Podcasts about ksenia

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Best podcasts about ksenia

Latest podcast episodes about ksenia

Danny Wallace's Important Broadcast
The Important Broadcast Module 437: The Toothbrush THINKS It's Still Brushing

Danny Wallace's Important Broadcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 21, 2026 65:02


You can say what you like, but there are no flies on Steve. He gets it. But does he get it in the same way that The Great Leader gets it? No. No, he doesn't. The Great Leader gets it and if anybody sits in His seats... THEY get it. Got it? All of that (whatever it means), plus, opera, Got Got Need and some hand signals.Please send your listener comments to Danny@radiox.co.ukThis week's podcast is dedicated to Ksenia's husband.Thank you.

Widow 180 The Podcast with Jen Zwinck
272. How Diving Into Art And Publishing Her Late Husband's Book Is Helping This Widow Heal - Interview With Ksenia Merck

Widow 180 The Podcast with Jen Zwinck

Play Episode Listen Later May 29, 2026 37:18


"I've seen death in the face numerous times. I. I am going to do something going forward that is going to help people in a big way. And so I am. I am. I'm doing it." ~Ksenia MerckKsenia Merck joins the show to share her powerful story of love, loss, caregiving, creativity, and renewal. After caring for her elderly mother until her passing and then losing her beloved husband Bill to cancer, Ksenia Merck found herself navigating profound compound grief and the search for healing. Through her journey, she discovered the transformative power of creativity and art.Listeners will be deeply moved by Ksenia Merck's reflections on “re-lifing” herself. She shares her experience of illustrating and publishing Bill's unfinished novel "Ghost Flower," and her ongoing mission to build community and help others on the widowhood journey. This episode is full of wisdom, hope, and encouragement for anyone grieving or seeking new purpose after loss.Key takeaways:The traumatic experience of Bill's sudden illness, ICU stays, and the couple's recognition of shared PTSDThe inspiration and healing that came from illustrating and publishing "Ghost Flower," Bill's final unfinished manuscriptFinding comfort and connection through creativity, especially in times of griefThe significance of honoring one's own grief timeline and resisting outside pressure to “move on”Recognizing and appreciating signs from loved ones after their passing, especially through natureTrust yourself and your intuition to make the choices that feel right for you on your widowhood journey! You know what's best for YOU!You can find Ksenia and her book Ghost Flower at https://www.merckiipress.com/ksenia-merckStruggling with an identity crisis? Many widows find themselves wondering "Who Am I Now?" Get the latest workbook in the Widow 180 Workbook series, The Who Am I Now? Workbook at www.widow180.com/whoaminow  Be sure to join our Facebook group, Widow 180 The Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/312036956454927Also follow us on Insta: https://www.instagram.com/widow_180/Check us out on YouTube at Widow 180: The Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-DK_dl31qMilJ5cE6t9MVQFor more blog posts and resources go to www.widow180.comQuestions? Email me at jen@widow180.com

On Your Mind
Ksenia J. Merck On Artist, Architect, And Creative Storyteller

On Your Mind

Play Episode Listen Later May 26, 2026 23:20


Meet Ksenia J. Merck. For decades, she's been an esteemed architect, mastering the art of physical structure in large-scale airport design. But Ksenia is also a profound artist and creative storyteller, whose latest project transcends the blueprints of the material world. After experiencing deep personal loss, Ksenia channeled her grief into a mission: posthumously publishing and illustrating her late husband's science fiction novel, Ghost Flower. This isn't just a tale of time travel, aliens, and saving humanity in 2035—it's a testament to a love that transcends time and a powerful tool for healing. Discover how Ksenia used art to navigate her grief journey, find a new purpose, and bring this inspiring, genre-blending story to life.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here's How »Join the On Your Mind Community today:journeysdream.orgTwitterInstagramFacebookYouTube

Podcast – Narcissist Abuse Support
The Hidden Dangers of Narcissistic Divorce | With Ksenia Muench

Podcast – Narcissist Abuse Support

Play Episode Listen Later May 25, 2026


  Subscribe in a reader Check out my product recommendations for Narcissist Abuse Survivors! – https://www.amazon.com/shop/tracymalone *As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Listen to my podcasts anytime by subscribing with your favorite provider! The post The Hidden Dangers of Narcissistic Divorce | With Ksenia Muench appeared first on Narcissist Abuse Support.

Hart2Heart with Dr. Mike Hart
#222 Peptides, Hormones, and Longevity: Safety, Skin Aging, NAD+, GLP-1s, and Mitochondrial Health with Dr. Ksenia

Hart2Heart with Dr. Mike Hart

Play Episode Listen Later May 21, 2026 63:28


Dr. Ksenia Petrushkina joins Dr. Mike Hart for a deep dive into regenerative medicine, peptides, hormones, IV therapies, and longevity. They discuss what conventional medicine and health influencers often get wrong about prevention-focused care, while exploring topics like NAD+, glutathione, GLP-1s, gut health, skin aging, mitochondrial health, BPC-157, TB-500, IGF-1, and peptide safety. Dr. Ksenia also shares why testing, inflammation, absorption, and overall health matter before using peptides or other optimization treatments. Dr. Ksenia Petrushkina is a regenerative medicine practitioner based in Aventura, Florida, and part owner of Ideal Medical and Wellness. Her work focuses on hormones, peptides, IV therapies, stem cells, and longevity, with a background in biopharmaceutical science and cancer research. She brings a prevention-focused, mechanism-based perspective to patient care, especially around inflammation, gut health, metabolic function, peptide safety, and age-related optimization. Dr. Ksenia Miami Instagram https://www.instagram.com/dr.kseniamiami/](https://www.instagram.com/dr.kseniamiami/) Ideal Medical and Wellness https://idealmedwell.com/](https://idealmedwell.com/) Tadalafil / Cialis https://medlineplus.gov/druginfo/meds/a604008.html](https://medlineplus.gov/druginfo/meds/a604008.html) PT-141 / Bremelanotide [https://medlineplus.gov/druginfo/meds/a619054.html](https://medlineplus.gov/druginfo/meds/a619054.html) GHK-Cu copper peptide https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6073405/](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6073405/) Tretinoin / Retin-A https://medlineplus.gov/druginfo/meds/a682437.html](https://medlineplus.gov/druginfo/meds/a682437.html) NAD+ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7963035/](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7963035/) Nicotinamide Riboside / NR https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6611812/](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6611812/) Tru Niagen [https://www.truniagen.com/](https://www.truniagen.com/) Glutathione https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4684116/](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4684116/) GLP-1 drugs https://www.fda.gov/drugs/postmarket-drug-safety-information-patients-and-providers/fdas-concerns-unapproved-glp-1-drugs-used-weight-loss](https://www.fda.gov/drugs/postmarket-drug-safety-information-patients-and-providers/fdas-concerns-unapproved-glp-1-drugs-used-weight-loss) Tirzepatide https://medlineplus.gov/druginfo/meds/a622044.html](https://medlineplus.gov/druginfo/meds/a622044.html) BPC-157 https://www.usada.org/spirit-of-sport/bpc-157-peptide-prohibited/](https://www.usada.org/spirit-of-sport/bpc-157-peptide-prohibited/) TB-500 / Thymosin beta-4 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22074294/](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22074294/) Melanotan II https://dermnetnz.org/topics/melanotan-ii](https://dermnetnz.org/topics/melanotan-ii) IGF-1 test https://medlineplus.gov/lab-tests/igf-1-insulin-like-growth-factor-1-test/](https://medlineplus.gov/lab-tests/igf-1-insulin-like-growth-factor-1-test/) Tesamorelin https://medlineplus.gov/druginfo/meds/a611035.html](https://medlineplus.gov/druginfo/meds/a611035.html)   Thymosin Alpha-1 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7747025/](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7747025/) SS-31 / Elamipretide https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11816484/](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11816484/) Urolithin A https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35050355/](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35050355/) Coenzyme Q10 / CoQ10 https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/coenzyme-q10](https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/coenzyme-q10) Pancreatic enzymes https://medlineplus.gov/druginfo/meds/a604035.html](https://medlineplus.gov/druginfo/meds/a604035.html) Psyllium husk https://medlineplus.gov/druginfo/meds/a601104.html](https://medlineplus.gov/druginfo/meds/a601104.html)   Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to the Hart2Heart Podcast 00:38 Preventive Medicine Debate 03:03 Low Dose Cialis Basics 05:03 Prostate Cancer Link 08:18 ED Alternatives PT-141 11:52 Skin Aging Essentials 12:19 GHK-Cu Dosing Risks 15:59 Copper Uglies Explained 19:47 NAD Boosting Options 24:33 NR Infusions Trend 27:38 Glutathione and Thyroid 31:58 Stopping Levothyroxine 33:34 Glutathione Precursors Limits 34:58 Gut Protocol NAD GLP1 35:59 Tirzepatide Microdosing Guide 38:18 Glutathione Injection Protocol 40:47 BPC 157 Cancer Myth 43:28 BPC TB500 Injury Cycles 45:13 Melanotan II Skin Risks 46:50 IGF1 Aging Tradeoffs 49:16 Safest GH Secretagogue 50:05 Underrated Thymosin Alpha 52:35 Mitochondria Peptides SS31 55:00 MITC and AMPK Hype 56:36 Urolithin A and CoQ10 01:00:36 GLP1 Supplements and Labs 01:02:39 Wrap Up and Where to Find   The Hart2Heart podcast is hosted by family physician Dr. Michael Hart, who is dedicated to cutting through the noise and uncovering the most effective strategies for optimizing health, longevity, and peak performance. This podcast dives deep into evidence-based approaches to hormone balance, peptides, sleep optimization, nutrition, psychedelics, supplements, exercise protocols, leveraging sunlight, and de-prescribing pharmaceuticals — using medications only when absolutely necessary. Beyond health science, we explore the intersection of public health and politics, exposing how policy decisions shape our health landscape and what actionable steps people can take to reclaim control over their well-being. Guests range from out-of-the-box thinking physicians such as Dr. Casey Means (author of "Good Energy") and Dr. Roger Sehult (Medcram lectures) to public health experts such as Dr. Jay Bhattacharya (Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Dr. Marty Mckary  (Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and high-profile names such as  Zuby and Mark Sisson (Primal Blueprint and Primal Kitchen). If you're ready to take control of your health and performance, this podcast is for you.We cut through the jargon and deliver practical, no-BS advice that you can implement in your daily life, empowering you to make positive changes for your well-being. Connect with Dr. Mike Hart Instagram: @drmikehart Twitter: @drmikehart Facebook: @drmikehart

Simon and Sergei
Podcast Then & Now #41: Teresa Cherfas in conversation with Ksenia Luchenko

Simon and Sergei

Play Episode Listen Later May 14, 2026 52:02


8 May 2026by Teresa CherfasWelcome to the 41st edition of the Russian-language podcast Then & Now with me, Teresa Cherfas. Ksenia Luchenko (pictured above) is the author of the book Благими Намерениями – Русская Церковь и Власть от Горбачева до Путина [‘With Good Intentions: The Russian Church and State from Gorbachev to Putin'] for which she received the ‘Prosvetitel' award (Enlightener Prize) in 2025. That same year, her name was added to the list of ‘foreign agents' and, in March this year, she was sentenced in absentia in the Russian Federation to eight years' imprisonment under the ‘military fakes' law. Ksenia left Russia in April 2022. Prior to this, she had worked extensively as a journalist and scholar in the field of church affairs and media.This podcast was recorded on 7 May 2026Questions:What prompted you to leave Russia so soon after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine?Your book With Good Intentions was published last year. Why did you choose that title?In 2014, the annexation of Crimea took place, and shortly afterwards, the so-called separatist war in the Donbas region of Ukraine began. Did this mark a turning-point in relations between the Orthodox Church and Putin's Kremlin, a turn that led to the ‘road to hell'?In the summer of 2021, Putin wrote a lengthy treatise on his interpretation of Russian history and the place of the ‘Russian world' in contemporary politics.. Could you comment on the role of the Russian Orthodox Church in shaping his worldview?The Russian Orthodox Church is currently one of the main ideologues of the war with Ukraine, calling the war a holy war and glorifying death on the battlefield. In this context, what is a ‘holy war' and what are the criteria for defining it?And what about relations between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church?An important event during Gorbachev's policies of glasnost and perestroika was the celebration of the millennium of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1988. In hindsight, does it seem surprising that it was celebrated so widely in a country that was still atheist – the USSR?Patriarch Aleksy, who led the Russian Orthodox Church during that period, was succeeded by Kirill, who became patriarch in 2009. How did their characters differ? What role did this play in the Church's subsequent relations with the state?It is said that the only institutions that did not undergo reform following the collapse of the Soviet Union were the Russian Orthodox Church and the KGB. Is this true?Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, did the Russian people welcome the revival of the Russian Orthodox Church? And to what extent has the revival of the Orthodox Church been related to the development of Russian nationalism?For several years now, under Putin's leadership, Russia seems to want to be seen as a bastion of so-called “traditional values.” These values have been enshrined in laws criminalising homosexuality and declaring the ‘dissemination of LGBT propaganda' a criminal offence. What is the role of the Russian Orthodox Church in this legislation? How is its role in this sphere evolving today in connection with the war in Ukraine?Today, Putin's “holy war” against Ukraine seems to have been a precursor to the ‘holy wars' of other global leaders – this is how Israel's wars in Gaza and Lebanon are justified, this is how President Trump presents his war against Iran, and this is the case with the jihads of the Ayatollah and Hamas. Does this surprise you in the 21st century?Pope Leo XIV sharply criticised President Trump for his bombing of the civilian population in Iran, citing the Bible and God's commandments. How did the Russian Orthodox Church react?– And Putin?Are there dissidents among Russian Orthodox priests? And if so, what is the situation with them?

The Art of Selling Online Courses
253 Selling Feels Icky. Here's How To Fix That

The Art of Selling Online Courses

Play Episode Listen Later May 12, 2026 55:07 Transcription Available


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HOW I SEE IT
No Plan B: Ignoring Limits, Delusional Self Belief, Money as Energy, and How Your Mindset Shapes Your Reality | Ksenia Zaytseva

HOW I SEE IT

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 28, 2026 53:20


#146: On today's episode, Han sits down with Ksenia Zaytseva, founder of Bur Bur Hair Care, to talk about her story. From moving to the U.S. without speaking English, to building from nothing, and the mindset it takes to keep going when there's no proof it's going to work.This is a conversation about perseverance, self belief, and committing to a path without a plan B. The girls get into:• moving to the U.S. without speaking English & starting over• why “no plan B” changes the way you show up• living “comfortably uncomfortable” vs actually taking risks• delusional self belief & trusting yourself before there's proof• ignoring what feels logical to follow what you know is meant for you• why thinking from point A to Z keeps you stuck• navigating hardship, sacrifice & starting from nothing• being told something is impossible—and doing it anyway• money as energy & removing a scarcity mindset• how your beliefs shape the reality you experience• breaking limits & refusing to keep yourself small• the mindset behind building Bur Bur Hair Care• why scalp care is the most overlooked part of beautyKsenia shares how she pushed past what felt logical to follow a deeper knowing that she was meant for more, why success came from continuing to show up without validation, and how her relationship with money as energy shaped the way she built her life and business.This episode is for anyone who feels like they're starting from nothing, questioning their path, or trying to trust themselves before the results show up. It's also for anyone who knows they're meant for more but is still learning how to move through fear, take risks, and actually go after it.USE CODE HOWISEEIT for a discount when shopping BUR BUR hereCONNECT BELOW:follow Bur Bur hereshop Bur Bur here with code HOWISEEIT for a discountCONNECT with HAN:follow Han ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠follow HOW I SEE IT ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠shop the podcast merch ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠work with Han: howhanseesit@gmail.comEPISODE TIMESTAMPS:00:00 Introduction & meeting Ksenia Zaytseva01:30 “No Plan B” mindset & why most people quit too early03:06 Growing up in Russia & feeling out of place04:30 Moving to the U.S. with no English & starting over07:45 Living “comfortably uncomfortable” vs taking risks11:39 Letting go of fear of judgment13:48 Committing fully to your path without a backup plan15:05 Why thinking too far ahead keeps you stuck16:40 Expanding what you believe is possible17:20 Sacrifice, survival & chasing something bigger19:40 Believing in yourself when no one else does23:30 Emotions aren't stop signs—they're signals25:35 Trauma, pivots & rebuilding your identity29:18 Rejecting rules & creating your own path31:00 Being told your business will fail—and doing it anyway32:45 Money as energy & abundance mindset34:00 The world mirrors your beliefs36:49 Breaking limits & redefining what's possible39:00 The origin story behind Bur Bur Hair Care41:30 Why scalp care is the missing piece in beauty44:30 Hair growth myths & what actually works46:10 The craftsmanship behind Bur Bur brushesself growth for women, mental health podcast, healing journey, self worth, emotional growth, personal development podcast, therapy work, self awareness, mindset and growth, delusional self belief, no plan b mindset, overcoming adversity, starting over in life, trusting yourself, navigating trauma, identity growth, women in business mindset, entrepreneurship mindset, money mindset, money as energy, abundance mindset

Linda's Corner: Faith, Family, and Living Joyfully
Overcoming Grief Through Creativity and Purpose with Ksenia Merck

Linda's Corner: Faith, Family, and Living Joyfully

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 7, 2026 24:42


Overcoming Grief Through Creativity and PurposeGuest: Ksenia MerckGrief can arrive in waves—unexpected, overwhelming, and deeply personal. In this moving episode, we sit down with Ksenia Merck, an artist, architect, creative storyteller, and publisher, who shares how she navigated profound loss and transformed grief into a meaningful act of love.After the heartbreaking loss of her mother, Ksenia was soon faced with another devastating blow when her husband, Bill, was diagnosed with cancer and later passed away. Bill left behind an unfinished manuscript. Rather than letting his words fade, Ksenia made it her mission to bring his work to life.Through her vivid illustrations and posthumous publication of Ghostflower, Ksenia honored Bill's legacy in a deeply personal way. As she immersed herself in the manuscript, she recognized pieces of their shared life reflected in the characters and experiences within the story. In many ways, the book became a love letter from Bill to Ksenia—and she responded with a love letter of her own through art.In addition to publishing the book, Ksenia created a companion journal designed to help readers reflect, process, and internalize the themes woven throughout the story. The journal offers space for self-exploration, healing, and personal meaning—an invitation to engage with grief rather than avoid it.Ksenia shares how embracing a creative project became a vital part of her own healing journey. She gently reminds us that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to grief and no set timeline for healing. Instead, she encourages those who are grieving to:Find purpose and meaningHonor the life and legacy of their loved oneExpress grief in a way that feels authenticKeep moving forward, one step at a timeThis episode is a tender reminder that while grief changes us, it can also open the door to connection, creativity, and transformation.

The MetaBusiness Millennial
How Her Husband's Unfinished Novel Became a Bridge to the Other Side with Ksenia Merch

The MetaBusiness Millennial

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 1, 2026 40:19


Tune in as my guest, Ksenia Merck, and I sit down to talk about what happens when the love of your life leaves behind an unfinished story. Not a metaphor. A real science fiction novel sitting in a drawer. And you decide to pick up the pen and finish it. An architect with over four decades in construction, a woman who grew up on job sites with her World War II paratrooper father, built her own consulting firm in 2002, and now runs two businesses while honoring the literary legacy her late husband Bill left behind. This conversation is not about loss. It's about what love looks like when it refuses to end. Ksenia shares what it was like to feel the vibration between her and Bill rise in the hospital during his most critical moments, how she went from PTSD and sleepless nights to locking the door and pulling out her paints at the same dining room table where her father taught her to draw. She walks us through finding stories about their love woven into his manuscript, why she creates in complete silence because that's where she feels him closest, and how painting the Twin Star became the symbol of their eternal bond. One soul in the center. Two hearts. I share my own experience with losing my father and how grief presents us with two doors. Destruction or creation. We get to choose which one we walk through. This episode explores: What it means to finish your late husband's novel as an act of love not just legacy How grief transformed into creative power at the same dining room table where it all began Why the vibration between two aligned souls rises in crisis instead of falling How creating in silence became her bridge between the physical and non-physical This is not a conversation about moving on. It's about moving with. When love is built in the spirit the physical world has no authority to end it. If you've ever lost someone and wondered if the connection still lives. If you've ever needed someone to remind you that love doesn't need a body to keep going. This episode is for you. Connect with me: Website: www.erinpatten.com Instagram: @iamerinpatten Explore my work: Free Masterclass: Future Ready Leadership → erinpatten.com/masterclass-homepage Join the Sol Full Accelerator → upgrade.erinpatten.com Connect with Ksenia: Website: MerckIIPress.com

Women Connected In Wisdom Podcast
Ghost Flower | Turning a Legacy into a Living Work of Art | Intellectual Wellness - with expert guest Ksenia Merck | Ep 221

Women Connected In Wisdom Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 12, 2026 61:50


Join us in community:  Women Connected in Wisdom Community Listen to past episodes: https://womenconnectedinwisdompodcast.com/ Glo from head to toe by joining the shealo glo glo club at www.shealoglo.com ! Stillpoint: A Self-Care Playbook for Caregivers Join Christine at an event! Like & Subscribe to get notifications of when we are live: Women Connected in Wisdom Instagram Women Connected in Wisdom on Facebook **Women Connected in Wisdom on YouTube** Resources & What we are up to   How do you transform a deep personal legacy into a creative force for good? Ksenia J. Merck shares how intellectual wellness and art can help us navigate love and existence.   In this week's episode of Women Connected in Wisdom podcast, we welcome our guest, Ksenia J. Merck — an architect, artist, and author who has spent four decades shaping the physical world through large-scale airport programs. Today, she is shaping the world of storytelling as the creative force behind Ghost Flower, a science fiction novel written by her late husband, William F. Merck II, which she illustrated and published posthumously.   We explore the Intellectual Wellness dimension, discussing how Ksenia used her creative skills to honor her husband's legacy while expanding her own whole-self growth. From her architectural background to her work on the Ghost Flower Companion Journal, Ksenia shares how deep reflection, thought-provoking quotes, and art can help us process the mysteries of life.   Women Connected in Wisdom is a community-driven podcast hosted by Christine and Shannon, where we explore the 8 Dimensions of Wellness to help you live a more balanced, purposeful life.   Connect with Ksenia J. Merck: Website: https://www.merckiipress.com Instagram: @Merck2Press Somethings we talked out: Ghost Flower - all versions including audio Your Brain on Art:  How Art Transforms Us

Grief & Happiness
How One Widow Channeled Devastating Loss Into the Creative Project That Brought Her Back to Life

Grief & Happiness

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 10, 2026 25:53


If you've ever questioned whether your loved ones are still with you after they're gone, Episode 410 of Grief and Happiness is not to be missed. Architect and artist Ksenia J. Merck shares how losing her husband Bill led her to complete his lifelong dream — finishing his science fiction novel Ghost Flower and authoring its companion journal. Through art, philosophy, and soul-searching questions about purpose and time travel, Ksenia shows how grief can become the unexpected catalyst for your greatest creative work.In This Episode, You Will Learn:(00:55) Ksenia's introduction as architect, artist, and author(01:49) The story behind Ghost Flower and Bill's hospital bed sketch(04:04) Feeling her husband's presence through the creative process(04:38) Inside the Ghost Flower Companion Journal and how it works(07:14) Would you time travel to save humanity? The book's soul-searching questions(11:02) Purpose as one of the most powerful tools for grief(12:35) How this project pulled Ksenia through her darkest chapter(14:22) Emily's journey from caregiving and loss to purpose-driven living(16:49) Turning the most painful experience of your life into something meaningful(19:29) Soul contracts, twin flames, and why this project was always meant for her(21:32) The oak tree story — and why Ksenia believes Bill guided it downKsenia J. Merck, AIA, NCARB is an architect, artist, and author with over four decades in the industry and a Bachelor of Architecture from Virginia Tech. By day, she serves as a Program Manager for large-scale Airport Capital Programs in Orlando; by calling, she bridges architectural precision with visionary artistry through her sketchbook and canvas. Fueled by a deep love of art history, travel, and the cosmic mysteries of the universe, her work explores themes of life, the afterlife, and the wonders that lie beyond. Her latest illustrations appear in Ghost Flower, a science fiction novel by her late husband William F. Merck II — for which she painted the cover and authored the companion journal. Originally from Arizona, she now calls Florida home.In this episode, Ksenia opens up about how grief became the doorway to profound purpose. After losing her husband Bill in March 2024, she channeled her loss into completing his lifelong dream — painting the cover of his science fiction novel Ghost Flower and authoring the Ghost Flower Companion Journal, a collection of illustrations and philosophical questions designed to deepen the reader's experience of the book. She shares how the project gave her direction at her most vulnerable, and how she believes Bill has remained a guiding presence every step of the way. Together, Ksenia and Emily explore the power of soul contracts, twin flames, and the idea that grief — when met with openness — can become the foundation for a meaningful new chapter.Connect with Ksenia J. Merck:WebsiteInstagramLinkedInFacebookLet's Connect: WebsiteLinkedInFacebookInstagramTwitterPinterestThe Grief and Happiness AllianceBook: Emily Thiroux Threatt - Loving and Living Your Way Through Grief Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Indo Daily
‘Life is going on, then everything stops for a funeral': Four years into war

The Indo Daily

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 25, 2026 23:48


In February 2022, just days before Russia invaded Ukraine, Ksenia Samotiy's mother drove her and her two younger siblings to the Polish border. They thought they would be gone for a few days. Four years later, the war continues. Now living in Dublin, Ksenia has returned to her hometown of Lviv for the first time since she fled. What did she find, and what does the future hold for Ukraine? ­ Host: Fionnán SheahanSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jacobin Radio
Jacobin Radio: Four Years of War in Ukraine w/ Oleksandr Kyselov

Jacobin Radio

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 24, 2026 47:38


Suzi speaks to Ukrainian socialist Oleksandr Kyselov, who says the current “peace process” is a dangerous illusion. Russia's goal, he argues, is not compromise but subjugation — and any ceasefire that doesn't confront that reality only postpones the next war. We discuss the Witkoff-Dmitriev 28-point plan (critics call it the “DimWit plan”), exhaustion inside Ukraine, and why calls from the Western left for immediate, unconditional ceasefire, without a single protest outside a Russian embassy, are, as Kyselov puts it, “beyond naive.” Ksenia Kagarlitskaya then joins us from her exile in Montenegro. Her father, Marxist sociologist Boris Kagarlitsky, has now spent two years in Penal Colony No. 4 for opposing Putin's war. She discusses her father's imprisonment and the explosion of political prisoners inside Russia since 2022. Ksenia runs Freedom Zone, an organization that raises funds and organizes events globally to support political prisoners and their families. Ksenia reminds us that political prisoners don't appear in any of the current peace negotiations, because Russia doesn't acknowledge that they exist. Jacobin Radio with Suzi Weissman features conversations with leading thinkers and activists, with a focus on labor, the economy, and protest movements.

Highlights from Newstalk Breakfast
Over 80,000 Ukrainians still remain in Ireland since 2022

Highlights from Newstalk Breakfast

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 24, 2026 4:02


It's been four years since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, setting in motion a war over territory and autonomy. Over 80,000 Ukrainians still remain in Ireland since 2022, including Ksenia Samotiy Irish Independent columnist who moved from Ukraine in March 2022. Ksenia spoke to Anton this morning.

Newstalk Breakfast Highlights
Over 80,000 Ukrainians still remain in Ireland since 2022

Newstalk Breakfast Highlights

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 24, 2026 4:02


It's been four years since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, setting in motion a war over territory and autonomy. Over 80,000 Ukrainians still remain in Ireland since 2022, including Ksenia Samotiy Irish Independent columnist who moved from Ukraine in March 2022. Ksenia spoke to Anton this morning.

Modern Mystic Soul
Love Beyond Time: Art, Grief, and the Cosmic Story of Ghost Flower with Ksenia J. Merck

Modern Mystic Soul

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 17, 2026 62:57


In this deeply moving episode of the Modern Mystic Soul Podcast, Therese is joined by Ksenia J. Merck, artist, architect, and creative storyteller whose life's work bridges structure, imagination, and spirit.After more than four decades leading large-scale airport design programs, Ksenia now brings her creative vision to emotional and cosmic landscapes through art and storytelling. Her latest project, Ghost Flower, is a genre-blending science-fiction novel written by her late husband, William F. Merck II, which Ksenia lovingly brought to life through illustration, completion, and posthumous publication.Set in the year 2035 during a global pandemic, Ghost Flower follows a team traveling back to 1585 to uncover the healing power of an ancient extraterrestrial flower, exploring themes of time, memory, leadership, love, and humanity's responsibility to future generations.Together, Therese and Ksenia explore:Completing a loved one's creative work as an act of devotion and healingThe transformative landscape of grief and finding purpose after lossArt as a bridge between memory, spirit, and meaningThe spiritual symbolism woven through Ghost Flower and its companion journalResilience, legacy, and love that transcends time and dimensionThis conversation is a gentle yet powerful reflection on how creativity can become a sacred path through sorrow—and how love continues to guide us long after physical presence fades.

ForbesBooks Radio
Ksenia Yudina on Power, Control, and Startups

ForbesBooks Radio

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 11, 2026 33:05 Transcription Available


In this episode of The Authority Company Podcast, Joe Pardavila sits down with One Venture, Ten MBAs author Ksenia Yudina, CFA for a raw conversation about building companies when the playbook breaks. Ksenia left a successful career in finance to start a fintech platform designed to help families invest in their children's futures. What followed was the full founder arc. Rapid growth. Major funding rounds. A $120 million valuation. Then a series of black swan events that tested every assumption behind venture capital, control, and resilience. She walks through what first-time founders never see coming, why fundraising feels more like dating than pitching, and how capital structure quietly decides who holds power when markets turn. Ksenia shares the hard lessons behind venture debt, board control, and what happens when founders lose the ability to steer the companies they built. The conversation goes deeper than tactics. Ksenia opens up about identity after stepping away from her own company, the emotional toll of losing control, and why she chose to start again with a new venture, stronger boundaries, and clearer conviction. This episode speaks to founders, operators, and leaders who want the truth behind startup success. Not the highlight reel. The reality.

startups rapid cfa ksenia power control joe pardavila
Starter Girlz's show
The Weatherproof Business Formula: Lessons from a Global Tech Entrepreneur (with Ksenia Votinova-Arnaud, Business Coach & SaaS Founder)

Starter Girlz's show

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 19, 2026 48:25 Transcription Available


Send us a textSome businesses thrive no matter the market — Ksenia Votinova-Arnaud knows why. As a global tech entrepreneur, co-founder of a SaaS company, and creator of the Weatherproof Business Formula, she has built companies that grow, adapt, and scale.In this episode of Starter Girlz, Jennifer Loehding sits down with Ksenia to hear about her journey from growing up in the Soviet Union to coaching over a thousand executives and creating resilient business strategies that help entrepreneurs succeed.This conversation explores the realities of entrepreneurship, the evolving definition of success, and the lessons Ksenia has learned about resilience, adaptability, and building systems that enable businesses to thrive. You'll hear discussion-based insights on vision, strategy, leveraging technology and AI, starting lean, niching effectively, and maintaining balance as you build a thriving business.⭐ What You'll Learn in This Episode✅ How resilience and vision shape business success✅ Lessons from scaling a global SaaS company✅ Patterns in business that can form repeatable systems✅ Insights gained from mentoring  on strategy, mindset, and frameworks✅ Leveraging technology, AI, and no-code tools to support growth✅ Starting lean and validating ideas before scaling✅ Niching down to focus on the right customer segment✅ Balancing work and life to prevent burnout✅ Using systems and technology to work smarter, not harder

Empty Netters Podcast
BONUS: KSENIA DANIELA Is The Russian-Speaking, Puck-Knowing Legend From HEATED RIVALRY

Empty Netters Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 5, 2026 61:25


Ksenia Daniela hangs out with the boys to talk about her journey to in the theater and acting world that lead her to Heated Rivalry. Hear about her favorite parts from season 1, talking Russian with Connor, and what's she's excited about in season 2. Do not miss her awesome behind the scenes stories from making one of the most popular shows of the year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nerds
Game Awards 2025, and Ksenia returns!

Nerds

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 24, 2025 192:53


Ksenia rules Linktree: linktr.ee/nerdsthepodcast Facebook: www.Facebook.com/NerdsThePodcast IG: www.instagram.com/nerdpodcast/ Twitch: www.twitch.tv/NerdsThePodcast

Top Docs:  Award-Winning Documentary Filmmakers
"My Undesirable Friends: Part 1 — Last Air in Moscow" with Julia Loktev & Ksenia Mironova

Top Docs: Award-Winning Documentary Filmmakers

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 24, 2025 41:35


Sometimes, timing is everything. If Julia Loktev's 5 hour and 24-minute documentary masterpiece “My Undesirable Friends: Part 1 — Last Air in Moscow” can be boiled down to its essence, it may be that, often in life, there is a “before” and an “after,” and nothing can possibly prepare you for what comes after. In this case, the event that changes everything for the courageous generation of Russian journalists that came of age under Vladimir Putin's reign is the Russian leader's cataclysmic invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.   Julia and journalist / film participant Ksenia Mironova join Ken on “Top Docs” to discuss the vibrant world of independent journalism that existed in Russia in the period prior to the invasion, and the subsequent crackdown that ended it all. Filming Ksenia and a cohort of women journalists in the months leading up the invasion with her iPhone, Julia captures an intimate, inspiring world of hope, youthful ambition and a deep commitment to reporting the truth in a country where government propaganda is one of Putin's most powerful weapons of control. Bearing witness, first as the government brands news outlets, NGOs and individual journalists as foreign agents, and then through instances of arrest and imprisonment (including Ksenia's fiancé), Julia finds herself filming as the clock strikes midnight on any semblance of freedom of the press in Russia. By the end of Part 1, all the film's participants are forced to flee the country. Timing may be everything, but the story never ends. Part 2 on “The Exiles” is already underway.   Hidden Gems: Julia: “Four Daughters”, “July Rain” by Ksenia: “Holocaust: Is That Wallpaper Paste?”   Follow: @juliaofelbow and @my_undesirable_friends on Instagram @topdocspod on Instagram and X

The Making Of
"The Last of Us" Cinematographer Ksenia Sereda on Crafting the Series, Her Filmmaking Career, & More

The Making Of

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 24, 2025 31:12


Happy Holidays, everyone! We hope you enjoy time with friends and family. ☃️In this episode, we welcome cinematographer Ksenia Sereda. Ksenia shot “The Last of Us,” as well as Beanpole, Chernobyl: Abyss, and “The Crowded Room”. In our chat, she shares on her early days, pathway into cinematography, and about lensing “The Last of Us” series. Ksenia also discusses the tools and technologies used to craft her images, and offers filmmaking insights for students and cinematographers today.The Making Of is presented by AJA:ICYMI: AJA's biggest product releases in 2025From multi-channel HD and 4K/UltraHD IP video solutions, to Mini-Converters for bridging between resolutions, connectivity types, protocols, and codecs, a Mini-Converter frame, and a high-capacity 12G-SDI router, AJA announced several new products in 2025 that address emerging workflow needs across broadcast, production, post, and proAV.Get the full rundown hereSupport The Making Of:Please consider a paid subscription to support our podcast and help this newsletter grow in 2026…Shoot. Store. Secure. Smile.The OWC Guardian is a bus‑powered, portable NVMe SSD featuring 256‑bit AES OPAL hardware encryption and a color touch‑screen for intuitive, secure access. With up to 1,000 MB/s real‑world transfer speeds, platform‑agnostic operation (Mac, PC, iPad Pro), and a rugged anodized aluminum enclosure, it's built to protect audit‑sensitive media and projects anytime, anywhere. Explore hereInsights on Recording the Sound on “Sinners”:ZEISS Holiday Special:Save 25% on ZEISS Nano PrimesThere's a whole world of exceptional moments to be captured out there. Make sure you are prepared and save big during the ZEISS Holiday event! Save up to $6,400 off the list price on select ZEISS Nano Prime lenses. Explore hereMeet Stream Deck Studio:Meet Stream Deck Studio, the ultimate control surface designed for professional broadcast and live production environments. Built on the iconic Elgato hardware and powered by Bitfocus software, it offers a hyper-customizable experience that simplifies even the most complex workflows. With compatibility across hundreds of devices from the industry's top vendors, Stream Deck Studio gives you complete command over your production setup, making it easier than ever to create seamless, high-quality broadcasts. Call Videoguys at 800-323-2325 to learn more and take your production control to the next level today! Browse herePodcast Rewind:Dec. 2025 - Ep. 109…Advertise in this newsletter and reach 250K filmmakers, TV, broadcast and video professionals each week. For more info, please email mvalinsky@me.com Get full access to The Making Of at themakingof.substack.com/subscribe

Behind The Lines with Arthur Snell
The New Total War: Bob Seely on Russia's Strategy

Behind The Lines with Arthur Snell

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 17, 2025 39:17


From the revolutionary use of drones to staged coups, child abduction and psychological warfare, the war in Ukraine is like no other. It is a new form of total war, combining traditional military force with all the non-military tools of the Russian state. The 2022 invasion was just the next stage of a conflict that Russia has been fighting since 2005, using all the tactics at its disposal to control Ukraine's politics and wreak havoc. Combining over a decade of research, astute analysis and powerful stories from the front line, and including striking photographs of the people and scenes he encountered along the way, Bob Seely has written the authoritative guide to this new form of conflict. Travelling extensively throughout Ukraine, Seely meets figures such as Panoushka, the sniper who continues to fight despite the loss of her fiancé, and Ksenia, the seventeen-year-old who journeyed through Russia searching for her abducted younger brother. Above all, Seely argues that understanding Moscow's new total war is critical because Russia considers itself at war with the West as well as Ukraine, directing some of the tactics used there against us. Find Bob's book here: https://www.bitebackpublishing.com/books/the-new-total-war If you would like to support this podcast please consider taking out a paid subscription to my Substack arthursnell.substack.com or if you don't want the hassle of a subscription you can buy me a coffee! ko-fi.com/snellarthur Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Zgodbe
Portugalska: Z nageljnom v izpušni cevi za boljšo demokracijo

Zgodbe

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 6, 2025 14:26


Ksenia Ašrafulina ni tipična Lizbončanka. Pred štirinajstimi leti se je v portugalsko prestolnico preselila iz Rusije, kjer je končala diplomatsko akademijo. Samoironično se predstavlja kot samozaposlena diplomatka. Zaradi težke družinske zgodbe – njenega očeta so ubili – je izgubila upanje v svojo domovino. Nosi majico z obrisom avtomobila, v katerega izpušni cevi je zataknjen nagelj – simbol portugalske revolucije, ki je leta 1974 strmoglavila avtoritarni režim. Z majico Ksenia izraža svoja dva glavna boja: za demokratične spremembe v Rusiji in za bolj zeleno, mobilnostno ter kolesarjem prijazno Lizbono.

Guitar and Bass Conversations
Interview With Bassist Ksenia Vasileva

Guitar and Bass Conversations

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 14, 2025 18:20


Music is a universal language, a thread that connects us all, and there's something especially exciting about meeting a bass player from another part of the world.Meet Ksenia Vasileva, bassist, sound designer, composer, and musical instrument maker, originally from Russia and now making waves in New York City. A graduate of Berklee College of Music, Ksenia is fully immersed in the nonstop hustle that defines the life of a working bassist in the Big Apple.Join us as we dive into her musical journey, her time at Berklee, the gear and tone that shape her signature sound, her current projects, and what's ahead for this incredibly creative artist.This interview first appeared in Bass Musician Magazine in July 2025Go to jazzguitartoday.com and bassmusicianmagazine.com more interviews and lessons.

2 Massage Therapists and a Microphone
Squat for Peanut Butter, with guest Ksenia

2 Massage Therapists and a Microphone

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 30, 2025 95:58


Ksenia is a LMT in New Jersey and a new listener. Born and raised in Russia, Ksenia is a lifelong learner and clearly loves challenges. She's studied in both Russia and USA, holds multiple degrees and certifications, is a body builder and fitness competitor, but is the most passionate about massage therapy. She's only been in the profession for about a year and is dealing with a bit of imposter syndrome. Listen to Kenia's journey and some advice for newer therapists who deal with imposter syndrome.2rmtsandamic.com

All About Art
Working at MoMA with Ksenia Nouril, Assistant Director of the International Program

All About Art

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 14, 2025 48:46


Episode 77 of ‘All About Art': Working at MoMA with Ksenia Nouril, Assistant Director of the International ProgramIn this episode, I sat down with Ksenia Nouril, Assistant Director of the International Program at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.I speak to Ksenia about the International Program at the museum and what it's like working at such a renowned organization. We delve into how her past curatorial experiences at smaller institutions paved the way for her career, what the change was like moving from a smaller city to a metropolis, and so much more. Thank you Ksenia for coming on the podcast and welcoming me to the MoMA office while I was in New York! You can follow MoMA on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/themuseumofmodernart/You can check out MoMA here: https://www.moma.org/YOU CAN SUPPORT ALL ABOUT ART ON PATREON HERE: ⁠https://www.patreon.com/allaboutart⁠FOLLOW ALL ABOUT ART ON INSTAGRAM HERE: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/allaboutartpodcast/⁠ ABOUT THE HOST:I am an Austrian-American art historian, curator, and writer. I obtained my BA in History of Art at University College London and my MA in Arts Administration and Cultural Policy at Goldsmiths, University of London. My specializations are in contemporary art and the contemporary art market along with accessibility, engagement, and the demystification of the professional art sector.Here are links to my social media, feel free to reach out:Instagram⁠ @alexandrasteinacker   ⁠Twitter ⁠@alex_steinacker⁠and LinkedIn at ⁠Alexandra Steinacker-Clark⁠COVER ART: Lisa Schrofner a.k.a Liser⁠ ⁠⁠www.liser-art.com⁠ and Luca Laurence www.lucalaurence.com Episode Production: Paul Zschornack

Altinget: Parlamentet
Unge fra Østeuropa presses af Putin: "Man kan ikke være aktivist, hvis man dør"

Altinget: Parlamentet

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 1, 2025 21:55


Keta mistede sit job på grund af pres fra Rusland, Narek kæmper mod oligarker, Alina ser sit land blive mere og mere splittet, og Ksenia frygter for sit lands fremtid, hvis ikke et medlemskab af EU bliver en realitet. Mød fire aktivister fra Ukraine, Georgien, Moldova og Armenien, der ser mod vest, men bliver åndet i nakken fra øst.Vært: Rikke Albrechtsen, EU-redaktør på Altinget Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Israel Policy Pod
Regional Perspectives: Israel's Wars in Iran and Gaza (Webinar Recording)

Israel Policy Pod

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 16, 2025 70:22


In the wake of the 12-day war against Iran and with the campaign in Gaza still ongoing, Israel's regional outlook is characterized by both deepening challenges and emerging opportunities. Israel Policy Forum and ROPES—The Regional Organization for Peace, Economics & Security—present a webinar on the state of Israel's regional integration featuring Ksenia Svetlova (Executive director, ROPES), Farah Bdour (Jordanian policy analyst), and Aziz Alghashian (Saudi policy analyst) in conversation with Rachel Brandenburg (Washington Managing Director and Senior Fellow, Israel Policy Forum). Ksenia, Farah, Aziz, and Rachel unpack the wider regional environment and its implications for Israel, including the aftermath of the Israel-Iran war, the new government in Syria, the new status quo in Lebanon, the state of the Israeli-Palestinian arena, and more.Support the showFollow us on Instagram, Twitter/X, and Bluesky, and subscribe to our email list here.

La W Radio con Julio Sánchez Cristo
“Con Ksenia nos apoyamos, somos una muy buena dupla”: Angélica Bernal previo a final en Wimbledon

La W Radio con Julio Sánchez Cristo

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 11, 2025 6:36


PBS NewsHour - Segments
Ksenia Karelina says release from Russian prison ‘feels like starting a new life’

PBS NewsHour - Segments

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 26, 2025 9:44


Ksenia Karelina thought she was going to visit family in Russia in January 2024, but authorities there had other ideas. They detained the 32-year-old because of a small donation she made to support Ukraine. They charged her with treason and gave her a 12-year sentence in a work camp. Karelina was released in a prisoner swap with the U.S. and sat down with Amna Nawaz for her first interview. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

PBS NewsHour - World
Ksenia Karelina says release from Russian prison ‘feels like starting a new life’

PBS NewsHour - World

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 26, 2025 9:44


Ksenia Karelina thought she was going to visit family in Russia in January 2024, but authorities there had other ideas. They detained the 32-year-old because of a small donation she made to support Ukraine. They charged her with treason and gave her a 12-year sentence in a work camp. Karelina was released in a prisoner swap with the U.S. and sat down with Amna Nawaz for her first interview. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

The Business of College Sports
Can International Athletes Earn from NIL or Revenue Sharing?

The Business of College Sports

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 17, 2025 50:21


Immigration attorney Ksenia Maiorova, a partner at Green and Spiegel, joined me to chat about what international athletes can and cannot do when it comes to NIL, why so many workarounds being attempted don't actually work and why there's virtually no way for international athletes to safely receive revenue sharing on a student visa. We also talk about other visa types available and the process for obtaining one, in addition to answering questions sent in by the audience.Even more of Ksenia's advice, including more "what if" scenarios are included in my new book, The Athlete's NIL Playbook.You can follow Kristi on Twitter and Instagram to discuss further, ask additional questions or suggest future episodes.You can find more of her analysis on the business of college sports at BusinessofCollegeSports.com and Forbes.

Cinemapodgrapher
The Last of Us Season 2 with Cinematographer Ksenia Sereda

Cinemapodgrapher

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 15, 2025 61:21


Cinematographer Ksenia Sereda takes us behind the scenes for The Last Of Us Season 2. It's clear from the start how deeply she loves what she does. She lives and breathes her work and her passion is infectious. In this episode, we break down everything from the custom-built Cooke lenses she helped design, shooting cast on horseback and the responsibility of being setup DP for the show. We dig into several key episodes including the beautiful flashback scenes of episode 6 and unpack the technical hurdles of shooting inside a spaceship.  A true fan of the game and a master of her craft, Ksenia brings a mix of vision, precision, and genuine heart to bring the game to life. This one's a deep dive for anyone who aspires to work on the world's biggest tv series. This episode of Cinemapodgrapher is proudly brought to you by our technology partners Sony Produced by Deb Van Dieren Hosted and edited by Lucas Tomoana SOC

The Cinematography Podcast
The Last of Us Season 2 DPs Ksenia Sereda & Catherine Goldschmidt

The Cinematography Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later May 28, 2025 81:20


The Cinematography Podcast Episode 312: Ksenia Sereda & Catherine Goldschmidt Season 2 of HBO's acclaimed series The Last of Us sees a shift not only in its narrative focus but also behind the camera, with cinematographers Ksenia Sereda and Catherine Goldschmidt, ASC, BSC, taking the visual reins. The season quickly evolves from Joel and Ellie's shared journey into a harrowing exploration of Ellie's relentless pursuit of revenge following Joel's brutal death. This quest is deeply colored by her grief and rage, yet intricately woven with a burgeoning love story between her and Dina. Ksenia, returning after her work on the celebrated first season, and Catherine, a new addition to the team, split cinematography duties. Ksenia helmed episodes 1, 3, 5, and 6, while Catherine was responsible for episodes 2, 4, and 7. The opportunity to continue collaborating with showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann was a welcome one for Ksenia. "For season 2, we wanted to push the look forward with how the characters develop," she explains. "Not to reinvent the visual language but to think, what can we do better to help the characters and to tell the story, because it's such a character-centered show. The main focus of it is following the characters you love and joining them on this big adventure.” Ksenia developed a lookbook to maintain a holistic visual language, ensuring consistency across multiple directors and the entire crew. The video game The Last of Us was the blueprint for a distinct visual identity. It was important to preserve all the iconic visuals from the game, but unlike the video game, the television adaptation allowed for more character development and connection, with longer shots. Season 2 introduces a host of new characters, storylines, and diverse color environments. Ksenia consciously avoided overly cool tones, opting for warmer colors, particularly for Ellie and Dina, to help the audience fall in love with them as their relationship develops. This warmth is also seen in the homey settlement of Jackson, a sanctuary carved out to evoke a sense of normalcy. In contrast, when Dina and Ellie journey to Seattle, the environment becomes green and lush. Catherine Goldschmidt, ASC, BSC, stepped into this established world for Season 2. Her inaugural week plunged her directly into shooting the pivotal and harrowing Episode 2, which features Joel's death. Catherine reviewed the corresponding cutscene from the game, treating it as a form of previsualization or storyboard, and then determined how to adapt it for television. “The video game acts as a reference, and there are some scenes in the scripts that are taken from the games, and there are some scenes that don't exist and are new,” she says. “It's about serving the show first and foremost, and still paying homage to the game.” Catherine also focused on grounding the lighting in realism, finding real world motivation for light sources that would authentically be available to characters in a post-apocalyptic setting. At times, she notes, "the lighting cues were even written into the script." For Episode 2, with its intense violence, Catherine knew the crew had to prioritize the actors' performances, and respect the scenes that the actors wanted to shoot first. But most violent, brutal, and scary scenes in The Last of Us are balanced by moments of profound humanity, requiring careful attention to the characters' emotional journeys. “I remember asking Craig and Neil, how are you guys planning to tackle that extreme violence?" Catherine recalls. "Craig just said, 'Well we're always trying to counterbalance it, it should always be a light and shade scenario.'” Find Ksinia Sereda: Instagram: @ksiniasereda Find Catherine Goldschmidt: Instagram: @cgdop The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com YouTube: @TheCinematographyPodcast Facebook: @cinepod Instagram: @thecinepod Blue Sky: @thecinepod.bsky.social

The Fashion Geek Podcast
95 | Kesenya Malina Says Your Apartment Should Look Like Your Gear; Stylish.

The Fashion Geek Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later May 19, 2025 42:26


▶️ Check This Out On YoutubeKsenia Molina is an accomplished interior designer and decorator based in New York City, specializing in blending vintage and modern aesthetics to create unique, character-filled living spaces. With a deep focus on authenticity and thoughtful curation, Ksenia is known for her expertise in sourcing one-of-a-kind pieces and orchestrating interiors that truly reflect her clients' personalities and lifestyles. As the founder of Time and Place Interiors, she's helped countless young professionals elevate their home environments, making her the ideal guest to discuss the intersection of men's fashion and interior design.In this episode, you'll learn, -How fashion and interior design influence each other—and why your apartment should look as good as your wardrobe.-The essentials of sourcing and mixing vintage and contemporary pieces for a cohesive, stylish home.-Smart solutions for maximizing small spaces like NYC closets, and why organization impacts your confidence and daily rituals.

Tell Craig Your Story
IONU - Russia - New debut Album Poison Waters

Tell Craig Your Story

Play Episode Listen Later May 1, 2025 64:29


This episode is a powerhouse showcase of international talent. IONU, the Russian rock band now lighting up the Shanghai music scene, brings serious energy, passion, and versatility. Known as the house band Red Star's at the iconic Pearl Theatre, they deliver top-tier tribute performances and original music that spans hard rock, funk, pop, and heavy metal. The conversation gives listeners insight into their journey—from Russia to China, from cover shows to crafting their own distinct sound. Their debut album, Poison Waters launched in January 2025, is a testament to their musical range and commitment. The 3 tracks from the podcast are Taste of Love, Simple Song, and Crime. Ksenia's vocals are powerful and dynamic, Eugene's basslines groove hard, Gil drives the rhythm with precision on drums, and Alexander shreds with soul on lead guitar. Their chemistry as a band comes through both in conversation and in every track. @ionu_offical @thepearlshanghai https://tellcraigyourstory.podbean.com https://www.linktr.ee/tellcraigyourstory @tellcraigyourstory #ionu #redstars #russia #thepearlshanghai #pearltheatre #papag #grantoh #tellcraigyourstory #poisonwaters #houseband #hardrock #albumlaunch #tasteoflove #simplesong #crime #shanghaichina #ringnoise #redstars

Best of Kfm Mornings with Darren, Sherlin & Sibs
Chris van Heerden opens up about his girlfriend's release from a Russian prison

Best of Kfm Mornings with Darren, Sherlin & Sibs

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 25, 2025 17:22


Torn from her family. Imprisoned in Russia. Finally free. 15 months in a Russian prison — now Ksenia Karelina and her partner, South African boxer Chris Van Heerden, share the journey behind Ksenia’s wrongful imprisonment in Russia and Chris’s fight to bring her home.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

AP Audio Stories
A prisoner swap between Moscow and Washington frees Ksenia Karelina, a US-Russia dual national

AP Audio Stories

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 11, 2025 0:49


AP correspondent Julie Walker reports on a prisoner swap with Russia Thursday that brings a ballerina back to the US.

PBS NewsHour - Segments
News Wrap: Ksenia Karelina released to U.S. in prisoner swap with Russia

PBS NewsHour - Segments

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 10, 2025 6:37


In our news wrap Thursday, Russian-American Ksenia Karelina was released to the U.S. in a prisoner swap after 14 months in Russian captivity, well over 200 people are confirmed dead from a nightclub roof collapse in the Dominican Republic and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claims his agencies will identify the cause of autism by September of this year. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

The LA Report
Ksenia Karelina freed, China limits Hollywood films, Universities celebrate grads' ethnicity — The A.M. Edition

The LA Report

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 10, 2025 7:13


An Angelino is freed from a Russian prison. China punishes Hollywood for President Trump's trade war. Universities openly defy Trump's policies against DEI. Plus, more. Support The L.A. Report by donating at LAist.com/join and by visiting https://laist.com Visit www.preppi.com/LAist to receive a FREE Preppi Emergency Kit (with any purchase over $100) and be prepared for the next wildfire, earthquake or emergency!Support the show: https://laist.com

PBS NewsHour - World
News Wrap: Ksenia Karelina released to U.S. in prisoner swap with Russia

PBS NewsHour - World

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 10, 2025 6:37


In our news wrap Thursday, Russian-American Ksenia Karelina was released to the U.S. in a prisoner swap after 14 months in Russian captivity, well over 200 people are confirmed dead from a nightclub roof collapse in the Dominican Republic and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claims his agencies will identify the cause of autism by September of this year. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

AP Audio Stories
Ksenia Karelina, a US-Russia dual national, freed in a prisoner swap between Moscow and Washington

AP Audio Stories

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 10, 2025 0:54


AP correspondent Laurence Brooks reports on the a prisoner swap between Moscow and Washington.

The RealLife English Podcast
#434 - Discover the ORIGIN of Words in English — Learn Vocabulary More Easily

The RealLife English Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 24, 2025 33:37


Listen with FREE Interactive Transcript only on the RealLife App. Have you ever wondered why English words are the way they are? In this episode, Izzy and Ksenia dive into the fascinating world of etymology—the study of word origins! Understanding where words come from can make them easier to learn, remember, and use in real life. Boost your vocabulary in a whole new way!

The RealLife English Podcast
#426 - How I Use CONNECTORS and FILLERS to Speak English More Fluently — Learn This to Stop Sounding Like a Robot in English

The RealLife English Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 27, 2025 33:56


Listen with FREE Interactive Transcript only on the RealLife App. If you have the issue of sounding like a robot when you speak English and not really being your true self, then today's lesson will be perfect for you. There are small but powerful tools called fillers and discourse markers that make your speech flow naturally and sound more conversational. Fillers do more than just fill pauses; they help to organize your thoughts, manage conversations, and even show your emotions or attitude. And that's what you'll learn and practice in today's lesson, all in a fun and interactive way with Ethan and Izzy. Let's get started! By the end of this episode, you will learn: What fillers and discourse markers are Which filler word Ethan uses the most and whether he can spot any fillers Ksenia used by analyzing a clip from an earlier podcast episode Why filler words are like spices and why you should be mindful of how much you use them. Show notes here. .......... Follow us on: RealLife English (YouTube) Learn English with TV Series (YouTube)

Serious Sellers Podcast: Learn How To Sell On Amazon
#628 - Top 20 Amazon Seller Strategies Of The Year

Serious Sellers Podcast: Learn How To Sell On Amazon

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 4, 2025 34:51


In this episode, we're giving you the best Amazon and Walmart strategy clips of 2024 so that you can start off 2025 with a leg up on your competition. ► Instagram: instagram.com/serioussellerspodcast ► Free Amazon Seller Chrome Extension: https://h10.me/extension ► Sign Up For Helium 10: https://h10.me/signup  (Use SSP10 To Save 10% For Life) ► Learn How To Sell on Amazon: https://h10.me/ft ► Watch The Podcasts On YouTube: youtube.com/@Helium10/videos Welcome to this special annual recap episode of the Serious Sellers Podcast, where we bring you the most impactful strategies from the past year to give your e-commerce business a competitive edge in 2025. Join us as we explore the essentials of selecting verified manufacturers and the importance of third-party verification in ensuring accurate information. We'll discuss the advantages of trade assurance for payment protection and the significance of management certifications like BSCI and ISO, which indicate high-quality factory standards and social compliance. Additionally, we touch on regional manufacturing specializations, exemplified by the production of egg dispensers, and the importance of measuring the halo impact of ad strategies on total sales and rankings using metrics like TACoS and cost per customer acquisition. Listen in as we discuss strategies for international Amazon success, highlighting a thriving American brand's expansion into Amazon Japan. We'll explore the strategic benefits of entering the Japanese market, such as lower PPC costs and favorable tax conditions, which contribute to higher profit margins. Patience, quality products, and strong supplier relationships are emphasized as key differentiators from competitors. We also explore optimizing Amazon PPC campaigns with lifecycle-based rules and the power of using index images with numbered benefits to effectively communicate value in product listings. Discover effective strategies for online marketplaces as we recount past challenges and successes in sourcing and selling products in the U.S. market. Learn about creative approaches to finding less visible suppliers and the importance of clear communication and relationship-building. We also highlight the effectiveness of Target's marketplace and the strategic advantages of being indexed on Google to enhance Amazon rankings. Finally, we'll cover the critical importance of using correct HTS codes to avoid costly import tariff mistakes, sharing a personal experience that led to significant cost savings. Tune in and equip yourself with these valuable insights to kick off 2025 strong. In episode 628 of the Serious Sellers Podcast, we discuss: 00:00 - SSP Top 20 Strategies of 2024 02:02 - Selecting Verified Manufacturers for Trust 09:53 - Keyword Analysis and Visibility Tracking 12:25 - Strategies for International Amazon Success 19:36 - Effective Strategies for Online Marketplaces 20:06 - Leveraging Google for Business Growth 23:43 - Optimizing Amazon Listings for Google Images 25:40 - Optimizing Amazon Listings for Sales 32:12 - Enhancing Amazon Listings With COSMO 33:29 - Avoiding Costly Import Tariff Mistakes Transcript   Bradley Sutton: Today we're giving you the best strategy clips of the year so that you can start off 2025 with a leg up on your competition. How cool is that? Pretty cool, I think. Hello everybody, and welcome to another episode of the Serious Sellers Podcast by Helium 10. I'm your host, Bradley Sutton, and this is the show. That's a completely BS-free, unscripted and unrehearsed organic conversation about serious strategies for serious sellers of any level in the e-commerce world. And, like we do every year and we have been doing this since we started in what was it 2018, 2019? we do a recap episode where I handpick some of the best strategies of the entire year. Every year, we go through about 100 episodes a year, not including the weekly buzz, where we have a lot of guests and everybody has great strategies. It's really hard to pick some of the top ones, but what I did is me and the team got together and pulled out some of the top strategies that you guys had talked about in social media and such that you liked, and we put it together so that you could get a leg up on the competition now that we're at the beginning here of 2025.   Bradley Sutton: And so these are strategies that are not out of date. They're still valid. There are some that already, within a few months, became out of date. They're still valid. There are some that already, within a few months, became out of date. We're not including them here. So, guys, I hope you enjoy this episode. Get your pen and paper out. I want each and every one of you to make it your homework to pick five, at least five of these that we're about to get. I think we're doing about 20 here, but do five that most apply to you and your business. Not everything applies to everybody equally. Pick five out of these and implement it this month in your business, or at least make a plan for it. All right, so let's go ahead and see the top strategies of the year.   Kian Golzari: So the first thing you did was you selected verified manufacturers. And what's that for? It means any information that they provide on their listing, whether it be number of years in business, how many staff they have, what certificates they have, what patents they have, what products they have, what does their production line look like, the images and videos in the factory. That's all been verified by a third party, meaning InterTech, SGS, TUV. One of these very reputable companies have gone in and verified all the information is true, whereas if we didn't work with verified suppliers, then whatever information they want to put there, we just have to sort of take their word for it. So verified is the most important thing to search for first. Then, on the left-hand side of the page, you'll see trade assurance right, I would always click that as well and trade assurance just means that your payment is protected. So if you've ordered an egg dispenser which holds, you know, 20 eggs and you do the production and you receive one which only holds 10 eggs, then the trade assurance will protect you and it will refund your order because you've selected that right. That's just a little bit of a safety net important for, like you know, new sellers, right. And then, as you scroll down on the left-hand side of the page, you'll see something that says management certification, right. And if you scroll down a little bit more, yeah. So you see like BSCI and you see Zedek, you see ISO. I always like to select BSCI and ISO. So BSCI is your business social compliance initiative and ISO is just a really high-quality standard and this just basically means these are factory certificates that they have. So, uh, BSCI will go in and they'll check, like you know, um how many years you've been in business. Do you have, like, fire extinguishers? Do you have adequate lighting? Do you have safety exits? Like we've checked the dormitories, we've checked like the canteen where the workers eat. So it's kind of like gives you confidence that you're working for a very, very good factory, right. So now, if we go back to the top of the list, right, we've. Now we've searched by manufacturers, we've got verified manufacturers, we've got trade assurance and we've got factories which have, you know, BSCI and ISO certification. So now, as I'm scrolling down the list, like if you zoom in on the company names, like the first word in the company name is always the city or the province in which that factory is located.   Kian Golzari: So sometimes, like the factories, like electronics are made in Shenzhen, backpacks are normally made in like Shenzhou. Like furniture, like steel tubing for furniture, chairs is made like Yongkang. So I'm just trying to get familiar. Is there an area which specializes in egg dispensers? Maybe not because it's such a niche product, right, that maybe you could make it, make it anywhere. But as I scroll down, I'm trying to see, like, is there one name that pops up more frequent than others and in that area which specializes in that product? But I see Ningbo has probably popped up a few times, right? So, but anyway, it doesn't matter. If Ningbo had popped out like eight out of nine times, I would say, right, well, that's the region we need to be ordering from.   Bradley Sutton: Interesting.   Gefen Laredo: You know ACOS is great, but obviously this is TACoS Tuesday and TACoS is the metric of your total sales.   Carrie Miller: Yes.   Gefen Laredo: And so when we're looking at total sales something that we brought in and I know it's a little vague, but we really looked at the halo impact of ad strategies and how they impacted ranking and total sales, right. And so when we focused our ad strategy, maybe on a cost per customer acquisition model, maybe on a TACoS model, and we look to really prioritize, hey, where are we showing up, right? So, if, if, if we're driving all this traffic and we have a 20 percent conversion rate, let's say, on this keyword, are we tracking using, using uh, using a Helium 10, of course, um, are we tracking that ranking properly? To say, hey, we started running these ads aggressively on August 1st and if we have been tracking ranking on that keyword for the last two months since going aggressive on that term, where are we ranking now and how have sales changed? and are there broader KPIs that we're measuring outside of just direct ad revenue? And that worked really well for us because we centered that around tentpole events and this is a really big strategy of ours. That is incredibly complex, it takes a whole village to actually execute. But when we focus our customer acquisition and ranking models around major times in the year so think Prime Day, think Fall, Prime Day, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, holiday and then, of course, if you're a one-off brand, if you I don't know are ski related, then obviously your season is January to March. You know like there are differences, but really peak seasons. If you're able to focus your growth model around the times that are going to give you the most reward, then that worked really well for us last year and we expect to see a lot more of that this year, especially as we all expect people are going to be more deal oriented. It's a constant battle for margins, so the better rank you are, the more organic sales you drive, the better your TACoS is.   Ben Webber:                           Several years ago we were about to stock out of as you know, we sell a lot of fourth quarter products and kind of joke toy products and we're about to stock out of one that we sold between 800 and 1000 units a day of which is a fairly substantial issue. So we actually loaded up a cargo van and drove the cargo van to Amazon, talked our way through the front gates to deliver it and they took it, and so we did that once, then we did it again and we got through again. The third time they're like no, you can't do this, and so like okay, but somehow, like no, you, you can't do this, and so like okay, but somehow, we have to be able to do this. So we looked into carrier central and figure out how we could become a last mile rider, which is incredibly easy it takes about 15 minutes to fill out a form and then you have to show that you can back in and out of a parking spot incredibly, incredibly easy. But so in that January we bought a truck and the rest is history from there. But it came about because we were about to stock out and panicked and we're like, well, what's the worst that can happen?   Silas Moestrup Pedersen: And one of the things that I recommend to every time that we have a new client or meet someone is to narrow in on fewer skills. It sounds quite simple, right, but what we do every time is that if you have a big catalog A, B, C and D products and then A products they get a special treatment compared to B, C and D. It could even be, if your catalog is massive, you only focus your ad spend on A products. Same thing from a content perspective. Those are the ones that get the most love in terms of title, bullet point, backend attributes, et cetera, descriptions. So it's just having that focus on fewer products, I think, is number one. Then, if you can automate your reporting, we have that in Looker automated so that you don't have to necessarily sit and look at the data and pull Excel spreadsheets et cetera it just saves you so much time. If you're capable of doing it and spending time on it, then I think. Thirdly, we talked a little bit about it, but I think taking the time to do super solid keyword research from the get-go Like get into Magnet, get into Amazon's data sources, get into Cerebro, look for all your competitors' keywords et cetera understand what those A keywords are, and those A keywords are the only thing that you focus on in the start. Those are the ones that go into your rank campaigns, that they go into your manual campaigns, et cetera, and that those are the ones that just like where you track everything through Like a little hack could be for your A products. Every week you use a repro. Every other week you put in your A product and then you export all the data for that. You take a spreadsheet. In column A you say this is the date when I pulled the. This is the date of either. I pulled the data, this is the ASIN you put in the ASIN that you pulled the data for. Then you make a formula.   Silas Moestrup Pedersen: You can just ask ChatGPT where, based on the paid and organic rank, you say whether you classified the keyword as being on page one, two, three or four, and then you pull this data in this way every single week for maybe two months when you're running a new test or something like that. You take all the data, you put it into a pivot table and boom, then you would have an overview and a graph of how many like your all your page one, two, three, four positions across your entire catalog and you could even put a filter on up in the top and then you can sort by ASIN and then you basically have your own visibility tool where you can see your paid on your organic visibility on a weekly level at an Asian level. And you can use that to take all those keywords If you're ranking let's say page three or two or something like that put them into a rank campaign. If you feel like they're good, you can take all the keywords where you're on page two, maybe put them in the title, et cetera. So, like building those systems, that allows you to scale something consistently.   Bradley Sutton:                           What was your gross sales yesterday, last week, last year? More importantly, what are your profits after all your cost of selling on Amazon? Did you pay any storage charges to Amazon? How much did you spend on PPC? Find out these key metrics and more by using the Helium 10 tool Profits. For more information, go to h10.me forward slash profits.   Cara Sayer: So one of the biggest things was the fact that I do think a lot of Amazon sellers don't really have a brand. They just have a name for a business or a name for something that they use and they don't really have a what I'd call a true brand. And they don't always. I think sometimes also, existing only on Amazon makes you lose perspective on you know how normal businesses work, like businesses that aren't based on Amazon, and so you know a lot of businesses. I mean, I think throughout life, people buy from people and I think that's so important to remember that, even on Amazon, one of the reasons why Amazon focuses so heavily on A plus listings and now they're bringing in the premium A plus and all the rest of it because Amazon knows right. You know me quite a few years now and I've always banged on about brand. I've always banged on about having a story. Tell your story. It doesn't have to be your story necessarily, it could be the product story, but you need to have something that differentiates you. And even then, I was chatting to someone at the conference earlier on and I was saying the thing is that sometimes it's not even the fact that you're selling different products, it's the way that you curate them right. So it's the collection of products that you've chosen to sell under your brand name says something.   Nick Katz: So one of our clients is an international brand. They're an American registered company and they last year they cleared seven figures and we're definitely looking to do a lot more this year. That's in two years. They're doing very, very well in America, they sell in Europe and they sell in Canada. But the Japanese sales are now almost comparable to the to the us sales, but the profit margins are a lot higher.   Bradley Sutton:                           That was about my second question.   Nick Katz: Yeah, because you know things like the PPC is a hell of a lot cheaper. The ACOS for the account is about uh, I think it's about eight, nine percent now. The TACoS is about three or four percent. It's the kind of figures you can't really get in the US. So actually in theory you could sell a lot less in Japan and still end up with the same kind of profit as you could in the US. But obviously if you're getting sales close to the US you're probably going to have much, much higher margins. Japan generally is cheaper. It's cheaper tax as well if you are off the threshold to pay tax. But if you're under 10 million yen, which is probably about 60,000, 70,000 US, if you're under that in sales, you don't have to pay consumption tax. There is no tax. So anybody like me selling in Europe who gets absolutely lost by the tax authorities there, paying 19, 20, 21, 23% in some of the regions in Europe, you could be selling 50, 60,000 US in Japan and not have to pay any consumption tax whatsoever. So there are definite advantages to selling in Japan.   Bradley Sutton: What are some of the things that set you apart from maybe the 10 other matcha people who maybe have started and gone out of business, you know, because they didn't have your strategy? What do you think set you apart from others?   Sam: Well, I think a handful of things. The first one is okay, so I think you can use. You can rely on Amazon PPC. You can look at your search term impression share reports, you can look at your keyword ranking and all that kind of stuff and that will help you in the short run. But honestly, the thing that really helped us the most was patience and making sure that your product is on a sensory level it's actually good and people like it. Once you have those two things covered, then you just need to get people to try it, get them to tell their friends, and then their friends who are interested in Marchable buy. Then they are buying again and then this whole thing kind of grows by itself. Your PPC and all of these other tools that you have are really just like fuel that you add to this engine.   Singchuen: And on the other side of things is, obviously you kind of need to make sure that you treat your suppliers well as well. Make sure that they understand what you're going through and make sure that you try to understand what they're going through. If language is a barrier, hire an interpreter, right, it's not too difficult. Decency goes both ways. So you may be pressed, but you've got to recognize that the factories themselves, they are pressed as well. So working together for a compromise, understanding each other and not throwing too much Just to be a little bit more understanding towards each other, goes a long way. A bit more understanding towards each other goes a long way. I think what tends to happen is that if you're not patient, as Sam has mentioned, you may cut off communications with factories that may help you in the future, and you don't want to do that.   Destaney Wishon: I think the biggest things that we look at is we create rules for the different outcomes we want. If we're launching a brand-new product, then we're creating rules that are based off sales. So we're going to be taking a deep dive into, hey, what is the conversion rate and what is the sales? And we're going to build rules for maximizing that increased bid when I have a certain conversion rate. On the flip side, if our goal is profitability, we're going to work backwards from our ACOS or RoAS goal. We're going to say, hey, let's build rules that are based on lowering bids when our ACOS is too high, and maybe layering in our conversion rates also low, let's go even lower, right. So those are the two simplest ones that we look at, but it really needs to be strategic. You can create rules that are based off the phase your product's in, whether it's launch, consistency, profitability, organic rank. You can create rules based off your overall business outcomes. Which is always an important one is what is that key RoAS that you're going to optimize for all of your campaigns, but just making sure not to overcomplicate it in the beginning, right. Once you start to understand the correlation between CPC and RoAS, then you can start building in a little bit more customization around lifecycle and things like that.   Kevin King: This is how you been converting like crazy with what? what do you call an index image? This he calls it the uh, it's the image in your listing that will be the top reasons why your product is the best. This is not your main photo. This is not your photo number one. This is what he calls this photo number two and it's an index of of your products is why I think it's why he calls it the index image, and what he says is you need to number the benefits. A lot of of people are using call-outs, they use infographics, but they don't number them. So you want to actually have numbers like this. So this should be something like this should be your second image the five reasons you love, or the seven reasons or the three reasons.   Odd numbers are always better than even numbers. Three, five or seven or nine always work the best. But here he's got the five and look, there's big, there's numbers. That's important. He just doesn't list them. People like order and when they see numbers, their mind can sort it and they can read it quickly and it makes sense to them. So the numbering system here is critical, not just the fact that he put the main point, the main benefit and capital, and then explained it in. I mean in bold and a little bit larger than explained everything else below it in light blue, but he's got these numbers. That's the critical thing is numbering it.   Bradley Sutton: Maybe this is a little bit of the sexy side of patents, but you've talked before about how patents doing patent searches can actually be a form of product research and finding a product to sell on Amazon. How in the world is that possible?   Rich Goldstein: Yeah, absolutely it's true, because the way that the patent system works, once a patent expires, it's fair game for anyone to use it. So a utility patent lasts for 20 years and a design patent lasts for 15. But once that patent expires, anyone can make that product and, at the same time, keep in mind that a lot of people have an idea for a product, they get it patented, but they never do the research, they never learn about the process enough to actually get that product launched, and so there are a lot of great ideas that have been patented that are just in the patent archives and they've never actually been put on the market. There are some lousy ideas, but there are also some great ideas, and so if you know how and you search the patent record for expired patents, you can find ideas for really great potential products.   Tom - Honest FBA: We dabbled with the US a few times in the past and Thomas Net is really popular. You see, it's spoken about quite a lot as a place, as a resource. Honestly, we never had any success there. There was a time when we were the MOQs are always insanely high and there was a product previously that we agreed to the MOQ. It was something like 10 or 20,000 units. It was pretty high. And there was a product previously that we agreed to the MOQ. It was something like 10 or 20,000 units. It was pretty big. And we were like, okay, we'll go for it, but can you just repackage them into a different kind of mix? And they just said, nah, nah, don't fancy it. And we were like, right, okay. So we kind of banged our head against the wall. So now a little-known site called Google is honestly the best bet, so like, but I'm not talking page one at Google. You've got to dig. So put on a VPN. If you're somewhere like we are, like in Spain, put on a US VPN and then get down to like pages five, six, seven, eight, get in there. And then I just hammer a lot of emails out, but a lot of the websites that you find down in those stages or those pages. They're not good at SEO, they're generally kind of old sites, but you're finding older, established businesses so and often you'll find a phone number. So one of the best lessons I say is like get on the phone and just ring them up and you can save months of time, like the guy who ended up.   Tom - Honest FBA: One of the guys who ended up working with had a phone call with him on the first day. I found it and we ended up. We're now doing two products with him already. We've got another three lined up and he had nothing to do with the niche we're in. He was in so we're in pets. He was in humans. He was in food. I just gave him a call, explained the brand vision, what we're trying to do. He got really excited. He's now helping us source new ingredients. He's coming to me with product ideas. He's now going to do a whole range of products for us. So that was one of the beauties is like having that communication line and being able to really explain yourself has been massive. We are still sourcing in China, by the way. We still think it's a really viable option, but having this US option as well, there's so many benefits to it.   Grace Kopplin: In terms of Walmart, that's always been a strategy for us. Transparently, Walmart just hasn't been a volume driver for us. It's been steady but it hasn't really been a place that's warranted a ton of focus for us. But another marketplace that has been great for us is actually Target's marketplace, target Plus and that's been a key, key piece of our success, especially with working with brands who are looking for store placement at Target. For example, we've had a few items that we've listed on Target's marketplace that have done really well, that have gotten the attention of a buyer and actually got store placement, which is really exciting. And, at the end of the day, getting an item placed on shelves most of the time can drive more volume than a mid-tier listing on Amazon. So we tend to try to use that strategy.   Bradley Sutton: How do you get on target these days? Wasn't it invite only back in the day or now that Target is adding that 360 or some kind of like yeah.   Grace Kopplin: I think it might still be invite only, but I know they've been actively adding a lot of sellers. I know that their backend is still quite archaic compared to what Amazon is. It's probably what Walmart was like four years ago. But I think it is still invite only, but definitely something to reach out to your connections and see if you can get a connect with a Walmart e-comm buyer.   Leo Sgovio: So there are a few reasons why you want to be indexed on Google, and for the most, let's start from the most advanced ones, right? Advanced sellers they normally try to send traffic to Amazon, especially during the launch period, using external traffic, right? So Google, we know, is a good referral that tends to help your rankings, and so Amazon tends to reward you if they see traffic coming from Google. So if you're not indexed, you lose a chance to show Amazon that you are getting traffic from Google. Now, I have a theory that paid traffic has a little bit more weight than organic, but the reason why you want to be indexed and the reason why you might want to be indexed for certain keywords is so that when you drive traffic through the URL to Amazon, you can actually give attribution to that keyword. That's number one, right? So you can actually use these URLs as your two-step.   Leo Sgovio: Number two if you do a good job with your indexation and your listing is optimized, you actually also appear in the images, right? And so if people are looking for specific products, sometimes I search on Google using images because I'm looking for specific products that might be hard to find on Amazon. But if I look through the Google images and I find the product, then I go to Amazon and so if you're not indexed, you're also not going to be able to be found there, and Google images actually gets a ton of traffic. So here are some of the reasons why, two of the reasons why. I can think of many more, but the most important are these ones. Google is still one of the largest search engine, and so missing out on that opportunity search engine and so missing out on that opportunity, I'm afraid it causes a lot of missed visibility for an Amazon seller at a listing level.   Carrie Miller: I think one of the things that sets us apart is that when I've created our listings, or whenever I create our photos, I think about what are the main benefits of the product, the main selling points of it, and I realized this isn't something that everyone can easily do, and so the way I kind of have been teaching it is that you can take your competitor's listing, download their reviews, download their best reviews, their five-star reviews, and say ask ChatGPT, like, what do people like most about this product? What are the benefits of this product according to reviews? What do people like? Basically, ask a bunch of questions to ChatGPT and you'll get a bunch of kind of selling points and you'll kind of see a trend of like the top selling points or top benefits of your product. And that's what you want to focus on is like what's in it for the customer? You've got to kind of appeal to their emotions. How is it going to make their life better, easier, are easier, are they going to be more beautiful? Are they going to you know what? What is it, what's in it for them?   Carrie Miller: And I think that that is going to be the key that sets you apart, and I know it's. It sounds pretty basic, but I've actually been doing some looking at different listings. People have been asking me hey, can you take a look at my listing? And when I look at the listing, I'm like, well, these aren't, these are not actually selling points or benefits. Like, these are features of the product. Right, you can always put the features in right later on, but how are you appealing to the person when you were? If you're telling somebody about your product, are you being like oh hey, the dimensions are 14 by 14. Like that's, that's like an afterthought, right? You, you want to. However, you would even just sell to a person, like talking face to face. That's how you're going to do that. Your first image shouldn't be a dimension photo. It should be a selling point, your main, like best selling point, main benefit in that first image. So I think that's a huge thing that a lot of people are kind of missing.   Bradley Sutton: What would you say is the most actionable things from search career performance? That kind of closes out like, hey, this is actually something that is not just, oh, it's good to know, but hey, I'm actually going to take action, uh, on this.    Mansour Norouzi: Taking action. I would say, even when I look at my own brand one is that for the main keywords, what I actually I do this on a weekly basis I have a list of the main keywords which is for my, for one of my aces are like 10 uh, 10 uh keywords and actually I go into the detail of week over week what is happening to my click share for those keywords, because they are very important for me and I want to be on the top and like top five for these turns. I want to be aware of what is going on with my competitors and what's my need. So if I see I have a track of my click share for the keywords, if I see it is going down, right away I'll figure out what's going on and maybe push with my advertising, for that for me would be our main keywords and what's going happening for my click share rate, conversion rate and click share just on my top keywords. Honestly, I will go, I think, by myself going with all for all the keywords, just like top five to 10 keywords, what they are, and I'll keep it very close overview and monitor them to see exactly what's going on, because you see that search volume going up or down, but I want my click share and my conversion share that I have I'm generating. Either they are consistent or going up. So if I see this trend is down, right away I start doing maybe I run coupon code or I push with my advertising to make sure I'm getting them back into track.   Bradley Sutton: What is your favorite? Helium 10 tool Ksenia or function of a tool.   Kseniia Reidel: Probably the audience. That's the one that I use all the time. Is it called audience?   Bradley Sutton: Yeah, the split where you ask the questions to the people and say, how are you using that Like for your images, or just for product ideas, or what are you using that?   Kseniia Reidel: Honestly for everything. For both for the product ideas, for your images, or just for product ideas or what are you using that? Honestly for everything. But both for the product ideas, for the images, because I just think it's so easy. You know, when you're thinking about like the product we find, then I usually do um, like the drawing and uh, 3d, you know the 3d image of the product that doesn't exist yet. Then usually all my products are like, really designed differently, that's what's on the market right now, and I just upload the image there and I see what people say and ask them would you buy this product? And if you wouldn't buy this product, why, why not? Or what would you change in this product? And sometimes I see the things that I didn't even you know, I didn't even think about that.   Bradley Sutton: So you're launching just the 3d rendering and just asking a question on that image, or you're launching it like, or you're launching it, you're putting it in a poll next to like existing products and asking them, or which one are you doing?   Kseniia Reidel: I'm doing both. Actually, the first, I just do the rendering and ask them would you buy this product? And if you would not buy this product, what would you change Like? How would you make it better for you? And then sometimes I also compare it to the other products that are on the market and ask them which one would they buy?   Bradley Sutton: Interesting.   Kseniia Reidel: And a lot of times I do the changes on the product based on what the people say.   Bradley Sutton: What was the results of those search, find, buy in order to send those relevancy signals? Again, not for rank, but to send those relevancy signals to Amazon. Take a look at this when I ran in Cerebro on June 19th, just three days after they did that relevancy single, you know, push those three coworkers here at Helium 10,. Take a look now at the Amazon recommended rank. Remember how it was only showing two keywords for Amazon recommended rank. Now it was showing multiple ones and it put that keyword that I sent the relevancy signal for egg holder countertop. It had Amazon recommended rank number three, which basically means that that was the third most important keyword according to Amazon for this product. Now do you remember what I was getting for impressions in PPC? Like 200 total impressions over three days. What did sending those relevancy signals to Amazon do for my PPC impressions? Take a look at this. To amazon, do for my PPC impressions. Take a look at this.   The next three day period from June 19th when my relevancy got fixed to June 21st instead of 200 impressions, 5 000 impressions, 4 000 of that. How? What keyword was it for? Egg holder countertop, that one that I sent those relevancy signals to Amazon for? This works, guys.   Ryan King:                          So Walmart has the equivalent would be brand portal, and I would absolutely recommend, if you're the seller, if you're the brand, to register through brand portal, and the main reasons are there are certain advertising opportunities that are only available to brand registered brands, so sponsored brand videos, sponsored brand ads that go across as banner displays. Another major one would be brand shops, brand shelves we can talk about later as well and then IP protection, and so the advantage of being registered in Brand Portal is that you can file IP infringement claims, and in this case, the most successful one to do is to file claims against those alternate listings for using your copyrighted imagery, and so we see success of getting those pulled down within 48 hours, typically when that happens. Now you can still file that IP claim even if you're not registered through Brand Portal. There's a link to file that claim, but you can't track its progress, you can't see the history, all those kinds of things. So it just gives you greater credibility in those and greater ability to look back at the progress. And the last one I'd say is if you're a registered brand, it's going to give you the highest content ranking for your listing. So even if there are other sellers that have tried to change that listing content. You're going to outrank them as the registered brand and chances are you're not going to have to deal with things changing on your listing in that regard.   Kevin Dolan: Cosmo is a specific tool and I think that the function that it performs is valuable to enhancing Amazon's understanding of a listing. So I certainly would not be surprised to see Amazon implementing this in a production capacity on a large swath of searches. That would not be surprising to me, but it's not as massive as the shift that we've seen into semantic-focused search. Cosmo in particular discusses essentially a mechanism for enhancing Amazon's understanding of a product by taking into consideration things that aren't expressed in the query and things that aren't expressed in the listing. The example that they use in the paper, the canonical example, is if you're looking for shoes for pregnant women, a listing might not literally say shoes for pregnant women. It might produce a specific type of open toed shoe that has good support, good comfort. That might not literally be listed as a keyword in the listing, but it might be something that the system can infer based on its knowledge of the universe, about what it's like to be a pregnant woman and the types of products that they might benefit from.   Norm Farrar: Out of everybody that we've looked at, it was up to 80. But 70% of Amazon sellers do not have the proper HTS code. They let their Chinese seller set an HS code and it's wrong. So when they get in here and guess what, nobody, nobody is calculating that as a part of your cost of goods. So they're going out, they're sourcing in China, they're not calculating, and this could be as high as 400%. Now, I've never seen it that, but it can be. So you know you're 25, 40% of your cost of goods. Is that not something that should be calculated? And like for me, I was doing natural soaps and I was paying 17%. So we were taking a look at it and Afolabi says can you consider this Castile soap? And I said yeah, it's olive based. And he goes well, how about I give you some good news. Pay zero. I just stuffed 17% back in my pocket. So out of the 70% of people that are missing the boat, they don't have the proper tariff code and the average person that gets the proper tariff code on an order the average that we've been able to calculate has been $7,800.

Powerful Ladies Podcast
Episode 297: Ksenia Muench | Thrive Again Divorce Coaching

Powerful Ladies Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 1, 2025 40:08


In the United States, 41% of first marriages end in divorce. For those who have experienced divorce, you know it can turn your whole world upside down. While your lawyer plays a critical role in the process, their support typically covers only about a third of what you truly need. That's where a divorce coach becomes invaluable. Ksenia Muench founded Thrive Again Divorce Coaching after enduring a harrowing divorce herself. She understands that it takes a village, and as your divorce coach, she serves as the quarterback, ensuring you have the full team of support you need. In this episode, we discuss the many layers and complexities of ending a marriage and starting anew, as well as her fascinating journey from Russia to California. Along the way, she has worn many hats, including concert pianist, teacher, translator, insurance broker, and now entrepreneur dedicated to helping other women thrive.

The RealLife English Podcast
#421 - 6 Reasons You Still Feel NERVOUS When Speaking English — 6 Things Not to Do, How to Stop Feeling Insecure and Face the Fear of Making Mistakes in English

The RealLife English Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 23, 2024 37:18


Listen with FREE Interactive Transcript only on the RealLife App.   There are six common reasons why you might freeze up or feel nervous when it's time to speak English. In today's episode, Ksenia and Izzy dive deep into these challenges, sharing their personal experiences and practical insights to help you overcome them. You'll learn the dos and don'ts of speaking English with confidence, along with actionable tips that will make a real difference in your language journey. Whether you're shy, worried about making mistakes, or simply feel stuck, this episode is packed with strategies to empower you to speak English fearlessly. Don't miss it!   By the end of this episode, you will: Learn about 6 common traps English learners fall into Watch a great clip that has all the chances to change your perspectives on confidence  Hear a hilarious story about Barack Obama and a Japanese prime minister  Plus: Expand your vocabulary with a ton of practical expressions. Celebrate the achievements of our Learner of the Week.   Show notes here. .......... Follow us on: RealLife English (YouTube) Learn English with TV Series (YouTube)

The RealLife English Podcast
#418 The English Lesson Nobody Taught You — How I Became a Confident, Natural English Speaker (Without Textbooks)

The RealLife English Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 2, 2024 28:13


Listen with FREE Interactive Transcript only on the RealLife App. The traditional school method may have helped you study English, but it didn't prepare you to truly live it. That's why communicating in English can still feel like a challenge. In today's episode, we introduce the RealLife Way of learning English! Using a real-life news story, we'll help you absorb new vocabulary and pronunciation effortlessly — just like a sponge. By the end of this episode, you will: Familiarize yourself with the RealLife way method of learning English with the news clips Learn a variety of words describing such crimes as stealing (different types) Have fun with the hilarious clip from the news Plus: Expand your vocabulary with a ton of practical expressions. Hear a story from Ksenia about how she got bitten by a stray dog Celebrate the achievements of our Learner of the Week.   Show notes here. .......... Follow us on: RealLife English (YouTube) Learn English with TV Series (YouTube)