all sorts of ideas for you.   Tricia Copeland ** 53:31 I love ideas, and I love talking to readers about my books.   Michael Hingson ** 53:36 Yeah, I I've written three, and I love getting comments and feedback from people, because I get new ideas and new thoughts. And mine are really all about helping to inspire people and so on. So it's it's always good when people have their their observations, whatever they are.   54:01 I agree.   Michael Hingson ** 54:03 Well, anyway, I want to thank you for being here. This has been a lot of fun, and I really value your time being here, and I hope people will reach out and and also, more important, get your books and read your books and review them. One of the most important things that all of us who are authors will tell anyone is, please review the books. Please go to places like Amazon and Reddit and so on and review the books, because those reviews are are viewed and paid attention to by so many people. So giving an author, a great review is always a wonderful thing to do.   Tricia Copeland ** 54:44 We do appreciate those and thank you so much, Michael for having me.   Michael Hingson ** 54:48 Well, it was my pleasure, and I want to thank all of you for listening and watching today. We really appreciate it. If you've got any thoughts, I'd love to hear from you, please email me at Michael H i. M, I, C, H, A, E, L, H, I, at access, A, B, A, C, C, E, S, S, i, b, e.com, but also go to our podcast page, www, dot Michael hinkson.com/podcast, you can see all of our podcasts there, but they're also available wherever you're listening to podcasts and and you can find the most anywhere podcasts are available. If you know anyone who ought to be a guest that you think would make a wonderful guest, and you'd like to have them tell their stories and Tricia you as well, I would really appreciate you introducing us, because we're always looking for more people to have on the podcast, and so please don't hesitate to reach out and don't hesitate to provide introductions, but again, give us a five star review here on unstoppable mindset. We value your reviews greatly, and we really appreciate you doing it. So I want to thank you, Tricia again, for being here. This has been fun, and I think it's really important that people do get a great sense of what you're doing, and I think we've done that, and we're really anxious to see where you go from here.   Tricia Copeland ** 56:08 Thank you so much, Michael, I so appreciate it.   Michael Hingson ** 56:15 You have been listening to the Unstoppable Mindset podcast. Thanks for dropping by. I hope that you'll join us again next week, and in future weeks for upcoming episodes. To subscribe to our podcast and to learn about upcoming episodes, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com slash podcast. Michael Hingson is spelled m i c h a e l h i n g s o n. While you're on the site., please use the form there to recommend people who we ought to interview in upcoming editions of the show. And also, we ask you and urge you to invite your friends to join us in the future. If you know of any one or any organization needing a speaker for an event, please email me at speaker at Michael hingson.com. I appreciate it very much. To learn more about the concept of blinded by fear, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com forward slash blinded by fear and while you're there, feel free to pick up a copy of my free eBook entitled blinded by fear. The unstoppable mindset podcast is provided by access cast an initiative of accessiBe and is sponsored by accessiBe. Please visit www.accessibe.com . AccessiBe is spelled a c c e s s i b e. There you can learn all about how you can make your website inclusive for all persons with disabilities and how you can help make the internet fully inclusive by 2025. Thanks again for Listening. Please come back and visit us again next week.

Why Are We Failing Our Elders at the Dinner Table?In a world that prides itself on nutritional science and medical progress, why do so many older adults continue to suffer silently—malnourished, misunderstood, and medically overburdened?Over 60% of India's elderly are either malnourished or at high risk. And yet, geriatric nutrition remains a blind spot in public health. Slower metabolisms, multiple medications, cognitive decline, shrinking appetites—these are not just symptoms of aging, but signs of a deeper crisis that's unfolding quietly across kitchens, hospital wards, and old age homes.To unpack this invisible emergency, we speak with Dr. Gaurav Sharma, Consultant in Geriatric Medicine at AIG Hospitals, Hyderabad. An AIIMS alumnus and seasoned geriatrician, Dr. Sharma has worked across the care continuum—rural clinics, high-end hospitals, and global conferences—advocating for dignified, evidence-backed elder care.We explore:• What malnutrition in older adults really looks like• How gut changes, oral health, and medications silently strip nutrients• Why family norms and food taboos often cause more harm than help• How nutrition links directly to dignity, independence, and longevity• And what every caregiver must stop ignoringIf you are caring for an aging parent, grandparent, or planning your own older years, this conversation is both a wake-up call and a guide.About Nutrition Every Day: A special podcast series by The Good Sight and Rise Against Hunger India, bringing sharp, grounded insights on health, food systems, and human dignity.For feedback or to participate, write to us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠contact@thegoodsight.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠CreditsHost: Shreya MGuest: Dr. Gaurav SharmaResearch: Alisha CShow Artwork: Rajnikant SProduced by: The Good SightConcept: The Good Sight & Rise Against Hunger India#NutritionEveryDay #ElderlyNutrition #HealthyAgeing #PublicHealthIndia #DignityInAgeing #GeriatricCare #FoodSecurity #NutritionJustice #TheGoodSight #RiseAgainstHungerIndia #CaregivingIndia #BetterFoodBetterFuture

In this episode of the Arts to Hearts Project, Bhargavi Gundala talks with Charuka about building The Art Space in Hyderabad, creating opportunities for emerging artists, and the importance of showing up even when you feel unsure. A must-listen for artists looking for support, community, and a fresh take on what it means to grow in the art world.

As I explore different aspects of the education transition that we need globally, and is emerging, it is increasingly clear that schools (or what might replacement them) won't be the only thing required. There is a huge amount of possibility and power in a broader ecosystem of organisations and networks taking different roles in enabling a more creative, meaning-rich, relational educational experience for young people and for communities. This week it is a huge privilege to be able to share the story of one such organisation that has been quietly getting on with incredible and impactful work doing precisely this for the last few decades at an absolutely massive scale across India. Ramji Raghavan is Founder Chairman of Agastya International Foundation. Ramji leads the world's largest hands-on Mobile Education Program for economically disadvantaged children and teachers. In 1998, Ramji left his commercial career in banking and finance to create Agastya International Foundation, to provide science education to over 25 million underprivileged children and 250,000 government school teachers across India. During his tenure, Agastya has pioneered many educational innovations at scale, including mobile science labs, lab-on-a-bike and peer-to-peer learning via mega science fairs for underprivileged children. Agastya's 172-acre campus creativity lab houses over fifteen experiential science, art and innovation centers, including the Ramanujan Math Park. With support from the government of Andhra Pradesh, Ramji and his colleagues established a 172-acre campus creativity lab near Bangalore. In 2010 the Government of Karnataka signed a MoU with Agastya International Foundation to establish an ecosystem for hands-on science education in the state. Wisdom of Agastya, an illustrated book authored by Vasant Nayak and Shay Taylor of the MurthyNayak Foundation in Baltimore, USA, chronicles Ramji and his team's journey between 1999 and 2014 in building Agastya International Foundation.In 2021 Agastya announced the creation of Navam Innovation Foundation in partnership with the Pravaha Foundation of Hyderabad.Ramji was a member of the Prime Minister's National Knowledge Commission (Working Group on attracting children to Science and Math), is a member of the board of Vigyan Prasar, New Delhi, the Karnataka State Innovation Council and Executive Council member of the Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum. In 2009, he was elected a Senior Fellow by Ashoka and in 2011 he was conferred the People's Hero Award by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) (Southern Zone).https://www.agastya.org/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramji_Raghavan@AgastyaOrg on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/AgastyaOrgThe book: 'The Moving of Mountains: The Remarkable Story of the Agastya International Foundation' by Adhirath Sethi (LID Publications): https://adhirathsethi.com/the-moving-of-mountainsDavid Penburg's article about his time at Agastya, The Owl That Flies Silently: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bEeVpAE8J8LS5JAQJYxtrYEEVX2G6Ju7/view?usp=sharing

In this episode, Béa sits down with author Shylashri Shankar for a rich and layered conversation about her debut novel, Blood Caste. Set in 1895 Hyderabad and loosely inspired by the mystery of Jack the Ripper, the novel becomes a launching point for a deeper exploration of themes like prejudice, identity, and the tensions between cultures and values. Shankar shares how writing the book was more than a creative project—it was a personal journey of transformation. The discussion moves fluidly between the novel's historical roots and the inner landscapes both authors navigate in their own creative processes. Along the way, they reflect on the role of fiction in uncovering truth, the power of inner work, and why audiobooks can offer a more embodied reading experience. Blood Caste is published in the UK and in all English-speaking countries by Canelo Crime, [DK/Random House]. It will be available on Audio on August 7th. Shylashri Shankar | Canelo Crime    

Welcome to Omni Talk's Retail Daily Minute, sponsored by RetailClub and Mirakl. In today's Retail Daily Minute:Tesla officially opens its long-awaited Supercharger Diner in Los Angeles after seven years of development, featuring 80 charging stalls, two movie screens, and a 24/7 diner with locally sourced food that's open to everyone, not just Tesla owners.Barnes & Noble continues its remarkable brick-and-mortar resurgence, opening three new smaller-format stores in Texas and South Carolina as part of its ambitious plan to open 60+ locations in 2025, proving physical bookstores can thrive in the digital age.Costco establishes its first Global Capability Centre in Hyderabad, India, planning to employ 1,000 people initially in technology and research operations, joining other major U.S. retailers expanding their international tech presence.The Retail Daily Minute has been rocketing up the Feedspot charts, so stay informed with Omni Talk's Retail Daily Minute, your source for the latest and most important retail insights. Be careful out there!

Get ready for a deep dive into India's booming sports tech landscape! In this exclusive Paisa Paisa episode, we're joined by Jatin Paranjape, Founder, and Ujwal Deole, Co-founder & COO of KheloMore, the trailblazers revolutionizing sports participation across the nation. Discover how KheloMore is building a true "super app" that connects players with venues, coaches, and a vibrant sports ecosystem. From the explosive growth of box cricket and the pickleball craze to expanding access for badminton, football, and even rugby, they break down their innovative business model, including marketplace commissions, venue operations, and their ambitious plans for proprietary facilities. Learn the secrets to their success, including strategic pivots during the pandemic, the surprising ROI in building sports infrastructure, and how they've achieved rapid customer acquisition through grassroots efforts and venue branding (including their "zero-CAC" automation venues!). Hear about their focus on key metrics like distinct venues and customer lifetime value, with some users booking over 1500 times! Jatin and Ujwal share their vision for India's sporting future in 2025 and beyond, discussing geographical expansion across 500-600 Indian cities, the integration of IoT and AI in sports like cricket, and the exciting potential for new businesses in sports equipment and services. This episode is packed with insights for sports enthusiasts, entrepreneurs, finance professionals, and anyone interested in the dynamic intersection of tech and finance in India. Don't miss this inspiring conversation with the minds behind one of India's most exciting startups!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Could transparency and control requirements be seamlessly integrated within delightful customer journeys? How has a famously design-led company (Airbnb) mastered Privacy User Experience? Ansuman Acharya serves as a Principal Product Manager at Airbnb, where he leads the design and development of cutting-edge privacy experiences that safeguard the trust of millions across the globe. With a foundation in privacy technology and user-centric design, he artfully bridges engineering depth with ethical product leadership. His 11-year journey at Microsoft, spanning Hyderabad, India and Bellevue, WA shaped his multidisciplinary expertise across enterprise and consumer domains spanning commerce, collaboration/productivity and healthcare tech. Ansuman holds a Master's from the University of Washington's Foster School in Information Systems and a Bachelors degree in Computer Science Engineering from NIT Rourkela in India. References: Ansuman Acharya on LinkedIn Airbnb: privacy choices USENIX Conference on Privacy Engineering Practice and Respect Defining Privacy UX (UserTesting)

What does it take to build a movement for educational equity? How do you turn young Fellows into changemakers and students into leaders of their own learning?In this special interview, Ankit Agrawal shares his journey from joining Teach For India back in 2015 to leading its mission in Hyderabad today. He talks about the power of student voice, what real leadership looks like in classrooms, and how an entire community can shape the future of education.

Fluent Fiction - Hindi: Glow Up: Ravi's Colorful Success at Charminar Market Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/hi/episode/2025-07-04-22-34-00-hi Story Transcript:Hi: चमचमाती धूप के साथ ही हैदराबाद के चारमीनार के आसपास का बाजार जीवंत हो उठा था।En: With the shining sun, the market around Hyderabad's Charminar came alive.Hi: लोग ईद-उल-अज़हा की खरीदारी में मशगूल थे।En: People were busy shopping for Eid-ul-Adha.Hi: वहाँ पर छोटी-छोटी दुकानों की कतारें बेजोड़ रंग-बिरंगी चूड़ियों से सजी थीं।En: There were rows of small shops adorned with unique, colorful bangles.Hi: अलग-अलग आवाज़ें बाजार की चहल-पहल में गूँज रही थीं।En: Various sounds resonated in the hustle and bustle of the market.Hi: रवि, एक युवा और महत्वाकांक्षी चूड़ी बेचने वाला, अपनी छोटी सी दुकान लगाकर बैठा था।En: Ravi, a young and ambitious bangle seller, had set up his small shop.Hi: उसके परिवार की ईद की खुशियों के लिए वह इस बार अच्छा पैसा कमाना चाहता था।En: He wanted to earn good money this time to bring joy to his family during Eid.Hi: लेकिन वहाँ उसके जैसे कई और चूड़ी विक्रेता थे, जिनके पास अधिक आकर्षक स्टॉल और नियमित ग्राहक भी थे।En: But there were many other bangle vendors like him, who had more attractive stalls and regular customers.Hi: गर्मी अपने चरम पर थी और रवि का सिर दुख रहा था।En: The heat was at its peak and Ravi had a headache.Hi: इसके बावजूद, उसने हार मानने की बजाय एक विशेष छूट देने का निर्णय किया।En: Despite this, instead of giving up, he decided to offer a special discount.Hi: उसने चूड़ियों की एक सुंदर और रंगीन प्रदर्शन लगाया, ताकि लोग उसकी दुकान की ओर आकर्षित हों।En: He put up a beautiful and colorful display of bangles to attract people to his shop.Hi: वह ग्राहकों की मदद करने के लिए उनके पसंद की चूड़ियाँ चुनने में भी आगे रहता था, जिससे उन्हें व्यक्तिगत अनुभव मिलता था।En: He also took the initiative to help customers select bangles they liked, providing them with a personalized experience.Hi: सूरज धीरे-धीरे ढलने लगा और तभी उसकी दुकान के आसपास एक बड़ी भीड़ इकट्ठी हो गई।En: As the sun began to set, a large crowd gathered around his shop.Hi: रवि का उत्साह और छूट का फायदा उठाने के लिए लोग उमड़ पड़े।En: People flocked to take advantage of Ravi's enthusiasm and discount.Hi: वह पूरी तल्लीनता से लोगों की सेवा करने लगा, ताकि किसी भी ग्राहक को नाराज न कर सके।En: He served the customers diligently, ensuring none of them left displeased.Hi: विक्रम और अंजलि, उसके दोस्त भी मदद के लिए पहुँच गए, जिससे काम और आसानी से होने लगा।En: His friends, Vikram and Anjali, also arrived to help, making the task easier.Hi: उस शाम तक, रवि ने अपनी सभी चूड़ियाँ बेच दी थीं।En: By that evening, Ravi had sold all his bangles.Hi: उसकी मेहनत रंग लाई थी और उसने अपने परिवार के लिए ईद मनाने लायक पैसा कमा लिया था।En: His hard work paid off, and he earned enough money to celebrate Eid with his family.Hi: बाजार में प्रतियोगिता कड़ी थी, लेकिन अब रवि को विश्वास था कि वह किसी भी चुनौती का सामना कर सकता है।En: The competition in the market was tough, but now Ravi believed he could face any challenge.Hi: उसका ये अनुभव उसे सिखा गया कि व्यापार में रचनात्मकता और व्यक्तिगत संपर्क कितनी महत्वपूर्ण भूमिका निभाते हैं।En: This experience taught him how important creativity and personal interaction are in business.Hi: चारमीनार का बाजार अपनी चहल-पहल में लीन हो गया था, पर रवि के चेहरे पर अब एक नई आत्मविश्वासी मुस्कान थी।En: The market at Charminar was absorbed in its hustle, but a newfound confident smile graced Ravi's face. Vocabulary Words:shining: चमचमातीadorned: सजीresonated: गूँज रहीambitious: महत्वाकांक्षीvendor: विक्रेताattractive: आकर्षकstalls: स्टॉलheadache: सिर दुखनाdiscount: छूटinitiative: फैसलाpersonalized: व्यक्तिगतflocked: उमड़ पड़ेenthusiasm: उत्साहdiligently: तल्लीनताdispleased: नाराजcompetition: प्रतियोगिताtaught: सिखा गयाcreativity: रचनात्मकताinteraction: संपर्कbusiness: व्यापारabsorbed: लीनconfidence: आत्मविश्वासbangles: चूड़ियाँmarket: बाजारexperience: अनुभवunique: बेजोड़hustle: चहल-पहलjoy: खुशियोंgathered: इकट्ठीpeak: चरम

Comedian and actor Asif Ali joins TigerBelly and Bobby steals a kiss from him at The Store. We talk Indian Doctor closer, Internal Fartitude, Golden Gala thumbs, Hyderabad, meeting Brad Pitt, and Jamie locked in. Tickets here: Belly Laughs Festival Start your free online visit today at www.hims.com/belly. That's www.hims.com/belly for personalized hair loss treatment options.

I HANDED In My NOTICE!! In this powerful and heartfelt episode of Join Up Dots, we're diving deep into the real stories behind the downloads. Every week, thousands of people across the globe tune in, seeking clarity, motivation, and a path to change. But today, we're flipping the mic around—sharing the voices of our listeners who are taking what they've learned and putting it into action. These are not influencers, celebrities, or gurus. They're people just like you—navigating challenges, building businesses, reclaiming their lives, and drawing inspiration from the journey we're all on together. You'll hear from Jessica in the Scottish Highlands who, after years of living by other people's expectations, finally took the leap toward a more creative and fulfilling life. She's enrolled in art therapy, preparing to take a sabbatical, and discovering what it means to live on her own terms. Her story is a testament to what happens when we stop asking for permission and start asking better questions. She wonders if David, too, had to strip everything back to discover his real path—and how he knew it was the right one. It's a reminder that growth often starts with surrender. From Seville, Carlos shares a quieter yet equally transformational shift. Once stuck in the hamster wheel of overwork, he's now reclaimed his peace by simplifying life. Inspired by our message to “control what you can,” he's walking to work, tuning into Join Up Dots, and discovering that success isn't always loud—it's often silent, deliberate, and deeply personal. We also hear from Mohan in Hyderabad, whose job loss became the spark for something far greater. While uncertainty and fear took centre stage at first, the show's encouragement to reframe failure gave him courage. Now, he's exploring copywriting and voiceover work—leaning into his storytelling skills and, for the first time in years, feeling a sense of purpose return. On the business front, three inspiring voices take us inside their online journeys. Natalie from Wellington finally broke free from her 9–5, building a content writing business she once thought was out of reach. After two years of listening on lunch breaks, she handed in her notice. It wasn't an overnight success, but it was a deliberate one—powered by clarity, belief, and consistent action. Meanwhile, Emily in Vancouver celebrates her first digital sale after launching a template store for creatives. Her voice beams with pride as she shares how letting go of perfection and following the "just launch it" mentality gave her the breakthrough she'd been waiting for. What's even more exciting is that she still walks the streets of Vancouver listening to the show, now as a business owner rather than just a dreamer. Then there's Jake from Lagos, still deep in the trenches of research but already making moves. His business idea—to connect local artisans with global customers—is in development, and he's conducting user interviews to build something real. He writes with a mixture of nervousness and curiosity, asking David how to know when an idea is worth pushing or when it's time to pivot. That question resonates with anyone who's ever stood at the crossroads of action and doubt. Of course, no Join Up Dots episode would be complete without acknowledging the people who aren't just taking the lessons—but who want to understand how David built the life they now admire. Benji in Bristol writes with admiration and a touch of obsession. He's reverse-engineering the lifestyle David now enjoys: time freedom, creative passion, and a deep sense of alignment. But he's also honest. How do you build a life like that without falling back into old patterns? What mindset shift has to happen first? From Cairo, Ahmed reflects on the challenge of having too many ideas and not enough certainty. He sees David's focus and wants to understand how to develop that same trust in a single direction. It's a question many face when starting something new—especially when every option feels both exciting and terrifying. And then there's Sophie in Hamburg, who found connection not through polished stories of success, but in David's admission of struggle. She references a moment in an early episode—David hiding in the bathroom during a corporate event—and says that's when it clicked. The power of vulnerability, of honesty, and of admitting when things aren't quite right yet. That's what made her believe change was possible. Each of these voices represents more than just a listener—they're a living, breathing part of the Join Up Dots community. And today's episode is about recognising that your story, your struggle, and your small wins matter. Whether you're starting a business, shifting your life, or just figuring things out—you're not alone. We're all joining the dots, one decision at a time. So if you've ever thought, “I'm not sure I can do this,” listen to these stories. If you've ever asked, “Where do I begin?”—start right here. These aren't fairytales. These are footsteps you can follow. And once you've listened, don't keep it to yourself. Share your favourite moment from today's episode on social media using #JoinUpDots #MyDotMoment #RealLifeRealChange. Tag someone who needs to hear this. Start a ripple. And don't forget to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review. Your feedback helps us reach more people and continue bringing you valuable content. See you in the next episode!

Indian pickles, called achaar, are a centuries-old tradition. Indian pickles are preserved in oil, spices, and salt, unlike vinegar-based western-style pickles. Indian food historian, Jonty Rajagopalan, brings us on a street food tour of Hyderabad's pickle shops, which offer a wide range of preserved delicacies, from lemon lime pickles, green mango pickles, and mixed vegetable pickles. It is believed that spicy foods in hot weather help regulate body temperature, and that pickles replenish lost salts – not only delicious, pickles are a functional food! Watch the full documentary and find recipes here! https://www.plantforwardkitchen.org/india

This is The DX Mentor podcast. I hope to help those hams trying to move up the DXCC ladder as well as those that at on the DXCC Honor Roll. As fast as technology is moving, no one can keep up on it all. I am here to help. #DX #HamradioWelcome to episode 68 of The DX Mentor –All About DX. Thank you for joining us..I'm Bill, AJ8B.If this is the first time you are joining us, Welcome! We have a back catalog covering many aspects of DX in both podcast and YouTube format. Please check us out. If you like what you find, please subscribe, like, and share to always be notified about upcoming events!    Another way to keep in touch and to see what we are up to is via the DX Mentor Facebook page. I will be posting aboutupcoming podcasts as well as other DX events so please follow us.   Our guests today are Sarath, VU2RS, and Joe, W8GEX. Sarath & Joe are experienced, passionate DXers and the conversation should be lively and informative.  This text is what grabbed my attention and made me realize that VU2RS would be a great guest. “In celebration of World DX Day, DX India Foundation is proud to announce its commitment to promoting DXing activities from India. Following the resounding success of previous IOTA activations, such as Sacrifice Rock, Kanika Island, Sagar Island, and Nachugunta IOTA, the foundation is gearing up for more exciting adventures. DX India Foundation's primary objective is to activate rare IOTAs, organize DXpeditions, and foster a vibrant DXing culture in the region. To achieve this goal, thefoundation is seeking support from manufacturers, individuals, and organizations to acquire essential equipment, including: – HF radios and amplifiers. – Band-pass filters and power supplies. – Tents and generators. – Coax cables and all necessary accessories. The foundation plans to establish a self-sufficient setup, comprising three stations, which can be easily transported in a container to various locations. This will enable DX India Foundation to activate rare IOTAs and provide DXers and IOTA chasers with exciting opportunities to log new entities. By promoting DXing activities and providing support to IOTA enthusiasts, DX India Foundation hopes to elevate the region's profile in the global amateur radio community. Join us in celebrating World DX Day and stay tuned for updates on DX India Foundation's initiatives and activities! for more details: sara@vu2rs.com 73, Sarath,VU2RS - DX India Foundation” Here is some information about our guest:Sarath was born and raised in Hyderabad, India. He developed an interest in amateur radio at the age of 15, inspired by Bharathi, VU2RBI, and his family of hams. This early exposure sparked a lifelong passion for amateur radio. In recognition of his family's remarkable achievement, they were featured in the Guinness Book of Records for having the largest number of amateur radio operators in a single family - an impressive 60 hams!  Sarath has received several awards and recognition for his contributions to amateur radio and public service, including:  - Rajiv Gandhi Award for Amateur Radio(1996-97 and 1997-98) - International Humanitarian Award - Honorary citizenship of Florida State, USA  All of this and contest work, DXpeditions, Fox Hunting and EMCOMM will be discussed. Let's get started!Resources mentioned include:VU2RS https://vu2rs.com/Amateur Radio Society of Indiahttps://arsi.info/Southwest Ohio DX Assoc. https://www.swodxa.orgDaily DX https://www.dailydx.com/DX Engineering https://www.dxengineering.com/Icom https://www.icomamerica.com/ IC-905 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-905/ IC-9700 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-9700/ IC-7610 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-7610/ IC-7300 https://www.icomamerica.com/lineup/products/IC-7300/      

Indian food historian, Jonty Rajagopalan, brings us on a street food tour of Hyderabad's chaat stalls. Chaat literally means “to lick” and is a popular snack in India, known for its balance of spicy, tangy, sweet, and salty flavors. Learn about how chaat is intended to activate every part of the tongue. Watch the full documentary and find recipes here! https://www.plantforwardkitchen.org/india

For a taste of dosa, we visit a roadside stand near the Ghansi Bazar in Hyderabad, India. Food historian, Jonty Rajagopalan, introduces us to Govind Ji, who prepares dosas with his blend of semolina millet flours, topped with his special masala. Dosa are savory crepes that originated in South India and are traditionally enjoyed for breakfast, but have become so popular that they are now enjoyed throughout the day. Watch the full documentary and find recipes here! https://www.plantforwardkitchen.org/india

In Hyderabad, India, we visit a local street food vendor who shapes jowar roti, or sorghum flatbread, by hand. The low-glycemic, gluten-free flatbread is made with the flour of drought-resistant sorghum. It is a versatile flatbread often eaten with lentil curries, chutneys, or vegetable gravy dishes.  Watch the full documentary and find recipes here! https://www.plantforwardkitchen.org/india

Terrassen Cafe, Hyderabad, India's first vegan cafe, showcases its signature dish, Jackfruit Biryani, made in a traditional clay pot. The dish features steamed rice seasoned with cashew curd, turmeric, and pepper, sealed, and baked to crispy perfection. Watch the full documentary and find recipes here! https://www.plantforwardkitchen.org/india

Meet the ‘cunning foxes,' student activists who saved the Gachibowli forest in southern India. What On Earth's youth climate action columnist Aishwarya Puttur shares what she's heard from protesters who took a stand in defence of a cooling green space in the urban centre of Hyderabad – and what lessons the protest holds for climate action everywhere.

At vegan eatery, Terrassen Cafe in Hyderabad, India, owner Brinda Poojary, shows us how they make their vegan flatbread. Topped with vegan cashew cheese, tomato sauce, mushrooms, and tofu, Brinda wanted to create a vegan pizza just as delicious as any meat and dairy pizza out there Watch the full documentary and find recipes here! https://www.plantforwardkitchen.org/india

At Simply South Restaurant in Hyderabad, India, Master Chef Chalapathi Rao shows us his millet dumplings and curry. Millet is a gluten-free ancient grain. The millet flour is cooked into a paste with ghee, then formed into balls. These are served with a curry of lentils and greens. Watch the full documentary and find recipes here! https://www.plantforwardkitchen.org/india

Master Chef Chalapathi Rao demonstrates his mixed vegetable curry at his restaurant, Simply South, in Hyderabad, India. He starts with fried tomato sauce, cashew paste, chopped spiced onions, chopped spinach, dried fenugreek, and a finish of cream.   Watch the full documentary and find recipes here! https://www.plantforwardkitchen.org/india

Master Chef Chalapathi Rao talks about the importance of vegetables in south Indian cooking at his restaurant, Simply South, in Hyderabad, India. He specializes in traditional vegetarian cuisine of the five southern states of India, always using seasonally available produce. Watch the full documentary and find recipes here! https://www.plantforwardkitchen.org/india

Join the team at Google's Hyderabad, India campus, as they create this delicious and wholesome Vegetable Haleem. A haleem is a stew, traditionally made by slow-cooking meat, lentils, and spices, popular in South Asia, the Middle East, and Central Asia. This vegetarian version of haleem replaces the meat with a mix of vegetables, and uses whole grain millet to replace polished grains. Watch the full documentary and find recipes here! https://www.plantforwardkitchen.org/india

Google's Hyderabad, India campus strives for zero waste in its dining services. Executive Chef Pavan Kumar, shows how he uses the leftover peels of carrots and beets to make vegetable kofta. Kofta are a type of meatball found in South and Central Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa. In this more healthful version, the kofta is baked rather than fried, and made with a blend of spiced vegetables in place of ground meat. Watch the full documentary and find recipes here! https://www.plantforwardkitchen.org/india

This is the Catchup on 3 Things by The Indian Express and I'm Flora Swain.Today is the 5th of June and here are the headlines.1. Karnataka HC Seeks Report on RCB Victory Parade StampedeThe Karnataka High Court has directed the state government to submit a detailed report on the tragic stampede at Bengaluru's Chinnaswamy Stadium during RCB's IPL victory parade, which killed 11 and injured 33. The court seeks clarity on causes, preventability, and future safeguards. CM Siddaramaiah ordered a magisterial probe led by Bengaluru Urban Deputy Commissioner. Overcrowding—2–3 lakh attendees in a stadium built for 35,000—caused chaos. Compensation of ₹10 lakh and free treatment was announced.2. Rafale Jet Fuselages to Be Made in India by TataIn a significant move for India's defence sector, Tata Advanced Systems will produce Rafale fighter jet fuselages in Hyderabad under a new deal with France's Dassault Aviation. This marks the first time Rafale components will be manufactured outside France. The Hyderabad plant will build key sections including front, central, and rear fuselages. Production will start by FY 2027-28, with capacity to deliver two fuselages per month. The facility will serve both Indian and international markets.3. Mahua Moitra Marries Former BJD MP Pinaki MisraTMC MP Mahua Moitra, known for her strong speeches in Parliament, has married Supreme Court lawyer and former BJD MP Pinaki Misra. The couple tied the knot in a quiet ceremony in Berlin, Germany, on May 30. Moitra confirmed the marriage to The Indian Express. A photograph of the newlyweds at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate has surfaced and was published by The Telegraph, drawing attention to their low-profile union amid Moitra's high-profile political life.4. Trump Reinstates Controversial Travel Ban on 12 NationsUS President Donald Trump has reinstated a sweeping travel ban impacting citizens from 12 countries, including Iran, Yemen, and Somalia, while tightening restrictions on seven others. Effective from Monday, the rollout includes a short grace period to avoid past chaos. The updated ban builds on a version upheld by the US Supreme Court. Additional curbs now apply to travellers from countries like Cuba, Laos, and Venezuela. Trump cited national security as the key reason for the move.5. Trump Suspends Harvard Exchange Visas in Escalating DisputePresident Donald Trump has signed a proclamation suspending foreign nationals enrolled in exchange programs at Harvard University, escalating tensions between the White House and the Ivy League institution. The directive also asks the State Department to consider revoking visas of some current international students. Harvard alleges political retaliation after it resisted federal pressure to alter its governance and curriculum. The suspension is part of Trump's broader push to regulate academic institutions seen as ideologically opposed.That's all for today. This was the Catchup on 3 Things by The Indian Express.

The dining services at the Google campus in Hyderabad, India, promote balanced food choices that emphasize a plant-forward diet inspired by India's culinary heritage. Google focuses on intuitive healthy options, sustainable hydration, and healthier cooking practices. It prioritizes local produce and bold flavors while striving for zero waste. Chaitanya Uppaluri and Sebastian Schwitzer from the culinary team at Google bring us behind the scenes of the Hyderabad Google campus kitchens to give us an inside look at Google's food choice architecture.   Watch the full documentary and find recipes here! https://www.plantforwardkitchen.org/india

Father Richard John shares about his journey to the priesthood, the importance of hope and our call to serve and evangelize. Parish of the Week: St. Dominic Parish in Saginaw is our Parish of the Week.  Their Parochial Administrator, Fr. Richard John, joins us today!Message from Fr. Richard John – Ordained in 2009, I have now journeyed 16 years as a priest, and I share this reflection as a thanksgiving to the Lord who called me. I come from the Archdiocese of Hyderabad, Telangana, in southern India, and currently serve as the Parochial Administrator at St. Dominic Parish since 2023.Three early influences shaped my vocation: my grandmother Margaret John, whose daily Rosary and devotion to St. Anthony inspired a prayer movement in our neighborhood; my father Aron John, a daily communicant who introduced me to the beauty of the Eucharist; and my first encounter with the story of Mother Teresa, whose radical commitment deeply moved me as a child. These seeds of faith were nurtured by my parish priest, and I joined the seminary in 1998 after 10th grade.Growing up in a joint family of modest means, financial struggles were common. I often joined sports camps at school just for the meals. Yet, through God's providence and support like CFCA sponsorship from Sr. Shirley Ruder, a Dominican nun from Michigan, I could continue my education.Despite health challenges during formation, I experienced healing that confirmed my call. Over the years, I've served in various ministries — from being assistant to the archbishop, to working at St. Anthony's Shrine, teaching, radio ministry, and youth outreach.My path to Saginaw in 2022 was guided by God's providence, facilitated by friends, Fr. Raj, Fr. Bill and Bishop Gruss. I remain grateful to the Lord, the bishop, fellow clergy, and parishioners whose support makes this mission meaningful. Thank you

Auto-generated transcript: Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem. Alhamdulillahi Rabbil Alameen. Wasalatu was-salamu ala al-sharafi al-anbiya wal-mursaleen. Muhammadur Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa ala alihi wa sallam. Tasliman kathiran kathiran. I want to deal with two questions that two different people asked me. One, a friend of mine from Hyderabad, he asked me, he said, we keep making effort,… Continue reading Focus on the effort