Podcasts about james no

Wüllenkemper, Cornelius www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de, Lesart

Wüllenkemper, Cornelius www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de, Lesart

Wüllenkemper, Cornelius www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de, Lesart

Charge forward, patriots—@intheMatrixxx and @shadygrooove, the fierce guardians of unfiltered intel, storm into Season 7, Episode 194, “Israel Gaza Peace Deal; James Comey & Letitia James ‘No One is Above the Law',” airing October 10, 2025, at 12:05 PM Eastern, where they spotlight Melania Trump's powerhouse address reuniting Ukrainian children through backchannel comms with Putin—eight kids already home, with more to follow amid the sobering toll of the conflict—as Trump masterfully winds down wars worldwide, from Gaza's rubble to global hotspots, derailing aggressive expansions and flipping the script on endless bloodshed. They unleash on Letitia James' fresh federal indictment for mortgage fraud—her own "no one is above the law" mantra boomeranging after her Trump crusade crumbles—while backchannel proofs decode the deeper comms, exposing the establishment's selective justice farce as X buzzes with calls for accountability. In the premium second hour, they dive exclusive on humanity's dark underbelly—no respect for life in the abortion industry's grim business, plus light tech's creeping surveillance threats, and much more raw breakdowns arming you against the narratives. The truth is learned, never told—the Constitution is your weapon. Tune in at noon-0-five Eastern LIVE to stand with Trump! Trump, Melania Ukraine address, wars ended, Letitia James indictment, Gaza peace deal, no one above the law, backchannel proofs, abortion business, surveillance tech, America First, MG Show, @intheMatrixxx, @shadygrooove, deep state reckoning mgshow_s7e194_melania_ukraine_trump_wars_james_fraud_gaza_derail Locked and loaded with the real rundown—any tweaks to fire this up more, or next title on deck? Tune in weekdays at 12pm ET / 9am PST, hosted by @InTheMatrixxx and @Shadygrooove. Catch up on-demand on https://rumble.com/mgshow or via your favorite podcast platform. Where to Watch & Listen Live on https://rumble.com/mgshow https://mgshow.link/redstate X: https://x.com/inthematrixxx Backup: https://kick.com/mgshow PODCASTS: Available on PodBean, Apple, Pandora, and Amazon Music. Search for "MG Show" to listen. Engage with Us Join the conversation on https://t.me/mgshowchannel and participate in live voice chats at https://t.me/MGShow. Social & Support Follow us on X: @intheMatrixxx https://x.com/inthematrixxx @ShadyGrooove https://x.com/shadygrooove Support the show: Fundraiser: https://givesendgo.com/helpmgshow Donate: https://mg.show/support Merch: https://merch.mg.show MyPillow Special: Use code MGSHOW at https://mypillow.com/mgshow for savings! Wanna send crypto? Bitcoin: bc1qtl2mftxzv8cxnzenmpav6t72a95yudtkq9dsuf Ethereum: 0xA11f0d2A68193cC57FAF9787F6Db1d3c98cf0b4D ADA: addr1q9z3urhje7jp2g85m3d4avfegrxapdhp726qpcf7czekeuayrlwx4lrzcfxzvupnlqqjjfl0rw08z0fmgzdk7z4zzgnqujqzsf XLM: GAWJ55N3QFYPFA2IC6HBEQ3OTGJGDG6OMY6RHP4ZIDFJLQPEUS5RAMO7 LTC: ltc1qapwe55ljayyav8hgg2f9dx2y0dxy73u0tya0pu All Links Find everything on https://linktr.ee/mgshow

Kevin Crow, Senior Pastor

James 2:1–26

The Book of James is a letter to struggling Christians encouraging them to stay faithful in the face of great suffering. It is  full of practical wisdom and truth to help us know and follow God's plan for our flourishing. In this passage, James addresses an issue that he considers to be a serious sin happening among the church communities - favoritism. He sees it as an affront to the Gospel and wants them to see it the same way.

With most people now preferring to focus on celebrating life rather than mourning at funerals, we explore the new ways people are choosing to commemorate loved ones, and hear first hand experience of what it's like to grieve in the public eye, with acclaimed author Blanche d’Alpuget, widow of former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke, and experienced funeral and life celebrant Evelyn Calaunan. About the episode – brought to you by Australian Seniors. Join James Valentine for the sixth season of Life’s Booming: Dying to Know, our most unflinching yet. We’ll have the conversations that are hardest to have, ask the questions that are easy to ignore, and hear stories that will make you think differently about the one thing we’re all guaranteed to experience: Death. Featuring interviews with famous faces as well as experts in the space, we uncover what they know about what we can expect. There are hard truths, surprising discoveries, tears and even laughs. Nothing about death is off the table. Blanche d’Alpuget is an acclaimed Australian author and the widow of former Prime Minister Bob Hawke. In this episode, Blanche reflects on public and private rituals of mourning, what it means to say goodbye well, and how grief reshapes us. Her latest novel, The Bunny Club (her first murder mystery), is out now. Evelyn Calaunan is a celebrant who has conducted more than 600 ceremonies, including living funerals that are heartfelt gatherings held before death to honour a life while the person is still present. Drawing on her background in palliative care and community work, Evelyn helps individuals and families create ceremonies that are deeply personal. If you have any thoughts or questions and want to share your story to Life’s Booming, send us a voice note – lifesbooming@seniors.com.au Watch Life’s Booming on YouTube Listen to Life's Booming on Apple Podcasts Listen to Life's Booming on Spotify For more information visit seniors.com.au/podcast Produced by Medium Rare Content Agency, in conjunction with Ampel -- Disclaimer: Please be advised that this episode contains discussions about death, which may be triggering or upsetting for some listeners. Listener discretion is advised. If you are struggling with the loss of a loved one, please know that you are not alone and there are resources available. For additional support please contact Lifeline on 131 114 or Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636. TRANSCRIPT: S06EP04 Going out with style James: Hi, I'm James Valentine. Welcome to Life's Booming. This season is Dying to Know. We're having the conversations that are often the hardest to have with people who've experienced life's one great certainty, death. It touches everyone, but how we honor our loved ones in death is changing, with most of us now preferring to focus on celebrating life rather than mourning at funerals. So in this episode, we explore some of the new ways people are choosing to commemorate life, as well as hearing first hand experience of what it's like to grieve in the public eye. Generously sharing their professional and personal stories are our guests. Evelyn Calaunan is an experienced celebrant who specialises in living funerals. And Blanche d’Alpuget is an acclaimed author and widow of former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke. Evelyn Blanche, welcome to Life's Booming. Blanche: Oh, thank you, James. James: Evelyn, you describe yourself as an end of life celebrant. What exactly does that mean? What do you mean by end of life celebrant? Evelyn: So I've done, I've done ceremonies, as well. I used to be a wedding celebrant and I've married a few couples where one of the partners was diagnosed with a terminal illness, so I would do the ceremony and that turned out to be sort of a life celebration and they just wanted to marry before one of them died. And then I've done a ceremony where the person was actually dying and we did it. The end of life sort of life celebration for him. And he passed away, I think, 10 days after, after the ceremony. That's why I think it's, it's best just to celebrate life now, like have those milestone birthdays or whatever birthday number you're turning and have a great party now - why wait till you have a diagnosis or a terminal illness that's looming? So it's important to have those, those celebrations now. However, in saying that, sometimes people are diagnosed and like, ‘Oh God, I didn't have that party. So I want to have something now.’ I did do a life celebration for my girlfriend who was diagnosed with cancer. And I did a little bit of a ceremony and a ritual and I shared a poem and I was getting a bit too sad for everybody there - cause we were really… It was like a 70s party, we were all dressed up and enjoying each other's company. And then after a while we could tell people were really getting upset because of her diagnosis. And then she came on the microphone. She said, ‘Okay, okay. That's enough, Evelyn, let's go on to karaoke’, you know, so, yeah, It turned out to be a lovely celebration and she wanted to invite people there from all parts of her life and just be able to have a good party with them while she was still feeling well. James: Yeah Yeah Evelyn: And I've done about 600 end of life ceremonies. James: It just sounds like 600 sounds like a lot Evelyn: Yeah, but in the context of 17 years, that's really not. James: I think the thing that struck me about that number was, does it get routine? Evelyn: Not really. I mean a lot of the script is or the script that I have – I mean, there's only so many ways you can say I'd like to welcome everyone here today. So I'll write a ceremony and I might say, ‘Oh, you know, Joe Blow leaves behind his loving sister’, and then the parents will come back and say, ‘Please take loving out, they couldn't stand each other!’ So, you know, there's a lot of adjectives that are changed because I kind of make my ceremonies quite flowery and people like to change that and make it more real. So yeah. James: Blanche, you had the experience of, in a way, one of the biggest funerals and biggest moments of public grief in Australian life, the death of Bob Hawke and the funeral and memorial service of Bob Hawke. How much did you and Bob plan those events together? Blanche: Not at all. No, no. That was all left up to me. James: Right. So you planned those events. So my understanding is Bob knew he was dying, right? You knew it was, say, a year before, that kind of thing, you knew it was, it would, it must have been coming. Blanche: Well, you don't know exactly when. When he started dying, it just fell like an axe. It was very sudden, out of the blue, we were having dinner. And he was in a bad way. He was in a lot of pain from peripheral neuropathy, so he was on morphine tablets and the fentanyl patches. Obviously it was going to be at some stage, but suddenly we're having dinner and we finished dinner and he got up from dinner and he actually went into the living room and actually threw up and he was in enormous pain, suddenly. And he got on the floor and said, ‘Oh, it's unbearable. The pain's unbearable’. And I said to him, ‘Yes, Bob, you're dying.’ And that was, so that was the beginning. James: How did he take that? Like, how did he take his death? So the, the imminence of his death? Blanche: Well, he'd said all along, I have no fear of death. And I used to think all along, wait until you get there. [laughter] It's one thing, not fearing death. It's another thing fearing dying, and dying can be difficult. Being born is difficult, life is difficult, and dying can be difficult too. But then I think it's wonderful, when you actually… Because I believe in the spirit and the soul, and I've seen enough of people dying to be convinced of it, there's an absolutely uplifting feeling as, as it goes, as it leaves the body. James: What did he believe, particularly at that point? Blanche: I sort of badgered him with my ideas for 25 years, so [laughter]. He'd started off an agnostic and he was still probably agnostic, but when he died, he wasn't. I mean, I could see it on his face. He didn't say, ‘Oh my God, I can, I see heaven’. But there was such a heavenly look on his face. As I saw on my mother's face. James: What do you see, Evelyn, the difference between, do you see a difference between those who are dying and have belief and faith and those who don’t. How does that express itself? How do you see it play out? Evelyn: What I've seen or what I've experienced talking to families is that that they could see at the end that they, if they were quite sick, cause I always ask, I always ask my families, how was it the last few days? And they always say to me, that, you know, just about a few days before they died, they had this really lucid moment where they sat up and we had a really good conversation. And, and then a few days later, they passed away. And another thing that I actually really would like to share is that most of the families, they get really upset if their person hasn't passed in front of them. They're waiting for that moment. But I have found in all of the many funerals I've done, I would say about 80%, if not more, the loved one usually passes away when someone will just go out to the toilet or go… I've had to explain that to families because they're, they're so upset. Like, ‘you know, I was sat there, I slept on, by the side, the side of the bed of my mother, and I was holding her hand and I, I just had to go to the toilet. I come back and she died on me’ - you know, but it's so common. James: Why are you nodding Blanche? You heard this a lot too. Blanche: Oh yes, it's very well known that because the loved one is hanging on emotionally, psychologically to the one who's dying. And so, the dying one can't leave, and that has to grab the moment. Do you agree with the Evelyn? Evelyn: Yeah I definitely agree with that, and I've heard the stories too many times to not discount that, and I think at the end of life, I think we just kind of resort to being kind of like cats or dogs – you know how they go to a corner to die. I think we kind of are like that as well. James: Yeah. Did you, were you there with when Bob died? Blanche: Yep. Holding his hand. I'd done a very foolish thing before. I'd spent all day lying down beside him, and he had pneumonia, he developed pneumonia. And I had an appointment with an acupuncturist and I went to see her. She took my pulse, which is the first thing you do with acupuncture, and she said, What have you been doing? And I said, I've been lying down with Bob, he's dying. She said, You've got no pulses. You'll die. She said, You've given him all your life energy and you must stop. And you can only hold his hand. You mustn't touch any more of his body than that. And indeed, while I was lying down beside him, his breathing improved, his color came back, he started – he was, had morphine, so I was in a morphine sleep – but he just started to look good. And as soon as I just moved away from him, he went back into pneumonia and dying. James: Yeah. Did you see the moment? Blanche: Yeah. Oh yes. James: What was that? Blanche: It was marvelous. It was… He gave a huge sigh, and then I felt the room was full of angels. It was very, very uplifting. It was very thrilling. And the same thing with my mother actually. I was with her when she died. And it was so exciting, I wanted to ring her up immediately and say, Hey mum, guess what I just saw? James: She probably knows. She probably knew. What kind of descriptions do you hear of the moment? Evelyn: Yeah, I hear the same as well, that when they finally took their last breath, they just looked so peaceful and they looked without pain. But in saying that, because I am, I do the funerals like, you know, a few days after they die, a lot of things happen at the funerals too, like, you know, birds brushing up against the window when you mention their name. Or, you know, light fluttering in when you're doing a reflection. I've witnessed a lot of that or even electrics going out during certain motions and then someone will ring out, ‘Oh, that's mum, she always wanted to make a big scene, you know.’ So I've witnessed a lot of that to know that there is something beautiful, you know, beautiful on the other side. And I feel when their body is still here on, on the, on the plane, like that time from when they die to when the funeral, I feel there's, their essence is really all around us. And some of the essence does come out at the funeral and some of the things people say… yeah, it's just beautiful. James: It's a fusion, I suppose, like I'm feeling a sense of a fusion of a, of a spirit and whatever that might be, but also our huge consciousness of them. You know, there's so much consciousness all the way, there's suddenly, you know, sometimes hundreds, thousands of people will be thinking about this person and remembering, you know, that, that's also a life force in some ways, isn't it? Blanche: Yes. I remember at Bob's, at the private funeral, I had no idea what I was going to say. And suddenly I looked in my handbag and there was a piece of paper with a poem on it. And there was exactly the right thing. I hadn't seen the poem before, but it was exactly the right thing to read in the circumstances. James: Had someone popped it in there, or? Blanche: No. James: Mmm. Blanche: Weird. James: Weird. Blanche: I'm weird. [laughter] James: I suppose I wondered about the experience of grief when it's going to be that public. And I do, there's a public funeral, but there was also, there's an immediate, sorry, private funeral, but there's also an immediate public thing you've got to deal with, with media and with the nation learning all that kind of thing. Blanche: That was a nightmare, a real nightmare. I think I probably had a thousand emails and texts, for starters. And I was really grieving, really, really upset. So I'd go up shopping and burst into tears over the cauliflowers. [laughter] I haven’t got anything against cauliflower. And I didn't have a moment, really, to grieve properly. I mean, I had the odd moments, but it was so busy, once he died because of who he was, and everybody wanting a slice of the salami, basically. James: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. How'd you handle it? Blanche: You just do James. When stuff gets thrown at you, you just handle it as best you can. Whether I did it well or ill, I don't know. James: And so then what, how did you handle your grief? Did you have to do that later? Blanche: Unfortunately. And I got… So the next year I got breast cancer. And I do think that was grief. James and Evelyn: Mm. Yeah. Blanche: He died in May, I moved out of the house in September, and I was diagnosed with breast cancer in February. James: Yeah. Yeah. That's too much, isn’t it Blanche: Well, it's life, you know, you just got to accept it. James: Because it seems sort of unimaginable, like just having to have so much to process, you've got a whole, there's a whole other complication… Blanche: …and people still come up to me. Almost six years later. And say, I wish he was still here. Yeah. That's quite common. Especially as we approach an election! [laughter] James: Well, yes, I could feel that too! And is that, is that a nice thing? Is it nice having, to be remembered like that? Blanche: Oh, yes, because it's all, it's always very civil and kind. Evelyn: And I think people feel like they know him, even though he wasn't, you know, their husband or father, they wanted a piece of him. And I think they wanted to fully grieve and honor his life. And that's why having that public funeral was very, was very necessary. Because I do think memorials, or anything, is necessary, even if you just for five minutes, it's like, let's just stop and think about whoever's past. We need that. We need that. And I've seen too often, in my… over the years, where a lady's past, was in her 80s, and what was going to be put in the coffin with her were ashes from her stillborn child. So she never did a ceremony for that. And I remember her husband was telling me, You know, she always talked about her stillborn. And they never knew what to do with the ashes. And so I think, if they would have had just a little bit of a ceremony honouring that child, or the stillbirth, that would have helped for them to go further. So we just need it, we just need moments to get together… James: Tell me more about why I think it's necessary. What, what, what is the… Because a lot of people will say this thing, ‘Look, cardboard box, put me out in the, put me out with the rubbish. You know, put me in the top paddock, let the crows have a go’, you know, like you get that sort of expression. But then you're, you know, what you're saying is it's very important, not even, not just for the person that's died, almost more for everybody else. Evelyn: I think funerals, end of life ceremonies, are really important for the people who are left behind. Like just us being together and honoring that person in a space and having this sort of energy directed towards this person that we love. But people, they don't want to have these ceremonies. And I don't, I don't know if it's an Australian thing, you know, cause I've heard that a lot, just put me out on the, you know, on the trash and I'll be, I'll be right, mate. But I think honoring that person is really important just for those who are left behind. James: Think it's Australian, a little bit Australian? Blanche: Yes, I do. And it's because we're so secular. James: Right. Blanche: I think. James: Well, I think a lot of the, a lot of the discussions we've been having here, or the point of these discussions in this, in this series has been because we've lost, you know, if half of us were Catholics and the other half were Anglicans and, you know, there were a few other sects alongside, that gave us the structures and gave us the ritual to the funerals. Whereas these discussions, a lot of it has been about, well, if you're not that, and that is an increasingly larger proportion of the population, well, what is it? What are you marking? Why, what is death? What is the funeral? What is the ceremony for? What, what's the funeral for? Blanche: The funeral is to celebrate the life. And I might say that although I want an, an, an inexpensive casket or coffin, I don't want a nothing funeral. I want ‘When the saints go marching in’, played at the end of it! James: it. Yes. Blanche: Fun. James: Yeah. Did Bob have much planning in the memorial? Did he think about that? Blanche: None. Unlike Gough [Whitlam]. Gough planned his funeral down to the last tea. Bob left it entirely to others. He didn't even think about it. James: Right. And what, what hand did you have in that? Was that something where it was hard to express perhaps your love because there's protocol, there's stuff that had to be done? Blanche: Oh, well, there were a number of formal speakers who had to be there, and I wasn't one of those. The one person representing the family was his eldest child, Sue, and then all the rest were pollies. James: And did it feel like you, did that feel like a memorial of Bob Hawke or the Bob Hawke you knew, or the Bob Hawke we knew? Blanche: It was the Bob Hawke the public knew. But there's also a lot of, as you were saying, a lot of information in that. Evelyn: Yeah. And, and I'd like to share this that, at a funeral, at least 80% of the guests there will find out something new about their person that they never knew. And we can all relate to that. So it's very common. And even sons and daughters, I've found, they know very little about their parents from before they were born. So, you know, they don't even know these basic sort of questions when you ask them. They'll know where they were married, but they don't know the basic questions. So I think there is a need to talk about, you know, talk about our lives more, not talk about death, but talk about our lives more so that our children, you know, know about our lives before, you know, death. James: I think it's one of the nice aspects of funeral is [to] find that relative you don't know very well and have a chat. So much will come out. Great stories will come out. And it will be those things like, What do you mean they did that after the war? What are you talking about? You know, because often they will never say it. How, Blanche, how do you think we should talk about death? Blanche: Positively. It's inevitable and, and therefore to be, not to be feared and, and shrunken away from, but to anticipate with a certain degree of excitement. Look, I think it's a great adventure, because we don't know what's going to happen afterwards. But if you have a positive attitude, it's really worth looking, looking forward to. James: Yeah, if you go in with the positive attitude, I think they'll be pleased to see you. There's that nice Blanche. Come on in, we’ll have you there! Where should we, where should we be talking about death? When should we talk about death, Evelyn? Evelyn: Well, I'm one of the very low percent percentage of people who actually enjoy talking about death and I've been doing funerals for such a long, long time, and I find something really interesting is that I feel I live my life really quite fully, because you never know what's going to happen around the corner. And I deal with all ages, you know, from just a baby to someone who's really old. But, you know, deal with suicides and people die in accidents. So I know that life is really quite brief, and is briefer than we even think, you know? And, uh, yeah, so I, uh, I don't know… what was the question? James: I mean, I think this picks up a little on what Blanche was saying about, you know, it's a secular society. It's an even more secular society than it ever was. We're even more removed from death than we ever were. Go back a few generations, you know… Blanche: And death was at home. James: Death was at home. Blanche: It's been medicalised. James: Exactly. It's been kept at home. You know, the body would be in the home. Children would die. You know, we're around death a lot more. So now it's separated from us and then we don't even talk about it. So, and I suppose I'm interested in sort of, when, you know, should it be in schools? O should we talk about it more? Do you talk to your parents about their funeral plans? Like, when should we talk about death? [00:22:36] Evelyn: I think we should bring it in as soon as possible because we have animals that die. We just need kids to know what it is to die. Grandparents who died and, you know, bring it, bring it in as soon as possible. In elementary school, high school or, you know, we just need to get that conversation going. Unfortunately, we only think about it when we're diagnosed with something or if we lose a loved one. We think about it then. We think life, we can live life infinitely, but then something happens. So I know it's probably not the topic that people want to talk about, but there can be something quite beautiful. Like when we start talking about our funeral songs, when we just start talking about our lives. I think it's, I think it's quite exciting. Blanche: I think it's exciting, too. But obviously for kids, it's when they're grandparents die - well sometimes they're already adults when their grandparents die - but if they're little kids, start talking then. James: Yeah. Well, you increasingly, like when my grand-, when my first grandmother died, I was maybe seven or eight or something like that, it was not done to take the children to the funeral. Blanche: That's right. James: The children were not to be going to the funeral. But now I think we do go, No, bring the children to the funeral. I think that's changed. Blanche: Yes. And I think that's positive. And especially if it's an uplifting funeral. James: Yeah, that's right. That's right. Or even if it's, even if it's not, I mean, children should experience that too, shouldn't they? They should understand the breadth of that emotion. Blanche: But whether it's uplifting or not doesn't depend on the nature of the death. James: No. Evelyn: I do think that sometimes when a person does die tragically, accident, or suicide or even murdered, there should be this, there should be like an authenticity about saying what happened, but really just the one sentence, because I know that you want to address the elephant in the room because people often say, Oh, God, how's she going to do this? So I often say, you know, there's no words of comfort, you know, that we can really say that, you know, she's died tragically and you do have to use the word died. She's died tragically, but that's not who she was. This was just an event that was, you know, just took her life. We're not going to focus on that. We're going to focus on, you know, what she loved to do, the music she loved, the people she loved. But I do think you do need to address that. You can't sugarcoat that. So sometimes celebrants and priests, they do make it all about the death, but I do think it is important to address the death, and be transparent about that. And then you focus on the celebration. James: I use the word died all the time too. Like I'm a daily radio broadcaster, when I’m remarking on people I say they died yesterday. They died. Blanche and Evelyn: Yeah. James: This person died. He passed, passed away. I don't like it. I didn't… Blanche: …Neither do I. James: They died. Died. Yeah. And it, it, it sort of seems to, I don't know, it makes it… Blanche: It's a euphemism, The euphemism sort of, I don't know, it takes away from the solemnity of the event, almost, and the significance… Blanche: I agree James: I think we were talking before about, we don't think people want to talk about death. I think people love talking about it. Like, and again, on the radio show, we do it quite often. People love it. You know, they write in, they're engaged. They want to talk about it. I did it to… I was with a friend the other night and for some reason it came up and I made the, I started talking about, you know, my beliefs or whatever. And you see the friend just suddenly stopped and went, Well, this is interesting. You know, like, this is better than just, How was the footy, you know… Blanche: I never thought of that! James: It sort of, the whole conversation, it sparked… we had a whole new level in the relationship… And I think that that's what these conversations are about, is hopefully they encourage, you know, other people listening to have, to talk about death. Blanche: And a positive attitude. James: Yeah. Evelyn, how have funerals changed? Yeah, perhaps even in the course of your 17 years, over the 600, but also, yeah, maybe getting to remember your grandmothers or something like that. How do you think funerals have changed? Evelyn: Well, funerals have definitely changed in the last few years, mainly because of COVID, and we're using technology more. And also what I've noticed as well is that there are people who will have a private cremation and then have a huge memorial, maybe not a week or two after, but maybe in a month or two after. So they're giving it a longer time to have, like, more of a bigger celebration of life. And, so my father died suddenly in 1997, and my mum was taking photos, and this was the camera, and I thought that was, I was so angry with her. James: Taking photos during the funeral? Evelyn: She was, taking the funeral, yeah. It was, she was really upsetting me. But I'm so glad she did because I cherish those photos. So I think it's become more mainstream for people to take photos of the coffins, even, you know, film, film the ceremony. It might not be livestream, but they'll film the ceremony. So that's actually been more, something that's been more in common. James: The video tribute is a, is often a big part. Now there'll be three or four minutes of photos and video. Blanche: Yeah, that's normal, isn't it? Evelyn: Yeah, that's normal. And I try not to have too many tributes because,, you know, after five to six minutes, the audience tends to tune out and I've seen too many funerals… even if a person's a really good speaker, it's really got to be sort of short and sharp. And I know that sounds horrible, if someone’s lived 90 years, but you can do it in three to four minutes or even to five minutes. James: Yeah. Wow. Well, a fantastic conversation. Thank you so much. Blanche, you are, you know, remarkably still full of life. Books are pouring out of you. The Bunny Club, available now, wherever books and libraries exist. What's The Bunny Club about? [laughter] Evelyn: It sounds naughty actually. James: It's sex and murder. I'll say it. It's murder and sex, right? Blanche: Right. [laughter] James: Well, it's a very engaging read, and it's been a very engaging conversation with you as well. Thank you so much for coming. Blanche: Thank you, James. Evelyn: Thank you so much. James: Thank you to Blanche d’Alpuget and Evelyn Calaunan. You've been listening to season six of Life's Booming, Dying to Know, brought to you by Australian seniors. Please leave a review and share this show with someone you know. Visit seniors. com. au slash podcast for more episodes. May your life be booming. I'm James Valentine.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dying well We’re all going to die, but how we acknowledge death and dying is a very personal experience. Award-winning journalist and author Tracey Spicer and anthropologist Dr Hannah Gould explore etiquette, rites and traditions to find out what makes a ‘good death’. About the episode – brought to you by Australian Seniors. Join James Valentine for the sixth season of Life’s Booming: Dying to Know, our most unflinching yet. We’ll have the conversations that are hardest to have, ask the questions that are easy to ignore, and hear stories that will make you think differently about the one thing we’re all guaranteed to experience: Death. Featuring interviews with famous faces as well as experts in the space, we uncover what they know about what we can expect. There are hard truths, surprising discoveries, tears and even laughs. Nothing about death is off the table. Tracey Spicer AM is a Walkley award-winning journalist, author and broadcaster. And she's an ambassador for Dying With Dignity. A vocal campaigner and advocate for voluntary assisted dying (VAD), Tracey penned a letter to her mother following her painful death in 1999. Dr Hannah Gould is an anthropologist who works in the areas of death, religion and material culture. She recently appeared on SBS documentary: Ray Martin: The Last Goodbye. Hannah’s research spans new traditions and technologies of Buddhist death rites, the lifecycle of religious materials, and modern lifestyle movements. If you have any thoughts or questions and want to share your story to Life’s Booming, send us a voice note – lifesbooming@seniors.com.au Watch Life’s Booming on YouTube Listen to Life's Booming on Apple Podcasts Listen to Life's Booming on Spotify For more information visit seniors.com.au/podcast Produced by Medium Rare Content Agency, in conjunction with Ampel Disclaimer: Please be advised that this episode contains discussions about death, which may be triggering or upsetting for some listeners. Listener discretion is advised. If you are struggling with the loss of a loved one, please know that you are not alone and there are resources available. For additional support please contact Lifeline on 131 114 or Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636. TRANSCRIPT: James: We're all going to die. Happens to all of us. But how we acknowledge death and dying is of course a very personal experience. With our guest and our expert, we're going to explore the etiquette, the rites and traditions seen in Australia and around the world. Someone who knows a lot about the rites and traditions of death is Dr Hannah Gould, an anthropologist who works in the areas of death, religion and material culture. We're also going to be joined by Tracey Spicer, she’s a Walkley award-winning author, journalist and broadcaster. And she's an ambassador for Dying With Dignity. Tracey and Hannah, welcome. Thank you so much. Tracey: Hello. James: Thank you for coming. Hannah Gould. Hello. Thank you for coming. Hannah: Thank you. James: Fantastic. Let's talk death! Tracey: Why not? There'll be lots of fun. James: Do you laugh in the face of death? Hannah: What else can you do? I mean, look, you know. Lots of sadness, lots of joy, every single emotion is reasonable, surely. I mean, it's like the question, the ultimate question of philosophy, of history, of every discipline. Every response is valid. Not always useful, or helpful. James: Yeah. Yeah. Hannah: But valid. Tracey: Well, it's a universal topic of conversation and that's why I've always loved dark humour. Because you do have to laugh, otherwise what do you do? James: I also think it's, it is the ultimate joke that we are all going to die, but we live like we're not going to. We live every day as though it's just not going to happen at all. Tracey: Especially in Western society, I think other cultures have got it right and we're in such deep denial about it. It's detrimental to all of us. James: Yeah. Now this is your area of expertise really, is that do other cultures have it right? Hannah: Everyone does it differently. Right or wrong is kind of a difficult thing to judge. I think certainly there's a big thing called, like, the denial of death thesis, right. And, and people like Ernest Becker, a lot of different philosophers and anthropologists and cultural, you know, analysis have looked at Western culture and gone, Oh my gosh, we are so invested in denying death, right. And whether that's through denying death by religions that say you're going to live forever, like, you know, don't worry, it's not the end. You'll pop off to heaven or whatever it is. Or through, you know, great heroic myths. Yes, you'll die, but the nation will remember you forever. So, you know, you won't really die. You'll be a martyr. Or contemporary, you know. Yes, you'll die, but have you seen how great the shopping is? You know, we can just ignore, we can deny death by being on Instagram and, you know, consuming, right, so, I think Western culture in particular, the way we've organised our society, allows us to not think about death. James: And we've organised death to be somewhere else, usually now. To be in a hospital, to be in palliative care somewhere. And they may be good, but they're not, they're not in the cottage, are they? They're not next to, not in the bedroom. Hannah: Not in the bedroom. So, we know that, say, 70% of Australians wish to die at home. Only about 15% do. And that is a rate that is lower than all these other countries we like to compare ourselves. So Australians are more institutionalised in their death than places like Ireland, like New Zealand, the United States of America, even Canada. We tend, more than other countries, to die in institutions – aged care, hospitals, and hospices. James: Yeah, right, right. The other way in which we deny death is, or the other way in which other cultures have a different attitude to death, will be that it'll either be more accepting – we are all going to die, will be part of their every day – or they may have a notion of reincarnation and coming back, which means that that's a very different attitude to death, really, than a, than a heaven and a hell. Hannah: Yeah, it's not necessarily an end so much. I think that's kind of quite common in, say, you know, Buddhist or Hindu or other kind of dharmic religions, particularly Asian religions. And then, obviously, there's a lot of Asian religion that's part of Australian society, so that's also quite present in Australia. But we can also have a kind of more secular idea about that. You know, a lot of these, a lot of my mum's generation in particular, have kind of a green environmental kind of reincarnation model where she will say, well, I don't particularly believe in heaven, but I do believe I'm going to become compost. Food for worms, you know, I'll come back as a tree or a flower or a tomato plant, you know, and that's, that's a kind of reincarnation of like reintegration into the natural environment, as it were. So there are some kind of myths or stories we can tell ourselves that perhaps help us think about death more positively. James: I've got a, a friend of mine who'd be into her 80s has said, oh, funeral? Just put me up the top paddock, let the crows have a go. Tracey: Yeah. My dad wants to be buried in a cardboard box, and I think that's a wonderful idea. James: We all say that, don't we? That's a really common one as well. I hear that a lot on the radio. People will go, mate, just, I don't care, put me out with the, on the hard rubbish day. Hannah: In the paddock, whatever it is… James: …the paddock, that’s the same sort of thing I said. You know, like, do we really want that, do you think? Hannah: Oh, do we really want that? I do think Aussies are pretty pragmatic about death. I do think we have a certain streak in us that's kind of like, you know what, it's all a bit much fuss, it's all too much. You kind of even get these people who therefore say, don't have a funeral. You know, I really don't want to have a funeral. Please don't even, you know, no fuss. That can be kind of sad sometimes because I think it's some people kind of not acknowledging how many people love them and miss them. James: Yeah. Hannah: Um, but maybe it's also a bit of an Aussie humour, dry humour, that, that black humour again of kind of, you know, trying to laugh in the face of death. Why not? Tracey: I would agree, but then we all get sucked in when we're in the funeral home, and they show you the cardboard box, and then they show you the glossy one that's 10 or 20 thousand dollars, and you think, did I really love that person that much, or should I do it? So it all feeds into what you were talking about before, that consumerism and overcommercialisation. James: Well, I also think sometimes, I would think it's about weddings. Weddings and funerals, well, who's it actually for? Tracey: Yeah, yeah. Well it's a punctuation mark, isn't it? I'm a lifelong atheist, but Tracey: I do enjoy, it sounds terrible, going to those kind of ceremonies, whether it's a funeral or a wedding, because it's important to celebrate or commemorate these changes, these huge changes. James: I love the sharing of stories at a funeral. People start talking. Tracey: Well, you learn so much about someone's life that you may not have known. And also often they're rich for that dark humour. I'll never forget my grandmother's funeral, who I was incredibly close to. And my father's new girlfriend loved my grandmother. She was so distraught she tried to throw herself into the hole in the ground on top when she was throwing the dirt in and I thought, well, that's intense. James: That's good. Tracey: That's, I've never seen that before. That's a first. Hannah: Oh, I've seen that before. Tracey: Have you?! Hannah: I will say that, you know, when you attend enough funerals or attend enough cremations for professional reasons, um, as it were, you kind of see everything, every range of human emotions. Like, we, we kind of think, you know, all funerals are all happy families. A lot of unhappy families, a lot of punch ups at funerals, lots of, uh, mistresses coming out of the woodwork at funerals, conversions, religious, you know, more and more people have recorded messages from beyond the grave that they play at their funeral, or, uh, they've decided that we're having a dance party, or we're having some sort of festivity or an event. I mean, you can do anything these days with a funeral. James: Do you go to a lot, just to observe? Hannah: Yeah, I do my research. So I, I research in death and dying and I, I work at a crematorium and I attend funerals and I hang around with other people in the death care sector. James: Yeah. Hannah: And you do see everything. James: Why do you want to… Tracey: …What got you interested in this? It's your job and I'm just fascinated by it… James: …We'll, we'll, we'll, we'll both do it. I think you've done this sort of thing! So, yeah. Well then, then, why do you want to be around death? Hannah: Oh. I mean, personal and professional. Professional, I'm an anthropologist, and anthropologists want to know what brings us together, what makes us all human, but then also why we do it so differently. And there is nothing else. It is the question, right, it is the one thing we all experience, and yet we've all decided to do it in completely different ways, and completely different ways throughout history. And then, personally, my dad died, and I thought, gosh, what on earth is going on? I suddenly was given the catalogue, of funeral, of coffins, right. James: And you were young. Hannah: I was 22, 23 when my dad died. An age that was perfectly old and mature at the time, I thought. But looking back, obviously, it was incredibly young. But yeah, I suddenly got handed this catalogue of, of kind of coffins, and they all had these really naff names, like, you know, these rich mahoganies, and like, it was like paint colours. Someone had, someone somewhere had decided, these were the options, right, that you were, that this is what was going to represent my dad. And I just felt this massive disconnect and I thought, ‘Hang on, I've got to work out what's going on there.’ So now I spend my life in death, as it were. James: Yeah. I suppose, most of us would think being around death would be a very gloomy kind of thing to be, or way to spend your day. Hannah: It can be very gloomy. But oh my gosh, the gallows humour that those boys in the crem – the crematorium – tell, uh, you know. James: Is there a joke you can share? Hannah: Ooh. Um. Not a lot of them are safe for work or anywhere. James: Tracey, you were going to jump in and ask something there before. What were you going to ask? You know, fellow professional interviewer. Tracey: I really see a connection with you being 22 when your father died and I was 32 when my mother died. Hannah: Mm. Tracey: Even at 32 I felt like I wasn't ready for it. James: Right, no. Tracey: And especially because it happened so quickly. Mum was the linchpin for the family, you know, smart and funny and she could do anything. She was one of those early super women kind of role models. And then all of a sudden at the age of 51 she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer with seven months to live and she lived seven months almost to the day. And it was blood and guts and gore. She was in agonising pain. My sister and I were injecting her with medication every day. We wanted her to die in the home. Tracey: But it got to the stage where we had to bring her to palliative care, and that's when we started having the conversations about voluntary assisted dying, because, um, Mum and Dad had always said, put me down like a dog. And again, it's one of those things that you think it's going to be easy at the time, but it's not. We talked to the doctor. The doctor said, I don't want to end up in jail. And my sister sat there with the morphine button. She pressed it so often she had a bruise on her thumb. James: Hmm, right Tracey: …we said, surely you can just increase the morphine, because Mum was having breakthrough pain. So everything was fine until she'd scream once an hour, and there was no way they could cap that. So it's cruel, right? It's cruel. I, I don't think there's any way they would have done it. We tried to have those conversations. James: …Yeah… Tracey: Which is why one night, because we were sleeping in a chair next to her overnight just to hold her hand when she was in pain, I picked up the pillow and I did try to put it over her face because I thought, what kind of daughter am I, to let her suffer? And then I stopped at the last minute and then I felt really ashamed of, you know, what a coward I am. Hannah: No, I was going to say the opposite. What an incredibly brave act to, to have so much love and compassion for this person and so much respect, what you knew her wishes would be, that you were willing to do that, you know, for, not – for her, not to her, for her, right? That's extraordinary. Tracey: It's lovely of you to say. James: Did she know what you were doing? Tracey: Oh no, she was out of it for about the previous two weeks, actually. In and out of it. And then she died in the next 24 hours anyway. So she was very, very close. And she'd had that kind of burst, you know, had that almost honeymoon period a couple of days beforehand where you think, Well, she seems like she's getting better and we've read about that, so we expected she was close. Hannah: …Yep, the final, the final burst… Tracey: Yeah. Is there a name for that? Hannah: You know, I don't know what it's called, but you know, that is when usually the palliative care doctors, the hospice workers will call up the family and say, guess what? They're up and about, they're talking, they're eating all of a sudden, and that's genuinely usually a sign that it's not going to be long. James: Wow, isn't that interesting. Hannah: It's the final burst of energy. One of the interesting things about the rise of voluntary assisted dying, of euthanasia, to speak more broadly in Australia, is it reflects this kind of cultural shift that we have about the importance of choice and control towards the end of our lives and how increasingly like that is becoming an important part of what we think about as a good death, right. Like I want to be able to control where I die and who I die with and when and the pain and suffering, right? And that hasn't always been the case, right, you know throughout history there's been periods of that. There's been periods of, ‘Leave it to God.’ Or there's also been periods of, ‘Yes, I must prepare. I have to write my final last note or poetry’, or whatever it is. But that's increasingly becoming important particularly for, we see within the baby boomer generation that they really want to, you know, have some sort of choice, and emphasis on choice. James: Well, I mean, I wonder whether a lot of it is a reaction to, um, the, the medical control over the end of our lives is so extreme that we can be kept alive for so long. And so, it's, it's, it's a reaction to that medical control, isn't it? To want to say, well, surely I can, we can, we can have both, can't we? You can either keep me alive or I don't want to be kept alive. Could you let me go? Hannah: It's one of the great paradoxes, they talk about this paradox of contemporary death and contemporary medicine, is that all of our interventions have increased, right. The medicalisation of death has meant that not only do we have pain control, but we can keep people alive for longer. You know, we have better medicines, drugs, palliative medicine is massively advanced. And yet, if we ask people, the quality of death and dying has not increased. James: Right… Hannah: …And if we look globally, more access to medicine doesn't necessarily correlate with a higher quality of death and dying. There's some correlation, like, do you actually have the drugs? Can you access, access them? But when it gets to kind of over a certain hurdle, just because you're dying in Australia versus dying in a country with no resources doesn't mean you're going to die better. James: What do you, what's a quality of death? How are we measuring that? What do you mean by that? Hannah: There's lots of things you can do to measure it and people try. So one of them is, you know, to ask, ask the family, to ask the dying person, to also ask the physician, did you think this was a good death? You know, how do we assess it? Because it's not just up to the dying person as well. Of course, it's also up to the family, right – How did you experience that death, that dying? It's a difficult thing to measure, right, because for some people death is never gonna be… You know, the words good death, bad death are kind of controversial now because it's like, oh my God, I have to try at everything else, do I also have to live up to a good death? Like, we can't make it good. Can we make it better? James: Yeah. What is a good death, Tracey? Tracey: I think this really intersects with, uh, competition. Everything's become a competition. And also quality of ageing. Hannah: Yes, yes… Tracey: …Because my darling dad, who's 84 and still hanging on after smoking and drinking himself almost to death when he was in his 50s – it's a miracle he's still alive. He has very close to zero quality of life. He's a lovely man, we love spending time with him, but he can barely walk. You know, where's the quality of life? So I've just written a book about artificial intelligence recently, so it worries me, that medtech space, that we're getting people to live longer, but there's no quality of life and also no quality of death. Hannah: There's this phenomenon we actually call, in scholarship, we call it prolonged dwindling. Tracey: Oh, which is so true, I love that. Hannah: What a term! But it's, it's… James: …Sounds like the worst Enya album ever… Tracey: …And it never ends… Hannah: …But yeah, it's, it's, there's exactly this thing, right. So it used to be, if you look at like the kind of time, it used to be that you'd either have a sudden illness, fall off a horse, through a sword, war, back in the day, and you, and then you would die, or you would have a, you know, a serious major illness, like a cancer or a heart attack, and then pretty soon after, you'd die, right? What we have now, what we tend to have now, is these kind of timelines towards the end of life of, you know, multiple hospitalisations, in and out of hospital, or you have something like Alzheimer's, right, where you have a very, very, very slow and long cognitive decline, potentially with very high care needs, so you're in hospital, you're in care for 20, 30 years, right? Which is unheard of previously, that you would need this level. So how we die is changing, and it's a completely different timeline. James: Yeah. Does… Tracey, let's just return to this moment when you started to perhaps really think about death. You know, you're confronting your mother's suffering, and you think about, you know, taking control of that, about doing something. Was that an impulse? Was it something that grew over time? Tracey: It was knowing my mother's character as being very forthright, and she was always in control, to speak to control. She would have liked me to try to control the situation. It was also, obviously, that you never want to see a loved one in suffering. But it taught all of us in the family a couple of important lessons. Dad’s now got an advance care directive that’s 28 pages long, so we know exactly what's going to happen. My husband and I still haven't done that, but we do talk to our kids who are aged 18 and 20 about this kind of stuff. I think part of that is my husband's a camera operator, I've been a long-time journalist, so in newsrooms, a very dark sense of humour, similar to the crematoriums, so we talk about death and dying an awful lot at home, but I think it's important to have those conversations and to prepare for a good enough death as much as you can. Tracey: I mean, what does a good enough death mean to you? Have you thought about that yourself? James: Yeah, well I have. I've had some, you know, health issues, had a cancer last year, and so that sort of thing, you know, you do start to confront it and think about it. I'm the fall asleep in the bed, you know, go to bed one night, don't wake up. Tracey: The classic. James: That's the classic. Give me the classic. I'm happy with the classic. Hannah: …Hopefully after you've just finished penning your magnum opus, surrounded by friends and family. James: The end, you know. For me to be onstage, I've just finished a searing saxophone solo, and everyone's just ‘Amazing! Unbelievable!’ Down you go. Something like I mean, sudden, seems to be, just immediate. Immediate and sudden, no suffering. Hannah: Well, that's the thing. Hannah: People always ask me, you know, do you fear death, are you afraid of death? And frankly, after studying it for this long, no, not at all. And I think in an odd way, there is some kind of horrific privilege of having at least one of your parents die young because all of a sudden, you do start thinking about all these things and you learn to live with death, even if you don't like it a lot of the time. I don't fear death, I do fear the prolonged dwindling. Right, like that, the kind of ageing poorly without support in a way that I can't make the controls, and and you know, can't make decisions. That's much more scary to me than death. Death is kind of a great mystery. James: Your interaction with your mother, Tracey, led you to looking at voluntary assisted dying. What did people say about it? What was the general, when you first started to talk about it, when you first started to campaign for it, what would people say? Tracey: What I noticed was a disconnect, that people in the community overwhelmingly supported this because they’d seen loved ones die. But in our parliaments, I saw there a lot of people, a higher percentage than the normal population, are quite religious in our parliaments. Hannah: …Completely unrepresentative... Tracey: …Unrepresentative. And so a lot of organised religions are pushing back against it and therefore there wasn't an appetite for change because of that. I think it took these wonderful lobby groups to get the politicians to listen and for them to realise that there was a groundswell of support. And also, of course, with the examples in the Netherlands and Oregon and Canada who have quite different laws to us. But very successful laws. You rarely see people, I think it's 99.9% successful – only a tiny amount of people who are abusing the legislation, tiny, tiny – but the rest of it, everyone overwhelmingly aligns with it. So it's done in a very ethical and proper kind of way. James: So do you feel as though when you first started talking about it, really, most people were on board? It wasn't something, it wasn't one of those things where we're really trying to, we had to convince people. Tracey: No, that's right, except for people who were particularly religious. Because, let's face it, everyone, pretty much, unless you're quite young, has had a loved one die, so this is something that affected everyone. James: Yeah. I suppose I was wondering. Like someone, some friend, the other day, you know, how have you been, blah, blah, blah. And he went, ‘oh, I had a weird thing yesterday, like, my uncle died’. And I went, ‘oh, that's sad’. And he said, ‘no, no, it was voluntary, he did the voluntary assisted death. He died yesterday afternoon at two o'clock’, you know. I went, ‘oh, wow, you know, you're there?’ ‘Yeah, we're all there, and, you know, it was great, we had a lovely morning with him. We had dinner the night before, and then it just all took place.’ I said, wow, how amazing. And what I was really struck by was what a normal conversation this was. It was a bit like saying, ‘we went to holiday in Queensland’. You know, like it was sort of, he wasn't describing some outlandish thing, you know, it was suddenly this thing, suddenly voluntary assisted dying was just part of the fabric of our, of our lives. You know, do you feel that that's happened in Australia? Tracey: I do feel it's become more normalised, to your point, over the last 20 years. But there's still a lot of academic debate about at what, at what point should you be able to do it. At the moment in Australia, it's overwhelmingly someone with a terminal illness. And it's done by themselves or their doctor, their practitioner. But there are people who want to bring it in for people who are elderly and, and suffering and don't want to live any longer, to support them there. So we're seeing, I guess, a fragmentation of the discussion and the arguments. And I'll be interested to see which way that goes down the track. There's a lot of debate about people, to your point earlier with Alzheimer's, people who have dementia. Hannah: Sensory pleasures. Like, people being able to taste and smell and touch and hug become really important at the end of life. Tracey: Oh, that reminds me of someone I know who did have a good death, who was my grandfather, Mum's father. He lived until 94, and I cared for him towards the end of his life. Our kids were little then, they were probably 7 and 8. And he had that burst, and they said, come on in, he'll die in the next couple of days. We brought in oysters, we brought in red wine. I brought in the kids because I think it was important for them to see that, and he had a good death within the next 24 hours. So it is possible. I think it's rare, but it's possible. James: Yeah, if you know what's happening. A lot of your speciality, Hannah, is in Buddhism. What do Buddhists make of voluntary assisted dying? Hannah: Well, I will say that Buddhism is a religion with over 500 million people in it. So it's kind of like asking, what are the Christians? James: …Right. Right. Hannah: …or what are the Western people think about voluntary assisted dying? So, a range of views. James: Range of views. Hannah: Really huge range of views. James: I suppose I was just wondering whether there was anything in the Buddhist canon as such or the Buddhist, you know, view that just went, no, let life take its course. That, you know, you must experience suffering, so therefore you must experience all life. Hannah: Well, suffering is pretty important to Buddhism, right? And suffering well, and learning to suffer well, is really important. So there are some Buddhists who would oppose voluntary assisted dying because there's a prohibition against killing, right? But most people in Buddhism will, say, weigh that prohibition against killing against, kind of, the experience of suffering, right, and lessening people's suffering. So certainly there are some Buddhists who would say, no, you know, we need to experience suffering and learn how to experience the suffering at the end of life. And that can be quite instructive. It's also why some Buddhists may, uh, deny pain medication and even, you know, deny anything that kind of clogs their mind, because they want to be conscious at the end of life. They want to experience it all, you know, see where their consciousness goes to the next reincarnation. But there's also a, you know, a massive Buddhist movement that has always kind of seen humanity on quite a similar level to animals, right, that we are all beings of this world, and therefore in the same way that we would, you know, have compassion for the suffering of a pet and, you know, euthanase a pet that's going through unavoidable suffering, with many Buddhists who would therefore support the euthanasia of a human being that's going through suffering, right, in the same way. Because humans are not particularly special, right, we're just another being in this world and we'd want to show the same compassion for both of those. James: Yeah, yeah. Hannah: Huge range of views. James: Yeah. Tracey, you said, you said you're an atheist. Does that mean, you know, once the final curtain falls, that's it? Tracey: Well, I'm one of those very open-minded atheists, James, who, if I am diagnosed with something, I fully am open to the opportunity of religion if I end up needing it at that time. And I imagine a lot of people do that. And if, if I do decide to do that, I would choose Buddhism. Hannah: There's actually a fascinating piece of research that just came out, Professor Manning, a religious studies scholar, and she looked at older atheists and what they think about the end of life. Because we tend to think, well, religious people have beliefs, but we don't really study atheists’ beliefs, right, we just think they all think nothing. But she actually found that there was kind of three different kind of world views or narratives that came out, that can be summarised as: lights out, recycling, or mystery. James: I'm all three. I'm all three. Hannah: So the first one is this idea, it's kind of like – death is like anesthesia, you just, that's it. You're at the end, you know, there's nothing, and it's often very biomedical, right. It's like sleep, but you don't dream, so it's more like anesthesia. You know, we've all, maybe all experienced that, and that's what these people believe, that that will be the end. The second one is recycling. So this is the food for worms idea, right, that yes, I will die, but my, you know… Carl Sagan: ‘We are all made of stardust’, right, we'll go back into the universe and one day I will be an oak tree or a, you know, something, quite, you know, a beautiful idea, which I, you know, I think I subscribe to that, I quite like that. And then the third one that they described around atheists was just mystery. That, for a certain group of people, who knows? And we can't ask anyone. And so that it was, it was almost kind of curiosity and excitement towards the end of life. So there are, yeah, you know, this is quite a great mystery, it's a great adventure, right, that we should all go on. James: Yeah, fantastic. We didn't talk much about, I suppose, the emotion we might feel around death at various points. You know, like, I've observed lots of conversations on the radio where my parents' generation, ‘stiff upper lip’... Hannah: …Stoicism… James: …‘How's she doing? Oh, very well.’ Which means she wasn't feeling anything at all. There's been no, you know, like, that's sort of how you're meant to feel. We now tend to be very emotional about death, you know, like it's, like it's part of our funeral rites, I suppose, to release that, to make sure we all howl. Hannah: Yeah, we have this kind of catharsis model of the funeral, right, which is this idea that, you know, you kind of, even if you might not want to, you go to the funeral and you cry it all out with other people and you have this communal experience of grief. And somehow that is helpful, if not entirely necessary for our long-term grief. But, you know, there's many cultures around the world where wailing is a big tradition, right, so that, you know, women physically throwing themselves at the coffin, howling, collectively crying. You know, it might be an extended period of wearing a certain colour, wearing black, you know, gathering together. Those kind of rituals can also be a way for people to process grief and emotion. You think of, particularly like, you know, in the Jewish tradition of sitting shiva, right, that after someone dies, you immediately gather, right, and there's an extended period of everyone sitting together and dedicated to experiencing grief together. That's quite different to our kind of one-day funeral a week or two after the person's died, and we all go back to our home. Hannah: And it kind of depends on, like, what kind of level of social ties that your cultural society engages in the funeral, right. Do you have a very small private funeral where it's only the immediate family who are the ones that are supposed to be grieving? Or is it everyone you knew in that society, and you have a responsibility to go and be there because you're part of a much larger social fabric, right. And that can be quite different – it can be a 300 or 400-person funeral. You know, one of the largest social groups in Australia is South Asian, Indian, Hindu migration, right? Often extremely large funerals, 300, 400 people in some cases, right, because there's a different expectation about who are the mourners, who is the congregation, who are the people that gather together and stand against death, as it were. Tracey: Another big difference seems to me, and I'd love to hear more about you on this, is the cultures that sit with the body for three days, or have the open coffin for viewing… James: …the body stays at home… Tracey: …of the body, or the body stays at home. Because my sister and I sat with Mum's body for as long as we were legally and practically allowed to in the hospital, which was hours and hours and hours. And when we told a lot of our Western friends, they said what an awful thing to do. But it was really lovely because it cemented the idea that she was actually gone. We told her stories. My sister and I laughed. We cried. It was actually incredibly therapeutic. Hannah: Yeah, and this is one of the difficulties, is people feel, because they have a lot of… People don't have a lot of information, right, so if you're lucky, very lucky, then you'll organise maybe one or two funerals during your whole life, right, and probably there'll be those for your parents, right. And you just don't have a lot of information because we don't talk about it. So you don't know what you're allowed to do. But you know, in all states and territories across Australia, you are allowed to be with that body for an extended period of time. You're allowed to bring that body home. You know, you can actively resist pressures from the hospital and the hospice and everyone else to get you out the door. You can say, no, I would like to be with this body for a bit longer. And as you say, there is also technologies that can allow you to bring the body into the home. I mean, the reason we call them funeral parlours is the front parlour of the house. That is the room where we used to display the body and be with the body and that still occurs in many cultures around the world. You know, it's difficult; it can be difficult. It's not always the right decision, you know, you have to think about your particular circumstances, but it is possible. James: Yeah. Well, thank you so much. Any final words? Tracey: Only that I think we should all choose our own funeral soundtrack. I've been doing that with a girlfriend lately. James: …What's she gone with? Tracey: …Because, you know… well, I've gone with Edith Piaf. Hannah:…Ah, classic… Tracey: …‘No Regrets’, of course. Absolute classic. And my friend is still choosing from five. But I think, otherwise someone else gets a choice, and they might choose something terrible. James: Yes, no, I think that's very important, get your, get your, get your funeral songs sorted out… Hannah: Catering, funeral songs… James: …the whole soundtrack, the catering you'd be concerned about, you want everyone to have something… Hannah: … delicious. James: …any special cheeses or wines you want? Hannah: French. Yeah, this is what we did for my dad as well. It was like red wine, good French cheese, baguettes, you know. If you're going to grieve, if you're going to cry, you need some sustenance to support you. Tracey: Comfort food. Hannah: Comfort food, exactly. James: Yeah, very nice. Tracey: Before we let you go, what's your funeral song? James: Do you mean, what do I want people to hear as the coffin's going out or something like that? I don't know if I've made that choice yet. I don't know. Hannah: Hard rock? Tracey: Jazz? Hannah: Pop? James: No, it'll be something jazz, I guess, or something in that tradition. It's probably none of the Frank songs. Tracey: Something majestic, though. James: So yeah, ‘Zadok the Priest’, Handel… Hannah: …Oh, I like that. Old school. James: …Something huge! I haven't decided. Yeah, it's, it's but you're right. Like everything, do it, put some effort into it, you know, and have all that stuff ready for your children, for those that are going to have to do it, a little folder somewhere. Tracey: You could play some of your television clips from over the years. James: Oh, I don't think so, Tracey. I think yours might have something like… Hannah: …a highlights reel… Tracey: …a showreel! James: Yeah, my showreel. No, let's not do that. It's largely children's television, Tracey. No one wants to see that. Tracey: That would be great at a funeral. James: I could conduct a – I'd like to conduct a beyond-the-grave talkback session, probably, talkback radio or something. That could be very fun. Hannah: People could all call in to your funeral. James: Oh, I love that! Tracey: Interactive funerals! James: It's a ‘simil’ funeral. It's being broadcast on the station and then people can call in with their tributes. Oh, that's good. Hannah: Anything is possible. James: That is good. Okay, we've got it. Thank you for helping me sort that out. Hannah: We've done it. James: Well, thanks so much to our guests, Dr Hannah Gould and Tracey Spicer. You've been listening to Season 6 of Life's Booming, Dying Well, brought to you by Australian Seniors. Please leave a review or tell someone about it. If you want more, head to seniors.com.au/podcast. May your life be booming. I'm James Valentine.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of the Building Texas Business Podcast, I spoke with James Dieter, Chairman and CEO of Principle Health Systems. James shared his journey from orthopedic and interventional pain specialist to healthcare entrepreneur. Motivated by inefficiencies he witnessed firsthand, he created a more efficient healthcare model focused on mobile diagnostic services. Principle Health Systems has now conducted over 3.2 million mobile lab tests in 2024, demonstrating the success of his patient-centered approach. James opened up about leadership challenges and the importance of self-awareness when managing strengths and weaknesses as a CEO. By redefining Principle Health's mission, vision, and core values, his team created a unified direction that improved employee satisfaction and strengthened company identity. His insights on strategic partnerships showed how the right team can transform an organization. We explored their innovative "daily DON" program, an AI tool that helps Directors of Nursing prioritize patient care in long-term facilities. This technology enhances clinical decision-making while serving as a distinctive marketing asset for the company. James also discussed the Texas healthcare landscape, including Medicare conditions and reimbursement rates. Throughout our conversation, James shared practical advice on informed risk-taking and learning from setbacks. His experience navigating the healthcare industry offers valuable lessons for leaders and entrepreneurs looking to make an impact in this complex field. SHOW HIGHLIGHTS I explore James Dieter's journey from an orthopedic and interventional pain specialist to a leader in healthcare entrepreneurship, emphasizing his efforts to address inefficiencies in the healthcare system through mobile diagnostic services. We discuss the transformation of Principle Health Systems, highlighting its achievement of conducting over 3.2 million mobile lab tests in 2024, with a focus on patient-centric care. James shares insights on balancing strengths and weaknesses as a CEO, stressing the importance of self-awareness and strategic partnerships in building a thriving organizational culture. We delve into the development of a strong company culture at Principle Health Systems, driven by redefining mission, vision, and core values, which has enhanced employee satisfaction and strengthened company identity. The episode covers the innovative "daily DON" program, an AI-driven tool that aids Directors of Nursing in prioritizing patient care, which has been recognized for its impact on clinical decision-making and marketing. We examine the challenges and opportunities in the Texas healthcare landscape, including favorable Medicare conditions and low reimbursement rates, alongside the growing role of AI in insurance claims processing. James reflects on leadership and problem-solving, emphasizing the need for quick decision-making, informed risk-taking, and learning from setbacks to drive business growth and sustainability. LINKSShow Notes Previous Episodes About BoyarMiller About Principle Health Systems GUESTS James DieterAbout James TRANSCRIPT (AI transcript provided as supporting material and may contain errors) Chris: James, welcome to Building Texas Business. Thanks for taking the time to come on the show. James: Glad to be here. Thanks so much for having me. Chris: Yeah. So let's start at the beginning. Just tell us a little bit about your company and what it does and what it's known for. James: Yeah, so Principle Health Systems has evolved over the years. When we started out we really had multiple directions. We were going in just as a healthcare services company. So a little background on me. I started out in orthopedics and interventional pain. I was really just dedicated to practice inpatient, outpatient and surgery. So going through that for my first decade of work, I saw a lot of inefficiencies in the healthcare, outpatient and surgery. So going through that for my first decade of work saw a lot of inefficiencies in the healthcare services sector, specifically in the Southeast region of Houston where I worked. So I wanted to build a better system right. Our lab results took too long to get back. Our pharmaceuticals weren't in stock at the pharmacies we'd send our patients to. Mri results took too long and started to, through my entrepreneurship journey, go out and started to build little sectors of where I could have influence really over my own practice to have a better outcome and through that over time started over 20 businesses in the first 10 years Just had numerous pharmacies, laboratories, diagnostic facilities, did three surgery centers. I was involved in one large hospital system and then got to a point where I said, hey, let's wrap this thing together, let's put it together. I want to have really just one source solution where we could come in and work with physicians and provide a host of different services. That went fairly well. The service level was outstanding. The most difficult aspect for us was really the payers actually having reimbursements without being contracted with certain individuals. From there, we really, about six, seven years ago, found a niche and that was called long-term care. So we define long-term care as skilled nursing facilities, assisted living facilities and home health facilities and we provide laboratory and diagnostic services to those guys. So, in-house, you call it your house if you live in a skilled nursing facility or assisted living facility, or at home, but we provide mobile diagnostic services. So we go out and we offer labs, x-rays, ultrasounds, echocardiograms and ekgs in the home. So you bring it to the patient. Bring it to the patient, that's right. That's right. And last year, 2024, we performed over 3.2 million lab tests mobile. So, with a large amount of those being for stat tests, right? So tens of thousands of stat tests per month where somebody needs something in four to six hours and we get us turned around for them. Chris: Okay, so it sounds like the inspiration for you was maybe frustration born out of frustration, for sure, and a gap in our healthcare delivery service, so he's shedding more light on that. I mean, you've mentioned this entrepreneurial journey. I mean most physicians and doctors don't have that. So what was it for you that you kind of took frustration and turned it into action? James: Yeah, I mean just a matter of you know, I'd have a patient that was really suffering right, specifically on the interventional pain side. This is not uncommon. You have a patient who's in a very bad position and you're already jumping through hoops with insurance companies. So it might take three to four weeks to get something approved. And then you're in, then you set them up for surgery. Well, you, the assumption is okay, we're going to have the lab work back, we're going to have the MRI back in time, and then it just wasn't happening. So you're pushing off surgery, you're pushing off procedures and just over time it's just a great deal of frustration. At the end of the day, the mission was always to help the patient, and if it's all about the patient, we've got to do something different here. And that was the biggest frustration for us was just the delays and turnaround times on the imaging and laboratory specifically, but then also getting medications, you know, sending patients out and having sometimes three, four, five phone calls come back up. The pharmacy didn't have my medication, the pharmacy didn't have my medication, the pharmacy didn't have my medication. So that's when we started opening up our own pharmacies back then as well. Chris: So just there, right, you said we. Who did you partner with? How did you go about finding a business partner? If that's the case, going about setting up a business, because you don't just turn on a switch right. There's planning, there's financing. Entrepreneurs in any industry, in all industries, go through that when they're starting a business. Let's talk a little bit about that journey in the beginning, of how you got it going and some of the lessons learned in that process. James: Lots of lessons learned in that process. You know, speaking of that, we call it chewing glass, right, okay, I? heard that one. So much of it's just a grind right and just figuring it out. But as far as partnering goes, I've had numerous partners in different individual business units over the years. When I formed Principle Health Systems in March of 2016, I had to get really specific on who am I going to allow on the bus, who do I really want to partner with on the bus? So I pulled away from certain partners, left goes, let go of certain businesses and then brought some together. So, in total, I believe we started out with there were three of us on day one that we brought in, you know. But I had different skill sets, right. I mean, I was trying to always try to be very honest with myself about where are my weaknesses right. I'm I would say I'm highly visionary. I like to think big. I like to have that 50,000 foot view of where we're going, set goals, set mission, set vision. Big culture guy. I love to talk about culture and instill culture throughout the organization. Chris: We'll get to that in a minute. James: Cool yeah, but just frankly, I would say weaknesses are on details, right. So I've just always been someone who likes to move forward and not analyze every aspect of it. So partnering with some people that were strong in an analytics and detail side of the business was really important for me, and I still have some just phenomenal business partners today in that regard. Chris: That's great. You touched on two things that I think are very common, some of which when we're advising clients. The first is choosing your partners right and being clear about expectations, documenting what the deal is on the front end and making sure you know that where everyone's going and what the roles are. The second is understanding, especially when you're the leader, your weaknesses in hiring around that, because you can't do it all and you're not going to be good at everything, and so I think everyone that I've met that's been successful has that self-awareness Right. How did you go about getting comfortable letting go of some of those job responsibilities and whether it was a good hire or a partner that you chose. James: That's a tough one. I mean, some of it was truly difficult to let go of. And then other pieces. You know you tend to be good at what I would say you tend to enjoy what you're good at. Sure, yeah, and that's one of the so to really convince yourself like, let's go spend more time at what we're good at, more time at what we enjoy, I would say I didn't focus so much on letting go as focused I wasn't spending so much time focused on what I'm not good at as what I was good at right. So it was just a matter of, by virtue, of spending more time on what I enjoy, doing less and less of what I don't enjoy. And that was easier for me to let go. It was almost to to to let it slip to let it slip away rather than to give it away and know that because you weren't giving it attention. Chris: someone needed to Right. James: Right. And then you know, obviously just helping to build folks up I mean, we have right now an unbelievable director of human resources who was in project management at one point and just understanding the value of different people in the organization that you already have built trust and rapport and you believe in them. and then to find, hey, I really think they'd be good at this and then move them into these roles to fill gaps was so important and just finding, really analyzing the people that are around you to understand what are they great at and what might else they do from where they are today, that could be a greater opportunity and bring greater value to the company and organization. Chris: Yeah, so you touched on culture, let's go ahead and go there. Anybody you talk to at a CEO, entrepreneur, business owner, leader will say, right, culture's king. We believe it a hundred percent. We talk about that constantly around here. It's just part of our DNA. We believe it 100%. We talk about that constantly around here. It's just part of our DNA. So everyone goes about it differently. Let's talk about how you have gone about building the culture at Principal Health. How would you describe it first? And then, how have you gone about building it and nurturing it? James: Yeah, so great question. I mean, starting out, I couldn't tell you when we started the organization what was our mission, what were our core values. I couldn't even tell you what they were. There was something we came up with. I think two of us came up with one day, in a couple hours, some marketing stuff yeah marketing stuff. We hung it on the wall, just like you would expect right from most organizations to do most organizations do. And we had a phenomenal, you know, I would say the top 20 people in the organization just had a great relationship together and I would say that we thought culture was very strong. Four years in we polled the entire company and it was pretty, pretty terrible. I mean, it was like a 60% satisfaction, maybe even in the fifties, and we were kind of horrified like wow, we thought we had this great culture and everybody loved this company and it was. You know what it was. Well, I decided a couple of months later I did an offsite. So we did a two day offsite and kind of big hotel room, you know, or I guess I said conference room, with these big windows overlooking clear lake, and you know it know, the whole idea was like let's think big, and we brought in just management. So I think there was 46 managers at that time in the organization and we all came in the room we said, hey, we're here for two days to figure out three things Our mission, our vision and our core values. And we're going to sit together and this isn't going to be the C-suite telling everybody what we're about as a company. We as a people, as a community, are going to discuss what is this company? Who are we Not? What are we? Who are we? Chris: And what do you want to? James: be Exactly, and we did come up with a BHAG. We ended up throwing in a BHAG as well there. But where do we want to go? Classic Jim Collins. So we did get through that two-day period and we came out with a really strong mission, vision, core values. Our mission is to improve patient outcomes and experiences. Relatively simple, very difficult to do in healthcare. We decided our core values would be URPHS Principle Health System the acronym I should say is URPHS. Understand the mission, respect everyone. Patients are our purpose, happy to help and step up. So and we talk about simple, right, exactly, I would believe at this point, 90% of any you know we're approaching, I think, right, right, 500 employees today. I would think 90% of those folks could tell you that and not just tell you what they are, but give you examples of how they've done those things. We live culture. We no longer talk about it. We did that in the beginning. Now we live it. It's brought up in every management meeting. It's brought up in all the leadership training sessions, all the offsites and it's kind of what I call the North Star. So we look at culture as the direction. If you're not sure about a decision that you're going to make in any regard. I want you to think about the North Star. Is it in alignment with, are you walking towards, the culture, are you walking towards the mission of this company? And that helps to drive behaviors so important. Chris: I mean, that is the true key to the kingdom. I think the word I would use is it sounds like your culture has become institutionalized. Right, it starts out where it is you as the culture cop or maybe the C-suite, and getting it deeper in the organization. But once you've done that and everyone knows it and everyone lives it and everyone can hold each other accountable to it, then you've got a true directional tool To your point. I think the more you can tie behaviors to those values that's when they become real the more you can tie behaviors to those values. That's when they become real. And so when you're praising people because whatever they did connects with these two of our six or whatever number is of our values, it becomes real to them and they know how to repeat it A hundred percent. James: Yeah, I'm fairly unapologetic about the culture, so I would say it's even unusual Some of the things I'll say when I'm in management meetings or even when I do a quarterly coffee and conversation. So I meet with the entire company. It's usually takes six or seven sessions, but I go company wide, we bring the big groups and I'll sit down with the entire company for an hour every quarter and what I'll typically say when it comes to culture is that it's up to you to you know we can't police it from management. It's up to the people to police the culture. So one of our core values is respect everyone. So if there's someone who's not respecting everyone, I expect that the people of the company will kick that person out, go after them, make sure they don't work here, and I'll literally look out and I regularly look out across when I'm talking to the whole team. Chris: And I tell them. James: If you really can't say that you're here for the patient, if you can't say that you're really here to serve our mission, I was like I really don't want you here. I was like I prefer you to quit. I was like we will replace you and I would prefer to go without somebody for a short period of time. I'm unapologetic about it. We truly believe it. That's what we're about above all things. The rest of it, because at the end of the day, in our business, if we do a really great job treating patients, everything else will follow. Yeah, the doctors want to work with us, the facilities want to spend time with us, the payers will respect us. It's really about the patients. So we put patients first. Everything else comes next and if you can't get behind that, we don't want you. Chris: Yeah, I think that's a great point. Some of the words we use here, right. We're passionate about our mission and our values, which means they resonate in our heart and our gut. Right, we just it's in our fiber. If they don't resonate with you, it's really okay, because it means it's not the right organization for you, right there's a different organization out there that you're going to be happier with, you'll connect with and we'll go find someone that connects with us. Happier with you will connect with and we'll go find someone that connects with us, because they're going to be the better performer, the self-policer, the self-motivator. They're going to be the ones that connect with for us, similar to patient care, client service, right and mutual respect amongst everyone. So I agree with you it's okay to tell people if you don't connect with this. Actually, I use it in interviews when I'm interviewing someone. Here's who we are, we're very clear about it. And if you don't connect, it doesn't make you a bad person 100% doesn't. It just means it's in the right organization for you and there's a gazillion other organizations. Advert Hello friends, this is Chris Hanslick, your Building Texas business host. You're a Building Texas business host. Did you know that Boyer Miller, the producer of this podcast, is a business law firm that works with entrepreneurs, corporations and business leaders? Our team of attorneys serve as strategic partners to businesses by providing legal guidance to organizations of all sizes. Get to know the firm at boyermillercom and thanks for listening to the show. James: There's another team, there's another team that'll work just well for you. Yeah, totally. Chris: No, let's switch a little bit because I want to get back into kind of the business I'm always interested to ask about, like innovations and technologies I mean no-transcript. James: Yeah, I mean, you know, obviously, with the increased levels of compute, you know, now you have the large language models, you have artificial intelligence and that has already made an impact for us. So I would say that we are the next 18 months are going to be very interesting, but we are already using automation from AI that is changing the way we do things and I can give you one example in particular. Well, two really good examples. One in the back office, we have a team of I believe it's three ladies total. Still we had three ladies that would handle all of our facility invoicing right and it's very complex. We have the decipher between patient to patient each day who's part A, who's part B and how we do the billing, and some of it gets billed to facilities. Some of it's billed to without getting too much in the weeds. Some of it gets billed into the insurance company and we've been able to quadruple our volume with still having the same amount of people and not have to scale payroll because of implementing automation techniques through AI that help to decipher where those go. These get scanned in and it all gets brought up. Still have a little bit of a you know, a people component to it. But, just you know, we would be sitting here with and one division. It's just a great example, because that one division would probably be 10, 11 people, yeah, and the cost increase Exactly. Chris: That's an amazing statistic. James: So that is kind of a back office area that we're really focused on going. Where else can we, where else can we look at the bringing in this technology to help as we continue to scale, so that we don't have to just keep hiring bodies? which is you know, from a real estate perspective even difficult. So we're, you know, we're, we've been tapped out on space for two years and we're it's been very challenging. Where do you just put you know, where do you keep putting people Right? So, but on the I guess I'd say on the actual business, well, that's the back office on the front of the house. We've got a program. We call it the daily DON. So, right, so it's a DON is a director of nursing. A lot of the facilities we work within, you know, skilled nursing facilities, assisted living facilities, they have someone who really oversees the house. They're the clinical expert in there that makes sure that all the patients are taken care of. That's called the DON. So we have a form that's. Thousands of these go out every morning to all of our facilities and it's an AI program that picks out the most important things that happened the prior day. So here's, you know, bobby Sue had a stat test performed at X time and here's the result. Here's a critical result or whatever is most important. They kind of have a clinical mind and says, hey, this is where we think you should pay attention to your patients today. These people are trending in the wrong direction. These people if they're doing just fine, they're at the bottom of the page. The things that are most important are highlighted at the top of the page, but it's really helping us provide better healthcare diagnostics for our providers so that they can treat the patients better. So it's right, in line with our mission, but it's really just automation and again, it would take an army of people to do this. Chris: Yeah, that's really cool stuff. I have to believe that is also, if not already, will become a huge marketing tool. Oh, it's a big marketing tool. Right, people are worried about the family mergers they're putting in there, where they're really going to get care, because, you already know this, your industry doesn't have a great reputation as a whole. No for sure. James: And so the more you can say no, this is what we do to make sure we're taking care of your loved one, yeah, so there's a huge journal publication called McKnight's and it is the, you know, the premier publication for the long-term care space and you know, all over the country, the daily DON. We actually won a bronze medal this year against thousands of applicants for innovation. So it was actually yeah, we were awarded. Chris: I guess that was 2024, but last year yeah, close enough, yeah, so let's talk a little bit just about, you know, being in Texas, being a business, primarily in Texas. What are some of the advantages that you have experienced being here, not just in Houston, but taking advantage being in Texas? For us is related to the Medicare Advantage plan, right so? James: or, excuse me, the MAC right so? Different Medicare has Medicare administrative plans and they actually carry out Medicare's will in an area. Texas has a MAC that is somewhat more favorable than the rest of the country. Now there's a few states that share that, but just in general, for us, from a standpoint of clarity they're a little bit more clear. There's a lot of bureaucracy that goes on in just getting paid, so this might be surprising to people outside of health care, but today I believe we are paid on 61% of the business we do and we're actually probably one of the really high end. We've run studies on this and we're we are, better reimbursed than most companies out there in our space, and so we still, you know, roughly four out of 10 patients that we treat, we get paid $0. Chris: It's just fascinating to me that it's that poor it is very poor. James: However, we are in one of the more favorable areas, so I can only imagine if you don't have a lot of clarity and guidance on how to bill, it just becomes more and more challenging for you. Chris: Yeah, this may be one of those, but I'm just interested as you kind of look out going forward, what are some of the challenges or headwinds you see maybe coming at your industry? Some of the challenges or headwinds you see maybe coming at your industry, lots of changes going on in Washington right now will have an effect, I'm sure, on your business but maybe also affect what goes on at the state level. James: So one thing you're kind of worried about as you kind of look out, I would say just one of the concerns, and I mean I think again, everybody likes to point the finger to the big bad guys and I really look at them more as a partner than they're not a, you know, an adversary to us or more of a partner. But the insurance companies have become more active in utilizing ai to to identify discrepancies within chart notes to deny claims. So that's something where, you know, recently went to, one of the conferences I attended was for health care payers and they have booths set up, you know, trying to sell to the health insurance companies of how to use artificial intelligence to identify the to not pay. They're already not paying much and you know they're now. In reality, the reason they are not paying is because the notes are lacking in something. So, rather than paying a person to go and evaluate each note, which is very expensive, you think about the health insurance companies if they have to hire thousands of people to evaluate the charts, or they can use AI programs to evaluate the charts it's going to save them money and hopefully that money gets passed on to the consumer. So I actually don't think it's a long-term a bad thing, but I do expect in the meantime it's going to just decrease even further, decrease the amount of claims that get paid. Chris: Right, it sounds like it would be incumbent upon companies like you to kind of push back a little more in the short term. James: to be able to take advantage of those efficiencies later. Absolutely yeah, and I look at it from our perspective. We're in a really good spot. We're pretty developed to where we can handle those kinds of headwinds. Chris: So let's switch again a little bit. Just talk about leadership. How would you describe your leadership style? How do you think it's evolved over the past, you know, 12 to 15 years since you've kind of been moving forward with this company? James: Yeah, I mean. So starting out with a group, I think, start with five people and 500 folks. So leadership looks very differently as business scales. And, to start right, I mean I used to take out the trash and do the accounting. I mean I've worked every job in the company personally and in the beginning, worked with a lot of people who were for lack of a better, better word incompetent at what they did, and today, having been able to develop people and hire and bring in and partner with incredible people that are, frankly, better than I am, a lot of things it allows me to go and do what I'm really good at and, from a leadership perspective, I've probably, if I've, believed in you from the beginning. I've always given you. I'm not a micromanager. I don't believe you can't really grow a large company if you're watching over everything going on. So you have to truly, just, I would say, collaborate with those around you and I guess, if I had to define it who I am, I try to be a great collaborator, right. I try to really help, provide as many resources for the people around me as possible so that they can be successful. Chris: That's good. Let's talk about problem solving right. Especially where you are today and probably have been in your role, probably more of what you do is facing issues, and how are we going to work through this and solve an issue, solve a problem? What have you found to be the most effective way to kind of get the information you need to make those informed decisions that you believe would be in the best interest of the company? James: Yeah, I mean. So again, that's something that over time, has become, I would say, much more of a process, right? So now we have data analytics and we have incredible CFO that's been coming in and able to provide information. There. We have all these additional resources, from accountants to lawyers, to folks. We sit down. I like to surround myself with the right group. We try to sit in a room with the right people at the right time and analyze all the information, but very quickly. I do not like the old analysis paralysis. That's not us at all. I move very quick, I like to make decisions very fast and I don't look in the rear view mirror very often. I'm always looking out the front window and just moving forward. So when there's challenges that are hitting us, it's just a relatively. Let's get as much information as we can today, let's analyze it and let's go. Chris: Yeah, I love that because I agree, I think, the idea that stagnation will kill the company right, and so I think you try to get as much information as you can, knowing it's never going to be perfect. But I think the key then is, I agree with the mindset of kind of move quick. To me, the next piece of that is to evaluate the decision as it's implemented, because then you're continuing to learn and gather information. If you're doing that so that you can adjust right, Because the plan goes out the window as soon as you start to act right, so some people will act and then ignore, and I think that's a mistake. I think if you act, continue to analyze and then align behind what you've learned, it may not be a pivot, it may just be a tweak, but you've got to keep moving. James: I totally agree and you really touched on a great point that I like to speak about. Often and it plays a little bit in the culture. I tell people, guys, we've got to make mistakes here. If we're not making mistakes, we're trying nothing new. So I hesitate to say I encourage mistakes, but to some extent I think I did in my last meeting ask for mistakes directly. So the idea here is that it's okay to make mistakes, it's not okay to make the same mistake over and over again. But if we're not trying, we're not growing. If we're not growing, we're dying. So we've got to continue to move forward. And the culture is that if you are focused and I mentioned that North Star earlier but if you're heading towards the North Star and you make a mistake, you're okay, there's no problem If you're doing something new and you're trying something for the good of the company and the good of the patient, that's okay. Let's learn from it. Let's learn from it, let's change course and let's keep moving. Chris: Yeah, that's right. Comfort and complacency aren't good, and I think that that freedom to take risk as long as it's an informed risk, as long as it aligns with our mission and values, is the type of risk you want to encourage your people to be doing and learn from it 100%. So that's good. People always learn from setbacks. So let's talk about a failure or setback you've experienced, and I know there's probably two or three examples from yesterday. James: No, but yeah, I mean, where do we start here? Chris: But what was it you know, and how did you learn from it, and how did it make you better? How did it improve you or the company, whatever the example may be? James: Yeah. I think geez, you know, this is only a tough question because I have so many. Chris: Yeah, I think geez, this is only a tough question because I have so many. You're not alone in it. A lot of guests say the same thing and I can identify with that. James: Yeah, so. I think for one this just comes to mind somewhat early on in our business we had just one massive customer. We had a great deal of revenue concentration in one customer who ultimately had a bankruptcy and put us in a really bad financial position when we lost out on. You know they were way behind on paying their bills and you know such and such. You've heard the story. Chris: Oh sure. So not only did you not get paid. If you were that beholden to them, you didn't have a lot of other things coming in Correct. James: Correct, correct. And just to learn from that example of not letting yourself get too far out over your skis for one, but also just to diversify, not just the customer base. We were actually diversified in our revenue and how we were paid, but it was all one customer. So you've got to diversify your revenue base and your customer base and not have too much concentration. That was a really early on lesson that just comes to mind. That, I feel like, was still one of the most painful. I think I laid off 40 or 50 people that day and it was just a tremendous. That one scarred me pretty bad. Chris: Layoffs are never easy. Those are ones you'll remember. James: Yeah, that one still haunts me, so again I've. Which mistake would you like to talk about? Chris: we could do a whole show. Yeah, you really could, but yeah so kind of you know, bringing this more to a close, any advice you would share with our listeners, entrepreneurs and business owners out there that you know, if there's one thing you're if you're thinking about, if you've just started the journey or you're thinking about it, here's one or two things that you would kind of want to pass along. James: Yeah, I mean I just, you know, from an entrepreneurial standpoint, I had a one of my, one of my father's good friends when I was a young kid, you know, probably high school. He told me at one point he said, hey, your business really isn't going to fail unless it runs out of time or money. And just kind of keep that in the back of your head, because I can think of at least six or seven times that we were done, you know, and I had to sit there and go well, hold on, you know, we haven't completely, we're not completely done because we haven't run out of time or money. And that was how, you know, I spoke about chewing glass earlier. I think you know one of my buddies, he's a new entrepreneur. I always I tell him ready, shoot, aim. You know, at some point you can analyze all the data. And if you do analyze all the data, you're probably never going to start Right, because the odds are of starting a new business are challenging. Chris: For sure, as everyone says, it's not for the faint of heart. James: It For sure, as everyone says, it's not for the faint of heart. It's not for the faint of heart. And everyone will run into a lot of problems and challenges. And that's why because if it was easy, everybody would do this Correct, and so just I would. Just it might sound a little silly, but just don't give up. I mean, if it's something you believe in, if it's really a great cause, if your heart's in it, just keep your head down and push on, because you will be successful. Chris: That's great, and perseverance and grit is what it takes if you're going to be a true entrepreneur 100%. But the ready shoot aim is kind of like you were saying earlier, in decision making, at some point you got to make a decision, absolutely you got to go. James: Yeah, I see that as just a big mistake that folks are making over and over again is sitting around just waiting and by the time they actually make the decision, the opportunities passed. Chris: yeah well, let's, we're going to close with some more fun stuff. Talk a little bit more about texas, any favorite vacation spots within the state. James: Things you like to do in your spare time you know we have a little piece of land up in west texas so we're out in the lakey area okay it's kind of kind of over there by Garner State Park for those that know the river and just absolutely love. We go out there probably every month. You know I have two boys and a little girl so I spend a lot of time out there. The family makes it out there every now and then, but I definitely try to grab a boy and go out there every month. How fun is that? We just go and shoot guns and hang out and, you know, take the kids and their friends over to the Garner State Park, dance and do all that kind of stuff. Chris: God's country over there. James: It is God's country. It's fantastic. That was my favorite place. Chris: It's just beautiful out there, yeah, so any like books or anything that you've read lately that you might pass on to a listener as something to go spend some time reading or learning from. Reading or learning from. James: Jeez, you know I'm actually doing 10 books with my kids right now, so there's nothing new and exciting, but they're all you know. I've got them reading Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, so that was the book they read last week. They're reading a book a week, so this week they're on the Five Dysfunctions of a Team Peter Lencioni. Chris: Yeah. James: So those are kind of what's going on. That's what's on my mind at the minute. I like it At the moment, yeah. Chris: And teaching them young. James: I love that, yeah, I mean well, they're 15, 13, not too young. Chris: Right. James: But kind of when I was reading those books and trying to. So a bunch of oldies but goodies. Yeah, we're going through right now. Chris: We're doing Rich Dad, poor Dad world from that perspective. Last question do you prefer tex-mex or barbecue? James: barbecue, all right, yeah I guess you can't go out to lakey and and not have barbecue in that area or on the road trip to and from no, I mean I it's. Chris: That's a tough question I always save it for last and everyone says the same thing. It's a trick question what's yours? People turn that on me and I think I it's a tough one that they. You know, once it's turned on me and I think it's a tough one Once it's turned on me, I realize how unfair it is. Yeah, I think my answer has always been I love barbecue, but my go-to is probably Tex-Mex more than barbecue. James: So if I was going to say Tex-Mex with a margarita, that might go above barbecue For sure, but if it's just food, it's barbecue Okay. Chris: Yeah, because it's hard to have Tex-Mex without a margarita. James: Yeah. Chris: And then, of course, you have places now, especially here in Houston, I'm sure, other places where they're combining, you know, like the brisket into the Tex-Mex. James: so brisket, burritos or tacos, and that, to me, is probably the penultimate, it's fantastic. Chris: Yeah, there really is. It's challenging when it comes to healthcare. So, James, this has been great man. I really appreciate you coming on and sharing your story. It's pretty fascinating, and congratulations for all the success and what I know will be successful in the future. James: Awesome, thanks so much for having me, Chris: you bet. And there we have it another great episode. Don't forget to check out the show notes at boyermillercom forward slash podcast and you can find out more about all the ways our firm can help you at boyermillercom. That's it for this episode. Have a great week and we'll talk to you next time. Special Guest: James Dieter.

James meets his martyrdom amidst cloak-and-dagger intrigue in Jerusalem.

We are often drawn to people who look successful and powerful, even in the church. But this morning James will remind us that God's kingdom does not belong to the elite of this world; God has chosen the poor to be heirs to his kingdom. Join us as the Spirit realigns our hearts with the heart of God.Matthew 2:3-8 (ESV)When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:“‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,    are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;for from you shall come a ruler    who will shepherd my people Israel.'”Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.”James 2:1-13 (ESV)My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called?If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

La tradición de contar historias de terror en navidad viene de sus orígenes, de las fiestas nórdicas de Yule que celebraban el solsticio de invierno, y se ha mantenido durante siglos. Hoy, en Terrores Nocturnos, la recuperamos narrando el relato corto “El Corazón perdido” de MR James ¡No te olvides de hacerte mecenas para tener además UN CAPÍTULO EXTRA cada semana! https://open.spotify.com/show/0azaM9tNLAiMKrFK6ZMlS1?si=e3d6fdb722c14844 Recuerda que puedes ver el videopodcast de este capítulo en nuestro canal de Youtube  https://www.youtube.com/@Terrores_TRN Ya puedes reservar las entradas para la gira del SHOW DE TERRORES NOCTURNOS por España: Estaremos en ciudades como A Coruña, Vigo, Málga o Zaragoza. Puedes consultar fechas y reservar entradas en este enlace https://linktr.ee/alg_management Ya a la venta el libro de Terrores Nocturnos “La españa Misteriosa”, en el que recopilamos los mejores casos paranormales, crímenes y lugares embrujados de nuestro país  https://bit.ly/3EkjU2u  Síguenos en nuestras redes sociales y escríbenos a nuestro correo: Instagram: @terroresnocturnos.trn Tiktok: @terroresnocturnos.trn Youtube: Terrores_TRN Twitter: @Terrores_TRN Twitch: terrores_trn Instagram Emma Entrena: @emma.e_trn Instagram Silvia Ortiz: @sil_trn Facebook: Terrores Nocturnos Correo: terroresnocturnosradio@gmail.com Presentado por Emma Entrena y Silvia Ortiz, producido por Yes We Cast e ilustrado por The Gray (@danionlybars) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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We begin our journey through the book of James with this teaching! In James 1:2-3, we find an extraordinary challenge—it calls us to "consider it pure joy" when facing trials. This attitude towards persecution is truly countercultural. In this episode we delve deeply into James 1:1-15.

Trifulca Media presenta: D Güirita con Alex Torres y Gerardo Rodriguez quienes hablan de Bronny James y su futuro en la NBA. Sigan a Trifulca Media en: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TrifulcaMedia?mibextid=LQQJ4d Instagram https://instagram.com/u latrifulcawrestlingmedia?igshid=dhkuulk3mb5x Twitter https://mobile.twitter.com/TrifulcaMedia YouTube https://youtube.com/channel/UCVZ0 #dguirita #nba #BronnyJames #lebronjames #lakers #losangeles #charlandodecineytv #trifulcamma #lapandemiaurbana #trifulcamedia #enlaclaraconlatrifulca #trifulcawrestlingpodcast --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/trifulcamedia/support

JLP Mon 7-1-24 Hr 1 GUEST: Steve King on American history: Is it over? Hr 2 Calls, Supers: Charles on anger, Chase: Beat myself up. Hr 3 White preacher, black wife. CALLS: Mothers, Working on self. James: No racism? GUEST LINKS: https://steveking.com | https://x.com/SteveKingIA (0:00:00) HOUR 1 – Happy WHM! (0:04:20) GUEST: Steve King (0:08:15) What went wrong? Jesus, Weak men, "gender" (0:17:25) Congress, Trump, stand alone, courage… Michele Bachmann (0:23:50) Can America return? …Bill Lockwood (0:27:25) Early life, father… BREAK (0:31:50) Steve King… law, father, crisis (0:36:40) white men, Western Civilization (0:43:25) Why King left Congress… Property rights under attack (0:51:05) VP? Birthright citizenship (0:55:00) Hake News Hr 1 (1:00:00) HOUR 2 – Reflect on W History, Female Monday, Eyeball update (1:08:30) CHARLES, PA (1st) How deal w/ anger, Mother denied (1:19:45) CHARLES: Gave mom hell. Silent Prayer (1:24:40) Supers: WHM, BQ, Wedding, Sam Cooke: Ain't that Good News (1:32:35) Remember the greatness of W. History. SUPERS: JLP sings (1:42:45) CHASE, OR: Forgave, Prayer, Women, "Beat myself up" (1:55:00) Hake News Hr 2 (2:00:00) HOUR 3 (2:03:35) Steve King vs Cedric Richmond, 2017 (2:10:25) White preacher married to a black woman: Anger! (2:17:20) ARELIS, NJ (1st) schizophrenic brothers doc, mother (2:24:20) SERG, TX: Joel thumpin', white women, intellectual, BREAK (2:34:20) JAMES, RI, 18 (1st) racism doesn't exist? Evil? You're black! (2:46:00) Supers: Australia, …loss of friend, foresight, Caitlin Clark (2:53:40) RICK, VA: WHM, America (2:55:20) CLOSING

We are bringing this episode back to life! James didn't have WiFi or internet so we wanted to repost one of our favorite episodes. Originally episode 32, we hope you enjoy!

Look at the person next to you. Imagine for a moment you saw real signs this person was clearly drifting from God. Maybe you became aware of obvious signs of sin or immorality. Maybe gathering with us had become sporadic. If it's someone in recovery, perhaps you are seeing evidence their recovery is shaky or wobbly. Maybe you have witnessed very inappropriate conversations or relationships with members of the opposite sex. Maybe you’ve had theological discussions with them where it seems they are drifting away from the one true Gospel. Most of us would act one of 2 ways....we mind our own business, or we get arrogant and respond too strongly. My question for you is this. How far would you be willing to go to try to bring your wandering brother or sister back? How committed would you be to help them be restored to obedience & full community with God’s people? Did you know your willingness to help restore a wandering brother or sister is a critical test of your ropes of faith? Restoring straying Christians is one of our highest priorities because we are, in fact, our brothers’ keeper. In fact, even if your ropes of faith pass every other test in James we’ve studied, if it fails this one, it’s a serious problem.

Do you know people who just seem to have a special gift and commitment to pray for other people? If you’re like most of us, like me, several names quickly come to mind, and one of them isn’t your own! These are people we turn to, because it just seems they take prayer seriously. Their prayers seem to have power. They always seem to be much more interested in praying for others before they pray for anything for themselves. Why are some people better than others at prayer? Are they just special, more spiritual, more godly than the rest of us? I have never met someone who has this gift of praying for others that was always angry or fighting with other Christians. I’ve never heard “He/she really loves praying for other people, but man they sure are mean when they aren’t praying!” I haven’t met many people like this who were cocky about their prayers, bragging about how powerful their prayers are. People like this just seem to understand how their prayers don’t start with them. They seem to give God that credit. People with this kind of prayer life are critical to building up the church and healing relationships. We need them! So, what does James have to say about this? How can we all tap into a powerful prayer life? In chapter 5:16-18, James addresses the power of prayer and its connection to our relationships with one another.

Wow did Luka and the Dallas Mavericks blow it today vs OKC! And, after another worrying fourth quarter, do Boston actually stink? Plus, after winning the NBA Draft lottery... should Atlanta draft Bronny James and see if LeBron keeps his word? All that and HEAPS more in today's NBA Straya in our massive daily #NBAPlayoffs recaps!   NBA Straya today wraps up Game 4 of Boston @ Cleveland and OKC @ Dallas, and figures out where it all went wrong for the Cavs and Mavs. Plus there's all the usual stuff: That's Not A Knife, Old Mate No Mates, Spud of the Night, and Better Than Lonzo Ball!  On top of that there's also YEAH NAHs, the Unpopular Opinion of the Day and OUTBACK TAKEHOUSE… and a handy Strayan Player Watch because the Aussies are playing each other.... Plus a combo Luc Longley Memorial Role Player of the Week AND Andrew Gaze Grey Mamba Award for Outstanding Achievement in the field of excellence ...  as well as a Patty Mills Gameday Bala, Gameday Social Media check in...    The show then finishes off with the only #playoffs pick and previews you need as we dig into two MASSIVE Game 5s for Wednesday May 15 - with Indy @ New York and Minnesota @ Denver!  What will happen? Find out with the best NBA picks in the biz WITH NBA STRAYA! So, enjoy!  Righto - cheers ledges!! Thanks for tuning in to the best daily NBA podcast in the world!! Onyas... 

(JAMES 5:13–15) IS ANYONE AMONG YOU SUFFERING? LET HIM PRAY. IS ANYONE CHEERFUL? LET HIM SING PRAISE. [14] IS ANYONE AMONG YOU SICK? LET HIM CALL FOR THE ELDERS OF THE CHURCH, AND LET THEM PRAY OVER HIM, ANOINTING HIM WITH OIL IN THE NAME OF THE LORD. [15] AND THE PRAYER OF FAITH WILL SAVE THE ONE WHO IS SICK, AND THE LORD WILL RAISE HIM UP. AND IF HE HAS COMMITTED SINS, HE WILL BE FORGIVEN.

Have you ever wondered if your faith is strong enough to endure real persecution & suffering because you follow Jesus? I’m not talking your garden variety 1st world American “bad day”, I’m talking about real suffering. Do you have what it takes to be faithful to Jesus no matter what circumstances life might visit upon you? Have you ever come to a place where you just weren’t sure that your faith was strong enough? Do you wonder if you personally have what it might take if your loyalty to God & His church was really tested? The answer is, no! No, you don’t. In fact, no human who has ever lived has had that kind of faith. So, wait, now what? Yet all through scripture, we’re commanded to have that kind of durable, steadfast faith, no matter what we face. So, what does this mean? What do we do with a seemingly unreasonable command, that’s humanly impossible to keep? That’s precisely the question we’ll wrestle with together, as we explore the next test of our ropes of faith in James. (JAMES 5:7–11) BE PATIENT, THEREFORE, BROTHERS, UNTIL THE COMING OF THE LORD. SEE HOW THE FARMER WAITS FOR THE PRECIOUS FRUIT OF THE EARTH, BEING PATIENT ABOUT IT, UNTIL IT RECEIVES THE EARLY AND THE LATE RAINS. [8] YOU ALSO, BE PATIENT. ESTABLISH YOUR HEARTS, FOR THE COMING OF THE LORD IS AT HAND. [9] DO NOT GRUMBLE AGAINST ONE ANOTHER, BROTHERS, SO THAT YOU MAY NOT BE JUDGED; BEHOLD, THE JUDGE IS STANDING AT THE DOOR. [10] AS AN EXAMPLE OF SUFFERING AND PATIENCE, BROTHERS, TAKE THE PROPHETS WHO SPOKE IN THE NAME OF THE LORD. [11] BEHOLD, WE CONSIDER THOSE BLESSED WHO REMAINED STEADFAST. YOU HAVE HEARD OF THE STEADFASTNESS OF JOB, AND YOU HAVE SEEN THE PURPOSE OF THE LORD, HOW THE LORD IS COMPASSIONATE AND MERCIFUL. [12] SO ABOVE ALL, MY BROTHERS, DON’T SWEAR, EITHER BY HEAVEN OR EARTH OR OTHER OATH, BUT LET YOUR “YES” BE YES & YOUR “NO” BE NO, SO YOU MAY NOT FALL UNDER CONDEMNATION.

I want to start off today with a warning to any & all the KC chiefs fans out there who may hear this sermon. Something’s been bothering me. I've had enough of your constant bragging about Patrick Mahomes & all your winning. This is a firm warning to all of you, to tone it down, and depart from your arrogance before it’s too late. You always boast about how good your quarterback is, and your Super Bowl rings. You think you’re the king of the NFL. But let me tell you about another group of people who once felt invincible like they owned football—Patriots fans. With Tom Brady & Coach Belichick, they were unstoppable, winning Super Bowls even bending the rules—allegedly. In the end, what happened? Judgment day arrived. Brady left New England, and suddenly, the dynasty crumbled. And where did Tom end up? That's right, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the team with the worst all-time winning % in history. And what happened? Oh yeah…. WE WON THE SUPERBOWL THAT YEAR! So, listen up you pompous, smug Chiefs fans. One day, it will be Mahomes jetting off to Tampa, and we'll be the ones celebrating. So, you should prepare for it now. Dispense with your arrogant cheering, and let it turn to weeping and mourning. Judgement day is coming. Your trophies will tarnish. You’ll join Patriots fans in bitter sorrow & jealousy when in the end, we prevail. What you just heard is a modern-day example of a literary tool used often in Jewish wisdom literature, called a diatribe. In a diatribe, the author addresses a hypothetical 3rd -party directly & forcefully to teach a principle to his real audience. My diatribe was directed towards Chiefs fans who aren’t in the room, designed to encourage righteous Bucs fans, like me, to stay loyal, stay faithful, because in the end we will win another Super Bowl. James uses a diatribe to expose the seductive power of wealth & why the faithful can’t allow money to become an idol. (James 5:1-6) Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. Behold the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.

Is it possible to live in a world without morals?

"Teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom" - Psalm 90:12 Even though Moses tells us to number days. We get comfortable, coast, and we assume our lives will be long, full, & lasting. But really, even a long life is short, maybe 70 years, more if we’re lucky. Many lives are much shorter than that. We don’t have an endless supply of days. Our lives are a vapor. Often, when we make plans, we don’t act like a vapor. Instead, we operate as though we are some kind of immovable concrete pillar. Do your most ambitious plans, personal, professional, or financial, consider the cost or impact on the Kingdom of God? Are most of your professional or financial decisions driven primarily by a spreadsheet? Or do the values Jesus taught in the SOTM have an equal impact on your calculations as the numbers do? Do you constantly forge ahead with plans, big or small without wise counsel from those within your church family? When you pray, are your prayers primarily that God would pave the way smooth for your plans to be successful? Are you more focused on your comfortable retirement plan than how to be sure you can relentlessly serve God in your community of believers until the very end? Today’s passage deals with this constant tension between our plans & God's plans, & the humility necessary to honestly pray “your will be done” and truly mean it.

Has someone ever unfairly judged, slandered, or gossiped about you? How did that make you feel? I remember as a member of a church staff being publicly slandered with false accusations. It was devastating for me and my family in ways you can’t even imagine. To this day I still carry baggage from it. Even when someone slanders or gossips about something you actually did wrong, it’s still painful, and makes it even worse. Ok, here’s another question. Have you slandered or passed judgement on a brother or sister in your church? Sadly, I must confess, even though I went through that pain… I have been guilty of doing the same thing. Looking back, I am embarrassed by my hypocrisy. It’s very humbling when this reality hits you isn’t it? If we are all being transparent, we’ve all both given and received slander. Its painful, that moment when you realize you are no better than your accuser, or the one who has accused you. But our willingness to recognize this is an important test of your ropes of faith. So must go there together today. It’s important for us to understand where this all comes from, so that we can be on guard against it. And as we do, it will be easy to think of someone else. Don’t. Focus on yourself…. Ok are we ready? (James 4:11-12) Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is only one lawgiver & judge, He who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?

Last week was a hard sermon, as James taught us to look within ourselves for the cause of fights within the church. Our selfish, individualistic, arrogant pursuit of our own desires & passions put us at odds with each other, and with God. It was a tough message, but James provided a beautiful, soft landing, reminding us that God gives MORE GRACE! Have you ever experienced the joy, the liberation that comes when God answers our humble prayers for more grace? It’s something the unredeemed can’t understand; joy (supernatural satisfaction) flowing from our humble repentance. Because genuine, humble repentance at cross, is the only place where that harvest of righteousness can begin. Many people seek that experiential bliss with God, those moments where his presence is unmistakable. Scripture teaches nothing brings us closer to God than when we draw near to Him in humility to pray for more grace! In fact, humble repentance provides more intimacy w/God & is more powerful than anything else in a Christian’s life. Humble repentance brings us closer to God than any earthly blessing, worship song, or spiritual experience. That’s why understanding what true humility & repentance looks like is an important test of our ropes of faith. In fact, the most powerful repentance isn’t personal induvial repentance, but corporate, community repentance. (James 4:6-10) But He gives more grace. Therefore it says, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hangs, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning & your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord and He will exalt you.

Have you ever witnessed, or been part of a fight in church? Maybe not fists, but words? I’ve seen church fights over some pretty crazy things, sometimes over little things, and other times big things. I’ve seen church fights over what version of the Bible should be preached from, even what time the service should start. I’ve seen church fights, people even leaving a church family because it wasn’t “woke” enough or “MAGA” enough. I’ve seen church fights over carpet color, drums, coffee pots… I’ve even seen fights over communion, and apple fritters! There’s lots of reasons church people fight, but did you know, these things aren’t the actual reason we fight? In fact, even if all these things met your criteria, if everyone agreed on all these things, there would still be fights. Those are just excuses, things we blame, manifestations of a much bigger problem that starts deep within each of us. The real cause is when we are sitting on the fence, when we want it both ways, we want to love God & love this world. When our internal desires & passions make us double-minded, unstable, putting us in conflict w/each other & w/God. Every one of us has been here, in arrogance gotten angry when a brother or sister interferes w/our agenda or passions. How we respond when we’ve forgotten how much we need grace is another important test of our ropes of faith.

Wisdom is the guiding force, directing our decisions. The kind of wisdom we embrace determines the choices we make. In its simplest form, there are only 2 kinds of wisdom. There’s earthly wisdom and there’s Heavenly wisdom. Earthly wisdom starts off ok. It's alluring, promising, satisfying. Even people in churches are drawn to earthly wisdom. But earthly wisdom’s cunning is inspired by our own selfish, sinful lusts that draw us away from following Jesus. The consequences of earthly wisdom vary from small stupid choices, all the way to destructive, vile, evil. Heavenly wisdom is the opposite. It’s inspired by a desire for humility, peace, mercy, & a harvest of righteousness. It seems like it should be easy to tell the two apart. But most people can’t tell the difference until it’s too late. What makes it difficult is earthly wisdom doesn’t start out looking demonic, if that were true it would be easy to spot. But that’s where it ends up if you can’t spot earthly wisdom soon enough & know how to deal with it. These two kinds of wisdom couldn’t be more different & being able to tell them apart is an important test of our faith. (JAMES 3:13–18) WHO IS WISE AND UNDERSTANDING AMONG YOU? BY HIS GOOD CONDUCT LET HIM SHOW HIS WORKS IN THE MEEKNESS OF WISDOM. [14] BUT IF YOU HAVE BITTER JEALOUSY AND SELFISH AMBITION IN YOUR HEARTS, DO NOT BOAST AND BE FALSE TO THE TRUTH. [15] THIS IS NOT THE WISDOM THAT COMES DOWN FROM ABOVE, BUT IS EARTHLY, UNSPIRITUAL, DEMONIC. [16] FOR WHERE JEALOUSY AND SELFISH AMBITION EXIST, THERE WILL BE DISORDER AND EVERY VILE PRACTICE. [17] BUT THE WISDOM FROM ABOVE IS FIRST PURE, THEN PEACEABLE, GENTLE, OPEN TO REASON, FULL OF MERCY AND GOOD FRUITS, IMPARTIAL AND SINCERE. [18] AND A HARVEST OF RIGHTEOUSNESS IS SOWN IN PEACE BY THOSE WHO MAKE PEACE.

Can you remember the most hurtful things people have ever said to you? I can quote them perfectly. I remember many, where I was, who said it, their exact words, and how I felt, decades later I can remember every detail. Some of these things were 20, 30, 40 years ago. Isn’t it amazing how easily we can remember these things? I am 56 years old, and some of these moments still run around like ghosts of discouragement in my head. What about the opposite? Can you remember what quite literally is the nicest thing anyone has ever said to you? What is it about words? Why do they have such a massive impact on us? Have you ever hurt someone with your words? Has your tongue ever exposed you as a hypocrite? Have your words cut someone like a knife in the past. In that moment, when you knew your words caused the pain you wanted them to cause… did you enjoy it? And long after we forget what we said, our words linger, and our victim remembers them each time reopening that wound. Have you said really nice things to those in your church family & with the same mouth said hurtful things? All of us have used our tongue this way, as both a blessing and a curse. Isn’t that messed up? It’s so hypocritical! Even when we say something nice, is it nice? Or are we deceiving & manipulating others to get what we want? Do you trust your mouth? Do you even know how many times its caused damage? Every mouth is a problem right?

A few weeks ago, I highlighted some popular spiritual phrases that are cheap, pointless, and powerless. Phrases like “follow your heart”, find inner peace, sending positive vibes, adjust your okra… I mean Chakra, etc. These are non-biblical phrases spoken by those who think they’re spiritual but are powerless & useless. But Christians also have phrases that are useless when there’s no action behind them , especially on social media. We use them when we feel like we must at least say something or to soothe our conscience, but we do nothing. "I’ll pray for you” offering to pray for people in crisis without any commitment to help when you know you could. Often, we don’t even really pray! This lack of action makes what could be a good thing worthless. “Its all in God’s hands” saying this to someone in crisis, and then leaving them to suffer alone is cold hearted. Especially if God has put you in a place to be His hands, but we don’t even care enough to even lift a finger. “The Lord works in mysterious ways" 1st , how do you know the hardship they’re suffering is the Lord’s work? Couldn’t it be because of evil in this world? 2nd , what if you’re supposed to be part of the Lord’s mysterious work, the part that provides relief in their suffering, but you don’t want to be bothered. What good are those words to anyone? "God will make a way!" Now you can say this one with passion! It's super religious! But saying it with no intention of trying to be part of the “way’ God might be making, well that’s just nice sounding, useless, cheap talk. God won’t ever give you more than you can’t handle.” For personal reasons this is the worst one. I won’t go into it. If we just speak religious phrases to fellow brothers & sisters, especially those in our church family, but aren’t willing to help in earthly, tangible ways, James says this is an important warning sign about our ropes of faith.

I find it painful and embarrassing when my own hypocrisy is exposed. Yet, there's a part of me that takes a peculiar satisfaction in identifying hypocrisy in others. Especially the hypocrisy of those who have accused me of hypocrisy. I am very good at spotting your hypocrisy. In fact, as a good pastor should... I keep a spreadsheet. Now of course you might ask, where does Pastor Joe end up on this list… well, I’m not on the list. Keeping track of everyone else’s hypocrisy is a big job, I just don’t have time to track mine. Hypocrisy is a problem, a constant struggle for all of us, correct? So, we need to know how to deal with it. We think of hypocrisy as accusing someone of something we are guilty of as well. But it goes much deeper than that. Our hypocrisy can manifest itself in many different, overt, and subtle ways. Today we are talking about a specific kind of hypocrisy that James says is an important test of our faith. It’s the hypocrisy of discrimination, specifically within the church, showing favor to those who seem more desirable.

Carlos Antonio Vélez, en sus Palabras Mayores del 6 de febrero de 2024, habló de la situación del futbolista colombiano James David Rodríguez, quien ha protagonizado una nueva polémica en Sao Paulo. Vélez describió los escándalos que ha tenido el mediocampista de 32 años en todos sus equipos. El periodista también se refirió al triunfo de Medellín sobre Cali en la Liga BetPlay y a la actuación del árbitro central.

Have you ever heard someone say, “I’m not religious, but I am very spiritual”? What does being spiritual even mean? And what makes them spiritual? I guess it’s because they say they are. That’s really all you need to do to be spiritual. For many, that’s the extent of religion or spirituality, Its what we say. I came up with a list of modern spiritual phrases people use, and provide what they really mean… Follow your heart. I don't want the responsibility of giving you any type of real advice. Do what you think is best. Find your inner peace. You need to calm down…. You’re being too loud. (notice my very hip Taylor Swift reference) Prayers. As a substitute for actually, physically coming along side, I will pretend like I am praying for you. Everything happens for a reason. Man, that really stinks what happened, but I’m sure you’ll figure it out. Good luck! Sending positive vibes. This one is more complex. Man, I really hope it all works out, but I’m keeping my distance. I’m super busy with my own life anyway. Besides, I don’t really have any answers or solutions for the problems you face. These popular spiritual phrases are nice enough, but they are powerless to change or transform lives. I see these as worthless, throwaway lines, that are actually kind of selfish. They don’t require any real spiritual action. You can say stuff like this to people without doing anything to help them. They aren’t spiritual, they just sound spiritual. They provide false hope to the hearer. The one saying them can feel better about their actual spiritual condition. They don’t provide lasting transformation, they don’t change sinful hearts, & they certainly can’t provide eternal life. They are just a way for people to say they spiritual like things, just not the kind of spirituality Jesus teaches. How can we know if we are truly spiritual? How can we make sure we aren’t victims of fake spirituality or religion? (James 1:26-27) "If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows while they are suffering in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world."

How do you think the American church is doing with providing opportunities for people to hear the Gospel? Can you think of any other time in church history with more creative, engaging, resources of biblical content. We have thousands of conferences & seminars offering fresh perspectives on how to connect with God on a deeper level. We have seminaries online & in person. Amazon carries books on every topic, subject, or book in scripture. Over the last few decades, we’ve platformed world-class speakers in ways that have made them ubiquitous. We have YouTube, podcasts, and bible apps, we gather, download, press play, & hear the Gospel multiple times a day. And what about our worship experience in the American church compared to any other time in church history? At any time, you can press play on highly skilled, highly produced incredible songwriters who make great music. We’ve mastered ways to provide engaging, comfortable, convenient opportunities for people to hear. Yet the vast majority of those who hear what we produce come, enjoy, feel great, but leave unchanged, w/out doing. Is that the church’s fault? Is it the hearer’s fault? "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For in anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing from the world." (James 1:22-25)

Have you ever heard someone claim their anger is “righteous”? I’ve got an example of my righteous anger this week. Last Wednesday, driving to church down Tuttle, I came to the best-designed intersection in human history. You know the one where there’s a red light for Ringling, then 26 inches further is a red light for Fruitville Road? A beloved fellow motorist cut me off at Ringling, He made it through the light, forcing me to wait on red. I prayed, “Heavenly Father, don’t let Fruitville turn green before, so I may pull up beside to instruct in righteousness.” God answered my prayers. I pulled up, directing the driver to roll down his window so I could declare my truth. With GraceLife hat in full view, he complied. For the full 90-second light cycle I preached truth, and demanded repentance! After revealing the severity of his moral failure. He apologized and was grateful for my anger. He repented right there. But I felt the need for one more memorable object lesson, On green, I sped in front & cut him off before the next light. In my rear view, I saw him give me one of these & mouth “Thank you for making me a better, righteous person”. None of that happened, except for being cut off at Ringling. The rest is how it played out in my heart & mind. I can’t ever remember my road rage making people better drivers. Can you? That’s the problem with human anger. James 1:19-21 "Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not accomplish the righteousness of God. Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted Word, which is able to save your souls."

"You therefore must be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect" (Matthew 5:48) This verse from the Sermon on the Mount seems so out of place w/everything Jesus said about grace, mercy, & forgiveness, doesn’t it? Is this verse one of those verses you piously acknowledge, but secretly think… “ok I hope it means something else?” People make nice memes of Phil 4:13, John 3:16 & other verses on social media all the time, but not this one! You won’t see football players put this reference under their eyes. You won't see people say “This is my favorite verse!” There was a time when this verse was very troubling for me. How can I be perfect? I am everything but perfect! It seems completely contradictory to what Paul says about our human righteousness being like disgusting rags right? We know none of us have a chance of being perfect right? We can’t even believe perfectly. We all struggle. Can we all just admit, at one time or another, this verse is at the very least puzzling; at worst, frightening? Standing by itself, it is a troubling verse. Even though people do this all the time, that’s not how you read the Bible. I hope to show you how this verse can become quite comforting as we test our faith in this study of James. "Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of Lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Of His own will He brought us forth by the Word of Truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures." (James 1:16-18)

This week we grab an opportunity. After climbing Pen-Y-Fan in Wales with photographer and community champion Dan James, we utilised the time on the drive home to interview this special individual. Today, Dan follows the path of ‘what feels best' in the moment, pursuing what his heart tells him rather than what society deems best. What would appear to most as a carefree journey through life, actually means Dan is closer to those around him, generating bonds that have meaning and purpose. But it wasn't always like this. Dan tells me about his time in the Royal Air Force working as a bomb disposal expert before a freak accident cut short his career and how this in turn helped him understand what's important to him. Dan's outlook and enthusiasm for life is infectious, I value his friendship and generosity with his time and feel privileged that we managed to record this episode together. The opportunistic nature of recording this episode does mean the sound quality isn't as good as we would normally produce, but I hope you can forgive us.

6/6 Hour 4   4:00 Steve James no-show 12:00 Who are the luckiest guys in the world? 19:45 Taylor Swfit breaks up with Matt Healy 30:00 Ralph Friedgen

The Lakers were missing LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Patrick Beverley and Wenyen Gabriel Wednesday in Toronto. Juan Toscano-Anderson, who started the game after barely hitting the court for most of the season, turned an ankle. So it's no surprise the Lakers found themselves down by 20 (give or take) relatively quickly, and for most of the game before ultimately losing by 13, 126-113. They didn't do anything wrong, really, and there were again some highlights (16 points for Thomas Bryant on only five FGAs, for example), but in the end, what happened was exactly what most people would have expected.So the Lakers are again four games under .500, looking at a gimpy LeBron, an under-the-weather A.D., an already-out Gabriel... is there a risk of losing the momentum they built up after winning eight of ten? Is there extra pressure to push through, trying to capitalize on the positive momentum they created, and got everyone so excited?How do the Lakers balance the long haul vs. the shorter term? Has the recent run of good play given them a little breathing room, or created a greater sense of urgency to push hard?What is the right benchmark for them to use , when considering their position relative to the rest of the conference?And how does all of this play into next week's big calendar milestone? December 15th is coming fast, when the NBA's trade market opens up and the number of players who can be traded (including guys like Beverley) increases considerably.HOSTS: Andy and Brian KamenetzkySEGMENT 1: The Lakers are shorthanded, and predictably lost in Toronto Wednesday.SEGMENT 2: Has the exuberance around the recent run made long term thinking harder?SEGMENT 3: What is the right way of thinking about where the Lakers stand relative to the rest of the conference, as they make considerations around health and who plays?Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you'll get 15% off your next order.BetOnlineBetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNBAPrizePicksFirst time users can receive a 100% instant deposit match up to $100 with promo code LOCKEDON. That's PrizePicks.com – promo code; LOCKEDONMasterClassWith MasterClass, you can learn from the world's best minds - anytime, anywhere, and at your own pace. his holiday, give one annual membership and get one free! Go to MASTERCLASS.com/LOCKEDON today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Lakers were missing LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Patrick Beverley and Wenyen Gabriel Wednesday in Toronto. Juan Toscano-Anderson, who started the game after barely hitting the court for most of the season, turned an ankle. So it's no surprise the Lakers found themselves down by 20 (give or take) relatively quickly, and for most of the game before ultimately losing by 13, 126-113. They didn't do anything wrong, really, and there were again some highlights (16 points for Thomas Bryant on only five FGAs, for example), but in the end, what happened was exactly what most people would have expected. So the Lakers are again four games under .500, looking at a gimpy LeBron, an under-the-weather A.D., an already-out Gabriel... is there a risk of losing the momentum they built up after winning eight of ten? Is there extra pressure to push through, trying to capitalize on the positive momentum they created, and got everyone so excited? How do the Lakers balance the long haul vs. the shorter term? Has the recent run of good play given them a little breathing room, or created a greater sense of urgency to push hard? What is the right benchmark for them to use , when considering their position relative to the rest of the conference? And how does all of this play into next week's big calendar milestone? December 15th is coming fast, when the NBA's trade market opens up and the number of players who can be traded (including guys like Beverley) increases considerably. HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky SEGMENT 1: The Lakers are shorthanded, and predictably lost in Toronto Wednesday. SEGMENT 2: Has the exuberance around the recent run made long term thinking harder? SEGMENT 3: What is the right way of thinking about where the Lakers stand relative to the rest of the conference, as they make considerations around health and who plays? Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Built Bar Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you'll get 15% off your next order. BetOnline BetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts! LinkedIn LinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNBA PrizePicks First time users can receive a 100% instant deposit match up to $100 with promo code LOCKEDON. That's PrizePicks.com – promo code; LOCKEDON MasterClass With MasterClass, you can learn from the world's best minds - anytime, anywhere, and at your own pace. his holiday, give one annual membership and get one free! Go to MASTERCLASS.com/LOCKEDON today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices