Podcasts about Johnno

A daily low dose of aspirin could significantly reduce the risk of bowel cancer in people with Lynch syndrome, an inherited condition that increases the likelihood of developing certain cancers.   In this episode, we explore the findings from the landmark CaPP3 trial, hear from a participant living with Lynch syndrome, and discuss how genomics could help shift healthcare from treatment to prevention.  Our host, Sharon Jones is joined by:  Dr Katie Snape, Principal Clinician for Population Health at Genomics England  Professor Sir John Burn, Professor of Clinical Genetics at Newcastle University  Drew Hyde, participant in the Cancer Prevention Programme (CaPP3)  Links:  Listen to: How can genomics help us understand cancer?  "I think knowing is always a good thing. And obviously, I wish I'd known earlier, and then, I could have taken more measures earlier on. So I think knowledge is definitely a good thing. And it would be great if more people could be tested or could find out if they were carriers at an early age, I think."  You can download the transcript or read it below. [00:00:00] Sharon: Welcome to Behind the Genes. In today's episode, we'll explore the research which shows how a low dose of aspirin can halve the risk of bowel cancer in people with Lynch syndrome. We'll hear about the real-life impact of living with the condition, and look at how genomics can help shape a more preventative approach to care in the future. [00:00:20] I'm Sharon Jones, and to help us unpack all of that, I'm joined by our guests, Dr. Katie Snape, principal clinician for population health at Genomics England; Sir John Burn, professor of clinical genetics at Newcastle University; and Drew Hyde, a participant in the Cancer Prevention Programme, which is also known as the CaPP3 trial. [00:00:42] So to start with the basics, Katie, can you walk us through what cancer is in simple terms? [00:00:50] Katie: Sure, Sharon. So, our body is made up of cells. Those are the building blocks that, that make us as humans and other creatures and plants. And our cells need to keep dividing throughout our lifetime as our bodies are growing and working normally. [00:01:06] And so we need to have processes in place in our body where our cells can divide, but then also stop dividing when we don't need them to carry on dividing. What happens in a cancer cell is basically that cell becomes abnormal, and it doesn't follow the normal checks and balances and rules of cell division. [00:01:23] So it starts to divide and grow uncontrollably, and it can start to invade other tissues and obviously, that can cause serious consequences. [00:01:33] Sharon: We'll hear a lot more from Dr. Katie Snape in this episode. But before we move on, I just wanted to flag that there was an episode of our Genomics 101 explainer series with Katie dedicated to helping us get to grips with how genomics can help us understand and diagnose cancer. [00:01:47] Do go and check that out. We'll put a link to that in the episode description. [00:01:54] So the World Health Organization estimates between 30 to 50% of all cancers are preventable. So, Katie, when we talk about cancer being preventable, what does that actually mean? And what's an example of cancer prevention that people might already know? [00:02:11] Katie: Yeah. So some cancers are due to chance or just mistakes happening as our cells copy. [00:02:19] Other cancers are because there has been damage to the genetic information within the cell that can be caused by certain things that can cause damage to DNA. So for example, a sort of obvious answer would be skin cancer. Skin cancers can be caused by sunlight, the, the UV light in the sun, and particularly if we burn our skin or, or get sun damage to our skin, increases the chance of us developing a skin cancer. [00:02:44] So you can think of lots of other examples such as cigarette smoking and lung cancer, and so we know that there are a number of different risk factors that increase the chance of our cells developing damage and becoming abnormal cells and growing uncontrollably. So when we talk about prevention, we might think, well, could we reduce some of those risk factors and therefore reduce the chance of those cells getting damaged and becoming cancer cells? [00:03:10] So I gave the example of skin cancer. We might put sun cream on if we're going out in the midday sun, for example. That reduces the damage of the UV light onto our skin cells. Or we might help people to go into a smoking prevention programme or, you know, other risk factors, such as we know that being very overweight can increase the chance of cancer. [00:03:31] We might help people get into more exercise regimes or improve people's diets. So those are the sorts of things that we might do sort of for environmental risk factors. But we also know, particularly in this context, that sometimes people are born, they carry genetic changes within their cells that they're born with, that are inherited, that run through families, and those can also increase the chance of some cancers developing. [00:03:56] And for those people at higher genetic risk, then we might look to other ways that we might reduce that risk. We can't change the genetic changes in their cells, but we might be able to put things in place to reduce the risk for those individuals, and that might be medication, it might be surgery, or there could be other things that we might be able to offer. [00:04:15] Sharon: Yeah, and with that in mind, is there anything more, you know, that you can share about some of those risk factors that someone is more likely to develop cancer? [00:04:25] Katie: Yeah. So actually, the, the biggest risk factor for developing cancer is age. The older we get, the more times our cells have divided, the more chance there is of a copying mistake that, that, that can cause that cell to become abnormal and start growing uncontrollably. [00:04:41] And that's why cancer becomes more common the older we get. We obviously can't change our aging process. Then, as I've said, sometimes we're born with certain specific inherited factors that increase the risk. That might be one big high-risk genetic factor, such as having a cancer gene that's important for, for that process of cell division that isn't working properly. [00:05:04] Or it could be that we have multiple lower genetic risk factors that can kind of add up together to increase the risk. And those often interplay with some of those environmental factors that we've talked about, like smoking, for example, or weight, or alcohol or other things like that. So most cancers are due to aging, and then there's a sort of interplay of genetic factors, but environmental factors as well. [00:05:30] Sharon: That's really interesting to understand. And the focus of this podcast is sort of looking at kind of Lynch syndrome and what findings have come out around aspirin and having a low dose of aspirin. So I want to kind of explore what Lynch syndrome is and, and then bring in Drew to talk about his experience of having Lynch syndrome and how he got involved in the trials themselves. [00:05:49] So from what I understand, Lynch syndrome is a genetic condition that can make some people more likely to have the chances of developing into bowel cancer. And Drew, this is your opportunity to sort of talk about what that's been like living with Lynch syndrome. And, you know, I'd like to understand more about your story and how it came about that you discovered that you had Lynch syndrome, and to share with our listeners your journey. [00:06:13] Drew: Yep. So in my case, I discovered I had the colon cancer before I discovered I was a Lynch syndrome carrier Basically, at the age of 50, I noticed some change in my health. You know, I was becoming a little bit more tired. My bowel movements had changed or whatever. So, I went to the GP and the GP basically said, "Well, you're probably too young for cancer, so let's look at other alternatives." [00:06:37] And I had blood tests and I had low iron, so I was on iron tablets for three months and whatever. Then eventually I went back and finally the GP said, "Well, let's try a colonoscopy." And the colonoscopy revealed that I did actually have colon cancer. And then very quickly I had surgery and, uh, then following that, I kind of asked the question, "Well, why me?" [00:06:59] You know, I'm only 50, 51. Yeah. You know, why me? [00:07:02] Drew: And basically, I was told, "Well, it's probably genetics." And then I was referred to, you know, St George's and Katie and I had the test and discovered that I was actually a Lynch syndrome carrier, and that's why, you know, I'd got the colon cancer at the age of 50, so. [00:07:17] Sharon: I mean, that's quite a journey. I mean, how did you feel when you're already on one pathway and then having to kind of find out more, you know, what was your experiences? What was the impact on your life? How did you, how did you feel? [00:07:27] Drew: I think I was lucky in that I had a very good surgeon. I had surgery very quickly, so that was the first hurdle. [00:07:32] Then I had to go on to chemotherapy, and the chemotherapy obviously is far worse than any surgery or anything else that comes before or after. But having got through that, then I went through the St George's onto the Lynch syndrome system. So, the most important thing then really was to basically identify what that meant for me, but also because it was an inherited characteristic, what it meant for my family. [00:07:57] One thing that was interesting, and I say, you know, the, the GP was saying, "Well, you're too young to have cancer," is that there wasn't any history of cancer in my family, you know, looking at older relatives. So, you know, to be fair to the GP, that wasn't an obvious marker. So basically, yeah, it was let's, you know, find out what it means now going forward. [00:08:21] Sharon: So, can you just take us back to when you were diagnosed with Lynch syndrome? What sort of guidance were you given at the time about managing your cancer risk? [00:08:30] Drew: Well, following the surgery, I was given various statistics which were fairly grim on what your percentage survival rate were in three years, five years, 10 years based on the surgery, whatever. [00:08:39] And that was kind of a bit harrowing. But, you know, assuming I'd get through five years, I felt it was, my chances were quite good. As for myself living with, living with Lynch syndrome, that, you know, I was aware that having had the colon cancer, I then had increased risk of other cancers. So since then, I've been on a screening programme, and I have colonoscopies or gastroscopies every year or two years. [00:09:04] So that's been very good. So, I believe now that if any other cancers were to appear, I would probably know very early on because they would be detected through a screening process before they got to a point where they would be, you know, maybe too difficult to resolve, so. So that's-- I think the screening programme, has been very, very good. [00:09:23] The main issue for me was what it meant for my family, being a genetic thing. So very quickly, my children, who were teenagers at the time, were both tested, and they went through some counselling with Katie beforehand, you know, about what it would mean for them to get a positive or negative result. [00:09:42] Unfortunately, my daughter was tested as negative, but my son was tested as positive, so he's now on the same cancer screening programme, and has colonoscopies every two years. So yeah. The mystery really, though, is where I inherited it from because my father died when I was very young. My mother was in a care home at the time, and I wanted to get her tested. [00:10:07] And at the time, her GP wouldn't test her on the basis that she was unable to give consent. But fortunately, I had power of attorney, and we could persuade him to do the test. But she tested negative. So I'm assuming I inherited it from my father's side. But most of my grandparents on that side of the family lived into their nineties without any apparent cancers. [00:10:32] So it's still a bit of a mystery how I inherited it, but what was important for me was to know which side of the family I'd inherited it from because obviously with cousins and whatever on different sides of the family, I wanted to be able to tell them what the situation was. My brother also tested negative, which was a positive. [00:10:54] So at the moment, it's just my son and I that have the defective gene. [00:10:59] Sharon: I'm sorry to hear that about your son, but does it- [00:11:01] Drew: Well, well, I mean, he, you know, he has to go through a colonoscopy every couple of years, which, you know, obviously is not a pleasant experience. But at least he knows that, you know, the first sign of any problem, the medics will be aware of it, and he'll be able to react. [00:11:16] Sharon: Has it changed your outlook on life, having this window in possibly knowing stuff or not knowing stuff? How has that affected you and, and your son as well? [00:11:25] Drew: I think knowing is always a good thing. And obviously, I wish I'd known earlier, and then, I could have taken more measures earlier on. So, I think knowledge is definitely a good thing. And it would be great if more people could be tested or could find out if they were carriers at an early age, I think. [00:11:42] Sharon: Yeah. That is really important. And moving into about the trial more broadly, scientists have known that there's been a link between cancer and aspirin for some time, with fewer cancers observed in people who take aspirin. So coming to you, John, could you share a bit more about the history of inherited cancer research and how the focus of Lynch Syndrome came about? [00:12:02] Because this isn't new, is it? [00:12:06] John: No, absolutely, Sharon. And in fact, this story, my story in this space begins 40 years ago when I was one of the geneticists who set out to try and find the genes that we've just been talking about. At that time, the group of patients who were the most obvious to begin with were young people with a condition called familial adenomatous polyposis, or FAP for short. [00:12:26] And they'd get thousands of polyps in their bowel, and the only way to treat that was to actually remove the whole bowel when they reached adulthood, which is a fairly extreme intervention. And I was running, I was setting up a registry. We were trying to find the gene at that time, and we'd just found it, in fact, but we also were trying to find all the families. [00:12:44] And I'd taken over responsibility for all the genetic services in the north of England, in the North East and Cumbria. And we'd, I'd started identifying families with FAP, and we went to visit one of those families, and this was the kind of light bulb moment for me because I walked into the room and mum had had her colon removed, and her son, Jonathan, had just had his first colonoscopy at the age of 12, and it was clear. [00:13:07] And I was about to give them the good news, but as I walked in, I noticed that he had little bumps on his forehead called osteomas, little bony bumps. His mother had them just the same, and it was one of the features of this condition. So I knew he had the gene even though he hadn't yet got the polyps. [00:13:21] Sharon: Wow. [00:13:22] John: And it made me think, wouldn't it be nice if we could do something to prevent these things happening rather than just waiting for an operation? And as it happened at the time, I was leading the English end of a big study, which you'll probably be aware of, which we're, we're, we were doing the vitamin study on women with spina bifida babies, and we were just about to identify folic acid as a way of preventing spina bifida in pregnant women. [00:13:45] So I had these two thoughts in my head. Maybe we could set up a trial like this folic acid trial, and then one of my friends in Edinburgh said, 'Have you seen this paper from Melbourne?' Gabriel Kuhn had just done a big study looking at people with colon cancer. It seemed that people who took a lot of aspirin didn't seem to get as much bowel cancer in Melbourne as those who didn't. So that was the design set up. [00:14:08] We were applying to Europe for a concerted action, so we had to think of an acronym that began with CA. So I, I came up with Concerted Action Polyp Prevention. But then in 1993, just as we started that trial, we were involved in finding the first of the genes for Lynch syndrome. We had a big family in Northumberland where there were lots of people like Drew's family, and there were three generations of cancer in the family. [00:14:31] So CaPP2 was immediately born in my head. In 1999, we had our first recruit, and we recruited until 2005. We found, in total, 1,000 people in 16 countries to join in, and we gave them two aspirins a day or two dummy tablets. Two aspirins is quite a big dose, but back in my day when I was a junior doctor, we used to give many more tablets of aspirin to people with arthritis. [00:14:57] So two tablets wasn't such a big deal. Nowadays, it's seen as a very high dose. And it worked. Basically, to cut to the chase, when we looked in 2010, the people who were getting the aspirin were getting less bowel cancers. In fact, it was a 50% reduction. So the people who took two aspirins had half as many bowel cancers and fewer cancers of other types as well. [00:15:19] We realised, although, at this point, immediately we saw that it was working, we knew we'd need to do another trial to see whether a smaller dose of aspirin would be just as effective. So CaPP3 began, and the great news is that what we'll be reporting in the journals in the next few days when it gets published, is that the people who were taking  CaPP3 aspirin in any dose were tracking exactly the same as the 600-milligram group in CaPP2. [00:15:46] So we're pretty sure that it works. We're pretty sure that the small dose is just as good. And the great news was that we had fewer side effects in that group. And so in fact, no one had to go to hospital for a transfusion or anything, you know, like that. Whereas in the 600-milligram group, we had a few people who needed treatment because, as you know, and everyone knows, if you take aspirin, there's a higher chance of having an ulcer that causes a bleed. [00:16:10] And that was always the anxiety. But people like Drew were courageous enough to take the chance because they knew we needed to know the answer to this. And of course, when you compare it to the risk of getting cancer, taking an aspirin is a relatively small risk. [00:16:26] Sharon: So, what were your kind of considerations when you were designing the trial, having that knowledge? [00:16:32] John: Well, the first thing is it has to be fully informed consent, which means that you have to explain to people what that risk is. The important thing about aspirin is that doctors have a much worse opinion of it than it deserves because if you work in a hospital, you'll often see people coming in who've had a bleed. [00:16:48] It's not always caused by the aspirin. The thing is, if you're coming with a bleed and you're on aspirin, everyone blames the aspirin. Right. About half of them would've happened anyway. In fact, the, the irritation of the stomach is much more of a problem in older people So in fact, the average age of the people in CaPP2 and CaPP3 was about 45, 46 when they started. [00:17:08] Drew was a little bit older, but, but people in that sort of middle age group are much, much less likely to get into trouble than people in their 70s and 80s. And it's people also who've had a history of ulcers that have a bigger problem. We also knew that if you had a stomach infection called H. Pylori, which is itself a risk factor for cancer, and about one in six people carry that bug, and we knew that if we fixed that with antibiotics, that would significantly reduce the risk of bleeding as well. [00:17:37] So it was a manageable risk. It was something we could share with people. They knew they were taking a bit of a chance. But actually a good way of putting it in terms of the risk, for people in middle age, the risk of a low dose of aspirin is about the same as the risk of having a colonoscopy, which is very small, but it isn't completely without risk. [00:17:56] Sharon: Yeah, and Drew, kind of like hearing this sort of incredible, like, backstory about how we've got to these trials and where we are today What was your experience like as a kind of participant of this trial? [00:18:08] Drew: I understood I was going to be on 100, 300, or 600, but wouldn't know for at least three years, or was it five years? I can't remember. [00:18:15] And then sometime later in the post we got these packs, and it was ... I remember at the time thinking it was like a rather dull advent calendar - ... in that you'd have the days of the week- ... with the little, with the little windows, and you'd, you'd pop the tablets out three times a day and take them. [00:18:31] So I did that. I think, you know, I, I don't think I ever missed a day or whatever. Initially, I thought I must be on a really low dose, because I didn't actually notice any side effects. You know, I remember saying to my wife, I said, "Oh, I think I must be on the lowest dose, because I don't see any side effects." [00:18:46] It was a surprise years later when I was told actually I'd been taking 600, so. [00:18:51] Sharon: Wow. [00:18:52] Drew: It was quite an easy experience really. [00:18:54] John: We had a lot of problems. We had to pack the aspirin in six-month packs, because it was very expensive to pack this stuff up. It cost... We got the aspirin free from the Bayer company, but it cost us more than a million pounds to actually put it in, in the packs to satisfy the regulations. [00:19:10] Uh, and a lot of people complained that the packs were a bit big and awkward, but that was just, you know, a constraint. But it was not that big a deal once people got into it. But we did get a lot of complaints about the size of the packets, which we couldn't do anything about that. [00:19:24] Drew: They came regularly through the post, and, you know, so every three months or whatever I got another supply, and I just carried on taking them. [00:19:30] Yeah, so. [00:19:31] Sharon: What was going through your mind when you were kind of waiting for this potential outcome, Drew? Because you, like you say, it was, you know, it was a long time taking part. What was... Especially as you were opening your, you know, your package a day, knowing exactly what you were going to get. [00:19:44] Drew: Well, I, I kind of knew it would be a long-term thing. [00:19:47] I think I was committed for five years initially. But I carried on taking the aspirin for another probably five years after that. So yeah, I was just sort of happy to take the aspirin and then sort of wait to see what the results would be. As I say, that I didn't really notice any side effects, so I wasn't really worried that it was having any detrimental effect on me. [00:20:09] So I was curious to see what the, what the results would be. [00:20:12] Sharon: Yeah. John, the trial has provided like the evidence that, you know, low-dose aspirin can prevent bowel cancer. But are there any challenges that still exist with translating this research into clinic and ultimately patient care? [00:20:26] John: Well, yes, and I'm going to hand back to Katie, who's actually leading the charge on, on getting it into practice as well. [00:20:32] But just to say that I, I'm actually now literally on my other computer finalising my bid to go back to Cancer Research UK because we want to go for three more years. Wow. We said that we would follow people for 10 years after they'd finished their ... or after they'd started, so, you know, for at least 10 years. [00:20:50] So the last person to join didn't finish until 2024, so we won't get to that person. It's Robin and one of my patients. We won't get to Robin's 10-year anniversary until 2029. Oh, yeah. By which time, obviously, Drew will be even further on. But that will give us at least 10 years of follow-up because we know that there is this delayed effect, and that was seen right back at the beginning when people looked, for example, the nurses study in America, where they followed 86,000 nurses and just asked them if they took aspirin. [00:21:18] And nothing happened for 10 years, but those who were taking aspirin for more than 10 years saw a benefit. So in the general population, it probably takes that long to kick in. And so we need to keep going for just a while longer. It's not as expensive now because we're not giving people aspirin anymore. [00:21:33] Sharon: Yeah. [00:21:34] John: But one of the reasons we g- we made Drew's dose blind was because we wanted to know what the side effects would be when you didn't know how much you were getting There's a danger if you're getting a higher dose, you're more likely to complain. And actually, it did work out that the people on the lowest dose had the fewest side effects, even slight side effects. [00:21:51] The only thing we can't escape from is if you're taking aspirin, you get bruising more easily because it blocks the platelets, which are the little tiny blood cells which plug up little holes in your blood vessels when they leak. The good news is we now know that platelets turn out to be right, a major factor in triggering cancer. [00:22:09] And so the aspirin, by blocking the platelets, is actually reducing the risk of cancer, but also reducing the risk of cancer spreading in the body. So this is new research, and we've got another big research project in collaboration with a team in Cambridge who are, uh, pursuing this. Also, the other exciting news is that my other partner, Ruth Langley, is running a big trial of people with cancer, and those who are given aspirin as part of their treatment have less likelihood of getting spreading cancer later on. [00:22:39] So the aspirin is clearly doing something good at many levels in the system. Surprisingly, and we think it might be partly, partly because we used to have a lot of salicylate in our diet, which is what aspirin's made from. And we think that maybe we're putting back something that the body actually was used to having. [00:22:57] Yeah. But modern diets don't contain any, any salicylate because of the way we prepare our food. So it may well be that a little bit of aspirin's a good thing for everybody, but obviously, that's a choice that each person will have to make. [00:23:09] Sharon: Yeah. I mean, it's a real powerhouse of a, of a drug essentially, which you're finding out more about its benefits as, uh, as research goes on. [00:23:18] So Katie, can you just give us a bit of a broad overview of Genomics England's new adults program, which is kind of looking at this sort of area of work and, and what, how can it benefit people? [00:23:29] Katie: Yeah. Thank you, Sharon. So, the adults programme at Genomics England is being funded by government, and the government wrote about it in the 10-year NHS Health Plan, the Life Science Sector Plan to run a large-scale genomics population study. [00:23:44] So looking at how we can obtain genetic information from people in the population and look at more proactive and preventative healthcare, and can we generate evidence on where, how, and why the NHS should start applying genomics into kind of more population health measures. So, there's sort of two sides to this. [00:24:05] So the first is thinking about pharmacogenomics, which is basically about how genetic factors influence how we respond to drugs. So lots of people have had experiences of having side effects from drugs, we've just been talking about that with aspirin, or for drugs not working so well for them. And we know that there are certain drugs that genetic factors can influence whether you should take the drug at all, or if you do, what dose you should take, whether it's going to work for you or not, whether you might be more likely to get side effects or adverse reactions. [00:24:34] So part of the programme's looking at that. And then the other half of the programme will be looking at sort of is, are the genetic factors relevant for sort of serious and high-risk conditions in the adult population? So we could take bowel cancer as an example of that, a common condition, breast cancer, you know, common cancers or cardiovascular disease. [00:24:58] We know there are certain genetic factors for some people that have significantly increased their chance of developing those serious adult onset conditions. Can we find those people in the population and then put measures in place to prevent that? So, you know, even just thinking about Drew's story, he didn't have a family history of cancer. [00:25:16] The first time that he knew he had Lynch syndrome, he'd already developed bowel cancer. And we know that many people that have Lynch syndrome or other high-risk cancer genes are unaware of their status in the population, and so, um, the idea of this program is to really look at, well, if we were to, to look for some of these very high-risk genes in the general population, could we then put measures in place to reduce the chance of them developing the serious condition as a consequence? [00:25:44] So instead of Drew presenting with his bowel cancer, we'd actually already picked it up, despite the fact he doesn't have a family history, and we'd offered him, let's say, aspirin if we'd known the information at the time, and we could maybe have prevented him from developing bowel cancer. [00:25:58] So it's really exploring looking at that a little bit more. [00:26:02] Where can we get genetic information in the population? Where might there be a really well-evidenced, like all the work John's done over 40 years, is really well-evidenced now. Yeah. Yeah. Where are there these opportunities for us to turn the dial on some of these common adult onset conditions? [00:26:20] Sharon: What other challenges do you think with getting this out there do you see? [00:26:25] Katie: Uh, I think there's, there's lots of challenges. I think it's a really com- ... complex programme of work. The first thing is that the risks might be different for people in a population than have a family history. So where I've worked for, for years, and John as well in, in clinical genetics, we've seen the highest risk people, the people with lots and lots of cancer in their family because they're the people that are presented to healthcare services. So we've worked out the risks based on that population. It will be really different when we move to the population setting. We'll find fewer people, and the risks might be lower because there might be other factors that are giving them a lower risk. But that's not to say the risk is zero. [00:27:05] It's probably still raised. So then what we need to do is we need to consider, okay, well, what can we do to intervene, taking into account this change of context from people that we found through clinical services to people that we see in the population. And aspirin is a great example of this. [00:27:22] So, you know, if we find that someone has a Lynch syndrome gene, then taking aspirin, unless there's a really good reason for them not to take aspirin, is almost certainly going to be low cost to the NHS and really significantly reduce the chance of them developing bowel cancer with a low risk profile. So where are those opportunities? [00:27:41] And that isn't clear cut, and that's why we need a large scale research programme that can try to help the NHS answer some of those questions, so it can decide how best to spend its money in, in the people that are most likely to benefit from it with the least amount of risk or harm to them. [00:27:58] Sharon: That makes sense. And, and so, you know, going to you, Drew, what are your kind of thoughts on some of the challenges that Katie's highlighted? And is there anything else that you think needs to be improved in better supporting people living with inherited risk of cancer in the future? [00:28:14] Drew: In the brief sort of 10, 15 years or whatever since I've been s- suffering, awareness has increased greatly. [00:28:21] I mean, for example, my GP now knows about Lynch syndrome, whereas I don't think she did when I was first diagnosed, and I think there is a little bit more awareness out there, but I still think it's a lot less than there would be for, say, for breast cancer. So for example, when a high-profile personality reveals they've got breast cancer, you often get information about inherited risks. [00:28:44] You don't seem to get that with colon cancer. You know, when it's announced that so-and-so has died or is whatever, you don't get that same, you know, it, it might be a genetic thing. I mean, when I was first told people that I had bowel cancer, the response I got usually was, "Oh, poor diet, was it?" [00:29:04] And I always felt a bit upset, that, you know, actually my diet was fairly healthy. And that was the assumption that people had. So I think anything that gets the message out there that there is a risk, an inherited risk, I'm not sure what the statistics are now, Katie, is it one in 400 people might be a Lynch syndrome carrier or something like that? [00:29:24] You know, it's relatively high for something that is, if you know in advance you're at risk, you can do something about it. But like me, you know, I waited until it was too late, because I didn't know, and then had to have the surgery, so anything that promotes the message that there is a risk. I know some people don't want to know about their genetic makeup. Obviously, that's a choice. But I think to give people, as many people as possible, the choice must be a good thing. [00:29:54] Sharon: Yeah, absolutely. And I think one thing I've noticed through this thread is the sort of theme of funding and what gets funding and the amount of time it takes to, to kind of get that funding. [00:30:05] Is there anything you wanted to add around the kind of funding model, around why some things get funded, you know, uh, more prominent, like Drew's point, obviously, talks about if someone high profile kind of comes forward and says XYZ, that gets the spotlight shone on it, and there might be research going that direction compared to s- to, to other cancers. [00:30:23] John: So maybe I could speak at that. So partly because of my experience, I've now been made chairman of the grant committee at Cancer Research UK for prevention and population research. And there is a real drive to push more resource into prevention for the obvious reasons. [00:30:39] Katie: Yeah. [00:30:39] John: And also, it's got to be remembered, it's very difficult for the drug companies to fund this because it takes such a long time that the drug's- Mm [00:30:46] out of its patent before they actually get to use it. So, it's very difficult from a business point of view to fund research into prevention. But they are keen to help us, uh, but we really need sort of central government and the charities to focus on prevention if it's going to make a difference. [00:31:02] And just on Drew's point on diet, I mean, diet is still important even if you have Lynch syndrome. In our CaPP2 trial, the people who were overweight were more than double the risk of cancer. So it's not like an either/or. If you've got a higher genetic risk and you have a bad diet, then that's, you know, is going to contribute. [00:31:21] But the other exciting thing is, of course, we now have medical ways of treating obesity in, in people. So, one of the interesting areas is whether we should be, in the same way as we are for other high-risk populations with overweight, we should be giving overweight people with Lynch syndrome, help to lose weight because that will also reduce their risk. [00:31:41] It's also worth just dropping in at the last moment here is that this is also a good news story in terms of treatment and further prevention. We now have a new class of drugs called immune checkpoint inhibitors, which specifically target the types of cancer that Drew had and are much more effective in curing them And also, we've just been given funding to do a project called LynchVax, which I'll be helping with, but it's led by David Church in Oxford. [00:32:05] And this is developing a vaccine against cancers in people with Lynch syndrome. The great news is it'll probably work alongside aspirin because we know the aspirin is enhancing the immune response. So the two together may make this a curable condition. [00:32:18] Sharon: That's actually incredible. I mean, that, it gives so much hope for people. [00:32:23] And I just wanted to find out if you had any more kind of reflections as we close, because we're going to come to the end of our podcast today. If there's anything more that you wanted to share, anything that has been missed, or anything that you want our listeners to know, and I think I'm gonna come to you, Drew, first, because you're the person who's had to sort of live through this and, and go through this journey along the way. [00:32:41] Drew: I think just basically, if you're not sure, get tested. Obviously, there are financial constraints. I'm sure that running a DNA test is quite an expensive business. But I think if you've got any history of bowel cancer in the family, you've got any concerns about your health, speak to a GP and see if you can get tested as quickly as possible. [00:33:00] And then, to get a better message out there that there are risks of inherited colon and other similar cancers, so. [00:33:11] Sharon: Yeah, so it's getting that, messaging out, um, for people to understand more and make those informed choices. And Katie? [00:33:18] Katie: I mean, I would say that the power of, of our, you know, NHS and our academia and, and our healthcare system has been collaboration. [00:33:26] Sharon: Yeah. [00:33:27] Katie: There's so many moving parts. There's commissioners, there's funding, there's the evidence, there's research, there's healthcare implementation. The UK's a really amazing place to work in genomic medicine, and I think that's partly because of the amazing collaborations that we have, and the way that we can translate research into healthcare as John's team have done with this amazing study. [00:33:48] So let's all keep working together, please. [00:33:52] Sharon: Absolutely. And John, it feels like this is your lifetime's work. [00:33:58] John: Well, I've become aspirin man, it wasn't intended. But Katie's done fantastic work in her role as chair of the Cancer Genetics Group in the UK, so we've now implemented a, [00:34:06] we're the first in the world to really make this an absolute directive to the GPs and all, to all doctors to say, "People with Lynch syndrome need to be offered aspirin." And so that's a great step forward. But we also need to get it into the British National Formulary, and I'm working with their team so that the GPs are empowered to do this. [00:34:24] It's actually part of their care package. But I would just say we've still got a long way to go. We've now got a national list of all the people with Lynch syndrome, like Drew, to make sure we offer them all a colonoscopy, but there are only 14,000 people after several years of really pushing. [00:34:40] Sharon: Right. [00:34:40] John: We think in the national population in all ages, it's about 1 in 300. That's a lot of people. That means there's about 150,000 people like Drew in the country, and we've only found 10% of them. So we can't just rely on family history for all the reasons Drew explained. You know, I mean, Drew's dad probably died of Lynch syndrome, but we don't know because we've lost that record. [00:35:02] So now we're checking every bowel cancer to see if it might be caused by Lynch, and that programme is now kicking in, and we're picking up a lot more gene carriers as a result of that. But there's still a long way to go to get co- get people aware of Lynch syndrome, to think of it when someone presents with a cancer, not just of the bowel, but in the womb, in the kidney, in other parts of the body. [00:35:23] It's not just the bowel, but that's the most important group. [00:35:26] Sharon: Yeah. [00:35:26] John: So there's still a long way to go. [00:35:28] Sharon: Where you've come to now is still an incredible achievement, even though we've still got a long way to go, and I don't think we should ever lose sight of that. So we're going to wrap it up there. Thank you to our guests, Katie Snape, Professor Sir John Burn, and Drew Hyde, for joining me today as we discuss cancer prevention. [00:35:48] If you'd like to hear more like this, please subscribe to Behind the Genes on your favourite podcast app, and thank you for listening. I've been your host, Sharon Jones, and Behind the Genes is produced by Deanna Barac, Florence Cornish, Sophie McLachlan, and Dave Howard at Bespoken Media.  

313. In the weeds with Mike and Johnno. Something a bit different this week. Johnno makes songs with AI for amusement. He did one for me and it cracked me up. So I wrote one and he put that through the machine and it teared me up! Anyway here we are and there's a couple at the end for your listening pleasure. Enjoy.

Award-winning Australian author, poet and essayist David Malouf died last week at the age of 92, he  spoke with Richard in 2014.The first son of a Lebanese family, David spent his early years in South Brisbane, his vivid memories of life as it was then are captured in his classics, Johnno and 12 Edmondstone Street.Although his father played representative rugby league and was a champion boxer, David pursued a life of letters and during his career he published numerous highly-awarded novels and collections of essays.This episode was first broadcast in March 2014To binge even more great episodes of the Conversations podcast with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you'll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

Cath is entertained by Penny Tangey’s tale of murder, motherhood and caffeine as a group of unlikely sleuths solve a crime at the local library. + Michaela talks to Lisa Hannett about the fierce and fantastical women of Norse mythology who star in her riveting new book “Yet She Lives”. Guests:Penny Tangey, author of “What Rhymes with Murder?” and a number of books for younger people including “As Fast As I Can” and “Music Camp”, Associate Professor Lisa Bennett, author of “Yet She Lives” and “ Viking Women: Life and Lore” and “The Fortunate Isles”. Lisa writes under the pen name of Lisa Hannett. Other books that get a mention: David Malouf’s “Remembering Babylon”, “Johnno”, “An Imaginary Life” and “The Great World”. INSTAGRAM @simonandschuster@thamesandhudsonauSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cath is entertained by Penny Tangey’s tale of murder, motherhood and caffeine as a group of unlikely sleuths solve a crime at the local library. + Michaela talks to Lisa Hannett about the fierce and fantastical women of Norse mythology who star in her riveting new book “Yet She Lives”. Guests:Penny Tangey, author of “What Rhymes with Murder?” and a number of books for younger people including “As Fast As I Can” and “Music Camp”, Associate Professor Lisa Bennett, author of “Yet She Lives” and “ Viking Women: Life and Lore” and “The Fortunate Isles”. Lisa writes under the pen name of Lisa Hannett. Other books that get a mention: David Malouf’s “Remembering Babylon”, “Johnno”, “An Imaginary Life” and “The Great World”. INSTAGRAM @simonandschuster@thamesandhudsonauSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Here I go again, in my thoughts about listening to the master teachers in my life, the children. As we continue to experience rapid changes in technology, I realize every day it is my grandchildren who will be teaching me the changes in this computer world we now live in. And so I listened to the comments collected from computer children, ages 10 to 15. These are students who spend an average of 10 hours a week working in their computer labs at school and home.Why do you like learning from a computer?John: Computers are patient. They never yell at you.Josh: You can work at your own pace. don't have to wait for the rest of the class to catch up.Joy: If you get sick of it, you can turn it off.How does working on the computer make you feel?Jared: I feel like I'm in charge of everything. Matthew: I feel like I'm the boss. I can control it.What do you like most about computers?John: You can use your imagination to program games.Stephen: I like the technology. I've always been interested in electronics and I like to be on the cutting edge of what's new.Do you think computers will ever replace school?John: No, teachers have feelings. You can't have a conversation with a computer.Aaron: If you worked with a computer all day, you wouldn't know how to get along with people.Do you like being able to learn things without anyone helping you?Michelle: It builds your confidence to be able to learn something by yourself.Joy: I feel smart when I configure things out myself.How do you feel about knowing more things about a computer than your parents?Alan: It's nice to have your parents ask you questions instead of you always asking them. Joy: We get to teach them for a change.How can a computer help your parents? Jamie: It can help them with business and taxes.Kara: Maybe make them less cranky because they would have more free time.Josh: They could do things quicker and have more time for other things.Joey told his father that he needed a computer for his homework. His father said, “You don't need a computer. When Abraham Lincoln was your age, he studied by candlelight in a log cabin.” “Yes, I know, dad.” And he thought for a moment…”And when he was your age, he was the president of the United States.” We parents and grandparents learn each day from the children.Warm thought: Our computer broke down and we had to think. Have many warm thoughts on these warm spring days!Warm Thoughts from the Little Home on the Prairie Over a Cup of Tea, written by Dr. Luetta G. WernerPublished in the Marion Record, April 16, 1998.Download the Found Photo Freebie and cherish your memories of the past.Enjoy flipping through the Vintage Photo Book on your coffee table.I hope you enjoyed this podcast episode! Please follow along on this journey by going to visualbenedictions.com or following me on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. You can listen to the podcast on Apple Podcast,Spotify,Stitcher, and Overcast. And don't forget to rate and review so more people can tune in! I'd greatly appreciate it.Till next time,Trina

301. In The Weeds with Johnno Woods and Trev Warner. This week we have a look at road rage. Johnno tells us about his run in which resulted in injuries to him and time off work then Mike and Trev get into the subject.

Chris, Johnno, Ryan and Dale from the Pirate join the Pod fresh from winning the Perth Gamefishing Marlin cup to talk Metro Billfish, Metro Swords, triple hookup Shortbill Spearfish and much more

Music Not Diving is supported by Acid Nation (formerly AC55ID)... head over to www.acidnation.com to check out the fastest growing electronic music marketplace, a central hub for music discovery, streaming and purchasing!--Watch the video episodes of Music Not Diving over at youtube.com/@WeNotDivingBugged Out is one of the UK's best-loved and most enduring club brands. From humble beginnings in Manchester, through Sankeys, Cream in Liverpool, fabric and The End in London, right the way through to their enormous 30th birthday at the 15k capacity Drumsheds in London, this is a promotion that has consistently done things right in terms of the music and the vibe. Johnno Burgess is one of the co-founders, and also the former editor of the legendary Jockey Slut magazine which originally launched the night that became Bugged Out. We discuss the history of the event with its many successes and occasional failures, the changing landscape over the last 30 years, how they booked Daft Punk for free, and we also get into the golden era of the dance press and how it looks in the current era. This is a great conversation with a relatively unsung hero of UK dance culture. Get involved! Grab the new Bugged Out book here--If you're into what we're doing here on the pod then you can support the show on Patreon! There are two tiers - "Solidarity" for $4 a month, which features the show without ads, regular bonus podcasts, and extra content. And "Musicality" which for a mere $10 a month gets you all the music we release on Hotflush and affiliate labels AND other music too, some of which never comes out anywhere else.You can also make a one-off donation to the podcast using a card, with Paypal, or your Ethereum wallet! Head over to scubaofficial.io/support.Plus there's also a private area for Patreon supporters in the Hotflush Discord Server... but anyone can join the conversation in the public channels.Listen to the music discussed on the show via the Music Not Diving Podcast Spotify playlist Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

EP. 63 JOHNNO WILSONActor | Writer | ComedianMargie had the best time catching up with her longtime student Johnno Wilson. Their relationship spans more than a decade, and this episode feels less like an interview and more like two old friends sitting down to talk shop, life, and fatherhood. Johnno most recently appearing in the critically acclaimed Season 2 of Twisted Metal (Peacock), High Potential (ABC), and Watson (CBS).  His upcoming projects include Larry David's new untitled HBO series, Season 2 of BAD MONKEY (Apple TV+), and Zach Cregger's highly anticipated RESIDENT EVIL feature film, which begins shooting this winter. A Groundlings Theatre alumnus, Johnno is based in Los Angeles.  In this episode, Johnno and Margie dive into the current audition landscape, navigating self-tapes, the importance of having a strong reader, and the ongoing journey of finding—and trusting—your own voice.@johnnowilson

Johnno Burgess joins Chris Hawkins to talk about his life and career through music, the success of Bugged Out and his latest book. How to DJ is a Listening Dog Media production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome back to The Football Pod Club - it's the second episode of our winter series, and we're delighted to have sat down for a brilliant chat with Padraic Joyce to chat about his phenomenal playing career, being an intercounty manager in 2026, and Galway's pursuit of Sam Maguire.CHAPTERS(00:30) - Padraic Joyce joins The Football Pod Club(02:00) - Killererin GAA - then and now, and the power of the club(12:00) - Captaining Ireland, AFL poachers, should International Rules return?(25:00) - Tralee Superstars and Sigerson Cup memories (32:00) - ‘98 & ‘01, Galway's breakthrough, ‘Johnno' and the barren years(44:00) - Being an intercounty manager - who Padraic learned from and Galway's journey(53:00) - All-Ireland final defeat in ‘24 and impact of the new rules in 2025.(01:03:00) - Secret sessions with uncle Billy before the 2004 County Final(01:06:00) - Paddy Joyce and his impact on his son, Padraic.(01:11:00) - 25 years on from Galway's last All-Ireland in 2001.All of that and so much more across our time with Padraic Joyce, recorded in Killererin GAA's clubhouse in North Galway at the start of November.The Football Pod Club on Off the Ball…in partnership with AIB. Proud supporters of the AIB All-Ireland club championships for men's football, hurling, ladies football and Camogie. Because we believe support is what gets you the life you're truly after.Keep an eye out for Episode 3 of the series, which drops on Wednesday, December 17th.Ep. 4 will be recorded and released in mid-January around the All-Ireland Club Finals - and as always, The Football Pod is available to watch on Off the Ball's YouTube for free and to listen in on ‘OTB GAA' and The Football Pod podcast feeds.

Funding is being sought by any means necessary to order to combat a "treacherous walk to school" in Ennis. It follows concerns raised by the Principal of Holy Family National School for children walking from the Ballaghboy Halting Site on the Quin Road. There's no cycle lane, hard shoulder or footpath for a 550m stretch between the halting site and Johnno's Bar, and the cost of installing the latter is estimated to be €350,000 , but Clare County Council says funding isn't currently available. Ennis Fianna Fáil Councillor Clare Colleran-Molloy says a solution is needed before there's a fatality.

We first met Johnno Johnson at the Kenworth Klassic when he travelled down from Dalby just over 12 months ago. Apart from being a lovely bloke, we were taken with his beautiful factory Gold Nugget SAR still sporting its 2-Stroke Detroit power. Bruce finally got up to Dalby and sat with Johnno to record his history and check out his past with trucks, trials and tribulations. Humble people like Johnno make Copy Southbound what it is and the passion he still has for the industry is what keeps it alive.

When was the last time you felt at peace? Does joy feel distant for you right now? Is life wearing you down? If so, this sermon’s for you. Because John teaches us something profound: Real joy in this life is always tied to truth. Not circumstances, not emotion, not success, but when we are walking with God’s presence, in truth. Do you know what the difference is between happiness and joy? If you’ve been at GraceLife for a while you might. Happiness is circumstantial. Happiness depends on what happens. It’s a conditional emotion. But joy is not happiness. Joy survives a bad medical report, a lost job, a catastrophic life event, or even what seems to be unanswered prayer. Happiness is fragile. But Joy isn’t. Joy endures when circumstances change, sustains you when everything falls apart. But most of us have confused the two. We talk a lot about wanting joy, but most of what we chase isn’t joy at all. It’s happiness dressed up like joy. We chase the next moment, but all it takes is one hard day for it to disappear. And then we are confused, perplexed, even bitter when it seems Joy is elusive, unattainable, or unsustainable. If you’ve lost your joy, its not because life got harder. Perhaps it’s because circumstances have tested your anchor, revealing your drift from the presence of God, from truth, or, if you were anchored to the wrong “truth” to begin with.

Have you ever been duped? Maybe you gave money to someone in need, only to find out later you were manipulated? Maybe you trusted someone who promised they’d have your back, but when you needed them most, they were gone. Have you ever been conned, promised opportunity, partnership or love & instead you were left empty & embarrassed? Few things are as discouraging as realizing you’ve been deceived. It makes you angry, embarrassed, and jaded. But what about when the lie isn’t about money or friendship—what if it’s about God? John knew how destructive spiritual lies could be. That’s why in his letters, he didn’t treat lies as small problems. He warned believers not to tolerate them, enable them, or even greet those who spread them. Because for John, truth and lies are not competing opinions—they are opposing kingdoms. One builds life; the other destroys it. One belongs to Christ; the other to the deceiver. This is the war every believer is in—whether we realize it or not. That’s why this series through 2 and 3 John matters. These short letters show us that the nature of truth is never abstract or subjective; It’s the only way to spiritual life. It guards us from lies, unites us in love, and gives us courage to follow Jesus no matter the cost. So this week, we’ll focus on the fight John highlights most urgently: Truth versus Lies.

Biblical truth isn’t just some kind of philosophy or just another abstract idea. It’s the only spiritual voice that matters. It matters in every area of life. It strengthens us, protects us, & gives us courage to follow Jesus no matter the cost. It shapes leadership, exposes lies, fuels joy, and demands courage. Today, we start a 4 week mini- series on 2 & 3 John. we will uncover how these short letters still speak powerfully about truth into the life of the church today. They were written to a church wrestling w/faithfulness under a wave of false teachers twisting truth for personal gain. We’ll start w/truth & leadership. Have you ever noticed how quickly a single leader can change the course of a group? One coach can take a losing team to the championship. But one corrupt CEO can sink a company overnight. One faithful teacher can change a student’s life. But one irresponsible Dad can cause decades of dysfunction in his kids. One courageous missionary can transform a village. But one false-teaching influencer online can lead millions astray. Why? Because leadership will always do one of two things, it will either amplify spiritual truth or magnify spiritual lies. That’s why John’s short letters aren’t just personal notes—they are lessons in leadership. In 2 John & 3 John, we see both the beauty of truth-filled leadership as well as the ugliness of self-centered leadership. The question we face is this: What kind of leadership will I offer, and what kind of leadership will I choose to follow?

What a weekend! None of us have gotten as much sleep as we'd like with the Tour Championship on, but Tommy Fleetwood....what a star, and the entire golf world was celebrating his first win. Wonderful. Mark describes the final couple of holes as Tommy playing for his life, as he's not sure how another capitulation would have impacted him. As impressive as the win was, and as consistent as Tommy has been, Mark makes the point that - as with Jon Rahm and LIV last week, he doesn't believe that Tommy should be the Tour Champion, as Scheffler as 'without any shadow of a doubt' been the best player this year. Mark says both LIV and the PGA have this wrong. Nick and Mark discuss options to make it fairer.The new boss of the PGA has been talking about his plans, and one word in his comments has jumped out to Mark, he explains why and we discuss.The Ryder Cup selections will be this week for the US and Keegan Bradley has a big decision to make. Nick and Mark both have a view on what he should do, and explain why.This weekend Mark is playing Royal Melbourne, and he's hoping he is welcomed given his recent comments about the preparedness of the course for the Australian Open, however he is cheering for it to look incredible come December.Our new segment for BMW is a Touch of Class, and this week Nick O'Hern inducts Tommy Fleetwood as our inductee, not for his play, but for his press conference afterwards. We listen to what he said. It was indeed a touch of class from Tommy.Mark has bought something on Temu. Apologies. We tried to stop him but he was determined to show off this $3.50 purchase.After the turn Nick lists the Top 5 'Chokers' in golf......or does he? Top 5 for Betr, and as much as we loved Tommy winning he was responsible for our Betr multi failing so we're a bit dark on him at the same time.Lots of feedback for Southern Golf Club. Feedback on Rahm's title, some good news for Mark re: Monty, a whack for Nick and Mark from Billy, and a whack for Dan from Johnno. Brutal.Hardly know where to start with the PING global results, there has been some massive results - Tommy the big one, but an 'oh so close' result for Minjee in Canada, and plenty of other results to run through.And for watchMynumbers Marks masterclass today, inspired by Patrick Cantlay, is on the importance of having your weight in the right spot.We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best. See your local golf shop or professional for a PING club fitting;Golf Clearance Outlet, visit them online here to find your nearest store.Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia.And watchMynumbers: download from the App Store or Google Play, and Southern Golf Club: with their brand new Simulator Room. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

07-31-25 - Cobra Killed By 1yr Old Baby In India Has John No Longer Fearing Snakes - Turns Out Women Get Concerned About The Looks And Size Of Their Genitals As Much As Men AreSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

07-31-25 - Cobra Killed By 1yr Old Baby In India Has John No Longer Fearing Snakes - Turns Out Women Get Concerned About The Looks And Size Of Their Genitals As Much As Men AreSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We've got yowies, paranormal happenings and a potential abduction by extra terrestrial beings this week for you, amigos. First up, Mike got in touch with me a while back to share his yowie and paranormal stories, and while I was talking to him, he told me a cool story that happened to his mate Johnno, so I asked if I could speak to Johnno myself and get his first hand version of the story. I spoke to Johnno recently and he shared his yowie encounter and then unexpectedly dropped a whole bunch of fascinating experiences on me. So I've got Mike first and then Johnno in this episode, and both have some really cool and freaky stories to share. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Christian ; Follower of GOD Servant of CHRIST        GOD Provides / JESUS Saves GOD is Love Patreon https://bit.ly/3jcLDuZ

We went on the road toVegas Unstripped at the Palms, and it's chaos in the best way. Champagne was sabered, Sam got iced, and we ate... everything. From escargot donuts to foie gras ice cream, this episode is a love letter to Vegas' best chefs.On Today's Menu:Culinary highlights from Partage & Le Club with Chef Yuri SzarsewskiGolden Steer Steakhouse's expansion to New York & more with Amanda SignorelliBourbon Steak's new menu & local focus with Josh SmithSoul Belly BBQ, BURGERSMITH, Pepper Club, & Midtown Project with Bruce KalmanSteve Kestler of Aroma Latin American Cocina breaks down his Latin fusion hits & must ordersWild Fig BBQ serves up smoked beef cheek tacos & Daniel Schneider goes through their meaty menuKim Owens of Main St. Provisions chats seasonal dishes & Spring changesTSP Baking Company's mystery cupcake challenge with Kari GarciaQuestions, comments, hate mail? Email us at cheers@eattalkrepeat.com!Thanks for tuning into today's episode! If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to the show, & make sure you leave us a 5-star review. Visit us at⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Eating Las Vegas⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ &⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Eat. Talk. Repeat.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow us on social:Twitter/X:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@EatTalkRepeat⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@EatingLasVegas⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, &⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@AshTheAttorney⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@EatTalkRepeatLV⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@JohnCurtas⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ &⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@AshTheAttorney

Patrick discusses the challenges of parenting in today's world filled with varying influences and ideologies. He offers insights into balancing the pursuit of affluence with spiritual growth and shares advice on providing meaningful support in difficult family situations. Additionally, Patrick highlights the benefits of homeschooling and the relationship between wealth and virtue. Claudia - My son is confused about his gender. I’m concerned about the influence of his friends. What can I do? (01:02) Elizabeth - My sister-in-law was a former witch, and she needs help. How can I change her mind about the Catholic Church? (06:24) John - No requirements or credentials are required to teach at a private school in California. (13:29) Claudia (email) – Thank you for telling us about The Walton’s! (19:37) Margaret - Can someone look at their abundance and wealth as a cross or is that just playing the victim’s role? (23:06) Karen (email) – What are plenary indulgences and where can I get them? (33:41) Sam - Can I use someone's suffering and offer it up for them if they can't offer it up themselves? (39:13) Jerry - Catholics Schools performing are better. I also have a Crucifix in my school, and it works. (41:47) Mark - I know we have to be not attached to riches, but being rich is not bad. (44:02)

Ever wonder what other people talk about with their financial advisors? A new survey of nearly 400 experienced advisors reveals the biggest concerns, challenges, and financial goals their clients are facing today. From retirement planning to healthcare costs to working longer than expected, we're breaking down the key takeaways and how they compare to what we see in our own client conversations.   Helpful Information: PFG Website: https://www.pfgprivatewealth.com/ Contact: 813-286-7776 Email: info@pfgprivatewealth.com   Disclaimer: PFG Private Wealth Management, LLC is an SEC Registered Investment Advisor. Information presented is for educational purposes only and does not intend to make an offer or solicitation for the sale or purchase of any specific securities, investments, or investment strategies. The topics and information discussed during this podcast are not intended to provide tax or legal advice. Investments involve risk, and unless otherwise stated, are not guaranteed. Be sure to first consult with a qualified financial advisor and/or tax professional before implementing any strategy discussed on this podcast. Past performance is not indicative of future performance. Insurance products and services are offered and sold through individually licensed and appointed insurance agents.     Marc: Ever wonder what people are talking about with their financial advisors? Well this week on the show we're going to discuss a new survey of nearly 400 experienced advisors revealing the biggest concerns, challenges, and financial goals that their clients are facing. We'll see how that compares with what the guys see here on the show. Let's get into it this week on Retirement Planning - Redefined.   Welcome to the podcast, everybody. Thanks for hanging out with John and Nick and myself as we talk investing, finance and retirement. And guys, we're going to share this survey. We'll put a link into the show descriptions as well for folks that want to check it out, but want to run some of this information past you guys and see does that correlate with what you're seeing, do you think it's accurate, not accurate, and just spitball and talk a little bit about some of the stuff out here.   The survey was done of nearly 400 experienced advisors all with around 20 years or more of a business, practicing business, so interesting. They didn't really say exactly the age bracket of all the people they were talking to, so there could be some folks that are not necessarily retirement age. They could be younger as well as older, but I want to run down some of this stuff and just get your guys' take on it.   How you doing this week, John?   John: I'm doing well. Daylight savings is messing with me a little bit, but I'm adjusting pretty well. And one of my kids, actually both my kids, they're testing for an honor belt in karate.   Marc: Oh, nice.   John: So they're excited.   Marc: They're going to whoop on you. Be careful.   John: It's funny you say that. They're running around the house kicking me now. It's like I wanted to get them into some self-defense stuff, but now I'm getting kicked.   Marc: So now you got to walk around with some pads on.   John: Pretty much.   Marc: Make sure you're not getting beat up too much. Very cool. Well watch the shins, man. They'll get you in the shins.   Nick, how you doing, buddy?   Nick: Good. We're staying busy.   Marc: He's like, "Good." Well, let's break this down a little bit, guys.   John: That's the sound of a guy that's in the middle of planning a wedding.   Marc: Right? That's what I was just thinking. He's like, "I got to make another decision. I don't want to make a decision." Let's jump into this and we'll see if we can make this easy for you this week, Nick.   So seeking out a financial advisor, the first part of this survey, advisors in the survey said 52% of their clients have sought out financial advisors to help with the retirement planning. About 34% surveyed were just looking for somebody to build wealth with. And in an era where everybody can call themselves a financial advisor, does that strike you as interesting? What do you guys think about that, 52% looking for retirement planning versus 34 just looking for some sort of wealth building, whoever wants to start?   John: Yeah, those numbers seem accurate to me. Well, I guess I'm a little surprised it's not more looking for help with retirement planning.   Marc: Okay.   John: I'd say the majority of our clients are retirement planning based, "Hey, I want to make sure my plan's good. I want to make sure I don't outlive my money." As far as building wealth, that does come up quite a bit, and Nick will jump in as well, but I'd say most of our clients are looking for retirement planning and just making sure they're on track and making sure that they're making the right decisions.   Marc: And it's two different mindsets too, right, Nick? I mean, so you need to decide what it is that you're looking for. I mean, not to say that you couldn't work with a retirement planner who also can help you with some of the wealth building, but it is a different skillset as well. If you're just looking for someone only to help you build the wealth, that's a little bit easier, I would think.   Nick: Yeah, and I would almost, if I were to say maybe put that in other words, we talk with people at the three phases of money as far as their life goes are accumulation or growth, distribution, taking their money in retirement and then transfer when they leave money. And so I would say from that initial, that wealth building, that's most likely accumulation focused. And because so many people accumulate their money while working in their 401(k)s and that kind of thing, I think it tends to be a little bit of a different conversation and it's those people that as you get closer to retirement. So without having ages, it does make it, the numbers are interesting, and I agree with John, I would've thought maybe it'd be a little bit higher from the standpoint of the retirement planning side, but-   Marc: Well, I mean, if you're just trying to grow the money, again the market's been, obviously we haven't had a prolonged downturn, and it's been choppy here lately, but we haven't had a prolonged downturn since '08, '09, so there's a lot of information out there about saying it's a little bit easier to build the wealth. But the preservation stage, which retirement is a little bit more complicated. There's more things going on than just the portfolio.   But with that in mind, check this out. Over half of the survey of financial advisors said the average client asset minimum was 760,000. I found that to be good. I know different areas are going to be more or less depending on the economic state of the area, but when you often hear that people aren't doing a very good job saving for their retirement future, three quarters of a million dollars is not bad.   Nick: It's definitely interesting to see the numbers and how they've changed over the last five to seven years where, and you mentioned it earlier where we've had a long prolonged period of time with the market going up, and so there's quite a bit of people meeting with us or ending up with more money than they had thought that they would or that sort of thing. There's a little bit of concern with that that only lasts for so long and that there's some correction and all that kind of stuff to happen. But absolutely, definitely that puts most people in the wheelhouse of where they need to be to have a successful retirement.   Marc: I mean, it's not bad. John, do you guys have a minimum? I mean, I know different advisor firms do different things. You can't service everybody. There's only so many hours in a day. So you'll hear something where somebody says, "Well, we work with people with 250,000 who have saved or more in assets," or some or a million or whatever. Do you guys have a breakdown?   Nick: We don't have a set minimum that we advertise or market.   Marc: Okay.   Nick: I would say that the majority of the people that meet with us tend to have what many institutions have as their minimum. So in other words, a lot of places will tell people, like you referred to that, they're looking to work with clients that have 250,000 or more just from an efficiency standpoint of trying to make sure that they can service their clients and that sort of thing, and so we end up above that with most clients. But the reality is, is that the conversations that we have with clients are really we don't keep that rule set in stone because for us, it's more of a relationship-based.   Marc: Individually based kind of thing? Okay.   Nick: Yeah, and really it's something we're looking for people that are serious about planning. I would say if you were to draw a line between what we were talking about earlier where a growth or retirement planning in a more broadly focused strategy, so they're focused on that. They're serious about it. We reference like, "Hey, we don't want to convince you that you needed an advisor. We want you to know that you need one and we want to interview for the job," kind of concept.   Marc: No, that makes sense because I mean if you're giving suggestions and someone's not willing to take them, you're just wasting each other's time versus... Yeah.   Nick: Exactly, and we found that that'll waste more time than in theory working with somebody that maybe isn't where they're going to be yet. And also-   Marc: It needs to be a reciprocal relationship.   Nick: For sure. Communication's super important for us because we've also found that we've had people come in that maybe are under that 250, but their parents are wealthy and they ended up being a teacher or something that maybe didn't allow them to save as much money as some sorts of jobs, and they're going to inherit money and they need assistance that way. So I'd say we're pretty comfortable with our process and how we approach that sort of thing and really look for it on a relationship basis, communication basis, and how we all get along.   Marc: That makes sense. And it's got to be a two-way street. I mean, when we do the podcast, it's not designed to turn every listener into a client if they're not already a client, but it is designed to say, "Hey, if it's the right relationship field going both ways, then we're happy to help if we can." That's pretty cool. So that's a good way of looking at that.   John, check out some of these top concerns. Let me know what you think here. So no surprise, number one, outliving their assets, 38% of the people surveyed. That's pretty much always number one, right? Outliving your money.   John: Yeah.   Marc: 31%, generating reliable income streams, a pretty high number as well.   John: Yes.   Marc: Okay. Then it drops off to a pretty stark, down to 12% for a future stock market crash. Now with some context here, this survey was completed at the end of last year, so it was December of '24. Do you think that number's gone up recently?   John: I would willing to bet that number's gone up. I think we were talking about the market, the last real big downturn was '08, and I think in the last 10 years, we've only had two years of the market being down, the S&P 500. I think it was, what, '22 and 2014, I believe.   Nick: I'd almost say that's a leading indicator that there's going to be, it's one of those things. Once people get that comfortable, that's usually when it comes.   Marc: I mean, it's been a while, right? So because nobody's worried about it whenever it's riding high. We only seem to worry about it whenever we're in the middle of it falling a little bit. But the one that really surprises me is all the way down to 8% for healthcare costs. Now if you guys are focused more on helping people with retirement planning and strategies, that to me, again depending on the ages of the people that answered this survey, healthcare costs at 8% seems awfully low because it's pretty costly, and we need to be having those conversations when we're, especially as we're getting older.   John: Yeah, for sure. This one, it is very important, and I think it's same thing we're talking about the stock market where it's been doing well. And when you're healthy-   Marc: It's great.   John: ...you think you're going to be healthy for a long time.   Marc: You don't think about it. Right, exactly.   John: You don't think about it all. It's back of your mind. I'll tell you where we see a lot of people concerned about it is if they had to do some care for their parents. Then it becomes top of mind of like, "Hey, this was a lot that I just went through." And taking care of them or seeing, whatever, if they have to go into a facility, and then in turn that's where we see the most of our clients that are concerned about healthcare costs is if they had to take care of a loved one.   Marc: Nick, according to the survey on that topic, advisors that were surveyed in this, were saying that clients should be more concerned about healthcare costs at around 54% unanticipated healthcare cost. Will you agree with that as well? Because I mean, obviously it comes out of the blue, it can totally derail the whole strategy.   Nick: Yeah, I think part of that is, from an advisor perspective, the whole concept of long-term care, obviously I'd say many advisors have a good grasp on long-term care, but I think it's become increasingly difficult for advisors to help clients plan for that with insurance or certain products that are out there. If we went back 10 years and from, let's just call it 2015 back through maybe 2005, that was the golden era per se for clients to be able to secure a reasonably priced policy from a long-term care perspective. So I think maybe that ties into the concern that advisors have is that at the end of the day it's a really expensive problem that clients can have, but it's also an expensive solution that a lot of clients are reticent to spend on something that may not be an issue, especially in a state like Florida where all of the insurance, people have serious insurance fatigue here.   Marc: Oh, I'm sure.   Nick: So it's a funny thing. The one time I actually answered a soliciting call earlier this morning was from State Farm calling me to, and they asked me if they could shop my car insurance for me, and I said, "Sure, let's try it." And sure enough, it was going to be $1,400 a year more than what I'm currently paying.   Marc: Thanks for the help.   Nick: And she laughed too, and she's like, "Well, can I call you in six months?" I was like, "You can try."   Marc: You can try.   Nick: I don't think you guys are going to come down that much. And so it's just crazy with what people are paying here. And so I think, long story short, I think that really ties into it as well for advisors.   Marc: And I'll hit you with this last one, John. I'll let you start and then I'll let Nick jump in if he wants to. And again, this survey was completed at the end of last year, so you can't take the current market downturn into this conversation. But according to the survey, an average of 63% of clients age 55 or older intended to work to 65 and beyond. 63% of people wanted to continue working up to 65 or beyond, yet only 30% of those clients are actually still doing it. So I guess my question is, does this surprise you that people want to keep working longer? And if so, what are some of the main reasons why you guys are seeing people want to work into their older ages?   John: It doesn't surprise me. I think with the shift really since COVID of being able to work remote, I've seen a lot of people that sit there now thinking like, hey, I work from home. I can travel still and log in. And it's given them a comfort of just saying, yeah, I'm making good money. I can continue to do this.   Marc: Feather than nest some more, right?   John: Yeah, so it's just building up the nest egg and allows them maybe to feel comfortable doing some more travel that they otherwise maybe wouldn't have felt so comfortable doing. We talked about the fears of outliving your assets, so I've seen a lot of that. And then there's a lot of studies out there saying, just keeping sharp of mind. So I've seen that where people are like, "Hey, I don't want to retire because I want to stay active. I want to have a purpose and continue to do things." So I think I'm not surprised by that number.   Marc: Interesting.   John: Because we're having more conversations of people wanting to work longer because they enjoy what they're doing. And with Zoom, it's become very easy to continue to work longer.   Marc: Well Nick, I'll give you this last piece here. 48% of those people feel like they don't have enough saved to live on through retirement. I mean, you're talking about half. So half of the people surveyed don't think they have enough, so that sounds like it just comes back to just not truly having a plan or even really knowing what it is that you've got. They've probably never sat down and really pulled this stuff together so they don't feel confident.   Nick: Correct. I think you nailed it there. The uncertainty of not having a plan and not knowing and understanding what things look like really oftentimes causes procrastination, and then all of a sudden it's 5, 7, 10 years later and there could have been a couple of small tweaks or a couple of small adjustments. I mean, in reality, there's been so many times when within 30 minutes if John and I meeting with somebody the initial time, we can tell three to five things that they could do that wouldn't have a significant impact on their life, but would have a significant impact from a positive perspective on their overall planning. And so whether it's informing themselves and holding themselves accountable or working with an advisor, which we have found, and there's been a ton of studies that have found that having that partner to help guide them through the decision-making process, that there's significant value there and the average rates of return and all that kind of stuff show that because of the decision-making.   Marc: Well, think about what you're going through with the wedding planning stuff. So there was a thing a couple years ago we were talking about, some of the most stressful events we can do in life, one of them was planning for a wedding. One of them was planning for retirement, right?   Nick: Yeah.   Marc: There's a lot of decisions to be made. And so having somebody to lean on I think goes a long way into removing some of that stress because it does get overwhelming. And at some points you're just like, ah, screw it. I don't even know what to do anymore. So being able to talk with guys like yourselves and say, "Okay, look. Here's some thoughts we had," or, "Here's what we were afraid of," or whatever the case is, it gives you that sounding board to bounce some ideas off of and maybe get some reassurance.   Nick: Yep, fully agree.   Marc: Yeah, and so are you having that same problem from the wedding standpoint?   Nick: Right now we're interviewing planners-   Marc: There you go.   Nick: ...and the prices have gone up, so it's-   Marc: But you're looking for help, right, because it's a lot.   Nick: Yeah, absolutely, absolutely.   Marc: John, you don't want to be the wedding planner?   John: No, no. I did that 12 years ago-   Marc: I got you.   John: ...and I want no part of that.   Marc: I got you. Well, all right, guys, good conversation as always. Thanks so much for hanging out. So at the end of the day, I mean you find these surveys are pretty interesting. And I think a lot of this stuff comes back fairly similar each time, is that people are looking for some assurance. They're looking for some clarity in some of these situations, so that's the point of running through the planning process is finding out what do you got, where do you stand and how's it working for you, and do you need to make some changes?   Often people feel like we're going to have to do some major overhaul, and it scares them. But a lot of times when you run through the planning process, many people are in better shape than they realize. You just need some tweaks here and there. So if you want to have those conversations for yourself, reach out to John and Nick and get started today at pfgprivatewealth.com. That's pfgprivatewealth.com. Get yourself onto the calendar for a consultation and a conversation.   And don't forget to subscribe to us on Apple or Spotify, whatever podcasting app you like using. Retirement Planning - Redefined is the name of the show with John and Nick, and we'll see you next time here on the program. Thanks, guys. Take care of yourself.

Finding what you love doing beats chasing money every time. Today on the IC-DISC Show, we're talking with John Sacco, owner of Sierra International Machinery, a trailblazer in the recycling industry. Starting as an agri-packaging business, John transformed the company into a recycling equipment powerhouse, moving from marketing Italian made machines, to designing their own balers and conveyors, and now offering a comprehensive range of recycling equipment with renowned service quality. He's been a lifelong industry advocate. Serving as past ISRI chairman and creating the "Repurposed" docuseries on Prime Video, a series showcasing how 75% of new American steel comes from recycled materials. Activities that help companies recruit talent by highlighting the environmental benefits of an industry often misunderstood by policymakers and the public. It's a great conversation revealing how critical recycling is for disaster recovery, processing debris, and supplying rebuilding materials. Listen in to hear why John believes finding your passion, as he did at age 59, brings more satisfaction than any bank account.     SHOW HIGHLIGHTS We explore Sierra's transformation from a leader in agri-packaging during the 60s and 70s to a pioneer in recycling machinery, sparked by the introduction of an Italian machine in the 1980s. John discusses the significance of Sierra's involvement with trade associations like ISRI, now REMA, emphasizing the role of advocacy in correcting industry misconceptions and celebrating milestones such as serving as chairman. John and I delve into Sierra's innovative marketing approach, highlighting their docuseries on steel recycling that unexpectedly gained popularity on Prime Video, enhancing the industry's image. He addresses the broader industry challenge of attracting and retaining talent, drawing parallels to Mike Rowe's advocacy for essential yet undervalued jobs. We highlight the environmental advancements in the U.S. steel industry, including its leadership in recycling and the significant role of recycled aluminum in the automotive sector. John shares advice on prioritizing passion over profit, emphasizing personal growth and the rewarding aspects of the journey, including attending industry conferences and personal milestones. He reflects on Sierra's collaborative team effort in expanding product offerings, driven by customer needs and market opportunities, while maintaining a strong reputation and high-quality service.   Contact Details LinkedIn - John Sacco (https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-sacco-8a8a1b10/) LINKSShow Notes Be a Guest About IC-DISC Alliance About Sierra International Machinery GUEST John SaccoAbout John TRANSCRIPT (AI transcript provided as supporting material and may contain errors) John: And there's a lot of misconceptions about our industry. So staying involved is, you know, I've done it and that's kind of why I've also done a lot in regards to the docuseries on our industry and stuff like that. Dave: Good morning John. How are you today? John: Doing good. Doing good, that's awesome, not bad. Dave: How are you today Doing good? John: Doing good. That's awesome, not bad. How are? Dave: you doing Dave. That's good, I'm doing great Now are you a? Native of California. John: Yeah, I was born and raised in Bakersfield, California. Dave: Oh, wow, Okay. So did you grow up around the scrap business? John: Well, actually I grew up more in the agri-packaging side of Sierra. We used to have a company called Sierra Bag and we used to supply agri-packaging products. We were at one point the leader in selling bagging and ties to the cotton industry. Years ago in the 60s and 70s, there used to be over 2.2 million bales a year of cotton grown in the San Joaquin Valley and we used to sell the bagging and use bags and make potato bags and onion bags. We had the recycled materials facility but I really wasn't involved with that. I was more involved during the summers as a kid working in the bag plant. Dave: Okay, so how did the transformation then go on your end to where you get more involved in the recycling space. John: Well, it started when my dad had found a machine out of Europe, out of Italy, and he thought that the market in America could use these machines. Which he was right. And at 19, by late 1985, his partner, 42 years, a buddy of his, who he met during World War II, was, he was ready to retire, he had some health issues and he was just ready to call it quits. And so, in early 1986, what he did was sold the Jagger packaging, bought his partner out and had me start marketing the machines. So, not knowing a whole lot about Ferris and non-Ferris, quite frankly, I was forced to learn it kind of on the fly and getting involved with selling the equipment. Dave: Okay, and did you get involved with the company right after you graduated from USC? John: I did. For two years I was on the agri-packaging side, traveling around to potato sheds, onion sheds, selling the products that we had, and then in 85, started going to the cotton gins. Also, we held a at the time a patent on the cotton module which when they harvested cotton in the field they'd make these big well, for lack of a better word a big log of cotton before they sent it into the cotton gin and we had a tarp for it into the cotton gin and we had a tarp for it. So when it if it rained because the harvesting of cotton was late September, early October and so if it rained it could ruin the grade so we had this cotton module cover and we had a patent. So we sold a lot of those throughout America to the cotton industry. Dave: Okay, and then it was shortly after that that you got more involved in the recycling machinery. John: That's correct. Yeah, when my dad sold all the agri-packaging in 86, all of that went away. So that was when he wanted me to market the machines, because I had taken marketing at USC. So I just basically said, hey, market these machines. Dave: That's what I've been doing ever since and there's a little more to it than that because at some point you all started developing your own machinery. Is that correct, that's? John: correct. We you know our clientele base also was in need of two-ram balers for the processing of non-ferrous materials, you know, aluminum, copper, and also in the fiber industry for paper. And so we decided to start building two-ram balers and hired an engineer who was at the time unemployed and got involved and built a plant down in southern Georgia and expanded today. So we finished, we opened up in October of 2008 and building two ram balers and conveyors for the metal side and also the waste sector. So that's grown nicely over the years. Dave: That is great. And then you guys have expanded your product offering. Then beyond that to other aspects, right? John: That's correct. Yeah, so you know, for recycled materials facilities we offer a wide variety of products from 2-ram balers, conveyors, shears, shear balers, portable balers, grapples and material handlers, so it's a wide variety of equipment that can go into a lot of different aspects of the waste sector and the recycled material sector. Dave: Okay, and then at some point, you became involved in the Trade Association. Was it ISRI then, or was that? John: Yeah, it was ISRI back. It was in the late 1990s that I got involved and you know I got involved, I enjoyed and it was fun for me on a personal level and then in two I was elected to be secretary-treasurer of at the time it was ISRI. It's now REMA, the Recycled Materials Association. So I did that stint, you know, as secretary-treasurer and you move up to chair, and I was chairman in 2011, 2012,. But have stayed involved with the Trade Association because I believe in having a strong voice for an industry in the states and in, you know, in the nation's capital. You know policymakers don't really know what we do and there's a lot of misconceptions about our industry. So staying involved is you know there's a lot of misconceptions about our industry. So staying involved is, you know, I've done it and that's kind of why I've also done a lot in regards to the docu-series on our industry and stuff like that. Dave: Okay, I can't believe that it's been 12 years ago. 13 years ago I guess that you were the chair. I think that's when I first met you in San Diego, I think on the aircraft carrier at a social function. John: Yeah, when we met on the aircraft carrier, that was 2010. Excuse me, that was 2000. Yes, it was 2010. And that was the final night party of ISRI at the time on the USS Midway, and at that party I was officially at that moment, the chairman of ISRI. So yeah, as long as it was, it does seem just like yesterday, david, and it was a great party. But yeah, it just seems like yesterday. Yeah, the sound of it is a long time ago. Dave: Wow, yeah, the time does go by. Now I'm curious, as your product line expanded, I'm curious was that more of a case of you just saw an opportunity and that's kind of what drove it, or was it more your customers coming to you saying, hey, we really need help in this area. Would you guys develop something? Or is it a mix of the two? John: Well, it's a little bit of everything. I have a great team here and the people at the time who was on the team, you know, said well, we should get involved with this type of equipment because we have a need for it. You know our customer base asked for it and you know I won't take the credit for it and you know it's I won't take the credit for it because in the end it's a team here at Sierra and you know I have a brother involved who's my partner now, his son, my nephew's involved and so over the years it's just it's about discussing what we can do, how we grow. How do we you know you got to grow your revenue. How do we grow it? And by adding different products into the mix. And then the manufacturer out of Italy, the Tabarelli family, they have a wide, they had the material handler. So we just started just a couple years ago starting to really, you know, push into that market and you know we'll gain our traction. It takes a little time but it's a team effort here and it's just a lot of people have. You know my general sales manager has been with us since 1988. And you know he has a lot of great ideas as well. So, as a team, we've worked together to develop the products we needed to come into the market. And what's really unique is when you deal with our company. There's, like I say, a wide variety of equipment that you can handle or you can purchase from Sierra and that we service. So we have the ability to sell a lot of different machines, yet we have the ability to service each and every one of those machines with the same intensity. So it's been good. Dave: No, that's excellent. With the same intensity, so it's been good. No, that's excellent. Do you? Is it that aspect of that ability to you know service, all that equipment? Is that one of the main reasons your clients choose you? What's the feedback you receive from your customers, as far as you know why they end up choosing you? John: Well, there's a lot of reasons. We have built, you know, a really good reputation and we work on it every day to improve. In our service department we carry the parts and we have the technicians, but we also have a very high quality piece of equipment. Series repurposed season one, season two really tells the story of our industry and, as the former chairman of israel, now rima, I keep advocating for the industry with what I do with our social media and you know, when you have two seasons on prime video, people notice that. So there's a lot of things involved. We have good people, we try to do the right thing at all times and that's our motto the Sierra way is the right way. It's not fancy. So I think there's a lot of things that we do that enhance our image and you know people like to do business with us because of all the above. You know, is it just one thing? You know, one customer may like the service, one customer may like our advocacy, which I've heard. A lot of people like our equipment per se, and there's just a lot of things that go into it. So I think it's multifaceted, dave, and it's just not one item. We try to just try to build everything we do, improve our marketing, our brand, improve our service. You know that's our motto is to try to get better every day. We don't want to be the best, we just want to be better, because being better is a journey that every day, if you come in the office and you say how can we be better, you don't rest on what you did yesterday. So it's, you know, we got a good culture, we got great people. You know our technicians also are a great face to the company, our salespeople as well. So I think it's just a multitude of things. Dave: Well, that's an insightful answer. I appreciate that. As far as that docuseries, I've always been curious what's the story behind that? Did you just wake up one day and say you know what I want to be on TV, or was it a little different than that? John: Oh, it's a lot different than that. Interesting how it all came about. A gentleman I've worked with Darren Doan for over a decade on creating content and stuff we've done together. We had this idea back I don't know 22, early 22, to do a thing called the Sierra Summit. We were going to bring in Mike Rowe and the top 100 metal processors in America have this big event and the Ukraine war broke out and what happened with that is a lot of processed steel out of Europe was handled through in Ukraine and our supplier of the Shears, portable balers, had a supply chain issue plus a pricing increase. That was dramatic. And so we decided well, we better keep our powder dry and not spend this money for the summit. And so about a month later things you know, the steel market for europe started settling, and I don't know. I just had this idea of doing this docuseries on steel making being made from recycled steel and start changing the narrative, because I got tired of hearing the word junk, waste, trash. And I think that was one of the biggest obstacles to our industry. And I don't know, I've been in front of the camera with my social media posts, so being in front of a camera didn't bother me. But telling the story of a steel mill using recycled steel as the raw materials coming from out facilities like our own here at Sierra was a fun thing. So I thought, well, you know, we could put our equipment in this, we can tell the story. We're going to advocate for the industry, we can get this out there. I never had any intention of getting it out to Prime Video. My whole intention was to tell a fun story in a cinematic way that people would like and find entertaining and educational. And it turned out to be just that. And so we did season two, where we actually what we learned from season one. So then we weren't focused on the output of rebar at cmc and the construction projects needing rebar, so we showed a lot of projects that had rebar. And where did the rebar come from? So you backtrack it all into the recycled materials and so, uh, it just kind of grew from that. I don't mind being in front of a camera, you know, wanting to be in front of a camera or not minding it, or I think are two different things, but the fact is that I enjoy creating the content. It's fun for me to get into a steel mill. It's fun to tell the story, to talk to people and you, you know, when I released the series, there's so many people who've used it to show their families what they do. You know there's so many people who don't understand what our industry is about. And then you got schools and you know companies using it, even like SAB they were season one. They used it for recruiting and safety and telling their story and CMC is the same as well as telling their story of how their steel mill is really the foundation of infrastructure, because you have to start with rebar and any hospital and school and manufacturing plant. You've got to start with rebar in any hospital and school and manufacturing plant and you know you got to start with rebar and rebar comes from recycled metal, so it's a good story and they've been able to educate people to draw, you know, to attract and retain talent. Our industry isn't the sexiest, so it's shed a light on our industry that our industry actually is doing more to reduce CO2 emissions than any other industry in the world today and it attracts people who want to do something good for the mother earth and have a good paying job at the same time. Dave: That's awesome. Did that surprise you when, like CMC and some other companies, use that as like a recruiting and education of themselves? John: No, that was part of my sales pitch to them. Dave: Okay, okay. John: I knew, for whatever reason, why I knew that our industry has we have an image problem this I know, and it was still there. And attracting and retaining talent is a struggle, and it's not just our industry. If you talk to any facility, any company in America today, they all have the same issues. You know, I've just finished filming at the Toyota Motor Plant in Troy, missouri, where they make cylinder heads and their number one issue is attracting talent in the mechanics. They can't find them. And steel mills same thing. Every industry in America is struggling to find talent, and so I know that if you don't tell your story, if you don't make your company look cool, who wants to come to work for you? Dave: Yeah yeah, it seems like Mike Rowe is kind of on a similar mission from a little different perspective, really trying to encourage, you know, more people to come into the trades. John: Well, mike Rowe, yes, and you know, look, mike Rowe is an incredibly successful human being and you know, he has to show. You know, dirty jobs and I think kind of that's what we are. We're dirty jobs but we're networked. You know, I don't say we're essential. Essential is a COVID word that the government used to pick winners and losers. You know, you go to the hospital, david. Do they take your essential science or do they take your vital science? Sure, they take your vital science, right. So our industry is vital for the health of the nation. You don't build a hospital with us, right? You know, if you build a hospital, expand a hospital, you got to start where, on the ground floor, you have to start with the foundation, and that starts with rebar that starts. That comes from our industry. You want to build a school? Same thing. You want to build a highway. You know the steel used in the highway. You know, when you think this, 75% of all new steel in America is made from recycled steel Three quarters, that is a monstrous percentage and it's only growing. And you know another thing that is vital to national security is a vibrant steel industry. Okay, you don't build Navy ships with plastic. You don't build a military without steel, right? So you better have a very vibrant and strong steel industry, at the same time saying that America's steel industry is the cleanest steel industry in all the world. Over 75% of our steel mills are EAS electric arc furnace steel mills that use recycled steel to make new steel. Well, why is that important One? We're producing the steel a country needs for our infrastructure, for our military, healthcare, education and our farming and food industry. We also do it in the cleanest way, because recycled steel at EAF reduces CO2 emissions in the 60 percentile. And now that there's more micro mills coming online, more straight line casting of products and steel mills, with the new mills coming online, which reduce the energy consumption and reheating and continuous casting, so you're actually starting to see the numbers improve versus the BOF furnaces that you see that are heavy in China and India and Russia and Europe, south America yes, there are new EAFs going to those parts of the world, but their main steel production comes from the integrated steel mill that uses coking coal and iron ore, which is far greater pollutant, gives us far greater CO2 emissions. So not only is our steel industry vibrant in the United States, we are the cleanest in all the world. So we really are leading the way and I think people. That's kind of why I want to tell the story because people don't. You know we did man on the streets. You know you get me started on this, but you know people don't know steel's the most recycled item in America today. People don't even know what a steel mill is. They don't even know where new steel comes from. You drive a car. You don't have any idea. The majority of the metal in that car comes from recycled steel or recycled aluminum, for that matter. So people don't know this. So it's been kind of fun telling the story with Repurpose and we're getting ready to. We just finished filming everything we need for season three of repurpose. It's going to be on aluminum recycled aluminum and our focus will be on driving the auto industry okay, because you know this, david, that you cannot build an aluminum motor block transmission housing or casings differential casings with virgin aluminum I did not know that. Dave: And it has to be made from recycled aluminum. John: So see this. People don't know this and why is that? because of the alloys, the strength of the material. To take virgin aluminum and then make all, put in all the additives to make the motor block the strength, you, um, you can't do it. So they use recycled aluminum, and you know toyota is a big user. And also recycled aluminum, you know it goes into the light weighting of um automobiles, which gives you much greater miles per gallon and you know produces co2. So again, people don't know this and so I'm enjoying telling the story and getting it out there. Dave: I can tell you have a real passion for the education and helping change or improve the image of the whole industry. John: Well, I think that our policymakers, like in California, we have a real problem in the state of California the automobile shredder they want to deem it hazardous waste facilities and that's just not fair. It's not accurate to recycle for recycling in its own right, but it's hugely detrimental to the raw material supply chain for our industry here in america. That makes all these products that we need. You know we talk about when you take it in the life of an automobile, what do you do with it? And the end of life of an automobile. When you shred it, you gain the, the steel, the aluminum, the copper, stainless and plastics. And what do you do with that? You recycle it and that gets repurposed into new steel, new aluminum, new copper products, new stainless, and it's so. You know. It's just detrimental because our image, because I'll guarantee you, if you walk the halls in Sacramento and you told people, do you know the car you drive that has aluminum transmission housing, that has the aluminum motor block can't be made with virgin aluminum, they wouldn't know that. And this is part of the education process and I think once people know more about what our industry is, they'll realize how vital we are and that's really been a lot of fun for me and you know season three, as we're getting ready to do it gonna use. You know our facility here in bakersville is. You know where we process aluminum? We bail it in the bailers we make. And it's a lot of fun to be able to say the bailers we sell, that process that bail aluminum, are made from steel that comes from recycled steel from ssab. That we did in season one. So it really shows the circularity of our industry and what real sustainability really is. You know it's a buzzword and people, quite frankly, just have no clue what it really means. So I'm trying to bring out the real identity of our industry and try to really change the narrative because it needs to be changed. Once we were heroes during world war ii by supplying the mills with all the metals they needed to fight tyranny, and now we're the bad guys. Dave: Um, that's, we got to get back to being the good guys again I agree, could I mean I, you know just general building anything in California has become more challenging and regulatorily limited. Do you think somebody could even put in like a new shredder operation today, or would it just take? Them Wouldn't even be able to do it Because it's considered hazardous waste Is this considered hazardous waste? John: Yeah well, it's just the process. Nobody, you know, it's just a really crazy process, but you know you reminded me of something. So we have these just absolutely horrific, devastating fires in LA right, and we saw the whole Pacific Palisades and Altadena, the Pasadena area just devastated. What industry is going to rebuild those neighborhoods? Dave: Yeah, the steel industry. John: Well, so when you clean up these neighborhoods and we have a new piece of equipment down there processing the metals and sending it down to a company at Long Beach to process, it's our industry that's going to rebuild these neighborhoods. We're cleaning it up because what's what is left after the fires? Metal products, and all these metal products are being processed and going to be repurposed and sent to mills, steel mills, aluminum copper foundries, and all this new material that they're making from that raw material is what's going to go into rebuilding these neighborhoods. And you can't rebuild a neighborhood without us because we're the raw material suppliers for all that stuff that goes into the housing from the rebar, from the foundation, steel stuff. Now you're going to see a lot more steel being used in the manual in the building of houses in this area because of the fire. What about appliances? You don't build appliances with plastic. Easy-bake ovens aren't how you build refrigerators and ovens and toasters and coffee pots. And all the copper that's going to go into the electrification of these neighborhoods will have 36% recycled copper content into it. All the window panes that'll have aluminum windows and brass, you know, forurposing in it, getting into the consumers to make new products so you can rebuild, wow that's. I haven't thought about that for a second. Dave: Yeah. John: You know. And so the policymakers need to hear this. They need to understand that this is what we do. They need to understand this the most vital. Because, let's say, we don't exist in California. Well, what would you do with all that material? Can't ship it to China. China doesn't take containers of steel anymore. They don't buy bulk loads of steel anymore from the West Coast of the United States. They don't. That's just a misnomer. People, oh, you're sitting in China. They don't, that's just a misnomer. People, oh, you're sitting in China. No, we're not. And people think that, again, it's the ignorance Not calling people ignorant in a negative way. They just don't understand what we do. They don't understand where our materials are going, and I like to say CO2 emissions have no borders. So if Our materials are exported to an EAF steel mill somewhere maybe Malaysia, vietnam, korea, japan, if you will Well, our materials are also going into EAF. So what is that doing? It's reducing CO2 emissions. So our raw materials, be it used here in the US or be it used anywhere in the world, is actually helping to reduce the CO2 emissions in the world. Sure, actually helping to reduce the CO2 emissions in the world? Sure, you know, aluminum reduces CO2 emissions and energy consumption in the 90 percentile, copper's in the 80 percentile. You tell me an industry that's doing that today. You can't the recycled material industry. It's our raw materials that we process. So this is why this narrative, this is why these type of conversations, hopefully are heard by people who will now understand. Wait a minute, I've got this industry all wrong. Dave: Yeah, yeah. No, that's your your passion for trying to educate as many people as possible. It really shows through and you can see it really. It really drives you, so I appreciate it. Well, I can't wait to see season three. I can't believe how the time has flown by. Just wrapping up, I have just three remaining questions. John: Yes, sir. Dave: One is in your role with Sierra. What gives you the most satisfaction and enjoyment? John: Great question. Well, I think we have some great people here and I enjoy the people in the company I've seen in our, for instance. This is an example only and this is, you know, this could be had in every department, but we just have some really high quality people who really are fighting for the same cause. You know fighting, I call it fighting for the same right. And you know I get great satisfaction seeing these young kids who are growing. You know are technicians, for instance, who are growing, who've committed themselves to this culture and you see them growing and they're growing in their abilities and they're growing in their pay scales and you see their cooperative nature and how nature and how they have the can-do spirit. That gives me great pleasure. I enjoy doing this content as well. This gives me great pleasure making the REAP series. So those are my answers to that. Dave: That's great. That's not surprising. So the second of the three is imagine if you had a time machine and you could go back and give some advice to the 25-year-old John. What advice might you give with the benefit of hindsight? John: look, I didn't find what I really loved doing until I was about 59 years old. I'm 63, okay, so find what you love doing, that that beats money all day long. Yeah, and the money I just think, chasing money. You know it's great. You know I mean sure it's. You know I've done well, I'm not gonna begrudge it. But I think the one who smiles and is happiest wins the game of life, not the one with the biggest bank account. I look at Warren Buffett a guy worth just oodles and oodles. I've never seen that dude smile. He is just a grumpy old man. That's my perception of him, my point. And maybe he is a gregarious guy in person, but God, his persona is just grumpy. And my point to you is money doesn't buy happiness. Sure, it makes misery more tolerable, as my dad used to say. But I would tell a 25-year-old me stop chasing money and find happiness through what you love doing. Dave: A great answer. So the last question is is there anything that we did not discuss today that you wish we had? John: Well, no, I you know, I think, david, you know your, your company, with what you do, with your IT desk and helping with consulting. You know that's important. You know there's so many facets of our industry that people can improve upon, and I guess what we didn't talk on are areas in which how can an individual who sees this and is in the recycled materials industry capitalize on stuff that they don't know exists and what you do? I mean, I get what you do and so how do people really, where do they go to learn more about this industry and how they can improve their business? You know there's a lot of things that can be done. You got to be careful how you say this, because you know taxes are burdensome, especially when you live here in California. How can you have a legitimate business concern that can reduce your taxes legally? Because you know avoiding taxes is one thing, evading is illegal. You go to jail for evading taxes, and so you know it's hard because I'm not an accountant and I don't understand the whole time. But there's so much more, I think, for people to learn about our industry and I think, david, with what you're doing, with your setting up companies that are exporters, to understand the benefit of the laws that are out there for companies that export. People need to learn more about that, and I think that's you know. I wish I could have touched more on it. I don't know it like you do, but it is something that I think that's what I would say is to help people learn. There's other avenues to make your business grow and save some of your money, and when you save legally on taxes, you're saving money, so you can invest that in your company. Dave: No, I appreciate you mentioning that. And you know, my most satisfying part of my role is helping our entrepreneurial clients, you know, increase their after-tax income. It's really just. It's such a privilege to be, you know, kind of in the stands watching these amazing entrepreneurs do their magic. And you know, we have scrap metal clients who have, you know, the last decade have, you know, increased their business 10X. And I'm not saying that's because of the IC disc, it probably has little to do with it, but it's just a great. It's just very enjoyable to see the best and the brightest entrepreneurs, just, you know, do their magic. So that's why I love, why I'll be at the REMA conference in May. I can't spend enough time with those people. It's a blast. Well, john, thank you again for your time and I look forward to seeing you in San Diego in a couple of months. John: I presume, yes, sir, I'll be there. I'll be coming for my son's graduation at TCU, so I'll arrive. I'll miss some of the governance you know, as a former chair you're always involved with that but I'll be there for the show and I'll have my. My son is will be a graduate and I will have no more kids going to school. Dave: That's awesome. Well, that's also a landmark event. Well, hey, john, thank you again for your time. I really appreciate it, Thank you. Special Guest: John Sacco.

In this podcast Bible study we are on Exodus 24.  This chapter in Exodus is not filled with amazing events or miracles.  It is not a chapter that is necessarily memorable like chapter 20 and the giving of the Ten Commandments or like Exodus 40 when God actually came down the first time to dwell among His people in the Tabernacle.  But, Exodus 24 is amazing in its own right.  For example there are two verses that challenge us right from the “get go” and seem to provide contradictions to the Bible.  They are … and they saw the God of Israel; and under His feet there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself. Yet He did not stretch out His hand against the nobles of the sons of Israel; and they saw God, and they ate and drank. (Exo 24:10-11) They saw God?  Huh?  This is impossible.  God says … But He said, "You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!" (Exo 33:20) Or what about these two verses written by the disciple John … No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him. (Joh 1:18) No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. (1Jn 4:12) So in Exodus 24 the word says that they saw God but by God's own words this can't be along with the words in John's Gospel and in his letter of 1st John.  So, what is going on?  How can this be?  In this lesson we will again consider the Hebrew of Exod. 24:10-11.  We will find that there are two separate words that are translated as “they saw.”  Taken together and the fact that Hebrew words have no definitions like English words, the result is they did NOT SEE God.  What they experienced as a VISION.  The Hebrew is exact and precise.  We will get into this in detail in the lesson. These verses in Exodus 24 are a clear example that simple Bible reading does not make us “BIBLE LITERATE.”  I have heard one pastor say to me that he urges his congregation to read the Bible using the schedule of reading the Bible in a year.  You can find this as this link - https://bibleinayearonline.com/  This pastor's goal was to help his congregation become Bible literate.  In his church there are no Bible studies.  The only teaching is just the pastor's sermon on Sunday for 40 minutes or so.  The problem is just reading the Bible once or twice completely and listening to a sermon once a week does NOT make one Bible literate.  As one trusted scholarly source has commented … Knowing how to study the Bible is important, because determining the meaning of Scripture is one of the most important tasks a believer has in this life. God does not tell us that we must simply read the Bible. We must study it and handle it correctly (2 Timothy 2:15). (From GOTQUESTIONS.org link https://www.gotquestions.org/study-the-Bible.html) The Bible is a book that is not merely for reading. It is a book for studying so that it can be applied. Otherwise, it is like swallowing food without chewing and then spitting it back out again—no nutritional value is gained by it. (From GOTQUESTIONS.org link https://www.gotquestions.org/why-read-Bible.html) So the real definition of BIBLE LITERACY is … (numbers relate to the links o the references below) Biblical literacy refers to a person's ability to understand and apply the Bible, including its overarching story, key characters, events, themes, and literary elements. It's about comprehending the Bible's message and how it relates to one's life and faith. [1, 2, 5, 6] Beyond the basics: It also involves understanding the different literary genres and forms within the Bible, such as poetry, prophecy, and history, and how they contribute to the overall narrative. [3, 7] Examples: The Bible Literacy Project provides a course that uses a textbook, "The Bible and Its Influence," to teach the Bible narrative and its impact on history, literature, art, and culture. [8] Current trends: The Church of God International reports a decline in Bible reading engagement in the United States, with statistics showing a drop from 50% in 2011 to 38% in 2024. [9] [1] https://www.logos.com/grow/biblical-literacy/ [2] 

1 John 2:7-8 - The old covenant law was a law of love. In what sense is that renewed in the New Testament? How is it a new law? It is shown in Christ but how can it be shown in us?

Shop Hake! "Sarah" McBride, sorry. LONG convo with Shawn: The Bible! 1 John: No need that anyone teach you! The Hake Report, Monday, November 25, 2024 AD TIMESTAMPS * (0:00:00) Start * (0:03:11) Hey, guys! * (0:05:21) New Hake SHOP * (0:12:08) Rep. "Sarah" McBride "husband" died * (0:25:57) Supers, Coffee, Hake growing? * (0:29:48) SHAWN, FL: Think on these things. "Word of God" * (0:41:16) SHAWN: Perfect peace? Thoughts. Deception. * (0:48:16) SHAWN: Songs, music, promises. * (0:51:26) SHAWN: Deceptions? Thoughts. Bible. * (0:58:21) SHAWN: Why do you care? * (1:11:30) SHAWN: Jerusalem the center, Noah's Ark, Blood * (1:20:16) SHAWN: The word so deep * (1:21:11) Whew * (1:22:11) Reading 1 John 1-2 * (1:31:38) Coffees, Supers Ya Mum: un-mod me! * (1:34:37) Coffees: Popcorn: Interpreting, other mess * (1:43:00) JOSEPH, CA, 1st: Blaming God, Suffering * (1:47:32) KELLY, OR: 1970s auto-mechanic book * (1:50:30) Mary Rice Hopkins - "Walk Like Jesus" LINKS BLOG  https://www.thehakereport.com/blog/2024/11/25/the-hake-report-mon-11-25-24 PODCAST / Substack  HAKE NEWS from JLP  https://www.thehakereport.com/jlp-news/2024/11/25/storm-bert-floods-uk-hake-news-mon-11-25-24 Hake is live M-F 9-11a PT (11-1CT/12-2ET) Call-in 1-888-775-3773 https://www.thehakereport.com/show VIDEO  YouTube  -  Rumble*  -  Facebook  -  X  -  BitChute  -  Odysee*  PODCAST  Substack  -  Apple  -  Spotify  -  Castbox  -  Podcast Addict  *SUPER CHAT on platforms* above or  BuyMeACoffee, etc.  SHOP (new!)  -  Spring (old!)  -  Cameo  |  All My Links  JLP Network:  JLP  -  Church  -  TFS  -  Nick  -  Joel  -  Punchie  Get full access to HAKE at thehakereport.substack.com/subscribe

Author and poet* Dr Laura Jean McKay joins Liz and Ben for two of Terry Pratchett's short stories about intelligent animals: “Hollywood Chickens” (1990) and “From the Horse's Mouth” (1972). In 1973 Hollywood, a truck full of chickens overturned on a busy highway, depositing a population of chickens on the verge. A decade and a half later, scientists try to piece together the story of how they developed and evolved in pursuit of a very specific goal... In the town of Blackbury, rag and bone man Ron is amazed to discover that his carthorse, Johnno, can talk. Will their relationship be forever changed by the adventure they share together? These stories don't share too much in common beyond being about animals, but they are a nice sample of Pratchett's writing from two interesting points in his career: towards the end of his early phase of children's stories for newspapers, not long after his first novel was published; and at the height of his early fame - the year, in fact, that he published five novels. You can find “Hollywood Chickens” most readily in A Blink of the Screen, and “From the Horse's Mouth” in A Stroke of the Pen. Do you have a favourite Pratchett short story? What do you think of the way he writes animals? Should we have inserted an ad for Maggi noodles into this episode? What are your best horse pun names, and how would you get to the other side? We'd love to hear from you whether you're a horse, chicken, human or have mutant powers: join the conversation for this episode via email, or by using the hashtag #Pratchat81 on social media. Dr Laura Jean McKay (she/her) is an author, poet* and an Adjunct Lecturer in Creative Writing at Massey University. Her novel The Animals in That Country - “like Thelma and Louise with a woman and a dingo” - has won multiple awards, including the Arthur C Clarke Award. Her latest book is the short fiction collection Gunflower, published in 2023. You can find Laura as @laurajeanmckay on Twitter and Instagram, and find out more about her books on her website, laurajeanmckay.com.au. * Even if she doesn't know it. You'll find full notes and errata for this episode on our website, and you can hopefully still get tickets for Guards! Guards! at the Roleystone Theatre in Perth, which opens on 22 November 2024. Next episode we're back on track to crack the Clacks in the most recent Discworld board game: Clacks! If you have questions about this game recreating the race between Moist and the Grand Trunk company, get them in to us ASAP by tagging us or using the hashtag #Pratchat82 on social media, or emailing us at chat@pratchatpodcast.com.

The Gospel of John | No Competition Sermon Notes

The Gospel of John | No Middle Ground Sermon Notes

The passing of the legendary ‘Johnno' has cast a long shadow across Mayo, the West of Ireland and the GAA world this week.Mike is joined by Edwin McGreal, Martin Carney, Andy Moran and Stephen Drake to talk about John's life and his legacy, and why he will always be remembered as both one of the great Gaelic football managers and a gentleman.

The passing of the legendary ‘Johnno' has cast a long shadow across Mayo, the West of Ireland and the GAA world this week.Mike is joined by Edwin McGreal, Martin Carney, Andy Moran and Stephen Drake to talk about John's life and his legacy, and why he will always be remembered as both one of the great Gaelic football managers and a gentleman.

The Smiling Assassin. From his record breaking 364 games at the Bulldogs, he regularly cut teams apart with 558 goals... all with a gigantic smile.  This episode is all about positivity, good energy, hard work, following your passions and your dreams and not reaching the ultimate glory, but still being content.  Plus, some motorsport, media, being an entrepreneur and more. Oh, and Gary Moorcroft's mark as well as getting hit by a golf cart.  This one, will put a smile on your dial! Johnno is now doing amazing things off the field, together with his wife Donna, they have developed the Zena Sport Female Impact Vests, head to Zena Sport NOW and check them out! A huge thanks to Johnno, as well as Stef Rezzara from Hot Shot PR for making this episode possible! ***  Follow the Howie Games on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thehowiegamespod/  Follow the Howie Games on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thehowiegames See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Smiling Assassin. From his record breaking 364 games at the Bulldogs, he regularly cut teams apart with 558 goals... all with a gigantic smile.  This episode is all about positivity, good energy, hard work, following your passions and your dreams and not reaching the ultimate glory, but still being content.  Plus, some motorsport, media, being an entrepreneur and more. Oh, and Gary Moorcroft's mark as well as getting hit by a golf cart.  This one, will put a smile on your dial! Johnno is now doing amazing things off the field, together with his wife Donna, they have developed the Zena Sport Female Impact Vests, head to Zena Sport NOW and check them out! A huge thanks to Johnno, as well as Stef Rezzara from Hot Shot PR for making this episode possible! ***  Follow the Howie Games on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thehowiegamespod/  Follow the Howie Games on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thehowiegames See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

True to form, there is plenty of smiles in this Player Profile. That is exactly what this episode is all about.  Get to know one of the most positive, fun loving, hard working, happy sports people turned sports broadcaster, turned entrepreneur's on the planet!  Before you get into it, if you, or a loved one could benefit from Brad and Donna Johnson's Zena Sport Female Impact Vest, head to Zena Sport NOW! A huge thanks to Johnno, as well as Stef Rezzara from Hot Shot PR for making this episode possible! ROLL IT!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

JB is moving house, and Hughesy is not happy with the office carpark.  Hughesy rips through the All Sports Report, then Jay Clark comes in with all the headlines ahead of round 10 - including fixture and salary cap news. Ibrahim and Johnno face off in a very competitive Hump Day Quiz, before Stuart from Officer has a crack at $10k with Guernsey Cash. JB and Hughesy compare their best and worst celebrity interviews, then Western Bulldog Cody Weightman is in studio to talk all things Doggies - and playing through a dislocated elbow. We go back to 2017 for part two of our Idiot File Flashback, and Hughesy finishes us off (maybe permanently) with a Fruity Wednesday Joke.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our Monstrous Regiment episode still isn't quite ready, so we've had to push it to April. In the meantime, Ben gets nerdy about some recent Discworld and Pratchett news about books and roleplaying games. A few brief notes: “50 Years of Terry Pratchett” was actually announced in November 2021, marking fifty years since the publication of The Carpet People in 1971. (In Ben's defence, those early pandemic years all blur into one.) It kicked off with a new print and audiobook edition of that book; the new audio version was read by David Tennant! The new Discworld audiobooks and paperbacks from Penguin were published between 2022 and 2023, though the audiobook of Hogfather was released early for Christmas 2021, using the same artwork as the 25th anniversary paperback edition. For more on the books released as part of 50th anniversary celebrations, see the L-Space wiki “50 Years of Terry” article. You can check out the cover design for the new edition of The Last Hero on the Gollancz website. The new paperback edition of Eric was published on 23 February 2023. The new audiobook, read by Colin Morgan, had been previously released with the other Wizards books on 7 July 2022. The Collector's Library edition of Dodger can be seen in the terrypratchett.com announcement. You can see the “Forty Years of Discworld” logo at terrypratchett.com. The “Year of Discworld” was announced on the day of the fortieth anniversary, promising “more on that soon”. Both the terrypratchett.com announcement and Modiphius announcement for Terry Pratchett's Discworld: Adventure in Ankh-Morpork include links to Modiphius' fan survey (it's a Google form). Modiphius also has a mailing list you can sign up to for more news. Ben forgot to mention this, but Modiphius' license is for Discworld “tabletop games”, including board games. No news on those yet, though! We'll be back with #Pratchat76, our proper Monstrous Regiment episode on 8 April. Then in May we'll be reading “Hollywood Chickens” (which you can find in A Blink of the Screen) and “From the Horse's Mouth” (from A Stroke of the Pen, or in earlier form as “Johnno, The Talking Horse” in The Time Traveling Caveman and Other Stories) with guest Laura Jean McKay. Send in your questions about those stories via email, or using the hashtag #Pratchat77 on social media.

This week there sadly isn't a video episode because Jordan is getting a trim at Legoland so instead we thought we'd treat you to a best of the best special.Featuring hilarious throwback stories our day one listeners will remember from the likes of Mike Phenix, Nicky Adams, Danny Higginbottom and more! Like when Danny Higginbottom revealed Tony Pulis used to drop his Stoke City players if it was too windy. Or the time when Stockport County manager Jim Gannon refused to do a SkySports post match interview because they hadn't come around to his house to fix his Sky TV box. And finally what it was actually like working for the class of 92 when Johnno & Bernard managed Gaz & Jordan at Salford City. If you're a fan of our non-league episodes then you're in the right place!

Our Monstrous Regiment episode won't be ready until later in the month, but we didn't want to let International Women's Day pass without some kind of comment. So here's a mini episode in your feed recommending some other Pratchett and Discworld podcasts hosted by women and non-binary folks. Here's a list of the Discworld podcasts Ben mentioned: The Truth Shall Make Ye Fret, hosted by Francine Carrel and Joanna Hagan. They covered Monstrous Regiment over three episodes in April 2023: “[REDACTED]”, “The Implication of Hippo” and “Gender is a Fake Drug”. You can support them on Patreon. Disc Coverers, hosted by Iris Jay, Grace Lovelace, Balina Mahigan, and Juniper Theory. Nanny Ogg's Book Club, hosted by Tessa Swelha and Nigel. Their Monstrous Regiment episode was in September 2023. Teaching My Cat to Read, hosted by Eli, M, Ro and Lotti. You can support them on Ko-Fi. Fiction Fans, hosted by Sara and Lily. You can support them on Patreon. Other links from this episode: Our wiki indexing Discworld podcasts is the Guild of Recappers and Podcasters. There's a page for Monstrous Regiment listing all the episodes discussing it. The Melbourne-based charity is independent feminist organisation the Victorian Women's Trust. They've produced their own podcasts, including Money Power Freedom, which was co-hosted by Cal Wilson. We won't link to it, but don't go to internationalwomensday.com; instead you want the official UN Women site, unwomen.org. Our April episode, #Pratchat77, will be with guest Laura Jean McKay, author of The Animals in That Country. We'll be discussing the short stories “Hollywood Chickens” from A Blink of the Screen, and “From the Horse's Mouth” from A Stroke of the Pen. An earlier version of “From the Horse's Mouth” is “Johnno, the Talking Horse”, which was collected in The Time-Travelling Caveman and Other Stories, and in deluxe editions of The Witch's Vacuum Cleaner and Other Stories.

The episode where Lindsey brings us some true crime - some conman true crime! Yes, it's another story with no murder! Meet John Darwin, and his wife, Anne. John meets Anne. John gets in debt. John goes missing and is declared dead. Anne gets looooots of life insurance money. Motive seems to be clear…until five years later when John shows up with “amnesia”. This story is wild, made more fun by how simple this is - a beard and Google really are all it took to crack the case. www.thetipsyghost.com  Find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok  @thetipsyghost  Email us your stories at thetipsyghost@gmail.com  Show your support when you subscribe, leave a great review, & give us a 5 start rating— it really helps!

Want to know who our Valentine's are this year? You guessed it--Brendan Rooney + Johnno Wilson! And the boys are here to chat with us about this special V-Day day and share plenty of love. We open up about our secrets to a great relationship, and what we do to celebrate the occasion. Plus, Anneliese and Johnno finally tell us about the moment Johnno proposed--and it will make your heart MELT.  Have the ladies ever been swingers?!? What do Christy and Anneliese look for in their partners? Is Johnno actually good at improv? Tune in now!  Follow Brendan @thebrendanrooney on Instagram. Follow Johnno at @johnnowilson on Instagram and TikTok. Follow us at @BigNameBitches on Instagram and TikTok, and subscribe on YouTube. Follow Christy Carlson Romano at @thechristycarlsonromano on Instagram and @christycarlsonromano on TikTok. Follow Anneliese van der Pol at @anneliesevanderpol on Instagram and @anneliesevdp on TikTok. You can watch the video version of this podcast on YouTube. Mocktail Recipe: ‘If You Like Pina Coladas…' 2.5 Bailey's Non Alcoholic  5 Chunks of Frozen Pineapple 0.75 oz Lime 0.75 oz Simple Syrup Place all ingredients into a blender and blend with some crushed ice. Garnish with two pineapple fronds.  Find our mixologist LP O'Brien @lpdrinksdc on Instagram, and check out her website at https://www.lpdrinks.org Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Want to know who our Valentine's are this year? You guessed it--Brendan Rooney + Johnno Wilson! And the boys are here to chat with us about this special V-Day day and share plenty of love. We open up about our secrets to a great relationship, and what we do to celebrate the occasion. Plus, Anneliese and Johnno finally tell us about the moment Johnno proposed--and it will make your heart MELT.  Have the ladies ever been swingers?!? What do Christy and Anneliese look for in their partners? Is Johnno actually good at improv? Tune in now!  Follow Brendan @thebrendanrooney on Instagram. Follow Johnno at @johnnowilson on Instagram and TikTok. Follow us at @BigNameBitches on Instagram and TikTok, and subscribe on YouTube. Follow Christy Carlson Romano at @thechristycarlsonromano on Instagram and @christycarlsonromano on TikTok. Follow Anneliese van der Pol at @anneliesevanderpol on Instagram and @anneliesevdp on TikTok. You can watch the video version of this podcast on YouTube. Mocktail Recipe: ‘If You Like Pina Coladas…' 2.5 Bailey's Non Alcoholic  5 Chunks of Frozen Pineapple 0.75 oz Lime 0.75 oz Simple Syrup Place all ingredients into a blender and blend with some crushed ice. Garnish with two pineapple fronds.  Find our mixologist LP O'Brien @lpdrinksdc on Instagram, and check out her website at https://www.lpdrinks.org Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

John 14:1-11 | This is the beginning of Jesus’ pre-arrest farewell speech and the part where he famously declares that He alone is THE Way… THE Truth… and THE Life.

Who knew your TV ex-husband could turn into the man of your dreams?! We have a VERY special guest this week, Johnno Wilson! Johnno is an actor, comedian and writer who has starred in I Love That For You, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and of course, Raven's Home where he met his future girlfriend, Anneliese! When he's not on TV you can find him going viral on TikTok with his hilarious celeb impersonations and comedy sketches! We're talking angry golf wives, role play, the Pete Davidson obsession, and why Johnno broke up with his girlfriend once he met Anneliese! No topic is off limits, duh. What does Christy want to say to Keke Palmer? How does Johnno channel his inner Marky Mark? Why was Anneliese kind of a b*tch at the Raven's Home wrap party?! Tune in now! Follow Johnno at @johnnowilson on Instagram and TikTok. Follow us at @BigNameBitches on Instagram and TikTok, and subscribe on YouTube. Follow Christy Carlson Romano at @thechristycarlsonromano on Instagram and @christycarlsonromano on TikTok. Follow Anneliese van der Pol at @anneliesevanderpol on Instagram and @anneliesevdp on TikTok. You can watch the video version of this podcast on YouTube. Disclaimer: This content was produced prior to the recent SAG-AFTRA strike authorization. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Who knew your TV ex-husband could turn into the man of your dreams?! We have a VERY special guest this week, Johnno Wilson! Johnno is an actor, comedian and writer who has starred in I Love That For You, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and of course, Raven's Home where he met his future girlfriend, Anneliese! When he's not on TV you can find him going viral on TikTok with his hilarious celeb impersonations and comedy sketches! We're talking angry golf wives, role play, the Pete Davidson obsession, and why Johnno broke up with his girlfriend once he met Anneliese! No topic is off limits, duh. What does Christy want to say to Keke Palmer? How does Johnno channel his inner Marky Mark? Why was Anneliese kind of a b*tch at the Raven's Home wrap party?! Tune in now! Follow Johnno at @johnnowilson on Instagram and TikTok. Follow us at @BigNameBitches on Instagram and TikTok, and subscribe on YouTube. Follow Christy Carlson Romano at @thechristycarlsonromano on Instagram and @christycarlsonromano on TikTok. Follow Anneliese van der Pol at @anneliesevanderpol on Instagram and @anneliesevdp on TikTok. You can watch the video version of this podcast on YouTube. Disclaimer: This content was produced prior to the recent SAG-AFTRA strike authorization. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices