Rhetorical device, literary technique, or situation in which there is an incongruity between the literal and the implied meaning
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“Send Coach John a message”I found a gem from a hall of famer, Nancy Lieberman (@NancyLieberman) who shared this truth: “Life is so ironic, it takes sadness to know what happiness is, noise to appreciate silence and absence to value presence.” These are simple truths that I usually don't think about too much. Now that I was reminded about it - these sure do make sense. I also need to seek them out more… more happiness, a bit more silence and I'm for sure valuing the presence of people that I love a lot more now. Connect with these in your life and see what happens with feeling better. Thanks for listening. Please take a few moments to subscribe & share this with someone, also leave a 5 Star rating on Apple Podcasts and ITunes or other services where you find this show. Find me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/coachtoexpectsuccess/ on Twitter / “X”: @coachtosuccess and on Instagram at: @coachjohndaly - My YouTube Channel is at: Coach John Daly. Email me at: CoachJohnDalyPodcast@gmail.com You can also head on over to https://www.coachtoexpectsuccess.com/ and get in touch with me there on my homepage along with checking out my Top Book list too. Other things there on my site are being worked on too. Please let me know that you are reaching out to me from my podcast. ** I would appreciate anyone to try clicking on the top of the show notes where it says "Send us a text" to leave a few thoughts / comments / questions. It's a new feature that I'd like to see how it works. **
-Episode 146- This week Bryan talks about field trips, Summer break and not feeling prepared to travel.
Episode 138 When One Plus One Equals Three: A Conversation with National Aphasia Synergy In this episode you will discover: 1. People with aphasia hold the map. At NAS, people with aphasia don't just have a seat at the table — they built the table. Real peer leadership changes everything about how an organization thinks and acts. 2. Recovery is about more than speech. The isolation and psychological distress that follow aphasia are just as real as the communication challenges — and just as deserving of attention and support. 3. Peer-befriending is life participation in action. When people with aphasia support one another through shared experience, that's not a supplement to good care — it is good care. 4. Sinergia: one plus one equals three. When survivors and professionals work as true equals, something greater emerges than either could create alone. June is National Aphasia Awareness Month, and around here, that means it's time for one of my favorite podcast traditions. For the past few years running, we've spent this month in conversation with people who know aphasia from the inside — those living it every day. Today is no exception, and this one is a conversation I've genuinely been looking forward to. Welcome to the Aphasia Access Conversations Podcast. I'm Katie Strong from Central Michigan University, where I lead the Strong Story Lab, and I'm a member of the Aphasia Access Podcast Working Group. Aphasia Access is dedicated to transforming services and environments so people with aphasia can participate more fully in life — and today's guests are living proof of exactly what that looks like. Today I'm speaking with two leaders from National Aphasia Synergy — known as NAS — a peer-led nonprofit founded in 2021 by people with aphasia, for people with aphasia. NAS was built on the belief that those living with aphasia are best positioned to support others on the same journey. Through peer-befriending, technology empowerment, and community building, NAS works to end the isolation that so often follows a stroke — connecting people across the country through a shared sense of what they call Sinergia: the idea that when survivors and professionals work as true equals, one plus one equals three. Today's conversation feels especially meaningful to me. I've had the privilege of seeing Trish and Amy in action at conferences like Aphasia Access and ASHA — learning from their presentations and watching their advocacy make ripples far beyond those conference walls. As someone who researches friendship and aphasia, I've followed the peer befriending movement closely — it began in the UK, and when I heard that NAS was bringing it to the United States, led by a peer organization, I thought: this is what life participation actually looks like. Before we get into the conversation, let me tell you a bit more about our guests. Trish Hambridge is the President and Founder of National Aphasia Synergy. Trish has lived with aphasia since her stroke in 2008, and that experience is the foundation of everything she has built. A former project manager for AppleCare, Trish has become not only a powerful advocate but a published researcher — partnering with research teams to influence the questions being asked and the evidence being built in our field. Her co-authored work spans game-based rehabilitation design, posttraumatic growth in aphasia, and the measurement of motivation and psychological needs in aphasia rehabilitation — all published in leading journals including the American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology. She has spoken at conferences including the Aphasia Access Leadership Summit, Aphasia Access Chautauqua and ASHA, serves on the Disability Advisory Committee in Dunedin, Florida, and is a member of Voices of Hope for Aphasia. Her vision brought NAS to life, and her leadership — in the clinic, in the research literature, and in the community — continues to shape it. Amy Walters is the Vice President of National Aphasia Synergy. Amy has lived with aphasia since her stroke in 2018 — a stroke that, in a striking twist of fate, occurred while she was attending a neurosurgical conference. A Harvard graduate with a Master of Public Health from Johns Hopkins, Amy spent 30 years as a senior leader in the medical device industry before her stroke, and she has channeled that same expertise and drive into aphasia advocacy. She has presented at neurosurgical conferences to raise awareness, participates in aphasia groups across the country, and brings a remarkable combination of professional knowledge and lived experience to everything NAS does. So — let's get into the conversation. Katie Strong: Trish and Amy, welcome. I'm so excited to have you both here today and learn about what's going on in National Aphasia Synergy. Trish Hambridge: Thank you for the chance to meet. Amy Walters: We are so pleased to be here with the Aphasia Access Community. Katie Strong: Well, we're delighted that you are sharing your time and expertise with us. I wanted to get started by asking about National Aphasia Synergy. How was it created? Just wondering if you could share the origin story of the organization and how that concept of synergy or working together defines your mission. Trish Hambridge: Long time ago, I had a stroke, major stroke. But I was the same person then as I am now. I remember sitting on the hospital patio in San Jose and Karen, my good friend from college and speech therapist was there, and she was teaching everyone about aphasia. My friends and family were so patient. I remember my Dad talking to me and say, "You are stubborn." and I said, "Thank you!" Because that choice – being subborn - changed everything and gave me the chance to get my identity back. Katie Strong: So, Trish, just to verify, you're saying your stubbornness got you where you are right now. Trish Hambridge: Yes, but yes! Katie Strong: Love it. Trish Hambridge: Sorry to say, I have issues! But going back to the beginning, I had only had five words. Even my 'yes' and 'no' were flipped. Traditional homework is not my cup of tea. Shhh! Quiet, I'm lazy! I needed a better strategy, and I found it with P2Go. It's so much more than an app. It is the tool that gave me my voice back. Katie Strong: I love that, so if I'm understanding correctly, traditional homework is not for you, and that you really needed something that was technology based, which goes back to your expertise in your life, career to be able to really help you communicate, and it was the P2Go. Trish Hambridge: Yeah, yeah, is small, is so, is easy, my opinion. Katie Strong: Well, that's what we're here for today, is your opinion. Trish Hambridge: In 2016, a move to Dunedin, Florida changed everything. I joined Voices of Hope and finally found my community. Then the pandemic hit. But it couldn't stop our connection. We moved to Zoom. I want to be honest, though: some of my friends didn't make it through that storm. Their pain is part of this journey. We build this community in their honor. Katie Strong: Oh, that's really touching, you know. It is. It's hard, so many friends don't stay in our lives for many reasons, but aphasia can really be a challenge for friends sticking around. Trish Hambridge: Yeah, and the technology is not my cup of tea. Katie Strong: Wonderful, wonderful. Thank you for sharing that. Trish Hambridge: In 2021, I stepped up. I moved from a 'Lead Pathfinder' to the Founder of National Aphasia Synergy. I reached out to Debbie Yones, the big cheese of Voices of Hope. She and the Board Director gave me wise advice to help me grow. I didn't do it alone. My sister and my sister-in-law helped me think through the logistics. They helped me build the support for the nonprofit. Because of them, my vision became a reality. Katie Strong: So, your consultation with those important people to your life really helped National Aphasia Synergy become a reality. Trish Hambridge: Yeah. Finally, I asked Amy to join the mission. She became part of the organization. Now, we are moving forward together. Katie Strong: Thanks, Trish. I love that. Amy Walters: Thanks, Trish. Nine years ago, I had my stroke at the neurosurgical conference. Ironic, right? Yeah, the conference was in Colorado Springs. I was in a medically induced coma for 10 days and diagnosed with Global Aphasia. Then I was airlifted to the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, Georgia, where I had a craniotomy and cranioplasty. On the flight I remembered thinking, "Am I in a simulator? What's happening to me?" Katie Strong: Wow! That sounds surreal! Amy Walters: My career was in clinical affairs for a medical neurosurgical device company, so I am professionally and personally familiar with neuroplasticity. I know how crucial neuroplasticity is to our physical, mental, and emotional recovery. National Aphasia Synergy was born from a deep need for collaborative survivor-led company. Katie Strong: The advocacy you're doing is really amazing, and I'm so excited for our listeners to be able to hear more about it. Amy Walters: Thank you. When we look at the aphasia community today, we see massive gaps. Most organizations are built for us, but they aren't led by us. The 'medical way' focuses only on the speech deficit, but it leaves a gaping hole in mental health, identity, and social connection. The research is heartbreaking: 40% to 60% of stroke survivors with aphasia experience chronic depression, and in early recovery, a staggering 93% experience high levels of psychological distress. This isn't just about the survivor—46% of our family members also face depression. Our mission is to bridge those gaps. We aren't just here to 'fix' speech; we are here to empower the whole person. We call it Sinergia—the Greek word for Synergy. It means we don't work in silos. We don't have 'experts' on one side and 'patients' on the other. We have a partnership where 1 plus 1 equals 3. Katie Strong: I love it! Amy Walters: We are moving away from the isolated patient model and toward a Sinergia where survivors and professionals work as equals to reclaim our lives. We are here to educate and empower our peers to use technology to reclaim their voices. But more importantly, we are here to promote peer-befriending. We reach out to those who are new to this path or struggling to find their way, because no one should walk this road alone. Katie Strong: I know, Amy, I just am so excited. I've been watching this peer befriending happen over in the UK, or reading about it, and hearing about it, and I was just so delighted when I heard that National Aphasia Synergy was taking this up and helping us to, to have a really solid connection. I think one of the things that breaks my heart the most is when I meet someone who has aphasia, who's been living with aphasia for a really long time, and they've never met anyone else who had aphasia. Amy Walters: Heartbreaking. Katie Strong: It really is. It really is. Amy Walters: Our goal is to develop a national community that encourages optimism. We believe a positive outlook isn't just a 'nice feeling'—it is a strategy for recovery. Katie Strong: Heck, yes! Amy Walters: At NAS, we don't just look for what's lost; we build on the strengths that remain. There were gaps in the Aphasia Community. Trish Hambridge: Speech Therapists and care partners are vital to recovery. They have good intentions, but the 'medical way' is often the wrong way. Katie Strong: Yeah, yeah, it's not quite the right way. Trish Hambridge: Many researchers only survey the Speech Therapists and the partners. But what about me? What about us? What am I, chopped liver? Think about the last time someone completely iced us out. It hurts, right? It honestly chips away at our sense of self, leaving us clueless as to where we actually fit in. Katie Strong: Yeah, so Trish, just to recap this for the listeners, you're saying when somebody ices you out, you're asking the listeners to reflect on how that really feels, Trish Hambridge: Yeah, I email [a researcher], and have offered [to be a part of their team] but they are like "Oh no, but sorry." Katie Strong: I hear, I hear you. Yeah and I think what you're bringing up - and you and Amy are bringing up such a great point that as the aphasia research community has not always included people with aphasia. Or they're only including people with mild aphasia versus more severe types of aphasia, so I love that you're calling this out and shining light on it. It's, it's time. Trish Hambridge Here's what the research tells us. Therapists and partners see the journey from the outside. But those of us living it? We know the honest truth. Katie Strong: Yeah, yeah, so as the clinicians, the therapists, and the care partners see that journey from the outside, and you all are living it for sure. Trish Hambridge: It is the 'Chicken and the Egg' problem: Does the partner change first? Or does the people with aphasia change? The answer is: The Environment. We must change the environment to find true recovery. We need to move from being 'patients' to being Lead Pathfinders. Katie Strong: Yes, so I love it. You're, you're flipping the script there and reclaiming your identity, or renegotiating it from that patient role to being a lead pathfinder. I love that terminology. Thank you. Thank you. One of you said this earlier that organizations are for people with aphasia, but National Aphasia Synergy is led by people with aphasia. Why is this distinction critical for the community to understand, and how does it change the way an organization is run? Amy Walters: Right, Katie. In the past, organizations were built for us, like a charity. But National Aphasia Synergy is different. We are led by people with aphasia. We are moving from 'being helped' to leading. This is more than an organization. It is a revolution of identity. At National Aphasia Synergy, we are flipping the script on leadership. Our Board makes decisions with one clear priority: putting voices with aphasia at the forefront. That means leaders like Trish, Bruce, and me are the ones making the big calls. We collaborate with wonderful professionals, like Kait, our SLP, Helen, our Financial and Secretarial support and Will Evans, our Volunteer Consultant. They are essential to our success. They ensure our communication is accessible and our business stays strong. I always think of our board meetings being like a United Nations meeting with "international representatives" (i.e., China, France, Japan, etc.) each of us is coming to the table with a different lived experience, different aphasia types, etc. We work together to "translate" and work through our differing communication styles. But make no mistake: The people with aphasia are the primary drivers of the vision. The professionals provide the tools, but we hold the maps. Katie Strong: Such a great analogy. I love it and it also sounds like your work is fun too. Amy Walters: Driving you crazy, but you mean you mean you mean, yeah. Hold the phone! Katie Strong: Oh, that's great. I love it. Well, what does National Aphasia Synergy offer that others should know about? Trish Hambridge: Look at what we have built together: First, our Peer Befriending Program. A team of four SLPs and four people with aphasia worked as equals to create our training. Today, we have 15 volunteer Allies trained and ready to support the community. Katie Strong: I love it. So, 15 people with aphasia, volunteer Allies, have been trained as peer befrienders to go out and connect with other people who newly have aphasia. Trish Hambridge: Right, but anything like… Katie Strong: Or rather, anybody who has aphasia that they're wanting to connect with. Trish Hambridge: Come! Come! But we meet on Zoom. Katie Strong: On Zoom, right? Yeah, absolutely. This is all virtual, which is amazing, you know, because you get a good reach, a really, a really great reach. What else is going on? Amy Walters: Second, our Aphasia & Mental Health Video. We have four excellent SLPs sharing the research, stats, resources and the power of neuroplasticity. And we also surveyed 10 people with aphasia to capture the honest truth of our emotional journeys and provide 10 essential tips for recovery. Trish Hambridge: I always start with a roadmap. But originally, we were filming something completely different. But three weeks before the shoot, I went to Debbie and asked: 'What do you think?' She said, 'There are enough basic videos out there... why doesn't NAS focus on Mental Health?' Katie Strong: Yeah, okay. So, you were doing all this planning, and then three weeks before the shoot, you went and talked to Debbie and said, "What do you think?" And she said, "There's already enough videos out there on basic aphasia, but not on mental health. I love it! Trish Hambridge: Yeah and so I agree!!! We agreed right away. We made a right turn... And changed the plan on the fly! I ran a preview for my friends at Voices of Hope. They loved it, but they asked the killer question: 'Where is the actual resource? Where do we go for help?' Katie Strong: Trish, you are speaking to my heart here, and I know I'm one of those "outsider perspectives" as a clinician. But we just don't have great resources for mental health. It's really challenging. So, I love that your friends at Voices of Hope called you out on that. What happened after that? Amy Walters: That was the lightbulb moment, right? Trish Hambridge: Yeah, a video wasn't enough—we needed a map. So, we built the Aphasia and Mental Health Resources paper. The researchers and I had some serious back-and-forth debate, but that's how you get a solid plan. We ended up with something really cool: real tools for real people. Katie Strong: Love, love it! Trish Hambridge: Third, our Adaptive Growth Culture paper. This provides a brand-new map for recovery that the whole world can use to look past the 'broken parts.' Katie Strong: Yeah, Trish, I've heard you speak on this. That talk you gave it, ASHA. I'm going to say listeners, particularly clinicians, you should check this out, because we need to get our clients with aphasia, our lead pathfinders with aphasia to be able to think in this sort of way, so yeah, Trish Hambridge: But like I have like the speech therapist and the caregiver, and people with aphasia - it like, look right -- is the good plan. Katie Strong: Love it, fantastic, Amy Walters: Kait and I shared five powerful aphasia stories on video to show our diversity, our strength, our inhumanity, frankly. All of this lives on our National Synergy website. These aren't just projects, they are the proof that when people with aphasia lead, we create world that actually works for us. Katie Strong: Oh, this is fantastic. And we'll have links to your website in the show notes, but you can certainly Google National Aphasia Synergy, and the website pops right up. I've been exploring it for a little bit, but I was looking at it again this morning, and there's just such great, great stuff on there. So please go and check it out. Well, I'm curious, Amy and Trish, what's on the horizon for National Aphasia Synergy, and how can our listeners, whether they're Aphasia Access members or people living with aphasia get involved or support your work. Amy Walters: We are so proud of what we have built, but we are just getting started. This is our Call to Action. Trish Hambridge: We want the world to get excited about Mental Health! Katie Strong: And I think get excited about your Adaptive Growth Culture too. Trish Hambridge: Yeah! We recently presented a poster at the Chautauqua virtual conference, and the feedback from Aphasia Access members was powerful. The keynote speaker, Dr. Nina Simmons-Mackie, spoke about moving from 'managing a condition' to 'owning a life.' That is exactly what we do! We focus on the strengths, the emotions, and the identity that the old medical model ignores. Katie Strong: Yeah, so okay. So, Trish, you, you were, I think you presented you National Aphasia Synergy presented a poster at the Chautauqua, the Aphasia Access Chautauqua recently. Trish Hambridge: First time presenting a poster! Katie Strong: I love it, I love it. Yep, and the feedback that you got from the Chautauqua attendees was spectacular, right? And that's when, and, and, and Dr. Simmons-Mackie or Nina Simmons Mackey took that idea and we wove it into her keynote at the end, right, and talked about how it's important for us to support people and people with aphasia and care partners move from managing a condition to owning a life. I mean, that that's powerful stuff. I love it! Trish Hambridge: I'm so honored. Katie Strong: Well, you are out there making an impact. Amy Walters: Thank you. We are building something historic, and we want you to be part of it. Here is how you can join the revolution: Trish Hambridge: To the speech therapists and researchers, Help us build our evidence base. We want the test that adapted growth culture map to prove how it improves mental health and builds confidence. Don't just watch from the sidelines—come test this with us! Soon, I'm taking the Adaptive Growth Culture to the global stage. I'll be at the International Aphasia Rehabilitation Conference in Athens. Katie Strong: You'll be at the International Aphasia Rehabilitation Conference, or IARC, in… Trish Hambridge: Athens!! I am presenting our Adaptive Growth Culture Poster to the top minds in the field. Katie Strong: Fantastic. Trish Hambridge: We have built the roadmap. Now, the researchers will provide the data-driven proof. It is time to see the Adaptive Growth Culture in action. We are moving from lived experience to clinical evidence. Katie Strong: I love it, moving from lived experience to clinical evidence. Amy Walters: That's right, that's right, Trish. If you run a community group, a local program, or a support network, we want to connect with you. Help us build this referral network so that no one is left behind in isolation. We aren't just looking for 'places to go' to pass the time. We are looking for places where we can belong and grow. We are looking for communities that see our potential, not just our deficits. To my peers with Aphasia: Your voice is our power. Share your story or send us a shout-out with your favorite tips and tricks. We also need Buddies for our Peer Befriending program. Help us show the world that we are truly 'owning our lives.' To the Volunteers: We are looking for passionate people to join our Board of Directors. We specifically need one more person with aphasia, as well as SLPs, care partners, and friends. The only requirement? You must believe in the Adaptive Growth Culture. Whether you have the tools or you hold the map, there is a seat at the table for you. Visit us and let's grow together! Katie Strong: Amazing. I hope that our listeners will take you up on the offers that you just laid out there, and that they'll also go out there and share with others that they need to hook everybody up with National Aphasia Synergy. It's a great organization. I enjoyed learning about it more today. And Amy and Trish, I so appreciate you both being here with us and sharing your stories and the amazing work that's going on in National Aphasia Synergy. Trish Hambridge: Thank you. Aphasia Access is fantastic! Katie Strong: I'm glad that you're enjoying Aphasia Access, too. It's a great network, and it's great that we're having lots of communities continue to grow and blossom to support people living successfully with aphasia. Amy Walters: Hear, Hear! Katie Strong: Thanks. You too. Amy Walters: Thank you. Katie Strong: Have fun in Greece. Trish Hambridge: Yay! Amy Walters: Jealous! Katie Strong: Me too, me too. Amy Walters: Bye, bye. Trish Hambridge: See you. Bye. On behalf of Aphasia Access, thank you for listening. For references and resources mentioned in today's show, please see our show notes, available on our website at www.aphasiaaccess.org. There you can also become a member of our organization, browse our growing library of materials, and find out about the Aphasia Access Academy. If you have an idea for a future podcast episode, email us at info@aphasiaaccess.org. For Aphasia Access Conversations, here at Central Michigan University in the Strong Story Lab, I'm Katie Strong. Resources Below is a list of links to the National Aphasia Synergy (NAS) resources and other organizations as discussed: NAS Website: https://nationalaphasiasynergy.org NAS email: info@nationalaphasiasynergy.org NAS Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/WeRSynergy (to keep up with what's going on at NAS and for inspirational, adaptive growth mindset content) NAS YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@nationalaphasiasynergy1410 (to watch our Aphasia Stories series, learn about resources, and tune into our quarterly video newsletter, "The Synergy Turf" to hear real people with aphasia) NAS Adaptive Growth Culture paper: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VIq0juI4FTPKqF0Cev8qZAI5I5po5ouO/view?usp=share_link NAS "You Have Options!" Paper: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PBgvb1mDrjnFASaK_dpGL2gnZND_CjaU/view?usp=share_link NAS Aphasia & Mental Health video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GThkxrKbQTI NAS Aphasia & Mental Health Resource paper: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pXbFLtZJ8KZ9Pxpg3HVZHBEd_D7BnsED/view?usp=share_link NAS Aphasia Stories video series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLk1GJP6QGrPDOapMhQlmAUBHfVb5-Mnfi&si=BIuoNmeu-TM-ab65NAS Peer Befriending: To get involved with NAS Peer Befriending, contact info@nationalaphasiasynergy.org o Flyer: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dCETc1pZck59mw6OgaEjZGnXWOcdSlCh/view?usp=sharing o Video: https://youtu.be/0RNvCeh0BKM Referenced resources and organizations: Proloquo2Go AAC App mentioned (what Trish uses): https://www.assistiveware.com/products/proloquo2go Voices of Hope for Aphasia: https://www.vohaphasia.org/
Romans 8:28Guest Pastor, H.B. Charles Jr.Sunday, June 7, 2026
Daniel Lam links the strong US non-farm payrolls data to the cementing of a changing economic regime where “good news is bad news.” Tune in to find out what this means for investors.Speaker: - Daniel Lam, Head, Cross-asset Derivative Strategy, Standard Chartered BankFor the latest market insights, visit our on-the-go Market Views or subscribe to Standard Chartered Wealth Insights on YouTube.
For this week's Edition, Lara Prendergast is joined by the Spectator's political editor Tim Shipman, the writer Guy Stagg and the author and host of How to Fail Elizabeth Day.This week, the guests discuss whether Nigel Farage's Reform UK can see off the threat from Rupert Lowe's Restore Britain. Restore Britain's success may be modest and, so far, very online but that doesn't mean they won't hinder Farage's effort to reach Number 10. If polls from the Makerfield by-election are anything to be believed, Restore could have a real impact. The battle for the tight is also having an impact across the political spectrum too – should Labour move further to the right to appeal to Reform and Restore's disgruntled voters, or should they simply ignore them? For Elizabeth Day, there is an ‘ironic and beautiful symmetry' to the Reform versus Restore dynamic, which almost makes her nostalgic for the 'Tory boy' politics of post-Thatcher era.Also this week: from Makerfield to Mandelson, the government has been busy this week responding to the latest tranche of messages released on Monday. Yet – were some missing? Tim discusses the missing messages of Starmer loyalist Darren Jones MP which he exclusively revealed in this week's Spectator. How damaging is this for Labour? And how should we treat WhatsApp messages legally?Plus, they discuss: the travel experiences that have shaped their lives, from Orthodox churches perched on Istanbul rooftops to the ‘most bombed hotel' in Belfast; if collecting books is an acceptable form of hoarding; whether they would take frog poison; and finally, with the news that Nigel Farage may have been banned from Desert Island Discs, they reveal some of the items they would take with them.Elizabeth Day's latest book One of Us is out now and available in all good bookshops.Produced by Patrick Gibbons. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
For this week's Edition, Lara Prendergast is joined by the Spectator's political editor Tim Shipman, the writer Guy Stagg and the author and host of How to Fail Elizabeth Day.This week, the guests discuss whether Nigel Farage's Reform UK can see off the threat from Rupert Lowe's Restore Britain. Restore Britain's success may be modest and, so far, very online but that doesn't mean they won't hinder Farage's effort to reach Number 10. If polls from the Makerfield by-election are anything to be believed, Restore could have a real impact. The battle for the tight is also having an impact across the political spectrum too – should Labour move further to the right to appeal to Reform and Restore's disgruntled voters, or should they simply ignore them? For Elizabeth Day, there is an ‘ironic and beautiful symmetry' to the Reform versus Restore dynamic, which almost makes her nostalgic for the 'Tory boy' politics of post-Thatcher era.Also this week: from Makerfield to Mandelson, the government has been busy this week responding to the latest tranche of messages released on Monday. Yet – were some missing? Tim discusses the missing messages of Starmer loyalist Darren Jones MP which he exclusively revealed in this week's Spectator. How damaging is this for Labour? And how should we treat WhatsApp messages legally?Plus, they discuss: the travel experiences that have shaped their lives, from Orthodox churches perched on Istanbul rooftops to the ‘most bombed hotel' in Belfast; if collecting books is an acceptable form of hoarding; whether they would take frog poison; and finally, with the news that Nigel Farage may have been banned from Desert Island Discs, they reveal some of the items they would take with them.Elizabeth Day's latest book One of Us is out now and available in all good bookshops.Produced by Patrick Gibbons. Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more.For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts. Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Ironic truths from Congress wading into college sports + Fast 5 by Ed Lane
Send Mary and Kelsey a Message!In this episode, Mary and Kelsey celebrate 30 years of millennial bops with their own top ten list of 1996 hits. If you screamed the lyrics to Ironic, Lovefool, No Diggity, Wonderwall, this episode is for you.Support the showInstagram: @whentheypoppedpodTikTok: @whentheypoppedpodEmail: whentheypoppedy2k@gmail.comWebsite: linktree.com/whentheypoppedSubscribe to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=85610411
In Episode 135 of the Dutch Kubernetes Podcast, Ronald Kers and Jan Stomphorst sit down with Mohamed Nasser, CEO of VEXXHOST and OpenInfra Foundation board member, together with Thierry Carrez, General Manager of the OpenInfra Foundation and Linux Foundation Europe. The conversation explores the growing relevance of OpenStack in a world increasingly focused on digital sovereignty, private cloud, AI workloads, and secure infrastructure.The episode dives into how the industry shifted from private infrastructure toward hyperscalers between 2016 and 2020, and why many organizations are now reconsidering that strategy. Thierry explains how geopolitical tensions, vendor lock-in, and changing licensing models have renewed interest in sovereign cloud solutions powered by open source technologies like OpenStack.Mohamed and Thierry discuss why OpenStack is still highly relevant at massive scale, especially for organizations requiring multi-tenancy, hardware abstraction, GPU enablement, HPC workloads, and advanced networking performance. They explain how Kubernetes has become the user-facing interface, while OpenStack increasingly operates invisibly underneath many modern platforms. Examples discussed include rail infrastructure, gaming companies, telecom providers, and even government environments.The discussion also explores how Kubernetes and OpenStack complement each other instead of competing. Mohamed explains how many providers now run OpenStack itself on Kubernetes, leveraging cloud-native tooling such as Prometheus and Loki to simplify operations and observability. The hosts also discuss storage abstraction, CSI drivers, bare-metal provisioning with Ironic, and why virtualization still offers major operational advantages in large-scale Kubernetes environments.Towards the end of the episode, the conversation shifts toward the future of open infrastructure, including confidential computing, Kata Containers, AI security, GPU orchestration, and the growing collaboration between the Linux Foundation, CNCF, and OpenInfra Foundation. Thierry highlights how secure container isolation and confidential computing are becoming increasingly important as AI workloads spread across Kubernetes platforms.Powered by ACC ICTStuur ons een bericht.ACC ICT Specialist in IT-CONTINUÏTEIT Bedrijfskritische applicaties én data veilig beschikbaar, onafhankelijk van derden, altijd en overalSupport the showLike and subscribe! It helps out a lot.You can also find us on:De Nederlandse Kubernetes Podcast - YouTubeNederlandse Kubernetes Podcast (@k8spodcast.nl) | TikTokDe Nederlandse Kubernetes PodcastWhere can you meet us:EventsThis Podcast is powered by:ACC ICT - IT-Continuïteit voor Bedrijfskritische Applicaties | ACC ICT
Daniel Lam explains why fairly strong economic data can draw less enthusiasm in aninflationary environment. He also breaks down the “self-regenerating” mechanism of the economy and markets. Tune in to find out what this means for investors.Speaker: - Daniel Lam, Head, Cross-asset Derivative Strategy, Standard Chartered BankFor the latest market insights, visit our on-the-go Market Views or subscribe to Standard Chartered Wealth Insights on YouTube.
I have spent decades — decades — studying how people learn. I've read the research, I've built the frameworks, I'm literally getting a graduate degree in learning design from Johns Hopkins right now. And I still catch myself thinking: I need to know more before I'm ready to start.Ironic, right? Someone who studies learning... afraid to learn out loud.But here's what's wild: that fear? That "not ready yet" feeling? It turns out it's not a personal flaw. It's just... how learning actually works. And once I understood that, everything changed.So today I want to take you inside the framework we've built at Educator Forever — our approach to learning — and specifically, I want to talk about three ideas that I think will shift the way you think about learning anything.For all links and resources mentioned in this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.educatorforever.com/episode185.
Welcome to this week's episode of Schauer Thoughts, we are continuing our discussion of May health observances, as well as why I think “whiny women” is the most IRONIC label and we'll also be touching on the emerging Hantavirus outbreak. Please make sure to check out all the resources below, it is important to stay informed *especially* as an American, considering *gestures to current administration.* I just want to take the time to say, if you have chronic pain, I absolutely believe you. The world has been cruel and made you hide, belittled you, gaslit you, and that is a massive load of BS. It is cruel, unfair, and outright wrong - I am sending you support, resources, and will continue researching and speaking out because no one should ever have to “suck it up.” Also, the part about getting advised by a group of people with pain medication addictions is a joking suggestion. However, it would behoove everyone to get acquainted with the addiction community, seeing as how a lot of these conversations involve us but do not actually involve us as individuals. -If you're tired of overthinking every interaction, try Hily Dating App. Download Hily Dating App from the App Store or Google Play, or visit https://hily.com — Book Resources — Tell Me Where It Hurts: The New Science of Pain and How to Heal - Rachel Zoffness, PhD ADHD: Body and Mind: A Compassionate Guide to Rewilding Your Nervous System with Neuroscience, Nutrition, and Gut-Brain Health - Dr. Miguel Toribio-Mateas An Elegant Defense: The Extraordinary New Science of the Immune System - Matt Richtel Attention: Beyond Mindfulness - Gay Watson Organ Speak: What It Really Means to Listen to Our Bodies - Giulia Enders — “Whiny Woman” & Laryngeal Manifestations Resources — The Whiny Woman, written by Dr. Mary Claire Haver, MD Role of the periaqueductal grey in vocal expression of emotion The role of the periaqueductal grey in vocal behavior Chronic Pain Syndromes and Their Laryngeal Manifestations Laryngeal Involvement in Connective Tissue Disorders. Is it Important for Patient Management? Functional Voice Problems Are More Common in Several Chronic Pain Syndromes Chronic Pain and Voice Disorders: The Brain Learns Pain - The article from a speech therapist. Laryngeal involvement in systemic lupus erythematosus A Case of Hoarseness with Acute Back Pain - Cardiovocal Syndrome Revisited Rheumatologic Disease in Fibromyalgia and Impact on Voice — “Leaky Gut” Resources — Leaky Gut Syndrome: Myths and Management - ADHD Mind and Body also mentions “leaky gut” syndrome and that author is a neuroscientist and nutritionist The Wahls Diet for Multiple Sclerosis: A Conversation with Terry Wahls, MD, and Robert Rountree, MD - Information on “leaky gut syndrome” from a licensed medical professional with a peer-reviewed, open access medical journal. — Hantavirus Resources — Hantavirus Fact Sheet by World Health Organization -It's best to check in with their ‘Newsroom' periodically. What you need to know about hantavirus, the infection at the center of a deadly cruise ship outbreak Trump administration cut funding to study hantavirus, the virus behind the deadly cruise ship outbreak CJas999 - virologist - Absolutely amazing virologist to follow who's offering up-to-date information, nuance, and reassurance. Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic - David Quammen — Trauma Resources: Collective & Healthcare Professionals — Reclaiming Your Life from Medical Trauma: Recognize the Symptoms, Find Treatment That Works, and Heal Your Brain and Body - James C. Jackson PsyD - This one literally just came out on April 28 so it's very up-to-date and is for chronic and critical illness, painful procedures, pregnancy and labor, as well as caregiving Book: Collective Trauma, Collective Healing - Jack Saul Collective Trauma - Respond Effectively as an Organization — North Atlantic Books Part — (Absolutely NOT Sponsored but I AM VERY MUCH WILLING TO BE) Queer Expressions: Expressive Art and Somatic Therapy Practices for Healing Body Trauma - Wenesdae Reim Ifrach, REAT, CLAT Healing the Land Teaches Us Who We Are: How Indigenous Cultural Resistance Can Restore the Earth, Recover Community, and Create Sustainable Futures - Maceo Carrillo Martinet, PhD https://www.northatlanticbooks.com/ - Absolutely INCREDIBLE amount of somatic books. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Last month, the Justice Department, in a startling move, issued a challenge the Presidential Records Act--saying that the bedrock law for keeping Oval Office archives available to the public goes too far. Ironic, considering how Donald Trump has boasted about his presidential library—the home of presidential archives—which renderings show to be a skyscraper (and possibly hotel) in downtown Miami. Last summer, Brooke spoke with Tim Naftali, a Senior Research Scholar at the Columbia School of International and Public Affairs, about how President Trump has raised millions of dollars his future presidential library already, and why it should matter to the rest of us. On the Media is supported by listeners like you. Support OTM by donating today (https://pledge.wnyc.org/support/otm). Follow our show on Instagram, Bluesky, TikTok and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.
2026-05-03 | UPDATES #191 | Tupik. Russia's own war correspondents just declared the war a dead end. The confessions of disheartened z-bloggers and turbo patriots. This episode is based on Michael Naki's survey of Russian z-blogger confessions. Whines of doom and gloom, whinging about the weakness of Russia and Putin's failure to erase Ukraine as a nation, a people, and as a military power. There is one Russian word you need to hold in your head for the next ten minutes. The word is Tupik. It means dead end. Cul-de-sac. The road that goes nowhere. Ironic that as we approach May 9th, Victory Day, we should be focusing on the war in which Russians no longer see victory, but rather a catastrophic defeat that now threatens to become an existential risk to their imperial realm. For four years, this word has been forbidden in Russian state media. The official line, repeated by Vladimir Putin, by Defence Minister Belousov, by Chief of General Staff Gerasimov, by every state television presenter, by every official briefing — was that the Special Military Operation was progressing. That every Ukrainian village taken was a victory. That every line on the map redrawn in Russia's favour was evidence of inevitable triumph. That the Western analysts predicting Russian failure were inventing fictions.----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.gofundme.com/f/scaling-up-campaign-to-fight-authoritarian-disinformation----------ACTIVE CAMPAIGN:We are raising funds for 5 of 15 Vampire DronesSilicon Curtain for Kupiansk Vampires. Dzyga's Paw, together with Jonathan Fink, is joining forces to raise $40,000 to provide the Khartiia Brigade with Vampire Drones.https://dzygaspaw.com/silicon-curtain-for-kupiansk-vampiresThese heavy bombers are designed to destroy manpower and equipment, as well as for remote mining. The Vampire UAV, manufactured by Skyfall, has proven itself to be one of the most effective weapons in the Kupiansk direction. Skyfall is one of Ukraine's largest defense tech companies, producing Vampire bomber drones, various modifications of Shrike FPV drones, P1-SUN, Shahed drone interceptors, communication systems, and components.----------PLEASE HELP ME ME TO GROW SILICON CURTAINWe are planning our events for 2026, and to do more and have a greater impact. After achieving more than 12 events in 2025, we will aim to double that! 24 events and interviews on the ground in Ukraine, to push back against weaponized information, toxic propaganda and corrosive disinformation. Please help us make it happen!----------SOURCES: Michael Naki — "ТУПИК ДЛЯ АРМИИ РФ. Военкоров прорвало" / "DEAD END FOR THE RUSSIAN ARMY. War correspondents have broken through" (May 2026 video, transcript provided in user upload) — Primary source for entire episode: comprehensive collation of admissions from Zvinchuk (Rybar), Solovyov panellists, Sladkov, Steshin, Kotenok, Strelkov, Tretyakov, Ageev, and the "When the cannons sang" Telegram channelWashington Post — "Russian Mikhail Zvinchuk accused by State Department of election interference" (4 November 2024)Genderdesk WordPress — "Another Russian z-blogger: 'Rybar'" (24 April 2026) Pravda Ukraine — "UAV Operators. They'll be operators, not stormtroopers" (April 2026)Pravda NATO — "Results of April 27/30/May 1/May 2 from Rybar via SolovyovLive" (April-May 2026) Ukrainian News (Ukranews.com) — "Terrorist Girkin predicts Russia's military defeat" (April 2026) Wikipedia — Igor Girkin (Strelkov) — Biographical record; FSB colonel; April 2014 Sloviansk operation; Dutch MH17 conviction November 2022; 4-year sentence January 2024; Putin "lowlife" remarks; ongoing Telegram channel maintained by wife Miroslava ReginskayaThe New Voice of Ukraine — "Z-bloggers expose the harsh reality of Russia's stalled invasion" (April 2026) ----------
2026-05-03 | UPDATES #191 | Tupik. Russia's own war correspondents just declared the war a dead end. The confessions of disheartened z-bloggers and turbo patriots. This episode is based on Michael Naki's survey of Russian z-blogger confessions. Whines of doom and gloom, whinging about the weakness of Russia and Putin's failure to erase Ukraine as a nation, a people, and as a military power. There is one Russian word you need to hold in your head for the next ten minutes. The word is Tupik. It means dead end. Cul-de-sac. The road that goes nowhere. Ironic that as we approach May 9th, Victory Day, we should be focusing on the war in which Russians no longer see victory, but rather a catastrophic defeat that now threatens to become an existential risk to their imperial realm. For four years, this word has been forbidden in Russian state media. The official line, repeated by Vladimir Putin, by Defence Minister Belousov, by Chief of General Staff Gerasimov, by every state television presenter, by every official briefing — was that the Special Military Operation was progressing. That every Ukrainian village taken was a victory. That every line on the map redrawn in Russia's favour was evidence of inevitable triumph. That the Western analysts predicting Russian failure were inventing fictions.----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.gofundme.com/f/scaling-up-campaign-to-fight-authoritarian-disinformation----------ACTIVE CAMPAIGN:We are raising funds for 5 of 15 Vampire DronesSilicon Curtain for Kupiansk Vampires. Dzyga's Paw, together with Jonathan Fink, is joining forces to raise $40,000 to provide the Khartiia Brigade with Vampire Drones.https://dzygaspaw.com/silicon-curtain-for-kupiansk-vampiresThese heavy bombers are designed to destroy manpower and equipment, as well as for remote mining. The Vampire UAV, manufactured by Skyfall, has proven itself to be one of the most effective weapons in the Kupiansk direction. Skyfall is one of Ukraine's largest defense tech companies, producing Vampire bomber drones, various modifications of Shrike FPV drones, P1-SUN, Shahed drone interceptors, communication systems, and components.----------PLEASE HELP ME ME TO GROW SILICON CURTAINWe are planning our events for 2026, and to do more and have a greater impact. After achieving more than 12 events in 2025, we will aim to double that! 24 events and interviews on the ground in Ukraine, to push back against weaponized information, toxic propaganda and corrosive disinformation. Please help us make it happen!----------SOURCES: Michael Naki — "ТУПИК ДЛЯ АРМИИ РФ. Военкоров прорвало" / "DEAD END FOR THE RUSSIAN ARMY. War correspondents have broken through" (May 2026 video, transcript provided in user upload) — Primary source for entire episode: comprehensive collation of admissions from Zvinchuk (Rybar), Solovyov panellists, Sladkov, Steshin, Kotenok, Strelkov, Tretyakov, Ageev, and the "When the cannons sang" Telegram channelWashington Post — "Russian Mikhail Zvinchuk accused by State Department of election interference" (4 November 2024)Genderdesk WordPress — "Another Russian z-blogger: 'Rybar'" (24 April 2026) Pravda Ukraine — "UAV Operators. They'll be operators, not stormtroopers" (April 2026)Pravda NATO — "Results of April 27/30/May 1/May 2 from Rybar via SolovyovLive" (April-May 2026) Ukrainian News (Ukranews.com) — "Terrorist Girkin predicts Russia's military defeat" (April 2026) Wikipedia — Igor Girkin (Strelkov) — Biographical record; FSB colonel; April 2014 Sloviansk operation; Dutch MH17 conviction November 2022; 4-year sentence January 2024; Putin "lowlife" remarks; ongoing Telegram channel maintained by wife Miroslava Reginskaya----------
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In this short and sweet bonus episode, we talk through Avril's new cover of “Ironic” by Alanis Morissette from the soundtrack Mile End Kicks, plus a few leaks like a snippet of the long awaited “Not Gonna Run” from Under My Skin, and a scrapped Love Sux-esque collaboration with Avril's pop punk pals girlfriends.Follow us on Instagram @bestdamnavrilpodEmail us at bestdamnavrilpod@yahoo.com Theme music: "HD" and "Lights" by JPow Flicks, used with permissionProd Jpow_FlicksX: twitter.com/jpow_flicks
Nicole Weaver (she/her) of Black Bi Reality and Star Toomey recap Survivor 50's Episode 6, "The Blood Moon." The merge is here, and everyone fights to stay. The problem is we have our first triple tribal council, and exile is back. Genevieve and Aubry can't escape each other. Jonathan tries to bounce back after being blindsided. Cirie is in a polycule with Rizo and Ozzy. Follow Star Toomey https://www.instagram.com/startoomey/ Follow us on Twitter: / blackbireality Follow on IG: / blackbireality Photo credit CBS Theme Music DJ MC Pro Branding by Jordan Scruggs https://www.jordanponders.com/
this war with Iran and president Trump
We Like Shooting - Ep 657 This episode of We Like Shooting is brought to you by: Gideon Optics (Code: WLSISLIFE) Night Fision (Code: WLSISLIFE) Die Free Co. (Code: WLSISLIFE) Rost Martin (Code: WLSISLIFE) Flatline Fiber Co (Code: WLS15) Second Call Defense Text Dear WLS or Reviews +1 743 500 2171 Public Show Titles GunCon.net Tickets on sale now. Use code AGENCY171 GEAR CHAT Note Kelbly Element update. https://kelbly.com/precision-element-rifle/ Note Bounty Hunter from Midwest Industries. https://midwestindustriesinc.com/product-type/stocks-braces/revolver-stocks-braces/ Note Mediator XL update https://gideonoptics.com/shop-all/mediator-xl-red-dot-sight/ Note Holosun AEMS – https://www.holosun.com/products/rifle-sights/aems-x2.html Note Hi-Point HP-15 update – https://www.hi-pointfirearms.com/hi-point-hp15/556-rifle/556-16in-blk/ Note VKTR Industries update – https://www.vktrind.com/product/vk-1p-11-5-ar15-pistol-with-sba3-brace/ [EZshoot] BoreSighter Caliber Pistols Shotguns The EZshoot BoreSighter is a laser bore sight kit compatible with calibers from .177 to 0.78 inches, suitable for pistols, rifles, handguns, and shotguns. It features multiple adapters for precise bore alignment and a red or green laser for quick sighting. The kit includes batteries, a storage case, and an arbor for enhanced stability in larger calibers. Note Laser boresight – responses and did both. [FarrowTech] 22R Stock/Brace PDW Kit for Ruger MK3 and MK4 (Nick) This is a PDW style conversion kit for the Ruger MK3/4, available as a Stock or Brace configuration. All setups include 2 optional side Picatinny rails and a charging handle. Installation requires no permanent modifications to the host firearm. [AS Designs] ARHK (Nick) The ARHK is a fully self-contained drop-in cassette trigger unit built on ARC-Fire technology, designed specifically for HK roller-delayed platforms such as MP5, MP5K, AP53, G3, and HK21 clones. It installs directly into factory OEM polymer housings without modifications, features a pre-installed ejector, and offers a three-position selector: Safe, Semi (standard trigger pull), and Active Reset via ARC-Fire clutch. It maintains compatibility with all bolt carrier types, including full-auto. [Impact Kote] Custom Scope Wraps (Nick) Impact Kote offers custom scope wraps designed for precision rifle shooters. Specific technical details such as mechanical features, pricing, and availability are not detailed on the page. The content primarily consists of a general announcement without explicit product specifications. [Shomer-Tec] Escape Button™ The Escape Button™ is a covert escape and evasion tool disguised as a standard mil-spec 3/4 inch diameter plastic BDU button, featuring a pivoting 7/16 inch serrated 1095 steel blade that deploys via fingernail along the perimeter for cutting restraints like zip-ties, cord, rope, and tape. It attaches to clothing with low breaking-strength thread in accessible areas for use even with bound wrists. Manufactured in the USA with all USA components, it weighs 0.05 oz and is available in black, tan, and olive drab. BULLET POINTS Bus Built Systems PBP Gen 3 (Nick) The PBP Gen 3 from Bus Built Systems is a laser-cut 1/8-inch thick 304 stainless steel plate designed for mounting bags to an Arca rail, featuring an Arca clamp on one side and Arca rail on the other. It supports multiple bags from various manufacturers via perimeter slots and includes scallops for stability on props like cattle gates, plus fore and aft holes for optics or accessories. Powder coated in Bus Built Yellow, it weighs roughly a pound and a half without a bag. AR-15 Buffer Weights for Suppressed Tuning (H2 Buffer) The H2 buffer for AR-15 rifles weighs approximately 4.6 ounces and contains two tungsten weights, designed to slow down the bolt carrier group and reduce recoil in suppressed setups without needing an adjustable gas block. It is a popular choice for short-barreled rifles and suppressed AR-15s to manage increased backpressure from silencers. Heavier buffers like the H2 help fine-tune over-gassed systems by increasing mass. 1X Prism Optic A 1X prism optic uses a glass prism to focus both the target image and an etched reticle, which can be optionally illuminated without requiring batteries for basic use. It provides clarity and durability advantages over red dots, particularly for users with astigmatism, and supports complex reticles like ACSS with bullet drop compensation. Though not truly 1X, any magnification is negligible in practice. GUN FIGHTS No one stepped into the arena this week. THE AGENCY BRIEF WLS IS LIFESTYLE 9mm Speed-Loader for Glock, SIG, CZ, Springfield The 9mm Speed-Loader is a 3D printable tray that holds 10 rounds for quick reloading of compatible magazines from Glock, SIG, CZ, and Springfield. It features holes for bracing against a surface to ease loading without thumb strain from compressed springs. Print profiles include options with or without text, using 0.2mm layers, 3 walls, and 15% infill. GOING BALLISTIC Alberta and Saskatchewan Reject Federal Gun Confiscation Program from Ottawa (Savage) Alberta and Saskatchewan have publicly opposed Ottawa's federal firearm confiscation program, which banned about 2,500 firearms with a voluntary declaration deadline of March 31. Alberta's Minister of Justice Mickey Amery affirmed non-participation, directing provincial entities including law enforcement to decline implementation under provincial sovereignty legislation. Saskatchewan passed legislation to hinder the program, prompting criticism from Federal Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree. John Lott on U.S. Military Bases Gun-Free Zones Policy (1992-1993) (Savage) John Lott argues that U.S. military bases should never have implemented gun-free zones, as these policies disarm trained personnel, leaving them vulnerable to attackers, evidenced by multiple mass shootings totaling 24 murdered and 38 wounded. The restrictions originated in 1992 under President George H.W. Bush and were enacted in 1993 by President Clinton to create a more ‘professional, business-like' environment. In contrast, troops carried weapons at all times in Iraq and Afghanistan without internal violence. Antonyuk v. James: New York Permanent Injunction on Social Media Gun Permit Requirement (Savage) In Antonyuk v. James, the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York issued a permanent injunction against New York's requirement for concealed carry applicants to disclose social media accounts from the past three years, as part of the Concealed Carry Improvement Act. The state consented to this injunction, removing the provision from the PPB-3 license application form. Litigation continues on other aspects of the Act, including restrictions on sensitive locations. Trump's FY2027 Budget Proposal (Civil Rights Division and ATF Funding for 2A Protection) (Savage) President Trump's FY2027 budget proposal includes targeted federal funding to defend Second Amendment rights, such as $1.4 million for a new office in the DOJ Civil Rights Division to protect against unlawful infringements and pursue enshrining those rights. It allocates $4.8 million to the Office of the Pardon Attorney's Firearm Rights Restoration Initiative for law-abiding citizens to regain rights post-justice obligations. The budget supports ATF in reversing prior regulations on background checks, pistol braces, homemade firearms, and FFL revocations, redirecting focus to illegal traffickers. Beckwith v. Frey: First Circuit Rules Gun Purchases Not Protected by Second Amendment (Savage) In Beckwith et al. v. Frey, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit reversed a district court's preliminary injunction against Maine's 2024 72-hour waiting period for gun purchases (Me. Stat. tit. 25, § 2016). The panel held that the Second Amendment's plain text protects keeping and bearing arms but not the act of purchasing or acquiring firearms. This creates a circuit split with other circuits recognizing a right to acquire arms. ATF Frames and Receivers Rule (Updating 2021R-05F) – Bondi v. VanDerStok (Savage) The ATF is preparing a new draft rule updating the 2021R-05F ‘Definition of ‘Frame or Receiver' and Identification of Firearms,' which expands the definition of ‘firearm' to include partially completed frames, receivers, and certain parts kits that are ‘readily' completable. This follows the 2022 rule upheld by the Supreme Court in Bondi v. VanDerStok (2025). The update eases restrictions on some metal unfinished kits while maintaining strict regulation on polymer frames. REVIEWS Review: Operative Agent J Freedom from Illinois Comiforina wants full gun control, and the latest suit against gatalog proves it's not about public safety. Ironic, that their top gun control tard was running guns, Yang I think his name was. And they literally had politicians hiring Chinese spys, and one threatening to nuke us. Operative Agent J Freedom Review: Griz from Texas Absolutely phenomenal podcast. It takes real talent to talk for this long and somehow say so little, but the hosts pull it off with impressive consistency. Every episode feels like a masterclass in wandering off-topic, repeating the same points, and stretching what could be five minutes of content into a full episode. The chemistry between the hosts is undeniable—mostly because they seem just as confused about where the conversation is going as the listeners are. The audio quality is great though, which really helps you clearly hear every awkward pause and questionable take. If you're looking for a podcast that will make you appreciate literally every other podcast out there, this one is a must-listen. Five squares for the unforgettable experience. Secret Notes Griz Review: JackB from Texas 5 squares.
Even though she was unfailingly loyal to Donald Trump, a quality that would be thought to keep her job secure, Pam Bondi reportedly did not sufficiently protect Donald Trump from public awareness of his involvement with notorious pedophile and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, so Trump has fired her. So despite disgracing herself by shielding Trump and other Epstein associates and turning her back on Epstein's victims, it was Bondi who suffered public disgrace and lost her job because of her own release of the Epstein files. Rep. Ro Khanna joins to discuss Donald Trump's Jeffrey Epstein problem, and Rep. Joe Neguse talks about how Congress can protect the Justice Department when Trump's priority seems to be corrupting it. The bombing by the United States of a bridge in Iran and Donald Trump's repeated threats to destroy Iran's power plants and water infrastructure raise questions of how close Trump will come to committing war crimes in Iran, or even whether he already has. Former national security advisor Ben Rhodes responds. In a closed door speech the White House apparently accidently published and then deleted (but not before it was downloaded and reshared), Donald Trump declared the inability of the federal government to provide for things like daycare when his priority is military strength, not the welfare of the American public. Senator Chris Van Hollen joins to discuss. To listen to this show and other MS podcasts without ads, sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Throughout the account of Jesus' trial and crucifixion we see endless irony that is both surreal and So Real
Throughout the account of Jesus' trial and crucifixion we see endless irony that is both surreal and So Real
Time travel a decade back in time and step inside the iconic farm shack rented by Ellis Ericson and Beau Foster in the Byron Bay hinterland with its cast of cosmic characters and degenerates. Hipster or authentic? You be the judge. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Eight years and 300 episodes later, Chip and Gini take stock of what the Agency Leadership Podcast has actually been about and where their thinking has shifted since they sat down for lunch outside Wrigley Field and decided to start a show. Chip shares an AI-generated analysis of the 10 most common themes across 300 episodes. Gini distills them into four she considers non-negotiable: communication fixes most problems, know your numbers, focus on particular wins, and the owner sets the temperature. Chip adds that communication doesn’t just solve problems, it prevents them. Ironic, given that probably everyone listening is in the communications business. On what’s changed, Gini has moved from annual retainer-focused planning to quarterly reviews that constantly show results and surface what’s working. She also notes that her advice for navigating a tough business environment now mirrors what worked during the pandemic: find the project work, start with an assessment, and build trust before building a retainer. The biggest evolution for Chip is his position on AI. While he was skeptical a few years ago about the timeline, now he thinks agencies are under-emphasizing it. He and Gini disagree on AI’s limits. Gini believes critical thinking, emotional intelligence, and crisis work still require human judgment. Chip is less certain those guardrails will hold. What they do agree on: AI is turning everyone into a manager, and that puts a premium on skills that were already in short supply. The episode closes with a lightning round covering worst advice agencies still believe, best scary decisions, and prospect red flags including unreasonable expectations and unwillingness to discuss budget. Key takeaways Chip Griffin: “Communication doesn’t just solve problems. It prevents a lot of problems. And the irony is, we are all in communications in some fashion or another — and yet we often do a very poor job of it ourselves.” Gini Dietrich: “AI is not going to replace you, but people who know how to use AI effectively will. Those are the things that you have to be thinking about — how do you use it to enhance the work that you’re doing for clients and train your team to do the same.” Chip Griffin: “It’s turning everybody into managers. Even if you were not a manager before, you are now being forced to manage the AI effectively as an employee. And it puts a premium on management skills, which we know is a large area of weakness for most small agencies in general, even before the era of AI.” Gini Dietrich: “I’ve evolved on some things — like growth from more clients to better clients. From hiring the best to building systems and process. Eight years ago if you told me I had to build process, I would not have liked it, but now I understand the importance and value.” Related The six biggest PR business mistakes I've made Don't repeat my biggest mistakes as an agency owner View Transcript The following is a computer-generated transcript. Please listen to the audio to confirm accuracy. Chip Griffin: Hello, and welcome to another episode of the Agency Leadership Podcast. I’m Chip Griffin. Gini Dietrich: And I’m Gini Dietrich. Chip Griffin: And it turns out it’s not just another episode, Gini Dietrich: it’s not! Chip Griffin: Of this podcast. Gini Dietrich: It’s very exciting! Chip Griffin: Through the magic of counting, we believe as best, best we can tell Gini Dietrich: We believe, we think Chip Griffin: According to our producer, Jen, that this is episode 300. And so we’re going with it. We’re gonna stamp it and say, this is the 300th episode of this podcast. Gini Dietrich: A big accomplishment. Remember we sat across from at a restaurant across from Wrigley Field and talked about doing this, and here we are. Chip Griffin: I, yeah, that was what, seven, eight years ago now? Gini Dietrich: Yeah. Pre pandemic, for sure. Chip Griffin: Long, long time ago. Yeah. Gini Dietrich: Yeah. Chip Griffin: I had hair back. No, I didn’t have hair back then. Gini Dietrich: No, you did not. Chip Griffin: Still bald, but, but yeah. Who, who would’ve imagined it would still be going Yeah. This many years later. I mean, it’s crazy. You know, we’re no FIR, you know, we’re not up to episode 4,722 or whatever, whatever Shel and Neville are up to. But, nevertheless, it is an accomplishment. And so we thought we would recognize this milestone and maybe do a little bit of reflection on those 300 episodes. Gini Dietrich: So we were joking with one another that this is probably the most prepared we’ve ever come for one of these episodes. We actually put some, Chip Griffin: I’m fairly certain it is the most prepared. We’ve actually exchanged a few emails. We did a little research. Gini Dietrich: Yes, yes, yes. Chip Griffin: We’ve got Claude involved with it. I mean, we’ve, we’ve put some effort into this one. Gini Dietrich: Yeah. So I think what we both were looking at is a couple of things. One, sort of what has shifted over 300 episodes, which is several years. Right. And we have had many things happen during that time, including a complete shutdown. Where many agencies, if… Didn’t go out of business, got very, very close, myself included. It was a rough time. So a lot has changed. And so we wanna talk about that. We wanna talk about sort of where our own thinking has shifted over the years, especially around AI and some certain things. And then at the end, we’ll do a lightning round. Chip Griffin: Excellent. Well, maybe we can start with some of the things that we’ve talked about a lot over the course of those 300 episodes and, and being, you know, lazy, efficient, whatever you wanna call it, I decided to ask my Microchip assistant, which is backed in part by Claude to assess the episodes that we’ve already done and find the common themes that we talk about a lot. And so there were 10 common themes, and I’ll run through them quickly and then maybe we can react to a few of them, but, not surprisingly, the first one is the importance of good communications. Gini Dietrich: Yep. Chip Griffin: I think we do talk about that one a lot. Um, Understanding your financials, obviously we beat that one to death. Gini Dietrich: Yep. Chip Griffin: One-to-one meetings, obviously. That is, that is my, Gini Dietrich: yep. Chip Griffin: My pet project to try to get every manager to have one-on-ones with every single one of their direct reports every week. Pricing and positioning, obviously that’s a common topic, not just for us, but everybody in this space. So that one’s not particularly surprising. It always depends, right? That is how we sign off. That should have been top of the list though. It should have been number one. That’s, that’s my biggest issue with, with this Microchip analysis that, it depends, it doesn’t prioritize at top of the list. Build to own, obviously something that I talk about a lot in various forms. Well, haven’t done a good job of always, you know, branding it as such, but focused on that. Talking about the agency owner modeling behavior and that everybody takes their cues. When we talk about agency culture, it’s all about what the, the owner themselves does. Mm-hmm. So, that is important. We talk about the, the idea of having some kind of focus and saying no to things. Not just doing everything that you could, serving every client that you could, but really having a plan. We talk about learning from mistakes. We’ve made a lot of ’em over the course of our careers, but we try to learn from them. And that’s one of the, the big benefits of this show is that we’re able to share those experiences. So hopefully you don’t repeat the same things that we’ve done wrong over the years. And finally, focusing on collaboration instead of competition, not viewing all other agencies and agency owners as the competition or worse, the enemy. And instead trying to figure out what we can all learn. From each other. So those were the key themes that, that were identified, that’s a pretty fair representation of the things that have come up, quite often. But I didn’t know if there were things there in particular that you wanted to react to or perhaps things that you thought of that our friend Claude may have overlooked. Gini Dietrich: No, I don’t think he, I don’t think our friend Claude overlooked anything. I think there are four things, four areas that, of those 10 that I think are incredibly important and those are, you know, even, even as agency owners, we may hate these things. They still are true, so. Communication fixes most problems. So, that transparency, being able to have conversations with your team and with your clients. You know, not being conflict avoidant. Knowing your numbers, of course. So understanding what your revenue versus your gross margin versus your net profit, net margin. And all of those numbers mean. Focusing on particular wins. So again, saying no to some things. And then the owner sets the temperature. So that your team and your clients react to the way that you move things and that you do things and the way you set boundaries of all that. So I think those are the four sort of, to me, big themes that we’ve focused on in the last 300 episodes. Chip Griffin: I would agree with that. And I think that communication doesn’t just solve problems. It prevents a lot of problems. Mm-hmm. And I think that the irony is, we’ve said this before, we are all in communications in some fashion or another, probably if we’re listening to this show, whether you are in PR or marketing or whatever, it’s all about communication. And yet we often do a very poor job of it ourselves and our teams don’t necessarily do a good job of it. And so, you know, we need to really double down and focus on that as much as possible because it will help us to avoid problems or as you say, solve problems. So, I’m glad that that did come out on the top of the list in all seriousness. And not, it depends because I think that that is almost everything that we discuss here, there is at least some element of communications to it. Gini Dietrich: Yeah, absolutely. I think that’s exactly right. And, you know, we’ve talked over the years about certain things like being able to, because you are having constant communication with your clients, being able to, you know, for lack of a better term, upsell and extend retainers and get more out of things. And I think right now we’re in, I mean, everybody knows the world is on fire and it’s not good. And I’ve been having lots of conversations with lots of agency owners. Mostly who are friends, not necessarily clients about how their businesses are taking off a big hit. And so I’m sort of repeating the same things that I recommended, and I think you probably are doing the same in 2020 when we all took big hits, which is find the project work, do things that you can do. You know, for, not a retainer, but like small things. So do an assessment first for $5,000 and then build that into some, you know, specific projects sprinkled throughout the year. And then maybe next year you build that into a retainer. But really being open to the idea that you’re not necessarily gonna be able to build on retainer business right now, but you can do the, that project work. And you know, people still need to communicate. People still need to market their businesses. You just have to find creative ways to be able to help them. Chip Griffin: Yeah. And, and I think that that’s great advice at all times. Yeah. And, if we think back to the start of this conversation that we had back in 2018, there’s a lot of things that have taken place over the last eight years that we would not have predicted while we were sitting there. No, over that, that, that lovely lunch there. Outside of Wrigley Field. we would never have anticipated a shutdown due to a virus. Most of us would not have imagined a war as widespread as what we’re dealing with now and all of the other things that came along the way too. Those are just two of the biggest things in the last eight years. Yep. And so I think that, you know, always being willing to adapt and be agile and, you know, just talk things through and understand, you know, what’s on the minds of your team? What’s on the minds of your clients and prospects, and trying to find how you can relate to them as, as best as possible and, find ways to solve their challenges, even if it means adapting to the approach that you would typically take. Gini Dietrich: Absolutely. I think that’s yes. And, you know, I keep being, I keep thinking about the quarterly review that we like to do inside my business, which is every quarter you’re having conversations that are advancing the next quarter. Right. So we, where I think eight years ago we talked about annual planning and retainers and things like that. And now my own thinking has shifted from that to quarterly planning and ensuring that we continue and truth be told, that has, that shift has provided us so much more opportunity for growth and for building the relationship inside our clients’ organizations because we’re constantly showing results. We’re constantly showing what’s worked. We’re constantly showing what hasn’t worked. And we’re constantly making recommendations for shifting things so that we can continue to grow. That has provided a much bigger opportunity and for me that has been a big shift that I’ve made in the last eight years for sure. Chip Griffin: Yeah. And I think, you know, some things haven’t shifted in the last eight years, right? I mean, some of the things that, that we talk about, you know, do hold up. The format of the show itself has, has held up. We have not made any substantial changes despite all of the, the entreaties we’ve gotten to have guests and all, all of the ridiculous pitches that we get from people. Oh, so and so would be a great guest on your show. You know, I listen all the time. No, you don’t. Gini Dietrich: No, you don’t. No. Chip Griffin: 300 episodes in. Zero guests. Gini Dietrich: Never a guest. Chip Griffin: We have never brought a guest on this show to talk with us. So it hasn’t changed. It’s just the two of us and I think that works out well. So, Gini Dietrich: yep. It’s never changed. Chip Griffin: At least it does for us. And you know, if it happens to work for you as a listener, that’s great too. But as we’ve said before, we kind of do this show more for us than, than anything else. Gini Dietrich: I think that, you just a couple of weeks ago, you had an idea to use AI to respond to those pitches, and I think you should do that. Chip Griffin: Well, actually, I, I, I believe that, that, well, yes, that was one idea. The other idea I had was to respond in sort of bro like fashion to them. Well, actually no, the, you’re right, the AI was for the pitches. Then the other one I was gonna do though was for all these people who pitch on, you know, you can get 300 new leads, leads this month, you know, and I was gonna give the, the, you know, that’s awesome, bro. Or something like that. Forget what, what my, I, I had some line that seemed… Gini Dietrich: Yes, please do that. Chip Griffin: Wacky and cool at the time. Gini Dietrich: Yes, I like it. Chip Griffin: But I hate all of these and I just, my inbox is terrible full of these things. I know. So stop it. Gini Dietrich: Stop it is right. Yes. Chip Griffin: Since all of you people pitching this podcast listen all the time. Listen to me. Don’t do it. Gini Dietrich: Please do not pitch this podcast. Chip Griffin: So I don’t know, have I gotten crankier over 300 episodes? I’m not sure. Gini Dietrich: I don’t think you’ve gotten crankier, but you know, one of the things that has been fun for me to watch personally about you and what you’ve changed your mind on is artificial intelligence itself. Chip Griffin: Yeah. That is certainly an area where I have, I prefer to call it evolved. And, you know, I, as a technologist, I have always been enthusiastic about the concept of AI. I was, I was skeptical a couple of years ago about how fast it would really be able to take hold, and I thought that frankly, a lot of agencies were overemphasizing AI a couple of years ago and being too optimistic about where things would be near term. And now the pendulum has swung, in part because the technology has improved so much, right? I mean, yeah. If, if you look at the various models and you, you run the ones that were ever present two or three years ago. They are nothing like, Gini Dietrich: right. Chip Griffin: What we have with Claude and chat GPT and that today. Gini Dietrich: Yeah. Chip Griffin: And I was reminded of that recently because I installed a local LLM on one of my machines just to sort of play around with it. And it did the wacky hallucinations because one of the things I always like to do is, as most of us do, I ask for information about myself. And it completely invented an entire narrative about me that had no bearing on reality whatsoever. But it said it really confidently, and I mean, it, it had a lot of detail, but it was just totally made up. And I said, this doesn’t sound right. And it came back with, oh yeah, you’re right. I made that up. Okay. Okay. And this is one of the, I forget which, it was one of the Quinn models, I think. Wow. Oh no, it was, uh, no, it was the… one of the Google ones. But anyway, it doesn’t matter what it was. The point is that it experienced the same problems that we saw a few years ago. And if I was still seeing that today from Claude, I, I would not believe as I do now that agencies are actually under emphasizing the impact Gini Dietrich: Yeah. Chip Griffin: Of AI. And we’re seeing it evolve at such a rapid pace that I think you really do need to be coming along with it and not continuing to fight it. Which I still see way too much of, in the agency industry. And I think that’s, that is something that, that really hasn’t changed over 300 years. Uh, 300 years. Gini Dietrich: 300 years. Geez. We are older than dirt. Chip Griffin: 300 episodes. I mean, if we, if we look back to 2018, there was a lot of resistance to change in the agency community. Mm-hmm. Back then. It’s just what the change is is has changed. But that general mindset, that has always worried me about the agency community, continues to be there and people getting too excited about the wrong kind of change. We had an episode recently where we mocked the holding companies for, you know, inventing subscriptions. So, you know, the, there are, there are things that have changed, there are things that haven’t changed, but AI is certainly at the top of my list for where my thinking has evolved over the years. Gini Dietrich: And I think you’re right. Like the, I mean, you know, since 2022 I have been all in on AI because I think it’s pretty phenomenal. And I think part of the challenge that we’re seeing right now is that people are being told that their jobs are going to be replaced. And agency owners and agency employees are being told by clients that their AI can do what they can do. And, and truthfully, it can, it can do your news releases, you can do your blog posts, it can do all of those things, right? And it’s actually pretty good. What it can’t do though is critical thinking and emotional intelligence and, you know, ethics and crisis and reputation and those kinds of things. So I believe that AI is not going to replace you, but people who know how to use AI effectively will. So those are the things that you have to be thinking about is how do you use it to enhance the work that you’re doing for clients and train your team to do the same. So that you are continuing to stay abreast and advanced versus getting replaced by an agent, an AI agent, in a year or two. Chip Griffin: See, I guess the pendulum has swung so far for me that I actually disagree with you on most of the things that you had on your list that AI can’t do, um, including the things that people tend to put at the top of their list. Uh, emotional intelligence. If you look at, I mean, there are a lot of people who are effectively using these chatbots as their therapist because it is good. Gini Dietrich: It’s so dangerous. Chip Griffin: Perhaps, however, that’s the reality, right? And so people are perceiving it to be more emotionally intelligent because it’s responding in a way that a lot of our, you know, human friends and acquaintances might not, for whatever reason, right? Because a lot of people, you know, even if you have good emotional intelligence, it’s different than how you actually communicate with somebody about that. Right? So I think that there are, there are a lot of areas where the AI, if not today, in the very near future, is going to be able to do it just as well as most of us in our jobs. And so we need to think about how do we do more? How do we apply that extra human bit on top of it? And I’m not intending to turn this into a whole AI show again. We’ve done a couple of those. I’m sure we’ll do quite a few more. But, you know, I, I think that the fundamentals remain. And when we think about the importance of communication, that is still a piece that at least for now, we have the human touch that we can apply to it, that the AI can’t. And so, you know, we want to make sure that we’re finding ways to weave that in. But a lot of the strategy and details, I mean, that… AI is absolutely coming for your job on that. Gini Dietrich: Yeah. I don’t know if I necessarily agree at a strategic level. I think that the… I think that you’re right if the inputs that you’re, you are giving it are correct and strategic and smart, like I’ll give you a really good example. We finished the PESO Model certification a month ago. And it took me a really, it took me about six hours for every lesson and there were, there are 10 to 12 lessons in every module. So it was a significant amount of content creation and thinking for me. And I used AI for some of it. I used it to help me organize it and to help me outline and those kinds of things. But I did the actual work, right? Fast forward to today. I’m working on the recertification, so I took all of the scripts and videos from 2020. I took all of the scripts and videos from 2024 when we did a refresh, and then I took all the scripts and the videos from this new one and I put them all into a folder, and then I use Claude Cowork and I said, here’s what I’m trying to do. I want to show, because the 2026 version has changed so much. I don’t necessarily want people who got certified between 2020 and 2025 to have to go through the whole certification again. But they do have to understand what all these changes have. So I, I prompted it and I, it probably took me about 90 minutes to prompt it the way I wanted it. But the output, because it has so much content, is so good that it’s taking me about an hour a lesson now instead of six. Mm-hmm. So I agree with you that I think it can do those things, but I think it still needs us to provide the correct inputs to understand what kind of output we’re looking for, and really to understand strategy. Because if you don’t understand those things, it’s still gonna give you slop. Regardless. Chip Griffin: Right, right. I mean, effectively, as we alluded to on a recent show, it’s turning everybody into managers, right? Yes. So, even if you were not a manager before, you, now you are being forced to manage the AI effectively as an employee. And, so you need to understand how to do that. Yes. And so it makes, it puts a premium on management skills, which we know is a large area of weakness for most small agencies in general, even before the era of AI. So, before we run out of time, I know that you also had an idea for a, a lightning round. And as I said in our pre-show conversation, I mean that, that basically is what all of our shows are. It’s just a, it’s just a lightning round because we come up with a topic 30 seconds before we hit record. Gini Dietrich: Right, right. Chip Griffin: And neither you nor I have. Any idea, I don’t even know what my opening is going to be. Right. As is painfully obvious on some of the shows. I certainly don’t rehearse the closing out, because a number of those are really crash landings at best. So, let’s, let’s see. I know you did share these, uh, questions with me in advance, but I didn’t really have a chance to look at them. Gini Dietrich: Okay, good. So let’s let that’ll make it better then. Chip Griffin: Let’s see where we go with this. Gini Dietrich: All right. You ready? Sure. Worst, worst advice agencies still believe. Chip Griffin: That you need to grow by adding more clients. Gini Dietrich: Oh, I, I think the not tracking time one, like, everybody’s like, oh, we don’t track time. We don’t bill by the hour. Okay, don’t bill by the hour. But you still have to track time because otherwise you have no idea if you’re profitable by client, by employee. You still have to bill time. Um, best decision you ever made that felt scary at the time? Chip Griffin: Hiring my first employee. Gini Dietrich: Oh, I would agree with that. Yep. Totally agree with that one. A red flag you now spot instantly in prospects? Chip Griffin: Unreasonable expectations. Gini Dietrich: Yeah. I’d say like, yeah. If they, and especially if they can’t answer the budget question. Bye. Chip Griffin: Yeah. I mean, to, to me it’s that with the expectations that just my experience has been you really, if, if someone comes in expecting something, it’s almost impossible to talk them back to a reasonable place. So if, if someone’s coming in with wild ideas, you’re gonna get me in the Wall Street Journal next week. Gini Dietrich: Okay. Chip Griffin: Unless they, they immediately capitulate as soon as you point it out. Gini Dietrich: Yeah. Chip Griffin: Probably not gonna work out. Gini Dietrich: No, that’s a good point. All right. And then aside from, this is the last one, aside from what we’ve already talked about with AI an “I was wrong” prediction from early episodes. Chip Griffin: I mean, usually I’m so right. It’s really, it’s really hard to think about what I might be wrong about. I mean, to be honest, AI is really the thing that jumps out for me where I’ve had a clear change of position. I’m not… off the top of my head, I can’t think of anything substantial that I’ve significantly changed. Gini Dietrich: Yeah, I don’t think I’ve necessarily changed my mind, but I’ve evolved on some certain things like, you know, growth from more clients to better clients. From hiring the best to building systems and process, which, you know, eight years ago if you told me I had to build process, I would’ve been like, but now I, now I understand the, the importance and value in process. Chip Griffin: Yeah. Gini Dietrich: I still don’t wanna buy it, build it, but. Chip Griffin: Maybe outside of a lightning round, I can go back and look and, and find some things and we can have a future episode where we talk about, you know, other areas where we’ve evolved. Because I think, I think it can be interesting to look at not just what we’ve evolved on, but why. Sure. And oftentimes the why can reveal things. So maybe we’ve, we’ve come up with an idea for, you know, another 300 episodes by doing that. Gini Dietrich: Perfect. Another eight years. Chip Griffin: Another eight years. Man, I’m gonna be old. You of course will stay young. Gini Dietrich: No, of course. Yes. Chip Griffin: Check. Alright. So with that we’ll wrap up this 300th episode of the Agency Leadership Podcast. We really appreciate all of you who take time to listen to every single one of those episodes. And please, if you’ve listened to all 300, please drop us a note. We would love to hear from you. Gini Dietrich: We would, yes. Yes. Chip Griffin: I kind of doubt that anyone has listened to all 300, but if you have, we would certainly like to hear from you. If you have ideas for other future episodes, we’re always looking for those as well. Particularly now ’cause we’ve done 300 of them. And so a lot of times we’ll search and say, oh, we already talked about that. Gini Dietrich: We do. Chip Griffin: But the beauty is it’s been over eight years. So we can talk about the same thing that we talked about eight years ago because, you know, a bunch of, you weren’t even agency owners eight years ago. Yep. So that’s, you probably didn’t hear us talk about it. So with that, I’m Chip Griffin. Gini Dietrich: I’m Gini Dietrich. Chip Griffin: And it depends.
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Beef Liver and Deer Liver which is best. President Trump and Japanese Prime Minister press conference. March Madness with Damian Mitchell and his recent taping of Wheel of Fortune. Wheel of Segments - Isn't it Ironic.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Beef Liver and Deer Liver which is best. President Trump and Japanese Prime Minister press conference. March Madness with Damian Mitchell and his recent taping of Wheel of Fortune. Wheel of Segments - Isn't it Ironic. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Beef Liver and Deer Liver which is best. President Trump and Japanese Prime Minister press conference. March Madness with Damian Mitchell and his recent taping of Wheel of Fortune. Wheel of Segments - Isn't it Ironic.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Beef Liver and Deer Liver which is best. President Trump and Japanese Prime Minister press conference. March Madness with Damian Mitchell and his recent taping of Wheel of Fortune. Wheel of Segments - Isn't it Ironic. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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An Iranian ship, named after someone the Trump administration had eliminated, was sunk. Plus, it seems that everyone in the administration hates CNN's Kaitlan Collins. Visit the Howie Carr Radio Network website to access columns, podcasts, and other exclusive content.
Mikel Arteta SMASHES latest press conference, Brighton vs Arsenal Preview, Ironic Liverpool BeatenMikel Arteta SMASHES his latest press conference ahead of Brighton vs Arsenal, while Liverpool suffer an ironic defeat that could have major implications across the Premier League.In today's episode of The Gooner Talk, Arsenal reporter Tom Canton breaks down the key talking points from Arteta's press conference — including team news, mentality insight, and tactical hints ahead of the trip to Brighton. We analyse what the Arsenal manager said, what it reveals about the squad's mindset, and how the Gunners are preparing for a tough away test.We also preview Brighton vs Arsenal in full, discussing predicted lineups, tactical battles, Brighton's key threats, and what Arsenal must do to secure an important result. Plus, we look at Liverpool's defeat and why the result carries an ironic twist in the context of the title race.
IntroductionThe moment has finally arrived. After weeks of tension, Esther and Mordecai find themselves trapped in a kingdom where royal decrees cannot be overturned. A decree looms over their heads: the jews are to be annihilated. The clock is ticking, and the 11-month timeframe continues to get closer. Esther is dragging her feet by engaging in two banquets. Is this another Marie Antoinette who has an attitude, let them eat cake? What is more, when she lists her requests, she speaks first of her inconvenience. What about the horror of ethnic cleansing? What about the horror of people trying to destroy God's plan by slaughtering his promised people? Esther's AnswerEsther has not been characterized as very wise. In fact, she has just been led around and told what to do. She does not seem self-willed or competent. We learn that Esther is very savvy. Rather than making her request at the first banquet, she waits, which tests the king's sincerity. When the moment comes, she begins with a personal appeal: let my life be spared, and the life of my people. We might think that she is selfish. Rather, she is starting with one that the king loves. Then, with one bold declaration, she identifies herself publicly as a Jew, aligning herself with God's covenant people at great personal risk. Her restraint, her timing, and her courage together expose Haman for exactly what he is: the enemy of God's people. She is the queen of her people. Haman's FallFrom the moment the king leaves the room in anger, Haman's fate is sealed. The man who boldly celebrated the annihilation of an entire people is now on his knees, begging for his life from a woman. The irony runs deep. This is a kingdom that ruled that no woman would have authority over a man. Now determines what happens to Haman's fate. Saul caved, and Samuel finished the job. This man repeats the story only to find that history repeats itself. Haman does not cry out, but only begs for mercy. He wants to live again to tyrannize some more. He is not asking God for mercy, but begging the queen to extend his selfishly ambitious life. It is in his personal ambition he loses his life. The king walks in and sees him on the couch with Esther. His persistent clinging and begging for his life is what brings him down. The king is furious, and Haman leaves the scene. The king will not tolerate anyone attempting to assault the queen. Esther remains silent, allowing the king to make his hasty judgment. Tragically, the words ring true. You will fall (certainly fall in English), and he had fallen before Esther. Haman ExaltedIn a final twist of dark irony, Haman is "exalted.” He wanted to be exalted, and he got his wish. He is impaled on the pole that he built for Mordecai. Satan tried to triumph over God in Eden, but his fate was, is, and will be publicly declared. Haman is the reminder: God's purpose stands. The towering structure, visible across the entire city of Susa, was meant to display Mordecai's shame. Instead, it displays Haman's. The deeper meaning is that anyone who is hung on a tree is a covenant breaker. (Dt. 21:21, Gaol 3:13). The Lord's decree that Amalek would not stand is fulfilled, and the king's wrath is appeased the moment it is done. Haman, who schemed to destroy God's gospel community, ends on a tree he never intended for himself. And in that picture, we see the shadow of Christ. One is hung on a tree, and the king's wrath subsides. Christ did this not as a sinner, but as our Redeemer-Lord. Haman symbolizes the other side of this. The serpent seed will not rise and be victorious. ConclusionThe book of Esther is a story about the "B team,” which is flawed, unlikely, and outmatched by smarter, more powerful people. However, God's humor shines through in his sovereign purpose for his people. God does not take the easy way out, but God preserves his people so that they have life in the Lord. Esther could have stayed silent and saved herself. Mordecai could have bowed. Instead, God worked through their faithfulness to protect his people and establish his purpose. We must not grow too self-righteous. In fact, this story reminds us that Haman deserved what he received. We must remember that all of us are hamans. We all deserve to be hung upon a tree. The mercy of the gospel is that Christ went to that tree in our place, so that we don't have to. If God could protect his people through the B team in Persia, how much more can he do so in Christ? That is our hope, our confidence, and our motivation as we press forward in this age. Let us cling to our redeemer. Let us live for him. Let us live in him.
Is paradise really paradise? Or is it something far more unsettling? In this episode of The Twilight Zone, Chris and Gerry dive deep into "A Nice Place to Visit" (1960) - one of the series' most deliciously ironic morality tales. We break down the episode's unforgettable twist, the performance of Larry Blyden as Rocky Valentine, and how Rod Serling crafts a deceptively simple afterlife fantasy into a chilling existential punchline. Is this episode about greed? Free will? The danger of getting everything you want? Join us as we explore themes, symbolism, behind-the-scene details, and why this fan-favorite episode remains one of the most talked-about entries in the series. Step into the Fifth Dimension but read the fine print first.
IntroductionThe book of Esther presents a seemingly impossible situation: God's people face annihilation, Persian decrees cannot be overturned, and God appears to be completely silent. We might expect a burning bush, ten plagues, or some dramatic miraculous intervention. We would expect that God is going to act in a dramatic and certain way. Instead, the Lord works through something far more ordinary. He works through the boredom of insomnia. His solution to cure the insomnia is to have Persia's decrees read to him. This arbitrary moment changes the course of history and shows that Persia's decrees will not stand. The Providential Problem Esther is caught between two unmovable Persian decrees. There is one forbidding wives from disrespecting their husbands. This was sent out to all the provinces. There is another decree that calls for the annihilation, full extermination of the Jewish people in eleven months. This goes all the way back to Amalek trying to conquer Israel. The messianic line itself is on the verge of being wiped out. Yet God's answer to this crisis is not a miracle, but insomnia. This seems absurd. The Lord parted the sea for Israel. He sent the 10 plagues. He made a donkey talk. Now, the Lord is working through a sleepless night? Well, the king is reminded that Mordecai saved his life. He also knows that Mordecai has not been rewarded for his deed. The sleepless night is interrupted by the morning and a man with an urgent request. The King's Query As the king searches for a way to honor Mordecai, Haman arrives at the palace. Haman has a spring in his step. He is going to overturn history and make things right. He is going to kill Saul's descendant. His wife and friends came up with the plan. He just needs to manipulate the king a little bit. The king notices that someone is outside and wants to know who it is. He learns that it is Haman. He invites Haman into the room, and before Haman can speak, the king asks him a question: what should be done for the man the king desires to honor? Haman, blinded by his own pride, assumes the king must mean him. He wants it to be public that he is significant in this kingdom. The best thing would be to have Mordecai sing Haman's praises before Mordecai is exalted on the pole. So Haman gives his answer. He wants to be paraded around the city. He wants the royal robes on him. He wants to be on a royal horse. The trap is sprung by Haman's own mouth. The king tells him to do exactly that, but for Mordecai the Jew. The man who wrote the decree to exterminate the Jewish people is now forced to parade his nemesis through the streets while shouting out Mordecai's honor for all of Susa to hear. God is not sending a prophet. He is using Haman's own arrogance to proclaim the triumph of the messianic line. God's decree will stand. His passive power is greater than the serpent's scheming. Haman's HorrorHaman rushes home in shame, and the advisors who once fueled his confidence now deliver a devastating verdict: Haman will not trample the serpent seed. The Lord does not need to use plagues to protect his people and undo Persia's decree. He simply needs to inflict a restless night. Haman must come to grips with the fact that his wife cannot advise him out of this predicament. Before Haman can even process this prophetic warning, the king's servants arrive to escort him to Esther's banquet. The narrative leaves us on a chilling cliffhanger, but the message is already clear. Unlike the unstable Persian king who regretted sending away Vashti, God does not reverse his decrees. The seed of the serpent will not stand. The messianic line will not be exterminated. And Haman, like Amalek before him, is running out of time. God's promise is real. God is not manipulated by his advisers. ConclusionThe book of Esther is a book criticized because God is silent. However, God is not passive. God is active in his silence. A night that seems arbitrary is all God needs to save his people. He is working through the most mundane details of human life to ensure that his promises cannot fail. The decrees of Persia, for all their pomp, and certain decrees do not veto God's will. The Lord promised to conquer death, and so he did in Christ, as Christ has been raised triumphantly from the grave.
Jehovah hates a divorce! But that doesn't stop his dedicated people here on earth from swapping mates or divorcing. Ironic? With a growing divorce rate, "God's people" have a strange culture that lives under the radar; devastating families... but given a few years time... everything is great again?TWITTER: @exjwpodcastINSTAGRAM: survivingparadisepodcast
You will not believe the twist in this workplace story. It was the owner of Ferrero Rocher and the irony is next level. This might be the most hilariously cruel employment situation we have ever heard. Fitzy, Wippa and Kate debate whether it is fate, karma or just the universe having a laugh and take your calls about other ironies in YOUR life!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
When I started the podcast in early 2020, my goal with doing an audio format was two-fold: So women could share their own stories in their own voice. To avoid, at ALL costs, being on camera.Haha. Almost six years later, and I have found myself completely re-evaluating!I chat about the irony of now experimenting with publishing this podcast as AUDIO and as VIDEO on YouTube when that was the absolute opposite of what I wanted at the beginning. Being HEARD was scary enough. The thought of being SEEN, too, was absolutely, positively NOT an option.Never say never, because the combination of iterating and my curiosity are leading to something new... And I'm doing it all in "Done, Not Perfect" style! Find this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/s5YpldHexW4Contact Info:Julie Berman - Hostwww.womenwithcooljobs.com@womencooljobs (Instagram)Julie Berman (LinkedIn)Send Julie a text!!------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I absolutely LOVE being the host and producer of "Women with Cool Jobs", where I interview women who have unique, trailblazing, and innovative careers. It has been such a blessing to share stories of incredible, inspiring women since I started in 2020. If you have benefitted from this work, or simply appreciate that I do it, please consider buying me a $5 coffee. ☕️ https://www.buymeacoffee.com/julieberman Thank you so much for supporting me -- whether by sharing an episode with a friend, attending a LIVE WWCJ event in Phoenix, connecting with me on Instagram @womencooljobs or LinkedIn, sending me a note on my website (www.womenwithcooljobs.com), or by buying me a coffee! It all means so much.
SNAKE CATCHER SURVIVES EASTERN BROWN BITE Colleague Jeremy Zakis. The risks of the Australiansummer are highlighted by the ironic near-death experience of Michaela, a professional snake catcher who was bitten by a deadly Eastern Brown snake while off-duty and barefoot in her own garden. Although her organs began to shut down from the venom, she received antivenom within the crucial "golden hour" and is expected to survive and return to work. This incident underscores the "macho" culture among snake catchers, who often wear flip-flops and shorts as a "badge of honor," believing their understanding of the environment is sufficient protection. However, there are physical limits to this career; medical wisdom suggests a human body usually cannot withstand more than three bites from a brown snake, often forcing professionals to move into administrative roles to avoid a fatal fourth strike. Financially, a standard house call for snake removal costs approximately $120, though insurance policies generally do not cover snake-related issues. NUMBER 2
In this tragic episode, we pay tribute to a fallen comrade and honour his memory with a Supplementary Material 4100:00 Introduction and Swimming Update02:34 The Tragic Tale of Old Squeaky09:01 Sam Harris interpersonal bias & Megyn Kelly26:05 Gary Stevenson vs Rory Stewart36:26 Master Certificates and Jaffa Cakes41:59 Dasha's Nick Fuentes Problem50:08 Nick Fuentes' Racist Remarks54:29 Piers Morgan vs. Nick Fuentes59:08 The Two Nick Fuentes Personas01:02:39 Father Issues01:20:51 Nick Fuentes the Racist01:30:36 Piers Lab Leak Ad Break01:32:52 Antisemitism and Holocaust Denialism01:45:25 IDW Style Credulity and Holocaust Denialism01:48:12 Hitler was really f**king cool?01:58:20 Blustering Boomer Outrage vs. Online Groyperism02:02:09 Debating Misogyny and Extremism02:12:54 Piers Take on Fuentes02:17:11 Overall thoughts on Piers Morgan vs Nick Fuentes02:20:15 Infighting on the Conspiratorial Right02:25:13 Bret Weinstein's Powers of Prediction: Trump on Rob Reiner02:30:29 OutroLinksSam Harris AMAMegyn Kelly Talking About the Drug SmugglersThe Rest Is Politics – Zack Polanski: “I Am a Populist, Farage Is Not”Gary Stevenson's Public Statement on Rory's CommentsGary Stevenson's Master's Thesis & Chocolate BiscuitsRed Scare – “Nuzzi Salute”“What a Crock of S***!” – Piers Morgan vs Nick Fuentes (Full Interview)Jason Calacanis Reacts to Trump's MessageBret Weinstein Displays His ForesightTrump's Follow-Up Comments on Rob Reiner
A celebrity psychic threatens legal action against a rival medium for using "Psychic Sal" — and the response from her target might be the greatest comeback in the history of the paranormal profession.READ or SHARE: https://weirddarkness.com/psychic-sal-trademark-battleWeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2025, Weird Darkness.#WeirdDarkness #Psychic #Paranormal #SallyMorgan #PsychicSally #Supernatural #StrangeNews #Medium #TrueStory #Bizarre