Podcasts about incentives

It's EV News Briefly for Friday 16 January 2026, everything you need to know in less than 5 minutes if you haven't got time for the full show.Patreon supporters fund this show, get the episodes ad free, as soon as they're ready and are part of the EV News Daily Community. You can be like them by clicking here: https://www.patreon.com/EVNewsDailyCANADA BREAKS RANKS WITH U.S. AND REMOVES 100% CHINA EV TARIFFS https://evne.ws/4a2WZcs FORD SLAMS OTTAWA'S CHINA EV TARIFF DEAL https://evne.ws/3LT6cuD GERMANY BETS €3BN ON EV BUYERS, NOT JUST MAKERS https://evne.ws/4qwXQYO PLUG-IN SALES GROW, BUT POLICY CONSISTENCY MATTERS https://evne.ws/4jIBuRm VW COMMERCIAL VANS RIDE ID. BUZZ ELECTRIC SURGE https://evne.ws/4jSIprw EVS TOP 2025 SAFETY RANKINGS ACROSS ALL SEGMENTS https://evne.ws/4qsYaYq HYUNDAI TESTS APPETITE FOR ELECTRIC FACTORY CAMPER https://evne.ws/4pHyo1p ILLINOIS ADDS FIVE IONNA EV CHARGING HUBS https://evne.ws/3ZjX1q9 VMAX TAKES AIM AT E-SCOOTER PREMIUM AND MASS MARKET https://evne.ws/3NxY82T FORD CHASES PIKES PEAK EV GLORY IN 2026 RETURN https://evne.ws/49J5g46

Also: what does your desired superpower say about you? This episode originally aired on June 20th, 2021. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Can you help me make more podcasts? Consider supporting me on Patreon as the service is 100% funded by you: https://EVne.ws/patreon You can read all the latest news on the blog here: https://EVne.ws/blog Subscribe for free and listen to the podcast on audio platforms:➤ Apple: https://EVne.ws/apple➤ YouTube Music: https://EVne.ws/youtubemusic➤ Spotify: https://EVne.ws/spotify➤ TuneIn: https://EVne.ws/tunein➤ iHeart: https://EVne.ws/iheart FRANCE'S SOCIAL LEASING SCHEME ADDS 50,000 EVS https://evne.ws/45K8BP0 VW EV SALES SURGE BUT CHINA AND SOFTWARE DRAG https://evne.ws/4qpohzF BMW SALES FLAT BUT ELECTRIC SHARE JUMPS https://evne.ws/49mR7uu MINI HITS RECORD AS EVS PASS ONE-THIRD OF SALES https://evne.ws/4bwPfAw LUCID GRAVITY LAUNCH HITS SOFTWARE POTHOLES https://evne.ws/49D8I08 LUCID SAYS STOP SELLING GUILT, START SELLING SPEED https://evne.ws/4aTn5j3 NEW JERSEY POURS US$32M INTO E-BUSES AND CHARGERS https://evne.ws/49w50Fq CHINA AND INDIA CUT COAL POWER TOGETHER FOR FIRST TIME IN 52 YEARS https://evne.ws/49ohcJw ZEEKR 7GT ESTATE TARGETS EUROPEAN EV TASTES https://evne.ws/3NcGmSV XPENG P7+ TARGETS EUROPE'S FAMILY EV SALOON BUYERS https://evne.ws/49BlZGu

Yeah bro create birth control that would probably genocide. The only reason Chris games for God Benitez on pretending to be good people is because of an incentive. Guest Jerome Lewis: Author Real Estate Marketing Implementation Matt Melvin: Author Bullied Behind Bars: A Gay Christian Trump Supporter Goes to Prison

Why aren't physical therapists paid like doctors — even though the outcomes prove they should be?In this episode of PT Pintcast, Jimmy sits down with Josh Bailey, PT, to unpack the uncomfortable truth about reimbursement, CPT codes, employer contracting, and why physical therapy keeps getting boxed into time-based billing instead of value-based care.Josh shares:Why early PT saves 50% of downstream costs — and why payers still ignore itHow CPT code 97110 commoditized physical therapyThe biggest diagnostic mistakes around plantar fasciitisWhy grit, effort, and reps matter more than credentialsAnd his mic-drop case for treating PTs like doctors — in pay, productivity, and respectThis episode is a must-listen for clinic owners, healthcare leaders, and PTs who want more than burnout and flat reimbursement.⏱️ Chapters00:00 – Why PT Isn't Paid Like Medicine03:45 – Incentives, Insurance, and Misaligned Value10:30 – Why CPT Codes Limit PT's Worth17:15 – Plantar Fasciitis: What PT School Got Wrong26:45 – Effort, Grit, and the Path to Mastery35:30 – Hiring for Character Over Credentials44:50 – The Amazon Prime Lesson in Value50:35 – Parting Shot: Treat PTs Like DoctorsGuest & ResourcesJosh Bailey on LinkedIn: jbaileyptRehab Associates: https://rehabassociatesracva.comPT Management Group of Virginia: https://ptmgva.com

Patrick McKenzie (patio11) sits down with Intercom co-founder Des Traynor to examine customer support through the lens of Conway's Law, Goodhart's Law, and several decades of accumulated organizational scar tissue. They discuss how AI agents are democratizing white-glove service, why modern LLMs have retrained user expectations around “chatbots” very quickly, and the surprisingly liberating effect of talking to something that will never judge you for missing a loan payment.–Full transcript available here: www.complexsystemspodcast.com/des-traynor/–Sponsor: MongoDB Tired of database limitations and architectures that break when you scale? MongoDB is the database built for developers, by developers: ACID compliant, Enterprise-ready, and fluent in AI. Start building faster at mongodb.com/build–Timestamps:(00:00) Intro(00:29) Intercom and its evolution(00:51) Challenges in customer service systems(02:54) Scaling customer support in startups(04:53) Organizational inefficiencies and customer experience(06:53) Metrics and their impact on customer support(12:40) Human capital issues in customer support(15:53) AI's role in customer support(17:01) Future of customer support roles(20:09) Sponsor: MongoDB(20:53) Future of customer support roles (continued)(26:19) AI and customer interaction(26:55) The myth of artisanal customer support(27:45) Fin Guidance: Evolution and user behavior(29:10) Fin's impact on customer support efficiency(33:30) Expanding Fin's capabilities beyond support(42:50) AI in government and other sectors(49:20) The future of AI connectivity and integration

Nakakarelate ka ba kay James Deakin pagdating sa traffic, enforcers, at bulok na sistema? Ako rin.

LISTEN and SUBSCRIBE on:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/watchdog-on-wall-street-with-chris-markowski/id570687608 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2PtgPvJvqc2gkpGIkNMR5i WATCH and SUBSCRIBE on:https://www.youtube.com/@WatchdogOnWallstreet/featured  Waste and immigration go hand in hand—and pretending otherwise is how we ended up here. This isn't about hating immigrants or cheering heavy-handed enforcement. In fact, Chris doesn't like the optics of masked ICE agents or the chaos we're seeing play out. There was a better way to handle this, long before it reached this point.The truth is simple: incentives matter. If you build a massive welfare state, hand out benefits, provide free healthcare, housing, and allow illegal work, people will come. That's not ideology—that's human nature. Eliminate the incentives, and illegal immigration collapses overnight.Billions of dollars in taxpayer money are flowing through refugee assistance, rental programs, NGOs, and government agencies—with officials admitting they don't even know where much of it's going. That's not compassion; that's waste, grift, and failure.You want to fix immigration? Start with this rule: if you come here illegally, you get nothing. No handouts. No benefits. No taxpayer-funded hotels. Enforce that, cut the waste, and the magnet disappears.We can't afford this system—and it's not working.

In this episode, I'm joined by Virginie Raphael — investor, entrepreneur, and philosopher of work — for a wide-ranging conversation about incentives, technology, and how we build systems that scale without losing their humanity. We talk about her background growing up around her family's flower business, and how those early experiences shaped the way she thinks about labor, value, and operating in the real economy. That foundation carries through to her work as an investor, where she brings an operator's lens to evaluating businesses and ideas. We explore how incentives quietly shape outcomes across industries, especially in healthcare. Virginie shares why telehealth was a meaningful shift and what needs to change to move beyond one-to-one, supply-constrained models of care. We also dig into AI, venture capital, and the mistakes founders commonly make today — from hiring sales teams too early to raising too much money too fast. Virginie offers candid advice on pitching investors, why thoughtful cold outreach still works, and how doing real research signals respect and fit. The conversation closes with a contrarian take on selling: why it's not a numbers game, how focus and pre-qualification drive better outcomes, and why knowing who not to target is just as valuable as finding the right people. If you're thinking about the future of work, building with intention, or navigating entrepreneurship in an AI-accelerated world, this episode is for you. And for more conversations like this, join us at Snafu Conference 2026 on March 5th, where we'll keep exploring incentives, human skills, and what it really takes to build things that last. Start (0:00) Reflections on Work, Geography, and AI Adoption Virginie shares what she's noticing as trends in work and tech adoption: Geographic focus: she's excited to explore AI adoption outside traditional tech hubs. Examples: Atlanta, Nashville, Durham, Utah, Colorado, Georgia, North Carolina, parts of the Midwest. Rationale: businesses in these regions may adopt AI faster due to budgets, urgency, and impatience for tech that doesn't perform. "There are big corporates, there are middle and small businesses in those geos that have budget that will need the tech… and/or have less patience, I should say, for over-hub technologies that don't work." She notes that transitions to transformational technology never happen overnight, which creates opportunities: "We always underestimate how much time a transition to making anything that's so transformational… truly ubiquitous… just tends to think that it will happen overnight and it never does." Robin adds context from her own experience with Robin's Cafe and San Francisco's Mission District: Observed cultural and business momentum tied to geography Mentions Hollywood decline and rise of alternative media hubs (Atlanta, Morocco, New Jersey) Virginie reflects on COVID's impact on workforce behaviors: Opened a "window" to new modes of work and accelerated change: "There were many preexisting trends… but I do think that COVID gave a bit of a window into what was possible." Emphasis on structural change: workforce shifts require multi-year perspective and infrastructure, not just trends. Investor, Mission, and Capital Philosophy Virginie clarifies she is an investor, not a venture capitalist, resisting labels and prestige metrics. "I don't call myself a venture capitalist… I just say investor." Focuses on outcomes over categories, investing in solutions that advance the world she wants to see rather than chasing trendy tech sectors. "The outcome we want to see is everyone having the mode of work that suits them best throughout their lives." Portfolio themes: Access: helping people discover jobs they wouldn't otherwise know about. Retention / support: preventing workforce dropouts, providing appropriate healthcare, childcare, and caregiving support. "Anyone anywhere building towards that vision is investible by us." Critiques traditional venture capital practices: Raising VC money is not inherently a sign of success. "Raising from a VC is just not a sign of success. It's a milestone, not the goal." Concerned about concentration of capital into a few funds, leaving many founders unsupported. "There's a sense… that the work we do commands a lot less power in the world, a lot less effectiveness than holding the capital to hire that labor." Emphasizes structural, mission-driven investing over chasing categories: Invests in companies that prevent workforce dropouts, expand opportunity, and create equitable access to meaningful work. Portfolio strategy is diversified, focusing on infrastructure and long-term impact rather than quick wins. "We've tracked over time what type of founders and what type of solutions we attract and it's exactly the type of deal that we want to see." Reflects on COVID and societal trends as a lens for her investment thesis: "COVID gave a bit of a window into what was possible," highlighting alternative modes of work and talent distribution that are often overlooked. Labor, Ownership, and Durable Skills Virginie reframes the concept of labor, wages, and ownership: "The word labor in and of itself… is something we need to change." Interested in agency and ownership as investment opportunities, especially for small businesses transitioning to employee ownership. "For a very long time… there's been a shift towards knowledge work and how those people are compensated. If you go on the blue-collar side… it's about wages still and labor." Emphasizes proper capitalization and alignment of funds to support meaningful exits for smaller businesses, rather than chasing massive exits that drive the VC zeitgeist. AI fits into this discussion as part of broader investment considerations. Childhood experience in family flower business shaped her entrepreneurial and labor perspective: Selling flowers, handling cash, and interacting with customers taught "durable skills" that persisted into adulthood. "When I think of labor, I think of literally planting pumpkin plants… pulling espresso shots… bringing a customer behind the counter." Observing her father start a business from scratch instilled risk-taking and entrepreneurial spirit. "Seeing my dad do this when I was seven… definitely part of that." Skills like sales acumen, handling money, and talking to adults were early lessons that translated into professional confidence. Non-linear career paths and expanding exposure to opportunity: Concerned that students often see only a narrow range of job options: "Kids go out of high school, they can think of three jobs, two of which are their parents' jobs… Surely because we do a poor job exposing them to other things." Advocates for creating more flexible and exploratory career pathways for young people and adults alike. Durable skills and language shaping work: Introduction of the term "durable skills" reframes how competencies are understood: "I use it all the time now… as a proof point for why we need to change language." Highlights the stigma and limitations of words like "soft skills" or "fractional work": Fractional roles are high-impact and intentional, not temporary or inferior. "Brilliant people who wanna work on a fractional basis… they truly wanna work differently… on a portfolio of things they're particularly good at solving." Work in Progress uses language intentionally to shift perceptions and empower people around work. Cultural significance of language in understanding work and people: Virginie notes that language carries stigma and meaning that shapes opportunities and perception. References Louis Thomas's essays as inspiration for attention to the nuance and power of words: He'll take the word discipline and distill it into its root, tie it back into the natural world." Robin shares a personal anecdote about language and culture: "You can always use Google Translate… but also it's somebody learning DIA or trying to learn dharia, which is Moroccan Arabic… because my fiance is Moroccan." Human-Positive AI, Process, and Apprenticeship Virginie emphasizes the value of process over pure efficiency, especially in investing and work: "It's not about the outcome often, it's about the process… there is truly an apprenticeship quality to venture and investing." Using AI to accelerate tasks like investment memos is possible, but the human learning and iterative discussion is critical: "There's some beauty in that inefficiency, that I think we ought not to lose." AI should augment human work rather than replace the nuanced judgment, particularly in roles requiring creativity, judgment, and relationship-building: "No individual should be in a job that's either unsafe or totally boring or a hundred percent automatable." Introduces the term "human-positive AI" to highlight tools that enhance human potential rather than simply automate tasks: "How do we use it to truly augment the work that we do and augment the people?" Project selection and learning as a metric of value: Virginie evaluates opportunities not just on outcome, but what she will learn and who she becomes by doing the work: "If this project were to fail, what would I still learn? What would I still get out of it?" Cites examples like running a one-day SNAFU conference to engage people in human-centered selling principles: "Who do I become as a result of doing that is always been much more important to me than the concrete outcomes of this thing going well." AI Bubble, Transition, and Opportunity Discusses the current AI landscape and the comparison to past tech bubbles: "I think we're in an AI bubble… 1999 was a tech bubble and Amazon grew out of it." Differentiates between speculative hype and foundational technological transformation: "It is fundamental. It is foundational. It is transformative. There's no question about that." Highlights the lag between technological introduction and widespread adoption: "There's always a pendulum swing… it takes time for massively transformative technology to fully integrate." AI as an enabler, not a replacement: Transition periods create opportunity for investment and human-positive augmentation. Examples from healthcare illustrate AI's potential when applied correctly: "We need other people to care for other people. Should we leverage AI so the doctor doesn't have to face away from the patient taking notes? Yes, ambient scribing is wonderful." Emphasizes building AI around real human use cases and avoiding over-automation: "What are the true use cases for it that make a ton of sense versus the ones we need to stay away from?" History and parallels with autonomous vehicles illustrate the delay between hype and full implementation: Lyft/Uber example: companies predicted autonomous vehicles as cost drivers; the transition opened up gig work: "I was a gig worker long before that was a term… the conversation around benefits and portability is still ongoing." AI will similarly require time to stabilize and integrate into workflows while creating new jobs. Bias, Structural Challenges, and Real-World AI Experiments Discusses the importance of addressing systemic bias in AI and tech: Shares the LinkedIn "#WearThePants" experiment: women altered gender identifiers to measure algorithmic reach: "They changed their picture, in some cases changed their names… and got much more massive reach." Demonstrates that AI can perpetuate structural biases baked into systems and historical behavior: "It's not just about building AI that's unbiased; it's about understanding what the algorithm might learn from centuries of entrenched behavior." Highlights the ongoing challenge of designing AI to avoid reinforcing existing inequities: "Now you understand the deeply structural ingrained issues we need to solve to not continue to compound what is already massively problematic." Parenting, Durable Skills, and Resilience Focus on instilling adaptability and problem-solving in children: "I refuse to problem solve for them. If they forget their homework, they figure it out, they email the teacher, they apologize the next day. I don't care. I don't help them." Emphasizes allowing children to navigate consequences themselves to build independence: "If he forgets his flute, he forgets his flute. I am not making the extra trip to school to bring him his flute." Everyday activities are opportunities to cultivate soft skills and confidence: "I let them order themselves at the restaurant… they need to look the waiter in the eye and order themselves… you need to speak more clearly or speak loudly." Cultural context and exposure shape learning: Practices like family meals without devices help children appreciate attention, respect, and communication: "No iPad or iPhone on our table… we sit properly, enjoy a meal together, and talk about things." Travel and cultural exposure are part of teaching adaptability and perspective: "We spent some time in France over the summer… the mindset they get from that is that meals matter, and people operate differently." Respecting individuality while fostering independence: "They are their own people and you need to respect that and step away… give them the ability to figure out who they are and what they like to do." Parenting as a balance of guidance and autonomy: "Feel like that was a handbook that you just offered for parenting or for management? Either one. Nobody prepares you for that… part of figuring out." Future of Work and Technology Horizons Timeframes for predicting trends: Focus on a 5-year horizon as a middle ground between short-term unpredictability and long-term uncertainty: "Five years feels like this middle zone that I'm kind of guessing in the haze, but I can kind of see some odd shapes." Short-term (6–18 months) is more precise; long-term (10–15 years) is harder to anticipate: "I'm a breezy investor. Six months at a time max… deal making between two people still matters in 18 months." Identifying emerging technologies with latent potential: Invests in technologies that are ready for massive impact but haven't yet had a "moment": "I like to look at technologies that have yet to have a moment… the combo of VR and AI is prime." Example: Skill Maker, a VR+AI training platform for auto technicians, addressing both a labor shortage and outdated certification processes: "We are short 650,000 auto technicians… if you can train a technician closer to a month or two versus two years, I promise you the auto shops are all over you." Focuses on alignment of incentives, business model innovation, and meaningful outcomes: "You train people faster, even expert technicians can benefit… earn more money… right, not as meaningful to them and not as profitable otherwise." Principles guiding technology and investment choices: Solving enduring problems rather than temporary fads: "What is a problem that is still not going to go away within the next 10–15 years?" Ensuring impact at scale while creating economic and personal value for participants: "Can make a huge difference in the lives of 650,000 people who would then have good paying jobs." Scaling, Incentives, and Opportunity Re-examining traditional practices and identifying opportunities for change: "If you've done a very specific thing the exact same way, at some point, that's prime to change." Telehealth is an example: while helpful for remote access, it hasn't fundamentally created capacity: "You're still in that one-to-one patient's relationship and an hour of your time with a provider is still an hour at a time." Next version of telehealth should aim to scale care beyond individual constraints: "Where do we take telehealth next… what is the next version of that that enables you to truly scale and change?" Incentives shape outcomes: "Thinking through that and all the incentives… if I were to change the incentives, then people would behave differently? The answer very often is yes, indeed." Paraphrasing Charlie Munger: "Look for the incentives and I can tell you the outcome." Founders, Pitching, and Common Mistakes Pet peeves in founder pitches: Lack of research and generic outreach is a major turn-off: "I can really quickly tell if you have indeed spent a fraction of a minute on my site… dear sir, automatic junk. I won't even read the thing." Well-crafted, thoughtful cold inbound pitches get attention: "Take some time. A well crafted cold inbound will get my attention… you don't need to figure out an intro." Big mistakes entrepreneurs make: Hiring too early, especially in sales: "Until you have a playbook, like don't hire a sales team… if you don't have about a million in revenue, you're probably not ready." Raising too much capital too quickly: "You get into that, you're just gonna spend a lot more time fundraising than you are building a company." Comparing oneself to others: "You don't know if it's true… there's always a backstory… that overnight success was 15 years in the making." Sales Strategy and Non-Sales Selling Approach is contrarian: focus on conversion, not volume: "It is not a numbers game. I think it's a conversion game… I would much rather spend more time with a narrower set of targets and drive better conversion." Understanding fit is key: "You gotta find your people… and just finding who is not or should not be on your list is equally valuable." Recognizes that each fund and business is unique, so a tailored approach is essential: "The pitch is better when I'm talking to the quote unquote right people in the right place about the right things." Where to Find Virginie and Her Work Resources for listeners: Full Circle Fund: fullcirclefund.io  Work in Progress: workinprogress.io  LinkedIn: Virginie Raphael  Where to Access Snafu Go to joinsnafu.com and sign up for free.  

In this episode, we chat with Tim den Heijer, co-author of the best-selling book, The Housefly Effect, about how small and often overlooked details can have a large impact on behaviour. Tim unpacks some key ideas from his book, including how to apply loss aversion, how to prevent incentives from backfiring and the importance of product naming. 

The EV charging industry is entering a market-rate moment. Incentives are fading in many markets, growth has slowed from the early-2020s surge, and operators are under real pressure to prove their business models. In this start-of-year episode of In-Between Charges, Kevin Spangenberg and Mike Hawks reflect on what 2025 revealed about the state of EV charging, from shifting government targets and cooling investor sentiment to the growing importance of site quality, reliability, and utilization.They unpack what the much-talked-about “shift to profitability” actually means in practice, where operators are getting it right, and why some networks are starting to pull ahead while others struggle. The conversation also turns practical: Mike and Kevin put on their investor hats and answer a simple but important question: if you had $10m to invest in EV charging today, where would you put it? A candid discussion about what really matters as the EV industry turns the page on a rocky year and looks forward to 2026. 

Discover the magic of Disney's summer incentives and find out if they're worth the hype. In this video, we'll dive into the details of Disney's summer offers, exploring the benefits, discounts, and exclusive experiences that come with them. Thanks for listening, Gary and Mike   0:00 Introduction 14:27 Disney's Summer Incentives 24:31 New Happenings 25:35 Wrap-Up     Support the Show: Luxury Travel Advisors LLC - Book your next Disney World vacation with Mike....His services are completely free and you will support a small business. (mike@luxurytraveladvisorsllc.com) Magic Candle Company - Bringing the Vacation to you...On your next purchase use discount code (wdwbtg) at check-out to receive 15% off your purchase. (www.magiccandlecompany.com)   Helpful Links: Check out our YouTube Channel (@wdwbtg) Social media (@wdwbtg)

Planned giving won't grow if we keep rewarding gift officers as if it doesn't exist. When incentives focus only on cash and pledges, we unintentionally steer MGO's away from the very conversations that unlock transformational wealth. This episode tackles the internal challenge head-on: how nonprofits can count planned gifts (without violating accounting rules) in ways that motivate the right behaviors. Change the incentives, and you change the outcomes.

What does it take to redesign a partner incentive program after more than 20 years—without losing trust, predictability, or momentum? In this episode of Shift Happens, host Jeff Edwards sits down with Fred Farges, Senior Director of Cisco's Global Partner Incentive Program and a key architect of the Cisco 360 Partner Program, to unpack one of the most significant transformations in Cisco's partner ecosystem. They explore how market forces like AI, subscription-based revenue, and customer adoption are reshaping partner profitability—and why Cisco made the decision to co-design its future partner model with partners at global scale. This conversation covers: ● Why legacy partner incentives had to evolve ● How Cisco 360 balances innovation with predictability ● What partners can expect at launch and beyond ● The role of growth, adoption, and lifecycle in long-term success Whether you're inside Cisco, part of the partner ecosystem, or leading change in enterprise technology, this episode offers a clear, candid look at how transformation happens.

This episode is a special feed drop from The Twenty Minute VC, featuring a conversation between Harry Stebbings and a16z General Partner Alex Rampell.Alex shares how he thinks about investing at scale, including why ownership and incentives matter, how venture changes as funds get larger, and what it really takes to win the best deals. He walks through his core founder framework of backing people who can materialize talent, capital, and customers, and explains why the strongest companies often have “hostages,” not just customers.The discussion also covers pricing risk, secondaries, moral hazard in private markets, and how AI is reshaping software, labor, and company formation. Together, Harry and Alex unpack what it takes to build durable, category-defining companies in an era where technology is moving faster than ever. Resources:Find Alex on X: https://x.com/arampellFind Harry on X: https://x.com/HarryStebbingsListen to more from 20VC: https://www.thetwentyminutevc.com If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and share with your friends!Find a16z on X: https://twitter.com/a16zFind a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16zListen to the a16z Podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5bC65RDvs3oxnLyqqvkUYXListen to the a16z Podcast on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see http://a16z.com/disclosures. Stay Updated:Find a16z on XFind a16z on LinkedInListen to the a16z Show on SpotifyListen to the a16z Show on Apple PodcastsFollow our host: https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Utah leaders and the federal government are exploring ways to reverse falling birth rates. From tax breaks to childcare subsidies, will financial incentives really change family decisions, or does the problem sit deeper as to why people are choosing not to have kids? Jay Evensen with the Deseret News joins the show, and listeners chime in with calls and texts.  

Patrick McKenzie (@patio11) reads his latest Bits about Money essay explaining why he “loves Regulation E more than any rational person does.” He explains how Reg E created a privately-administered legal system processing over 100 million complaints annually—dwarfing the formal U.S. court system—and why banks are now trying to avoid these obligations for Zelle's nine figure fraud problem.–Full transcript available here: www.complexsystemspodcast.com/the-magic-spell-reg-e/– Sponsors: MongoDB & FramerTired of database limitations and architectures that break when you scale? MongoDB is the database built for developers, by developers: ACID compliant, Enterprise-ready, and fluent in AI. Start building faster at mongodb.com/build Building and maintaining marketing websites shouldn't slow down your engineers. Framer gives design and marketing teams an all-in-one platform to ship landing pages, microsites, or full site redesigns instantly—without engineering bottlenecks. Get 30% off Framer Pro at framer.com/complexsystems.–Links:Bits about Money,  One Regulation E, Two Very Different RegimesFull version of "Doesn't Matter, That's Reg E": https://suno.com/song/173bbd67-92f7-4868-930f-efeca4b373c0–Timestamps:(00:00) Introduction(02:46) These newfangled computers might steal our money(12:45) The contractual liability waterfall in card payments(20:35) Sponsors: MongoDB and Framer(22:23) The contractual liability waterfall in card payments (continued)(23:47) Enter Zelle(25:46) Zelle is an enormous fraud target(32:23) Banks may attempt to extend the Zelle precedent(35:02) Reg E encompasses almost every technology which exists and many which don't yet

What should citizens be watching — not emotionally, but analytically — as we head into 2026? Kicking off the new political year, Phumi Mashigo speaks to Dr Levy Ndou (political analyst and politics lecturer at the Tshwane University of Technology) for a catch-up on Jan 8, the 114th birthday of the ANC - a liberation movement that became a governing party, and now governs in coalition after losing its majority for the first time. Class is in session! The Burning Platform

Healthcare is one of the most complex—and misunderstood—industries in the world. Few people explain it better than Dr. Eric Bricker. In this episode, we sit down with the physician, entrepreneur, and Chief Medical Officer behind AHealthcareZ, whose viral whiteboard sessions have become must-watch content for healthcare leaders. Dr. Bricker traces his unconventional path from internal medicine to entrepreneur to healthcare economist and reveals how financial incentives, not just clinical decisions, shape outcomes across hospitals, insurers, employers, and emerging health tech. We unpack why healthcare feels so opaque to patients and employers alike, what's broken in insurance and billing, and why misaligned incentives continue to drive cost and complexity. Dr. Bricker also makes the case for transparency, stronger primary care, and smarter use of technology as levers for real change. This conversation is essential listening for executives, clinicians, benefits leaders, founders, and policymakers who want to move beyond surface-level reform and understand how healthcare actually works—and how it can work better.

A conversation with Dr. Troyen BrennanOur primary care sector is dysfunctional.Enter Dr. Troyen Brennan: author, adjunct professor at Harvard, former CMO for CVS Health and Aetna, and a national voice on the issues facing our healthcare system.He explains how the primary care/specialty care balance led America to adopt a profit-driven model, highlighting the repercussions this has had for primary care access across the country.The current projections are stark, so we need to push for fundamental change.—We spoke about the contrast between the Affordable Care Act and a single-payer system, the importance of primary care as a foundation for a functional healthcare system, the viability of value-based care models, and the potential pathways to achieve equitable access to primary care in spite of current political and financial challenges.Follow me on Instagram and Facebook @ericfethkemd and checkout my website at www.EricFethkeMD.com. My brand new book, The Privilege of Caring, is out now on Amazon! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CP6H6QN4

This week on Real Estate Today, we take a close look at what's ahead in 2026: We're talking bold builder incentives designed to attract buyers and the housing markets expected to be in highest demand. Whether you're thinking about buying a home or you're a current homeowner planning for the future, this episode explores what these emerging trends could mean for your next move. We also break down why Florida continues to capture national attention as a housing hot spot. Guests include Dr. Jessica Lautz, deputy chief economist at the National Association of REALTORS®; Robert Dietz, chief economist at the National Association of Home Builders; and Dr. Brad O'Connor, chief economist at Florida REALTORS®. Plus, in our Hot or Not segment, we take a look at home design trends making waves, including animal prints, shiplap walls, wellness and activity zones, and home libraries.

In this conversation, Dillon Georgian shares his journey in the turf industry, emphasizing the importance of leadership, operational efficiency, and the balance between family and business. He discusses his transition from retail to distribution, the significance of equity incentives, and the need for a resilient mindset in entrepreneurship. Dylan also highlights the role of technology and systems in modern business, the importance of purpose, and the desire to give back to the community. His insights provide valuable lessons for aspiring entrepreneurs and established business leaders alike. 00:00 Leadership and Personal Growth 03:09 The Journey into the Turf Industry 06:02 Operational Efficiency and Cost Management 09:04 Incentives and Equity in Business 11:57 Preparing for Business Exit and Growth 15:02 The Balance of Family and Business 18:11 Starting New Ventures and Market Opportunities 21:14 Scaling and Transforming Businesses 23:56 The Home Service Industry Dynamics 27:11 Technology and Systems in Business 29:53 Mindset and Resilience in Entrepreneurship 32:55 Leadership Style and Team Development 36:01 The Importance of Purpose and Giving Back

Chapters:0:00 Intro1:01 It's not fun anymore8:45 It's fueled by greed and can warp your brain15:42 Creators are guilty too28:18 Reality of working online32:48 Incentive structure for creators41:45 The biggest YouTubers are sociopathsMy website - https://smallbrainedamerican.tvBuy my merch or you're a racist https://www.smallbrainedamerican.storeSupport the show on Patreon to get access to unfiltered travel content. Early access to every video, extended cuts, and uncensored content. https://www.patreon.com/smallbrainedamericanMy gear: DJI Action 5https://amzn.to/44fJbZIDJI Wireless Mics https://amzn.to/3KkYo4cFollow the show ⬇️ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/realsmallbrainedamericanInstagram https://www.instagram.com/smallbrainedamerican/Twitter https://x.com/SBAmerican_Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/small-brained-pod/id1724261259

Amas Tenumah explains why customer service is not "broken" but intentionally designed to fail. Drawing on decades inside contact centers, historical research, and real corporate incentives, he argues that long waits, deflection, and automation-first strategies are features—not bugs. The conversation dismantles common CX myths, challenges executive complacency, and frames consumer behavior as the only force capable of triggering real change. Core Themes The Suffering Economy of Customer Service: When service is universally bad across industries, it's systemic. Incentives—not incompetence—drive outcomes. Why This Is a "How Dare You" Book: The indictment is aimed squarely at executives who treat service as a cost center while overfunding marketing narratives. Marketing Replaced Service as Trust Mechanism: Historically, service was marketing. Industrialized marketing severed that link, allowing companies to tolerate bad service and buy growth instead. Metrics That Poison Service: Deflection, containment, and avoidance KPIs reward companies for not talking to customers—while punishing leaders who try to deliver what customers actually want. Wait Times Are Engineered: Hold times are budgeted, modeled, and accepted. They are designed friction, not operational accidents. AI as Distance, Not Salvation: AI is currently deployed to protect companies from customers, not customers from friction. It scales avoidance unless incentives change. Executives Don't Experience Their Own Service: Many leaders despise customer service—just not their own. Forcing executives to call their own 1-800 numbers is revelatory and uncomfortable. The Revolt Is Consumer-Led: Change will not come from CX professionals alone. It comes when consumers punish bad service with their wallets and reward companies that respect their time. Notable Moments The opening story of the 1750 BC clay tablet complaint—the first recorded customer service grievance—reads like a modern Amazon review. The Chipotle refund anecdote exposes time theft: hours of customer labor to recover trivial amounts of money. The contrast between automation done for customers versus automation used to avoid them. Practical Takeaways For Consumers: Vote with your wallet. Pay slightly more. Wait one more day. Call customer service before you buy big-ticket items. For Service Leaders: If your CEO doesn't believe in service as value creation, your job is to change their mind—or change jobs. Data plus customer stories are the leverage. For Executives: Service is deferred revenue protection. Treating it purely as cost is strategic malpractice. Resources Mentioned Book: HOLD: The Suffering Economy of Customer Service — And the Revolt That's Long Overdue Signed Copies & Tools: waitingforservice.com Consumer scripts Cancellation guides Practitioner playbooks No email required  

Leslie's family was about to upgrade in more ways than one. They were on the prowl for a minivan when Leslie, 9 months pregnant, had a sudden, urgent need to make a very memorable impression on everyone at the local Chrysler dealership parking lot. Was the birth of their daughter sufficient downpayment on a new ride or did she have to make her case to the service manager, too? Find out on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Our annual year-in-review episode covers some recurring themes from 2025 and some behind-the-curtains discussion of running a podcast. Patrick McKenzie (patio11) sits down with producer Sammy Cottrell to discuss the most popular episodes of the year,  the impact of AI coding tools, the challenges of video podcasting, Sammy's role as a "fixer" finding guests, and much more.–Full transcript available here: www.complexsystemspodcast.com/2025-in-review-with-sammy-cottrell/–Sponsor:Framer is a design and publishing platform that collapses the toolchain between wireframes and production-ready websites. Design, iterate, and publish in one workspace. Start free at framer.com/design with code COMPLEXSYSTEMS for a free month of Framer Pro.–Timestamps:(00:00) Introduction(01:38) Launching video podcasts this year(02:52) AI ethics and risk discussions(04:29) Supporting LessWrong and LightHaven(07:24) Adventures in AI-assisted hobbies(12:38) Most popular episodes of the year(19:45) Sponsor: Framer(20:52) Popular episodes (continued)(29:06) Setting up a podcast studio at Lighthaven(32:31) Internal company podcasts(38:03) Year in review and investigative journalism(43:02) Creating Isekai(49:13) Wrap

Welcome back to The Degen Bets Podcast! In this week's episodes we're breaking down all the Final regular season games, plus giving out our best Anytime Touchdown / Money line parlays for week 18. Nolan and Connor give their reactions to the Jaguars being one win away from being AFC south champions, Shannon gives her game of the week / her fantasy football championship acceptance speech, and so much moreFollow us for weekly NFL betting insights, parlays and picks! Available on:Youtube: https://youtube.com/@whoareyoupod?si=qHi5b7UP28YqrqwUSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3mzUKEHZ5tBo8q6bZWV0xZApple podcast : https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/who-are-you/id1613285221Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/whoareyoupod/Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@who.are.you.podca?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc#nfl#sportsbetting #nflpicks #jaguars #nflweek18 #bettingtips #parlays #nflpodcasts #degenbetspod

(3:15) – Rotoworld Player News: Lamar Jackson solidifies playing status at Steelers(10:35) – QB Love/Hate: Jaxson Dart, Trevor Lawrence, Caleb Williams(17:00) – RB Love/Hate: Chase Brown, RJ Harvey, Omarion Hampton(22:10) – WR + TE Love/Hate: George Pickens, Colston Loveland, Michael Pittman Jr.(33:15) – Week 18 Player Incentives: Ashton Jeanty, Tony Pollard, Justin Jefferson, CeeDee Lamb, Trey McBride(46:20) – Week 18 Regular Power Rankings(47:35) – What's on Tap: Trusting Drake London vs Saints, Chase Brown vs Quinshon Judkins vs Nico Collins vs Garrett Wilson in a keeper league + Who could rise most in the 2026 rankings this offseason?(51:20) – Last Call: Jay and Connor pitch Matthew on a Derrick Henry prop and a side in Jets-Bills Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Join our Week 18 DFS Contest! https://www.draftkings.com/contest/draftteam/186819229 (NFL Sun 1:00 PM EST - $5 entry - 6 spots filled) Sia Nejad, Meg Shoup and Mike McClure break down every game on the Week 18 main slate. Plus, our cheat sheets and Mike's Top 3 at each position. 0:00 - Intro 2:30 - Saints at Falcons 7:00 - Colts (+10.5) at Texans (39.5) 11:15 - Browns (+7.5) at Bengals (44.5) 13:40 - Titans (+13.5) at Jaguars (47.5) 19:20 - Cowboys (-3.5) at Giants (49.5) 25:30 - Packers (+7.5) at Vikings (35.5) 28:00 - Dolphins (+10.5) at Patriots (45.5) 32:44 - Lions (+3) at Bears (50.5) 37:20 - Chargers (+12.5) at Broncos (37.5) 40:10 - Commanders (+4.5) at Eagles (38.5) 42:30 - Chiefs (-5.5) at Raiders (36.5) 44:15 - Jets (+6.5) at Bills (37.5) 47:00 - Cardinals (+7.5) at Rams (46.5) 50:25 - Mike's Top 3 at Each Position 57:00 - Meg's Cheat Sheet 1:06:45 - Sia Cheat Sheet List of Week 18 Incentives: https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/nfl-week-18-incentives-milestones-sam-darnold-aaron-rodgers/ Follow our FFT DFS team on Twitter:⁠ @FFToday⁠⁠ @Mike5754⁠ ⁠@SiaNejad⁠ @megs08DFS Watch FFT DFS on YouTube⁠ https://www.youtube.com/fantasyfootballtoday⁠ Join our Facebook group⁠ https://www.facebook.com/groups/FantasyFootballToday/⁠ Sign up for the FFT newsletter⁠ https://www.cbssports.com/newsletter⁠ You can listen to Fantasy Football Today DFS on your smart speakers! Simply say "Alexa, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Football Today podcast" or "Hey Google, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Football Today podcast." To hear more from the CBS Sports Podcast Network, visit⁠ https://www.cbssports.com/podcasts/ To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mike Schopp and The Bulldog talk through which Buffalo Bills players are playing for Contract incentives in Week 18

In this episode, we discuss public distrust of politicians and the realities behind presidential approval polling before turning to the math of lotteries and why people continue to play despite the odds. We examine Maryland's proposed reparations commission, including questions of eligibility, funding, legal responsibility, and the practical challenges of tying modern policy to historical injustice. We're joined by Phil Magness to explore the economic history of slavery, the claim that capitalism was built on slave labor, and why slavery is fundamentally incompatible with free markets. We cover Adam Smith's opposition to slavery, misconceptions about profit incentives, the global history of forced labor, and the moral and economic failures surrounding emancipation, closing with a broader discussion of capitalism, socialism, and historical accountability. 00:00 Introduction and Overview 00:44 Presidential Approval Ratings and Polling Reality 02:38 Why Americans Have Always Hated Politicians 03:35 Powerball, Probability, and the Math of Dreaming 06:51 Maryland's Reparations Commission Explained 08:12 Who Pays and Who Gets Reparations? 10:03 Mitigation, Law, and the Reparations Problem 14:24 Introducing Phil Magness 15:02 Was Capitalism Built on Slavery? 17:59 Slavery as an Ancient Institution 19:50 Adam Smith's Case Against Slavery 23:05 Why Slavery Is Anti-Capitalist 24:50 Pro-Slavery Economics and Feudalism 26:16 Founding Fathers, Hypocrisy, and Moral Failure 30:21 Slavery's Global History and Misconceptions 32:06 Incentives, Profit, and Economic Naivety 34:53 Would Slavery Have Ended Without the Civil War? 37:59 Gradual Emancipation and Historical Alternatives 40:47 Socialism, Capitalism, and the Plantation Model 44:01 Final Reflections and Closing Thoughts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mike Schopp opens the show today questioning what the best seed is for the Bills to make a run in the Wild Card, do the Bills know what seed would be best for the wild card round, will the starters play on Sunday?

COME SEE US AT THE MANSION IN KINGSTON! https://www.bouncelife.com/events/69332743deddf4274efb8328 *recorded before Eagles announced they were resting starters* 5:00 Week 18 Picks and Updates 12:30 CAM QUESTIONS 22:30 Week 18 Props and Incentives to watch 27:30 Anytime TD Picks 30:50 Week 18 Teaser Drew Livingstone and Cam Stewart share their updated picks for Week 18 of the NFL Season. Then, the guys share their favorite props heading into the weekend. Join Drew & Stew Pick Em' ➡️ https://app.sparc.fun/point-spread/dspe Come play with us on Bally Bet with code EMPTY CUP (US ONLY)!: US https://ballycasino.onelink.me/nbBf/shnqgfhr ON https://ballybetca.onelink.me/J2p7/dqgwqlob For general inquiries email: info@sdpn.ca Reach out to https://www.sdpn.ca/sales to connect with our sales team and discuss the opportunity to integrate your brand within our content! Any opinion expressed is not advice, a promise or suggestion that increases the chance of winning. Gambling can be addictive, please play responsibly. To learn more, visit: https://igamingontario.ca/en/player/responsible-gambling Or if you have concerns about a gambling problem, call ConnexOntario 1-866-531-2600. Ontario Only. Must be 19+ or older to play. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Get your free $50 here: https://prizepicks.onelink.me/ivHR/SAL2310 Players with HUGE Money Incentives to Exploit in Week 18 (must take bets)(Data source credits: Fantasy Life - Player Profiler - PFF)

Hour 4: Start Bench Cut, Incentives to Bet Week 18, Storylines of the Year full 2640 Tue, 30 Dec 2025 15:59:10 +0000 bWEf3W4hd94LQ1sJG8vLNTBjU8VuZmtM nfl,kansas city chiefs,sports Fescoe & Dusty nfl,kansas city chiefs,sports Hour 4: Start Bench Cut, Incentives to Bet Week 18, Storylines of the Year Fescoe in the Morning. One guy is a KU grad.   The other is on the KU football broadcast team,  but their loyalty doesn't stop there as these guys  are huge fans of Kansas City sports and the people  of Kansas City who make it the great city it is.   Start your morning with us at 5:58am!   2024 © 2021 Audacy, Inc. Sports False https://player.amp

Today, we are thrilled to welcome another entrepreneur from our industry. Nataly Horan is the founder and CEO of Authentic Meetings and Incentives. With experience across several ventures, she joins us to share her journey, the challenges she has faced within the industry, and her hopes and dreams for what lies ahead. Nataly's Journey Nataly entered the meetings and incentives industry quite unexpectedly. She trained as an interior designer at the University of Florida, then moved into the space after helping with graphic design, quickly connecting with the people and energy of live events. She eventually stepped away from interior design, moving entirely into conference planning and developing a unique perspective by working closely with both suppliers and buyers. Building Authentic Meetings and Incentives Authentic Meetings and Incentives focuses on sourcing and supplier visibility. Nataly supports planners with cruise and venue sourcing while helping suppliers, particularly cruise lines, reach North American planners through social media and email. Her growing online presence bridges the gap between limited in-person events and complete year-round visibility. Choosing Entrepreneurship Nataly reached a point where her growth within someone else's company felt capped. Buyers were already coming to her for sourcing support, making the transition to her own business a natural step rather than a risky leap. Early Focus and Mindset In the early months, Nataly avoided long-term pressure by setting short-term, achievable goals. Focusing on weekly progress kept the business manageable and prevented overwhelm. Vision and Personal Goals Rather than focusing on rigid industry forecasts, Nataly prioritizes her personal goals, such as living in Italy and potentially pursuing a full-time career as an artist. With AI rapidly transforming the industry, staying adaptable is more important for her than long-term predictions. LinkedIn Nataly built her LinkedIn following organically by sharing what she was learning as a newcomer. Her honest, behind-the-scenes insights resonated, turning LinkedIn into a powerful marketing tool with strong ROI. Sourcing, Relationships, and Cruises Nataly's sourcing work emphasizes fit, reliability, and simplicity, particularly through cruise programs and charters. Nataly explains that in-person relationships remain critical for large-group events, where trust and quick problem-solving can make or break the experience. AI, Delegation, and Sustainability Nataly strongly believes in delegation, using a virtual assistant and systems like Canva to scale sustainably while avoiding burnout. AI acts as an assistant, streamlining RFPs and marketing content without replacing human judgment. Creativity Beyond Business Alongside running her company and raising two children, Nataly enjoys painting. Her personal goal for the year is to exhibit her art in a gallery, something she values as much as professional success. Bio: Nataly Horan Nataly Horan leads AUTHENTIC Meetings & Incentives® as its Founder and CEO, steering cruise lines and destinations toward the audiences that shape the North American MICE market. Her background from the University of Florida and her work across sourcing and brand storytelling inform AUTHENTIC's signature point of view, seen in series such as MICE Bites® and In Good Company. She also serves as Vice President of SITE Florida & Caribbean. Away from the office, Nataly is a visual artist, creating work that echoes the themes she champions in travel: intention, culture, and human connection. Connect with Eric Rozenberg On LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Website Listen to The Business of Meetings podcast Subscribe to The Business of Meetings newsletter Connect with Nataly Horan On her website LinkedIn Email Nataly: Nataly@authenticmice.com   

This Day in Maine for Tuesday, December 30, 2025.

In this episode of the Crazy Wisdom Podcast, host Stewart Alsop sits down with Mike Bakon to explore the fascinating intersection of hardware hacking, blockchain technology, and decentralized systems. Their conversation spans from Mike's childhood fascination with taking apart electronics in 1980s Poland to his current work with ESP32 microcontrollers, LoRa mesh networks, and Cardano blockchain development. They discuss the technical differences between UTXO and account-based blockchains, the challenges of true decentralization versus hybrid systems, and how AI tools are changing the development landscape. Mike shares his vision for incentivizing mesh networks through blockchain technology and explains why he believes mass adoption of decentralized systems will come through abstraction rather than technical education. The discussion also touches on the potential for creating new internet infrastructure using ad hoc mesh networks and the importance of maintaining truly decentralized, permissionless systems in an increasingly surveilled world. You can find Mike in Twitter as @anothervariable.Check out this GPT we trained on the conversationTimestamps00:00 Introduction to Hardware and Early Experiences02:59 The Evolution of AI in Hardware Development05:56 Decentralization and Blockchain Technology09:02 Understanding UTXO vs Account-Based Blockchains11:59 Smart Contracts and Their Functionality14:58 The Importance of Decentralization in Blockchain17:59 The Process of Data Verification in Blockchain20:48 The Future of Blockchain and Its Applications34:38 Decentralization and Trustless Systems37:42 Mainstream Adoption of Blockchain39:58 The Role of Currency in Blockchain43:27 Interoperability vs Bridging in Blockchain47:27 Exploring Mesh Networks and LoRa Technology01:00:25 The Future of AI and DecentralizationKey Insights1. Hardware curiosity drives innovation from childhood - Mike's journey into hardware began as a child in 1980s Poland, where he would disassemble toys like battery-powered cars to understand how they worked. This natural curiosity about taking things apart and understanding their inner workings laid the foundation for his later expertise in microcontrollers like the ESP32 and his deep understanding of both hardware and software integration.2. AI as a research companion, not a replacement for coding - Mike uses AI and LLMs primarily as research tools and coding companions rather than letting them write entire applications. He finds them invaluable for getting quick answers to coding problems, analyzing Git repositories, and avoiding the need to search through Stack Overflow, but maintains anxiety when AI writes whole functions, preferring to understand and write his own code.3. Blockchain decentralization requires trustless consensus verification - The fundamental difference between blockchain databases and traditional databases lies in the consensus process that data must go through before being recorded. Unlike centralized systems where one entity controls data validation, blockchains require hundreds of nodes to verify each block through trustless consensus mechanisms, ensuring data integrity without relying on any single authority.4. UTXO vs account-based blockchains have fundamentally different architectures - Cardano uses an extended UTXO model (like Bitcoin but with smart contracts) where transactions consume existing UTXOs and create new ones, keeping the ledger lean. Ethereum uses account-based ledgers that store persistent state, leading to much larger data requirements over time and making it increasingly difficult for individuals to sync and maintain full nodes independently.5. True interoperability differs fundamentally from bridging - Real blockchain interoperability means being able to send assets directly between different blockchains (like sending ADA to a Bitcoin wallet) without intermediaries. This is possible between UTXO-based chains like Cardano and Bitcoin. Bridges, in contrast, require centralized entities to listen for transactions on one chain and trigger corresponding actions on another, introducing centralization risks.6. Mesh networks need economic incentives for sustainable infrastructure - While technologies like LoRa and Meshtastic enable impressive decentralized communication networks, the challenge lies in incentivizing people to maintain the hardware infrastructure. Mike sees potential in combining blockchain-based rewards (like earning ADA for running mesh network nodes) with existing decentralized communication protocols to create self-sustaining networks.7. Mass adoption comes through abstraction, not education - Rather than trying to educate everyone about blockchain technology, mass adoption will happen when developers can build applications on decentralized infrastructure that users interact with seamlessly, without needing to understand the underlying blockchain mechanics. Users should be able to benefit from decentralization through well-designed interfaces that abstract away the complexity of wallets, addresses, and consensus mechanisms.

The Department of Homeland Security's year was marked by high profile immigration enforcement operations and turbulence behind the scenes. DHS also received a historic influx of new funding under the tax and reconciliation bill passed by Congress in July, but the department faces some big management challenges as it prepares for a consequential year ahead. Justin Doubleday joins me now for more on DHS Year in Review. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Patriots quarterback Drake Maye addresses the media following New England's 42-10 win over the New York Jets on Sunday, December 28, 2025.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

(0:00) After getting over the snowstorm surprise, Kendra Middleton has some thoughts on the College Football Bowl games.(17:22) Kendra is targeting NFL players with incentives in Week 17.(33:27) Which games will be worth betting on Sunday? Which should you pass?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A list came out of the most ridiculous employee gifts people ever got from their work...And hearing them might make you feel better (or worse?) about your own experiences!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For this week's holiday-inspired Complex Systems, Patrick reads his essay from Bits about Money on the gift card paradox: a legitimate payments rail, yet also a primary vector for fraud that leaves victims without recourse.–Full transcript available here: www.complexsystemspodcast.com/gift-cards-and-the-fraud-supply-chain/–Sponsors: Givewell & Framer Support proven charities that deliver measurable results and learn how to maximize your charitable impact with GiveWell. Go to givewell.org, pick “Podcast” and enter Complex Systems at checkout.Framer is a design and publishing platform that collapses the toolchain between wireframes and production-ready websites. Design, iterate, and publish in one workspace. Start free at framer.com/design with code COMPLEXSYSTEMS for a free month of Framer Pro.–Links:Bits about Money, Gift cards accountability sink https://www.bitsaboutmoney.com/archive/gift-card-accountability-sink/Global China Puise, Moving Bricks https://globalchinapulse.net/moving-bricks-money-laundering-practices-in-the-online-scam-industry/ –Timestamps:(00:00) Intro(04:02) Most businesses do not run their own gift card programs(06:40) Sponsors: Givewell and Framer(09:00) Most businesses do not run their own gift card programs (part 2)(10:27) Gift cards are not regulated like other electronic payments instruments(12:07) Why do we choose this difference in regulation?

We need to overturn the entire batch of policy makers. It is more like a baseball team, when the management does not get the team the win you fire them.

In this episode, we examine what actually counts as a victimless crime and why the term is so often misused, using examples ranging from seatbelt and helmet laws to drugs, prostitution, and software piracy. We discuss how insurance markets price risk more effectively than regulation, and why many so-called crimes are really paperwork violations with no direct victims. We also look at the limits of automation through recent failures in self-driving technology, and highlight the Foolishness of the Week involving ideological monocultures in academia and the incentives that sustain them. The conversation then turns to the main topic of whether there should be an age limit for the presidency, weighing cognitive decline, longevity, institutional incentives, and why existing safeguards like the 25th Amendment rarely function as intended. 00:00 Introduction and Overview 00:29 What Counts as a Victimless Crime? 01:38 Insurance, Risk, and Who Really Pays 04:36 Drugs, Prostitution, and True Victimless Crimes 06:26 Regulatory Crimes vs Real Human Harm 07:53 Software Piracy and Intellectual Property 12:38 Waymo, Power Outages, and Self-Driving Failures 14:49 Foolishness of the Week: Academic Monocultures in Academia 17:10 Personal Stories of Academic Censorship 20:39 Main Topic: Should Presidents Have an Age Limit? 21:41 Biden, Trump, and Cognitive Decline 24:39 Living Longer, Dementia, and Modern Leadership Risks 29:34 Age Limits in Other Professions 33:00 The Age of Past Presidents When Initially Elected 37:35 Which Presidents Would Have Survived a Term Age Limit? 39:33 The 25th Amendment and Why It Rarely Works 40:57 Incentives, Power, and Presidential Succession 43:53 Closing Thoughts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, we look at what happens when artificial intelligence is put in charge of real-world systems, starting with an experiment in automated pricing and what it reveals about incentives, scarcity, and control. We turn to Denmark's decision to shut down its national postal service, using it to examine the decline of physical mail, environmental tradeoffs, and why government monopolies struggle to compete with private delivery. We highlight the week's “foolishness,” including the rise of competitive spreadsheet championships, before turning to a broader discussion about inequality. We examine IQ distributions, bell curves, and why inequality is often confused with poverty, exploring the limits of measures like the Gini coefficient, the difference between snapshot and lifetime earnings, and the role of incentives, envy, and value creation. We close by contrasting equality of opportunity with equality of outcome and asking what societies should actually care about when assessing fairness and prosperity. 00:00 Introduction and Overview 00:27 AI Runs a Vending Machine at the Wall Street Journal 01:52 When AI Meets Communism and Price Controls 03:52 Why AI Isn't Replacing Humans Anytime Soon 04:32 Denmark Shuts Down Its Postal Service 06:11 Is Physical Mail Environmentally Absurd? 07:39 Why the Postal Service Can't Compete 11:43 The Foolishness of the Week: Excel World Championships 13:25 Are Spreadsheets More Important Than Football? 15:08 Main Topic Setup: Should We Care About Inequality? 16:13 IQ, Bell Curves, and Random Distributions 23:05 Why Inequality Is Not the Same as Poverty 25:36 The Gini Coefficient and Its Limits 28:57 Sports, Superstars, and Value Creation 38:00 Taxes, Transfers, and the Illusion of Inequality 41:57 Lifetime Earnings vs Snapshot Inequality 45:14 Equality of Opportunity vs Equality of Outcome 49:30 Envy, Incentives, and Human Motivation 53:38 Closing Thoughts on Inequality and Society Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Send me a messageWhat if sustainability didn't rely on good intentions, ESG reports, or awareness campaigns… but on incentives that actually change behaviour?In this episode of the Resilient Supply Chain Podcast, I'm joined by Sunny Lu, Founder and CEO of VeChain, to unpack how blockchain can move sustainability from theory into action across global supply chains and everyday decisions.Sunny has been building in blockchain since 2015, long before the hype cycles, starting with enterprise traceability work at Louis Vuitton and going on to create VeChain as a platform focused on real-world adoption. At a time when supply chains are under pressure to deliver resilience, transparency, and credible sustainability outcomes, this conversation gets very practical, very quickly.You'll hear how VeChain uses verified data, tokens, and gamification to incentivise positive actions, from EV charging and reusable cups to food traceability and waste reduction. We break down why demand, not technology, is often the real bottleneck holding sustainable supply chains back, and how aligning individuals, enterprises, and incentives can unlock scale. You might be surprised to learn how blockchain has already helped cut food traceability times from hours to seconds, or how millions of small, verified actions can add up to meaningful carbon, water, and plastic reductions.This isn't a conversation about crypto speculation. It's about trust, data, visibility, and designing systems that make the right choice the easy, economically rational one.

Stefan Molyneux digs into the incentives at play in a free market justice system, weighing the trade-offs between stopping crime and rehabilitating offenders. He points out how aiming to wipe out criminal behavior entirely isn't practical, and stresses the value of stepping in early. He argues for a system that uses the least punishment needed to actually help people turn things around, while considering the costs of locking folks up. Molyneux also touches on ways to encourage judges to hand down fair sentences, the problems with repeat offenses, and the past wrongs that many offenders have dealt with. He wraps up by pushing for more conversation about reforming justice.SUBSCRIBE TO ME ON X! https://x.com/StefanMolyneuxFollow me on Youtube! https://www.youtube.com/@freedomain1GET MY NEW BOOK 'PEACEFUL PARENTING', THE INTERACTIVE PEACEFUL PARENTING AI, AND THE FULL AUDIOBOOK!https://peacefulparenting.com/Join the PREMIUM philosophy community on the web for free!Subscribers get 12 HOURS on the "Truth About the French Revolution," multiple interactive multi-lingual philosophy AIs trained on thousands of hours of my material - as well as AIs for Real-Time Relationships, Bitcoin, Peaceful Parenting, and Call-In Shows!You also receive private livestreams, HUNDREDS of exclusive premium shows, early release podcasts, the 22 Part History of Philosophers series and much more!See you soon!https://freedomain.locals.com/support/promo/UPB2025

Shady stat corrections, the return of awful NFL incentive content, and the ongoing debate over sportsbook limits take center stage on this episode of Circle Back. Jacob Gramegna is joined by Mike (aka Mr. PeanutBettor), Joey Knish, and Isaac Rose-Berman as they break down the controversies, question the fairness of current betting practices, and discuss what bettors need to know. From NBA stat changes raising questions for bettors to the frustrating content creeping back into NFL coverage, the crew dives into the stories that matter most in sports betting. They also explore whether sportsbooks should be more transparent about why accounts get limited, providing insight, analysis, and plenty of candid takes. Circle Back airs on the Circles Off channel, part of The Hammer Betting Network.

Defining Limited War Under the Nuclear Shadow: Colleague Elbridge Colby defines limited war as a conflict where incentives exist to avoid apocalyptic violence, even between nuclear powers like the US and China, arguing the US must prepare for limited conflict to prevent China from exploiting the "nuclear shadow" to achieve victory through risk-taking. 1940 JAPAN MONUMENT