Podcasts about The Lord of the Rings

Patrick answers questions on guardian angels, prayers for those who left the faith, and whether grace can reach those closed off from it. He responds to lively debates on church customs, biblical mysteries like Lazarus’s age, and the classic rivalry between Tolkien’s epic and C.S. Lewis’s Narnia, letting callers’ passions shape the flow. Music talk, real-life marriage milestones, and concerns for pro-life centers in California thread through spirited exchanges that move from deep Catholic doctrine to the simple joy of a catchy tune. Sheila (email) - Can I ask the guardian angels of my grown children (who have left the faith) to attend Mass and pray for them, and if so, what grace would result and could it still reach and affect them even if they are not open to it? (00:40) Daniel – Genuflecting (08:14) Deidra - There are two types of repenting: repenting every day and repenting and be baptized. We need both. (10:35) John - Do we know how old Lazarus was when Jesus raised him from the dead? (12:46) Doug – On Friday, the Archbishop of San Francisco wrote a piece about suing the abortion reversal pill (13:58) Nathaniel - What is better, LOTR or the Chronicles of Narnia? (20:57) Richard - I read the LOTR books and saw the movies. The movie was a bit of a letdown but I still loved them. The Narnia books fantastic. Andy - I want to know what is penal substitution and is it something Catholics believe? (34:13) Dave - For Nathaniel, Narnia Christian themes much more obvious but LOTR themes are deeper, more complex. I think both are excellent. (39:12) Ronnie - I want to encourage other married people not to give up on their spouse and try to make it better. Divorce is not the answer. (49:15)

Tonight, we're talking vampires, history's greatest transformation from suspiciously bloated corpse to immortal bisexual aristocrat with a castle, a cape, and absolutely no respect for personal boundaries. We dig into garlic, holy symbols, counting mustard seeds, bricks shoved into mouths, and the alarming number of vampire prevention methods involving someone's severed head near their butt. Then we compare D&D's growing collection of bitey hit-point bags with Pathfinder's bold decision to let you turn almost anything into a vampire. Grab a wooden stake, protect your neck, and remember: the undead pyramid scheme is not a scam if every wight gets eight zombies beneath them. Show Notes Vampires have been haunting folklore for centuries, but before they became wealthy, seductive goth icons, they were mostly blamed on misunderstood decomposition, disease, and humanity's long tradition of confidently inventing explanations for things it did not understand. We explore the regional beliefs surrounding vampires, including animal transformations, compulsive counting, invitations, running water, graveyard horse tests, and the creative methods people used to keep corpses from returning. Apparently, garlic was not enough. Sometimes you needed decapitation, holy water, a brick, and a very specific head-placement strategy. From there, we follow the vampire from folklore through The Vampyre and Dracula, then directly into tabletop gaming. Strahd is examined as D&D's legally distinct Dracula, complete with an Eastern European castle, disposable vampire brides, an unpleasant servant, and an unhealthy obsession with one particular woman. We discuss why vampires make such effective villains, whether they should always be irredeemably evil, and how their intelligence, charisma, resources, and ability to escape make them more interesting than another monster waiting patiently to be reduced to zero hit points. Tyler walks through D&D's increasingly crowded vampire bestiary, including vampire spawn, familiars, mind flayers, Nosferatu, infernalists, wardens, spellcasters, warriors, umbral lords, hopping vampires, and several versions of Strahd. Ash discovers that many updated vampires lost their regeneration and responds with the measured restraint everyone has come to expect. We also uncover the Jiangshi's undead pyramid scheme, where drained victims become wights, wights create zombies, and everyone receives an exciting opportunity to become their own boss. Pathfinder 2e takes a more flexible approach with vampire adjustments that can be applied to nearly any living creature. Want a vampire dwarf, vampire monster, full vampire character, Dhampir, or suspiciously blood-focused animal companion? Pathfinder has paperwork for that. We compare its vampire families, weaknesses, regeneration, player archetypes, unusual feeding options, and the many ways players can embrace eternal life without being reduced to a single edgy species choice. Finally, the Question of the Week asks how to deliver a satisfying campaign ending. The hosts discuss final boss battles, player-driven epilogues, heroic sacrifices, closing character arcs, carrying consequences into future campaigns, and giving everyone enough closure to explain what their character does after saving the world. Tyler also recommends a total party kill, because rocks falling remains the most efficient form of narrative finality. Key Takeaways Vampire folklore varied dramatically between regions, but blood drinking, animal transformations, compulsions, returning corpses, and elaborate burial precautions appeared frequently. Many historical vampire scares were fueled by misunderstandings about decomposition, disease, bloating, and blood appearing around a corpse's mouth. Bram Stoker's Dracula established many of the traits associated with modern vampires, including wealth, sophistication, seduction, immortality, and aristocratic menace. Strahd is essentially D&D's version of Dracula, enhanced with wizard abilities, legendary actions, extensive resources, and enough emotional baggage to fill Castle Ravenloft. Vampires make strong recurring villains because they are intelligent, charismatic, difficult to permanently destroy, and capable of retreating to fight another day. D&D offers numerous vampire variants, but several newer designs reduce them to durable biting monsters, and the removal of regeneration makes them feel less distinct. The Jiangshi can create an expanding hierarchy of wights and zombies, producing what can only be described as an undead pyramid scheme. Pathfinder 2e's vampire adjustments allow GMs to apply vampire abilities to existing creatures instead of relying entirely on separate stat blocks. Pathfinder also provides more vampire-related player options, including the Dhampir heritage, vampire archetype, vampiric companions, and blood-draining spells. A satisfying campaign ending should extend beyond defeating the final boss and give players room to resolve relationships, describe their futures, and address the consequences of their choices. Asking characters what they hope to do after the adventure can help the GM build meaningful rewards and bring long-running stories full circle. Heroic sacrifice can create a powerful bittersweet ending when the choice belongs to the player rather than being forced upon them. Plot holes may be forgotten, but players remember when an old joke, promise, relationship, or seemingly insignificant choice returns during the finale. Welcome to the RPGBOT Podcast. If you love Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, and tabletop RPGs, this is the podcast for you. Support the show for free: Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any podcast app. It helps new listeners find the best RPG podcast for D&D and Pathfinder players. Level up your experience: Join us on Patreon to unlock ad-free access to RPGBOT.net and the RPGBOT Podcast, chat with us and the community on the RPGBOT Discord, and jump into live-streamed RPG podcast recordings. Support while you shop: Use our Amazon affiliate link at https://amzn.to/3NwElxQ and help us keep building tools and guides for the RPG community. Meet the Hosts Tyler Kamstra – Master of mechanics, seeing the Pathfinder action economy like Neo in the Matrix. Randall James – Lore buff and technologist, always ready to debate which Lord of the Rings edition reigns supreme. Ash Ely – Resident cynic, chaos agent, and AI's worst nightmare, bringing pure table-flipping RPG podcast energy. Join the RPGBOT team where fantasy roleplaying meets real strategy, sarcasm, and community chaos. How to Find Us: In-depth articles, guides, handbooks, reviews, news on Tabletop Role Playing at RPGBOT.net Tyler Kamstra BlueSky: @rpgbot.net TikTok: @RPGBOTDOTNET Ash Ely Professional Game Master on StartPlaying.Games BlueSky: @GravenAshes YouTube: @ashravenmedia Randall James BlueSky: @GrimoireRPG Amateurjack.com Read Melancon: A Grimoire Tale (affiliate link) Producer Dan @Lzr_illuminati

Tonight, we're talking vampires, history's greatest transformation from suspiciously bloated corpse to immortal bisexual aristocrat with a castle, a cape, and absolutely no respect for personal boundaries. We dig into garlic, holy symbols, counting mustard seeds, bricks shoved into mouths, and the alarming number of vampire prevention methods involving someone's severed head near their butt. Then we compare D&D's growing collection of bitey hit-point bags with Pathfinder's bold decision to let you turn almost anything into a vampire. Grab a wooden stake, protect your neck, and remember: the undead pyramid scheme is not a scam if every wight gets eight zombies beneath them. Show Notes Vampires have been haunting folklore for centuries, but before they became wealthy, seductive goth icons, they were mostly blamed on misunderstood decomposition, disease, and humanity's long tradition of confidently inventing explanations for things it did not understand. We explore the regional beliefs surrounding vampires, including animal transformations, compulsive counting, invitations, running water, graveyard horse tests, and the creative methods people used to keep corpses from returning. Apparently, garlic was not enough. Sometimes you needed decapitation, holy water, a brick, and a very specific head-placement strategy. From there, we follow the vampire from folklore through The Vampyre and Dracula, then directly into tabletop gaming. Strahd is examined as D&D's legally distinct Dracula, complete with an Eastern European castle, disposable vampire brides, an unpleasant servant, and an unhealthy obsession with one particular woman. We discuss why vampires make such effective villains, whether they should always be irredeemably evil, and how their intelligence, charisma, resources, and ability to escape make them more interesting than another monster waiting patiently to be reduced to zero hit points. Tyler walks through D&D's increasingly crowded vampire bestiary, including vampire spawn, familiars, mind flayers, Nosferatu, infernalists, wardens, spellcasters, warriors, umbral lords, hopping vampires, and several versions of Strahd. Ash discovers that many updated vampires lost their regeneration and responds with the measured restraint everyone has come to expect. We also uncover the Jiangshi's undead pyramid scheme, where drained victims become wights, wights create zombies, and everyone receives an exciting opportunity to become their own boss. Pathfinder 2e takes a more flexible approach with vampire adjustments that can be applied to nearly any living creature. Want a vampire dwarf, vampire monster, full vampire character, Dhampir, or suspiciously blood-focused animal companion? Pathfinder has paperwork for that. We compare its vampire families, weaknesses, regeneration, player archetypes, unusual feeding options, and the many ways players can embrace eternal life without being reduced to a single edgy species choice. Finally, the Question of the Week asks how to deliver a satisfying campaign ending. The hosts discuss final boss battles, player-driven epilogues, heroic sacrifices, closing character arcs, carrying consequences into future campaigns, and giving everyone enough closure to explain what their character does after saving the world. Tyler also recommends a total party kill, because rocks falling remains the most efficient form of narrative finality. Key Takeaways Vampire folklore varied dramatically between regions, but blood drinking, animal transformations, compulsions, returning corpses, and elaborate burial precautions appeared frequently. Many historical vampire scares were fueled by misunderstandings about decomposition, disease, bloating, and blood appearing around a corpse's mouth. Bram Stoker's Dracula established many of the traits associated with modern vampires, including wealth, sophistication, seduction, immortality, and aristocratic menace. Strahd is essentially D&D's version of Dracula, enhanced with wizard abilities, legendary actions, extensive resources, and enough emotional baggage to fill Castle Ravenloft. Vampires make strong recurring villains because they are intelligent, charismatic, difficult to permanently destroy, and capable of retreating to fight another day. D&D offers numerous vampire variants, but several newer designs reduce them to durable biting monsters, and the removal of regeneration makes them feel less distinct. The Jiangshi can create an expanding hierarchy of wights and zombies, producing what can only be described as an undead pyramid scheme. Pathfinder 2e's vampire adjustments allow GMs to apply vampire abilities to existing creatures instead of relying entirely on separate stat blocks. Pathfinder also provides more vampire-related player options, including the Dhampir heritage, vampire archetype, vampiric companions, and blood-draining spells. A satisfying campaign ending should extend beyond defeating the final boss and give players room to resolve relationships, describe their futures, and address the consequences of their choices. Asking characters what they hope to do after the adventure can help the GM build meaningful rewards and bring long-running stories full circle. Heroic sacrifice can create a powerful bittersweet ending when the choice belongs to the player rather than being forced upon them. Plot holes may be forgotten, but players remember when an old joke, promise, relationship, or seemingly insignificant choice returns during the finale. Welcome to the RPGBOT Podcast. If you love Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, and tabletop RPGs, this is the podcast for you. Support the show for free: Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any podcast app. It helps new listeners find the best RPG podcast for D&D and Pathfinder players. Level up your experience: Join us on Patreon to unlock ad-free access to RPGBOT.net and the RPGBOT Podcast, chat with us and the community on the RPGBOT Discord, and jump into live-streamed RPG podcast recordings. Support while you shop: Use our Amazon affiliate link at https://amzn.to/3NwElxQ and help us keep building tools and guides for the RPG community. Meet the Hosts Tyler Kamstra – Master of mechanics, seeing the Pathfinder action economy like Neo in the Matrix. Randall James – Lore buff and technologist, always ready to debate which Lord of the Rings edition reigns supreme. Ash Ely – Resident cynic, chaos agent, and AI's worst nightmare, bringing pure table-flipping RPG podcast energy. Join the RPGBOT team where fantasy roleplaying meets real strategy, sarcasm, and community chaos. How to Find Us: In-depth articles, guides, handbooks, reviews, news on Tabletop Role Playing at RPGBOT.net Tyler Kamstra BlueSky: @rpgbot.net TikTok: @RPGBOTDOTNET Ash Ely Professional Game Master on StartPlaying.Games BlueSky: @GravenAshes YouTube: @ashravenmedia Randall James BlueSky: @GrimoireRPG Amateurjack.com Read Melancon: A Grimoire Tale (affiliate link) Producer Dan @Lzr_illuminati

LANCE ROBINSON Author & Writers of the Future Winner – Biography Lance Robinson has had a strong interest in Science Fiction since elementary school reading The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, and Dune being a fan of Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke as well as writing his first novel before finishing high school. Lance lives in the city of Thunder Bay, in northwestern Ontario, Canada, in the traditional territory of the Anishnaabeg peoples and Fort William First Nation. When he's at his day job, he's a social scientist whose work revolves around the human dimensions of managing natural resources. He generally doesn't put an “environmental science fiction” label on his work, but environmental themes and musings about human beings' economic, cultural and spiritual relationships with nature are often woven into his fiction. Find out more at: LanceRobinsonWriter.com LISA SILVERTHORNE Author & Writers of the Future Winner – Biography Lisa Silverthorne writes mythic, emotionally charged fantasy, romance, mystery, and science fiction—stories of lost souls, destiny, devotion, redemption, irreverent humor, the sacred cost of power, and the right to belong. An award-winning storyteller with almost 35 novels and over 150 short stories, she blends vivid prose, elemental world-building, and character-driven intensity into tales that are sometimes irreverent, sometimes heartbreaking, but always mythic. Her stories also blend intimate slow burn with apocalyptic stakes, creating emotionally resonant worlds where love endures even in ruin. She is drawn to characters who break, endure, and find their way back to themselves—and to each other—against impossible odds. Her worlds are rich with magic, danger, and heart‑deep connection, always anchored by the belief that even in darkness, love remains a transformative force. She lives in Las Vegas with a skittish tabby Maine Coon, a brash grey ragdoll, and a feisty tortie Persian kitten. Find out more at: www.LisaSilverthorne.com United Public Radio & UFO Paranormal Radio www.uprntalkradio.com

Welcome to Ranger levels 1 through 4, where you can become a deadly shadow archer, command your own miniature dragon, or sacrifice your entire action so that a flying snake with the structural integrity of wet parchment can participate in combat. In this episode, we explore Favored Enemies nobody tracks, terrain nobody visits, spells competing for the same concentration slot, and the revolutionary discovery that the Ranger becomes significantly better when you replace most of the Ranger. Grab your longbow, release your drake, and prepare to whisper, "Go get 'em, little buddy," moments before your animal companion is killed by incidental damage. Show Notes The Ranger has spent years carrying a terrible reputation, but is the entire class actually bad, or did everyone read the original Beast Master, experience psychic damage, and refuse to look at the class again? In this episode, we begin our journey through the 2014 Ranger from levels 1 through 4. We break down the class's ability scores, armor, weapons, skills, Fighting Styles, spellcasting, and its awkward position somewhere between Fighter, Rogue, and person who remembers to bring enough trail rations. We examine the original Favored Enemy and Natural Explorer features, which are extremely useful when the campaign takes place in one specific biome against one specific enemy and the DM insists that every mile of travel be handled in real time. Then we look at Tasha's optional features, including Favored Foe and Deft Explorer, which give Rangers abilities they might actually use during an adventure. At level 3, the builds split dramatically. Randall embraces the darkness with a Gloom Stalker built around stealth, hand crossbows, and making an alarming number of attacks before the enemy understands that combat has started. Ash chooses the Drakewarden, gaining a durable dragon companion that can attack, support allies, and generally behave like a functional subclass feature. Tyler, meanwhile, voluntarily builds the original Player's Handbook Beast Master. Armed with determination, optimism, and a flying snake that can be eliminated by an aggressively closed door, he attempts to prove that the subclass can work. It technically can, provided your definition of working includes surrendering your action, protecting your pet at all costs, and carrying its body around until the DM allows you to find another one. By level 4, the difference is impossible to ignore. The Gloom Stalker is attacking repeatedly from the shadows, the Drakewarden is firing arrows while a dragon controls the front line, and the Beast Master is pointing toward the enemy and asking his snake to please do something useful. Two Rangers are ready for the next tier of play. One Ranger needs to lie down. Key Takeaways Dexterity is usually the Ranger's best primary ability. It supports ranged and finesse weapons, Armor Class, initiative, Stealth, and several important saving throws without demanding the impossible ability spread required by most Strength builds. The original level-one features are painfully campaign-dependent. Favored Enemy mostly helps with tracking and recalling information, while Natural Explorer becomes relevant only when the party is traveling through the terrain you selected. Tasha's optional features are major improvements. Favored Foe provides extra damage without consuming a bonus action, while Deft Explorer gives the Ranger expertise in a chosen skill and helps it better occupy the party's scout role. Bonus-action management matters. Hunter's Mark, two-weapon fighting, Crossbow Expert, and companion commands can all compete for the same bonus action, so your build needs a clear plan for how its turns will work. Archery remains an excellent Fighting Style. The attack bonus is reliable, useful at every level, and especially valuable for builds planning to use powerful ranged feats later. Ranger spells should provide more than damage. Healing, control, mobility, and utility can offer better value than repeatedly concentrating on Hunter's Mark, especially when Favored Foe can handle shorter fights. Most Ranger subclasses are functional or strong. Gloom Stalker offers excellent opening-round offense, Drakewarden delivers an effective companion, and even Hunter remains playable. The original Beast Master is the feature responsible for much of the class's terrible reputation. The original Beast Master has a brutal action economy. Commanding the companion to attack consumes the Ranger's action, leaving the character watching their pet play D&D on their behalf. Modern companion subclasses demonstrate what Beast Master should have been. The Drake can act through a bonus action, contribute extra damage with its reaction, support the front line, and survive encounters without requiring constant emotional and medical supervision. Your build should have a recognizable combat loop by level 4. Randall attacks rapidly from hiding, Ash fires from range while the Drake fights up front, and Tyler commands a snake while quietly reconsidering every decision that brought him here. Welcome to the RPGBOT Podcast. If you love Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, and tabletop RPGs, this is the podcast for you. Support the show for free: Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any podcast app. It helps new listeners find the best RPG podcast for D&D and Pathfinder players. Level up your experience: Join us on Patreon to unlock ad-free access to RPGBOT.net and the RPGBOT Podcast, chat with us and the community on the RPGBOT Discord, and jump into live-streamed RPG podcast recordings. Support while you shop: Use our Amazon affiliate link at https://amzn.to/3NwElxQ and help us keep building tools and guides for the RPG community. Meet the Hosts Tyler Kamstra – Master of mechanics, seeing the Pathfinder action economy like Neo in the Matrix. Randall James – Lore buff and technologist, always ready to debate which Lord of the Rings edition reigns supreme. Ash Ely – Resident cynic, chaos agent, and AI's worst nightmare, bringing pure table-flipping RPG podcast energy. Join the RPGBOT team where fantasy roleplaying meets real strategy, sarcasm, and community chaos. How to Find Us: In-depth articles, guides, handbooks, reviews, news on Tabletop Role Playing at RPGBOT.net Tyler Kamstra BlueSky: @rpgbot.net TikTok: @RPGBOTDOTNET Ash Ely Professional Game Master on StartPlaying.Games BlueSky: @GravenAshes YouTube: @ashravenmedia Randall James BlueSky: @GrimoireRPG Amateurjack.com Read Melancon: A Grimoire Tale (affiliate link) Producer Dan @Lzr_illuminati

Welcome to Ranger levels 1 through 4, where you can become a deadly shadow archer, command your own miniature dragon, or sacrifice your entire action so that a flying snake with the structural integrity of wet parchment can participate in combat. In this episode, we explore Favored Enemies nobody tracks, terrain nobody visits, spells competing for the same concentration slot, and the revolutionary discovery that the Ranger becomes significantly better when you replace most of the Ranger. Grab your longbow, release your drake, and prepare to whisper, "Go get 'em, little buddy," moments before your animal companion is killed by incidental damage. Show Notes The Ranger has spent years carrying a terrible reputation, but is the entire class actually bad, or did everyone read the original Beast Master, experience psychic damage, and refuse to look at the class again? In this episode, we begin our journey through the 2014 Ranger from levels 1 through 4. We break down the class's ability scores, armor, weapons, skills, Fighting Styles, spellcasting, and its awkward position somewhere between Fighter, Rogue, and person who remembers to bring enough trail rations. We examine the original Favored Enemy and Natural Explorer features, which are extremely useful when the campaign takes place in one specific biome against one specific enemy and the DM insists that every mile of travel be handled in real time. Then we look at Tasha's optional features, including Favored Foe and Deft Explorer, which give Rangers abilities they might actually use during an adventure. At level 3, the builds split dramatically. Randall embraces the darkness with a Gloom Stalker built around stealth, hand crossbows, and making an alarming number of attacks before the enemy understands that combat has started. Ash chooses the Drakewarden, gaining a durable dragon companion that can attack, support allies, and generally behave like a functional subclass feature. Tyler, meanwhile, voluntarily builds the original Player's Handbook Beast Master. Armed with determination, optimism, and a flying snake that can be eliminated by an aggressively closed door, he attempts to prove that the subclass can work. It technically can, provided your definition of working includes surrendering your action, protecting your pet at all costs, and carrying its body around until the DM allows you to find another one. By level 4, the difference is impossible to ignore. The Gloom Stalker is attacking repeatedly from the shadows, the Drakewarden is firing arrows while a dragon controls the front line, and the Beast Master is pointing toward the enemy and asking his snake to please do something useful. Two Rangers are ready for the next tier of play. One Ranger needs to lie down. Key Takeaways Dexterity is usually the Ranger's best primary ability. It supports ranged and finesse weapons, Armor Class, initiative, Stealth, and several important saving throws without demanding the impossible ability spread required by most Strength builds. The original level-one features are painfully campaign-dependent. Favored Enemy mostly helps with tracking and recalling information, while Natural Explorer becomes relevant only when the party is traveling through the terrain you selected. Tasha's optional features are major improvements. Favored Foe provides extra damage without consuming a bonus action, while Deft Explorer gives the Ranger expertise in a chosen skill and helps it better occupy the party's scout role. Bonus-action management matters. Hunter's Mark, two-weapon fighting, Crossbow Expert, and companion commands can all compete for the same bonus action, so your build needs a clear plan for how its turns will work. Archery remains an excellent Fighting Style. The attack bonus is reliable, useful at every level, and especially valuable for builds planning to use powerful ranged feats later. Ranger spells should provide more than damage. Healing, control, mobility, and utility can offer better value than repeatedly concentrating on Hunter's Mark, especially when Favored Foe can handle shorter fights. Most Ranger subclasses are functional or strong. Gloom Stalker offers excellent opening-round offense, Drakewarden delivers an effective companion, and even Hunter remains playable. The original Beast Master is the feature responsible for much of the class's terrible reputation. The original Beast Master has a brutal action economy. Commanding the companion to attack consumes the Ranger's action, leaving the character watching their pet play D&D on their behalf. Modern companion subclasses demonstrate what Beast Master should have been. The Drake can act through a bonus action, contribute extra damage with its reaction, support the front line, and survive encounters without requiring constant emotional and medical supervision. Your build should have a recognizable combat loop by level 4. Randall attacks rapidly from hiding, Ash fires from range while the Drake fights up front, and Tyler commands a snake while quietly reconsidering every decision that brought him here. Welcome to the RPGBOT Podcast. If you love Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, and tabletop RPGs, this is the podcast for you. Support the show for free: Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any podcast app. It helps new listeners find the best RPG podcast for D&D and Pathfinder players. Level up your experience: Join us on Patreon to unlock ad-free access to RPGBOT.net and the RPGBOT Podcast, chat with us and the community on the RPGBOT Discord, and jump into live-streamed RPG podcast recordings. Support while you shop: Use our Amazon affiliate link at https://amzn.to/3NwElxQ and help us keep building tools and guides for the RPG community. Meet the Hosts Tyler Kamstra – Master of mechanics, seeing the Pathfinder action economy like Neo in the Matrix. Randall James – Lore buff and technologist, always ready to debate which Lord of the Rings edition reigns supreme. Ash Ely – Resident cynic, chaos agent, and AI's worst nightmare, bringing pure table-flipping RPG podcast energy. Join the RPGBOT team where fantasy roleplaying meets real strategy, sarcasm, and community chaos. How to Find Us: In-depth articles, guides, handbooks, reviews, news on Tabletop Role Playing at RPGBOT.net Tyler Kamstra BlueSky: @rpgbot.net TikTok: @RPGBOTDOTNET Ash Ely Professional Game Master on StartPlaying.Games BlueSky: @GravenAshes YouTube: @ashravenmedia Randall James BlueSky: @GrimoireRPG Amateurjack.com Read Melancon: A Grimoire Tale (affiliate link) Producer Dan @Lzr_illuminati

The Future of Fusion Magnets, Deep State Politics, and Geopolitical Shifts: Unpacking the Latest from Darren and Graham In this episode, Darren and Graham explore groundbreaking advancements in magnetic fusion technology, delve into the political intricacies surrounding federal hearings, and analyze demographic shifts and geopolitical maneuvers shaping our world today. If you're curious about the secrets behind nuclear fusion, covert political strategies, and the changing face of nations, this is your must listen.   Key topics: China completes the world's largest superconducting magnet, a feat resembling sci-fi technology that may revolutionize nuclear fusion. The science of nuclear fusion explained: the magnetic bottle concept and containment without physical walls. Discussing the Chinese Institute of Plasma Physics' milestone in humanity's pursuit of controlled fusion — potentially the star containment tech seen in sci-fi. Deep dives into the Fauci hearings, where invoking the Fifth Amendment revealed possible legal and political vulnerabilities. Critique of the American legal system, presidential pardons, and the potential cover-up of COVID origins. Analyzing the shifting demographic landscape of Canada and the United States, including the decline in white populations and implications for society. The controversial role of organizations like the Bill Gates Foundation in environmental issues and unintended ecological consequences. The manipulation of public narratives through fear, media, and political propaganda, including references to movies, memes, and conspiracy theories. The rise of digital misinformation, social media censorship, and the legacy media's role in shaping perceptions. Insights into ongoing geopolitical power plays, from trade negotiations to military and resource allocation strategies.   To gain access to the second half of show and our Plus feed for audio and podcast please clink the link http://www.grimericaoutlawed.ca/support. For second half of video (when applicable and audio) go to our Substack and Subscribe. https://grimericaoutlawed.substack.com/ or to our Locals  https://grimericaoutlawed.locals.com/ or Patreon https://www.patreon.com/grimericaoutlawed   Support the show directly: https://open.spotify.com/show/2punSyd9Cw76ZtvHxMKenI?si=ImKxfMHgQZ-oshl499O4dQ&nd=1&dlsi=4c25fa9c78674de3 Watch or Listen on Spotify https://www.simulationmaps.com/#products Disaster Maps, Volcano Sim, Asteroid Sim, Shipwreck Map, UFO Map etc https://grimericacbd.com/ CBD / THC Tinctures and Gummies https://grimerica.ca/support-2/ Our Adultbrain Audiobook Podcast and Website: www.adultbrain.ca Check out our next trip/conference/meetup - Contact at the Cabin www.contactatthecabin.com Join the chat / hangout with a bunch of fellow Grimericans  Https://t.me.grimerica grimerica.ca/chats   Discord Chats Darren's books www.acanadianshame.ca Sign up for our newsletter http://www.grimerica.ca/news InstaGRAM https://www.instagram.com/the_grimerica_show_podcast/  Purchase swag, with partial proceeds donated to the show www.grimerica.ca/swag ART - Napolean Duheme's site http://www.lostbreadcomic.com/  MUSIC Tru Northperception, Felix's Site sirfelix.bandcamp.com    For links to the stuff we chatted about see the podcast post on our site:     Links to stuff we chatted about: https://x.com/MJTruthUltra/status/2082480424916287754?s=20 https://x.com/GuntherEagleman/status/2082265768134152649?s=20 https://x.com/NorthrnPrspectv/status/2082203134277894153?s=20 https://x.com/BrianRoemmele/status/2081574899186081821?s=20 https://x.com/saylordocs/status/2080694849582596548?s=20 https://x.com/laralogan/status/2080690505763991953?s=20 https://x.com/CSmartarsery/status/2080473477035786607?s=20 https://x.com/realmaxgenest/status/2080271595965403298?s=20 https://x.com/AshtonForbes/status/2080296499112489357?s=20 https://x.com/WallStreetApes/status/2078946666967900573?s=20 https://x.com/theprojectunity/status/2082119833194311992?s=43%22%3Ehttps://x.com/theprojectunity/status/2082119833194311992?s=43%3C/a https://x.com/nicholedelly/status/2081883586651697502?s=43%22%3Ehttps://x.com/nicholedelly/status/2081883586651697502?s=43%3C/a https://x.com/fivetimesaugust/status/2082491516140855547?s=43%22%3Ehttps://x.com/fivetimesaugust/status/2082491516140855547?s=43%3C/a https://x.com/tablesalt13/status/2081558063270547961?s=43%22%3Ehttps://x.com/tablesalt13/status/2081558063270547961?s=43%3C/a https://x.com/cbcwatcher/status/2082531981250658755?s=43%22%3Ehttps://x.com/cbcwatcher/status/2082531981250658755?s=43%3C/a https://x.com/miasisee/status/2082823905723511056?s=43%22%3Ehttps://x.com/miasisee/status/2082823905723511056?s=43%3C/a https://sashalatypova.substack.com/p/faucis-historic-diary-a-conversation?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=870364&post_id=208569933&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=24pqe&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email https://jessicar.substack.com/p/hoisted-with-his-own-petard?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=516896&post_id=208782608&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=24pqe&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email https://popularrationalism.substack.com/p/fauci-refuses-to-answer-questions?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=475124&post_id=208999779&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=24pqe&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email     Timestamps: 00:00 - Chinese superconducting magnet: the size of a city block, possibly holding a star 02:10 - Fusion: the science behind energy generated in stars and in labs 03:20 - The Chinese magnet's milestone and its sci-fi conceptual origin 04:36 - Can fusion plasma reach temperatures over 100 million Celsius? The magnetic containment solution 05:51 - Are magnetic fields neutralized in high-energy environments? Safety concerns discussed 06:58 - The toroidal coil system and potential future applications, including personal magnetic shields 08:12 - The connection between magnetic tech developments and military-grade applications 09:18 - The concept of "free energy" and the politics of nuclear research 09:48 - The geopolitics of fusion tech and the influence of chessboard players like Brookfield and China 11:11 - Cultural tangents: Lord of the Rings, actor earnings, and Hollywood's long game 12:08 - Government secrets, the anatomy of the Fauci hearings, and invoking the Fifth Amendment 13:55 - The legal paradox of presidential pardons and implications for accountability 15:02 - The larger narrative: Fauci's diaries, suspected covert agendas, and media manipulation 16:39 - The story of Howard Lutnick, the 9/11 fallout, and secret lawfare tactics 18:14 - The ongoing deception in COVID responses—the suppression of information and the use of national security classifications 19:57 - The political and military use of "Operation Warp Speed" and the real goal behind the vaccine rollout 23:18 - Fauci's internal diary, FOIA revelations, and government records linked to pandemic strategies 25:40 - The role of the National Security Council and the true nature of pandemic response coordination 28:47 - The legal and constitutional implications of Fauci's refusal to testify and the "pardon paradox" 33:40 - Critical analysis by Jessica Rose and the exposure of media and political narratives—facing the "petard" of truth 37:33 - Fauci's diaries vs. historical figures' secret records—what can we learn from past espionage and covert operations? 39:14 - AI analysis of Fauci's diaries and the potential for government manipulations in information dissemination 42:10 - The false and real narratives surrounding the origins of COVID, gain-of-function research, and lab leak theories 44:28 - The role of the NSC, vaccine rollout, and the use of emergency powers to bypass legal restrictions 46:33 - The military and corporate influence in environmental policies, including carbon capture and geoengineering risks 50:00 - Cultural shifts: depopulation, demographic changes, and the so-called "Great Replacement" 55:43 - Shocking statistics: marriage rates, white demographic decline, and societal upheaval 59:28 - The manipulation of currency, debt, and global trade—who is really in control? 62:33 - US and Canadian politics on energy, infrastructure, and sovereignty during the ongoing economic shifts 66:00 - Real-world stories from ordinary people: work, industriousness, and the importance of skill over credentials 70:00 - The insidious narrative of environmental protective measures turning into ecological disasters—like the mosquito net fiasco 75:00 - Society's complex relationship with government, corporate influence, and ecological management 77:24 - The concept of "winning" or "losing" in the context of transparency, accountability, and public awakening 78:48 - Closing thoughts: the need for truth, transparency, and collective action amidst chaos  

Join the Vassals in this Blackfyre cast review ofThe Butcher’s Ball. Hosts: Kevin (Nuncle Kevin), David (DavidHHH) and Steph (GSDG). Spoilers: This episode could cover anything from George R R Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire as well as … Continue reading →

In this strategy session, Brian discusses the importance of storytelling in marketing, particularly in the context of social media. He emphasizes the need for coaches and entrepreneurs to position themselves as guides rather than heroes in their marketing narratives. By sharing personal stories and client successes, they can create engaging content that resonates with potential clients and generates leads. The session also highlights the significance of shifting beliefs and skills to achieve business growth. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to the Strategy Session 00:51 The Power of Storytelling in Marketing 06:07 Positioning: Hero vs. Guide 12:10 Creating Engaging Content for Lead Generation 18:08 Shifting Beliefs and Skills for Success Apply for mentorship:  https://briankeane.com/mentorship/ Apply for The Circle:  https://briankeane.com/mastermind/    

Episode Summary This time on Strangers we have our July feature, Brokeback Mount Doom, by our own Inmn Neruin. Brokeback Mount Doom is a short play that reimagines Lord of the Rings and Brokeback Mountain smashed together in glorious harmony. It was originally written for the stage as part of Shakesqueer Theater's production Ten Minute Movies. The feature was recorded as a radio play with the original cast. Stick around after the radio play for an interview with Inmn about collaborative theater and gay hobbits. Read along for free at TangledWilderness.org. Get copies of the monthly feature by signing up for the Zine of the Month Club on our Patreon. Guest Info Inmn Neruin (They/them) is a nonbinary playwright, game writer, and metal smith. You can find their published work here at Strangers in a Tangled Wilderness, including Penumbra City and the forthcoming game Curse of the Mall King The Game. They are also a host of Live Like the World is Dying. You can find their metal work on Instagram at @shadowtail.artificery. Publisher Info This show is published by Strangers in A Tangled Wilderness. We can be found at www.tangledwilderness.org, or on Twitter @TangledWild and Instagram @Tangled_Wilderness. You can support the show on Patreon at www.patreon.com/strangersinatangledwilderness. Find out more at https://strangers-in-a-tangled-wildern.pinecast.co This podcast is powered by Pinecast. Try Pinecast for free, forever, no credit card required. If you decide to upgrade, use coupon code r-69f62d for 40% off for 4 months, and support Strangers In A Tangled Wilderness.Read transcript

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we conclude our series on Psychonauts. We talk about how the game gates certain things on the basis of what seems optional and Brett monologues a bit about some later levels before we talk takeaways. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Finished (B) or to Gloria (T) Issues covered: a theater level, getting and using door codes, having to remember what abilities a player might have, player types and what's critical path, trophies and missable content, different ways to push the player,  playtesting to balance, what personas you support, the luxury of late full fresh-eyes playtesting, the non-linear nature of Gloria's level, brute forcing your way through the logic of the puzzle, speed-running describing the end of the game, a difficult platformer plus escort mission, talking about the musical identity, being able to do anything, giving narrative and theming to allow anything, cohesive justifications for everything, when the skill elements get in the way, meaning behind the platformer, indies to follow, science.  Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Final Fantasy VI, Hitman, The Witcher III, Wolfenstein: The New Order, Clint Hocking, Splinter Cell, Tim Schafer, Dave Grossman, Erik Wolpaw, Drew Barrymore/Firestarter, Ratchet & Clank, Xbox 360/PS3, Dark Souls, Microsoft, Halo, TRON, Armin Shimerman, LucasArts, Peter McConnell, Clint Bajakian, Jesse Harlin, Grim Fandango, Brutal Legend, Friendster, Lord of the Rings, Velvet Underground, mysterydip, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia. TTDS: 21:20 Next time: ??! Twitch: timlongojr and twinsunscorp YouTube Discord DevGameClub@gmail.com 

Toot toot! All aboard the ferry! Getcha chowda here, guvna!Today we bring you a sensational episode we're calling Animal Digest: Seattle Drift // LOW TIDE Edition. Basically we're talking about all varieties of animals. The ones we eat, the ones we pet. And of course, the ones that scream. Can you believe Producer Alli…did that? Vegetarians GET HER ASS. Do YOU like episodes where we list animals?? Tell us…whatr yourzzzz via the Best Friend Party Phone (703) 829-0003. BUT FIRST, what's going on with flavor? Specifically Guy Fieri's flavored water. Let us know YOUR hack takes at deartextmeback@gmail.com. And being at these old stomping grounds meant that Lindy and Meagan ran into friends, former classmates, and friendly neighborhood tattoo artists allll over town. Special shoutout to Adults in the Room, some big news coming outta that pod soon

Who believed in you before you could believe in yourself? In this Deep Dive, documentary filmmaker Christian Taylor makes a quiet case that we rarely overcome self-doubt on our own. Almost no one finishes anything hard alone. Someone has to see it in you first. This is a reflection on the power of belief, on the kind of encouragement that shows up right when you are ready to quit, and on how a few honest words can help a person keep going and change the whole outcome of a life.This Deep Dive grows out of Documentary First Episode 283 with Joe Amodei, the veteran film distributor who, after forty-five years of releasing other people's films, finally directed his own: Cold War in Philly. The seed is a story Joe told about his friend Morgan Spurlock, who looked at him and said, "Yes, you are," when Joe insisted he was not a director. Morgan died before filming began. Joe made the film anyway.From there, Christian follows the same pattern through her own life and through stories you already know: the producer Sandy Gordon, who told her she could tell her own story; C.S. Lewis's belief that helped J.R.R. Tolkien finish The Lord of the Rings; Emmy Werner's forty-year Kauai study on the power of one caring adult; Fred Shero and the 1976 Philadelphia Flyers; the BELIEVE sign in Ted Lasso; and the Christmas her young son Hunter talked her out of quitting The Girl Who Wore Freedom. The throughline: belief usually arrives from outside before it grows from within, it works by being repeated at the moment you want to give up, and it is something you can hand another person for the price of a sentence.In this episode, Christian explores:Why we so often cannot see in ourselves what other people can see plainlyThe difference between belief that gets you to the starting line and belief that gets you to the finishWhy encouragement has to be repeated, not announced onceHow Morgan Spurlock's belief outlived him and finished Joe Amodei's first filmWhat C.S. Lewis's encouragement had to do with Tolkien finishing The Lord of the RingsThe single factor that most helped at-risk children thrive in the forty-year Kauai studyWhat the 1976 Flyers and the BELIEVE sign in Ted Lasso have in commonThe Christmas her son Hunter believed in her when she was ready to walk away from her filmThe strange math of belief: nearly free to give, and one of the most powerful things we doTwo things to do this week: remember who believed in you, and become that person for someone elseCHAPTERS0:00 Before You Believe in Yourself2:49 Someone Has to See It First5:37 Encouragement When You Want to Quit8:34 Belief That Outlives Us11:14 How to Believe in OthersFREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONSWhy is it important to have someone believe in you?Because most of us cannot see our own potential clearly. We are too close to our own doubts. Belief from a credible person on the outside fills that gap and raises both effort and persistence, especially at the moment someone is ready to quit. Research on self-efficacy and on childhood resilience points the same way: one steady person who believes in you can change what you attempt and what you actually finish.How do you keep going when you want to quit a creative project?You borrow belief until you can make your own. Nearly everyone who finishes a hard project hits a wall where they are sure it is over. What carries people through is usually not one pep talk but someone who reminds them, again and again, that they can do it. Christian Taylor finished her documentary after her young son repeated his belief in her until she could go back to work.How do you believe in yourself when no one else does?You usually do not have to do it entirely alone. The honest move this episode offers is to remember that someone has already believed in you, even if you have forgotten them, and to borrow that belief until it becomes your own. Recall what they saw in you. And if you feel truly without support right now, become the encourager you needed: the same words that steady other people can steady you when you say them to yourself.Can one person really change your life?Yes. In Emmy Werner's forty-year Kauai study of nearly 700 children, about a third of the high-risk kids grew into capable, caring adults, and the strongest protective factor was having at least one steady adult who believed in them. One was enough. The same pattern shows up in creative work, where a single believer often decides whether a project is abandoned or finished.What does it mean that belief can outlive the believer?It means the encouragement someone gives you keeps working even after they are gone. Morgan Spurlock told Joe Amodei he could direct, then died before filming started, and Joe finished the film anyway. Fred Shero's line to the Flyers, "Win today and we'll walk together forever," names the same truth: the people who believe in us walk with us long after the moment itself has passed.ABOUT THE FILMS AND WORKS IN THIS EPISODECold War in Philly, directed by Joe Amodei (Virgil Films): the story of the night in 1976 the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Soviet Red Army. https://coldwarinphilly.comThe Girl Who Wore Freedom, directed by Christian Taylor: the documentary referenced throughout this episode.Also referenced: La La Land (2016, written and directed by Damien Chazelle); Man of La Mancha; Ted Lasso (Apple TV+); The Lord of the Rings and the friendship of J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis; Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom; and "Wind Beneath My Wings," popularized by Bette Midler.ABOUT DOCUMENTARY FIRST: THE DEEP DIVEDocumentary First: The Deep Dive is the companion to Documentary First, where host Christian Taylor takes one insight from a recent conversation and follows it wherever it leads. Christian is a documentary filmmaker, actor, and voice actor, and the director of The Girl Who Wore Freedom and Heroes of Carentan.RESOURCES MENTIONEDDocumentary First Episode 283 with Joe Amodei: [add episode URL]Cold War in Philly: https://coldwarinphilly.comVirgil Films: https://virgilfilms.comEmmy Werner, the Kauai Longitudinal StudyThe Letters of J.R.R. TolkienTuesdays with Morrie, by Mitch AlbomLa La Land (2016)Man of La ManchaTed Lasso (Apple TV+)LISTEN AND FOLLOWListen on any podcast app: https://podfollow.com/documentary-firstYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@documentaryfirstSupport the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/DocumentaryFirstCONNECTDocumentary First Linktree: https://linktr.ee/doc1stChristian Taylor on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meetchristiantaylor

Wizards of the Coast has revealed its plans for the future of Dungeons & Dragons, and apparently the strategy is simple: fix D&D Beyond, return to Gen Con, outsource adventures to people who know what they are doing, cross over with World of Warcraft, and traumatize a convention hall full of children with a Dark Sun trailer featuring a freshly removed spine. Tyler attended the secret briefing and emerged with five pages of notes, several enormous announcements, and absolutely no idea what D&D Icons are. So prepare yourselves for new books, old settings, digital upgrades, live puppies, and enough upcoming content to make your wallet roll a death save. EnWorld: President of WotC Steps Down Forbidden Lands (affiliate link) Show Notes Wizards of the Coast has revealed its roadmap for Dungeons & Dragons through 2027, and Tyler is here to unload everything he learned during an embargoed presentation. We begin at Gen Con, which Wizards plans to turn into the recurring home for its annual D&D announcements. There will be a massive convention presence, live events, streams, adoptable puppies, and something called D&D Icons. Everyone involved seems extremely excited about Icons. Unfortunately, nobody appears capable of explaining what they actually are. D&D Beyond is also getting a substantial overhaul. Wizards plans to introduce tools for finding groups, allow local game stores to advertise events, and form an official partnership with StartPlaying. The mobile app is being redesigned, the character builder and rules engine are being rebuilt, and new DM tools, improved search, and campaign-creation features are somewhere on the horizon. Several details remain vague, partly because the presentation's prerecorded D&D Beyond video stopped working halfway through. Technology! On the video game side, Wizards appears to be pulling back from its plan to release a major game every year. Several projects have reportedly been canceled, but Warlock and Exodus remain in development. Warlock will feature a protagonist whose patron is Tasha, while Exodus is shaping up as a science-fiction RPG with strong Mass Effect energy and a tabletop tie-in that nobody on the podcast entirely understands. The tabletop schedule begins with Arcana Unleashed, a large rules expansion containing eight subclasses, ten backgrounds, twenty-nine feats, thirty-three spells, group patrons, magical factions, forty-seven magic items, and nineteen creature stat blocks. It will also introduce evolving magic items that can grow alongside the characters using them. Its companion campaign, Deadfall, is an espionage-focused adventure running from levels 11 through 20. The characters must save Thay by opposing Szass Tam, which means the situation has become so dire that saving Thay somehow qualifies as the good outcome. The Season of Champions brings a full Dungeons & Dragons crossover with World of Warcraft. The book is being led by longtime D&D designer and Warcraft fan James Wyatt and will include eleven species, six subclasses, iconic locations, recognizable characters, dungeons, monsters designed to provide a raid-like experience, a DM screen, and a map pack with a digital adventure. It will also come in three different editions, allowing Horde and Alliance fans to continue fighting the most important battle of all: which logo belongs on the front of the book. Then comes Dark Sun. Wizards is presenting Athas as the first mature D&D setting, complete with shrink-wrapped books, content warnings, extreme violence, and a trailer that apparently wastes no time separating people from their spinal columns. Dark Sun will receive separate setting and gameplay expansions, a limited-edition Player's Handbook, a new Scion class, a DM screen, maps, and some form of adventure support. The gameplay material alone is expected to approach five hundred pages, suggesting that Wizards is not returning to Athas quietly. Greyhawk will also return during the 2027 Season of Sword and Sorcery. Crown of the Witch Queen is a 160-page adventure featuring Tasha's daughter as its central antagonist, supported by a map pack and DM screen. The final 2027 season, the Season of Rebellion, was announced without details, leaving everyone to speculate angrily until Wizards decides to explain itself. Perhaps the largest long-term change is Wizards' plan for annual setting support produced in partnership with established third-party publishers. Ghostfire Gaming will work on Ravenloft, Visionary Products and Designs will handle Eberron, and Kobold Press will support the Forgotten Realms. Wizards is also developing something with the Hickmans, although details remain scarce. The approach could finally give neglected settings regular adventures and character options, but it also raises questions about outsourcing, quality control, digital-only releases, and whether D&D is about to recreate the overwhelming flood of material from the third-edition era. Despite those concerns, the group is cautiously optimistic. Wizards seems willing to experiment, work with proven creators, support more settings, focus on tabletop products, and admit that maybe trying to become a video game company was not the best use of everyone's time. It could produce an exciting new era for D&D, or it could become an exhausting avalanche of crossovers and subscription content. Either way, Ash will be waiting for the D&D and Family Guy campaign setting so they can finally say they warned us. Key Takeaways Gen Con is becoming D&D's annual announcement hub. Wizards intends to reveal future product roadmaps there instead of relying on scattered online presentations. D&D Beyond is being extensively rebuilt. Planned improvements include group-finding tools, local game-store listings, StartPlaying integration, a redesigned app, a new character builder, a new rules engine, better search, DM tools, and campaign creation. Arcana Unleashed is a major player-focused expansion. It includes subclasses, feats, spells, backgrounds, factions, patrons, dozens of magic items, and new rules for items that evolve with their owners. Deadfall finally supports high-level campaigning. The adventure runs from levels 11 through 20 and sends the party into an espionage conflict against Szass Tam in Thay. The World of Warcraft crossover is a full product line. It includes numerous playable species, subclasses, famous locations, raid-inspired encounters, accessories, digital content, and three different cover editions. Dark Sun is returning without being noticeably softened. Wizards is positioning it as a mature setting with separate lore and gameplay books, graphic content warnings, hundreds of pages of material, and promised adventure support. Greyhawk returns with Crown of the Witch Queen. The adventure will feature Tasha's daughter as the antagonist and lean into a colorful, operatic sword-and-sorcery style. Classic settings may receive annual support. Wizards is partnering with experienced publishers to produce new Ravenloft, Eberron, and Forgotten Realms material, with another Hickman-related project also in development. Third-party partnerships could solve D&D's setting problem. Instead of leaving worlds unsupported for years, specialized publishers can create material while Wizards focuses on core rules and major releases. The biggest risk is content overload. More books, digital releases, partnerships, settings, and crossovers could strengthen the game, but they could also recreate the crowded and difficult-to-navigate release schedule of earlier editions. The overall mood is cautiously optimistic. The announcements suggest that Wizards is taking creative risks, investing in tabletop content, and making decisions that could benefit both players and the wider TTRPG industry. Welcome to the RPGBOT Podcast. If you love Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, and tabletop RPGs, this is the podcast for you. Support the show for free: Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any podcast app. It helps new listeners find the best RPG podcast for D&D and Pathfinder players. Level up your experience: Join us on Patreon to unlock ad-free access to RPGBOT.net and the RPGBOT Podcast, chat with us and the community on the RPGBOT Discord, and jump into live-streamed RPG podcast recordings. Support while you shop: Use our Amazon affiliate link at https://amzn.to/3NwElxQ and help us keep building tools and guides for the RPG community. Meet the Hosts Tyler Kamstra – Master of mechanics, seeing the Pathfinder action economy like Neo in the Matrix. Randall James – Lore buff and technologist, always ready to debate which Lord of the Rings edition reigns supreme. Ash Ely – Resident cynic, chaos agent, and AI's worst nightmare, bringing pure table-flipping RPG podcast energy. Join the RPGBOT team where fantasy roleplaying meets real strategy, sarcasm, and community chaos. How to Find Us: In-depth articles, guides, handbooks, reviews, news on Tabletop Role Playing at RPGBOT.net Tyler Kamstra BlueSky: @rpgbot.net TikTok: @RPGBOTDOTNET Ash Ely Professional Game Master on StartPlaying.Games BlueSky: @GravenAshes YouTube: @ashravenmedia https://ashelydm.com/ https://ashelydm.com/ Randall James BlueSky: @GrimoireRPG Amateurjack.com Read Melancon: A Grimoire Tale (affiliate link) Producer Dan @Lzr_illuminati

We've got Comic-Con Updates! Marvel did not disappoint, as it lit up the airwaves, DC brought the Lanterns, and Spaceballs went to ludicrous speed! PlayStation got a big reality check as to why going digital is bad. Rick and Morty gave President Curtis his own show. And I went back to Installation 04 on legendary!

Matt and Michael open with a toast to Glenn Hansard, who passed away that morning at 56. Matt reflects on how musicians he's never met have shaped his life in real, relational ways. This sparks a conversation about what it means to have a relationship with someone you've never met. The conversation deepens into attention. What are you fixing your eyes on? They explore the bronze serpent in the wilderness, Jesus telling Peter to look at him, and how Instagram's algorithm quietly answers that question for most people. Michael shares that his why needs an upgrade after years of survival mode. Matt argues that don't die is not a sufficient reason to live. You need something positive to move toward. They close with the extraordinary privilege of being alive right now. A handwritten Bible from 1402 was chained to a cathedral shelf. Today you can read it on your phone in seconds. The options for where to fix your eyes are nearly infinite, which makes the question more urgent than ever. Cheers y'all

Wizards of the Coast has revealed its plans for the future of Dungeons & Dragons, and apparently the strategy is simple: fix D&D Beyond, return to Gen Con, outsource adventures to people who know what they are doing, cross over with World of Warcraft, and traumatize a convention hall full of children with a Dark Sun trailer featuring a freshly removed spine. Tyler attended the secret briefing and emerged with five pages of notes, several enormous announcements, and absolutely no idea what D&D Icons are. So prepare yourselves for new books, old settings, digital upgrades, live puppies, and enough upcoming content to make your wallet roll a death save. EnWorld: President of WotC Steps Down Forbidden Lands (affiliate link) Show Notes Wizards of the Coast has revealed its roadmap for Dungeons & Dragons through 2027, and Tyler is here to unload everything he learned during an embargoed presentation. We begin at Gen Con, which Wizards plans to turn into the recurring home for its annual D&D announcements. There will be a massive convention presence, live events, streams, adoptable puppies, and something called D&D Icons. Everyone involved seems extremely excited about Icons. Unfortunately, nobody appears capable of explaining what they actually are. D&D Beyond is also getting a substantial overhaul. Wizards plans to introduce tools for finding groups, allow local game stores to advertise events, and form an official partnership with StartPlaying. The mobile app is being redesigned, the character builder and rules engine are being rebuilt, and new DM tools, improved search, and campaign-creation features are somewhere on the horizon. Several details remain vague, partly because the presentation's prerecorded D&D Beyond video stopped working halfway through. Technology! On the video game side, Wizards appears to be pulling back from its plan to release a major game every year. Several projects have reportedly been canceled, but Warlock and Exodus remain in development. Warlock will feature a protagonist whose patron is Tasha, while Exodus is shaping up as a science-fiction RPG with strong Mass Effect energy and a tabletop tie-in that nobody on the podcast entirely understands. The tabletop schedule begins with Arcana Unleashed, a large rules expansion containing eight subclasses, ten backgrounds, twenty-nine feats, thirty-three spells, group patrons, magical factions, forty-seven magic items, and nineteen creature stat blocks. It will also introduce evolving magic items that can grow alongside the characters using them. Its companion campaign, Deadfall, is an espionage-focused adventure running from levels 11 through 20. The characters must save Thay by opposing Szass Tam, which means the situation has become so dire that saving Thay somehow qualifies as the good outcome. The Season of Champions brings a full Dungeons & Dragons crossover with World of Warcraft. The book is being led by longtime D&D designer and Warcraft fan James Wyatt and will include eleven species, six subclasses, iconic locations, recognizable characters, dungeons, monsters designed to provide a raid-like experience, a DM screen, and a map pack with a digital adventure. It will also come in three different editions, allowing Horde and Alliance fans to continue fighting the most important battle of all: which logo belongs on the front of the book. Then comes Dark Sun. Wizards is presenting Athas as the first mature D&D setting, complete with shrink-wrapped books, content warnings, extreme violence, and a trailer that apparently wastes no time separating people from their spinal columns. Dark Sun will receive separate setting and gameplay expansions, a limited-edition Player's Handbook, a new Scion class, a DM screen, maps, and some form of adventure support. The gameplay material alone is expected to approach five hundred pages, suggesting that Wizards is not returning to Athas quietly. Greyhawk will also return during the 2027 Season of Sword and Sorcery. Crown of the Witch Queen is a 160-page adventure featuring Tasha's daughter as its central antagonist, supported by a map pack and DM screen. The final 2027 season, the Season of Rebellion, was announced without details, leaving everyone to speculate angrily until Wizards decides to explain itself. Perhaps the largest long-term change is Wizards' plan for annual setting support produced in partnership with established third-party publishers. Ghostfire Gaming will work on Ravenloft, Visionary Products and Designs will handle Eberron, and Kobold Press will support the Forgotten Realms. Wizards is also developing something with the Hickmans, although details remain scarce. The approach could finally give neglected settings regular adventures and character options, but it also raises questions about outsourcing, quality control, digital-only releases, and whether D&D is about to recreate the overwhelming flood of material from the third-edition era. Despite those concerns, the group is cautiously optimistic. Wizards seems willing to experiment, work with proven creators, support more settings, focus on tabletop products, and admit that maybe trying to become a video game company was not the best use of everyone's time. It could produce an exciting new era for D&D, or it could become an exhausting avalanche of crossovers and subscription content. Either way, Ash will be waiting for the D&D and Family Guy campaign setting so they can finally say they warned us. Key Takeaways Gen Con is becoming D&D's annual announcement hub. Wizards intends to reveal future product roadmaps there instead of relying on scattered online presentations. D&D Beyond is being extensively rebuilt. Planned improvements include group-finding tools, local game-store listings, StartPlaying integration, a redesigned app, a new character builder, a new rules engine, better search, DM tools, and campaign creation. Arcana Unleashed is a major player-focused expansion. It includes subclasses, feats, spells, backgrounds, factions, patrons, dozens of magic items, and new rules for items that evolve with their owners. Deadfall finally supports high-level campaigning. The adventure runs from levels 11 through 20 and sends the party into an espionage conflict against Szass Tam in Thay. The World of Warcraft crossover is a full product line. It includes numerous playable species, subclasses, famous locations, raid-inspired encounters, accessories, digital content, and three different cover editions. Dark Sun is returning without being noticeably softened. Wizards is positioning it as a mature setting with separate lore and gameplay books, graphic content warnings, hundreds of pages of material, and promised adventure support. Greyhawk returns with Crown of the Witch Queen. The adventure will feature Tasha's daughter as the antagonist and lean into a colorful, operatic sword-and-sorcery style. Classic settings may receive annual support. Wizards is partnering with experienced publishers to produce new Ravenloft, Eberron, and Forgotten Realms material, with another Hickman-related project also in development. Third-party partnerships could solve D&D's setting problem. Instead of leaving worlds unsupported for years, specialized publishers can create material while Wizards focuses on core rules and major releases. The biggest risk is content overload. More books, digital releases, partnerships, settings, and crossovers could strengthen the game, but they could also recreate the crowded and difficult-to-navigate release schedule of earlier editions. The overall mood is cautiously optimistic. The announcements suggest that Wizards is taking creative risks, investing in tabletop content, and making decisions that could benefit both players and the wider TTRPG industry. Welcome to the RPGBOT Podcast. If you love Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, and tabletop RPGs, this is the podcast for you. Support the show for free: Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any podcast app. It helps new listeners find the best RPG podcast for D&D and Pathfinder players. Level up your experience: Join us on Patreon to unlock ad-free access to RPGBOT.net and the RPGBOT Podcast, chat with us and the community on the RPGBOT Discord, and jump into live-streamed RPG podcast recordings. Support while you shop: Use our Amazon affiliate link at https://amzn.to/3NwElxQ and help us keep building tools and guides for the RPG community. Meet the Hosts Tyler Kamstra – Master of mechanics, seeing the Pathfinder action economy like Neo in the Matrix. Randall James – Lore buff and technologist, always ready to debate which Lord of the Rings edition reigns supreme. Ash Ely – Resident cynic, chaos agent, and AI's worst nightmare, bringing pure table-flipping RPG podcast energy. Join the RPGBOT team where fantasy roleplaying meets real strategy, sarcasm, and community chaos. How to Find Us: In-depth articles, guides, handbooks, reviews, news on Tabletop Role Playing at RPGBOT.net Tyler Kamstra BlueSky: @rpgbot.net TikTok: @RPGBOTDOTNET Ash Ely Professional Game Master on StartPlaying.Games BlueSky: @GravenAshes YouTube: @ashravenmedia https://ashelydm.com/ https://ashelydm.com/ Randall James BlueSky: @GrimoireRPG Amateurjack.com Read Melancon: A Grimoire Tale (affiliate link) Producer Dan @Lzr_illuminati

Fantasy protagonists are highly prone to getting stabbed, sliced, impaled, poisoned, bonked on the head, dropped off cliffs, and otherwise wounded. Which means they need someone to patch them up! So who does that in your invented world, and how do they learn to do it? Guest Jesse Aragon joins us to discuss emergency medicine and other issues of healing. How much reality can you -- and should you -- bring into the medical components of your world? Waving a wand and curing all ills is easy, but potentially unsatisfying, but on the other hand, our heroes can rarely spare six months away from their Quest to let bones knit or infections pass. So just how much magic -- or sci-fi technology -- can you bring in to smooth the process along, and how do you make those things fit in with the rest of your world? Are there medical schools, or do you learn in a master-apprentice type system? How much experimentation is there? How well do your characters understand the real workings of the human body? And, most importantly: How do you get plot hooks out of it? [Transcript TK] Our Guest: Jesse Aragon* is a writer of sci-fi and fantasy, usually both at the same time. Her work features morally complicated protagonists, horror, tragedy, the numinous, and deep dives into the darkest, messiest parts of human nature. She grew up overseas, and “home” for her is everywhere from Brussels, Belgium to Albuquerque, New Mexico. She has a Psychology BA, an EMT-I license, and a BSN. She has been an usher, a cashier, a server, a home health aide, an EMT, an ER tech, and a trauma RN—her jobs have consistently been much stranger than any fiction she writes. When she's not writing, she enjoys weightlifting, video games, and horror movies. She loves cats, green chiles, and UFO lore. Her debut novel, THE DEMON STAR, is forthcoming from DAW/Astra in July 2026! *Yes, this is a real name. No, it has nothing to do with Lord of the Rings. No, she is not (so far as she knows) a descendant of Catherine of Aragon. It is a very common surname for people of Hispanic descent in Mexico and the Southwestern US.

What if the impossible is the best way to tell the truth?Speculative fiction isn't really about dragons, spaceships, magic or dystopias.At its heart, it's about asking one deceptively simple question:What if…?In this episode of Master Fiction Writing, Stuart Wakefield explores why writers have always imagined impossible worlds—and why the best speculative fiction reveals emotional truths that realism sometimes cannot.Rather than taking a tour through the different subgenres, this episode looks at speculative fiction through the lens of story craft. You'll discover why memorable speculative novels begin with human questions rather than clever ideas, how worldbuilding should grow naturally from theme, and why character, consequence and moral pressure matter far more than lore.Using examples from classics and contemporary works including Frankenstein, The Left Hand of Darkness, Never Let Me Go, The Lord of the Rings, Arrival, The Road and many others, Stuart explores what separates speculative fiction that merely entertains from speculative fiction that stays with readers long after the final page.Whether you're writing fantasy, science fiction, horror, alternate history, magical realism or something that refuses to fit neatly into a genre, this episode will help you create stories that are emotionally truthful, structurally compelling and impossible to forget.Why the real power of speculative fiction lies in the Worldshift—the one impossible change that reshapes everything else.How to develop stronger “What if?” premises.Why worldbuilding should be a consequence of theme, not the starting point.How to build speculative worlds that naturally generate conflict.Why readers remember characters and consequences, not encyclopaedic lore.Common mistakes speculative writers make—and how to avoid them.Practical exercises you can apply to your own novel immediately.Download the free Writer's Notebook that accompanies this episode:https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zrvW4E3kAb3xVmJEitvEgiGLetwhV2fC/view?usp=sharingFor more writing resources, articles and coaching, visit:https://www.thebookcoach.coIf you enjoyed this episode, please consider following Master Fiction Writing and leaving a rating or review. It helps more writers discover the show and become part of our growing community of serious storytellers.Less stress. More story.

*Timestamps are approximate* TIME TOPIC 0:00 EMAIL: She wakes her husband up for sex0:30 NEWS0:30 Plane made emergency landing on a beach0:35 Another woman has gone missing during a beach vacation0:41 Shark attack caught on camera0:43 Lady bitten by rattlesnake while she was tending her garden0:46 Wild Fires in Spain0:48 Customers not refunded after cruise for dogs was cancelled0:53 Potbelly pig gets a lot of local attention0:57 - - - AD MARKER - - -0:57 CELEBRITY DIRT0:57 Wife of an NFL coach was shot by their son1:01 Conor McGregor drops hint that he would fight again1:03 A squirrel interrupted a baseball game1:04 Savannah Guthrie's emotional new plea to her mother's kidnapper1:09 PERVERT OF THE DAY1:09 Jeopardy! champ and former YouTuber plead guilty to secret peeping1:16 Jon Stewart and Pete Davidson will host another comedy tribute for the 25th anniversary of 9/111:17 Early reviews for the new Spider-Man movie are positive1:18 Sean Astin had to sell his home in the early 2000s because of low salary from LOTR trilogy1:21 Should movies made by A.I. be eligible for an Oscar1:27 Concert had to be put on hold after someone dropped a turd in the middle of a mosh pit1:33 - - - AD MARKER - - -1:33 Dave moved his dad over the weekend1:40 IDIOT CRIMINAL OF THE DAY1:40 Guy stole cash through drive-thru window, got caught when he went in for more1:44 MUGSHOT OF THE DAY1:44 Intoxicated woman seen driving a riding lawn mower1:47 Man accused of pointing a handgun at another driver1:53 Nude guy acting strangely behind a gas station1:56 Circus performer accidentally shot partner in the neck with an arrow during performance2:03 Woman discovered that her grandfather is Charles Manson (What is the bombshell that rocked your family?)2:26 - - - AD MARKER - - -2:26 Guy was lost at sea, adrift for 30 days2:31 Floating bar and restaurant catches fire2:37 Photographer encountered an entire grizzly family2:40 Bison rammed a vehicle and burst a tired at Yellowstone2:42 Would you take $50K guaranteed or flip a coin for $1M2:46 JUNK FOOD ROUNDUP2:46 The Cracker Barrel CEO has stepped down2:49 Popeye's ordering kiosk asked a guy for a tip2:54 - - - AD MARKER - - -2:54 NEWS2:54 Guy needed a kidney, new wife was perfect match2:58 Cop helped a woman give birth in a parking lot3:04 - - - AD MARKER - - -3:04 Video of a robot that climbs mountains is freaking people out3:09 53-year-old prank message in a bottle found3:14 - - - AD MARKER - - -3:14 DOUCHEBAG OF THE DAY3:14 Guy caused thousands of dollars of damage doing donuts END OF SHOWSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Have you ever realized you've somehow never watched The Lord of the Rings, played Skyrim, or experienced another piece of pop culture that everyone else seems to consider essential? You're not alone.In this season finale of the Nerd of Godcast, the crew dives into their biggest "missed assignments" in movies, television, video games, comics, and geek culture. We explore why some stories become must-see classics, why our ever-growing entertainment backlogs seem impossible to conquer, and how to decide what's actually worth your limited time.Along the way, we play the hilarious game "Didja Ever See That One Thing," confess the fandoms we've somehow avoided, and challenge one another with a homework assignment that we'll have to complete before next season. Will we finally cross some legendary titles off our lists, or discover they were overhyped all along?We also break down some of the biggest announcements and reveals from San Diego Comic-Con, discussing what has us genuinely excited for the future of nerd culture.As we wrap up our tenth year of the Nerd of Godcast, we take a few moments to reflect on everything we've accomplished, laugh about everything we missed, and look ahead with excitement to everything God has in store for the next season.Whether you're a lifelong nerd or someone who's just trying to catch up on the classics, this episode is a fun reminder that it's never too late to start the adventure.

Donna & Steve open the show talking about how Suri Cruise is changing her last name, Americans know more about reality TV than their finances and what's your thermostat set at during this heatwave?In hour two, we play the Martin Scorsese edition of the College of Pop Culture Knowledge, Ella Langley just made Billboard history and what's the last thing you do before bed?Finally, Sean Astin says he wasn't paid much for The Lord of the Rings movies, how old "Shark Week" is and (maybe) we find out the Soup of the Day!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What can The Lord of the Rings teach us about enduring life's most difficult journeys? Continuing our Soundtracks and Stories series, Steven Hinson explores Frodo's journey through Middle-earth alongside Paul's words in Romans 5:1–5. We discover how trials produce perseverance, perseverance develops character, and character leads us to a hope that will never disappoint. Whatever burden you are carrying, God sees you. Through Jesus, we have the strength to keep moving forward and the assurance that there is still good in this world—and it is worth fighting for.

Mark Kermode and Jack Howard discuss Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey at the Sun Pub on Drury LaneOther films mentioned in this episode:Silent Running (1972)2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)The Dark Knight (2008)Dunkirk (2017)Society (1989)Oppenheimer (2023)Spirited Away (2001)Interstellar (2014)Inception (2010)The Ninth Configuration (1980)The Lord Of The Rings trilogy (2001-3)With thanks to Richard Gay and The Sun Pub on London's Drury Lane.Kermode on Film is an HLA Agency productionProduced by Hedda Lornie Archbold and Nicki Glossop© HLA Agency Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

San Diego Comic-Con 2026 is in the books, and the Geek Culture Congress crew is here to break down every major announcement!This episode covers Marvel Studios' huge Hall H presentation, the cast and story details for Avengers: Doomsday, Ryan Gosling's Ghost Rider reveal, Spider-Man: Brand New Day reactions, DC's Lanterns, Avatar updates, Resident Evil, Lord of the Rings, Blade Runner 2099, and much more. We also dive into our latest discussions on X-Men '97 and House of the Dragon, plus our thoughts on where Marvel and DC are heading next.If you're a fan of Marvel, DC, Star Wars, gaming, anime, comics, and all things geek culture, this is the podcast for you.Follow Geek Culture Congress and Speedy's Multiverse for new episodes every week!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The three Lord of the Rings stories quickly became huge hits when first released as novels in the 1940s. They quickly built a cult fan base due to the fantastical universe created by author JRR Tolkien.  But his works reached a whole other dimension with the epic Hollywood adaptations of the 2000s. These blockbusters brought the stories to life, wowing audiences with stunning visual effects and an Oscar-winning musical score. A number of films based on the life of Bilbo Baggins then followed, but the story didn't end there. Fans are currently getting stuck into The Rings of Power the latest series linked to the Lord of the Rings universe. The first episodes were released on Amazon Prime Video in early September 2022. Let's take a few minutes to discuss some of the little-known secrets behind the massively successful franchise.  How did Tolkien come up with the idea of creating the Lord of the Rings universe? What secrets did the Hollywood films bring? Did Tolkien leave any loose ends in his story?  ⁠⁠In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions !⁠⁠ To listen to the latest episodes, click here: ⁠⁠What is tagskryt, the Scandinavian sustainable travel trend?⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Is it time the UK acknowledged its role in the slave trade?⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Why do we sneeze?⁠⁠ A podcast written and realised by Joseph Chance First Broadcast : 17/09/2022 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

ACOFAE Podcast Presents: Shadowhunters: The TV Show: Christmas in July. Long time listeners will know that ACOFAE had to cover the show at some point. Yep, Laura Marie and Jessica Marie are revisiting the FreeForm pilot episode of ShadowHunters: The Mortal Instruments. It's a lot of things, and accurate is not one of them, but it is entertaining and ACOFAE will take what they can get at this point. Jessica Marie has actually seen the pilot before she started the books, and Laura Marie is just along for the ride and finding the value in what's on screen. Everyone is there, and the plot follows it's course, but it's the characters that give the show it's life. Just, why must we always start here.. Shout out to Jamie Campbell Bower, the once and forever Jace. TW / CW: none to our awareness For additional TW/CW information for your future reads, head to this site for more: https://triggerwarningdatabase.com/ Spoilers: The Mortal Instruments, Shadowhunters Movie, Shadowhunters pilot, loose Shadowhunters universe Mentions: Fourth Wing, SJM, Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon, Lord of the Rings, Dune: Prophecy, The Magicians *Thank you for listening to us! Please subscribe and leave a 5-star review and follow us on Instagram at @ACOFAEpodcast and on our TikToks! TikTok: ACOFAELaura : Laura Marie ( https://www.tiktok.com/@acofaelaura) ACOFAEJessica : Jessica Marie (https://www.tiktok.com/@acofaejessica) Instagram: @ACOFAEpodcast https://www.instagram.com/acofaepodcast/ @ACOFAELaura https://www.instagram.com/acofaelaura/

SUMMARYJacob and Evan wrap up their coverage of The Rings of Power Season 2 by discussing the explosive two-part finale. From Celebrimbor's heartbreaking manipulation at the hands of Sauron to King Durin's final stand against the Balrog, they examine the darkest moments of the season and debate whether these episodes represent the show's strongest storytelling so far.The conversation explores Sauron's psychological warfare, Galadriel's confrontation with him, the future of Númenor, the mystery surrounding the Dwarven Rings, and where the series appears to be heading toward the Battle of the Last Alliance. They close by ranking their favorite moments, least favorite scenes, MVPs of the finale, and looking ahead to future Lord of the Rings discussions.KEYWORDSRings of Power Season 2 FinaleRings of Power Episodes 7 and 8SauronCelebrimborKing DurinBalrogGaladriel vs SauronNúmenorElendilDwarven RingsBattle of the Last AllianceLord of the Rings discussionCHAPTERS00:00 - Introduction and recap of Episodes 7 & 801:17 - Episode 7 story summary02:25 - Episode 8 finale recap05:48 - Celebrimbor realizes Sauron's deception06:23 - Fake sponsor: European Rodent Removal Service07:04 - Why these episodes are the show's strongest12:07 - Sauron's manipulation and psychological control15:18 - Celebrimbor's tragic final moments20:21 - Númenor politics and Kemen theories33:49 - Galadriel vs. Sauron discussion45:03 - King Durin, the Balrog, and Khazad-dûm57:45 - Elendil, Narsil, and the future of Númenor01:09:30 - Favorite and least favorite scenes01:21:45 - Finale MVPs and season wrap-up01:27:27 - What's next for Lord of the Rings coverage

Welcome to Night City, chooms, where the sky is red, the rent is due, your landlord is probably armed, and health care arrives by helicopter only if your credit score has a body count. In this episode, Ash introduces Randall and Tyler to Cyberpunk Red, a game about surviving late-stage capitalism after it bought a katana, installed cyberlegs, and decided empathy was bad for quarterly growth. The internet is dead, the new internet is haunted, corporations have private armies, your apartment is a cargo container, and if you get shot badly enough, your best hope is that Trauma Team thinks your subscription tier is worth the bullets. So chrome up, talk before you glock, and remember: in Cyberpunk, the future is not here to save you. It is here to invoice you. Cyberpunk: RED Core Rulebook (affiliate link) Show Notes This RPGBOT.Podcast Quickstart kicks off our Cyberpunk Red arc, with Ash taking the GM chair and immediately shoving Randall and Tyler into a glittering corporate hellscape where every system has failed except capitalism, which unfortunately got promoted. This is the concepts and themes episode, so before anyone gets to build a tragic little neon goblin with a gun, Ash walks us through the setting, the history, the tone, and the important survival lesson that being cool does not make you bulletproof. The episode starts in peak RPGBOT fashion: no one is ready, Producer Dan scares the cast, Evil RPGBOT becomes a conspiracy board, and the crew somehow detours through Taylor Swift, soccer, the metric system, and America's inability to understand that a third of a pound is bigger than a quarter. Eventually, because someone has to be the adult and it sure is not going to be capitalism, Ash drags everyone into Cyberpunk Red. Cyberpunk Red takes place in 2045, during the Time of Red, after the Fourth Corporate War and the pocket-nuke-sized corporate tantrum that helped turn Night City into a smoldering lesson in why companies should not have militaries. The old Net is gone, rogue AIs lurk behind the Black Wall, and the new Net is a bunch of local data structures that Netrunners have to physically approach because apparently even hacking needed to become a contact sport. Mechanically, the game runs on D10 checks and D6 damage, which sounds friendly right up until someone explains combat. Fights are fast, violent, and deeply uninterested in your character arc. Armor helps until it gets chewed apart. Critical injuries can cost you limbs, senses, or dignity. Death saves are less a dramatic countdown and more a paperwork-light way of saying congratulations, you lived long enough to regret this. Ash also digs into Netrunning, Black ICE, cyberware, humanity loss, and cyberpsychosis. Netrunners are basically hackers with a death wish and a brain cable. Black ICE is corporate malware that wants to delete either your programs or your thoughts. Cyberware lets you replace your sad meat parts with upgrades, but too much chrome can eat away at your humanity until you become less person and more violent product recall. By the end, Cyberpunk Red comes across as stylish, brutal, roleplay-heavy, and aggressively allergic to the idea that anyone is having a good time for free. It is a game about survival, reputation, scarcity, and looking incredible while the world collapses around you. Next up: character creation, where Tyler will almost certainly try to become some kind of cyber-wizard trash gremlin and everyone will pretend to be surprised. Key Takeaways Cyberpunk Red is set in 2045 during the Time of Red, which is what happens when the future catches fire and nobody with money feels personally inconvenienced enough to fix it. The setting is corporate dystopia with the safety rails removed. Governments are weak, corporations are terrifying, and basic human needs have been turned into subscription models with worse customer service. The old Net is dead because a vengeful hacker released digital nightmares into the system. Now the Black Wall keeps the murder-AIs in the internet basement, where they are definitely fine and nothing bad will ever happen. The new Net is localized, which means Netrunners have to get physically close to access points. Hacking is no longer safely done from your couch. Now it comes with floor plans and gunfire. The core system is simple: roll a D10, add your stat and skill, and try to beat the difficulty. The consequences, however, are very committed to ruining your evening. Combat is deadly, fast, and rude. Armor degrades, bullets hurt, and the game strongly encourages the sacred cyberpunk tradition of not starting a gunfight unless you are ready to become street decor. Critical injuries are nasty. Cyberpunk Red does not ask whether you are emotionally attached to your arm before it starts making suggestions. Trauma Team can save you, but only if you can afford the good plan. In Night City, even emergency rescue has premium tiers, because of course it does. Netrunners are terrifying little brain-goblins who can hack systems, fight programs, and potentially ruin someone's cyberware from the inside. They are cool, useful, and absolutely one bad roll away from becoming soup. Cyberware is powerful and stylish, but it has a humanity cost. Replace too much of yourself and the game starts asking whether you are still a person or just a problem with optics. Cyberpsychosis is not just a punishment for wanting cool robot arms. The episode points out that the game treats medical prosthetics and elective combat chrome differently, which gives the system more nuance than just metal parts make you evil. Cyberpunk Red is roleplay-forward. Rent, lifestyle, jobs, reputation, hustle, and survival all matter. You are not just adventuring. You are trying to make it to next month without being evicted, harvested, hacked, shot, or monetized. The next episode moves into character creation using the Edgerunner method, because apparently everyone agreed that dying in Night City should at least be efficient. Welcome to the RPGBOT Podcast. If you love Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, and tabletop RPGs, this is the podcast for you. Support the show for free: Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any podcast app. It helps new listeners find the best RPG podcast for D&D and Pathfinder players. Level up your experience: Join us on Patreon to unlock ad-free access to RPGBOT.net and the RPGBOT Podcast, chat with us and the community on the RPGBOT Discord, and jump into live-streamed RPG podcast recordings. Support while you shop: Use our Amazon affiliate link at https://amzn.to/3NwElxQ and help us keep building tools and guides for the RPG community. Meet the Hosts Tyler Kamstra – Master of mechanics, seeing the Pathfinder action economy like Neo in the Matrix. Randall James – Lore buff and technologist, always ready to debate which Lord of the Rings edition reigns supreme. Ash Ely – Resident cynic, chaos agent, and AI's worst nightmare, bringing pure table-flipping RPG podcast energy. Join the RPGBOT team where fantasy roleplaying meets real strategy, sarcasm, and community chaos. How to Find Us: In-depth articles, guides, handbooks, reviews, news on Tabletop Role Playing at RPGBOT.net Tyler Kamstra BlueSky: @rpgbot.net TikTok: @RPGBOTDOTNET Ash Ely Professional Game Master on StartPlaying.Games BlueSky: @GravenAshes YouTube: @ashravenmedia Randall James BlueSky: @GrimoireRPG Amateurjack.com Read Melancon: A Grimoire Tale (affiliate link) Producer Dan @Lzr_illuminati  

In this episode the FilmBros discuss Lord of the Rings film, Batman pt 2 news, MCU Updates, Blue Beetle back in the DCU and moreLeave a message on our socials! Twitter, TIktok, IG @FIlmBrosPodcastSupport the show

Welcome to Night City, chooms, where the sky is red, the rent is due, your landlord is probably armed, and health care arrives by helicopter only if your credit score has a body count. In this episode, Ash introduces Randall and Tyler to Cyberpunk Red, a game about surviving late-stage capitalism after it bought a katana, installed cyberlegs, and decided empathy was bad for quarterly growth. The internet is dead, the new internet is haunted, corporations have private armies, your apartment is a cargo container, and if you get shot badly enough, your best hope is that Trauma Team thinks your subscription tier is worth the bullets. So chrome up, talk before you glock, and remember: in Cyberpunk, the future is not here to save you. It is here to invoice you. Cyberpunk: RED Core Rulebook (affiliate link) Show Notes This RPGBOT.Podcast Quickstart kicks off our Cyberpunk Red arc, with Ash taking the GM chair and immediately shoving Randall and Tyler into a glittering corporate hellscape where every system has failed except capitalism, which unfortunately got promoted. This is the concepts and themes episode, so before anyone gets to build a tragic little neon goblin with a gun, Ash walks us through the setting, the history, the tone, and the important survival lesson that being cool does not make you bulletproof. The episode starts in peak RPGBOT fashion: no one is ready, Producer Dan scares the cast, Evil RPGBOT becomes a conspiracy board, and the crew somehow detours through Taylor Swift, soccer, the metric system, and America's inability to understand that a third of a pound is bigger than a quarter. Eventually, because someone has to be the adult and it sure is not going to be capitalism, Ash drags everyone into Cyberpunk Red. Cyberpunk Red takes place in 2045, during the Time of Red, after the Fourth Corporate War and the pocket-nuke-sized corporate tantrum that helped turn Night City into a smoldering lesson in why companies should not have militaries. The old Net is gone, rogue AIs lurk behind the Black Wall, and the new Net is a bunch of local data structures that Netrunners have to physically approach because apparently even hacking needed to become a contact sport. Mechanically, the game runs on D10 checks and D6 damage, which sounds friendly right up until someone explains combat. Fights are fast, violent, and deeply uninterested in your character arc. Armor helps until it gets chewed apart. Critical injuries can cost you limbs, senses, or dignity. Death saves are less a dramatic countdown and more a paperwork-light way of saying congratulations, you lived long enough to regret this. Ash also digs into Netrunning, Black ICE, cyberware, humanity loss, and cyberpsychosis. Netrunners are basically hackers with a death wish and a brain cable. Black ICE is corporate malware that wants to delete either your programs or your thoughts. Cyberware lets you replace your sad meat parts with upgrades, but too much chrome can eat away at your humanity until you become less person and more violent product recall. By the end, Cyberpunk Red comes across as stylish, brutal, roleplay-heavy, and aggressively allergic to the idea that anyone is having a good time for free. It is a game about survival, reputation, scarcity, and looking incredible while the world collapses around you. Next up: character creation, where Tyler will almost certainly try to become some kind of cyber-wizard trash gremlin and everyone will pretend to be surprised. Key Takeaways Cyberpunk Red is set in 2045 during the Time of Red, which is what happens when the future catches fire and nobody with money feels personally inconvenienced enough to fix it. The setting is corporate dystopia with the safety rails removed. Governments are weak, corporations are terrifying, and basic human needs have been turned into subscription models with worse customer service. The old Net is dead because a vengeful hacker released digital nightmares into the system. Now the Black Wall keeps the murder-AIs in the internet basement, where they are definitely fine and nothing bad will ever happen. The new Net is localized, which means Netrunners have to get physically close to access points. Hacking is no longer safely done from your couch. Now it comes with floor plans and gunfire. The core system is simple: roll a D10, add your stat and skill, and try to beat the difficulty. The consequences, however, are very committed to ruining your evening. Combat is deadly, fast, and rude. Armor degrades, bullets hurt, and the game strongly encourages the sacred cyberpunk tradition of not starting a gunfight unless you are ready to become street decor. Critical injuries are nasty. Cyberpunk Red does not ask whether you are emotionally attached to your arm before it starts making suggestions. Trauma Team can save you, but only if you can afford the good plan. In Night City, even emergency rescue has premium tiers, because of course it does. Netrunners are terrifying little brain-goblins who can hack systems, fight programs, and potentially ruin someone's cyberware from the inside. They are cool, useful, and absolutely one bad roll away from becoming soup. Cyberware is powerful and stylish, but it has a humanity cost. Replace too much of yourself and the game starts asking whether you are still a person or just a problem with optics. Cyberpsychosis is not just a punishment for wanting cool robot arms. The episode points out that the game treats medical prosthetics and elective combat chrome differently, which gives the system more nuance than just metal parts make you evil. Cyberpunk Red is roleplay-forward. Rent, lifestyle, jobs, reputation, hustle, and survival all matter. You are not just adventuring. You are trying to make it to next month without being evicted, harvested, hacked, shot, or monetized. The next episode moves into character creation using the Edgerunner method, because apparently everyone agreed that dying in Night City should at least be efficient. Welcome to the RPGBOT Podcast. If you love Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, and tabletop RPGs, this is the podcast for you. Support the show for free: Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any podcast app. It helps new listeners find the best RPG podcast for D&D and Pathfinder players. Level up your experience: Join us on Patreon to unlock ad-free access to RPGBOT.net and the RPGBOT Podcast, chat with us and the community on the RPGBOT Discord, and jump into live-streamed RPG podcast recordings. Support while you shop: Use our Amazon affiliate link at https://amzn.to/3NwElxQ and help us keep building tools and guides for the RPG community. Meet the Hosts Tyler Kamstra – Master of mechanics, seeing the Pathfinder action economy like Neo in the Matrix. Randall James – Lore buff and technologist, always ready to debate which Lord of the Rings edition reigns supreme. Ash Ely – Resident cynic, chaos agent, and AI's worst nightmare, bringing pure table-flipping RPG podcast energy. Join the RPGBOT team where fantasy roleplaying meets real strategy, sarcasm, and community chaos. How to Find Us: In-depth articles, guides, handbooks, reviews, news on Tabletop Role Playing at RPGBOT.net Tyler Kamstra BlueSky: @rpgbot.net TikTok: @RPGBOTDOTNET Ash Ely Professional Game Master on StartPlaying.Games BlueSky: @GravenAshes YouTube: @ashravenmedia Randall James BlueSky: @GrimoireRPG Amateurjack.com Read Melancon: A Grimoire Tale (affiliate link) Producer Dan @Lzr_illuminati  

Mass Movement Presents… Episode 96: The Imperial March… In which the middle-aged crew chat about Supergirl,Project Hail Mary, Man On Fire. the 1978 animated take on The Lord of the Rings, Steve Jackson Games': Car Wars, become all beery eyed and question whether it's a good idea to ever go Imperial, review some of the newer books that have arrived at Mass Movement HQ. get Mad as Hell about FIFAand much, much more.  And somewhere in the middle of all the chaos, they find timeto spin a bunch of tunes by the finest degenerates to have ever emerged from the South Wales punk scene, Trigger McPoopshute.  Tune in, turn it up, and geek out

Action Film Face-OffEpisode 95: Bourne Identity (2002) vs LOTR: Fellowship of the Ring (2001)Welcome to the 95th episode of Action Film Face-Off!Our randomizer - set to pick years in the range of 1970-2024 - selected 2002 & 2001, so here are our contestants:Bourne Identity (2002) vs LOTR: Fellowship of the Ring (2001)Who will win in the FRANCHISE-STARTERS fight? Find out as they battle for 6 rounds in our videodome!Be sure to check out all the other Longbox Crusade shows at: www.LongboxCrusade.comLet us know what you think!Leave a comment by sending an email to: contact@longboxcrusade.comThis podcast is a member of the Longbox Crusade Network:LINKTREE: https://linktr.ee/longboxcrusadeFollow on TWITTER: https://twitter.com/LongboxCrusadeFollow on INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/longboxcrusadeLike the FACEBOOK page: https://www.facebook.com/LongboxCrusadeSubscribe to the YouTube Channel: https://goo.gl/4LkhovSubscribe on Apple Podcast at:https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-longboxcrusade/id1118783510?mt=2Thank you for listening and we hope you have enjoyed this episode of Action Film Face-Off.#actionfilm #actionmovies #moviereviews #moviereview #movies #BourneIdentity #LOTRFellowshipoftheRing #FellowshipoftheRing #LordofTheRings #2002 #2001

Welcome to Pandemonium, the plane where the wind screams, gravity is a rumor, and every emergency exit has a reasonable chance of dropping you directly into the Abyss. Tyler explains the cosmology, Randall attempts to locate something resembling a usable map, Ash discovers that the wind is made from every scream anyone has ever screamed, and Producer Dan quietly realizes this entire episode will require aggressive noise reduction. Pack darkvision, ear protection, and a backup character. The weather is hostile, the architecture hates you, and even the demons would rather be somewhere else. Show Notes This week on the RPGBOT.Podcast, we descend into Pandemonium, the endlessly dark maze of caves where hurricane-force winds carry ancient voices, communication is nearly impossible, and prolonged exposure can leave travelers deaf, insane, or both. The crew explores the plane's four layers, from the enormous caverns of Pandesmos to the narrowing tunnels of Cocytus, the marginally more gravity-compliant Phlegethon, and the sealed chambers of Agathion, where forgotten horrors wait patiently for some adventurer with a shovel and poor judgment. Along the way, we examine Pandemonium's strange inhabitants, exiled gods, nihilistic settlements, bizarre monsters, and oddly specific afterlives. We also follow the River Styx, investigate portals that treat destinations as optional suggestions, and discover a magical shouting spot that lets you insult someone anywhere in the multiverse, provided invisible shadow demons do not eat you first. Finally, the episode turns to using spells against player characters. The hosts discuss why illusion magic becomes terrifying in the hands of a villain, how Pass Without Trace can transform ordinary goblins into a tactical nightmare, and why Dungeon Masters should give enemy spellcasters clever strategies without simply making the players miserable. RPGBOT.Podcast Episodes The Abyss Arborea Archeron Arcadia The Beastlands Bytopia Carceri Celestia Elysium The Ethereal Plane The Feywild Gehenna Hades Hell Part 1 Hell Part 2 Limbo Mechanus Pandemonium Plane of Air Plane of Fire Shadowfell Key Takeaways Pandemonium is an environmental threat before combat even begins. Darkness, deafening winds, madness, and unpredictable gravity can challenge a party without requiring constant monster encounters. The plane contains four layers: Pandesmos, Cocytus, Phlegethon, and Agathion. Each becomes more difficult to navigate, survive, or pronounce. The wind does more than make noise. It carries voices, screams, threats, and other sounds from across history, creating an endless supernatural chorus capable of destroying a traveler's sanity. Navigation is nearly impossible when characters can walk along cave walls and ceilings and rivers can flow in whatever direction they feel like flowing. Most of Pandemonium's inhabitants are exiles, prisoners, refugees, or creatures that arrived accidentally and cannot leave. Nobody appears to have moved there because of the excellent schools. Agathion's sealed pockets make excellent prisons, vaults, and adventure locations for ancient beings that absolutely should not be awakened. The River Styx and Pandemonium's portals provide possible escape routes, but memory loss, random destinations, and ambush predators make every option terrible in a different way. Pandemonium works best when the plane itself feels like the primary antagonist. The monsters should be additional complications, not the only source of danger. Enemy illusionists can create memorable encounters, but Dungeon Masters should apply the same standards to NPC illusions that they apply to player illusions. Smart enemies using stealth, terrain, traps, and spells such as Pass Without Trace can turn supposedly weak creatures into serious threats without artificially increasing their statistics. Welcome to the RPGBOT Podcast. If you love Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, and tabletop RPGs, this is the podcast for you. Support the show for free: Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any podcast app. It helps new listeners find the best RPG podcast for D&D and Pathfinder players. Level up your experience: Join us on Patreon to unlock ad-free access to RPGBOT.net and the RPGBOT Podcast, chat with us and the community on the RPGBOT Discord, and jump into live-streamed RPG podcast recordings. Support while you shop: Use our Amazon affiliate link at https://amzn.to/3NwElxQ and help us keep building tools and guides for the RPG community. Meet the Hosts Tyler Kamstra – Master of mechanics, seeing the Pathfinder action economy like Neo in the Matrix. Randall James – Lore buff and technologist, always ready to debate which Lord of the Rings edition reigns supreme. Ash Ely – Resident cynic, chaos agent, and AI's worst nightmare, bringing pure table-flipping RPG podcast energy. Join the RPGBOT team where fantasy roleplaying meets real strategy, sarcasm, and community chaos. How to Find Us: In-depth articles, guides, handbooks, reviews, news on Tabletop Role Playing at RPGBOT.net Tyler Kamstra BlueSky: @rpgbot.net TikTok: @RPGBOTDOTNET Ash Ely Professional Game Master on StartPlaying.Games BlueSky: @GravenAshes YouTube: @ashravenmedia Randall James BlueSky: @GrimoireRPG Amateurjack.com Read Melancon: A Grimoire Tale (affiliate link) Producer Dan @Lzr_illuminati

Action Film Face-OffEpisode 95: Bourne Identity (2002) vs LOTR: Fellowship of the Ring (2001)Welcome to the 95th episode of Action Film Face-Off!Our randomizer - set to pick years in the range of 1970-2024 - selected 2002 & 2001, so here are our contestants:Bourne Identity (2002) vs LOTR: Fellowship of the Ring (2001)Who will win in the FRANCHISE-STARTERS fight? Find out as they battle for 6 rounds in our videodome!Be sure to check out all the other Longbox Crusade shows at: www.LongboxCrusade.comLet us know what you think!Leave a comment by sending an email to: contact@longboxcrusade.comThis podcast is a member of the Longbox Crusade Network:LINKTREE: https://linktr.ee/longboxcrusadeFollow on TWITTER: https://twitter.com/LongboxCrusadeFollow on INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/longboxcrusadeLike the FACEBOOK page: https://www.facebook.com/LongboxCrusadeSubscribe to the YouTube Channel: https://goo.gl/4LkhovSubscribe on Apple Podcast at:https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-longboxcrusade/id1118783510?mt=2Thank you for listening and we hope you have enjoyed this episode of Action Film Face-Off.#actionfilm #actionmovies #moviereviews #moviereview #movies #BourneIdentity #LOTRFellowshipoftheRing #FellowshipoftheRing #LordofTheRings #2002 #2001

Welcome to Pandemonium, the plane where the wind screams, gravity is a rumor, and every emergency exit has a reasonable chance of dropping you directly into the Abyss. Tyler explains the cosmology, Randall attempts to locate something resembling a usable map, Ash discovers that the wind is made from every scream anyone has ever screamed, and Producer Dan quietly realizes this entire episode will require aggressive noise reduction. Pack darkvision, ear protection, and a backup character. The weather is hostile, the architecture hates you, and even the demons would rather be somewhere else. Show Notes This week on the RPGBOT.Podcast, we descend into Pandemonium, the endlessly dark maze of caves where hurricane-force winds carry ancient voices, communication is nearly impossible, and prolonged exposure can leave travelers deaf, insane, or both. The crew explores the plane's four layers, from the enormous caverns of Pandesmos to the narrowing tunnels of Cocytus, the marginally more gravity-compliant Phlegethon, and the sealed chambers of Agathion, where forgotten horrors wait patiently for some adventurer with a shovel and poor judgment. Along the way, we examine Pandemonium's strange inhabitants, exiled gods, nihilistic settlements, bizarre monsters, and oddly specific afterlives. We also follow the River Styx, investigate portals that treat destinations as optional suggestions, and discover a magical shouting spot that lets you insult someone anywhere in the multiverse, provided invisible shadow demons do not eat you first. Finally, the episode turns to using spells against player characters. The hosts discuss why illusion magic becomes terrifying in the hands of a villain, how Pass Without Trace can transform ordinary goblins into a tactical nightmare, and why Dungeon Masters should give enemy spellcasters clever strategies without simply making the players miserable. RPGBOT.Podcast Episodes The Abyss Arborea Archeron Arcadia The Beastlands Bytopia Carceri Celestia Elysium The Ethereal Plane The Feywild Gehenna Hades Hell Part 1 Hell Part 2 Limbo Mechanus Pandemonium Plane of Air Plane of Fire Shadowfell Key Takeaways Pandemonium is an environmental threat before combat even begins. Darkness, deafening winds, madness, and unpredictable gravity can challenge a party without requiring constant monster encounters. The plane contains four layers: Pandesmos, Cocytus, Phlegethon, and Agathion. Each becomes more difficult to navigate, survive, or pronounce. The wind does more than make noise. It carries voices, screams, threats, and other sounds from across history, creating an endless supernatural chorus capable of destroying a traveler's sanity. Navigation is nearly impossible when characters can walk along cave walls and ceilings and rivers can flow in whatever direction they feel like flowing. Most of Pandemonium's inhabitants are exiles, prisoners, refugees, or creatures that arrived accidentally and cannot leave. Nobody appears to have moved there because of the excellent schools. Agathion's sealed pockets make excellent prisons, vaults, and adventure locations for ancient beings that absolutely should not be awakened. The River Styx and Pandemonium's portals provide possible escape routes, but memory loss, random destinations, and ambush predators make every option terrible in a different way. Pandemonium works best when the plane itself feels like the primary antagonist. The monsters should be additional complications, not the only source of danger. Enemy illusionists can create memorable encounters, but Dungeon Masters should apply the same standards to NPC illusions that they apply to player illusions. Smart enemies using stealth, terrain, traps, and spells such as Pass Without Trace can turn supposedly weak creatures into serious threats without artificially increasing their statistics. Welcome to the RPGBOT Podcast. If you love Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, and tabletop RPGs, this is the podcast for you. Support the show for free: Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any podcast app. It helps new listeners find the best RPG podcast for D&D and Pathfinder players. Level up your experience: Join us on Patreon to unlock ad-free access to RPGBOT.net and the RPGBOT Podcast, chat with us and the community on the RPGBOT Discord, and jump into live-streamed RPG podcast recordings. Support while you shop: Use our Amazon affiliate link at https://amzn.to/3NwElxQ and help us keep building tools and guides for the RPG community. Meet the Hosts Tyler Kamstra – Master of mechanics, seeing the Pathfinder action economy like Neo in the Matrix. Randall James – Lore buff and technologist, always ready to debate which Lord of the Rings edition reigns supreme. Ash Ely – Resident cynic, chaos agent, and AI's worst nightmare, bringing pure table-flipping RPG podcast energy. Join the RPGBOT team where fantasy roleplaying meets real strategy, sarcasm, and community chaos. How to Find Us: In-depth articles, guides, handbooks, reviews, news on Tabletop Role Playing at RPGBOT.net Tyler Kamstra BlueSky: @rpgbot.net TikTok: @RPGBOTDOTNET Ash Ely Professional Game Master on StartPlaying.Games BlueSky: @GravenAshes YouTube: @ashravenmedia Randall James BlueSky: @GrimoireRPG Amateurjack.com Read Melancon: A Grimoire Tale (affiliate link) Producer Dan @Lzr_illuminati

Sometimes the hardest setback becomes the start of a far better life. I speak with Jeff Brown, an international photography business mentor whose path began with dyslexia, school struggles, and a fishing fly business at age 16. Jeff shares how military photography, personal branding, and business skills helped him build a successful creative career. He also opens up about losing everything through a failed pub, rebuilding his mental health, and creating a global photography mentoring business. His story shows how persistence, clear goals, strong branding, and the courage to change direction can create an unstoppable life. Highlights: 00:01:38 - How dyslexia and school struggles shaped Jeff's drive to work for himself. 00:05:58 - The first sale that showed him entrepreneurship was possible. 00:14:50 - Why passion and effort mattered more than early photography skills. 00:35:49 - How branding and marketing helped grow four photography businesses. 00:39:06 - The business failure that forced Jeff to rebuild his life. 01:01:49 - Why clear goals, strong branding, and steady action create growth. About the Guest: Jeff Brown is an International Photography Business Mentor, Best Selling Photography Business Author, Public Speaker and President of The British Institute of Professional Photography. Also working for The International School Photography Conference Team he has delivered sell-out courses and workshops around the world. Jeff works closely with photographers from all niches and photographic backgrounds having a real passion to help them grow their online brand and achieve their goals.          Jeff first dipped his toe into entrepreneurship at the age of 15 while still at school, selling handmade fishing flies to local tackle shops to boost his pocket money. After leaving school at 16 he set up his first full-time venture, a mail-order fishing tackle business. His fishing tackle business came to an end 7 years later, shortly after Jeff enlisted in the Royal Navy where he went on to serve as a military photographer and intelligence analysist.            Following nearly 10 years service he left the armed forces to set up his own photography company, and eighteen months later had a successful six-figure wedding photography company and a commercial photography business, then going on to open a separate school photography business and a Boudoir Makeover studio turning over 1,000 boudoir and model shoots per year.            In 2014 Jeff decided to follow his dreams of owning a country food pub by investing over £120k of his own money into a pub venture, which turned out to be his greatest ever failure, losing his entire investment and racking up £60k of debt in just 12 months while at the same time going through a divorce.           After suffering from depression in 2015, he changed direction again and developed an online photography business mentoring program, making it his mission to help and inspire photographers worldwide to market their businesses better.                                                Part of Jeff's major focus and teachings are in the areas of Goal Setting, Brand Message, Consistency, and Website Content including the new AI and AEO search on Google, and also his favourite social media platform which is LinkedIn. It's essential to have a mindset for success and a clear path to follow. No business can truly succeed without goals, direction, a powerful brand and a positive mindset to achieve.        Jeff has written 4 internationally best-selling photography books and recently published his first travel book – ·      The Photographers Missing Link-edIn ·      The Ambitious Photographer's Journal          ·      Help My Photography Website Needs More Customers        ·      The Photographer's Gratitude & Mindset Journal       ·      Plan Your Ultimate Northumberland 250 Road Trip   He writes for several photography magazines and associations and is also a brand ambassador for OM System (Olympus Cameras), The British Photography Awards, Studio Ninja, The Societies of Photographers, and the UK and US Brand Ambassador for The Shutter Studio App.         Jeff lives in the beautiful scenic county of Northumberland, England. He's a keen traveller having visited over 60 countries so far, as well as being an outdoor enthusiast, motorbiker and loves getting out in nature when ever he can. Ways to connect with Jeff**:** Website: www.thephotographersmentor.comFacebook: www.facebook.com/JeffBrownThePhotographersMentorLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/thephotographersmentorAmazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Jeff%20Brown/author/B09M76J1XK About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog. Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards. https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/ Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below! Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset . Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts. Transcription Notes: Michael Hingson  00:04 What if the biggest thing holding you back isn't what's in front of you, but rather what you believe? Welcome to Unstoppable Mindset, where inclusion, diversity, and the unexpected meet. I'm your host, Michael Hingston, speaker, author, and advocate for inclusion and possibilities. This podcast explores how the beliefs we carry shape the way we live, lead, and connect with others. Each week, I talk with people who challenge assumptions, face adversity head-on, and show what's possible when we choose curiosity over fear. Together, we focus on mindset, resilience, and the small shifts that lead to meaningful change. Let's get started. Hi again, everyone. Welcome to another episode of Unstoppable Mindset. You know what's really fun about this podcast is we get to meet all sorts of people who talk about all sorts of different kinds of things, and today we get to talk to a gentleman from England, Jeff Brown, and Jeff, among other things, is an international photography business mentor, best-selling photography business author, he's a public speaker and also the president of the British Public Institute of Photography. I think I said that right. Jeff Brown  01:36 British British Institute of Professional Photography. British Michael Hingson  01:40 Institute of Professional Photography. Got to say it right, but anyway, and and all sorts of other things. He's an adventurous kind of person, as you're going to learn in the course of the day. So, Jeff, I want to welcome you to Unstoppable Mindset, and we're really glad you're here. Jeff Brown  01:55 Thank you. Thanks for having me on. Michael Hingson  01:57 Well, I'm glad to do it, and I have a visitor in the studio today, my cat Stitch, who is monitoring this, and I'm sure that if she has any opinions, she's going to voice them. But we'll see. Stitch is a wonderful kitty. She's almost 16 years old, and we we love having her around. But anyway, so Jeff, why don't we start by you telling us kind of maybe about the early Jeff growing up and some of those things, and we'll go from there. Jeff Brown  02:25 So growing up, so I grew up in the northeast of England, and I was born in 1970. So I'm 55 now, and back in sort of late 70s, early 80s, the northeast of England was a was a bit of a grim place. It was gray. It was there was a lot of poverty. It was mainly coal mining and shipbuilding, and it was the old sort of mentality of you know you go to school, you study hard, you get a job, you stay in the job for for your life, you retire, and then you're dead. That's it. Yeah. So, for some reason, that didn't really, really appeal to me. And I used to love reading. I read loads of books. I was obsessed with books. Got into books from a very early age. Into sort of fantasy type books, Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and stuff like that. But it was only when I got into maybe probably about the the junior schools I'd gone through the infant school I got to about eight or nine year old that I realized there was something the matter with me in the fact that I'm really struggled with with school I wasn't very good at it years and years later, I found out I was dyslexic, but I couldn't read out aloud. I had real problems with numbers. Numbers seemed to always look the wrong way around to me, and I got an instant dislike of school and an instant dislike of authority. I had I just I couldn't wait to get out of it, but I was quite creative when I got into fishing, I was good at making fishing flies. I got into photography, and that sort of gave me more of a creative mindset. Where I thought, well, I don't want to work for anybody else. I don't want to be told what to do. I want to try and make my own direction. And I decided that I was going to be self-employed or you know start my own business at the age of 14, Michael Hingson  04:23 what did your parents think of your your kind of independent mindset or entrepreneurial mindset? Because you must have voiced it along the way. Jeff Brown  04:31 Well, I did, yeah, and funny enough, you know, I said I had a real dislike of school. I mean, I actually not not overly proud of it, but I was expelled from school at the age of 16, kicked out of school because I got into quite a bit of trouble. I was I was very rebellious. I really disliked it with the passion, and I left school with zero qualifications. So I didn't I didn't pass any exams. I filled every exam that I actually bothered to turn up for, but to. It matters worse. My dad was a college lecturer, and my mum was a teacher. So, so obviously it didn't go down well with with having two parents who were in the education system. But they backed me 100% They were they they could see that I was struggling, but dyslexia wasn't really a thing that was talked about back. Yeah, and yeah, my my dad put forward at the time one and a half 1000 pound to help me get onto the you know get the equipment I needed and the the office space to start my first business. Michael Hingson  05:34 So it was pretty supportive, Jeff Brown  05:36 very supportive. Yeah, yeah, yeah, and and and I think it helped as well that my first business was making fishing flies and tying and exporting fishing flies to fishing businesses around the world. But my dad was keen on fishing as well, so he had he had an attraction to the business. Michael Hingson  05:54 Okay. Well, I know that my wife had lots of relatives in England. A lot of them were from the Cornwall Mosel area, and a lot of them, of course, were very much into fishing. Jeff Brown  06:05 Oh yeah, yeah. I know Cornwall. In fact, I spent a year in Cornwall on on Navy search and rescue, and that would have been 1919 98 I think it was then very beautiful place. Michael Hingson  06:19 I've not been. I'd love to go sometime. We'll have to figure that out. Jeff Brown  06:23 Yeah, it is. It's gorgeous. It's gorgeous. Michael Hingson  06:26 So you started this business. So you were basically 15 when you started the the business, which I think is kind of interesting. That's at a young age, and of course, by the time you were 16, as you said, you got expelled from school, which had to not be very very much fun. Jeff Brown  06:44 Yeah, I mean, well, to be honest, so the the starting of the business, I used to I used to go into the fishing tackle shops at weekend myself and one of my friends who who I used to go fishing with, and he was good at making flies. He was called Phil. Obviously, I'm called Jeff, and we decided we were going to create a business called PJ Flies. And one weekend, we we went into one of the local fish and tackle shops, and we were buying some some bits and bobs to make fish and flies with. And the business owner, the owner of the shop, said, "Look, says, look, if you bring me some flies down next week, if they if they if they're any good, I'll buy them off you. So we walked into the shop and took these fishing flies in the following week in a little presentation box. And I remember him individually taking each fly out at a time because he said, "How much how much how much are you going to sell me them for? And I said, "Well, I'll sell them for 10 pence each. So he was taking them out, and I was counting up in my head. And at the time, my pocket money was, I think, was three or four pounds a week, and I came out of that shop with a 10-pound note. So it was double what I was getting paid off my pocket money, and it was such a great feeling. So that was my first ever sort of dip into entrepreneurship, earning money, and and he said, and the last thing he said as I went out the door, he says, if you can if you can make the same amount next week or even double, bring them back and I'll buy them off you. So the following week I went back and made 20 quid. Michael Hingson  08:18 Wow, what goes into making a fly, I'm not a fisherman by by training or anything, so I don't know a lot about fly fishing. Jeff Brown  08:27 Yeah, so it's all feathers and so feathers and furrows, and it's all held onto the hook with with a very fine thread, like what's called a gossamer thread. It takes it takes a while to learn. So I was taught by an old guy who was a really good fisherman, and he he had a caravan on the same caravan site that my parents had that they used to go on holiday on, and because we we we never used to go abroad in those days, all the holidays were spent in England, and that he he saw that I was getting into fishing, and he came and taught me how to how to tie fishing flies, which was great. Michael Hingson  09:06 Yeah, and of course, the whole idea behind the fly is to attract the fish, right? Jeff Brown  09:10 That's right. Yeah, yeah. Michael Hingson  09:13 So that they will, if you will, take the bait. Jeff Brown  09:16 Yeah, yeah, totally. And the funny thing was, I was yeah, I used to love fishing, but I don't need fish, so I would either put you know put them back in the in in the river, or I'd I'd give them away to to members of the family. Michael Hingson  09:30 Wow. Well, and suddenly fortunes changed, and there you were making flies and selling them. Jeff Brown  09:37 That's right. That's right. Michael Hingson  09:39 So how long did you do that? Jeff Brown  09:42 So we we got we got a proper sort of business premises in 1986. So when I was I was 16 year old, and we applied for a grant with the then Prince's Trust, which was run by Prince Charles, who's now King Charles. And we were the youngest people in in the UK to be accepted for a grant. They bent the rules and they give us the grant under the age of 18. So we got the grant at 17 year old, and then shortly after, we were in a business sort of a business community, a big a big workspace with lots of offices with other creative people in, and shortly after the the center had opened, about six months after, the the the manager of the center came up and says, "Well, look, we'd like to we'd like you to make a box of salmon flies, but a really good box of salmon flies, all the best ones, and we'll pay you. And it's going to be a presentation box for a special guest who's coming to officially open the business center in a few months. But we can't tell you who it is. And anyway, it turned out two months later it was it was Prince Charles. Speaker 1  10:59 He Jeff Brown  10:59 came to visit us, and he was presented with a box of fishing flies-the the flies that we tied from. Michael Hingson  11:07 Wow, that was pretty cool. So you got to meet him. Jeff Brown  11:11 So yeah, we got to meet him. He talked about fishing. He talked about fly tying. He said he'd he'd been bought a fly tying kit for Christmas one year from his wife, who would have been Princess Diana, but he couldn't get away from get away from it. It was too. He found it too complicated and too complex. So he says, "I really admire that you you know that you guys can can tie the flies. So so yeah. So it was nice. It was nice to meet him. It was nice to be able to do that presentation box, and we had that business till I was 26 so Michael Hingson  11:45 10 years, Jeff Brown  11:46 nearly 10 years. Yeah. Michael Hingson  11:48 Now, have you met him ever since Jeff Brown  11:52 then? I haven't met him, but I have met other members of the the royal family because I was a my next stage in business, so my next stage in life was to become a a military photographer. I met a few members of the royal family in my capacity as a military photographer. So I went from so one avenue being creative, which was the fishing flies, into sort of another avenue being creative. And the funny thing was, I'd never had any intention of John in the military. None of my family were in the military. My dad had done his national service, and my granddad had served in the in the navy during the Second World War. But just on a whim, one day I happened to be walking past a military careers office, and I thought I'd pop in. I love cooking. I thought, oh look, I'd seen a picture on the window where he could train to be a military chef. Yeah, okay. So I went into enquire about being a chef, joined as an aircraft engineer, and then transferred across to become a military photographer. And funny enough, like I said early on, that I hate authority and I hate being told what to do because that came from a hatred of hatred of schools. Michael Hingson  13:10 A school, right? Jeff Brown  13:11 But I believe that the military was different because people say, "Well, you know, if you if you hate authority and hate being told what to do, why the hell did you go and join the military? But the military was very different in the fact that I put up with the I put up with the authority because the military give you adventure. It wasn't a nine foot nine to five. It wasn't a routine job, you know. So it give and I love excitement. I love adventure. I love the the idea of every day being different. So so I was happy enough to put up with military life, and I did that for nearly nine years. Michael Hingson  13:49 Well, so did you find that the military respected your creativity as you grew at being a photographer, and so you were a photographer, so that you were allowed to, to to be creative and do the things that you wanted to do, or did you find that there was just as much authoritarianism, if you will, and they kept telling you what to Jeff Brown  14:15 do? No, no, they were very good at being creative. Funny, the the military photography branch-it's only a small branch. It's about 80 people in the in the in the navy photography branch. So by comparison to all the other branches of the navy, it's tiny, and it's always also a very sought after branch. So basically, have to wait till somebody retires or somebody, you know, gives up their position that you can actually request, and I just managed to get in at the right time where somebody had left, and I applied, and I got accepted and went on to their training course, and their training course is is quite intense, 26 exams in six months, but. All the people who run it are really passionate photographers, so they're all about developing your own creativity. Yes, there's rules and regulations to follow, but it was very different than other other avenues of the armed forces. And then, you know, your average working day, you were you were given a lot of freedom. You were given a brief for a job, but then quite often you would just go off and design that job the way you wanted, you know. Michael Hingson  15:24 But why did you, since you, I guess you, as you said, joined as an aircraft engineer? Why did you decide to look at photography? What what attracted you to that? Jeff Brown  15:35 Because I didn't. Well, first of all, I didn't realize you could be a military photographer. So it was, and you can't join as a military photographer anyway. It's what's called a sidewards entry branch. You have have to have served three years in a in a another part of the armed forces before you can apply. And to apply to get into the military military photography branch, you have to pretty much do it on your own merit. So you've got to build a portfolio up. You've got to do all the application yourself, and they also look at your. It's not like the way you react to discipline, the way you think on your own two feet, sort of thing. So, funny enough, when I went through the interviews and and they looked at my portfolio, they said that my my work was pretty poor, but they loved the way I thought, and they loved the way I was driven, and would get up early and go out and do stuff. This is, you know, it's the it's the passion and the the willingness to learn. We can teach you all the other stuff, but you you know you you're showing that willingness and and going that extra mile. That's that's what got us in and and got us to be accepted into the into the branch. It wasn't my skills as a photographer because I was that was pretty useless. Pretty new, Michael Hingson  16:49 yeah, Jeff Brown  16:50 yeah. But you know they they developed that. Michael Hingson  16:55 So the the whole idea of going in and learning to cook and being a chef kind of went by the wayside, huh? Jeff Brown  17:00 It did, yes. But I still, I still, I still love cooking to this day, and I was still very passionate about it. And I always had a dream of, you know, one day owning a a pub or running a food pub, Michael Hingson  17:12 right? Well, and you know things happen, but you you clearly are an adventurous sort of person that you even chose to do all of this, and that-that's in of itself, I think, admirable to you know to do that. So you you became a photographer, and so what kind of things did you do during the time you were in the military from a photographic standpoint? Jeff Brown  17:40 So we would do everything. We do everything from portraits of sort of admirals in uniform, official portraits. We do big presentations and awards. We do a lot of PR photography. So we'd be we'd be tasked with with a concept or an idea, or being told something is happening, or we want to promote this, so they might say, right? We've got an aircraft carrier coming into your area. Can you come up with some ideas to to sort of really promote it? Something that look really exciting. It'll encourage people to to join the military because one of the one of the things military photography branch, it's it's about PR. It's trying to get pictures of the military into the into the newspapers in a positive light. So you know, young young men and women go, "Oh, that looks great! I'd love to join, and it serves them an absolute fortune in in in advertising. So so that was that was a lot of the stuff we did, we create concepts and ideas, and quite often the concept and ideas led to having a lot of fun. You know, I'd say like, well, what have I got at my disposal? And then an admiral might say, well, what do you need? I said, well, I need a few helicopters. I need some fast patrol boats. I need some marines on on on ribs lent over these these you know rigid inflatable boats all camouflaged up with their cam cream on and their rifles and they'll be in front of the in front of the the aircraft carrier then we'll have the the helicopters flying in the background and all this was was so basically controlled by us, so we would have headsets on. We'd be talking to the, talking to the the pilots. We'd be directing people, and those shoots probably cost 10s and 10s of 1000s of pounds to to put together. When you think about it, but it was great to see some of the images come out. And in those days, when I first started doing it, we were shooting a lot of the stuff on film, so we didn't have the the the the benefit of seeing the images instantly, as in you know with digital photography. Michael Hingson  19:51 I was going to say much less digitally editing it. It was all on film. Jeff Brown  19:54 Yeah, yeah, yeah. Michael Hingson  19:56 When did it migrate over to be more digital? Jeff Brown  20:00 So we were still we when I was in training we we were using digital but still preferred you to to do a bit more on the film side of things Michael Hingson  20:08 higher quality Jeff Brown  20:10 yeah and and they also I think for like an archival purposes for the idea of have negatives and hard print Speaker 2  20:18 yeah Jeff Brown  20:19 but then you know towards like the 2004 two you know 2003 2004 Then they were starting to embrace digital fully, and and you know do away with all the the film. Michael Hingson  20:33 Wow! Jeff Brown  20:34 And obviously there is the cost aspect as well. You know because you with film it costs every time you you press the shutter button, you know you can you can take a lot more images. But I suppose it does it does make you a bit more of a lazy photographer. Michael Hingson  20:49 Well, I I suppose in some senses it can. It just depends on how disciplined you are. Well, you seem to be a pretty disciplined kind of person, and so you you worked at that pretty well, and I can. I can appreciate that. So so when did you start doing photography for the military? When did you enroll in the military? Jeff Brown  21:11 So that was 1997 Michael Hingson  21:14 Okay, so you were what 2526 25 Jeff Brown  21:19 Yeah, 2026 Yeah, yeah, 2627 yeah. Michael Hingson  21:23 Well, and the the thing about photography or or any skill like that that is is pretty unique and pretty new for you is that you had to really develop the knack to doing it, but you obviously also had to have a lot of understanding about things like, as you said, PR and all that. I mean, some of that just had to be a little bit more natural, or just you observed so much that you realized the value of it. And as you pointed out, having the the whole photography branch in the military had to be incredibly much less expensive for the military, no matter what you wanted them to do, than them doing PR in other ways because it was all done internally. Yes, yes, you had to have helicopters and military people and all that other stuff, but they didn't have to pay the company to go out and, or didn't have to pay it much to go out and do the photography because you're the company. Jeff Brown  22:29 That's right. That's right. And also, some some of the jobs were required a certain level of vetting that they couldn't bring a company in unless those people were vetted. To you know, like on, I did quite a few photography shoots on nuclear submarines, which you you can't enter a nuclear submarine base unless you're you're vetted to a certain level. Michael Hingson  22:51 Right. Now that brings up a point. So let's let's go back to that. So going into a nuclear submarine base and so on, and and doing photography. What what was the purpose of pictures for that? Since it had to be pretty cleared and must have been somewhat classified. Jeff Brown  23:11 Well, sometimes some of the the shoots on board the submarine would be like award ceremonies. So okay, yeah, you know, people getting medals or achievements, and actually getting a photograph from receiving their award from the captain of the submarine. But then sometimes we would have PR photographs of of the the submarine sailing, and we'd be on speedboats going down the lock, photographing the submarine. Michael Hingson  23:41 But what you were not doing was taking pictures of things that were so classified that they didn't dare show them to the public or whatever. Jeff Brown  23:49 Yes, yes, Michael Hingson  23:50 yeah. Which which makes sense. Speaker 1  23:57 If you enjoy unstoppable mindset and would like to help us continue bringing these conversations to you each week, we've created a way for you to support the show. Your contribution helps us cover production costs and continue sharing stories, insights, and ideas that inspire people to live with purpose and possibility. If supporting the podcast feels right for you, you'll find the link in the show notes. Thank you for being part of the Unstoppable Mindset Community. Michael Hingson  24:30 So you you did that, and so you clearly found a niche to to do and to to work at, and obviously loved it. Jeff Brown  24:43 I do. I mean, it took it took a while to get the confidence. I'm quite an introverted person, so where I love taking photographs, and you know, it's easy to take photographs of things and objects and landscapes and that sort of stuff. It's. It's quite hard when you don't have a lot of confidence and you are quite introverted to start directing people and telling people what to do, especially when you had to direct, you know, entire ships, companies, or groups of 4050, people to do a a group shot at the awards ceremony. So that that was something that took a bit of getting used to and put me out of my comfort zone to to become a bit more sociable and a bit less introverted, and also direct people from behind the camera. Michael Hingson  25:31 So you you became a director, Jeff Brown  25:35 I suppose. Yeah, you do. In some senses, Michael Hingson  25:38 anyway. Jeff Brown  25:38 Yeah, yeah, and from from another point of view, I sudden realized that you know you might not like directing people, or you might be really nervous about speaking to people you've never met before and telling them what to do. But quite often, the people on the other side of the camera are just as nervous as you because they don't like having their photograph taken. They feel awkward, so you know part of your job as a photographer is to put people at ease and make people feel comfortable. Michael Hingson  26:03 Yeah, and I think about it as a public speaker. I keep hearing all the time that one of the top fears that people have is speaking and standing on a stage and speaking. And I and I finally realize that that's because we're conditioning people to think that it's scary, but the fact of the matter is that, and I still believe this to this day, audiences want speakers to succeed. Unless you're just a real jerk, audiences want you to succeed, and I would think that that some of that same level of confidence goes into what you do as a photographer. You are-they want you to succeed, and the people who are nervous about you taking their pictures and so on. Your job, as you point out, is to kind of help make them feel more comfortable about Jeff Brown  26:55 it. Yeah, and and you, you know, on from your point of view, you know, you you want somebody to love the picture? Michael Hingson  27:02 Yeah, Jeff Brown  27:02 you want someone to go, oh wow, you know, like actually take away their their dislike and awkwardness of having a photograph taken, and you know it's it's quite rewarding when you see somebody go, oh wow, I didn't know I could look that good, you know, because you've you've directed them, you've posed them, you've helped them feel more relaxed, and they see themselves in a different because it's it's quite it quite often it's not that somebody always looks awkward or you know they don't take a good picture as people say oh don't take my picture I don't take a good picture you know it's the fact that they've never been directed they've never they've always felt felt uncomfortable and awkward so it comes through in the the final image because they don't look relaxed. They don't look natural. They've got this fake smile. They look uncomfortable. Michael Hingson  27:49 I know. For me, I've I've never worried about that. Of course, being blind my whole life, I never really cared a whole lot about pictures. Yeah. So I love to pick on pictures all the time. So you know, for example, people say that a picture is worth 1000 words, and I just point out, yeah, but it takes a whole lot more memory. So, but but but I I appreciate pictures, and I've learned a lot more about photography and appreciating photography ever since September 11th. And part of that was my guide dog Roselle at the time, who became a real camera ham hound. She loved to be in front of the camera, and there was one time we were on a Larry King show on CNN, and you know his shots are and the photographers and and the and everything on the show is basically front like from the chest up, and and so on, and they take pictures. So one day we were going to be on the show, and they made a a little platform that Roselle, my guide dog, could lie on, and they said, "Okay, put her up on there, and I did, and she laid down, put her head between her paws, and that was it. And the director came like about a minute before the show started, and he said, "Isn't there anything you can do to get her to react more and to be a little bit more involved in the show? And I said, "Are the Klieg lights on yet? And he said, "No. I said, "Just wait till you turn the lights on. Everything will change. The lights came on. She lifted up her head, started blinking her eyes and flashing her eyelashes, smiling and licking her chops, and just having a good old time. She loved the camera. It was so funny. Jeff Brown  29:39 Yeah, I can't get. I can't get my dog to sit. He won't sit in front. He won't sit in front of the camera. He's a working Springer Spaniel. He will not stay still for two minutes. And there's something about it. Every time you look, you pick up the camera. I think he knows that you want to take a picture, and he turns his head away. He looks the opposite direction. Michael Hingson  29:57 Yeah. See, Roselle was exactly the opposite. Knew you wanted to take her picture, and she was going, "Bring it on! She just absolutely loved it. It was so funny, and and and it was it was a blessing. But it it as as we talked about it, as I talked to photographers and other people when we dealt with different interviews and so on, I grew to appreciate the value of pictures and what it was that they were trying to get, and it didn't take any work really to get Roselle to be involved in that. It didn't take a lot of work to get me involved with it, but I gained a greater understanding of it. So I certainly value the fact that there's there's a lot of reasons for taking photographs, although I also like audio input and other things like that that I'm going to see. But still, it's it's great that we have this technology, and nowadays, of course, because it is so digital, it makes it so much easier. Jeff Brown  30:59 It does. I think I think obviously there's you know everybody's using photographer now. Everyone walks around with a camera in their pocket, which is you know effectively a smartphone, and the quality of the images that you can take on a phone are fantastic. You know the you know the the resolution, the color saturation, the the look absolutely amazing. But sometimes I think people forget to stop and appreciate the moment. So everybody is more, you know, getting the picture taken, sticking it onto Instagram, onto Facebook, and also we have all these digital memories. But not many people are printing pictures out and putting them on the walls like we used to in the 80s and 90s. You know, family portraits, and I think that is a big thing that photographers need to be to be sort of reinventing and encouraging people to to enjoy the wall art, personalize the home, have a picture on the wall that brings a smile to your face every time you see it. Because if you take it on your phone, you you enjoy it for a second, and then it becomes a memory, and it goes in. I looked the other day. I've got 14 and a half 1000 pictures on my phone. Yeah. So, and I only ever see them, you know, seconds after I take them and I post them on Facebook, and then maybe a year later when a Facebook memory comes up and reminds me, oh, this is what you were doing this time last year. Michael Hingson  32:20 Yeah. Well. Well, and I understand that, and I, I, I also understand what you're saying about lazy photography because, as you said, you take the picture, you look at it, and it's gone, and you don't necessarily do all you can to make sure that the picture is looking as good as it as it can look, and sometimes we just rely on the automatic zoom and other things like that to make the picture look good. But the bottom line is that ultimately we're in control of it and really should make the picture as good as we can make it. Jeff Brown  32:54 Yeah, I mean that was that was what we were taught in the military right at the very beginning. And as I say, you know, was starting out on on on film cameras. It was get it right in the camera. You know, get it right in the camera. It'll look a lot better, and it'll save you hours of time in the dark room. And then there's a tendency now for photographers to think, "Oh, that'll do. I'll just sort it out in Photoshop afterwards, and which again takes time. And as a photographer, time is money. So yeah, yeah. The better you can get the composition and the and the way a photograph looks in the camera, then the less work you're going to have to do afterwards. Michael Hingson  33:35 Yeah, which makes perfect sense. And so I appreciate that. Well, so you were in the military for 10 years, and what made you retire from the military? And also, what kind of skills did you learn that you then took away from the military? One of them had to be accepting authority a little bit more, but I'm being sarcastic. But still, what what kind of skills and so on did you learn, and and did you take away, and and why did you even leave the military after 10 years? Jeff Brown  34:07 So, so being a military photographer, I was a military photographer, and there was a new a new sort of breed of like a new discipline that was coming into into the into our area into the the photography branch, and it was called IA, which is an intelligence analyst, and they believed that photographers, probably rightly, had a real attention to detail and a keen a keen eye for spotting things, and they were so they recruited intelligence analysts from the photography branch to analyze intelligence imagery, satellite imagery, reconnaissance, and then collate this information with other intelligence services. Like Lacher on I six and JCHQ, so so people on the ground, you know, and and military listening outposts, and so I got sent to work. So I did my intelligence course, and I got sent to work for with the intelligence services for about two and a half years now. While I was while I was doing my job as a military analyst, intelligence analyst, I started getting people coming into my office and saying, "You're a military photographer, aren't you? Yeah. Would you photograph my dog? Can you can you photograph my daughter at her birthday? Do you do weddings? Can you do my my my partner's wedding and stuff like that? So started doing a little bit of stuff on weekends, and then soon realized that there was actually quite a good bit of money being a photographer. So that was it. So that that set me on the path of right. I'm going to get out the military. I'm going to start with my own business. I'm going to go back to being self-employed again, but this time using my skills as a photographer. And yeah, I had good photography skills. I had other skills that the military had sort of drummed into me, which was you know timekeeping, organization, attention to detail, and that would work brilliant with a wedding because with a wedding you've got to organize people, everything's got to be on time. You've you've got to have that attention to detail, so started doing weddings on weekends, and then I left, and now decided to go into partnership with another military photographer who was working at the same the same base as me, and was also from the same the same area, the same the same city. So I left first because he was married with two kids. Alif first to set the business up and get the business bringing in money, and then about six months later, the business was bringing in enough money for him to put his notice in and and come out and and join me full time in the photography business. So and then it just skyrocketed from there. We ended up having four different photography businesses, Michael Hingson  37:03 pretty impressive, huh? Jeff Brown  37:05 It was good, but I think you know a lot of the lot the stuff that we did is when we left the military is you get a resettlement grant to resettle you back into civilian life to to to get you ready to work for other people, but obviously we were going to go self employed, so we we spent this resettlement grant of 7000 pound on marketing and branding training. So I got 7000 Kev got 7000 So we spent spent a lot of our money on understanding how to run a business, understanding what brand was all about and brand concept and and marketing. And it wasn't necessarily our photography skills that helped us succeed. It was the skills of actually understanding how to run a business and how to market our brand, Michael Hingson  37:49 which also goes a little bit back to understanding PR and just as you said, understanding all about business, which is which is pretty cool. Speaker 3  37:57 Yeah. Michael Hingson  37:59 Well, as you as you did that, how easy was it for you to integrate back into society and become disciplined enough to run your own business? Because when you were in the military, you had other people who were making a lot of those decisions, but you had to learn something along the way or figure out something along the way that allowed you to truly run your own business. Jeff Brown  38:22 To be honest, I felt I felt quite excited to be going back to it because, obviously, you know, from sort of 1415, year old, I'd had I'd had my own business, and that that was my first my first ever job. You know, working for myself with fish and fish and tackle business, and I sort of realized early on that yes, I don't have a boss, but ultimately the business is the boss because the business demands from you all the time. It demands how much work you need to put in, and if you don't put the work in, then you don't get the money. But the other good thing about running your own business is you're not on a fixed wage. You know, you have that ability to make a lot more money, without having to be promoted or or impress somebody else, you know. So for some people, it doesn't work. Like my girlfriend always says, she doesn't think she could do what I do because she doesn't like that uncertainty. Of you know, because every business is ups and downs, ups and downs. You have low moments. You have high moments, but that's life in general, isn't it? And I think you've just got to have more high moments than low moments. But yeah, I love it. I don't think I could ever work for anybody else. But a lot of, I think I'm unemployable. I don't think I can. I don't think I could go into a normal job. But a lot of those high Michael Hingson  39:40 moments are also moments that essentially you create. It's your mindset. That's Jeff Brown  39:45 right. Yeah, Michael Hingson  39:46 because you know, like failure. Everybody talks about failure. Well, you know, you're going to experience failure in your life, and I have gotten to the point where I tend to react and say there really is no such thing as failure. Because failure seems to be an absolute-you screwed up, and that's all there is to it. And the reality is, it's not. Failure isn't really the issue. The issue is okay. You made a plan. Something didn't work right. The question really is now: Where do you go from here? How do you fix it? What have you learned from what happened? And I think that's really the issue. Jeff Brown  40:20 That's totally that's totally right, and you know, but I made a a decision back in 2014 So you said, you know, I love cooking, and had the photography businesses, which which were both doing very well. They were both they were all super successful, you know, bringing in the money, and I decided, wouldn't it be nice to buy a really, really beautiful traditional country pub, one with log fires, you know, in the middle of the countryside, maybe a two, 300 year old building, and and run my own pub? So that was that was my idea. So so I found this this beautiful little country pub in Durham, in the northeast of England, and it was like a picture postcard country pub that looked beautiful. It actually had two log fires. It had, I think, it was about 300 year old. It had wooden beams, everything, and so I fell in love with it. I I bought the lease on it. I plowed 120,000 pounds of my own money into it, and within 12 months, I'd lost all that money. I was a further 60,000 pound in debt, and I couldn't see any way out. Because you say, you know, like failure. Sometimes people think failure is that's it, that's the end. They can't see past it, and stupidly, I decided that that was it. I couldn't go on anymore, so I tried to drive my car off a bridge. I was, I was drunk at the time, but you know, luckily I didn't. I just damaged the car. I didn't damage myself. I woke up the next morning feeling utterly disgusted with myself because my daughter at the time would have been seven year old. and I realized I needed to get out the pub, and I needed to change a different direction, which I did. So I ran away, and I came to the countryside where I live now in Northumberland, and moved away from all my family and and my friends, about an hour away from all my family and friends to restart my life again, and I spent probably about six months listening to positivity books and audio books, and and trying to rewind my mindset, and then take a new direction. And that's when I got into the idea of because I was in the middle of the countryside, I could run an online business training photographers in marketing and branding, and you know how to how to promote themselves on the internet, and I could do that with anybody anywhere in the world who was a photographer. So that was my idea, and that's what I went for. And you know, looking back at it, 11 years on from that, it would be 11 years in March when I tried to take my own life, and I thought that was that was the biggest worst failure I'd ever have. It was the best failure I ever had because I've never been as happy. I've never been as stress free. My work takes me all over the world, speaking and meeting photographers. I have an absolutely amazing community. No day is the same because I'm on all different time zones, speaking to different people, and and I just love it. It's stress free, but you know, if I'd stayed at the pub, that wouldn't have been stress free. So, Michael Hingson  43:33 so what happened? That why did the pub fail? Fail, or or why didn't the public pub succeed? And what did you learn from that? Jeff Brown  43:40 So, well, first of all, probably I probably fell in love with the idea of the pub, but I probably didn't do enough research. Now, funny enough, it was in an old mining village, my coal mining village, that was very, very much based around if you weren't born and bred in the area, you didn't fit in, so first of all, I think fit into the village very well. But the profitability in the pub trade is is very hard, especially if the pub, if the building is owned by a brewery and you've got to buy your beer direct from the brewery, it reduces the profit margins. And I just think everything that could go wrong in that 12 month did go wrong. We had staff stealing offers. We had a couple of sabotages to the pub, a couple of really big bills that wasn't expected, equipment going wrong and equipment failing, and yeah, the costs just spiraled out of control. Michael Hingson  44:38 Just a lot of lack of research, Jeff Brown  44:41 yeah, yeah, yeah, Michael Hingson  44:42 and I would suspect that you would say that because of that, and because you realized all that, you learned. Jeff Brown  44:50 I learned, yeah, yeah, I, I totally learned, and I think you know that I, I, I fell in love with the idea of it. I fell in love with the building, and probably, probably didn't research it. And also, you know, yeah, I was great at marketing. I was great at business, but I'd never run a pub before. And yeah, it was probably a bit of a. I'd probably sort of trying to run before I could walk. In that, you know, might have been better off going and working for somebody else and being a manager or working in a bar. And you know, the the day I opened the pub, I'd never even pulled a pint before. Never stood behind a bar and served served a drink. So, Michael Hingson  45:28 yeah, and that's that's an art in of itself. Jeff Brown  45:32 Yeah, yeah, that's right. Michael Hingson  45:34 I used to when I lived in New Jersey and worked in New York. I used to go to a restaurant called Virgil's Real Barbecue, best barbecue I think in the country, and so if you're ever in New York, it's Virgil's. Anyway, they had opened a facility in Las Vegas. Also, they opened a restaurant in Las Vegas, and so last week when I was at the Consumer Electronics Show, I went there, and one of the things I had heard early on when they I heard about them opening the restaurant several years ago, was that the people who opened the restaurant before they could open it had to go spend six months in New York at the original Virgil's, learning everything about it, so that they could make this restaurant and the food be the same as as what they experienced, because they wanted Virgil's to be the same in both places, and they did. And I can say that, from my perspective, at least, they did a really great job, and they learned from that, which was exactly what you wanted for the people in Las Vegas to do, and they survived the pandemic, and it's still open. So when you're in Las Vegas next time, Jeff Brown  46:47 yeah, I'm there next week. So yeah, I'll have to Virgil's. Yeah, I'll check it out. Michael Hingson  46:52 Virgil's real barbecue, best ribs in the country. That's my opinion, and I'm sticking to it, everybody. Well, that's cool. So. So, do you believe that things happen for a reason? I mean, a lot has happened, and of course, the pub closed and and all that. Do you believe that things happen for a reason? Jeff Brown  47:13 I do, and and you know now I I think one of the things as well when you get to that point where you you don't believe there's there's there's any way out, and and you know you you get that alone, you get depressed, but you you feel that you've got to take your own life. You are right at the very bottom. I think for you to go to the very bottom and then come back up again, it changes your mindset about stuff. And I I never get stressed. I am a very, very chilled out person. If something goes wrong now or something fails, I just go. Well, it's happened for a reason. Maybe something better is around the corner. Maybe it's the universe trying to direct me in a in a different path. You know, and and I think the less you live, the more you live by that mindset, the more it opens you up to other opportunities. Yeah, keeps you living it. You know, you're not living in the past; you're living in the future. It it was for the first six months coming up here 11 years ago. It was hard to move away from that failure in my mind. I kept playing it over and over again, but you know, playing it over and over again wasn't going to make that failure with the pub any different. The outcome had happened, and what I needed to do was focus on the future, get back together and get my myself back together, both mentally and also establish a new business and a new way of life. And that in itself was a a massive learning curve, but for the better. Michael Hingson  48:44 Well, and and the reality is, it it certainly has made a big difference in your life. And the fact is that, again, it goes back to failure isn't the end all, and failure is is probably the wrong way to put it. It's a learning experience, and I think that it's so important to do that. I am like you. I refuse to feel stress. I've been through too many experiences in my life that that caused stress, and I've learned that there are always ways to to deal with things, and so it's important to not let the stress overwhelm you. I wrote a book that was published in 2024 called "Live Like a Guide Dog: True Stories from a Blind Man and His Dogs About Being Brave, Overcoming Adversity, and Moving Forward in Faith. And moving forward in faith is part of it, but the whole issue is we focus on our lives on so many things. We think we need to control everything, and the reality is, we only control probably much less than 10% of all the things that we experience, but we worry about 100% of everything, and that doesn't help. And so, it builds up so much fear and causes so much stress. And if we would just focus on the things over which we really can control, we would be much better off. Jeff Brown  49:59 Saying that, you know, after leaving the pub, because my mindset was very, very delicate, and I had to build my my mental health back up, I decided to stop watching the news. So I used to used to get up and go downstairs and put the news on TV and have my morning coffee and and listen to all this negativity, all this drama, every single morning, which I've done for probably 40, you know, well, at least 30-five years, and and that was it. I've never watched the news since. I don't watch any live TV. I don't watch the news. People say, "Well, how do you manage? So, well, somebody will tell me something, but most of the time, half the stuff that people get worried about never actually happens. And if it does happen, quite often there's nothing you can do about it because it's the other side of the world. Michael Hingson  50:53 Well, even if it's in England, you don't have control over it, so why worry about it? Now, I watch I watch the news, but I do it because I want to get the information. But I won't worry about it. And there's so much that happens. But I feel that that at least there is information to be gained by watching the news. But what I had to learn somewhere along the line is don't take it personally because you don't have any control over it. And there are so many things that that go on, but the the trick is not to let things you don't have any control over really affect you to the point where you get nervous and stressful again. Jeff Brown  51:34 Yeah, yeah, and I think that you know the the same thing can be put into social media. You know, people say social media is negative. Social media is dangerous, and it depends how you react to it and what you engage on. You know, in my own social media, I follow a lot of photographers, a lot of people who talk about adventures and motorcycle rides and travel and nature. So my news feed is filled with a lot of positive stuff. And if if I see something negative or see something sensationalist, what I do is I don't unfriend that person. I just unfollow them, so I don't see their content again. Michael Hingson  52:09 Yeah. Jeff Brown  52:10 But from from the plus side, you know, social media has bought me more opportunity than anything else, and and effectively for free. And I've traveled traveled a lot because of my work. I have over 100,000 followers across my my social media platforms, and social media brings me customers, brings me clients. It helps me sell books, so there is a lot of positivity to it. I suppose it. The negative is only if you engage in the negative, then you will you'll find the the negative aspect. Michael Hingson  52:40 Yeah. Well, and the reality is that again, it's it's how you approach life, and you've clearly learned a lot about how to approach life in a much more positive way. You've developed, well, we'll call it an unstoppable mindset. You've developed a mindset that allows you to go through life and do the things that you need to do, and focus on the things that you can, and you leave the rest of it alone. Jeff Brown  53:06 Yeah, yeah, totally, totally. Michael Hingson  53:08 Which which makes a lot of sense. Well, for you, you you talked earlier about the fact that you have dyslexia, and you've been with dyslexia for most of your life, or maybe all of your life. It's interesting. I've talked to so many people who didn't know that they had dyslexia when they were in school and so on, and experienced a lot of the same frustrations and kinds of experiences that that you've experienced. And somewhere along the line, they finally discovered that they they had dyslexia. How did that when you when you finally realized that? What did that do for you? How did how did that really affect you? Jeff Brown  53:52 Well, funny enough, I I can remember a moment where I must have been about eight year old, where a teacher and you know, back in the 70s, teachers weren't as kind, weren't as kind to to schoolchildren as they are now. You know, and and this this teacher singled me out in front of the class and and told me that I was stupid and I wouldn't amount to anything because I kept struggling with this reading and my numbers. And at the time, I I was I was chubby. I had ginger hair, so I didn't have a I didn't have a lot going for us in in the popularity front, and also being you know the the stupid one in the class. So I found it really negative, and I found it really really personal because I didn't realize that I was dyslexic because nobody knew what dyslexia was now, and when I got to my mid 30s, and I went to train to go into the work with the intelligence services and be an image analyst, I had to redo my English and maths all level qualifications that I should have passed at school, but obviously I didn't. I had to do them through the military, and that was when I found out I was dyslexic, and I didn't actually know what dyslexia was until until I made up on it, and then it all made sense. You know why why I'd struggled for so long. I have my own workarounds. I know what my I know what my what my issues are. I mean, now with with with my work, there's so much out there that helps you as a dyslexic. You know, you you have you have spell checker, you have read aloud where you might not be able to see see it. You know, so quite often I'll do a social media post, and I'll I'll get Word document to read it out aloud so I can hear it. But if I if I if I read it back, I can't see the mistakes I've made because my mind doesn't process that. I know when I write a number down, I probably write write it down the wrong way. So if somebody gives me a phone number and I phone it and it's dead, I just change some of the digits around and figure Michael Hingson  55:58 it out. Do you agree? Do you use technology like Dragon, naturally speaking, to dictate? Jeff Brown  56:04 I tend, I tend to. So I started using only in the past six months. I was quite, I was quite sort of against AI, and well, not against it, but everybody was jumping on the chat, ChatGPT bandwagon, and I always tend to do something different than everybody else does. Six months ago, I jumped on a piece of software called Claude, and because I've because I've written five books now, I've written four business books, and I've written a travel book. I also had a lot of content to give to Claude to feed Claude, and then I had transcripts from my YouTube channel, and and then I gave them some do's and don'ts about you know tone of voice and language, and you know I would never say things like this, I would never say things like that. Told them that you know don't be spelling color without a U. Don't put a Z in sympathize because not American English. It's English, English, and the funny thing is, like over the over the past few months, he's he's pretty much replicated my tone of voice, so I can get Claude to write me a social media post, and then I I just tweak it slightly, and I'll make some changes, and then when I've written that social media post, I give it back to Claude and say, can you note? Can you identify the changes that I've made from what you've originally made, Michael Hingson  57:24 right? Jeff Brown  57:25 And take them on board for the next one, and then you give a summary of the changes. And it's yeah, it's it's it's quite impressive. It's quite scary as well because he he says things like, "Am I becoming more Jeff? Yeah, yeah, you are a bit. Michael Hingson  57:42 Well, the other thing is there are programs and technologies, as I mentioned, like Dragon, which is a a technology that you can get where you dictate, and it recognizes your voice, and it will then convert what you say directly into digitized form, which is pretty cool. I use Dragon when I write a fair amount, and and so that that goes back far earlier than AI. Although I'm sure that there are AI, there are AI components to Dragon naturally speaking today. But it's a it's a great program, and it makes writing a lot easier. So rather than typing on a keyboard, I'm speaking, and it is essentially taking what I write, and it just completely digitizes it by recognizing my voice and then putting it out in in in a digital form for me. I can use it with Microsoft Word and other things like that, Jeff Brown  58:41 yeah. And then do then do you listen back to that and then give edits on on what has been on what is being done? Michael Hingson  58:49 Yeah, I can. I just go back and read the word doc, and but it's but it literally is is transcription of what I say, so I can then go back and say, okay, let's fix this, or everything is fine, and I can go even go back and figure out what's misspelled if there are things that it misrecognized. But it works pretty well. Jeff Brown  59:12 Yeah, tech technology is is is fantastic. It's also got it's it's it's I suppose worrying sides for creative people, where there's a lot, a lot of creatives that potentially AI could could really damage their careers going forward. So it's it's interesting to see which direction it's taken. You know, work with it, but then also be aware of it. Michael Hingson  59:40 Yeah. Well, you still need to take control. Jeff Brown  59:43 Yeah, yeah. Michael Hingson  59:45 So, what's the most unusual or interesting country that you've ever visited since you do so much traveling? Jeff Brown  59:52 I've been to North Korea. So, 2019 I went to North Korea for New. New Year's Eve to celebrate New Year in in Pyongyang Square with another 100,000 North Koreans. There was only 12 Western tourists in Pyongyang at the time, and we were there for 10 days. So yes, I've I've done North Korea, which it took a bit getting into getting into North Korea. It's not as easy as just you can't go on and book a holiday. He can't choose a hotel. It all has to be done through a third-party agent, and it took about six months to get the whole thing to together. But it was-it was very interesting. It was a completely different than every anything I'd ever experienced before, and it's also supposed to be one of the safest countries you can travel to because you you're followed by the North Korean secret police everywhere you go, even inside buildings, when you're in restaurants, when you're in bars. That nothing could ever happen to you, but the North Korean people would never dare to come up and speak to you anyway, you know. But the the thing with North Korea is everything is everything is orchestrated. Everything is set for you alive and there in advance, so you only ever see what they want you to see. You never see the other side of North Korea. I've also been to Chernobyl, where the the last was that was absolutely fascinating, and last year I went to Transnistria, which is one of these countries that doesn't exist. It's not officially recognized by by the UN, and that was like stepping back into the 1980s Speaker 1  1:01:38 That was, Jeff Brown  1:01:39 but everywhere I've been, you know, I think that that's t

Tonight we rejoin Frodo in the darkness, listening for pursuing feet. Join us on the Signum University Discord server: https://discord.com/invite/szXMFAv

Can you believe that it's a different day???? Thank you PENNEYS

Join the Vassals in this Blackfyre cast review of Unbowed and Unbent!  Hosts: Zander (the Lord Baron), Michal (Inkasrain), Katie (Seheron), Steph (gsdg), Hannah (thewingedshadow) Spoilers: This episode could cover anything from George R R Martin's A Song of Ice … Continue reading →

In this episode I spoke with author Thomas "Tom" Schatz about his latest book "Power Surge: Conglomerate Hollywood and The Studio System's Last Hurrah". Between 1989 and 2004, all the old studios either merged with other media giants or were swallowed up by even bigger diversified behemoths, leading to an infusion of money and fast-tracking the digital revolution. Yet even as CGI and piles of cash fueled a new breed of blockbusters―Batman and Titanic, Toy Story and The Lord of the Rings―an indie ethos permeated the industry. And at the crossroads of commodification and aesthetic vision, auteurs ranging from Steven Soderbergh and Quentin Tarantino to Sofia Coppola and Ang Lee became household names.

Tonight, the RPGBOT.Podcast enters the discourse arena, where Paizo is financially bleeding, Archives of Nethys accidentally brought a flamethrower to a contract negotiation, and the internet has already decided who the villain is without reading past the headline. Ash arrives with enough hot takes to melt adamantine, Tyler desperately attempts to preserve nuance, and Randall keeps feeding increasingly tortured metaphors into the Wayback Machine. Grab your popcorn, silence your notifications, and remember: the rules are still free. Everyone can please stop screaming now. UPDATE: Joint announcement from Paizo+AoN on Juy 24th Links Impossible Magic on paizo.com Amazon: Impossible Magic (affiliate link) Paizo Announces Layoffs June 8th Reddit thread with links to support affected people Archives of Nethys announcement July 14th Paizo blog post about Archives of Nethys July 15th AoN FAQ July 17th UPDATE: Joint announcement from Paizo+AoN on Juy 24th More Info Ronald the Rules Lawyer on the Paizo layoffs Show Notes Paizo has ended its eight-year official licensing partnership with Archives of Nethys, and the Pathfinder community reacted with all the restraint and careful consideration of a barbarian discovering Reddit. We break down what is actually changing, what is not changing, and why Archives of Nethys is not being deleted, destroyed, paywalled, or dragged behind Paizo headquarters. The site can still provide Pathfinder and Starfinder rules for free, but it will lose access to most official artwork and will no longer receive books early enough to guarantee new content on release day. To understand why Paizo would make such an unpopular decision, we climb into the Wayback Machine and revisit the Diamond Comic Distributors bankruptcy, millions of dollars in inaccessible Paizo inventory, costly legal disputes, tariffs, financial losses, and the recent layoffs affecting roughly 15 percent of Paizo's staff. Paizo says the Archives of Nethys license required legal, financial, and administrative resources that the company can no longer justify, especially when the expected royalty payments never materialized. We also examine how both sides handled the announcement. Paizo communicated poorly, chose terrible timing, and apparently believed email was the ideal tool for navigating a beloved eight-year partnership during a financial crisis. Archives of Nethys responded emotionally, published its announcement without giving Paizo advance notice, omitted important context about ongoing negotiations and a six-month transition period, and then buried much of the clarification inside a video and forum comments. The result was a community firestorm in which everyone was angry, nobody had the complete story, and Diamond somehow remained the least surprising villain. Ultimately, this is not Paizo attempting a Wizards-style crackdown on free rules access. It is a struggling company cutting expenses while two groups of exhausted people make imperfect decisions under enormous stress. Support Archives of Nethys through Patreon or by disabling your ad blocker, purchase Pathfinder products directly from Paizo when possible, and perhaps give everyone enough time to get on a video call before declaring the death of the entire hobby. Key Takeaways Archives of Nethys is not shutting down. Its existing Pathfinder and Starfinder rules content will remain freely accessible. The major changes are the loss of most official Paizo artwork and the end of early PDF access, meaning new rules may no longer appear on release day. Paizo's decision comes amid severe financial pressure caused by the Diamond bankruptcy, inaccessible inventory, legal expenses, tariffs, losses, and staff layoffs. The license produced no royalties because Archives of Nethys operates through donations, advertising, and unpaid volunteer labor rather than as a profit-making business. Paizo says the relationship still required legal, licensing, financial, and administrative work, including policing unauthorized reuse of artwork taken from the site. Archives of Nethys presented an incomplete version of the situation in its original announcement, including leaving out ongoing negotiations and the six-month grace period for removing restricted artwork. Paizo also deserves criticism for poor communication, bad timing, and allowing an important partnership discussion to stall through email. The backlash was intensified by fear and incomplete information, not by evidence that Paizo intends to eliminate free access to its rules. Both organizations say they remain open to finding another arrangement, and the hosts believe a compromise may still be possible. Fans can support both sides by contributing to Archives of Nethys, disabling ad blockers on the site, and buying products directly from Paizo rather than through Amazon. Tyler proposes that Paizo create an affiliate program so Pathfinder creators can direct customers to Paizo's store while earning revenue and helping more money reach the publisher. The true villain remains Diamond, with capitalism receiving a strong honorable mention. Welcome to the RPGBOT Podcast. If you love Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, and tabletop RPGs, this is the podcast for you. Support the show for free: Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any podcast app. It helps new listeners find the best RPG podcast for D&D and Pathfinder players. Level up your experience: Join us on Patreon to unlock ad-free access to RPGBOT.net and the RPGBOT Podcast, chat with us and the community on the RPGBOT Discord, and jump into live-streamed RPG podcast recordings. Support while you shop: Use our Amazon affiliate link at https://amzn.to/3NwElxQ and help us keep building tools and guides for the RPG community. Meet the Hosts Tyler Kamstra – Master of mechanics, seeing the Pathfinder action economy like Neo in the Matrix. Randall James – Lore buff and technologist, always ready to debate which Lord of the Rings edition reigns supreme. Ash Ely – Resident cynic, chaos agent, and AI's worst nightmare, bringing pure table-flipping RPG podcast energy. Join the RPGBOT team where fantasy roleplaying meets real strategy, sarcasm, and community chaos. How to Find Us: In-depth articles, guides, handbooks, reviews, news on Tabletop Role Playing at RPGBOT.net Tyler Kamstra BlueSky: @rpgbot.net TikTok: @RPGBOTDOTNET Ash Ely Professional Game Master on StartPlaying.Games BlueSky: @GravenAshes YouTube: @ashravenmedia Randall James BlueSky: @GrimoireRPG Amateurjack.com Read Melancon: A Grimoire Tale (affiliate link) Producer Dan @Lzr_illuminati

Louis and Nina deep dive into Christopher Nolan's “The Odyssey,” play a “What Would You Do” game about seat snatching in a packed theater, and discuss their favorite movies from “The Odyssey” ‘s star studded cast. Plus, the two get into Andy Serkis's all white adaptation of the “Lord of The Rings.”For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com.

Hello, Kaiju Lovers! In a shockingly (but not shockingly) looooooong episode sponsored by Damon Noyes, Nate and his executive producer make the definitive podcast episode on a kaiju-adjacent film that marks the first Disney project covered on MIFV: Dragonslayer (1981). This co-production between the Mouse and Paramount has the best-named dragon ever--Vermithrax Pejorative--that had a massive impact on fantasy storytelling despite the movie flopping at the box office. The likes of Guillermo del Toro and George R.R. Martin count it as one of the greatest fantasy films of all time. Given that the filmmakers were inspired by Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien and the legend of "St. George and the Dragon," it's no surprise. Nate and Damon go so deep in their discussion, this episode may have to be transcribed into a book. Strap in! For full show notes, including a bibliography of sources, check out this episode's blog post on the MIFV website: https://monsterislandfilmvault.com/index.php/2026/07/22/episode-113-dragonslayer-1981-ft-damon-noyes-patreon/.  "Jimmy's Notes" COMING SOON! Additional Music: “A Slight Skirmish” by Alex North Check out Nathan's spinoff podcasts, The Henshin Men and The Power Trip, and Henshin Power V3! We'd like to give a shout-out to our free MIFV MAX patrons on Patreon: Cordell Stevens, John Pannozzi, Jacob Heron, Cool Cat Videos, Bransbow, Sean Sullivan, Frankie Wolf, Russel Hale, FRIEN Jadge, Bob Hard, ArtsieSteph, Robert O'Brien, DD Chief, Kaye, Nobody, The Indiscrite One, Clayton Warden, Enigma, Dave Blanken, Patrick Greenlaw, Mikki, Josh Baughan, Shane Cochran, Francis Chopin, and Geek 3D Art. You, too, can join MIFV MAX on Patreon to get this and other perks starting at only $3 a month! (https://www.patreon.com/monsterislandfilmvault) Buy official MIFV merch on TeePublic! (https://www.teepublic.com/user/the-monster-island-gift-shop). NEW MERCH NOW AVAILABLE! This episode is approved by the Monster Island Board of Directors. Timestamps: 0:00-15:07: Introduction 15:07-1:12:39: Toku Talk – Synopsis, Background, and Production History 1:12:39-1:50:57: Toku Talk – Cast and Character Analysis 1:50:57-2:14:40: Toku Talk – The Disney Dark Age 2:14:40-3:07:26: Toku Talk – Vermithrax Pejorative and Go-Motion 3:07:26-3:10:41: Toku Talk - Miscellaneous Notes 3:10:41-3:44:32: Toku Talk – The Princess's Death: Sacrifice or Suicide? 3:44:32-4:02:03: Toku Talk – What is Dragonslayer's Attitude toward Christianity? 4:02:03-4:36:09: (Unofficial) Toku Topic - Dragonslayer Myths and “St. George and the Dragon” 4:36:09-4:55:20: Outro (listener feedback, housekeeping, etc.) 4:55:20-end: Credits Podcast Social Media: MIFV Linktree: https://linktr.ee/monsterislandfilmvault Nate's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/nathan_marchand MIFV is a member of PodNation (https://podnation.tv/) MIFV is one of Feedspot's top 10 tokusatsu podcasts! (https://blog.feedspot.com/tokusatsu_podcasts/) MIFV is one of Feedspot's top 20 monster podcasts! (https://podcasts.feedspot.com/monster_podcasts/) www.MonsterIslandFilmVault.com #JimmyFromNASALives, #MonsterIslandFilmVault, #kaiju, #daikaiju, #giantmonsters, #Dragonslayer, #dragons, #disney, #paramount, #vermithraxpejorative © 2026 Moonlighting Ninjas Media

The brothers are back to talk some about Lord of the Rings. Does trying things you read about rarely work for you? Why were people hating on the Odyssey? Who is the better director Spielberg or Nolan? What is truly going on with this bacteria and the lettuce? Would you do it to lose weight? Do you still see infomercials? What is going on with these beauty products?Email us stuff at punandgame@gmail.com Merch:https://teespring.com/stores/punandgamePromo Code: WGAF for free shippingYouTube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDUpI3McVZBegI28on8uwOATwitter:@PunandGameInstagram:@WadeTaylor_WGAF@PunandGame

Episode 57 Join us on Live Fire Media Show Episode 57 for a wild mix of horror movie talk, gun gear, and random chaos! We dive into the new Evil Dead dropping, Hunter suggests Hellraiser Judgment (the 10th installment), chat the latest Dracula, Joker sequel takes, Matrix Cypher theories, and debate if Aragorn picked the wrong woman in Lord of the Rings. Plus Agent Smith is still the GOAT. On the firearms side: Casting bullets 18-19 with silver sorting would that be enough to stop a werewolf? Outlier 6" 9mm suppressor tested on handgun & B&T, ETS mags cracked (they replaced them), Bus Built Systems Poors Bag Plate for getting kids into shooting, and a big reminder — CHANGE YOUR LIGHT BATTERIES before your next night walk! We also cover YouTube AI movie bad guys versus, Instagram censoring "dork," and that hilarious werewolf hamburger stomach acid question. Great conversation, laughs, and real talk. Drop your thoughts in the comments! Like & Subscribe for more movie rants + gun content every week! #LiveFireMedia #EvilDeadRise #Hellraiser #SuppressorTest #LordOfTheRings #CastingBullets #GunGear #HorrorMovies Additional Links/Notes: OutLier Suppressors: https://backdraftsuppressors.com/ Where to find us: Livefire-media.com Rangehot.com Social Links: IG - @livefirem - @rangehot.com_offical X - @LiveFireM - @rangehotdotcom FB - Live Fire Media - Range Hot Live Fire Media on RSS.com Live Fire Media Show | Podcast on RSS.com

This week on The FratChat Podcast, we're diving into The BIGGEST Casting What Ifs! From Will Smith almost becoming Neo in The Matrix to Al Pacino nearly playing Han Solo, we count down the wildest alternate casting decisions that could have completely changed movie history. We debate whether Hollywood made the right call, imagine how these iconic films would've looked with different stars, and uncover the behind-the-scenes stories of actors who turned down—or lost—the roles that made someone else a legend. Plus, it's another packed episode with Emails from the Listeners, where we settle a relationship debate after one listener catches her fiancé doing something so disgusting it might derail the wedding. We also tackle whether using AI like ChatGPT makes you "part of the problem," break down a bizarre scam involving rapper Boosie Badazz and a promised presidential pardon, and return with another edition of Not the Drag Queens, exposing yet another youth pastor facing serious criminal charges. Along the way, we riff on Back to the Future, The Lord of the Rings, Hannibal Lecter, MTA horror stories, Taco Bell's parasite outbreak, celebrity casting near-misses, and plenty of the unfiltered comedy that makes FratChat what it is. Got a question, comment or topic for us to cover? Let us know! Send us an email at fratchatpodcast@gmail.com or follow us on all social media: Instagram: http://Instagram.com/FratChatPodcast Facebook: http://Facebook.com/FratChatPodcast Twitter: http://Twitter.com/FratChatPodcast YouTube: http://YouTube.com/@fratchatpodcast Follow Carlos and CMO on social media! Carlos:  IG: http://Instagram.com/CarlosDoesTheWorld YouTube: http://YouTube.com/@carlosdoestheworld TikTok: http://TikTok.com/@carlosdoestheworld Twitter: http://Twitter.com/CarlosDoesWorld Threads: http://threads.net/carlosdoestheworld Website: http://carlosgarciacomedy.com Chris ‘CMO' Moore:  IG: http://Instagram.com/Chris.Moore.Comedy TikTok: http://TikTok.com/@chris.moore.comedy Twitter: http://Twitter.com/cmoorecomedy Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Join Bina007 and Bing as they discuss the results of the World Cup third-place play-off and final. [MP3] Download or play this episode directly[Archive] View this episode's page on Archive.org[Discord] Join The Craziness![iTunes] Subscribe to us on iTunes[Stitcher] Subscribe to us … Continue reading →

Nearly 3 decades ago, the CIA became a venture capitalist. One of its early bets was a surveillance company named after an all-seeing stone from Lord of the Rings. That company's founder now hosts an annual secret gathering of the most powerful people in the world. And, of course, an infamous dead sex trafficker had the invitation. This week's episode is In-Q-Tel: The CIA's Silicon Valley Venture.Click here for this week's show notes.Click here to sign up for our Patreon and receive hundreds of hours of bonus content.Please click here to leave a review and tell us what you think of the show.CRIMEWAVE AT SEA 2027 is happening Feb. 8-12, 2027!  Tickets on Sale: Feb. 13, 2026  Get $100 off your stateroom and a private meet and greet with us!  Go to http://crimewaveatsea.com/SINISTERPlease consider supporting the companies that support us!-To grab your PAKA hoodie, go to WWW.PAKAAPPAREL.COM.-To get your new wireless plan for just 15 bucks a month, go to www.MINTMOBILE.com/sinisterhood.-To explore pet insurance coverage, visit ASPCApetinsurance.com/CREEPY. -Hero Bread is offering 10% off your order. Go to hero.co and use code CREEPY at checkout.

On May 31, 2026, Dr. Peter Kreeft's beautiful wife of 63 years, Maria Antoinette Kreeft, went home to her Heavenly reward. In his own words, Dr. Kreeft told us before coming, “There is much to say about that: a story of struggle and grace.” The following conversation is just that. Ep. 587 Theotokos Rosaries: https://dwplus.shop/TheotokosRosaries - - -