Podcast appearances and mentions of Jimmy Carter

Minnesota was liberal to begin with: It has the distinction of “voting blue, no matter who” since Jimmy Carter led the Democratic ticket, joining only the District of Columbia in refusing to give its electoral votes to President Ronald Reagan in 1984. For a while, the Hubert Humphrey model of Big Government, strong labor unions, […]

Minnesota was liberal to begin with: It has the distinction of “voting blue, no matter who” since Jimmy Carter led the Democratic ticket, joining only the District of Columbia in refusing to give its electoral votes to President Ronald Reagan in 1984. For a while, the Hubert Humphrey model of Big Government, strong labor unions, and a business community that operated with a “social conscience” worked well. But in recent years, the social model of Scandinavian exiles has broken down, just its big brother did in Scandinavia itself. Joining us to discuss how Minnesota's social model has collapsed as “some of the state's leading politicians and sectarian interests” have come to “understand government not as a society's shared instrument to address its problems, but as a storehouse to pillage” is Armin Rosen, a journalist who wrote on the state's problems for Walter Kirn's newspaper-magazine County Highway.The Shame of Our Cities

Episode 271- New Year – New Challenges Also Available OnSearchable Podcast Transcript Gun Lawyer — Episode Transcript Gun Lawyer — Episode 271 Transcript SUMMARY KEYWORDS Second Amendment, New Jersey, gun oppression, Bruen decision, carry permits, violent crime, John Petrolino, high capacity magazines, gun training, NRA classes, self-defense, gun laws, gun rights, gun ownership, legal battles, gun journalist. SPEAKERS Teddy Nappen, Speaker 2, Evan Nappen Evan Nappen 00:15 I’m Evan Nappen. Teddy Nappen 00:16 And I’m Teddy Nappen. Evan Nappen 00:18 And welcome to Gun Lawyer. Well, I want to thank all of my listeners and supporters, because on The Gundies Award for Podcast of the Year, I’m proud to tell you that Gun Lawyer has made the top five. And so, as one of the top five nominees, we are now in the running to see whether or not we win the Podcast of the Year. But I’m very honored to have made the top five, and I appreciate all of you that took the time to vote for Gun Lawyer. It’s a great way of getting a statement out there about what we believe in and what we fight for here. You know, our show does have a lot to do with what’s going on with New Jersey, because New Jersey is, as you know, the worst state in the country when it comes to oppression of our Second Amendment rights. And by bringing more and more attention to it, we shine that disinfectant of truth out there. So, this is important, and we want to keep up the keep the pressure. Teddy Nappen 01:44 Do you know what we should do for when we for the awards, we don’t go to accept it. We instead send a couple people who are recently released from the Gun Owner Gulag to accept the award. Yeah, like Marlon Brando sent Evan Nappen 02:00 Yeah, right. We’ll send someone from the Gulag to accept the award. I spent three months just to get out, even though I was innocent of all charges. You know, it’s just insane what New Jersey is doing. We’ll be reporting on the new laws that the Governor has yet to sign, but it appears that he will sign further oppression of our Second Amendment rights in New Jersey. And what you have to be aware of so you can protect yourself, because it is really just the extreme government action focused on attacking the Constitution. I mean, that’s what New Jersey is doing. It’s a fact. They try to contrive every conceivable angle to further deteriorate a Constitutional right. Instead of doing everything they can to Page – 1 – of 10 try to protect it, they do everything they can to try to diminish it. That’s the evil of what the New Jersey government is all about, and that’s really what it is. Evan Nappen 03:18 It is anti-rights, anti-Constitution. They are oppressors, and good people suffer. Good, law-abiding citizens suffer. This isn’t an academic exercise. Real people go to jail. Real people have their lives destroyed. Real people have their careers destroyed, their freedom taken and their families destroyed, over this garbage that New Jersey does in turning law-abiding citizens into criminals. I see it every day in the practice of New Jersey gun law. And the purpose of gun law, Gun Lawyer, of this radio show, is to bring attention to this. To help you, the listener, protect yourself from the evil oppression that is New Jersey. And they will, without any care, destroy you if they can, to promote their agenda, their agenda of destroying guns and gun owners. And this is what I see. Okay? This isn’t just hyperbole. It isn’t some made up fantasy. It is literally what I see happening to individuals as I practice in the, in this very area of New Jersey gun law. And it shows you when you have states that are following this agenda, how they destroy good people. So, you’ve got to be careful, especially in New Jersey. But do not give up. Maintain the fight. Stay vigilant. It’s critical. In the big picture, we are winning. New Jersey is going to get its head handed to it. I’m confident in the court decisions that we’ll be seeing. We will succeed. But in the meantime, it’s a battle. I want to see the least amount of casualties on our side in this battle, but it’s a battle nonetheless. Evan Nappen 05:24 And on that point recently, there was an article by one of my favorite writers, Dean Weingarten, who posted this in AmmoLand. He makes a very interesting point about what happened to the homicide rate after the Supreme Court’s Bruen decision. (https://www.ammoland.com/2025/12/what-happened-to-the- homicide-rate-after-the-supreme-courts-bruen-decision/) So, you know, we have this great Second Amendment decision in Bruen that establishes our right to self-defense outside the home and that actually finally enables the carry permits to have to be issued by the anti-gun oppression states like New Jersey that were using the trick of “justifiable need” to stop law-abiding citizens from being able to have a gun to defend themselves, and the legal barrier that the courts created knowingly to oppress rights was working. Evan Nappen 06:25 You know, we had less than 600 carry licenses. And the Bruen decision handily eliminated that, so that licenses had to be issued. Now we’re in the, you know, 60, 70, 80,000 licenses. The number is hard to pinpoint, but it’s constantly growing. And this is great that so many citizens now can be defenders instead of victims. But New Jersey, of course, embarked on trying to limit where you can use your carry. Hence, the “sensitive places”. This crazy matrix of where you can and can’t carry which is also the subject of a court challenge, and we should be seeing some great outcome there, as the, as the Appellate Court has taken on that issue again. Seeing New Jersey’s gun laws go up in flames and go to the garbage can, the garbage heap of history where they belong. Evan Nappen 07:29 But this article from Dean Weingarten about what happened to the homicide rate after the Bruen decision is really very interesting, because it’s a very interesting question. I mean, what this goes to is, Page – 2 – of 10 every time there is anything that is pro-gun rights, pro-enforcing our Constitutional rights, anything that expands our ability to exercise our rights, the anti-rights crowd, the oppressors, will shout what I call BITS, bits. Which is Blood In The Streets. There’ll be blood in the streets. You know, this is going to be the Wild West. This is going to be, you know, just the sky is falling, right? Every time, every time. And so, of course, the prediction was, if we have carry, we’re going to have blood in the streets. And it’s going to be terrible and all this mayhem. And guess what? The opposite, of course, the opposite. The opposite happened. Evan Nappen 08:31 Because as Dean points out in his article, it says. “As of the latest numbers of October 2025, the 12- month running average of violent crime has dropped 14% since June of 2022. The drop in murders is even more pronounced at 39%. The numbers are from the tools provided by the Real Time Crime Index.” How about that, folks? Murder down 39%. Violent crime down 14%. This is tracking, as you and I always knew it would, when law-abiding citizens can defend themselves. Now, of course, it’s not the only reason that violent crime and murders have gone down, but it is absolutely a contributing factor. And the antis are always quick to say. Well, if it just saves one life, we need to. Well, guess what? How many lives have now been saved by the expansion of our rights to carry and defend ourselves since the Bruen decision? Way more than one life, that’s for sure. Lots of lives, lots of lives are being saved because of Constitutional freedom being expanded and protected and preserved. So, this is important to recognize and to force our adversaries to face the fact that guns save lives. That trained law-abiding citizens are lifesavers, and that firearms are protection that is effective. Not just to that individual defending themselves or their families, but in the big picture, the statistics themselves speak to the benefit of it. Evan Nappen 10:54 Hey, I would also like to mention our good friend, John Petrolino, who does amazing journalistic work. And it’s not just me saying that. I’m happy to mention that John recently was given an award, and actually more than one from the New Jersey Society of Professional Journalists. (https://bearingarms.com/camedwards/2025/12/30/petrolinos-coverage-of-new-jersey-2a-issues-earns- accolades-from-surprising-source-n1231070) They announced winners of the 2025 Excellence in Journalism Awards. And we’re talking about winners that include the New York Times, the Asbury Park Press and Politico. Evan Nappen 11:39 Well, lo and behold, there’s John Petrolino, one of the contributors for Bearing Arms and a great writer. He really has done tremendous work in New Jersey, and he won first place for “Best Coverage of State Government” for his series of articles highlighting abuses of the “shall issue” carry permit system. These very abuses of which demonstrate institutionalized racism. He documented excessive wait times and how the number of black applicants are discriminated against. And this research was, in fact, corroborated by the group Rise Against Hate, which, you know, they’re normally not a 2A group. And he won first place also for “Best Coverage of Municipal Government for his Bearing Arms story “Permit to Carry Denial Over a Driving Record?” And he’s really gotten praise here from his fellow journalists, and I think it’s great. Because not only does he deserve it, but imagine, you know, we’re talking about real journalism here, not the propaganda that the lamestream media throws at us. I mean, we’re talking Page – 3 – of 10 about real journalism that puts out a product that is otherwise not being seen, and in doing so, aids our Second Amendment rights and helps fight the oppression with the disinfectant of truth. John, congratulations on your awards. That is just really great, because when you win, we win, and it gets the message out. So, that’s a great job, and we’re proud of you. Evan Nappen 13:56 Hey, let me mention our good friends at WeShoot. WeShoot is a range in Lakewood, and they have got some great specials focused on training, including some great price drops. They are putting forward new prices to save money to get folks training. They’re doing it to make training easier and less expensive. So, they’re offering the USCCA and NRA CCW classes now at $225 down from $299. So, it’s even more affordable. This includes the New Jersey concealed carry class as well. You can get your CCARE and get your carry permit. They are great. That’s where Teddy and I got our certification from. And right there at WeShoot. They’re offering dates for both the NRA and doing your renewals for your carry permits, and they even have carry certification for seniors. They do a special seniors class. Evan Nappen 15:14 They are magnificent in their training programs that they offer. They offer also their HSI Adult CPR / AED certification course. You’ll earn a two-year certification on that. You’re learning how to perform CPR and AED, you know, defibrillator use, and handle basic first aid, respond to choking and cardiac arrest and such. So, if you want to get your training in all these areas and many others, and also just learning to shoot better, they are the place to go. WeShoot is conveniently located in Lakewood, right off the Parkway. You can go to wehootusa.com, weshootusa.com, and check out their website. Beautiful photography. They also have a great pro shop. They have lots of great guns and great deals. They will take care of you. You’ll be able to have a great place to shoot and enjoy relaxation at the range. And you’ll know that you are able to defend yourself and your loved ones should the need arise. But also go there and have some fun. Evan Nappen 16:41 Let me also tell you about our good friends at the Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs. They are fighting very, very hard in a very challenging environment, and they are the key gun rights group in New Jersey. They are the NRA State Affiliate. They’re the umbrella organization of gun clubs through the state, but they also have individual members. Everybody needs to be a member of the Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs. You’ll get their fantastic email alerts, and you’ll get a great newsletter. You’ll also know that you’re part of the solution fighting. They’re going to send you out things you can do real quick to make your voice heard as we continue the fight. And we’ve made a difference. The Association has made a difference. We’re still in a major battle, but the Association is there in the courts, as we speak, fighting on those key issues in the Appellate Courts. Evan Nappen 17:40 As we are talking right now, they’re there in the courts. We’re seeing some incredible results, and we’re going to see even more incredible results. I am extremely optimistic that the courts are going to really deliver for us. The truth is on our side. The law is on our side. The Supreme Court has laid out the groundwork that is all on our side. And the Association is truly on our side, working for the elimination of Page – 4 – of 10 Second Amendment oppression, especially on those key issues that affect so many of us. So, join the Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs at anjrpc.org. Evan Nappen 18:33 And don’t forget to get a copy of my book, New Jersey Gun Law. It’s the bible of New Jersey gun law. Get your book today. Go to EvanNappen.com. It’s the big orange book that is the Bible of New Jersey gun law. It’s a book used by everybody, and you need to have a copy so that you can protect yourself. It is the only book out there that describes New Jersey gun law in a question and answer format so that it is actually almost understandable. How’s that? You can almost understand it from that book. Now, I tried to make it as user- friendly as I can, but New Jersey, of course, itself, is just contradictory in many of its own laws. I try to point it out in the book, when they are saying one thing and then saying another. The contradictions seem to just fly out because they just can’t pass new gun laws fast enough, and they don’t bother to make sure that they actually make sense, right? So, that’s where the book comes in. You’ll be able to know these distinctions and protect yourself. When you get the book, scan the QR code on the front cover and join, for free, my private subscriber base. You’ll get updates, and you’ll be able to access the archives for any previous updates that are there. This way the book will stay current because of that. So, go to EvanNappen.com and order your copy today. Hey, Teddy, what do you have for us today? Teddy Nappen 20:11 Well, as you know, Press Checks are always free, and I always want to see what is the Left, what is the argument they are making now? What is the push that they are trying to go for? Well, it seems they’ve gone and changed their tactics. They are now focusing in on high capacity magazines, or as what you know and everyone else knows them to be, standard capacity magazines. Because it’s just another made up term that they use. But going to The Trace to see their newest argument, I love this, by the way. “How Gun Manufacturers Swamped the Market With Large-Capacity Magazines” (https://www.thetrace.org/2025/12/large-capacity-magazine-nssf-gun-study/) Yes, that’s who is to blame for why there is such a high demand of a quote, unquote high capacity magazines. It’s the gun manufacturers. That’s who’s to blame. So, this article is by Mike Spies in The Trace. They start off with “At least 717 million devices like the one used in the Brown University mass shooting . . . ” Oh, well, there you go. Immediately. The first line. Evan Nappen 21:23 All they do is sell emotion. They’re just selling it as emotion. What about, you know. Do you know what a small, virtually, statistically irrelevant, it’s so small, the number of magazines, of a magazine that holds whatever they’re calling high capacity of that day, whatever that may be, was the reason, was the effect for that crime. Because the magazine held a certain amount of rounds. That is somehow the reason for the crime. It is a statistical irrelevancy. It is pure emotion. Teddy Nappen 22:07 I wonder how they, I wonder how they feel about in Australia, where it took, you know, two guys with a couple of bolt actions. And, you know, I think the body count was what? Double from Brown. But no, sorry, don’t talk about that. Page – 5 – of 10 Evan Nappen 22:20 Right. Teddy Nappen 22:21 Mind you they try to highlight this. Oh, man, Dad, did you know that between 1990 to 2021, the gun industry flooded the market with 717 detachable firearm magazines that held 11 rounds or more. You see, Dad, prior to 1990, there were no magazines that held over 11 rounds. Evan Nappen 22:46 That’s what it was? None. There was suddenly a flood. Teddy Nappen 22:52 A flooding, as a flooding. Then describe what the term a magazine, you know, for anyone doesn’t understand. And then tried to make the argument that not all manufacturers of gun magazines provided data to the study to stipulate the figures representing conservative estimates that military and law enforcement sales were not counted, and roughly 46% of magazines were accounted for from some 443 million, including rifle magazines that held 30 rounds or more. Evan Nappen 23:26 Okay. So, if we have millions and millions and millions of magazines that hold over 10 rounds, do you know how few isolated events, just think of how many few events? They get a ton of media coverage, but how few those events are. And even in those events, what statistical difference did it make that they had a magazine that held more than 10 rounds in commission of that crime? It is so rare and to have to this be of anything, of any real impact, of any true impact, yet it’s pure emotion there. So, oh my God, all these magazines are out there. Yeah, well, so what? So, what? They don’t make a difference. The only time it makes a difference is to the individual who needs to defend themselves. Then the issue of firepower is important in one’s own self-defense. So, when magazines are limited, the question you have to ask is, well, how many bullets is your life worth? In other words, how many bullets can you have to defend your life? Your Government has arbitrarily determined that your life is only worth 10 bullets. No more than 10, just 10. That’s all it’s worth. You’re not worth 11 bullets or 12 or anything more. That’s really what they are saying. Teddy Nappen 25:00 They also seem to stress this whole idea that magazines were only at 10 rounds until 1990, and they’re trying to make that argument. Well, thanks to again, always, when the left make their argument, use context and history, and that is how it is debunked. Right here from, I believe, you said this was a very well known writer, Dave Kopel. Evan Nappen 25:29 Absolutely. David Kopel. Page – 6 – of 10 Teddy Nappen 25:30 He wrote a brilliant article, which I highly recommend people read, “The History of Firearm Magazines and Magazine Prohibition”. (https://davekopel.org/2A/LawRev/2015/History-of-firearms-magazines-and- magazine-prohibition.pdf) Evan Nappen 25:33 Well, it must be a short history, since it only began in 1990. Teddy Nappen 25:44 No, no, let’s start with. Evan Nappen 25:46 Oh, really. Teddy Nappen 25:47 Yeah, you know, let’s go all the way back to 1580. Evan Nappen 25:51 Oh, 1580. Wow, how did they miss that? Teddy Nappen 25:55 I know. With the multi-shot guns. And then cut to the patent pending, 1718, of the Puckle Gun, shooting, you know, 23. Evan Nappen 26:05 I love the Puckle gun. Teddy Nappen 26:06 You know, it used 11 pre-loaded cylinders. And then cut over to everyone’s favorite, the Lewis and Clark air rifle, the Girandoni, that had a detachable magazine. Evan Nappen 26:20 And air guns are firearms in New Jersey. So, it would still considered a firearm. Yeah. Teddy Nappen 26:27 Yeah. So, and cut over to the Alexander Hall and Colonel Parry Porter rifles that were 15-shot rotating cylinder. But they may say, oh, it’s not detachable, though. Even though it’s well beyond the capacity, and you know this is only 1850. Cut over now to the 1866 chain pistol fed , 20 round, belt fed chain pistol. Imagine carrying that? Evan Nappen 27:00 I like that. Page – 7 – of 10 Teddy Nappen 27:01 Yeah. And then cut now to 1899 with the, or 1900 when they were commercially available, the Luger semi- automatic pistols that, you know, could use a seven or eight round magazine or a, you know, their version of a high capacity 32 drum mag. Evan Nappen 27:21 Oooh, the old snail drum mag for the Luger. Teddy Nappen 27:25 And then cut to 1927 where you could go to Auto Ordinance for a 30 round mag. Evan Nappen 27:32 Or a 50 or 100. That’s right. Teddy Nappen 27:35 In 1927, you know? Well, we’re getting, we’re getting closer. You’re getting around that time. But now to 1963, with the AR-15 rifle, with the 20 rounds, a little higher than that, to 30 round magazine capacity. Which to the point, where there was a famous (Supreme Court) case, Staples versus United States, where they were trying, where it differentiated from the AR-15 to the M 16. They tried to blend machine gun to semi auto. Evan Nappen 28:06 Well, they did that on purpose — to fool the public. It was even admitted in Josh Sugarmann’s book. He said that was the intention — to fool the public, who won’t be able to tell the difference between full auto and semi- auto. Machine guns and semi autos. It’ll fool them, because that’s what they’re about. They just want to fool the public to get their agenda through. Teddy Nappen 28:27 Because they, because the Left have this whole ideology, which is the people are stupid and we can manipulate them. Unfortunately, yeah, there’s a lot of people that aren’t read up on it and get easily tricked. They play off of emotions and that’s how they play their game. Luckily, now, thanks to the internet and people being able to do their own research. Even though they’ve, you know, censored, but we’ve fought back hard on that, people can actually see and look up and find out. Oh, yeah, wait. They just lied to me. Here’s the proof. It’s very easy now to debunk their lies, and it’s quite hilarious. Teddy Nappen 29:08 And then I love the ending to it all. I love his ending to the whole article, which is we end this story now in 1979. Jimmy Carter is president, and Gaston Glock is making curtain rods in his garage. Now, look right now. Evan Nappen 29:28 Oh, no, the Glock pistol is coming. Page – 8 – of 10 Teddy Nappen 29:30 Yeah, the Glock pistol is coming. And then all magazine which, and then all polymers. It just comes down to this. The magazines, high capacity magazines, have existed throughout history, and they will continue to exist. Because when they try to sell their argument about high capacity magazines, you know, they will forever be out there. Evan Nappen 29:59 What’s going to happen when it is just laser, and it can be endless? Just how much power. There won’t even be a capacity limit. It’ll just be limitless, essentially. Evan Nappen 30:13 I’m so. Sorry, my wife is always about the teleporter, where you won’t even need to load the mag. You’ll just point the gun and it’ll teleport the bullet into you, like. Evan Nappen 30:24 Oh, that sounds like a real accuracy improvement. Teddy Nappen 30:27 I know. So, again, technology will always progress more and more, and they will never be able to keep it. I can’t wait for the National Ray Gun Association. I think it was a Futurama joke. Evan Nappen 30:39 A National Ray Gun Association. That’s good. Evan Nappen 30:46 So, you know, one of the key things we like to do is have our listeners stay protected and not end up a GOFU. And unfortunately, GOFUs are Gun Owner Fuck Ups. They’re expensive lessons that you get to learn on the cheap. You get to learn for free, so you don’t commit the same error, the same fuck up. And so this week’s GOFU, something that, you know these come from actual cases, actual experience, actual folks that I’m representing. And it’s really a principle here today, and that is, don’t escalate the situation. Don’t be the person that initiates a problem that can be avoided. If you can avoid a conflict, you need to avoid the conflict. You cannot engage in a manner the way you used to, let’s say, before you were armed. Evan Nappen 31:56 Because you are armed, you’re essentially having to walk away. If something is just verbal, whatever, don’t escalate it. Don’t engage further. Because then what happens is you, as a gun owner, become the target of the law enforcement action, even though you weren’t the one who may have even initiated it. But if you escalated and went along with whatever this problem was that even got created or started by another person, you end up having to pay the price. I see this often where a law-abiding gun owner has an argument with somebody, and the law-abiding gun owner is in the right. The law-abiding gun owner doesn’t do anything wrong, but the other party somehow sees, notices, believes, thinks, that the gun owner has a gun, and then claims to the police that they saw the gun. You threatened them with the gun. They felt intimidated by the gun, whatever. Page – 9 – of 10 Evan Nappen 33:19 And it’s now escalated to where the gun owner gets charged with threatening, brandishing, whatever, and you just see it take off as an escalation. You need to learn to ignore all the jackasses that are out there that cause trouble, that act stupid. You have to take a different kind of attitude to ignore these people. Ignore them. Unless you are being threatened with serious bodily injury or death, where you have no other option, then ignore these people. Get away from these folks that are just trouble. Because if it comes around that you’re a gun owner, and there’s an issue, I see it. The tables turn on the gun owner all the time. Stay low key. Stay discreet. Don’t escalate. Stay away from these people that get law-abiding citizens into trouble because of the built in bias in the system against gun owners. Evan Nappen 33:42 This is Evan Nappen and Teddy Nappen reminding you that gun laws don’t protect honest citizens from criminals. They protect criminals from honest citizens. Speaker 2 34:25 Gun Lawyer is a CounterThink Media production. The music used in this broadcast was managed by Cosmo Music, New York, New York. Reach us by emailing Evan@gun.lawyer. The information and opinions in this broadcast do not constitute legal advice. Consult a licensed attorney in your state. Page – 10 – of 10 Downloadable PDF TranscriptGun Lawyer S3 E271_Transcript About The HostEvan Nappen, Esq.Known as “America's Gun Lawyer,” Evan Nappen is above all a tireless defender of justice. Author of eight bestselling books and countless articles on firearms, knives, and weapons history and the law, a certified Firearms Instructor, and avid weapons collector and historian with a vast collection that spans almost five decades — it's no wonder he's become the trusted, go-to expert for local, industry and national media outlets. Regularly called on by radio, television and online news media for his commentary and expertise on breaking news Evan has appeared countless shows including Fox News – Judge Jeanine, CNN – Lou Dobbs, Court TV, Real Talk on WOR, It's Your Call with Lyn Doyle, Tom Gresham's Gun Talk, and Cam & Company/NRA News. As a creative arts consultant, he also lends his weapons law and historical expertise to an elite, discerning cadre of movie and television producers and directors, and novelists. He also provides expert testimony and consultations for defense attorneys across America. Email Evan Your Comments and Questions  talkback@gun.lawyer Join Evan's InnerCircleHere's your chance to join an elite group of the Savviest gun and knife owners in America.  Membership is totally FREE and Strictly CONFIDENTIAL.  Just enter your email to start receiving insider news, tips, and other valuable membership benefits.   Email (required) *First Name *Select list(s) to subscribe toInnerCircle Membership Yes, I would like to receive emails from Gun Lawyer Podcast. (You can unsubscribe anytime)Constant Contact Use. Please leave this field blank.var ajaxurl = "https://gun.lawyer/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php";

What if your most meaningful work begins after you stop striving to prove yourself? In this warm, wide-ranging conversation, I sit down with old friend, songwriter, filmmaker, and Enneagram Two Andrew Greer for a heartful exploration of loneliness, love, boundaries, creativity, and what it really means to live a good life. Andrew opens up about the hidden sadness behind the Enneagram Two's gift for connection—the ache that often fuels the desire to help, anticipate, and care for others. Together, we unpack how pride, control, and fear of being a burden can quietly shape relationships, and how learning to receive may be the most courageous spiritual practice of all. We also dive into Andrew's new book, More Than a President, and explore Jimmy Carter as a quintessential Enneagram One—principled, disciplined, justice-driven, and far more impactful after the presidency than during it. This episode is a meditation on personality, vocation, and maturity—on shifting focus from résumé to soul, from achievement to love, from striving to rest. It's thoughtful, funny, deeply human, and quietly challenging. Pull up a chair. This one stays with you.   ---------------------------------------------------------------------------   About Andrew Greer Author, musician, and filmmaker, Andrew Greer has published three books, released multiple chart-topping recordings, and directed the PBS documentary Plainspoken, a film inspired by the lives of Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter and their neighbors in Plains, Georgia. A Texas native, and longtime Nashvillian, Greer now makes his home in Plains. Website: https://www.andrew-greer.com/ New Book: http://sundayswithjimmycarter.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andrewbgreer/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/agreermusic

Don investigates an outrageous escape over an iconic wall, an unsung Civil War hero and a president caught up in a mysterious close encounter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One year ago today, I lost my grandfather, Jimmy Carter. In this episode, I reflect on my grandfather's life and the lessons he taught me.

One year after the passing of President Jimmy Carter, Ron reflects on what Carter's life and legacy still mean for a country struggling with division and distrust.Drawing from a powerful Atlanta Journal-Constitution op-ed, Ron is joined by Linda Peek-Schacht, who served in the Carter White House press office, to talk about civic virtue, truth-telling, and the kind of leadership America may be searching for next. The conversation looks back at Carter's moral imagination, his willingness to confront uncomfortable truths, and how those qualities shaped both his presidency and his life after the White House. Plus, it's the plucky determination of The Carter Center, led by CEO Paige Alexander, that should inspire us all to keep moving forward despite the obstacles - or in their case massive funding cuts - because "the work" still needs to be done. Lastly, Marjorie Taylor Greene's most recent "mainstream media" exposure via the New York Times sees her going "scorched earth" on MAGA and Donald Trump, going even so far as to questioning his faith.  Tune in to catch the Ron Show weekdays from 4-6pm Eastern time on Georgia NOW! Grab the app or listen online at heargeorgianow.com.#JimmyCarter #LindaPeekSchott #CivicVirtue #AmericanDemocracy #PoliticalLeadership #TruthAndDecency #GeorgiaPolitics #HearGeorgiaNow #TheRonShow

On the one-year mark since President Jimmy Carter's death, hosts Greg Bluestein and Patricia Murphy reflect on Carter's lasting legacy in his hometown of Plains and what it means for Georgia today. Patricia shares voices from the community that helped shape Carter's life and values, offering a portrait of how the small town continues to carry his example forward. Then they turn to the 2026 campaign trail, as Patricia takes listeners inside her reporting with two Democratic candidates for governor. Through conversations in Columbus and beyond, she explores how candidates Jason Esteves and Michael Thurmond are grounding their campaigns in personal stories, economic pressures, and appeals to hope as Georgia's next political chapter begins. Have a question or comment for the show? Call or text the 24-hour Politically Georgia Podcast Hotline at 770-810-5297. We'll play back your question and answer it during our next Monday Mailbag segment. You can also email your questions at PoliticallyGeorgia@ajc.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

THE ROAD TO THE WHITE HOUSE: CAMPAIGNS OF 1976 AND 1980 Colleague Max Boot. Discussing the path to the presidency, Boot analyzes Reagan's close 1976 loss to Gerald Ford and his victorious 1980 campaign. He highlights the firing of campaign manager John Sears, Bill Casey's role in the potential "October Surprise" regarding Iranian hostages, and Reagan's decisive debate performance against Jimmy Carter. NUMBER 5 1971 GOVERNOR'S BALL

VIDEO - https://youtu.be/oKPSkG-Z2Dw Fidel Castro transformó su imagen en los años 70 para seducir al exilio cubano y abrir un canal con EE.UU. El Diálogo del 78 fue mucho más que una reunión: fue estrategia pura. En plena Guerra Fría, mientras el mundo miraba hacia otra parte, el régimen castrista comenzó una operación política cuidadosamente calculada. Con el apoyo indirecto de Jimmy Carter y la mediación del banquero exiliado Bernardo Benes, Cuba lanzó una campaña para legitimar su imagen internacional sin ceder poder real. Este episodio, conocido como el Diálogo del 78, marcó un punto de inflexión: por primera vez, el régimen comunista abría la puerta —controladamente— al exilio que había llamado “gusano” por décadas. Desde los primeros encuentros secretos en Panamá, hasta los viajes encubiertos de Benes a La Habana y su histórico cara a cara con Fidel Castro, esta historia es un thriller político con consecuencias reales: liberación de presos políticos, reencuentros familiares, pero también amenazas, traiciones y una fractura irreparable en el exilio cubano. Este video es la primera parte de una serie documental que desvela los verdaderos hilos del poder detrás del “gesto humanitario” del castrismo. ¿Fue Benes un héroe, un peón o un traidor? Tú decides.VIDEOS RELACIONADOS:Parte I: https://youtu.be/oKPSkG-Z2DwParte II: https://youtu.be/gE6djnsIPA4

Chris Matthews is one of the smartest and funniest political commentators in America today. His previous bosses include President Jimmy Carter and Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill. On this week's “Leaders and Legends” podcast, we talk with Chris about the astonishing impact of RFK and why history was changed forever that night in the Ambassador HotelSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

INSIDE IRAN: CONFESSIONS FROM THE REVOLUTIONARIES Colleague Craig Unger. Traveling to Tehran, Unger visits the former US embassy and interviews Mohsen Rafighdoost, a Revolutionary Guard founder. Ungercaptured video where Rafighdoost seemingly admits to meeting Republicans. Former Iranian President Banisadr also confirmed the plot, describing the collision as a "double coup" targeting both Jimmy Carter and his own presidency. NUMBER 7

00:00:00 - Topics00:01:39 - Former Russian Republic President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov has shared more details about being taken by extraterrestrials on a spacecraft in 1997. https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/2000380664151933231 00:05:59 - Near 100% odds Donald Trump will reveal truth about UFOs as betting frenzy hits $6 million in Britain https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/2000382937762525507 00:07:34 - Corroboration that Henry Kissinger, Jimmy Carter, Mikhail Gorbachev, and NASA officials knew much more than they publicly admitted concerning extraterrestrial life. https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/2000517283379060850 00:10:46 - The 1561 Nuremberg mass UFO sighting was described by locals as an aerial battle. https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/2000519156161032518 00:14:36 - Uncovering Antarctica's Secrets & Hidden History https://exopolitics.org/uncovering-antarcticas-secrets-hidden-history/ 00:16:34 - Prof Avi Loeb speculates that the antitail of 3I/Atlas may be "a swarm of macroscopic non-volatile object that are not affected by the solar radiation pressure or the solar wind. https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/2000757902441607570 00:21:16 - Deep State targeting Russia due to it being an off-shoot of Tartarian civilization. https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/2000906256031342655 00:26:00 - 3I/Atlas is transmitting radio signals that are being blocked by a network of 200 SpaceX satellites, according to a high-level NASA official. https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/2000906870027174372 00:28:13 - We are finally getting close to the big day when the world learns we are not alone in the universe: Disclosure Day | Official Teaser https://youtu.be/UFe6NRgoXCM?si=k5mN04sz0N_p404P 00:31:01 - The author of "Why is No One Talking About the Aliens" makes some valid points about why the general public doesn't take the time to consider the question of extraterrestrial life. https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/2001115432598598047 00:34:13 - David Icke makes a fair point. Is he on some kind of black list for popular podcasters? https://x.com/davidicke/status/2001195117424607243 00:38:26 - Jared Isaacman is the new NASA Administrator. https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/2001449294424101208 00:40:22 - A detailed reply by Jean Charles Moyen and his wife Melanie Charest to accusations leveled against them on the website of Elena Danaan. https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/200158793989821254500:47:35 - Vimanas, Ancient Temples & Return of the Gods: Interview with Praveen Mohan https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/2001712624292057248 00:48:28 - Is the Trump organization about to unveil a form of cold fusion energy it has attained that will transform the world? https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/200193639123274968400:52:48 - Trump signed an executive order committing the United States to return to the Moon by 2028, build a lunar outpost by 2030 and prepare for the journey to Mars https://x.com/SawyerMerritt/status/2001787324384862401 00:55:09 - New Monthly Briefing on Jan 3, 2026 Join Dr. Salla on Patreon for Early Releases, Webinar Perks and More.Visit https://Patreon.com/MichaelSalla/

Tara reacts to shocking new numbers showing a collapse in fully electric vehicle sales after the $7,500 federal tax credit expired

The first round of the College Football Playoff is right around the corner, and we're here to talk about a whole bunch of other vaguely sports-related stuff before getting into the games previews. Listen, if you must! Has something we said, or failed to say, made you FEEL something? You can tell us all about it by joining the conversation on our Substack or you can send us an email here. Enjoy!Show RundownOpen — Abe Live-Bets the Games!5:52 — WGAS NewsBag, Sports Edition! Sherrone Moore; Michigan coaching search; QBs in the portal; Heisman to the herb; Knicks win the “NBA Cup”42:31 — Sports-Adjacent Question of the Week53:02 — The Best Game in Every Time Slot1:10:37 — CIB 2025 Football Pick ‘em Contest1:19:45 — Jimmy Carter's Presidential Lock of the Week, Live from Plains, Heaven1:23:51 — Wrap-up! Athletic fees for non-athletes; Can the Japanese redeem themselves in Abe's eyes?Relevant Linkage can be found by visiting https://brainiron.substack.com/, where, if you would like to support this and the other podcasting and blogging endeavors of the Brain Iron dot com media empire, you can also become a paying subscriber.The opening and closing themes of Cast Iron Balls were composed by Marc Gillig. For more from Marc, go to tetramermusic.com.The background music for Jimmy Carter's Presidential Lock of the Week is "Bama Country" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In August 1971, Richard Nixon went on television and detonated the global financial system. By severing the U.S. dollar from gold, the Nixon Shock ended Bretton Woods, ushered in fiat money, and unleashed a new era of credit, speculation, and inequality. What followed wasn't just inflation and currency volatility—it was a fundamental rewiring of housing, wealth, and power.In this episode of Built to Divide, Dimitrius Lynch traces how the end of the gold standard collided with housing policy, stagflation, and a rising market-first ideology. As public housing construction collapsed, Section 8 vouchers expanded, the mortgage interest deduction quietly became America's largest housing subsidy, and real estate lobbying reshaped Washington. Jimmy Carter framed housing as a moral obligation—but crisis, inflation, and backlash undercut reform. Then came Milton Friedman, Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan, and the think-tank machine, turning deregulation, tax cuts, and privatization into governing doctrine.The result? Housing shifted from shelter to leverage. Neighborhoods hardened. Inequality accelerated. McMansions replaced porches. Master-planned enclaves rose as public responsibility retreated. And the rails were laid for subprime lending, securitization, and collapse.This is the episode where money floats, housing fractures, and the modern economy takes its irreversible turn.Episode Extras - Photos, videos, sources and links to additional content found during research. Episode Credits:Production in collaboration with Gābl MediaWritten & Executive Produced by Dimitrius LynchAudio Engineering and Sound Design by Jeff Alvarez

Give to help Chris continue to make Truce William R. “Bill” Bright was born in 1921 in Coweta, Oklahoma. Though raised in a religious environment, he initially pursued business success and personal ambition. While attending the University of Southern California, Bright experienced a dramatic spiritual transformation through the influence of Christian leaders like Henrietta Mears. This encounter led him to surrender his life to Jesus Christ and ultimately shaped his calling toward full-time evangelism. In 1951, Bill and his wife, Vonette, founded Campus Crusade for Christ at UCLA with a vision to reach college students with the Gospel. He later developed The Four Spiritual Laws, a simple evangelistic tract that became one of the most widely distributed Christian tools in history. Under his leadership, Campus Crusade grew into a global movement with ministries focused on students, athletes, families, the military, and professionals. Bright also launched the Jesus Film Project in 1979, which became one of the most-translated and widely viewed films in the world. What's missing from most short bios of Bright is the depth of his involvement in the Religious Right. He organized or was present at some of their key gatherings, founded a publishing house to print their words, and raised funds among them. Bill Bright remained dedicated to fulfilling the Great Commission, often engaging in long periods of fasting and prayer for spiritual guidance. He received the prestigious Templeton Prize in 1996 for his contributions to religion and reinvested the award into Christian ministry. When he died in 2003, Campus Crusade for Christ had expanded into nearly every nation, with thousands of staff and volunteers sharing the Gospel worldwide. Bright's life stands as a testament to the global impact one person can have through faith, vision, and relentless obedience to God's call. My guest for this episode is historian John G. Turner, author of Bill Bright and Campus Crusade for Christ: The Renewal of Evangelicalism in Postwar America. Sources: Bill Bright and Campus Crusade for Christ: The Renewal of Evangelicalism in Postwar America by John G. Turner The Evangelicals by Frances Fitzgerald Reaganland by Rick Perlstein God as Capitalist: Seminar Promotes Religion and Riches by Russell Chandler. Los Angeles Times (1923-1995); Jun 1, 1981; starts on page B3. Accessed via ProQuest (thanks to the Teton County Library for access!) Tract: The Four Spiritual Laws The Politics of Rage by Dan T. Carter The Invisible Bridge by Rick Perlstein Before the Storm by Rick Perlstein God's Own Party by Daniel K. Williams One Nation Under God by Rus Walton (page numbers mentioned in the episode correspond to the 1993 paperback edition). I also used the 1987 version from archive.org Birchers by Matthew Dallek In the Spirit of '76, published by Third Century Publishers Inc. Jimmy Carter, the Politics of Family, and the Rise of the Religious Right by J. Brooks Flippen The 700 Club's coverage of the "Washington for Jesus Rally" Also, my guest, Dave Hopping, used to be in the comedy duo "Dave and Brian". They were pretty big! Here is one of their videos. Discussion Questions: Have you read The Four Spiritual Laws? How has Campus Crusade/ Cru impacted your life? The life of your loved ones? What threats did Bright perceive to American Christians? Where was he right? Where was he wrong? What did you think of Rus Walton's book One Nation Under God? Was Bright part of the Religious Right? To what degree? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I veckans avsnitt gör vi en kärleksfullt skeptisk resa genom Jimmy Carters presidentskap. Outsidern som lovade att städa upp efter Watergate. Den sympatiske nykomlingen som verkade stå för något nytt – och som ändå hade förvånansvärt svårt att få saker gjorda när det väl gällde.Vi berättar Carters historia genom fyra udda ögonblick. Den där Playboy-intervjun som plötsligt gjorde religion och sex till valfrågor. Promenaden till installationen, när han bokstavligen kliver ut ur limousinen för att bli folkets president. Det allvarsamma “Crisis of Confidence”-talet mitt i 70-talets ekonomiska kaos. Och så förstås historien om “mördarkaninen” – när ett till synes harmlöst fiskeminne förvandlas till politisk symbol.Det blir ett avsnitt om höga ambitioner, dålig tajming och ett presidentskap som gick fel – men också om en anständig människa i ett jobb som sällan belönar just det.Läslista:Bird, Kai, The Outlier: The Unfinished Presidency of Jimmy Carter, Crown, New York, 2021.Henriksson, Karin, USA:s alla presidenter, Lind & Co, Stockholm, 2024.Kruse, Kevin Michael, Fault Lines: A History of the United States since 1974, 1st edn, W. W. Norton & Company, New York, 2019.Stolpe, Claus, Bland åsnor och elefanter: en utvärdering av USA:s presidenter, diss., Åbo Akademi, Åbo, 2011.Zelizer, Julian E., Jimmy Carter: 39th President, 1977–1981, Times Books, New York, 2010. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Chip and Gini discuss the importance of strategic planning for 2026. As they near the end of 2025, they emphasize the need for agencies to set themselves apart and adapt to the evolving landscape, particularly through the effective use of AI. Despite ongoing economic challenges, they highlight the potential for AI to enhance both efficiency and strategic thinking. Chip and Gini also stress the importance of refining the ideal client profile and taking calculated risks. They share their personal experiences with using AI to assist in planning and decision-making processes, pointing out both the benefits and limitations of current AI technology. Key takeaways Chip Griffin: “I do think more than ever, continuing forward on the path that you’re on for the vast majority of agencies is not a good idea. I think most agencies require at least some modest course correction and some more than that.” Gini Dietrich: “Really think about how you can set yourself apart and get in front of prospects now and in January so that you can be doing the things that will help you scale and grow and be sustainable for the future. And some of it’s not gonna be fun.” Chip Griffin: “I think really refining that ideal client profile is something that most of us ought to be taking a very close look at for 2026 in our planning process.” Gini Dietrich: “Be willing to try some things and take some risks and see what works and see what doesn’t work, and then go move on to what works and try again.” Resources The Ragan article regarding upskilling and improving AI skills Related Planning for agency growth Using the AIM-GET Framework to drive your annual planning How to involve your team in annual planning for your agency and its clients Look to your track record as you define your agency's ideal client View Transcript The following is a computer-generated transcript. Please listen to the audio to confirm accuracy. Chip Griffin: Hello and welcome to another episode of the Agency Leadership Podcast. I’m Chip Griffin. Gini Dietrich: And I’m Gini Dietrich. Chip Griffin: And Gini, I’m, I’m flipping through the calendar here, you know, ’cause I still have a paper calendar. Of course. I mean, who doesn’t? Gini Dietrich: Of course. Right. Chip Griffin: And it looks like we’re almost to the end of 2025. Gini Dietrich: We, we are. Which is crazy. Crazy. Chip Griffin: Which, which means that 2026 is right around the corner. Gini Dietrich: Yes. Yes it is. Chip Griffin: And what do we usually do near the end of each year? Gini Dietrich: We plan for the following next year. Yeah. Chip Griffin: And, and we have an episode talking about that. So when we have no other good ideas to bring to the table, we turn to the trusted proven stuff from the past Gini Dietrich: 2026. I mean, we could talk about 2026 trends. We could talk about 2026 AI things, but I think planning for our business growth is good. Chip Griffin: Yeah. That all goes into planning, right? So, I, and, you know, I, I’m, as long as we don’t do predictions, I’m fine. I hate predictions. Gini Dietrich: Oh, shoot. Let’s do predictions next week then. Chip Griffin: No, no, no predictions. No, that’s, that drives me up a wall. Gini Dietrich: Note to self. Note to self. Chip Griffin: And I, and I know we are just, you know, probably days away from the flood of Gini Dietrich: Yep. Chip Griffin: Articles and Yep. And podcast episodes and videos with everybody making their predictions for the year ahead. Yep. Just stop it. Gini Dietrich: Yep. Chip Griffin: So my prediction is we will see lots of predictions. Gini Dietrich: That is a good prediction. I think you’re probably going to be right. Chip Griffin: It seems pretty likely. Gini Dietrich: I’d bet on it in fact. Yeah. Chip Griffin: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Alright, so as we start thinking about 2026 planning, let’s look at it for through the, the lens of, of what, what we might do differently in thinking about 2026 than we typically do. Right? Because we, there’s plenty in our archive where people can go back and listen to us generally talk about planning. I’m sure we’ll touch on some of that in the next 20 minutes. I don’t wanna disappoint listeners. We, we will, you know, reach back to the things that we’ve talked about before, but I think it’s helpful to, to think about, you know, what’s, what’s different about 2026, and I think you’ve already hinted at one of the key things. Gini Dietrich: Oh, AI for sure. Yeah. I saw a really interesting post on LinkedIn from Parry Headrick who was talking about how he used to work for Shift and he was the VP of the San Francisco office, I think, and he said, you know, this was during the recession and I was… Anybody who was in business during the recession knows all of your business went away. It was not a fun time to be in business at all. And he talked about how he went to the office every single day for months on end, and he made cold calls to tech firms and he, he would say, we can do like a PR plan for you, a PR 101 like, and he said one out of every 100 calls accepted the offer. And then they went all out and created a really strategic, as much as it could be, plan for these companies. And gave it to them for free so that they had, they could generate some business. And he said that that was one of the things that kept the office going during that time and how miserable it was. Like he talked about it was boiling the frog, like it was miserable and it was not enjoyable. It’s not why he was doing that job, but they had to keep the office open. And I think that, I read that and I thought, you know, that’s really interesting as we think about 2026 because the last couple of years for agencies have been miserable. We have been slowly boiling the frog for sure. And you know, I have a lot of friends who have laid people off, some have gone out of business, some haven’t gone outta business, but don’t have any clients. Like, it has been rough. And I’m not sure that 26 is going to be much better. So I think one of the things that I will be advising people is, and, and for us too, is really think about how you can set yourself apart and get in front of prospects now and in January so that you can be doing the things that will help you scale and grow and be sustainable for the future. And some of it’s not gonna be fun. It’s not. Chip Griffin: Well, you’ve, uh, certainly taken this on a depressing turn here. Gini Dietrich: I mean, we can talk about AI too, but Chip Griffin: I mean No, I mean, we can, we can talk about how miserable and awful things are for everybody. Uh, that’s, Gini Dietrich: it’s been rough. It’s not like it hasn’t been rainbows and unicorns. It hasn’t. Chip Griffin: No, it, it has, it has not been rainbows and unicorns. But I, but I would also, I would, I would push back a bit. I, I don’t think we’re as bad as ’08 or ’09, or back in the early two thousands. I don’t think it’s, it is not as widespread as it was back then. I’m certainly in the agencies that I’m talking with, seeing a lot of agencies that are struggling, most, not catastrophically, most just kind of, you know, sort of malaise is, is the word I would use. Yeah. It’s good for it. And there are still some that are actually doing quite well and, and even growing. So that, to me, that is a little bit different than what we’ve seen in, you know, in  08 or ’09, or during the pandemic. Certainly. You know, where it was pretty much… I guess even in the pandemic, we had pockets, right? The, the digital firms did well because everybody had to transition from doing things in person to doing things electronically. But it, it’s just… so, I, I think we’re in that general period of malaise, you know, sort of in, in my mind, I’m old enough, I, I think Jimmy Carter, right? You know, you just sort of think, ehhh, you know, and, and how America of the late ’70’s was. And so there’s some of that, at least within the economy and, and certainly in, in the agency space. So I think that that part of the, the challenge here is that it is not as simple an explanation as to how you get out of it. Right. I mean, back in ’08, ’09, it’s like, okay, well the economy just has to come forward. And in this case, part of it’s the economy, but part of it is the, the shifting nature of the relationships between agencies and brands, and other organizations. And so I, I, I think that one of the reasons why some agencies are struggling is because they’re not taking a fresh look. At what they do, how they fit into that picture. And I think there needs to be a lot more creative thinking. And I think AI is a big driver of it, not necessarily in the, in the way that people think, though I don’t, I don’t see AI as taking away agency work. Mm-hmm. I see it as agencies just haven’t figured out how to capitalize on it effectively. And, I think that there is tremendous opportunity for those agencies who are willing to adapt their service offerings with and without AI. And moving forward in a way where they’ll leave behind a lot of of other agencies that are more committed to just plodding forward and doing the same old, same old, and, you know, sprinkling in a little bit of AI here and there. Gini Dietrich: I read a really interesting article a couple of weeks ago and I’ll see if I can find it so Jen can include it in the show notes. I’m sure it’s in my history somewhere, but it talked about how, you know, we’ve seen all of these layoffs at all these large companies in the last couple of months, you know, thousands and thousands of people. And they’re telling, most of these companies are telling the teams that remain. There are two things that you need to focus on: upskilling. So, you know, using AI to help improve you, you know, understanding your own professional development, taking charge of new professional development, new skills. And the other piece is really using AI to help improve your, the work that you’re doing to make you more productive. And it went on to say. If you’re an agency that can help with one of those two things, or both of those things, you’re gonna be in better shape than an agency who does new media news releases and news conferences, and you know, social media. So if you can think about how you can provide professional development or help an organization implement AI from a marketing and communications perspective, you’re gonna be a lot further ahead than those that can’t do that. So I think that goes back to really thinking about how to freshen the services that you provide in a way that keeps up with what’s happening in the world. Chip Griffin: Yeah. I mean, look, I think that’s absolutely a piece of it, but I think a piece of it is also figuring out, you know, how can you use AI to help you do different things that are not necessarily even explicitly AI related. Or made more efficient by AI or it, I, I think it’s just a, it’s a opportunity to take a very fresh look at how we do everything. And, and I think we need to be careful, not just us as agencies, but also on the brand side. We need to be careful about how much we believe AI itself is changing things or can change things. And, and I, I saw in the last couple of days, a video that our friend Chris Penn put out, where he talked about how you need to change your vocabulary to get the most out of the various generative AI platforms. And I don’t disagree with what he’s saying. You do need to adapt your language to those models so that you get the results you want. But, but the flip side of that is, to me, that says AI has not come nearly as far as we think because we shouldn’t have to change for AI to be responsive to us. Right. Right. True AI would be adapting to us instead. And, and so we’re not quite there yet. And, and the progress has been absolutely amazing. I’ve, every time I try out the latest version of a model, I find new things that it can do and continue to get more and more impressed. But I also have ongoing frustrations with them. In part because of this vocabulary issue, but in part because, you know, we’re still, we’re still overestimating what the, the technology can do for us today as far as allowing us to, to replace work hours, et cetera. And so I see many brands laying off marketing and communications people thinking, well, we’ll have fewer people, but AI will help them do the same amount. Nope. And AI certainly makes you more efficient, but not, not that efficient. Gini Dietrich: Not that efficient. No. And you still need somebody with a brain to prompt it and ensure that it’s not hallucinating and ensure that it’s the right information. And that it’s been edited. Like you still need humans for those things. Does it help you get a start? For sure. But you still need the human beings to do the work. And make sure that it’s accurate because what it pumps out on first try, I mean, my favorite response is meh. I just write MEH meh, and it goes, okay, lemme try again. And then I write, meh. It tries again. Finally. I’m like, okay, that’s halfway decent. Chip Griffin: Well, that, that’s better. My habit is to actually get into arguments with it, which… Really serves no good purpose, but I just, I get, I get, I get frustrated when I explicitly ask it to do something and it doesn’t, Gini Dietrich: it doesn’t, right. Chip Griffin: And I’ll be like, well, why didn’t you do what? Yeah. Oh no, you’re right. I should have done that. Yes, because I specifically for it, right? Like, please help me, Gini Dietrich: please write a thousand words and it gives you 300. And you’re like, Hmm, right. Just do what thousand words. Chip Griffin: Just do what I ask, you know? Or, you know, please make the logo smaller in this image. And it doesn’t change it. No, don’t do that to me, that’s just, it’s very frustrating. Gini Dietrich: It’s very frustrating. I agree. Chip Griffin: But I think, you know, we need to be thinking how we can leverage some of these tools to help us adapt our service offerings. And I was, I was talking with someone recently who, they had shifted a, a process from humans to AI recently. And they were running into issues because it was some data analysis that was being done and, and it turned out that the numbers were wildly different between the humans and the AI. And so the first instinct was that the AI was wrong. But in fact, upon further review, it turned out that the AI was too good. And it was being in incredibly consistent in the way that it was doing the task. Ah, whereas humans. Sure. Inevitably we get distracted, we make a mistake, we, we hit the wrong key. You know, I mean, there’s all sorts of things that can lead to this, but because the AI was more consistent and the volume of data and such being analyzed by the humans and the AI was substantial, it, it made a real difference because the AI was actually better. And so, but to me that’s an opportunity. You’ve got a short term problem that you gotta deal with that, you know, you’ve been generating these historical reports that don’t look quite right now. But there’s a real opportunity there because you can actually improve the quality of what you’re doing, along with the quantity, along with reducing the, the labor hours involved and that sort of thing. So we need to be looking at, at how we can take that and take it to the next level, not just how can we use AI to do first drafts so that we only have to edit and so therefore we save, you know, 30% of our time or something like that. There’s, we have to be thinking much, much more creatively if we’re gonna be successful going forward. Gini Dietrich: Yeah, and I mean, I’m sure I’ve shared this before, but some of the work that we’ve done in my business this year, I’m not sure we could have done it without AI in the, in two years ago, like some of the work that clients have asked us to do. I’m not sure that we would’ve been capable of doing it without AI. So it, it does have the ability to make you more efficient for sure, but it also helps you think more strategically. And to your point, like, bringing in the, the consistency piece of it so that, you know, maybe the, the way that you reported on results in the past isn’t fully accurate, but now it’s more accurate. Like those kinds of things I think it has helped immensely with, and you know, I can think of at least three situations where I’ve been in a meeting with like big, big, big, big executives and they’ve thrown something out. Do you think your team can do this? And I’ve gone, sure. And then we come back and, you know, as a team, work on it and, and prompt AI. And it’s helped us get to where we need to be. And I don’t think we could have done that on our own two years ago. For sure. Chip Griffin: So, you know, we’ve been talking a bunch about how AI is impacting our businesses, but let’s talk a minute about how AI impacts the planning process itself. And so, you know, my question to you would be, as you’re doing your own 2026 planning with your team, are you using AI to facilitate that process at all? Gini Dietrich: Some of it, I would say I have a co CEO, GPT that I built. So it sits as my Co CEO and sometimes I just vent to it. It makes me feel better, but sometimes it will say things like it will point out things that I didn’t think of. And so, you know, when we, especially right now, ’cause we’re working on cash flow projections for next year with our CFO and I’ve, I’ve put in like… Not actual numbers, but percentages to, and said like, can you help me figure out if these are our goals, what we’re going need to do? What software do we need? What team members are we gonna have to add? Like that kind of stuff. And it help, it’s helping me and our CFO think through all of those different scenarios for sure. We haven’t gotten into like the nitty gritty planning yet because our 2025 plan is rolling over into Q1 a little bit. So we’re, we’re about a quarter behind from that perspective. But, from a cashflow perspective, it’s helping a ton and it’s helped me see things that I wouldn’t have seen on my own. Chip Griffin: Yeah. And and I think that’s a, that’s a real benefit that we ought to be looking at when we’re doing the planning process is using AI, not necessarily to give us all the answers, but to help us understand what else we should be looking at. So I love using AI to, to, to give it a list of questions that I may have about something and say, what, what other questions should I be asking? What other data points should I be looking at? Or putting in some raw data and saying, okay, you know, what are the gaps here? What, what should I be looking to… What additional data should I be looking for? Or how can I analyze this in a different way? So I think in the planning process, there’s a lot of ways that we can use the AI to help us. I think we just need to be careful about using it to give us the answers and instead help it to guide the conversations for sure. Yeah. That we’re having with our teams and with our clients, because it will inevitably help us find things that we are overlooking. And maybe we would still get to it halfway through the brainstorming session or the, the strategy meeting or whatever. But if we know it in advance, you know, it helps us prepare better. Gini Dietrich: Yeah, absolutely. And I, I do think, you know, to your point about the, the data and it being consistent, I think it does look at things more holistically and how, and I mean, it will say to me, have you thought about this or have you thought about that? Or, you know. Here’s an opportunity for you. Like with the PESO model certification in universities, we had an idea of how we were going to approach it in ’26 ’cause the certification is being completely revamped because of AI. And it actually gave me a couple of ideas that I was like… Huh, I hadn’t even thought about that. So like providing curriculum and grading rubric and things like that, that helps professors that I hadn’t even, ’cause I just don’t have that kind of experience. Right. But it helps me think through some of those kinds of things. So I think you’re right. And you know, I love the idea of, of a list of questions and asking what you haven’t thought of. I’ll put in and say, you know, we’re looking to do this, this, and this, and here’s what we’re thinking. What are we missing? And it, you know, it does come back with some ideas. Sometimes it comes back with things you’ve thought about and you’ve dismissed, and sometimes it comes back with things that you’re like, Hmm, okay, let’s, let’s explore that. Chip Griffin: Yeah, and I mean it, there’s, it’s not a replacement for human judgment. You still need to look at it and say, oh, yeah, that does make sense, that it’s something we look at. But, but my experience is more often than not, it does come up with things that, you know, that given the right amount of time I would have thought of, but Sure. You know, it, it’s, it’s, it’s good to have it reinforced that, it’s good to have it, you know, bubble it up higher on my list so that, again, I, I’m not finding it out, you know, halfway through the meeting when the light bulb goes off and it’s like, oh, right, I forgot about this. We should be, we should be looking at that. Right. You know, but I, I think this is the, the planning process is, is an opportunity for you as well to be thinking about challenging your own assumptions. And, and I do think more than ever continuing forward on the path that you’re on for the vast majority of agencies is not a good idea. I think most agencies require at least some modest course correction and some more than that. And so I think that we’ve already talked about, you know, what kind of services you can deliver and those kinds of things. But I think the other thing we all ought to be looking at in 2026 is the definition of our ideal client. Because, because we do need to understand better how our clients of today are being impacted by the economy, by AI, by all of the social change that’s going on. And understanding how is that impacting who we’re targeting, how we’re targeting them, what kinds of engagements we’re, we’re trying to set up with. And so I, I think really refining that ideal client profile is something that most of us ought to be taking a very close look at for 2026 in our planning process. Gini Dietrich: One hundred percent. I could not agree more. And you know, I’m a big, big, big fan of really understanding at a macro level what’s going on so that we know how it affects our businesses. And I think that the more that you can do that and understand how everything that’s going on in the world is going to affect your agency and you know, the sustainability and stability of it, I think are, is really, really important. And being willing to try some things and take some risks and see what works and see what doesn’t work, and then go move on to what works and try again. Chip Griffin: Right. And, and you need to, to look at the data that you’ve got in front of you, not data from three to five years ago, right? But, but data from 2025. And so whether you’ve had a great 2025, a mediocre 2025, or an awful 2025, look at what the data is telling you. And look at where you’ve had success. Success in terms of where you’ve had the best results for clients, which we often overlook. We, we often look at just, you know, what we’ve been able to sell, but you need to see what is producing results for clients. You do need to understand what you’re selling, where those leads came from, and, and look at those recent trends and lean into what’s working. And again, that doesn’t matter whether you’ve had a good year or a bad year. You still wanna lean into what you know is working today because it is a, a very different environment than it was 3 years ago, 10 years ago, and and beyond. So you need to be relying on that kind of analysis if you wanna make smarter decisions in your planning process. Gini Dietrich: Yeah, absolutely. And I think you’re right, like this is different than 2008, 2009, and 2020. It’s, it’s different. So be willing to take some risk. It’s uncomfortable for sure. Chip Griffin: You and I both love risk, so we’re always gonna preach risk. Calculated risk, not just reckless risk. Gini Dietrich: Calculated risk.Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yes. Please be calculated. Chip Griffin: Yes, have a reason for what you’re doing, and have a reason to believe that there’s a decent chance of success. Don’t just blindly walk out there and say, Hey, let’s try crossing the street now without looking and see what happens. That’s not the kind of risk we want you to take. Gini Dietrich: Please don’t do that. Please do not do that. Please, please do not do that. Chip Griffin: So with that, if you’re, if you’re listening and you’re driving or something, still pay attention ’cause we’re gonna wrap up now. Keep your eyes open. Keep your eyes open. If you, if you wanna listen to this again, wait. You, you can go back to the link. There’s resources that’ll be there. There’s the transcript there, all those things. So stay safe. Yes, yes. However you’re listening to us. And with that, that will draw to an end this episode of the Agency Leadership Podcast. I’m Chip Griffin. Gini Dietrich: I’m Gini Dietrich. Chip Griffin: And it depends.

Minnesota was liberal to begin with: It has the distinction of “voting blue, no matter who” since Jimmy Carter led the Democratic ticket, joining only the District of Columbia in refusing to give its electoral votes to President Ronald Reagan in 1984. For a while, the Hubert Humphrey model of Big Government, strong labor unions, […]

Minnesota was liberal to begin with: It has the distinction of “voting blue, no matter who” since Jimmy Carter led the Democratic ticket, joining only the District of Columbia in refusing to give its electoral votes to President Ronald Reagan in 1984. For a while, the Hubert Humphrey model of Big Government, strong labor unions, and a business community that operated with a “social conscience” worked well. But in recent years, the social model of Scandinavian exiles has broken down, just its big brother did in Scandinavia itself. Joining us to discuss how Minnesota's social model has collapsed as “some of the state's leading politicians and sectarian interests” have come to “understand government not as a society's shared instrument to address its problems, but as a storehouse to pillage” is Armin Rosen, a journalist who wrote on the state's problems for Walter Kirn's newspaper-magazine County Highway.The Shame of Our Cities

In this episode of the Chuck ToddCast, Chuck examines the sweeping global and domestic implications of Trump’s increasingly personal, transactional approach to foreign policy. He breaks down how the administration has abandoned the post–Cold War order, embraced nationalist movements, sidelined democracy promotion, and even signaled security guarantees in exchange for favors — all while crafting a national security strategy full of dangerous gaps and warmly received by the Kremlin. Chuck then turns to the explosive revelations around Trump’s pattern of selling pardons for loyalty, spotlighting the Henry Cuellar episode as a case study in this mob-style political culture. The conversation also touches on Marjorie Taylor Greene’s recent media tirades and her emerging position as a potential “true MAGA” contender in 2028, before wrapping with a look at the historically low approval of all four congressional leaders and why a dramatic leadership reshuffling by 2029 wouldn’t be surprising. Finally, Chuck hops into the ToddCast Time Machine to revisit the history of the United States relationship with China and the unintended consequences that came with it. He also answers listeners’ questions in the “Ask Chuck” segment and recaps the college football playoff selection. Get your wardrobe sorted and your gift list handled with Quince. Don't wait! Go to https://Quince.com/CHUCK for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too! Go to https://getsoul.com & enter code TODDCAST for 30% off your first order. Got injured in an accident? You could be one click away from a claim worth millions. Just visit https://www.forthepeople.com/TODDCAST to start your claim now with Morgan & Morgan without leaving your couch. Remember, it's free unless you win! Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/chuck. Application times may vary. Rates may vary. Timeline: (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements) 00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction 04:00 Trump doesn’t want the U.S. to be the leader of the free world 05:15 Administration rejects post cold war world order 06:30 Foreign policy will be subjective based on Trump’s personal relationships 07:15 There is no more value judgement on who the US does business with 08:15 Administration is proving to be very anti-EU 09:00 Administration signals support for other nationalist movements 11:30 Trump has never believed U.S. should promote democracy 12:30 There are plenty of holes in the national security strategy 13:15 Qatari plane bribe led to NATO like security guarantee 14:30 American presidents should believe in democracy 15:45 Trump’s retreat from the world will create generational damage 16:45 The new security memo was loved by the Kremlin 17:30 Trump mad at Henry Cueller for not changing parties after pardon 18:15 Trump is clearly selling pardons in exchange for money or support 20:15 Trump’s primary complaint with Cueller was “lack of loyalty” 22:00 Trump seemingly thought pardon was in exchange for something 24:30 There should be far more outrage over the weekly sale of pardons 25:30 Marjorie Taylor-Greene blasts GOP lawmakers in 60 minutes interview 26:30 MTG believed the BS & is now finally realizing it’s BS 27:30 MTG could become the “true MAGA” candidate in 2028 28:00 All 4 congressional leaders are incredibly unpopular 29:30 Congressional GOP could use a leadership shakeup 30:15 Schumer & Jeffries are looking over their shoulders 32:15 It wouldn’t be surprising if all four leaders are gone by 2029 38:45 ToddCast Time Machine December 1978, 2001, 2025 39:30 Jimmy Carter announce normalization of relations with China 40:30 Kissinger praised bringing Beijing closer, Goldwater was furious 41:15 Business community was ecstatic 42:30 In 2001, China joins the WTO: hinge moment of globalization 43:30 Democrats & Republicans agreed on China in 2001 45:15 Consumers & business loved cheaper good from China 46:00 Bush & Gore both had the same view of China 46:45 Populists warned of job losses and economic pain 47:30 What if US had blocked China’s entry to the WTO? 49:15 China is now viewed as a permanent strategic rival 50:30 US made a bet they could promote reform in Beijing and failed 51:15 Bets on China reshaped the U.S. more than China 52:00 Ask Chuck 52:15 Why don’t national democrats want to be in Iowa? 55:15 How did Obama hurt the DNC beyond endorsing Hillary? 59:30 Which member of each branch would be better in another branch? 1:05:00 Could lack of a primary in 2024 lead to broader election reforms? 1:07:30 College football roundupSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of the Chuck ToddCast, Chuck examines the sweeping global and domestic implications of Trump’s increasingly personal, transactional approach to foreign policy. He breaks down how the administration has abandoned the post–Cold War order, embraced nationalist movements, sidelined democracy promotion, and even signaled security guarantees in exchange for favors — all while crafting a national security strategy full of dangerous gaps and warmly received by the Kremlin. Chuck then turns to the explosive revelations around Trump’s pattern of selling pardons for loyalty, spotlighting the Henry Cuellar episode as a case study in this mob-style political culture. The conversation also touches on Marjorie Taylor Greene’s recent media tirades and her emerging position as a potential “true MAGA” contender in 2028, before wrapping with a look at the historically low approval of all four congressional leaders and why a dramatic leadership reshuffling by 2029 wouldn’t be surprising. Then, Chuck sits down with Jared Bernstein — veteran economic adviser to both the Obama and Clinton administrations — for a sweeping, candid breakdown of the American economy, why the data and national mood feel so misaligned, and how technological change is reshaping the labor market. Bernstein explains how the White House approached economic tradeoffs, from inflation and tariffs to the stubborn low-hire, low-fire job market. He and Chuck dig into the uncertainty surrounding AI-driven job displacement, why Americans are more skeptical of AI than peers abroad, and how policymakers failed to build guardrails around the harms of social media. Bernstein argues that a federal jobs guarantee would be far more effective than universal basic income, and that political candidates will increasingly need to get tough on tech as the power of the “Magnificent Seven” distorts markets and discourages regulation. The conversation then turns to the structural failures of America’s healthcare system — from inelastic demand to weak cost controls — and why “Medicare for more” could be a practical starting point for reform. Bernstein outlines the entrenched inefficiencies of employer-based coverage, the rise of contract work, and the political salience but poor targeting of policies like “no tax on tips.” He also discusses the missed opportunity to protect the expanded child tax credit, the flaws in Trump’s proposed baby bond program, and the broader need for progressive taxation rather than philanthropy by billionaires. Finally, Chuck and Jared confront the realities of the national debt in an era of higher interest rates, the feasibility of reviving a robust child tax credit, and whether new supports — like credits for childcare or elder care — could help families navigate an affordability crisis that shows no sign of easing. Finally, Chuck hops into the ToddCast Time Machine to revisit the history of the United States relationship with China and the unintended consequences that came with it. He also answers listeners’ questions in the “Ask Chuck” segment and recaps the college football playoff selection. Get your wardrobe sorted and your gift list handled with Quince. Don't wait! Go to https://Quince.com/CHUCK for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too! Go to https://getsoul.com & enter code TODDCAST for 30% off your first order. Got injured in an accident? You could be one click away from a claim worth millions. Just visit https://www.forthepeople.com/TODDCAST to start your claim now with Morgan & Morgan without leaving your couch. Remember, it's free unless you win! Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/chuck. Application times may vary. Rates may vary. Timeline: (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements) 00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction 05:00 Trump doesn’t want the U.S. to be the leader of the free world 06:15 Administration rejects post cold war world order 07:30 Foreign policy will be subjective based on Trump’s personal relationships 08:15 There is no more value judgement on who the US does business with 09:15 Administration is proving to be very anti-EU 10:00 Administration signals support for other nationalist movements 12:30 Trump has never believed U.S. should promote democracy 13:30 There are plenty of holes in the national security strategy 14:15 Qatari plane bribe led to NATO like security guarantee 15:30 American presidents should believe in democracy 16:45 Trump’s retreat from the world will create generational damage 17:45 The new security memo was loved by the Kremlin 18:30 Trump mad at Henry Cueller for not changing parties after pardon 19:15 Trump is clearly selling pardons in exchange for money or support 21:15 Trump’s primary complaint with Cueller was “lack of loyalty” 23:00 Trump seemingly thought pardon was in exchange for something 25:30 There should be far more outrage over the weekly sale of pardons 26:30 Marjorie Taylor-Greene blasts GOP lawmakers in 60 minutes interview 27:30 MTG believed the BS & is now finally realizing it’s BS 28:30 MTG could become the “true MAGA” candidate in 2028 29:00 All 4 congressional leaders are incredibly unpopular 30:30 Congressional GOP could use a leadership shakeup 31:15 Schumer & Jeffries are looking over their shoulders 33:15 It wouldn’t be surprising if all four leaders are gone by 2029 41:00 Jared Bernstein joins the Chuck ToddCast 41:30 Jared worked for both the Obama & Clinton administrations 43:15 Drafting economic policy that has the most upside, least downside 44:15 The economic data doesn’t match the vibe of the country 45:15 The Biden WH talked past the electorate but didn’t lie about economy 46:45 Biden thought the job market was most important economic indicator 49:30 Inflation has been stubborn, how long did you assume we’d have it? 51:15 Tariffs have contributed to about half a point of inflation 52:00 Inflation during Covid was a combo of low supply & high demand 53:45 Should the fed be focusing on inflation or the jobs market? 55:30 AI isn’t causing mass layoffs yet, but it has frozen hiring 56:30 We’re stuck in a low hire, low fire jobs market 57:45 Technology displaces the most workers during economic downturns 59:45 How can we avoid job displacement destruction from AI? 1:01:15 Americans are far more negative on AI than other western nations 1:02:30 Politicians failed to create guardrails for the harms of social media 1:03:15 We don’t know the extent of how AI will displace jobs 1:04:15 Government should offer a federal jobs guarantee for AI displaced jobs 1:05:30 Universal basic income pales in comparison to a jobs guarantee 1:07:15 Getting tough on tech will be critical to successful political candidates 1:08:30 Tech companies threaten regulators with exiting the country 1:09:30 Breaking up tech’s power has appeal on both sides of the aisle 1:10:00 Market cap of the magnificent 7 is 22 trillion dollars 1:12:00 The S&P 500 minus the magnificent 7 is basically flat 1:13:45 Non-profit hospital systems make more money than for profit ones 1:14:30 Leaving healthcare to the free market doesn’t work well & is expensive 1:15:15 Healthcare isn’t shoppable and demand is inelastic 1:16:45 The only healthcare solution from congress is subsidizing insurance 1:17:30 The ACA did a lot to control healthcare spending, but not enough 1:18:15 We have very few cost controls in our healthcare system 1:19:00 “Medicare for more” would be a great place to start fixing the system 1:20:15 Competition in the health insurance market has been insufficient 1:21:00 Health insurers don’t want to compete with government, will fight hard 1:22:00 Medicare won’t be free but considerably cheaper than private market 1:22:45 Will a shorter work week be realized in the age of AI? 1:23:45 Social welfare is too often correlated to GDP 1:24:30 A shorter work week isn’t feasible during an affordability crisis 1:26:15 Employer based healthcare system is deeply rooted, but inefficient 1:27:30 Companies have pivoted to contract work to avoid paying benefits 1:28:30 The salience of the “No Tax On Tips” policy 1:30:45 No tax on tips is poorly targeted and inefficient, but will be hard to repeal 1:31:30 Biden should have “died on the hill” protecting the child tax credit 1:33:30 Trump’s baby bond program is poorly targeted & exacerbates inequality 1:35:30 Government shouldn’t rely on philanthropy by billionaires & tax progressively 1:37:15 Raising the corporate tax was always a nonstarter in administration meetings 1:38:15 We’re at a dangerously unsustainable level of national debt 1:39:15 Higher interest rates are making the debt much harder to sustain 1:40:00 A child tax credit is feasible, but needs a pay for 1:41:00 The childcare industry is very responsive to demand 1:41:45 Could we see a “home care” credit for both kids or seniors 1:45:45 ToddCast Time Machine December 1978, 2001, 2025 1:46:30 Jimmy Carter announce normalization of relations with China 1:47:30 Kissinger praised bringing Beijing closer, Goldwater was furious 1:48:15 Business community was ecstatic 1:49:30 In 2001, China joins the WTO: hinge moment of globalization 1:50:30 Democrats & Republicans agreed on China in 2001 1:52:15 Consumers & business loved cheaper good from China 1:53:00 Bush & Gore both had the same view of China 1:53:45 Populists warned of job losses and economic pain 1:54:30 What if US had blocked China’s entry to the WTO? 1:56:15 China is now viewed as a permanent strategic rival 1:57:30 US made a bet they could promote reform in Beijing and failed 1:58:15 Bets on China reshaped the U.S. more than China 1:59:00 Ask Chuck 1:59:15 Why don’t national democrats want to be in Iowa? 2:02:15 How did Obama hurt the DNC beyond endorsing Hillary? 2:06:30 Which member of each branch would be better in another branch? 2:12:00 Could lack of a primary in 2024 lead to broader election reforms? 2:14:30 College football roundupSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's a Conference Championship weekend preview episode, and the relative lack of national action gives us the opportunity to discuss cold remedies, BIG MOON, and youth sport-themed gingerbread displays. And then we've got the usual rundown of sports headlines, games previews, and silliness from Jimmy Carter and all the rest. Listen, if you must! Has something we said, or failed to say, made you FEEL something? You can tell us all about it by joining the conversation on our Substack or you can send us an email here. Enjoy!Show RundownOpen — Abe Live Bets the Games!6:21 — Where Baseball Meets Construction-grade Gingerbread15:57 — WGAS NewsBag, Sports Edition42:46 — The Best Game in Every Time Slot1:03:46 — CIB 2025 Football Pick ‘em Contest1:13:00 — Jimmy Carter's Presidential Lock of the Week1:18:20 — Wrap-up!Relevant Linkage can be found by visiting https://brainiron.substack.com/, where, if you would like to support this and the other podcasting and blogging endeavors of the Brain Iron dot com media empire, you can also become a paying subscriber.The opening and closing themes of Cast Iron Balls were composed by Marc Gillig. For more from Marc, go to tetramermusic.com.The background music for Jimmy Carter's Presidential Lock of the Week is "Bama Country" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Dr. Dan welcomes Dr. Lauren Speeth—award-winning author, educator, storyteller, and global changemaker—for a powerful conversation about purpose, resilience, and the courage to live an authentic, hope-filled life. Drawing from her new book Taking the Stairs and Liking It, Lauren shares the seven transformative principles that shaped her remarkable journey, including wisdom passed on directly from President Jimmy Carter. In this inspiring and deeply human episode, Lauren opens up about shaping her identity beyond titles, navigating loss and reinvention, and discovering her unique path to service and leadership. Dr. Speeth and Dr. Dan explore what it means to show up with compassion, to cultivate self-awareness, and to take purposeful steps toward the person you want to become—especially when life feels overwhelming. Listeners will hear stories about music, creativity, Lauren's formative childhood experiences, the profound power of small acts of kindness, and how each of us has the ability to uplift others through our presence. This conversation is a reminder that we all have a ripple effect—and that the world needs the unique strengths only you can bring. This episode will inspire you to pause, reflect, reconnect, and remember – your presence matters more than you know. For more information, visit https://bgu.edu/dr-lauren-speeth and follow @elfenworksproductions on Instagram. Please listen, follow, rate, and review Make It a Great One on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Follow @drdanpeters on social media. Visit www.drdanpeters.com and send your questions or guest pitches to podcast@drdanpeters.com. We have this moment, this day, and this life—let's make it a great one. – Dr. Dan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

"Read My Lips: No New Taxes" by Daniel OstranderAuthor Dan Ostrander with President Bush, Houston, Texas, March 24, 1999.- Photo by Michael Dannenhauer"Although, I knew at the time I was taking a huge political risk, I thought getting the deficit down, continuing economic expansion, and employment in this country were more important than my earlier campaign pledge not to raise taxes; thus our budget agreement was in the best interest of the country... This book helps clarify and explain the effects of the '1990 Budget Deal, ' and I am grateful to Professor Ostrander for tackling this very complicated task of explaining one of the most controversial events of my Presidency... Mostly, I hope this book will give the reader some insight into the art of negotiation and compromise and our system of government at work."George BushDaniel Ostrander is a retired professor of history with 38 years of teaching experience at Butte College. Renowned for his in-depth analyses of U.S. presidents' leadership, Ostrander has personally interacted with nine Presidents, gaining rare insights into their leadership styles and policies.Having co-authored works with leaders like President Gerald Ford and President George H.W. Bush, Ostrander brings unparalleled expertise to American history books. His experiences range from advising on historical political strategy, U.S.-China relations and monitoring international elections alongside President Jimmy Carter. His dedication to preserving historical accuracy and contextual understanding has inspired countless students and readers.AMAZONhttps://danostranderbooks.com/https://www.ecpublishingllc.com/https://www.bluefunkbroadcasting.com/root/twia/1425do2.mp3

BARD annotation Star-spangled men: America’s ten worst presidents DB46576 Author: Miller, Nathan Reading Time: 9 hours, 48 minutes Read by: Gregory Gorton Subjects: Biography of Heads of State and Political Figures, U.S. History Biographical profiles of American presidents the author judges to be the ten worst in the nation’s history. Candidates were evaluated on the basis of their personal qualities and the extent to which they damaged the nation. Includes Richard Nixon for his moral lapses and Jimmy Carter for lacking purpose and direction. New York, NY : Scribner, c1998. Bookshare This book can be found on Bookshare at the following link: https://www.bookshare.org/browse/book/6372261?returnPath=L3NlYXJjaD9tb2R1bGVOYW1lPXB1YmxpYyZrZXl3b3JkPVN0YXItc3BhbmdsZWQlMkJtZW4lMjUzQSUyQkFtZXJpY2ElMjUyNiUyNTIzMzklMjUzQnMlMkJ0ZW4lMkJ3b3JzdCUyQnByZXNpZGVudHMlMkI

George Noory and author Daniel Sheehan discuss his investigations into UFOs for former President Jimmy Carter and the Vatican, whether UFO information is getting withheld from Congress, and if the military has secret weapons to shoot down UFOs and reverse engineer alien technology.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Give to help Chris make more Truce The New Right had a plan--to bring evangelical Christians together as a voting bloc. But how to do that? They chose a few targets, people with big followings, and courted them. Jerry Falwell was an obvious choice. He was a fundamentalist preacher, televangelist, and the founder of Liberty University. He also had a propensity for the dramatic, seeing the end of days around every corner. The New Right did not like President Jimmy Carter and did their best to turn evangelicals against him. A big job considering that Carter was an evangelical and often talked about his faith. Still, they wanted Ronald Reagan (a divorced actor with a reputation with the ladies) to be their man. In this episode, Chris is joined by author and historian Rick Perlstein. Sources Reaganland by Rick Perlstein article about Reinhold Niebuhr God's Own Party by Daniel K. Williams The Evangelicals by Frances Fitzgerald Listen, America! by Jerry Falwell Discussion Questions What was the role of the New Right in recruiting religious people? Why was Falwell an ideal candidate for the New Right? A higher percentage of evangelicals voted for Nixon than for Reagan. So why do we talk so much about Reagan as a turning point? What was the Moral Majority? How do we see groups like them operating today? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Some of the most significant moments in American history have occurred over meals, as US presidents broke bread to strengthen alliances, diffuse tensions, and broker peace: Thomas Jefferson's nation-building receptions; Richard Nixon's practiced use of chopsticks to pry open China; Jimmy Carter's cakes and pies that fueled a détente between Israel and Egypt at Camp David. Author Alex Prud'homme joins David M. Rubenstein to discuss the political power wielded by the White House kitchen.Recorded on June 30, 2024

We welcome Lafayette's own master of illusion, Devon Faul, one of Acadiana's most captivating magicians. Devon is known for blending sleight of hand with a deep sense of showmanship to create experiences that leave audiences spellbound. From close-up moments to full stage performances, Devon brings a unique blend of creativity, humor, and heart to his craft. We explore his journey into magic, the discipline required to master illusion, and the universal connection he creates through wonder and surprise. The Universal Language of Wonder Devon says that people of all ages speak the universal language of wonder and awe. In today's world, he believes many people don't get that feeling as often as they used to because everyone's kind of in survival mode. Magic, for him, is a way to reach out to people in a universal way and give them a feeling that they haven't had before, one that reaches you on a deeper level. Magic for Devon is “the human condition, psychology, philosophy, struggles, triumph.” Day Job at Stuller Devon’s day job is work at Stuller, the largest jewelry manufacturer and distributor in North America headquartered in Lafayette. He calls it “kind of a dream,” explaining that they take people seriously and foster an environment where employees “feel like you can be a person. I'm super lucky to be working with them.” How Magic Began: “A Place of Vulnerability” Devon began devoloping his magic craft at age ten years of age, but not in the traditional way. He didn't get hooked by a magic kit or a grandparent pulling a coin from behind his ear. Instead, he says “it actually started because my dad was in the oil field, so we moved a lot”—Wyoming, Louisiana, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Texas.” “I was always the weird, quiet, out-of-state kid. You know, Wyoming people are very different than Louisiana people, who are very different from Virginia people. It’s like their own countries. Each state is its own territory.” Frequent moves and feeling out of place led to bullying: “People want to tear down that which they do not understand.” As a ten-year-old, he imagined that maybe people wouldn't bully him “if I had superpowers, if I could become Superman.” Magic became “the closest thing to superpowers,” a way to bridge gaps, build confidence, and connect. Early Magic: Cards, Psychology, and Possibilities Devon started with card tricks, “kind of everyone's entry point.” He explained that card magic involves numbers, memory, psychology, and timing. “It’s getting used to handling a deck of cards just like any tool.” He shares one of the mathematical realities that inspired him: If you shuffle a 52-card deck, “no deck has ever been in that exact order, and statistically, no deck in the future ever will be.” The concept mesmerized him: “It's math, science and statistics and psychology.” “You get into, like, this weird area of random knowledge. For example, if you have a deck of 52 cards, figure out numerically how many possibilities are on a deck of cards. It is mathematically 52 factorial, which is 52 times 51 times 50, all the way down to one. Which means if you shuffle a deck of cards in the history of a deck of cards, no deck has ever been in that exact order. And statistically, no deck in the future ever will be in that exact order. It is a deck of cards and magic, but it’s also math, science and statistics. So, you start off with card tricks and then you branch into anything and everything from there.” Rejecting Gimmicks: “I Pride Myself on My Sleight of Hand” While some magicians use trick decks, Devon says, “I pride myself on my sleight of hand. I don't ever want to be reliant on any kind of apparatus. That's not magic.” He wants spectators to be able to inspect anything he uses. “Magic will come for those who seek it. I’ve always told people I don’t have any special capabilities that anyone else can’t develop. I just put in the time, the energy and the effort. Everyone wants the view from the top of the mountain, but very few people want to actually climb the mountain. And so it’s the destination, but it’s also more so the journey. So once you get the knack for cards and you develop that dexterity, then you see other things that are maybe more visual.” Learning Through YouTube and Persistence Devon began learning magic through YouTube “when I was like 9 or 10.” Some tricks came easily; others took relentless practice. “The cool thing about magic is that it kind of compounds a little bit… it builds the dexterity in your hand to then be able to do something totally different.” Beyond Cards: Ropes, Coins, Rings, and Mentalism Devon performs with cards, coins, rings, ropes, and also does mentalism—“reading minds.” He studied reading systems and even tarot, not spiritually, but “as a way to understand it for what it is.” He notes that ancient magicians, including shamans and the oracle at Delphi, used magic to bring people spiritual well-being and peace of mind, much like the psychological effects we recognize today. Magic as a Fine Art Devon believes magic belongs alongside poetry, storytelling, and painting. “Magic is so pervasive through human history,” he says, describing innovators like Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin and the famed Light and Heavy Chest illusion. “The effect would be that the magician might be able to lift the box. But when the box is set back down, no other spectator could lift it. Or maybe a child could lift it, but no adult could.“ This magician has been rumored to have stopped a violent revolt in Algeria that threatened to erupt into a full-scale war with France. In 1856, the French government commissioned him to perform his magic for Algerian tribal chiefs, who were being incited to rebellion by religious leaders claiming magical powers. Houdin’s show of superior illusion, including catching a bullet and the light and heavy chest trick, demoralized the rival magicians and quelled the uprising.  Defining Magic: “Perception Is Reality” Devon sees magic as the art of altering perception: “Magic is about perception… because perception is reality.” While science says matter cannot be created or destroyed, “a magician pulls a coin out of thin air.” The illusion forces us to confront the gap between what is real and what seems real. Close-Up, Parlor, Stage, and Specialization Devon explains that magicians often specialize in: Close-Up — his specialty Parlor Stage magic (Criss Angel, David Copperfield) Escapism Mentalism He prefers close-up and parlor for the “intimacy” they create. Silent Magic: Lessons from Teller Devon admires Penn & Teller. Teller doesn't speak because “he found that the magic would speak for itself.” Devon notes that magicians unconsciously build misdirection into speech patterns, but Teller proves that “you could say absolutely nothing and let the magic speak for itself.” At 28: “Overwhelming, but in the Best Way” Devon loves connecting with people: “We all have stories… we're like screaming, this is me, this is who I am.” Magic allows him to meet people and share meaningful experiences, because “none of us make it out alive… we're all in the same playing field.” His signature maroon velvet suit and handlebar mustache? It's intentional: “I love the vaudeville style of magic.” And yes—he wears velvet suit to work: “Oh, absolutely.” “Being a Magician Is a Mindset” Devon says: “Being a magician is not necessarily just a career choice… It's a mindset.” A magician is “someone who creates their universe,” seeks knowledge, solves problems from new angles, and explores what is “possible versus impossible.” Magic teaches him to “tear open the fabric of reality for just a split second.” Magic in the Workplace: Connecting People Devon explains that magic at corporate events can make “two people who have been working together for ten years and just never seen each other” suddenly bond. Magic creates conversations that lead to genuine connection. “Magic speaks to everyone… it's arguably unmatched in that regard.” Hypnosis: A Surprising First Attempt Devon once hypnotized his cousin after practicing from YouTube tutorials. Her hand stuck to the wall—so convincingly that “the genuine look of concern in her eyes told me, oh wait, this might be real.” When he released her, “you could hear the sound of her hand coming off the wall.” She told him, “my brain was telling my hand to move and it wouldn't respond.” He explains that hypnosis is misunderstood but real, sharing examples like highway hypnosis while driving and gut-level decisions. Magic's Origins in Misdirection and Thievery Devon discusses how the same psychological tools magicians use were once used by pickpockets and con artists. He references a historic painting depicting the cups and balls trick—“the oldest trick in the book”—where someone is performing magic while a thief steals a nearby spectator's purse.”“In the ancient times of the Pharaoh, slaves would do magic tricks to distract the Pharaoh while others would sneak in and steal food. Some of the oldest magic tricks were removing the head of a goose and then reattaching it. And then the goose would walk or fly away.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZGY0wPAnus Devon also discussed a modern day master of deception, Apollo Robbins, who is one of the world’s leading experts on pickpockets and confidence crimes. Robbins made national news as the man who pick-pocketed the Secret Service while entertaining former U.S. president Jimmy Carter. He uses pick-pocketing and sleight-of-hand to demonstrate proximity manipulation, diversion techniques and attention control. Devon explained the science behind misdirection used by magicians: “There’s this little guy in your head and he’s running the security cameras and he sees everything, but he still has blind spots. You can only take in so much information at one time, and you don’t know what you don’t know. You can’t see what you can’t see. So there are times where if you’re looking here, something is happening elsewhere, or I’m setting something up in ten minutes, but because you don’t know what’s happening, you don’t know that me rubbing my nose is going to be something that helps me in like ten minutes. So there is like a core tool set, psychology.” Visit https://devonfaul.com/ or call 337-366-2014 to contact Devon Faul.

Filmbuff Jeff Kerr, Poet Oreo Brewer & the usual podcasting suspects welcome interviewer Jimmy Carter for a tribute on actor/filmmaker Jack Nicholson.   TOPICS INCLUDE: *Discussion on his rare appeal with both critics & audiences, the best parodies of him & how his career is a special kind of lightning in a bottle *When did he become the recognizable "character" while avoid becoming a mockery of himself? *We note the dramatic beats & Natural cadence in his dialogue mixed with his quirky charisma) *Was ventriloquist comedian Otto Petersen the best at doing impressions of Nicholson? *Jimmy also gets to talk about what it's like meeting both Nicholson AND Elvis Presley in-person from actual experience!   INTRO CLIP: Film '82 special with Ian Johnstone Interviewing Jack Nicholson

It's somehow a week 13 recap and a week 14 preview episode all rolled into one, but still considerably shorter than a regular episode—must be that holiday magic! Listen, if you must! Has something we said, or failed to say, made you FEEL something? You can tell us all about it by joining the conversation on our Substack or you can send us an email here. Enjoy!Show RundownOpen — Special Guests! And Abe Live Bets the Games!7:04 — Week 13 Recap!25:31 — The Best Game in Every Time Slot37:17 — CIB 2025 Football Pick ‘em Contest42:16 — Jimmy Carter's Presidential Lock of the Week, live from…Springfield?46:40 — Wrap-up!Relevant Linkage can be found by visiting https://brainiron.substack.com/, where, if you would like to support this and the other podcasting and blogging endeavors of the Brain Iron dot com media empire, you can also become a paying subscriber.The opening and closing themes of Cast Iron Balls were composed by Marc Gillig. For more from Marc, go to tetramermusic.com.The background music for Jimmy Carter's Presidential Lock of the Week is "Bama Country" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

1980 was a turning point in American history. When the year began, it was still very much the 1970s, with Jimmy Carter in the White House, a sluggish economy marked by high inflation, and the disco still riding the airwaves. When it ended, Ronald Reagan won the presidency in a landslide, inaugurating a rightward turn in American politics and culture. We still feel the effects of this tectonic shift today, as even subsequent Democratic administrations have offered neoliberal economic and social policies that owe more to Reagan than to FDR or LBJ. To understand what the American public was thinking during this pivotal year, we need to examine what they were reading, listening to, and watching. 1980: America's Pivotal Year (Rutgers UP, 2022) puts the news events of the era—everything from the Iran hostage crisis to the rise of televangelism—into conversation with the year's popular culture. Separate chapters focus on the movies, television shows, songs, and books that Americans were talking about that year, including both the biggest hits and some notable flops that failed to capture the shifting zeitgeist. As he looks at the events that had Americans glued to their screens, from the Miracle on Ice to the mystery of Who Shot JR, cultural historian Jim Cullen garners surprising insights about how Americans' attitudes were changing as they entered the 1980s. Jim Cullen is the author of numerous books, including The American Dream: A Short History of an Idea that Shaped a Nation, Those Were the Days: Why ‘All in the Family' Still Matters, and From Memory to History: Television Versions of the Twentieth Century. He teaches history at the newly-founded upper division of Greenwich Country Day School. Jackson Reinhardt is a graduate of University of Southern California and Vanderbilt University. He is currently an independent scholar, freelance writer, and research assistant. You can reach Jackson at jtreinhardt1997@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @JTRhardt Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

Writer, filmmaker, critic and friend Scout Tafoya joins us to chat about AMERICATHON, a 1979 "comedy" "satire" about America going so broke it has to resort to a telethon. Stars John Ritter as the president, Harvey Korman, Fred Willard, Elvis Costello and Meat Loaf. It's a pure nightmare movie but a great conversation.Join Scout's Patreon here, damnit:https://www.patreon.com/c/honorszombie/postsWatch his amazing 'Unloved' series here:https://vimeo.com/honorszombiefilms/videos/page:1/sort:dateJoin our Supporters Club here

1980 was a turning point in American history. When the year began, it was still very much the 1970s, with Jimmy Carter in the White House, a sluggish economy marked by high inflation, and the disco still riding the airwaves. When it ended, Ronald Reagan won the presidency in a landslide, inaugurating a rightward turn in American politics and culture. We still feel the effects of this tectonic shift today, as even subsequent Democratic administrations have offered neoliberal economic and social policies that owe more to Reagan than to FDR or LBJ. To understand what the American public was thinking during this pivotal year, we need to examine what they were reading, listening to, and watching. 1980: America's Pivotal Year (Rutgers UP, 2022) puts the news events of the era—everything from the Iran hostage crisis to the rise of televangelism—into conversation with the year's popular culture. Separate chapters focus on the movies, television shows, songs, and books that Americans were talking about that year, including both the biggest hits and some notable flops that failed to capture the shifting zeitgeist. As he looks at the events that had Americans glued to their screens, from the Miracle on Ice to the mystery of Who Shot JR, cultural historian Jim Cullen garners surprising insights about how Americans' attitudes were changing as they entered the 1980s. Jim Cullen is the author of numerous books, including The American Dream: A Short History of an Idea that Shaped a Nation, Those Were the Days: Why ‘All in the Family' Still Matters, and From Memory to History: Television Versions of the Twentieth Century. He teaches history at the newly-founded upper division of Greenwich Country Day School. Jackson Reinhardt is a graduate of University of Southern California and Vanderbilt University. He is currently an independent scholar, freelance writer, and research assistant. You can reach Jackson at jtreinhardt1997@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @JTRhardt Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

The games may not be all that good this weekend, but that's not going to stop us from yapping about them, along with the sports news of the week and our regular visit from former president Jimmy Carter with the Presidential Lock of the Week. Listen, if you must! Has something we said, or failed to say, made you FEEL something? You can tell us all about it by joining the conversation on our Substack or you can send us an email here. Enjoy!Show RundownOpen — Abe Live Bets the Games!4:45 — WGAS Newsbag, Sports Edition!34:05 — The Best Game in Every Time Slot48:40 — CIB 2025 Football Pick ‘em Contest55:45 — Jimmy Carter's Presidential Lock of the Week, Live from Plains, Heaven1:01:08 — Wrap-up!Relevant Linkage can be found by visiting https://brainiron.substack.com/, where, if you would like to support this and the other podcasting and blogging endeavors of the Brain Iron dot com media empire, you can also become a paying subscriber.The opening and closing themes of Cast Iron Balls were composed by Marc Gillig. For more from Marc, go to tetramermusic.com.The background music for Jimmy Carter's Presidential Lock of the Week is "Bama Country" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In this episode of Climate Positive, Gil Jenkins speaks with Bill McKibben: author, educator, and one of the most acclaimed environmental voices of our time. His latest book, Here Comes the Sun, traces the rise of abundant, inexpensive solar power and argues that if we keep accelerating, we have a real chance not only to limit climate damage, but also to reorder the world on saner and more humane grounds. We dig into the data, the politics, and the people driving the global shift to solar, and Bill also opens up about the role of faith in his work and how he views the environmental movement's trajectory today.Links:Bill McKibben WebsitePurchase Bill's Book - Here Comes the Sun: A Last Chance for the Climate and a Fresh Chance for CivilizationBook Excerpt: 4.6 Billion Years On, the Sun Is Having a Moment – The New Yorker, July 9, 2025Substack: The Crucial Years - Bill's ongoing essays on climate, energy, and activismSun Day WebsiteThird Act WebsiteArticle: Sunday Was Also Sun Day - The New York Times, Sept. 20, 2025Episode recorded on October 20, 2025 About Bill:Bill McKibben is founder of Third Act, which organizes people over the age of 60 for action on climate and justice. His 1989 book The End of Nature is regarded as the first book for a general audience about climate change, and has appeared in 24 languages. He's gone on to write 20 books, and his work appears regularly in periodicals from the New Yorker to Rolling Stone. He serves as the Schumann Distinguished Scholar in Environmental Studies at Middlebury College, as a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and he has won the Gandhi Peace Prize as well as honorary degrees from 20 colleges and universities. He was awarded the Right Livelihood Award, sometimes called the alternative Nobel, in the Swedish Parliament. Foreign Policy named him to its inaugural list of the world's 100 most important global thinkers. McKibben helped found 350.org, the first global grassroots climate campaign, which has organized protests on every continent, including Antarctica, for climate action. He played a leading role in launching the opposition to big oil pipeline projects like Keystone XL, and the fossil fuel divestment campaign, which has become the biggest anti-corporate campaign in history, with endowments worth more than $40 trillion stepping back from oil, gas and coal. He stepped down as board chair of 350 in 2015, and left the board and stepped down from his volunteer role as senior adviser in 2020, accepting emeritus status. He lives in the mountains above Lake Champlain with his wife, the writer Sue Halpern, where he spends as much time as possible outdoors. In 2014, biologists credited his career by naming a new species of woodland gnat—Megophthalmidia mckibbeni–in his honor.Book Blurb:From the acclaimed environmentalist, a call to harness the power of the sun and rewrite our scientific, economic, and political future. Our climate, and our democracy, are melting down. But Bill McKibben, one of the first to sound the alarm about the climate crisis, insists the moment is also full of possibility. Energy from the sun and wind is suddenly the cheapest power on the planet and growing faster than any energy source in history—if we can keep accelerating the pace, we have a chance. Here Comes the Sun tells the story of the sudden spike in power from the sun and wind—and the desperate fight of the fossil fuel industry and their politicians to hold this new power at bay. From the everyday citizens who installed solar panels equal to a third of Pakistan's electric grid in a year to the world's sixth-largest economy—California—nearly halving its use of natural gas in the last two years, Bill McKibben traces the arrival of plentiful, inexpensive solar energy. And he shows how solar power is more than just a path out of the climate crisis: it is a chance to reorder the world on saner and more humane grounds. You can't hoard solar energy or hold it in reserves—it's available to all.There's no guarantee we can make this change in time, but there is a hope—in McKibben's eyes, our best hope for a new civilization: one that looks up to the sun, every day, as the star that fuels our world. Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, Hilary, and Guy at climatepositive@hasi.com.

This Day in Legal History: Ratification of the Bill of Rights by New JerseyOn November 20, 1789, New Jersey became the first state to ratify the Bill of Rights, a landmark moment in American constitutional history. Just months after the U.S. Constitution went into effect, debate over its lack of explicit protections for individual liberties sparked calls for amendments. Responding to this concern, James Madison introduced a series of proposed amendments in the First Congress in June 1789, aiming to ease Anti-Federalist fears and solidify support for the new federal government. Congress approved twelve amendments on September 25, 1789, and sent them to the states for ratification.New Jersey acted swiftly, ratifying eleven of the twelve proposed amendments less than two months later. The state rejected the first proposed amendment, which concerned congressional representation, and accepted the rest, including protections for freedom of speech, religion, the press, the right to bear arms, and safeguards against unreasonable searches and seizures. New Jersey's early endorsement gave momentum to the broader ratification effort, which required approval by three-fourths of the states.By December 15, 1791, ten of the amendments had been ratified by the necessary eleven states and became known as the Bill of Rights. These provisions would become foundational to American legal doctrine, judicial interpretation, and civil liberties jurisprudence. New Jersey's rapid ratification also signaled the willingness of smaller states to embrace a constitutional framework that better balanced federal power with individual protections.The ratification process itself reflected the structural legal mechanism required to alter the Constitution—Article V mandates both congressional proposal and state approval. This episode demonstrates how early American legal institutions navigated public pressure and political compromise to create durable legal norms. The Bill of Rights remains central to constitutional interpretation today, frequently invoked in court cases involving speech, privacy, and due process.A group of senior judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has recently influenced several rulings on politically sensitive cases, softening the conservative tone of one of the nation's most right-leaning appellate courts. These judges, many appointed decades ago by presidents like Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan, were part of three-judge panels that struck down or allowed challenges to laws involving religion in schools, drag shows on campus, and firearm signage. However, these decisions are now set for reconsideration by the court's full active bench in January, as part of a growing trend of en banc rehearings.The Fifth Circuit includes 17 active judges and seven senior judges. While senior judges can still hear cases and author opinions, their influence is ultimately limited because active judges control en banc reviews, which can overturn panel rulings. Most of these upcoming en banc cases saw dissents from Trump-appointed judges at the panel level. Some senior judges, like Edith Brown Clement, are conservative and remain highly active, while others like James Dennis and Patrick Higginbotham are known for their moderate or liberal views and are key voices in current and upcoming decisions.Legal experts say senior judges' experience and moderation often make them more willing to adhere to precedent rather than pursue ideological shifts. Their dissents and opinions can also help signal to the U.S. Supreme Court that a case warrants review. With an increase in ideologically charged cases on topics like immigration and free speech, the Fifth Circuit's internal dynamics reflect a broader national tension between judicial restraint and a more activist, conservative legal agenda.Full Fifth Circuit Overrides Moderate Senior Judges' RulingsThe Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has asked a federal court to enforce a subpoena against the University of Pennsylvania as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged antisemitic harassment. The EEOC's request was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and stems from a charge initiated in December 2023 by Republican-appointed Chair Andrea Lucas. The agency is seeking documents and information identifying victims and witnesses to reported religious-based harassment affecting faculty and staff.The investigation centers on claims that the university failed to adequately respond to internal complaints of antisemitism. The EEOC under Lucas—particularly during and after the first Trump administration—has prioritized enforcement actions related to religious discrimination, with higher education institutions facing increased scrutiny. Penn has not yet issued a public response regarding the subpoena or the broader investigation.EEOC Seeks UPenn Information Disclosure in Antisemitism ProbeCryptocurrency exchange Kraken announced that it has confidentially filed for an initial public offering (IPO) in the United States. The move positions Kraken among several digital asset firms seeking to go public amid renewed investor interest in the crypto sector. Other companies like Circle and Gemini have also made progress toward U.S. listings this year.Kraken recently reported a $20 billion valuation in its latest fundraising round, marking a 33% increase over the past two months. While the company did not disclose specific details about the IPO structure or timeline, the filing indicates growing momentum for digital finance firms in public markets.Crypto exchange Kraken confidentially files for US IPO | ReutersThe U.S. government has loaned Constellation Energy $1 billion to restart a nuclear reactor at the former Three Mile Island site in Pennsylvania. The project, now called the Crane Clean Energy Center, involves reviving an 835-megawatt reactor that was shut down in 2019. Constellation entered a partnership with Microsoft in 2024 to help offset the tech company's energy use, especially for power-intensive data centers. The reactor's restart reflects rising energy demand tied to emerging technologies like artificial intelligence.The Department of Energy's Loan Programs Office (LPO) issued the loan to help lower financing costs and encourage private investment. Officials emphasized that nuclear energy offers stable, carbon-free baseload power critical for both grid reliability and climate goals. While Constellation is financially strong enough to obtain private funding, the administration said public support signals a national commitment to clean and dependable energy infrastructure.The plant still needs regulatory approvals, including from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Constellation has already begun hiring workers, inspecting systems, and ordering essential equipment. The company now expects the reactor to come online by 2027, a year ahead of the original timeline due to an accelerated grid connection review.US loans Constellation $1 billion for Three Mile Island reactor reboot | Reuters This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.minimumcomp.com/subscribe

All creative businesses are in the information business. You are provided information — what is the project, you provide information and then you act on that information. How you handle the flow of information is what makes your creative business go. The real question then is where do you fall on the Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan spectrum? Listen in… Original Episode Number: 37 | Original Air Date: 2/2/2021 Links & Resources: Host: Sean Low of The Business of Being Creative Have your own opinion on Sean's tips and advice? Talk Back!! Email Shawn or record a voice message directly through his show's site! Link: Join Sean's Collective of Business Creatives Follow Sean on social media: Instagram: @SeanLow1 | Facebook: Facebook.com/Sean.Low.35 | LinkedIn | Twitter: @SeanLow — Podcast Network: The Wedding Biz Network Production House: Flint Stone Media Copyright of The Wedding Biz, LLC. 2021.

Week 12 of the college football season is upon us, and with it comes plenty of talk about credit card rewards and car commercials, obviously. That and our usual assortment of games previews and celestially-sourced gambling guarantees—for entertainment purposes only, of course. Listen, if you must! Has something we said, or failed to say, made you FEEL something? You can tell us all about it by joining the conversation on our Substack or you can send us an email here. Enjoy!Show RundownOpen — Abe Live Bets the Games! And a digression about credit cards?11:36 — Bitching about commercials again19:42 — WGAS NewsBag: Sports Edition!34:30 — Sports-Adjacent Question of the Week: Where Has All the Casual Nudity in American Life Gone?46:39 — The Best Game in Every Time Slot1:01:28 — CIB 2025 Football Pick ‘em Contest1:12:46 — Jimmy Carter's Presidential Lock of the Week, Live from Plains, Heaven1:18:12 — Wrap-up!Relevant Linkage can be found by visiting https://brainiron.substack.com/, where, if you would like to support this and the other podcasting and blogging endeavors of the Brain Iron dot com media empire, you can also become a paying subscriber.The opening and closing themes of Cast Iron Balls were composed by Marc Gillig. For more from Marc, go to tetramermusic.com.The background music for Jimmy Carter's Presidential Lock of the Week is "Bama Country" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

BONUS episode featuring my summer of presidential travels as I fit in as many birthplaces, gravesites, homes, and other sites into one history professor's summer break. My trip to New York, Boston, Georgia, and Texas, with side jaunts to Oregon and Ohio! Links to Previous Episodes Mentioned:Birthplaces"John Adams and Braintree""John Quincy Adams and Quincy""Theodore Roosevelt and Manhattan""Calvin Coolidge and Plymouth Notch""Herbert Hoover and West Branch""Franklin Roosevelt and Hyde Park""John F Kennedy and Brookline""Jimmy Carter and Plains" "George W Bush and New Haven""Barack Obama and Honolulu" Homes"John Adams and Peacefield" "Franklin Pierce and Concord""Rutherford Hayes and Spiegel Grove""Warren Harding and Marion""John F Kennedy and Hyannis Port""Jimmy Carter and the Carter Home""Barack Obama and Oahu" Gravesites"John Adams' Tomb""John Quincy Adams' Tomb" "Franklin Pierce's Tomb" "Ulysses Grant's Tomb""Rutherford Hayes' Tomb" Support the show Also, check out “Visiting the Presidents” on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!

This week historian Oscar Winberg joins in to talk about the origins of All In The Family and how the politics of the 1970s were filtered through television's biggest show.About our guest:Dr. Oscar Winberg is a postdoctoral fellow at the Turku Institute for Advanced Studies and the John Morton Center for North American Studies at the University of Turku working on modern political history and mass media. He holds a PhD in history from Åbo Akademi University.In the United States, he is affiliated with the American Political History Institute at Boston University where he has been fortunate to spend time as a visiting researcher. His work has appeared in PS: Political Science & Politics, European Journal of American Studies, Finsk Tidskrift, Lähikuva, and Wider Screen, as well as popular publications, including The Washington Post, Svenska Dagbladet, Helsingin Sanomat, and Hufvudstadsbladet.He is a regular analyst of American politics and culture for various media outlets in Finland and Scandinavia.

In this episode of The Deep Dive, we unravel one of the most provocative claims in the UFO discourse: that the real secret isn't just extraterrestrial visitation—it's the nature of reality itself. Drawing from documented testimony, insider accounts, and theoretical physics, we explore how decades of government secrecy may be rooted not in fear of aliens, but in fear of what their existence implies about consciousness, time, and space.We begin with high-level institutional knowledge. From General Arthur Exon's assertion that the Roswell crash was immediately recognized as extraterrestrial, to Eisenhower's alleged 1954 disappearance for a secret meeting at Edwards Air Force Base, the evidence suggests presidents and generals have long been aware—and complicit in cover-ups. Nixon reportedly showed alien bodies to comedian Jackie Gleason. Jimmy Carter, despite having seen a UFO himself, was denied access to files by CIA Director George H.W. Bush. Even Senator Barry Goldwater was refused entry to the rumored “Blue Room” at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, told the material was “above top secret.”But the story doesn't stop at politics. We follow the thread north to Canada, where Wilbert Smith, head of Project Magnet, publicly declared that flying saucers were real and piloted by ETs. Smith claimed to have handled debris from a 1952 Washington, D.C. incident—magnesium ferrite, a material harder than anything known at the time. This led researchers to a startling conclusion: the technology was so advanced, it forced a rethinking of physics itself.Enter consciousness. Smith and others began exploring ESP, telepathy, and the “hard problem” of subjective experience. Intelligence agencies even investigated automatic writing cases, such as Francis Swan's alleged contact with an entity named AFFA. The implication? That understanding UFOs might require understanding consciousness as a primary force—not a byproduct of matter, but the very ground of reality.This aligns with biocentrism, a theory suggesting that consciousness creates the universe, not the other way around. Nobel physicist Max Planck once said, “I regard consciousness as fundamental.” If true, then time, space, and even physical laws may be observer-dependent. Muon decay experiments and quantum wave collapse support this idea: reality becomes definite only when observed.So what does this mean for the UFO mystery? Abductees often report telepathic communication—clear, noise-free, and instantaneous. These beings may have mastered consciousness itself. And that's where the cover-up deepens. If millions have been abducted and governments can do nothing to stop it, disclosure would mean admitting total impotence. Worse, the social structure of these entities—hive-like, communal, lacking individuality—resembles ideological models antithetical to Western values. Revealing them might destabilize not just science, but society.Finally, we explore whether consciousness is an information field—and whether technologies like the internet, Memex, and even Google's algorithm were intuitive downloads from that field. If so, the ultimate secret may not be aliens at all. It may be the latent power of the human mind.Grant Cameron Websitewww.presidentialufo.org

Back in business. News overnight that the government shutdown looks to be coming to an end...a relief to many... But what about all the travel chaos? How long will it take to get back to normal? That's what millions of Americans are asking with Thanksgiving just weeks away. And as the deal to end the shutdown was coming together... President Trump was getting a mixed reaction as he became the first sitting president since Jimmy Carter to attend an NFL game. And the fact he was boo-ed while swearing in new military recruits for Veterans Day... Has Maga world up in arms. Plus, another gambling scandal rocks professional sports. This time its major league baseball. Two pitchers are accused of deliberately throwing balls into the dirt to influence betting. Both pitchers deny any wrongdoing. And bear-ista backlash! People are lining up to get the limited-edition glass bear cup at Starbucks. If you went searching for one this weekend, you probably went home empty handed. Frustrated shoppers are accusing the baristas of buying up the bears before they even open. Now the baristas are hitting back. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Week 11 might be looking a little less than wholly captivating on paper, but that doesn't stop your favorite sports podcast from having a grand old time yapping about it, along with all the other news and silliness of the week. Listen, if you must! Has something we said, or failed to say, made you FEEL something? You can tell us all about it by joining the conversation on our Substack or you can send us an email here. Enjoy!Show RundownOpen — Abe Live Bets the Games, and Bob offers a pro-tip to The Biffler8:38 — WGAS NewsBag, Sports Edition; Marshawn Kneeland; Antonio Brown arrested; Tom Brady clones his dog; Brent Key says he's staying put; first CFP ranking; NFL trades40:57 — The Best Game in Every Time Slot1:00:11 — CIB 2025 Football Pick ‘em Contest1:10: 56 — Jimmy Carter's Presidential Lock of the Week, Live from Plains, Heaven1:14:05 — Wrap-up!Relevant Linkage can be found by visiting https://brainiron.substack.com/, where, if you would like to support this and the other podcasting and blogging endeavors of the Brain Iron dot com media empire, you can also become a paying subscriber.The opening and closing themes of Cast Iron Balls were composed by Marc Gillig. For more from Marc, go to tetramermusic.com.The background music for Jimmy Carter's Presidential Lock of the Week is "Bama Country" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Caleb and Charles watch Tron: Ares and chat CEOs, Tron without Tron, and the chillest president Jimmy Carter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We explore what can be learned about character from seven former American presidents. Presidential historian Mark Updegrove profiles Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, the Bushes, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, illustrating the traits that made each suited to their time in the Oval Office.

Presidential Ambition and the 1980 Victory: From Farm Hand Friendship to the "There You Go Again" Knockout. Max Boot discusses Ronald Reagan running for president, first challenging incumbent Gerald Ford in the 1976 Republican primaries. Reagan narrowly lost the New Hampshire primary to Ford by about a thousand votes, but won the hearts of the convention with a graceful and moving speech delivered in defeat. After Ford lost to Jimmy Carter, Reagan spent the years between 1976 and 1980 returning to his "first love": radio. Despite his 1976 loss and his age (69), Reagan decided to run again in 1980, driven by personal ambition. Reagan loved going to his ranch outside Santa Barbara on weekends, where he enjoyed physical labor and preferred associating with ranch hands, former California state policemen Dennis LeBlanc and Barney Barnett, over the magnates with whom he was often photographed. The 1980 campaign was initially managed by John Sears, but Reagan fired him on the day of the New Hampshire primary, and Nancy brought in Bill Casey as campaign chairman. Casey was later implicated in the alleged "October surprise," and Boot found strong evidence this "probably happened," though the culpability rested with Casey, not Reagan. The campaign remained close through the summer, but the gap opened up weeks before Election Day primarily because of the late October debate, where Reagan delivered the famous rhetorical knockout blow, "There you go again," winning him the debate and the election.

Washington Wednesday, on New York politics, presidential pardons, and the government shutdown; World Tour on labor protests in Greece; and a mother's journey from grief to purpose. Plus, a young Jimmy Carter fan, Daniel Darling on Ukraine's missing children, and the Wednesday morning newsSupport The World and Everything in It today at wng.org/donateAdditional support comes from the Peace of God Bible, inviting you to experience God's peace. With notes and devotions from Dr. Jeremiah Johnston. PeaceofGodBible.comFrom Covenant College, where Christian faculty equip students for their callings through hard ideas, deep questions, and meaningful work. covenant.edu/worldAnd from Missions Upside Down - a FREE, award-winning video series about Christian missions in the past, present, and into the future. You can find this free resource on RightNowMedia or at missionsupsidedown.com