Podcasts about Iraq

Ross McNutt has a superpower: he can zoom in on everyday life, then rewind and fast-forward to solve crimes in a shutter-flash. But should he? In 2004, when casualties in Iraq were rising due to roadside bombs, Ross McNutt and his team came up with an idea. With a small plane and a 44 megapixel camera, they figured out how to watch an entire city all at once, all day long. Whenever a bomb detonated, they could zoom into that spot and then, because this eye in the sky had been there all along, they could scroll back in time and see—literally see—who planted it. After the war, Ross McNutt retired from the Air Force, and brought this technology back home with him. Manoush Zomorodi and Alex Goldmark (from the podcast Note to Self) give us the lowdown on Ross' unique brand of persistent surveillance, from Juarez, Mexico to Dayton, Ohio. Then, once we realize what we can do, we wonder whether we should. Our newsletter comes out every Wednesday. It includes short essays, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show. Sign up (https://radiolab.org/newsletter)! Radiolab is supported by listeners like you. Support Radiolab by becoming a member of The Lab (https://members.radiolab.org/) today. Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @radiolab, and share your thoughts with us by emailing radiolab@wnyc.org Leadership support for Radiolab's science programming is provided by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Science Sandbox, a Simons Foundation Initiative, and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

Darrell Castle talks about what he believes to be Robert Kennedy Jr.'s heroic struggle for what is left of liberty in America. ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. AND THE STRUGGLE FOR LIBERTY Hello, this is Darrell Castle with today's Castle Report. This is Friday the 9th day of June in the year of our Lord 2023. I will be talking about what I believe to be Robert Kennedy Jr.'s heroic struggle for what is left of liberty in America. Sometimes it becomes necessary to resist those who seek your enslavement and who seek tyranny for your nation and right now Bobby Kennedy is doing a fine job of fighting back. Yes, I imagine it's lonely out there on the battle lines against those who want to keep Americans in the dark and deny access to virtually all truthful and reliable information. Time after time, throughout most of my life Americans have been brainwashed, indoctrinated, and deceived. Not many political candidates stand against that deception that all candidates pay lip service to. They say they will drain the swamp but in the end the swamp is still there only deeper and more impassible than ever. Kennedy, on the other hand knows full well the consequences of attempts to tell the truth to the American people. The truth is so vital, so important, that it is hard to imagine a free country without truth. We in America are denied the truth time and time again and therefore, we are not truly free. Sometimes we the people would just appreciate a real investigation to at least attempt to find the truth, but instead we get some type of sham investigation run by those beholden to one side or another. Time and again our representatives fail us and we fail ourselves by not insisting on a real investigation instead of the dog and pony show they offer us. These shams all contribute to the erosion of truth and they set precedents that stop us from even expecting the truth anymore. The lessons have been learned, but the powers that be continue their program of deception and we continue to align ourselves with one side or another despite evidence that both sides are in it together. Sometimes we ask why things always seem to get worse day by day and administration by administration. Wouldn't it be safe to assume that if there were no conspiracies to harm us one side or the other might eventually do the right thing by accident or by simple chance. No, that never happens and it is always, not just the wrong thing but the worst thing. Each administration does the thing that divides us the most and that is most destructive of our civilization, and most likely to kill, maim and destroy. I was 15 years old when President Kennedy was murdered and not much older when his brother Robert followed him in death. Martin Luther King, Malcolm X were all killed and we wonder what happened but we shouldn't wonder because the establishment tells us very quickly and we are supposed to accept their answers. No real investigation just move along folks, nothing to see hear. The Gulf of Tonkin incident, moving NATO to Russia's border, 9/11, weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and all the rest we are supposed to just process the lies and move along. Would it be fair to say that the people who lied to us constantly about those things, let alone the people who did them should no longer be in public office. In his campaign speeches, Kennedy doesn't attack individuals, at least not many and not yet. He may eventually be forced to do that, but right now he limits himself to discussions about policies. He opposes today's censorship rules which make certain topics off limits to discussion. Only one view is permitted and nothing else can even be talked about let alone investigated. He refers to himself as a free speech absolutist and that separates him from every other announced candidate that I am aware of. Can you imagine a political candidate telling the truth about his or her position on censorship and speech. No one says if elected I will support keeping you in the dark,

Command in war is about forging effective strategies and implementing them, making sure that orders are appropriate, well-communicated, and then obeyed. But it is also an intensely political process. This is largely because how wars are fought depends to a large extent on how their aims are set. It is also because commanders in one realm must possess the ability to work with other command structures, including those of other branches of the armed forces and allies. In Command: The Politics of Military Operations from Korea to Ukraine (Oxford UP, 2022), Lawrence Freedman explores the importance of political as well as operational considerations in command with a series of eleven vivid case studies, all taken from the period after 1945. Over this period, the risks of nuclear escalation led to a shift away from great power confrontations and towards civil wars, and advances in communication technologies made it easier for higher-level commanders to direct their subordinates. Freedman covers defeats as well as victories. Pakistani generals tried to avoid surrender as they were losing the eastern part of their country to India in 1971. Iraq's Saddam Hussein turned his defeats into triumphant narratives of victory. Osama bin Laden escaped the Americans in Afghanistan in 2001. The UK struggled as a junior partner to the US in Iraq after 2003. We come across insubordinate generals, such as Israel's Arik Sharon, and those in the French army in Algeria, so frustrated with their political leadership that they twice tried to change it. At the other end of the scale, Che Guevara in Congo in 1966 and Igor Girkin in Ukraine in 2014 both tried to spark local wars to suit their grandiose objectives. Freedman ends the book with a meditation on the future of command in a world that is becoming increasingly reliant on technologies like artificial intelligence. A wide-ranging and insightful history of the changing nature of command in the postwar era, this will stand as a definitive account of a foundational concept in both military affairs and politics. Charles Coutinho, PH. D., Associate Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, received his doctorate from New York University. His area of specialization is 19th and 20th-century European, American diplomatic and political history. He has written for Chatham House's International Affairs, the Institute of Historical Research's Reviews in History and the University of Rouen's online periodical Cercles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/political-science

Ever wonder what a US soldier fighting in Iraq does during their downtime? You study up on quality wines of course! Sound strange to you? Sounded strange to me too until I met one former soldier who decided to educate himself on all things wine as he prepared to join his fiancé in the California wine culture after his tour was up. Years later and after a move to the Sarasota Area with his now-wife, he continues “first-hand research” on the local wine culture and shares his findings with a very cool blog he and a friend started two years ago.Today, I am very pleased to welcome Eric “Vigo” Onstad of The Unassuming Wine Bros blog.Vigo and his good friend, Patrick started writing their blog in 2020 in order to be a local resource and provide a fun way to learn and discover new wines. Each month they feature a wine that could be from anywhere in the world then share their findings with their readers. They also share the price they paid and where to buy these wines locally. If you want to increase your wine knowledge then you won't want to miss today's episode.In today's episode. you'll learnWhat prompted Vigo to learn about wines in the most inhospitable surroundingHow he met his co-writer and why they started decided to start a wine blogHow they choose wines to write aboutWhat you'll learn from reading their blog.And much, much more …I'm so glad you joined us today and as always it is my hope that you will listen, learn and connect!The Unassuming Wine Bros(UWB) (Patrick Duggan and Vigo Onstad) are two regular guys who love everything about wine, including writing about it. Our goal is to explore the nuances of wine and share our adventures and having fun along the way.Instagram

Command in war is about forging effective strategies and implementing them, making sure that orders are appropriate, well-communicated, and then obeyed. But it is also an intensely political process. This is largely because how wars are fought depends to a large extent on how their aims are set. It is also because commanders in one realm must possess the ability to work with other command structures, including those of other branches of the armed forces and allies. In Command: The Politics of Military Operations from Korea to Ukraine (Oxford UP, 2022), Lawrence Freedman explores the importance of political as well as operational considerations in command with a series of eleven vivid case studies, all taken from the period after 1945. Over this period, the risks of nuclear escalation led to a shift away from great power confrontations and towards civil wars, and advances in communication technologies made it easier for higher-level commanders to direct their subordinates. Freedman covers defeats as well as victories. Pakistani generals tried to avoid surrender as they were losing the eastern part of their country to India in 1971. Iraq's Saddam Hussein turned his defeats into triumphant narratives of victory. Osama bin Laden escaped the Americans in Afghanistan in 2001. The UK struggled as a junior partner to the US in Iraq after 2003. We come across insubordinate generals, such as Israel's Arik Sharon, and those in the French army in Algeria, so frustrated with their political leadership that they twice tried to change it. At the other end of the scale, Che Guevara in Congo in 1966 and Igor Girkin in Ukraine in 2014 both tried to spark local wars to suit their grandiose objectives. Freedman ends the book with a meditation on the future of command in a world that is becoming increasingly reliant on technologies like artificial intelligence. A wide-ranging and insightful history of the changing nature of command in the postwar era, this will stand as a definitive account of a foundational concept in both military affairs and politics. Charles Coutinho, PH. D., Associate Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, received his doctorate from New York University. His area of specialization is 19th and 20th-century European, American diplomatic and political history. He has written for Chatham House's International Affairs, the Institute of Historical Research's Reviews in History and the University of Rouen's online periodical Cercles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/military-history

Command in war is about forging effective strategies and implementing them, making sure that orders are appropriate, well-communicated, and then obeyed. But it is also an intensely political process. This is largely because how wars are fought depends to a large extent on how their aims are set. It is also because commanders in one realm must possess the ability to work with other command structures, including those of other branches of the armed forces and allies. In Command: The Politics of Military Operations from Korea to Ukraine (Oxford UP, 2022), Lawrence Freedman explores the importance of political as well as operational considerations in command with a series of eleven vivid case studies, all taken from the period after 1945. Over this period, the risks of nuclear escalation led to a shift away from great power confrontations and towards civil wars, and advances in communication technologies made it easier for higher-level commanders to direct their subordinates. Freedman covers defeats as well as victories. Pakistani generals tried to avoid surrender as they were losing the eastern part of their country to India in 1971. Iraq's Saddam Hussein turned his defeats into triumphant narratives of victory. Osama bin Laden escaped the Americans in Afghanistan in 2001. The UK struggled as a junior partner to the US in Iraq after 2003. We come across insubordinate generals, such as Israel's Arik Sharon, and those in the French army in Algeria, so frustrated with their political leadership that they twice tried to change it. At the other end of the scale, Che Guevara in Congo in 1966 and Igor Girkin in Ukraine in 2014 both tried to spark local wars to suit their grandiose objectives. Freedman ends the book with a meditation on the future of command in a world that is becoming increasingly reliant on technologies like artificial intelligence. A wide-ranging and insightful history of the changing nature of command in the postwar era, this will stand as a definitive account of a foundational concept in both military affairs and politics. Charles Coutinho, PH. D., Associate Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, received his doctorate from New York University. His area of specialization is 19th and 20th-century European, American diplomatic and political history. He has written for Chatham House's International Affairs, the Institute of Historical Research's Reviews in History and the University of Rouen's online periodical Cercles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/world-affairs

COL Tomarchio talks about going to jump school, defending service members as a military lawyer, and nearly losing his life in Iraq. Jack Thomas Tomarchio served in the army as a JAG officer in Grenada in the early 80s. As a JAG officer, he provided legal advice to senior Army officials and represented servicemembers in a variety of misconduct and court martial cases. He was a paratrooper, and attended both jump school and law school. Later, in the early 90s, COL Tomarchio deployed to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait during the Gulf War. There, he nearly lost his life after saving a fellow service member from a burning vehicle. If you like Warriors In Their Own Words, check out the Medal of Honor Podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Neil is feeling better today, and he is back in the WQAM studio. Topics include terrorism, Iraq, and his 6 hours of tests at the Cleveland Clinic. Today is Wednesday, and that means the big Noon to One hour is all bits.

How do you feel about your self-awareness? 95% of people think that they're self-aware, but only 10-15% actually are! Amy shares a simple fix to increase your self-awareness for a more fulfilled life. This "simple fix" is based on research done by Dr. Tasha Eurich and it all boils down to one word. Amy's cousin, Amanda, joins in on this chat and they both share their experience with this one word and how it's impacted the way they look at their lives.  The "Let Them Theory" is so simple, you're going to start using it right away!! It's a simple phrase that will give you freedom! When you say "Let Them" - you're giving yourself permission to let others do whatever it is that they want to do. You are free from trying to control them. This phrase creates emotional peace for you and a better relationship with the people in your life. Shout out to Mel Robbins for teaching this to us! Spreading joy is another thing that can lead to a more fulfilled life. We've teamed up with BUILDING HOMES FOR HEROES to help veteran USMC Corporal Aaron Mankin and his 2 children. Our LIMITED EDITION Patriotic PIMPINJOY Line is on sale tomorrow (FRIDAY, June 9th) at BobbyBones.com and TheShopForward.com/pimpinjoy – 10a eastern / 9 ct / 8 mt / 7 pt.  United States Marine Corps Corporal Aaron Mankin enlisted in the military out of his hometown of Rogers, Arkansas in 2003, right at the onset of the war in Iraq. He proudly served his country until he was medically retired in 2008. On May 11, 2005, while deployed near the Syrian border of Iraq, Corporal Mankin's vehicle was attacked with an improvised explosive device (IED). Since then, he has undergone 70 surgeries throughout his recovery to better his face, hands, and arms. He sacrificed so much and deserves this new home so much. Thank you for shopping PIMPINJOY if you're able to help...and you will get these items in time for 4th of July!    HOST:  Amy Brown // @RadioAmy // RadioAmy.com GUEST: Amanda Reiger Green // Amy's Psychic Cousin & host of Soul Sessions podcast // @SoulPathology // SoulPathology.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Command in war is about forging effective strategies and implementing them, making sure that orders are appropriate, well-communicated, and then obeyed. But it is also an intensely political process. This is largely because how wars are fought depends to a large extent on how their aims are set. It is also because commanders in one realm must possess the ability to work with other command structures, including those of other branches of the armed forces and allies. In Command: The Politics of Military Operations from Korea to Ukraine (Oxford UP, 2022), Lawrence Freedman explores the importance of political as well as operational considerations in command with a series of eleven vivid case studies, all taken from the period after 1945. Over this period, the risks of nuclear escalation led to a shift away from great power confrontations and towards civil wars, and advances in communication technologies made it easier for higher-level commanders to direct their subordinates. Freedman covers defeats as well as victories. Pakistani generals tried to avoid surrender as they were losing the eastern part of their country to India in 1971. Iraq's Saddam Hussein turned his defeats into triumphant narratives of victory. Osama bin Laden escaped the Americans in Afghanistan in 2001. The UK struggled as a junior partner to the US in Iraq after 2003. We come across insubordinate generals, such as Israel's Arik Sharon, and those in the French army in Algeria, so frustrated with their political leadership that they twice tried to change it. At the other end of the scale, Che Guevara in Congo in 1966 and Igor Girkin in Ukraine in 2014 both tried to spark local wars to suit their grandiose objectives. Freedman ends the book with a meditation on the future of command in a world that is becoming increasingly reliant on technologies like artificial intelligence. A wide-ranging and insightful history of the changing nature of command in the postwar era, this will stand as a definitive account of a foundational concept in both military affairs and politics. Charles Coutinho, PH. D., Associate Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, received his doctorate from New York University. His area of specialization is 19th and 20th-century European, American diplomatic and political history. He has written for Chatham House's International Affairs, the Institute of Historical Research's Reviews in History and the University of Rouen's online periodical Cercles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

Links from the show:* Rethinking Life: Embracing the Sacredness of Every Person* Connect with Shane* Follow Shane on Twitter* Red Letter Christians* Rate the showAbout my guest:Shane Claiborne is a prominent speaker, activist, and best-selling author.  Shane worked with Mother Teresa in Calcutta, and founded The Simple Way in Philadelphia.  He heads up Red Letter Christians, a movement of folks who are committed to living "as if Jesus meant the things he said." Shane is a champion for grace which has led him to jail advocating for the homeless, and to places like Iraq and Afghanistan to stand against war. Now grace fuels his passion to end the death penalty and help stop gun violence.Shane's books include Jesus for President, Red Letter Revolution, Common Prayer, Follow Me to Freedom, Jesus, Bombs and Ice Cream, Becoming the Answer to Our Prayers, Executing Grace, his classic The Irresistible Revolution, Beating Guns, and his newest book, Rethinking Life (to be released February 2023). He has been featured in a number of films including "Another World Is Possible" and "Ordinary Radicals." His books have been translated into more than a dozen languages. Shane speaks over one hundred times a year, nationally and internationally. His work has appeared in Esquire, SPIN, Christianity Today, TIME, and The Wall Street Journal, and he has been on everything from Fox News and Al Jazeera to CNN and NPR. He's given academic lectures at Harvard, Princeton, Liberty, Duke, and Notre Dame. Shane speaks regularly at denominational gatherings, festivals, and conferences around the globe.  Get full access to Dispatches from the War Room at dispatchesfromthewarroom.substack.com/subscribe

Command in war is about forging effective strategies and implementing them, making sure that orders are appropriate, well-communicated, and then obeyed. But it is also an intensely political process. This is largely because how wars are fought depends to a large extent on how their aims are set. It is also because commanders in one realm must possess the ability to work with other command structures, including those of other branches of the armed forces and allies. In Command: The Politics of Military Operations from Korea to Ukraine (Oxford UP, 2022), Lawrence Freedman explores the importance of political as well as operational considerations in command with a series of eleven vivid case studies, all taken from the period after 1945. Over this period, the risks of nuclear escalation led to a shift away from great power confrontations and towards civil wars, and advances in communication technologies made it easier for higher-level commanders to direct their subordinates. Freedman covers defeats as well as victories. Pakistani generals tried to avoid surrender as they were losing the eastern part of their country to India in 1971. Iraq's Saddam Hussein turned his defeats into triumphant narratives of victory. Osama bin Laden escaped the Americans in Afghanistan in 2001. The UK struggled as a junior partner to the US in Iraq after 2003. We come across insubordinate generals, such as Israel's Arik Sharon, and those in the French army in Algeria, so frustrated with their political leadership that they twice tried to change it. At the other end of the scale, Che Guevara in Congo in 1966 and Igor Girkin in Ukraine in 2014 both tried to spark local wars to suit their grandiose objectives. Freedman ends the book with a meditation on the future of command in a world that is becoming increasingly reliant on technologies like artificial intelligence. A wide-ranging and insightful history of the changing nature of command in the postwar era, this will stand as a definitive account of a foundational concept in both military affairs and politics. Charles Coutinho, PH. D., Associate Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, received his doctorate from New York University. His area of specialization is 19th and 20th-century European, American diplomatic and political history. He has written for Chatham House's International Affairs, the Institute of Historical Research's Reviews in History and the University of Rouen's online periodical Cercles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Command in war is about forging effective strategies and implementing them, making sure that orders are appropriate, well-communicated, and then obeyed. But it is also an intensely political process. This is largely because how wars are fought depends to a large extent on how their aims are set. It is also because commanders in one realm must possess the ability to work with other command structures, including those of other branches of the armed forces and allies. In Command: The Politics of Military Operations from Korea to Ukraine (Oxford UP, 2022), Lawrence Freedman explores the importance of political as well as operational considerations in command with a series of eleven vivid case studies, all taken from the period after 1945. Over this period, the risks of nuclear escalation led to a shift away from great power confrontations and towards civil wars, and advances in communication technologies made it easier for higher-level commanders to direct their subordinates. Freedman covers defeats as well as victories. Pakistani generals tried to avoid surrender as they were losing the eastern part of their country to India in 1971. Iraq's Saddam Hussein turned his defeats into triumphant narratives of victory. Osama bin Laden escaped the Americans in Afghanistan in 2001. The UK struggled as a junior partner to the US in Iraq after 2003. We come across insubordinate generals, such as Israel's Arik Sharon, and those in the French army in Algeria, so frustrated with their political leadership that they twice tried to change it. At the other end of the scale, Che Guevara in Congo in 1966 and Igor Girkin in Ukraine in 2014 both tried to spark local wars to suit their grandiose objectives. Freedman ends the book with a meditation on the future of command in a world that is becoming increasingly reliant on technologies like artificial intelligence. A wide-ranging and insightful history of the changing nature of command in the postwar era, this will stand as a definitive account of a foundational concept in both military affairs and politics. Charles Coutinho, PH. D., Associate Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, received his doctorate from New York University. His area of specialization is 19th and 20th-century European, American diplomatic and political history. He has written for Chatham House's International Affairs, the Institute of Historical Research's Reviews in History and the University of Rouen's online periodical Cercles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/national-security

Travelling overnight in a train is, I think, a very special experience. I've slept peacefully on overnight trains in Russia, Finland and Vietnam, and will happily do so again, for many reasons. Spending extended periods of time on trains is a wonderful way to get chatting to other travellers, a comfortable way to really see a country's landscapes, and of course, it's also more environmentally friendly than flying. My first guest on this episode is Justin Meneguzzi, who recently included overnight train travel to replace domestic flights on his trip to Thailand. It was great to hear about his experiences in both first and second class and has definitely inspired me to test out the Thai rail system on my next trip there. I then chat with Julie Kaplan, who not long ago spent four months travelling in Iraq. She took her first overnight train trip while she was there, and tells me about her experience travelling from Baghdad to Basra. Finally, I speak with Imogen Lepere about her trip across Russia on the Trans-Mongolian. As is often the case with overnight train travel, she struck up some kind of connection with the local travellers sharing her cabin. Links: French ban on short plane trips - https://www.euronews.com/green/2022/12/02/is-france-banning-private-jets-everything-we-know-from-a-week-of-green-transport-proposals  12 Go Asia https://12go.asia/en - booking transport in Asia  Justin Meneguzzi - https://www.justinmeneguzzi.com  Julie Kaplan - https://www.juliekaplan.com/  Julie's YouTube channel, Julie from LA - https://www.youtube.com/@juliefromla  Imogen Lepere - https://www.imogenleperewriter.com/  Imogen's book The Ethical Traveller - 100 ways to roam the world without ruining it - https://amzn.to/3Pj7KO7  Trans-Siberian Train Journeys, Episode 194 - notaballerina.com/194      Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://notaballerina.com/linkedin Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/295 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr. Sheikh Faiyaz Jaffer is the Research Scholar for the Islamic Center at New York University and an Associate Chaplain for the Center of Global & Spiritual Life at NYU.  In addition, he is currently a doctoral candidate at NYU Steinhardt's School of Education. Sheikh Faiyaz attained an MA degree in Islamic Studies (UK), with a concentration on early Islamic history, after his undergraduate degree from SUNY Stony Brook University in Political Science and Religious Studies.  He has had his research published by academic journals. In pursuing the classical course of Islamic education, Faiyaz studied in the Seminary of Karbala, Iraq, one of the most prominent centers for Islamic learning. As a faith leader and social activist, Faiyaz Jaffer has lectured at various universities, seminars, and workshops across the United States, Canada, Europe, East Africa, and the Middle East. Due to the political and social climate, he has been making strides in the greater New York area by taking part in a number of interfaith seminars and discussions in the aspiration of increasing dialogue with various faith leaders. His outreach efforts have allowed him to be featured in some of the country's most prominent media outlets. As a highly sought-after lecturer and religious leader, Faiyaz regularly leads prayer services and delivers sermons across North America.Support the Islamic Center at NYUOur operating and programmatic budget comes directly from donations and as our community grows, so do our expenses. If you are interested in making a one-time, monthly, annual, or general donation to the Islamic Center at NYU, please do so at https://icnyu.org/donate/.

Armed conflict and natural disasters have plagued the twenty-first century. Not since the end of World War II has the number of armed conflicts been higher. At the same time, natural disasters have increased in frequency and intensity over the past two decades, their impacts worsened by climate change, urbanization, and persistent social and economic inequalities. Providing the first comprehensive analysis of the interplay between natural disasters and armed conflict, Catastrophes, Confrontations, and Constraints: How Disasters Shape the Dynamics of Armed Conflicts (MIT Press, 2023) explores the extent to which disasters facilitate the escalation or abatement of armed conflicts—as well as the ways and contexts in which combatants exploit these catastrophes. Tobias Ide utilizes both qualitative insights and quantitative data to explain the link between disasters and the (de-)escalation of armed conflict and presents over thirty case studies of earthquakes, droughts, floods, and storms in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America. He also examines the impact of COVID-19 on armed conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, Nigeria, and the Philippines. Catastrophes, Confrontations, and Constraints is an invaluable addition to current debates on climate change, environmental stress, and security. Professionals and students will greatly appreciate the wealth of timely data it provides for their own investigations. Dr. Tobias Ide is a Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at Murdoch University in Perth, Australia. His work broadly focuses on the intersections of environmental change and environmental politics with peace, conflict, and security. Sidney Michelini is a PhD student at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research with the FutureLab - Security, Ethnic Conflicts and Migration. His work focuses on how climate, climate shocks, and climate change impact conflicts of different types. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/sociology

This is the story of Roger Blankenship an experienced and highly successful house flipper turned educator, we take you on a  journey through the world of real estate entrepreneurship. Roger shares invaluable insights, proven strategies, and real-life stories of triumphs and challenges from his own remarkable career. With a passion for teaching and a knack for breaking down complex concepts into actionable steps, he empowers aspiring house flippers with the knowledge and tools they need to succeed. Whether you're a novice investor looking to dip your toes into the world of house flipping or an experienced pro seeking fresh perspectives and advanced techniques, this episode is a go-to resource. We discover how to avoid common pitfalls and learn from Roger's own failures and triumphs, gaining a competitive edge in the dynamic world of house flipping. Awareness Plug / Links and Resources: Flipping America Podcast with Roger Blankenship https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/flipping-america/id1449888255 Personal LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/rogerblankenship I made some ribs recently and I get asked this all the time for my rib recipe, so I figured I would go ahead and share it here.  Basically, all I do is smear. Yellow mustard all over the ribs. You tried to trim up the ribs, ribs a little bit. You know, think of the ribs as needing to be aerodynamic so that the smoke flows over those ribs. So trim them up a little bit. And then yellow mustard. And then I do a mixture of, uh, two parts, pepper. Uh, it's a black crushed pepper, and I, I crush up my own, uh, fresh pepper. Uh, and then the third part is salt. Uh, you. Push, uh, uh, sprinkle that all over the top, give it a good coating, and then go ahead and place that on the smoker. Uh, and then once an hour, I will spray it with apple cider vinegar. And then, um, about three hours. So, so every, every hour you're spraying these things. And then in about three hours or so, go ahead and wrap them in foil. When you wrap them in foil. Um, take your favorite barbecue sauce and dilute it with. Apple cider vinegar and then spray that on top. And what ends up happening is that bubbles and creates this great, wonderful. Uh, um, you know, juice inside of the foil. So you hook that for maybe about another two hours or so on the grill, on the smoker. Uh, and what I like to do is I like to smoke them with hickory wood, so that's pretty well about it. These ribs are gonna be fall off the bone tender. Uh, so, so good. They create a great juice, a great, uh, a great sauce right inside of there. Uh, you don't even need barbecue sauce with them. Hope you enjoy.  On invest in square feet, we unlock the secrets of wealthy entrepreneurship. I'm Matt Shields and my mission is to help business owners just like you, protect your wealth so that you can invest passively into multi-family real estate. Today we're going to be talking to Roger Blankenship, who has a long history of real estate investment. Roger also hosts a very, very popular podcast called Flipping America on Flipping Real Estate. The one thing that I learned from this episode that I think is really interesting is Rogers. Thoughts on entrepreneurial success and what it takes to be able to get there. So we are gonna get right into things and start learning from Roger.  I. Did pretty well as an investor for many years. And, uh, then I know this, you're gonna find this hard to believe. I got cocky and I, uh, felt I was feeling bulletproof. Everything we had done had worked out well, and so I decided, uh, I either gotta decided to retire or go large and we decided to go large and I went out and got a big line of credit and I started buying properties all over the southeast. Long story short, bad hiring decisions and uh, mainly it was just bad hiring decisions. We followed a thoughtful process that I got from my coach, but uh, that business imploded and we lost everything 2014, not in the crash, years after the crash, we made all of our money during the crash years. And then while I was trying to pick up the pieces and start all over again and rebuild confidence and so forth and try, try to figure out what went wrong and uh, and so forth. I was on another small business talk radio show. And, um, you know, my background is I've been an educator and a public speaker and, um, I only got into real estate out of sheer desperation and a lack of communicable job skills. But, um, So I did this interview with this guy on his show and afterwards he said, you know what, man? You ought to have your own show. I said, nah, nah, nah, I'm not understood. He kept on bugging me for three months straight and finally he convinced me and um, we decided to call it Show Flipping America. And um, the first show we did, Had 2000 listeners, and then by the end of the first month we had 20,000. And, you know, just a few months ago, we had in, in, uh, January of 23, we had 1.2 million. Wow. And so without any intent on my part, it's sort of become the tail that wags the dog. Um, And how do, how has that affected the investing? Well, it's giving me contacts around the country that I wouldn't have had before. And you know, the other thing too, Matt, I. I have had the opportunity to talk to so many people. We're in the 600 s now on episodes, and I've talked to so many brilliant people with great ideas. And, uh, you know, I've sat here during interviews just taking notes, writing it all down, and transferring that to my computer and putting it in my brain. And, and I've learned so much from the people that have come into the show and I've. I've been privileged to meet some of the top players in the industry and, and watch what they have done to build businesses without that massive failure in the middle of it, you know? Mm-hmm. And, um, uh, I even got to interview Tillman for tida, the owner of the Houston Rockets, who is a, uh, billionaire casino owner and so forth. And, uh, The, that interview didn't go the way he expected because I wanted to talk to him about business failures. I was still trying to figure out my own life. But, um, these conversations have brought a whole nother level of education to me and opportunity, um, as the word get got around, you know, people started coming to me with opportunities and some of the things I'm into with the auction houses, and now we have bought properties in 28 states. Wow. And, um, uh, it's been, it's been a pretty wild ride. And yeah, the, the story's not over flipping America. We've got some big things on the near horizon. That's, that's  amazing. That's amazing. Um, so I, I, I wanna go back to so many different things. I, I, let's go back to the failure of, of the business in 2014, and you said that it was basically attributed to hiring mistakes. Right. Yeah. Do you, was there, was it hiring, the hiring unscrupulous people where they were stealing from you? Or was it, you know, you didn't have the right, no. Leadership that was going in place. What, what do you  attribute that to? Uh, good people in the wrong seats. Um, mainly, and, uh, I'm not gonna say his name, but, um, the, the contractor who had worked for me almost exclusively for the previous, I guess. Four or five years. Uh, we made the decision to expand in 20, in 2012, late 20 11, 20 12. But the guy that had worked for me, he had rehabbed, uh, something between 350 and 400 houses for me. And we had been thick as these, doing a hundred houses a year. Um, between him and uh, some of the houses I could run myself with just subs. Um, And we had become very good friends. Uh, I, and when we, when he did his, when he completed his three on his rehab, we kind of stopped counting, but I gave him a motorcycle as a thank you. And, um, and all this to say he had become a good friend. Mm-hmm. And when I decided to expand, I made, and, and he's the same age I am. None of us are getting younger, but, uh, we're getting up there. I said, look, man, why don't you come and be our project manager? We're gonna be hiring contractors in Metro Atlanta, in Macon, Savannah, Augusta. And as we branch out into other, uh, States, I need somebody to run point and, and hire those contractors. And he said, man, I'd love to. I'm tired of crawling around on my knees and crawl spaces in the mud and getting up on roofs. He said, I never wanna do that again. I said, okay. Turns out he wasn't very good at it. In fact, he was not. That's, that's putting it mildly. He didn't hire good people. He didn't have a a, you know, he himself was a good person, but he, he didn't have a sense of what a crooked contractor looked like, and he hired a bunch of crooks and then he didn't run 'em well. We had a few good people that he just drove crazy because, He had his opinion about how things ought to be done. It differed from theirs and, um, no conflict management. Um, no real sense of project management. Uh, he could manage his own, but he could not supervise 20, and it was a disaster. I waited too long. We were bleeding cash. Uh, to the tune of about a hundred thousand a month in interest spans on this big line of credit. Mm-hmm. And when I finally set him down, are you familiar with the Peter principal? Peter Peter Drucker, business management leader. Uh, the principle is everyone rises to their own level of incompetence. You see this in organizations. People do well, they get promoted, do well, they get promoted, they finally get to a level where they don't do so well. Well, unfortunately what companies do is they get rid of 'em. What they really should do is move 'em back down to where they were doing well. So that's what I tried to do with this guy and, uh, wanted to just put him back in charge of one or two projects like we used to do. And he steadfastly refused. He said, I'm never doing that again. He got mad. Stormed outta my office, quit and holds a grudge. I didn't know he could hold a grudge like this, but it's been 10 years. He still won't talk to me. Wow. And uh, of course what he's doing now is exactly what he said he never wanted to do again. But that's a different story. Um, in the meantime, we are hurting. And for the first time in my career, we're losing money on projects. Loans are expiring with no end in sight for the rehab work because it's been sitting there and this is all very difficult and it was really all due to one hiring decision. One one really bad hiring decision in extremely critical position. Mm-hmm. What, and  what, what would be different today have, how do, have you changed how you look at people or interview people or place people today? Any, any thoughts of what you've learned since  then? Well, yeah. Um, I've taken some time to reflect on those lessons, but probably the most helpful thing that I've read on the subject is, um, in the book Traction, getting A Grip On Your Life by Gino Wickman. He talks about getting the right people in the right places and, um, . , I, I sat down and made a list of questions and, you know, he talked about, uh, hiring good people who are good at what they do and who also have the capacity to do what you need. And so I developed a, a long list of questions that I've used in hiring, and it's been sort of my guide ever since. Yeah. Yeah. It's, it's amazing when you start to put those types of repeat, um, processes, not really the right term, but you know, you, you keep doing the same thing. You putting the same people or putting people through the same process. It's amazing how you'll be able to start seeing like, what bubbles up to the top and Yeah. That one is, that person is so much more different than anyone else. Yeah. Who we've, who've hi hired for that position or  interviewed for that position. Yeah. And, you know, I knew some of the, I I had known this gentleman long enough that I knew some of his personality shortcomings, but I, I, I willfully blinded myself to them and put 'em in a position of responsibility that I put him in a position to fail. And so that in the final analysis of the whole thing, I developed what I now call the, we call it the Flipping America Pledge. And we say this at all of my live events. And it starts off by saying, when I look in the mirror, I see the reason, the cause of my successes and the reason for my failures. And it goes on from there. It's a little meditation I wrote for myself. Um, you know, when things go well, it's because I chose well and led well. When things don't go well, it's because I didn't choose well and I didn't lead well. I am the reason. It's a matter of taking personal responsibility. That's a hard thing to swallow. Um,  out of curiosity, have you read, um, extreme Ownership by Jocko Willick? No, I haven't. Oh, that's, that's a great book.  It's all about, he, he tells it from the perspective of Iraq, Iran. He was, I don't remember exactly what, what he was. Sergeant, well, well up there, captain. I'm not quite sure what his rank was, but he basically came to the exact same conclusion that you just mentioned, that everything comes back to me and I need to take extreme ownership. There was, you know, our teams had friendly fire. That was because I. You know, screwed something up. I screwed up the navigation, the comms went down. Just really, really interesting. And he applies it to business perspective, uh, to AA business perspective. And then gives, you know, CEOs that same type of mentality where I. Something's not going right. It's because it's because of you. It's not because that person screwed up, it's because you weren't giving, you know, direction well enough for clear enough direction or, you know, yeah. All of that. So really, really, really interesting, really, really interesting book. Yeah. Um, so you, you had amazing. Attraction with your podcast pretty well right off of the bat, and I know, I personally believe that a podcast is something that pretty well every business owner should have. I mean, I, I, I completely resonate with everything that you said that you are getting from your podcast. Um, how, how, what do you attribute the success so quickly? Two. How, how did you generate such a following so many listeners? So quickly, was it just the, the name, do you feel that resonated with people or,  Hmm, I don't know. The, what were your thoughts there? The name was a happy accident. I had, I had, uh, kind of fallen into leading a, a meetup group here in Atlanta called Flipping Atlanta, and I didn't even really wanna do that, but the leader disappeared and I didn't wanna let the group fail. Just fall apart. So I was leading this group and then when I got, I agreed to do the show, I had to have a name. So I thought, ah, well, it's called Flipping America. And that's all the thought they're winning in that. No market research, no testing or anything like that. Wow. Um, But, uh, it turns out it's a pretty good name. I do have to clarify on the show we're not, you know, although, uh, we do talk about flipping houses, we talk about a lot more on the show besides flipping houses, we talk about any way that you can make money in real estate and, you know, I think that, um, you know, when we started this show, at first it was also in radio syndication. And I think that that syn indicator did a lot to help. And I also believe there was a matter of the timing. You know, we start, we launched a show in 2017. There weren't that many real estate shows out there then. Um, it, you know, it seems like everybody I talk to now has their own real estate podcast. Well, that's great. There's plenty of room for everybody. Um, do you know, the other thing is, and I don't want to alienate, alienate half of your audience, but I realize what I'm about to say might do that. I heard Rush Limbal say one time, and that that name right there is going to, that's alienating already. Yeah. Just one bunch of people just turned it off. But he said one time my goal was to take something as boring and mundane as politics and make it as entertaining as possible. And I thought, oh, there we go. Okay. So, you know, I, I have engaged in a little bit of wishful comparison. Why can't I have as many listeners as you know, that sports podcast over there? Who, who's got all these? Well, real estate doesn't have the same appeal. It's a, it, this is a niche thing, so, all right. I, it is not that I'm trapped into it, I enjoy doing it, but while I'm here, and this is kind of what's been put in front of me to do, I'm gonna take real estate and real estate investing and I'm gonna make it as entertaining as I possibly can. And that incu includes appropriate humor and, uh, poking fun at some of the silliness. And so that's what we do.  I love it. , so on on our show, we like to say that we unlock the secrets of wealthy entrepreneurship. Any, any, anything come to mind when I say that?   I think that the secret to successful entrepreneurship is not passion. It is not creativity. You know, I've met people who are passionate about, uh, degenerate sex acts that's not gonna, you know, are passionate about, uh, shoplifting. You know, it's not passion and it's not creativity. Um, the real secret of entrepreneurial success is meeting a felt need. And a consistent pattern of good decisions till it becomes habits. Uh, if you have good habits, and you and I I, one of the things that I say is consistent persistency, you have to be persistent and you have to be consistent in your persistency. And what you need to be consistently persistent in is good decision making. And if you're, if you're combining that with something that is a proven money-making path, you're going to be okay. Um, this is a little bit of a surprise and Matt, it may take you by surprise. I am not particularly passionate about real estate. Mm-hmm. For me, it is a means to an end. And if I find a better, more sure means to my end, then you won't hear me talking about real estate anymore. But I've been looking for a long time and I haven't found it. So here we are. Mm-hmm.  Mm-hmm. Yeah, so, so, so it, it's great that you have that type of perspective, you know, as well, where you recognize, cause I, I feel like that's, again, another one of those traits that a lot of people will say, you know, this is my industry and I love it, and I'm so passionate about it. And it's, it's interesting that you have that perspective where you're willing to admit that, you know, it's not what I'm passionate about, it's not what I, you know, live for. Um, and, and you're open to those other, those other options, those other avenues. Uh, any you wanna know what I'm passionate about? We, I was just gonna ask Yeah. What,  yes, I'm, first of all, I'm passionate about my wife and family. Um, and I know that sounds like a cliche, but, uh, Diana is. The best thing that happened to me since Jesus and I am, I am so in awe of her and creating the life with her is why I do everything that I do. Because I want to give her the life that I think that she deserves and, and wants. And, uh, I want to be everything that she hopes that I am or believes that I am. Um, The other, I guess the other passion, the other thing that drives me is making the world a better place. I enjoy talking to people. I enjoy helping people. Uh, I enjoy real estate. I, I like the process of it fine, but, uh, what I really like is making a positive difference in the world. And. We all spend a pretty good amount of time trying to figure out our place and that whole thing. Um, I've been put into a position where I can train other people in this industry so I can, you know, I teach people how to flip houses and to acquire rental properties and to build a real estate fortune, but that's not an end in itself. Most of the people that I teach. Want to have disposable income because they have a foundation or a charity or a church or some pet project in mind that they think is gonna make the world a better place. So it has become, this is something I'm passionate about. I want to help a a thousand people become real estate millionaires before I quit. The reason for that is, 990 of those people will end up giving money to a charity or a cause that they believe in. And, um, that will, you know, in, in small ways, make the world a better place. So if I can have a part in 900 or 990 other people making the world a better place,  Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's, it's that ripple  effect or that's what, that's what gets me up, and that's what, that's what cranks my engine every day.  Yeah. Are you familiar with, with the, uh, butterfly Effect? Have you heard of that? Yeah. Before, yeah. Yeah. Very, very applicable there. I love that. I love that. Um, so you mentioned before too that there's some, some big things coming up, uh, on the show. Uh, anything that you can share right now of, of, you know, some of the, some of the things that you have percolating.  Uh, yeah. Yeah. There's a couple things that I can't share about what we're, what we're gonna be doing, what we're working on to expand our audience even more. I can't talk about that one, but I can tell you this. Um, I have an interest in, in, of course in helping real estate investors. And so we have been working on a trading platform. We're calling it The Flipping America Network, or the fan for short. And um, you know, you're familiar with wholesalers, right? Sure. All right, so wholesalers, they have two jobs. They have to find deals and they also have to build a buyer's list. And as a cash buyer, which is where I really came into it, uh, on the buying side, I would network with wholesalers as a part of my, you know, lead generation. And, um, frankly, is a lot easier deal with a wholesaler than it is to try to create your own leads direct to the seller. That's a different story anyway. Um, When I, from the first day that I started this show, I had to dream of creating this platform, and it's about to become a reality. I mean, we're literally just less than two months away from, uh, usability testing and then, uh, a release in the south. And then, um, uh, in fact, the call I was on right before this we're staggering the release and pinpointing areas, so we make sure that we're fully operational and supporting. But here's the idea. If you're a cash buyer and you're looking for real estate properties, you go create a free profile at the fan and uh, just tell us the zip codes where you wanna buy. Then you download the app on your phone and sign in and so forth. Now you can look on the platform for properties. You could search all the search functionality will be there, or you can just wait then if you're a wholesaler. Or it just somebody who owns a property and you wanna sell it it. It could be an owner or wholesaler. Use the app on your phone. Take the pictures of the property, fill out the information, and click submit. As soon as you hit submit, every cash buyer that's indicated an interest in that zip code is gonna get a text message that says, look what, just hit the fan. Mm-hmm. No, that's awesome. They can click on it. Yeah, that's my wife's favorite part. They can click on it, they can look at the property. There's a chat function built into the app, so you can talk directly with the seller or wholesaler, and if you agree on terms, you can go to contract right from your phone. DocuSign is integrated into the whole thing, and you go to contract, and when you go to contract, then the buyer. Will pay a $250 technology fee to the platform. The seller never pays anything. Wow. Wow. And, um, we think it's going to really change the way, uh, investment property gets bought in solds definitely gonna impact it anyway. Mm-hmm. Um, There will, in future versions, um, there will be a platform for, uh, vendors, people who sell products and services to investors, you know, home inspection, title companies. The whole range of products and so forth will be available on the platform. But, um, the buyer and seller piece is about ready for release. We're in the final stages now and, uh, we'll, we'll have a, um, Kind of a soft rollout, probably by late summer. That's  incredible. So, yeah. And have you, have you built any software before in the past, or is this the first foray into that industry? That realm?  Um, What I've done in the past, I don't know if you quite counted, I hired a couple of guys to take, years ago I invented something that we now call the Flipping America property grade. Um, you basically, you put in your details about a property and ranked the property with some intangible things like the difficulty of rehab and, and, uh, the quality of the neighborhood or the heat of the market and that sort of thing. Um, things that are not easily quantifiable. And then I, I wrote an algorithm that allowed that to come up with a numerical raw score. And then I used the range function in Excel to give it a letter grade. So we took that and, and. Train turned it into an app, but that was just a very low end, cost me 800 bucks. Mm-hmm. And, uh, we gave it away the Flipping America property grade app. Um, but it cost me about a hundred dollars per platform. Google in Apple to keep on updating the app every year with the new compliance standards for privacy and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And you know, I just got tired of spending that money on something I was just giving away. So. But this is a whole different animal. This, yeah, this thing is extremely detailed. I mean, it's quarter of a million dollars in development so far. That's, that's amazing. Amazing. Um, but what I did was I partnered with a, um, a guy who, this is what he does. He has a technology company that builds these things, and now we have become close enough friends that when we get this deal done, I'm, I'm buying his company. Oh,  interesting, interesting. Yeah. So, so you have, you have intentions of being more involved in, uh, technology and being involved in  that industry? Yeah, yeah, yeah. We've got more apps in the works. Um, one of them, uh, is, it's tentatively titled Flipping America Go. We've already kind of, uh, tried to partner with another provider on that. Uh, it's not working out so far, but, uh, here's, here's the dream of it. You type in an address and it goes out with an API call and pulls up all the information about that address, and then uses a, an automated valuation model from one of the providers. And we're considering a few different people there. And to give you, uh, comps and like a comparable value of the property. And for single family, it's just an arv, you know? Um, And then, but the, the, uh, the, the brilliance of this is when you register, we're going to look at several possible exit outcomes for a property, whether you want mm-hmm. Buy and hold, whether you want to buy and flip, whether you want to, uh, lease it, uh, or seller financing options, that, that sort of thing. And in there you describe. To the platform, there's some default choices made, but you describe what you consider a good deal. Like I want a 30% gross margin on flips. Some people will operate on a 20. Okay, whatever you like, put it in there. And then you get your rate and term from your favorite lender for whether it's a buy and hold or whether it's flip, and you put the rate and turn information so it's already in there. So all of these things can be calculated and the the loan, constant debt service coverage ratio and all these things can be automatically calculated behind the scenes. You just put in the information about the property and if you wanna hold it, what you, uh, plan to rent it for. And this thing spits out little meters, you know, red, yellow, green mm-hmm. Um, or some sort of indicators telling you whether it's a good deal for each of your exit strategies. Mm-hmm. And of course the tagline's gonna be, see it gonna be when you see a green light. Go.    It's a deal analyzer, but it's built into an app.  Yeah. Um, and, and, and I I love that it, it pulls in, you know, real data, real information from wherever the location is that you're, you know, that you're focused in on. Yeah.  So that's, but before that, uh, and probably before the fan gets released, uh, I've been working on something now for, uh, the better part of a year. You know, I have the coaching program and we put people in a room for, for four days and we overwhelm them with information that they're not going to remember, and they still need guidance out there. And after a while we realized, you know what? We're just wasting all of our time spending four days here. You're not gonna remember this. And, um, and they're even saying, I'm not gonna remember this. I tuned out yesterday. I, my brain is full. I can't take anymore. So I started years ago creating online courses and, um, We haven't tried very hard to sell the online courses separately. They were really designed to supplement the coaching program, but when the pandemic came, we sort of stopped doing the live events and coaching and just went to online courses and, um, you know, mixed results. Okay. Best I can say. One of the consistent things you'll hear if you listen to my show is I'm pretty hard on the hotel room gurus. Mm-hmm. Um, I don't think anybody should spend 50 or $80,000 learn how to flip houses. They're only charging you that because they can get away with it. Um, and, and I don't even care if somebody charges $50,000. What I care about is they, they show you how you can borrow from your 401k or increase your credit limits on your credit card so you can pay, and then. Be hammered with interest rates or repayment obligations and, and you're basically stealing from your own future. They'll take people who have no business, not an entrepreneurial bone in their body, they'll borrow from their 401k to set up a really, uh, this business that they are in no way mentally and psychologically equipped to run for the long term, and they're ruining people's lives. That bothers me. Mm-hmm. So, Of course alternative. Why spend 50 grand when you can get started for 50 bucks? Uh, we're launching, uh, scheduled launches in mid-July. I don't know when the show's gonna air, but, um, mid-July, we're launching the Flipping America Academy and you can join for 50 bucks a month. And in our inaugural launch period, which will probably take the rest of this year, um, when you join, you get all the benefits of the next level of coaching, which is 250 bucks a month, or the next level is called the coaching level. Um, so. You get, um, Well, there's a weekly newsletter. You get a search tool that allows you to search all the archives of the Flipping America Show, 600 plus episodes. Um, you get a discount at Home Depot, but also you get access to all nine of our current online courses and the others as they come online. Um, and we give you a roadmap to tell you which order to take the courses in and which ones you can skip depending on where you are. Some people don't need to go from A to Z, some people just need to start at E A D and go to Z. Um, And so with all of that, combined with a weekly coaching group coaching experience, um, you can learn what you need to about real estate investing for 50 bucks a month. Yeah, that's fantastic. And again, it goes back to why you're doing all of this, to be able to create those thousand millionaires. Yeah. You in the industry to create your, create your ripple. I love it. Yeah. I love it. If people wanna learn more about you, we, we've mentioned flipping America many, many times. Are there any other resources or any other things that you would suggest to go and check out, to be able to contact you or again, learn more?  Well, flipping america.net is the website. That's pretty easy to find. Um, You know, you, you could always go to Amazon and get my book house flipping, flipping houses in 10 days and, uh, help keep that sales going. We, we achieved international number one bestseller status for that book, and we got a little. Badge stuck on the cover of the book because of it. That's great. I think honestly, between you and me, I think that happened for like 15 minutes on a Tuesday afternoon.  It's there though. You, you can, you can claim it. Love it. That's right. We got the screenshots. Yeah. That's fantastic. But, uh, yeah, if, if you wanna flip houses, you, you can, you can come spend 50 bucks a month with me, but also you can get a long way to the finish line by spending 20 bucks on that book. Yeah. Yeah.  And I love that you, again, you, you are a true entrepreneur. You have all of these different, different things going on, these different projects, ideas in the pipeline, and, and it's not just, you know, this one thing I, I do real estate. Right. But, you know, podcast, software programs, flipping all, all of that stuff. So, yeah. Um, kudos to you for. Like we mentioned early on, sticking, sticking to it and sticking through things and persevere, learn and, and keep on going. You know, you've had your setbacks and struggles, but here you are still, still pushing along. So kudos to you. Love it.  Um, you know, the, the path to the mountaintop is not always a straight line. Uh, it could be that when you're standing here and you're seeing that mountain, you wanna climb that goal that you're trying to get to. What you don't see are the valleys in between the, the near peak and the far one. Um, it, it's, it's not, it's not gonna go the way you want. Nobody builds massive failure into their three year life plan, um, or health issues or other things that happen. Um, so the response to that is, um, whatever is in front of you, do the right thing with that. Over and over, whatever is in front of you. Do the right thing with that over and over, and you're gonna get there. Yeah.   All right, so let's recap what we learned today from Roger. One of the most important things that we all should take away from today's episode is that we need to pay attention to the people that we're placing into our companies. And I know that that sounds obvious, but when you're in. The moment. And when you're in those situations, you feel like it's, it's going to be so much work to try to replace them and then, and then I'm going to have to retrain people. And there's just so much to do that to, to that entire process. Right. But if you don't do it, you can absolutely take your company down and cause a huge, huge ripple effect that. Can create a lot of problems. So many times it's best to jump onto these situations, and if it means parting ways with someone or if it means repositioning them into some other type of role, chances are they're probably also going to feel relief as well because they, they, no one wants to fail. No one wants to be put in a position where they feel like they're failing. So being able to relieve that pressure from them where you know they are not performing up to what your standards are, they probably feel the exact same thing. So there's going to be an element of relief there. So always. Always, always take that step to replace people when necessary. Roger also mentions that there's plenty of people out there that are talking about, you know, following your passion and passion is the reason for this success. But what Roger has found that is that if you can find some type of a problem that people express a true real need. For the solution. That's what is going to be so much more successful than following some type of passion. So, and, and obviously it's best if you are passionate about whatever that solution is, but don't just say, this is my passion. I'm moving to go for it, look to solve some type of problem and hone in on that problem. And what I've personally found in my life is that when you can be very specific, With the type of person or the type of industry or business that you are solving that problem for, it solves so many problems, right? If you are. Focused on everyone and trying to solve everyone's problem. You're not going to be able to speak to any one type of market. So niche it down, hone it into one specific type of thing that you are doing for one particular market or industry or vertical, and then you'll be able to start speaking their, their language. You're going to understand so much more about their business. And then once you get that foothold established, Out, grow out from there. And this is the final tip that I really liked what Roger had to say. He said, be consistent with your persistence. Right? So a lot of people will give up before they establish something, or they'll see another shiny object and they're going to go and jump. Into that direction. Success takes time. I mean, there's obviously a few outliers to that. There's a few stories out there where people found quote unquote, instant success. The chances of that happening are very, very slim. It takes a long time and many, many entrepreneurs have had to just. Keep grinding, keep hustling, and I know that grinding and hustling is something that everyone talks about as well, but really the persistence to be able to keep going, keep moving forward no matter what's going on, is really, really, really key in order to be able to achieve that success that you're looking for. All right. If you want to understand what the wealthy do, head over to invest in square feet and sign up for our newsletter. We include some outtakes from various guests there, and that's the only place you're going to get to hear that advice. We also publish the investment opportunities that we come across in our various companies, so if you wanna learn more about those different investment opportunities, go ahead and sign up for that newsletter. We will be in touch with you about those different opportunities.

Armed conflict and natural disasters have plagued the twenty-first century. Not since the end of World War II has the number of armed conflicts been higher. At the same time, natural disasters have increased in frequency and intensity over the past two decades, their impacts worsened by climate change, urbanization, and persistent social and economic inequalities. Providing the first comprehensive analysis of the interplay between natural disasters and armed conflict, Catastrophes, Confrontations, and Constraints: How Disasters Shape the Dynamics of Armed Conflicts (MIT Press, 2023) explores the extent to which disasters facilitate the escalation or abatement of armed conflicts—as well as the ways and contexts in which combatants exploit these catastrophes. Tobias Ide utilizes both qualitative insights and quantitative data to explain the link between disasters and the (de-)escalation of armed conflict and presents over thirty case studies of earthquakes, droughts, floods, and storms in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America. He also examines the impact of COVID-19 on armed conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, Nigeria, and the Philippines. Catastrophes, Confrontations, and Constraints is an invaluable addition to current debates on climate change, environmental stress, and security. Professionals and students will greatly appreciate the wealth of timely data it provides for their own investigations. Dr. Tobias Ide is a Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at Murdoch University in Perth, Australia. His work broadly focuses on the intersections of environmental change and environmental politics with peace, conflict, and security. Sidney Michelini is a PhD student at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research with the FutureLab - Security, Ethnic Conflicts and Migration. His work focuses on how climate, climate shocks, and climate change impact conflicts of different types. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/national-security

Armed conflict and natural disasters have plagued the twenty-first century. Not since the end of World War II has the number of armed conflicts been higher. At the same time, natural disasters have increased in frequency and intensity over the past two decades, their impacts worsened by climate change, urbanization, and persistent social and economic inequalities. Providing the first comprehensive analysis of the interplay between natural disasters and armed conflict, Catastrophes, Confrontations, and Constraints: How Disasters Shape the Dynamics of Armed Conflicts (MIT Press, 2023) explores the extent to which disasters facilitate the escalation or abatement of armed conflicts—as well as the ways and contexts in which combatants exploit these catastrophes. Tobias Ide utilizes both qualitative insights and quantitative data to explain the link between disasters and the (de-)escalation of armed conflict and presents over thirty case studies of earthquakes, droughts, floods, and storms in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America. He also examines the impact of COVID-19 on armed conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, Nigeria, and the Philippines. Catastrophes, Confrontations, and Constraints is an invaluable addition to current debates on climate change, environmental stress, and security. Professionals and students will greatly appreciate the wealth of timely data it provides for their own investigations. Dr. Tobias Ide is a Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at Murdoch University in Perth, Australia. His work broadly focuses on the intersections of environmental change and environmental politics with peace, conflict, and security. Sidney Michelini is a PhD student at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research with the FutureLab - Security, Ethnic Conflicts and Migration. His work focuses on how climate, climate shocks, and climate change impact conflicts of different types. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/military-history

Armed conflict and natural disasters have plagued the twenty-first century. Not since the end of World War II has the number of armed conflicts been higher. At the same time, natural disasters have increased in frequency and intensity over the past two decades, their impacts worsened by climate change, urbanization, and persistent social and economic inequalities. Providing the first comprehensive analysis of the interplay between natural disasters and armed conflict, Catastrophes, Confrontations, and Constraints: How Disasters Shape the Dynamics of Armed Conflicts (MIT Press, 2023) explores the extent to which disasters facilitate the escalation or abatement of armed conflicts—as well as the ways and contexts in which combatants exploit these catastrophes. Tobias Ide utilizes both qualitative insights and quantitative data to explain the link between disasters and the (de-)escalation of armed conflict and presents over thirty case studies of earthquakes, droughts, floods, and storms in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America. He also examines the impact of COVID-19 on armed conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, Nigeria, and the Philippines. Catastrophes, Confrontations, and Constraints is an invaluable addition to current debates on climate change, environmental stress, and security. Professionals and students will greatly appreciate the wealth of timely data it provides for their own investigations. Dr. Tobias Ide is a Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at Murdoch University in Perth, Australia. His work broadly focuses on the intersections of environmental change and environmental politics with peace, conflict, and security. Sidney Michelini is a PhD student at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research with the FutureLab - Security, Ethnic Conflicts and Migration. His work focuses on how climate, climate shocks, and climate change impact conflicts of different types. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/environmental-studies

Armed conflict and natural disasters have plagued the twenty-first century. Not since the end of World War II has the number of armed conflicts been higher. At the same time, natural disasters have increased in frequency and intensity over the past two decades, their impacts worsened by climate change, urbanization, and persistent social and economic inequalities. Providing the first comprehensive analysis of the interplay between natural disasters and armed conflict, Catastrophes, Confrontations, and Constraints: How Disasters Shape the Dynamics of Armed Conflicts (MIT Press, 2023) explores the extent to which disasters facilitate the escalation or abatement of armed conflicts—as well as the ways and contexts in which combatants exploit these catastrophes. Tobias Ide utilizes both qualitative insights and quantitative data to explain the link between disasters and the (de-)escalation of armed conflict and presents over thirty case studies of earthquakes, droughts, floods, and storms in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America. He also examines the impact of COVID-19 on armed conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, Nigeria, and the Philippines. Catastrophes, Confrontations, and Constraints is an invaluable addition to current debates on climate change, environmental stress, and security. Professionals and students will greatly appreciate the wealth of timely data it provides for their own investigations. Dr. Tobias Ide is a Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at Murdoch University in Perth, Australia. His work broadly focuses on the intersections of environmental change and environmental politics with peace, conflict, and security. Sidney Michelini is a PhD student at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research with the FutureLab - Security, Ethnic Conflicts and Migration. His work focuses on how climate, climate shocks, and climate change impact conflicts of different types. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/world-affairs

On this edition of Parallax Views, Dr. James M. Dorsey of the Turbulent World w/ James Dorsey blog returns with a discussion that begins with Iran's saying it's forming a naval alliance with Gulf States (Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates) as well as Pakistan, India, and Iraq. This, however, leads into a larger discussion about the geopolitics of the Middle East and the political battle for the soul of Islam, the shaping of a 21st Century World Order that is emerging before our very eyes, and the conflict between nation state vs. civilizational state modes of thought across the global political chessboard. This is a wide-ranging discussion that covers a massive amount of topics in just under an hour. Dorsey and I manage to discuss all of the above in relation to U.S. foreign policy, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the war that's resulted from it, the Gulf States' relationship with Türkiye and Erdogan, Iran's nuclear capabilities, political reformism and political repression in the Middle East, Indonesia and the battle for the soul of Islam, culture wars in the Arab world, China, U.S. failings in the Middle East, Middle East power rivalries and de-escalation, Israel in a bind, and much, much more!

Armed conflict and natural disasters have plagued the twenty-first century. Not since the end of World War II has the number of armed conflicts been higher. At the same time, natural disasters have increased in frequency and intensity over the past two decades, their impacts worsened by climate change, urbanization, and persistent social and economic inequalities. Providing the first comprehensive analysis of the interplay between natural disasters and armed conflict, Catastrophes, Confrontations, and Constraints: How Disasters Shape the Dynamics of Armed Conflicts (MIT Press, 2023) explores the extent to which disasters facilitate the escalation or abatement of armed conflicts—as well as the ways and contexts in which combatants exploit these catastrophes. Tobias Ide utilizes both qualitative insights and quantitative data to explain the link between disasters and the (de-)escalation of armed conflict and presents over thirty case studies of earthquakes, droughts, floods, and storms in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America. He also examines the impact of COVID-19 on armed conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, Nigeria, and the Philippines. Catastrophes, Confrontations, and Constraints is an invaluable addition to current debates on climate change, environmental stress, and security. Professionals and students will greatly appreciate the wealth of timely data it provides for their own investigations. Dr. Tobias Ide is a Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at Murdoch University in Perth, Australia. His work broadly focuses on the intersections of environmental change and environmental politics with peace, conflict, and security. Sidney Michelini is a PhD student at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research with the FutureLab - Security, Ethnic Conflicts and Migration. His work focuses on how climate, climate shocks, and climate change impact conflicts of different types. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Armed conflict and natural disasters have plagued the twenty-first century. Not since the end of World War II has the number of armed conflicts been higher. At the same time, natural disasters have increased in frequency and intensity over the past two decades, their impacts worsened by climate change, urbanization, and persistent social and economic inequalities. Providing the first comprehensive analysis of the interplay between natural disasters and armed conflict, Catastrophes, Confrontations, and Constraints: How Disasters Shape the Dynamics of Armed Conflicts (MIT Press, 2023) explores the extent to which disasters facilitate the escalation or abatement of armed conflicts—as well as the ways and contexts in which combatants exploit these catastrophes. Tobias Ide utilizes both qualitative insights and quantitative data to explain the link between disasters and the (de-)escalation of armed conflict and presents over thirty case studies of earthquakes, droughts, floods, and storms in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America. He also examines the impact of COVID-19 on armed conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, Nigeria, and the Philippines. Catastrophes, Confrontations, and Constraints is an invaluable addition to current debates on climate change, environmental stress, and security. Professionals and students will greatly appreciate the wealth of timely data it provides for their own investigations. Dr. Tobias Ide is a Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at Murdoch University in Perth, Australia. His work broadly focuses on the intersections of environmental change and environmental politics with peace, conflict, and security. Sidney Michelini is a PhD student at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research with the FutureLab - Security, Ethnic Conflicts and Migration. His work focuses on how climate, climate shocks, and climate change impact conflicts of different types. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/political-science

June 9: Saint Ephrem, Deacon and Doctor Early Fourth Century–373 Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: White Patron Saint of spiritual directors The Harp of the Holy Spirit The Councils of Ephesus in 431 and Chalcedon in 451 ended a centuries-long scorpion dance. Bishops, theologians, and scholars from Egypt to Syria had long circled one another with suspicion, stinging their enemies with sharp words and pointed tongues. Did Jesus Christ have one or two natures? If two natures, were they joined in His will or in His person? If united in His person, at conception? Was He one person or was He two? Smart, educated men defended every shade of every subtlety of every complex question with all of their considerable skill. The answers hacked out at Ephesus and Chalcedon, whose hurly-burly political intrigues were less than inspiring, answered the relevant questions definitively, establishing orthodox teaching for all time. The theological language coined during those fifth century debates is still familiar to the Church today: hypostatic union, monophysitism, Theotokos, etc. Today's saint, Ephrem, was active a century prior to the great conclusions and clarifications of the fifth-century Councils. Although Ephrem did not deviate from what later Councils would explicitly teach, he used far different language to communicate the same truths, anticipating later teachings through poetry. Saint Ephrem was a poet and a musician first and foremost. His language is more beautiful, compelling, and memorable because it is metaphorical. Exactness in words risks dryness. You can say that the average density of the air in the ship's hull eventually equaled the average density of the surrounding water. Or you can say that the ship sank like a stone to the ocean floor. You can write that a day's high dew point caused the air's water vapor content to slow evaporation. Or you can write that it was so hot and humid that people melted like candles. The Church can teach that we eat Christ's body and blood in the Holy Eucharist. Or we can speak directly to Christ with the poet Ephrem and say, “In your bread hides the Spirit who cannot be consumed; in your wine is the fire that cannot be swallowed. The Spirit in your bread, fire in your wine: behold a wonder heard from our lips.” The Councils of Ephesus and Chalcedon taught that the one person of Jesus Christ united in Himself a fully divine nature and a fully human nature from the moment of His conception. Saint Ephrem wrote “The Lord entered (Mary) and became a servant; the Word entered her, and became silent within her; thunder entered her and his voice was still; the Shepherd of all entered her and became a Lamb…” Poetry, metaphor, paradox, images, song, and symbols. These were tools in Saint Ephrem's nimble hands. Theology for him was liturgy, music, and prayer. He was called the Harp of the Holy Spirit, the Sun of the Syrians, and the Column of the Church by his admirers, who included luminaries such as Saints Jerome and Basil. Saint Ephrem was a deacon who declined ordination to the priesthood. He lived radical poverty, wearing a patched and dirty tunic. He had a cave for his home and a rock for his pillow. Ephrem founded a theological school and was deeply involved in catechesis through preaching, liturgy, and music. He died after contracting a disease from a patient he was caring for. Saint Ephrem is the Church's greatest Syriac language writer, proof that Christianity is not synonymous with the West or European culture. Ephrem's world thrived for centuries with its own unique Semitic identity in today's Syria, Iraq, Iran, and India. Saint Ephrem's Syria was not the “Near East,” as Europeans later called the region. To him, it was just home, the deep cradle of the new way of loving God that was, and is, Christianity. Saint Ephrem was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Benedict XV in 1920. Saint Ephrem, you wrote tenderly and lovingly about the truths of our faith. Help all Christian artists to stay true to the Truth and to communicate Jesus Christ to the world through beauty, music, and images that raise the mind and lift the heart to God Himself.

What would you risk your life for? And could you dedicate the rest of your life to traveling the world for the sake of the Great Commission?  That's the vision, mission and legacy our guest, Jason Law, chose to accept from his father as he witnessed his passion for spreading the Word of God to every nation. In this episode, host Steve Alessi welcomes Jason Law, president of World Compassion, to The Family Business to talk about his ministry, his father's legacy, and the work he does to expand the Kingdom worldwide. He shares with us the incredible courage and tenacity required to spread the Gospel in countries where being a Christian can have dire consequences. He also shares his experiences with his father and the founder of World Compassion, Dr. Terry Law, and explains how his father's influence shaped his values and outlook on life. You'll gain incredible insight from this episode, not only about world missions, but about how important it is to maintain a Godly vision through multiple generations. Learn More about World Compassion here - worldcompassion.tvRECOMMENDED EPISODES What's In a Name? Why Legacy Matters in Our Family Business | S2 E8 Sharing the Mic: How We Communicate Truth in Our Family Business | S2 E10MORE ABOUT JASON LAWJason Law is president of World Compassion, founded in 1969 by his father, Dr. Terry Law. Jason has a passion to see the local church unite and impact their nation as the Body of Christ.This passion, combined with his belief that God's love transforms the lives of people, is what drives the mission and initiatives of World Compassion in countries including Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Myanmar, China, Cuba, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States.Jason is a graduate of Oral Roberts University. He and his wife, Beth, along with their daughter, Addison, and son, Logan, are planted at Guts Church in Tulsa where Jason and Beth serve as elders. Jason enjoys spending time with his family and friends and doing anything outdoors, especially golfing and snow skiing.Steve Alessi's powerful new book "FORTY-TWO" is Now Available! For 42 frightening minutes, Steve Alessi's life hung in the balance. Now he's sharing the truths learned from facing death - and coming back stronger.His new book will show you how you can finish well, even when you were almost finished! Tap HERE to order your copy! JOIN THE FAMILY BUSINESS! Subscribe to the show on your app! Follow Us on Instagram and Facebook Subscribe to Our YouTube Channel! Leave a review! Have a question for the Alessis?Tap HERE and then the "Leave A Message" button to record your question!